accidental video/action:

[charring]

[Insomnia and late nights at work don't mix so it should surprise no one when Charlie dozed off at her desk at the Dragon late last night. Waking up the next morning, however, was not the Charlie the City recognizes unless they looked very carefully.

The Charlie that woke up was smaller, younger by almost ten years. And blonde. And she doesn't remember the City at all.

That was why when the feed does kick on, it shows, from a very strange angle (probably a jacket pocket or something) a young girl peeking around a corner very carefully. Her back is against a wall and everything is being studied very carefully.

Her expression is confusion, concern and a stubborn determination the older Charlie possesses. She even has older Charlie's backpack over her shoulder and her tiny fist is curled around a handful of coins she found within. When she was sure it was okay to, she stepped out of the alley onto the sidewalk and made her way to the nearest clothing store, still wearing the clothes she fell asleep in.

She'll be found almost anywhere in the Cit. Probably not the Underground and certainly not places kids should go. And she hasn't noticed the device in her pocket switched on. She just thought it was a camera and was going to sell it.]


[ooc: grab bag weekend. charlie will be a child for the duration with absolutely no city memories. and replies will be coming from split_the_world]

Comments

[Action]

[destinedtobeunpopular]

[ When he first sees the girl, Merlin does wonder because she looks familiar. It's not the first time Charlie had ended up being gone the whole night, so he's not exactly worried. Yet. But here's a small girl that looks familiar, and that backpack...

It is her.

Oh, dear...

As soon as he's seen it, he's headed out the door to find her. He can only hope that she still has the ring on her and seeing that it doesn't seem to be leading him to the Dragon, she probably does. Thank god.

When he does find her, he's not entirely sure how to approach her. Because he knows what she went through as a child, so it might not be so easy. Still, he's not going to leave her and as he approaches her he just hopes something comes to mind. ]

Hey.

[ ...and maybe that's enough? No, no, it's not. What more...

Ah. The backpack. ]

Did you just arrive?

Re: [Action]

[split_the_world]

[Charlie almost wants to ignore the man, just duck her head and keep walking because Strangers are usually trouble in her experience. She has yet to meet a nice adult.

But there's something about Merlin that slows her walking down to a complete stop a few feet away and she's just staring. There's not much in the way of emotion on her face save for confusion. Why's he acting like he knows her? Not that he's said her name, but there's something off about his behavior. Either that, or she's just paranoid. She doesn't think he'll harm her, but can never be too sure. So...]

Hi. Where am I? Is this part of Virginia?

[Action]

[destinedtobeunpopular]

[ At first it really does seem as if she's not going to stop, and then he really wouldn't know what to do, but thankfully she does and he breathes something like a sigh of relief. And he gives her a smile because, indeed, he's not going to harm her.

He could never do that. Not intentionally. ]

No, it's... not really a part of anything. That I know of. It's called the City. Everyone who isn't a native ended up here out of the blue.

[Action]

[split_the_world]

Is it an island? [How did she get on the island? And that whole ending up out of the blue thing? Well, now she's suspicious. Have a raised eyebrow, Merlin.]

That sounds shady.

[Action]

[destinedtobeunpopular]

[ Not blaming her. ]

Yeah, it is. An island and shady. The... leaders, or something, are called the deities.

[unflagging]

[Why so sneaky, kid? No, no, pay no attention to the crow swooping down to land nearby. Nope. Nothing to see here. Caw, caw.]

[split_the_world]

[Charlie's going to stop and watch the crow for a moment. That's cool, right? Her head tilts slightly, she readjusts the backpack on her shoulder and...

her stomach rumbles. Right. Food. She should probably get some soon. But the crow is fascinating. She waves, not really expecting any reaction in return and then continues walking down the street, checking over her shoulder on occasion to see if that crow is still there.]

[unflagging]

[Sure, it's cool. Caw, caw, caw. Crows are fascinating creatures, and very intelligent and--

--oh, she waved. That's cute.

Yeah, no, now it's on: and he follows. (These curses should come around more often. Kind of fun to wear the crow suit again.)]

[split_the_world]

[They are. Charlie kinda likes them. And one glance over her shoulder later and...oh.

What.]

I don't have any food.

[Because the crow'd totally understand that.]

[unflagging]

[Funnily enough, he does totally understand that. See that intelligent gleam in his eyes? Or is that just something more like laughter gleaming there? Or is it just an illusion?

It's tough to say.

He looks at her... ... ... ...and then hops a bit closer, untroubled.]

action

[oceantrauma]

[First chance he had, Ken sneaked out the house as soon as someone else left, taking advantage of the momentarily open door.]

[He wandered around, aimlessly, until he noticed Charlie. Well, noticed a little girl that registered in his mind as familiar. It took a while for him to realize just how it was, but once he did, he approached.]

Charlie...? [Yes, a talking, fluffy cat.]

Re: action

[split_the_world]

[Ta-ta-talking cat. Why is there a talking cat? Is this a Shop trick? What did they give her? She crouches, almost ducking slightly because animals don't talk and that was weird.

But the animal knew her name. So..]

Yeah? Hi, kitty. Why are you talking?

action

[oceantrauma]

Because I'm usually a person. But right now I'm a cat. [He stops to lick a paw.]

Does anyone else know where you are?

Re: action

[split_the_world]

I sure hope not. [Charlie doesn't want to be found. She has to keep going. It's just her now and--]

How did you know my name?

action

[oceantrauma]

Why not? There are some nice people here that might be concerned about you.

We do know each other, you might just not remember right now.

Action

[deadmanbusiness]

[It seems like they've been destined to kind of meet during curses? Theo's briefly above ground, we wouldn't say stalking about but certainly walking. He's got a zombie shambling after him carrying some packages. It's not in too bad of condition and it's not moaning about for brains... which is a good thing right?

When he spots the girl, he frowns a bit and then, after waving the zombie to stay put, wanders over.]

Hey. Are you all right? You look lost.

[He may be evil..ish right now, but that doesn't mean he can't be worried about kids. Look at his dad.]

Re: Action

[split_the_world]

[Charlie looks from Theo to the zombie to Theo again, just wary but not overly unnerved. Probably a bonus.]

Is your friend okay? He looks sick.

[She's not answering his question just yet. She's not sure she should. She's more concerned with Theo's friend.]

Re: Action

[deadmanbusiness]

[Friend? Oh. He glances over his shoulder. The thing is just standing there. Looks good to him.]

Yeah, it is.

[It's sweet of her to be concerned.]

Re: Action

[split_the_world]

'It'?

[What? People aren't 'its'.]

I'm not lost. Someone told me I was in a place called the City.

Re: Action

[deadmanbusiness]

It's a zombie. What else is it supposed to be?

[Zombies are. Possibly people on a bad day.]

Rather lousy name for it, isn't it? So... mundane for a place like this.

[ Action ]

[bettercallit]

[ Fury is pulling Clint along, or trying to at the very least, but as he spots the young girl, she's unmistakably familiar. He does what he does best, observes, vision good enough from a distance to find the time to figure it out until he reaches her coming the other way. ]

Did wonder where the coffee was. You okay, kid?

Re: [ Action ]

[split_the_world]

[Charlie stops just short of Barton, looking at him with some confusion.]

What do I have to do with the coffee? I didn't take any.

[ Action ]

[bettercallit]

No one said you did. [ He looks amused, but he keeps a safe distance, knows enough to know crowding is probably a bad thing. ]

You know what's going on?

Re: [ Action ]

[split_the_world]

[She's still watching warily. He's nice so far, but Charlie is nothing if not cautious.]

No. I woke up in a weird City. That's all I know.

[ Action ]

[bettercallit]

Well, you're usually taller, but you know the City. You're safe here.