01 | voice

[asdamaged]

[At first you hear the sounds typical of the home. There's pots clinking together, cartoons, and children. Out of all this a female voice raises above the rest that maysound familiar to the people of the community. If not, well enjoy the sound of a frazzled single mother talking to her children.]

Cody, turn the TV off. It's time for dinner. [The sound of footsteps and a weary sigh.] Astor, it's time to put the notebook away. You can-

[Silence before quietly and carefully,] You can. [Whatever she sees makes her quiet again before the sound of a chair being pulled can be heard.]

Astor get away from that! Oh my God... is it still writing? 
 

[ooc; Rita finally discovered that "game" she thinks Astor has been playing is a little too real for her taste.]

Comments

[action]

[determines]

I told you Mom, it's the community.

[action]

[asdamaged]

The community.

[She's glancing between the notebook and Astor. For the first time it looks like Rita is actually taking her seriously about this.]

Who have you been talking to?

[action]

[determines]

The people there. They helped me with my seven times tables.

[action]

[asdamaged]

They did. [She's uneasy about this. :(] What are their names?

[action]

[determines]

I don't know everyone, but there's Woody, and Light, and Elektra, and Kefka, and York...

[action]

[asdamaged]

Okay. [She's mentally noting all these names for later.]

And they just helped you with the time tables? Nothing else?

[action]

[determines]

York and Kefka are policemen. They helped me with Dad.

[action]

[asdamaged]

[She glances away.] How did they do that?

[action]

[determines]

They just told me what to do when I couldn't call 911 because it wasn't an emergency. So did Light, because his dad's a policeman.

[action]

[asdamaged]

And what was that exactly?

[action]

[determines]

They said to ask your friends to keep an eye on you, and to make sure Cody remembered Dexter's phone number in case there was an emergency.

[action]

[asdamaged]

[Relieved. She's running stranger danger scenarios in her head, okay?]

That's good advice.

[action]

[determines]

I told you the community was real.

[action]

[asdamaged]

I know, Sweetie. I should have listened to you. [It made sense at the time she'd turn to fantasy to deal with her stable house life suddenly being not so stable again.]

[action]

[determines]

Can I keep looking at it?

[action]

[asdamaged]

If you promise to be careful and tell me about everyone you talk to.

[action]

[determines]

You can talk to them too.

[action]

[asdamaged]

What makes you think that?

[action]

[determines]

You can keep using the community now. It let you see it.

[action]

[asdamaged]

So I should write in the journal too?

[action]

[determines]

If it lets you.

[action]

[asdamaged]

How else could I do it?

[action]

[determines]

I don't know.

[action]

[asdamaged]

I'll look later. [She forces a smile.] How about some dinner for now?

[action]

[determines]

Okay.

[asdamaged]

[Let's assume a nice dinner went here?]

[determines]

[yes!]

[ voice ]

[spiritually]

It'll go away if you talk to it for a bit.

[ voice ]

[asdamaged]

... Hello?

[ voice ]

[spiritually]

Hi... [ He pauses. askghaskl he's never really.. been the one to introduce someone to this place before. ]

It's.. this is the community, so most of us don't really have a choice but to join in. I'm Natsume.

[ voice ]

[asdamaged]

I'm Rita. [This is kind of surreal.] My daughter told me a little about this before.

[ voice ]

[spiritually]

I don't think I've met your daughter... [ He's bad with people in general kids. He avoids them most of the time. Well, until recently. ] Welcome, though. It's.. This place is pretty nice. Even the few downsides are still.. It's a nice place.

[ voice ]

[asdamaged]

Thank you. Her name is Astor. [A beat.] What downsides are there?

[ voice ]

[spiritually]

Uh.. They're called viruses, but they don't make you sick or anything. They just do weird things. I don't think anyone's ever gotten hurt from them.

[ voice ]

[asdamaged]

As long as no one gets hurt I guess that's okay.