Your New Life

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Another New Life

You wake up to the sound of surf, much, much closer than you've ever heard it unless you moseyed down to Puffin Pier back in the old days. What old days...? Why, the days when you had a body, of course. The memories are probably coming back by now, jumbled along with everything else you lost. What a wake-up call.

But at least the ocean is real, unlike your dubiously fragmented remembrances. This little island out in the middle of nowhere sports a crude sign reading DUCK DAMNED ISLAND that seems like it's really railing against whatever fate you've been left to. There are little seashells and sparkling fragments amongst the sand to the left of your face. If you look further, to the left and right, it seems you're not the only one who's woken up here; it's considerably less cushy than your last wakeup, but maybe that's not a bad thing.

Here, you're free, albeit... kind of incorporeal, as you'll soon find out. The island is covered in pretty little trees that don't quite form a forest, bowed over the really beautiful sandy beach that is way prettier than the one on the mainland. One, slightly rickety treehouse -- bare of anything, because incorporeal ghosts don't need furniture, of course -- peeks out from between the leaves. This is, apparently, your home away from home now.

Finally, there's a small bay-like area on the island that leads you to a strange-looking storm drain, marked with a symbol that's not-quite-an-apple. Stepping in will wash you alllllll the way back up to Puffin Pier, right where the sewers normally let out.

Oh, and once you step onto the mainland? You're now a duck. What kind of quacking afterlife is this.

((OOC: the tldr; about death is here!))

Main NavWeek Two

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[driftedaway]

[ Thursday afternoon. Keito makes it a point to go back early and rest at the island. And not at the entrance sitting room like he did earlier in the week. Everyone seems settled enough after all? So he makes his way up to his usual haunt—the room at the very top of the treehouse.

After carrying in a few storybooks, a bunch of papers and some writing utensils, he gathers together some of the pillows and blankets to make a comfy nook of sorts near the window. He'll have to move down if someone wants to ask him something. But for now, he might as well rest while he can. Even dead, the lack of sleep feels like it's getting to him. Somehow. Or it's all in his mind. Maybe that's what this all is in the end.

If only this story in his hands was more interesting. His brain can't stop trailing back to their current situation. He's not even sure this counts as resting. Not that he knows what respite here really is.

If only, if only... ]

[aurevoirx2]

[ Sora had been in a melancholy mood after the letter (he still refuses to share it with others), but he's still determined to go into town later that night, which meant he had to rest. Of course, when he hears some shuffling above the room he had chosen, he goes to look.

Peeking his head in, he blinks. ] Keito-kun, you okay?

1/2

[driftedaway]

[ For a moment, Keito closes his eyes, wondering how to answer that. As if to buy time, he gently shuts the book he's reading and sets it aside. ]

...Just feeling tired.

[ Which is true and why he's here. But it wouldn't do to talk about tiredness now. Considering last week, he can guess why Sora's here. ]

But never mind that—

[driftedaway]

[ Luckily for him, he thought to bring paper and writing utensils, so an idea comes easily to mind. Especially since it's Sora he's talking to. ]

—Up for a game? I was thinking charades with drawing would be fun.

[aurevoirx2]

Sure, why not? We probably should take a break from those awful dice.

[ Is Keito-kun catering to him with a drawing game, though? He takes a seat next to him. ] You first, so you can show me what you have in mind.

[driftedaway]

[ His smile softens to something more natural. Good, this is fine. They need the downtime anyway. ]

I agree, those dice are cursed.

[ Using what they had on hand, Keito starts drawing this for the first prompt. ]

Ehehe, what do you think this is?

[aurevoirx2]

[ ? ]

No... strawberries in a basket?

Wait, no eggs. Oh, something like don't put all your eggs in one basket?

[driftedaway]

[ Keito meant for it to be easy, but part of him wishes it took a little longer for Sora to figure it out. Oh well, there's always next time. ]

Pinpon! You got it right—don't put all your eggs in one basket. And now it's your turn.

[ He claps before handing Sora some paper and the writing utensils he's been using. ]

[aurevoirx2]

[ He takes the pencil, and fights the urge to put it to his mouth to think. ]

Hmm... since we're going idioms...

[ Maybe he'll go easy with him too, since Keito-kun did for him. He presents him with this. ]

[driftedaway]

Hmm, something related to lips? Or mouth... [ He's not sure what to make of the background, but here goes. ]

Maybe a slip of the tongue (口が滑る)? Or cravings (口寂しい)?

[aurevoirx2]

Pinpon~ It's the latter.

[ literally: lonely mouth ]

[driftedaway]

Yay! [ But there's something else he wants to say too! ]

Ehh, wait, does that mean that background object is a bunch of mouths together? I thought it was a bush for a while.

[aurevoirx2]

Hmm I was thinking more... Like different organs? But that's also kind of... So... [ He's trying to spare you a little, Keito. ]

[driftedaway]

Ah, got it. [ Right, this is Sora. Feeling a little silly for asking, he picks up a pen and starts drawing again. ]

Hmm, a bunch of things together is... So maybe this. And this.

[ Time for another Japanese idiom! ]

And done! I think I veered off course from what I was thinking, but this should work!

[aurevoirx2]

[ Is he trying to get back at him by making this one hard? ]

Hmmmmm. Something about seeing a flower... Is it something to do with hanakotoba, I wonder... Something like, not seeing is a flower? Wait, no, it's kind of the opposite...

[driftedaway]

Oh, right, that could be seen like that... [ Oops, he didn't mean for it to be too ambiguous. ] It definitely involves flowers though!

[ He points upwards. ]

[aurevoirx2]

Something about it being high? [ thank you for the hint coin ] Then like, flower on a high peak?

[driftedaway]

Pinpon! You got the right answer! [ Celebratory claps! ]

I don't like this one much, but I thought it'd be easy to draw.

[aurevoirx2]

It's good though. It has a lot of elements to really make it dimensional.

[ Since they're talking about flowers... he steps it up a little. Well, it's still really easy, though. ]

Here.

[driftedaway]

Ehehe, thanks. [ Feels weird to hear that, but he's not going to complain. It was fun to draw even if the prompt wasn't actually up his alley. But anyway, onwards to the next drawing! ]

Whoa, how cute is that! [ His eyes sparkle at how adorable the whole drawing is. ] Dango over flowers!

[aurevoirx2]

See, I went easy~ Though, maybe too easy? [ It's hard to think of prompts though. ]

[driftedaway]

Maybe, but it is sure charming. [ If he still wrote his diaries, he'd love to place a sticker like that on the cover. ...Let's not get into that though! ]

Now that we've gone though a few, it does get pretty difficult figuring out what to draw without making it too incomprehensible. [ For him, it's easy to think of prompts at the drop of a hat. The problem is actually drawing them. ]

[aurevoirx2]

Maybe we could change it up like. We can draw something together?

Something like... we can start with something like this. [ He just puts a random stroke on the page. ]

[driftedaway]

Sounds good to me. [ He nods, picking up another pencil. ]

Okay, how about...this next? [ He's not sure how much Sora expected him to add, so hopefully it isn't too little. ]

[aurevoirx2]

Oh, that's cute. [ Unfortunately, he's here to make it a little uncute? ]