Welcome

[adaptiveimmunities]

You awake on the grass. When you open your eyes, you see that you in the Wood. It is calm here. Quiet. There are no birds singing, nor any other sight or sound of animal life. The sky between the branches is an eternal twilight that lightens and darkens without ever becoming true day and night. Interspersed between the trees are the Pools. Each Pool is only a foot deep at most--enough to splash in, but certainly not deep enough to swim or drown. They are oddly uniform, aside from the occasional Pool here and there that has inexplicably dried out.

As you look around, you notice that a short distance away is what appears to be the remains of a small camp. When you approach, you can see that there are a number of tents that seem to be in excellent condition, and in the middle, a campfire circle with plenty of food supplies around it.

The food replenishes itself when taken.

The fresh water never runs dry.

The sleeping bags and mats within the tents are oddly comfortable and restful.

Welcome to the Wood Between the Worlds.

Comments

Georgia Mason

[choosetruth]

Georgia had been talking with Shaun about running off to Canada. She supposes, in a way, that means she was willing to run off and live far closer to nature than she'd ever been tempted towards before. It might have looked a lot like this, she thinks. She doesn't actually know much about Canadian flora.

But the big, important difference is that Canada would have Shaun, and Canada would be her choice. Not another in an endless parade of places she's waking up in with no memory of how she got there.

But fuck it. She's Georgia Goddamn Mason, or at least 97% of her. She shoves her sunglasses on and just like that, the fear and uncertainty are pushed down under righteous annoyance and intrepid curiosity. It'll have to do, until she can find a way home.

"I am going to write about this," she says, with the dire tone of someone threatening death to her enemies. She stalks towards the camp in the distance. If anyone's around, it seems likely they'll be there. It's a good place to start, at least.

Alex Claremont-Diaz

[bisexualdisaster]

Alex blinks his eyes open slowly, staring up at the sky.

He doesn't think he's fallen asleep outside since he was in high school and he could leave the house without a security guard. This is... extremely unexpected.

He sits up, looking around at the trees and not a single security guard in sight. How much did he drink? He doesn't think it was that much, and he's not hungover or anything. And if he was somehow blackout drunk, how was he stealthy enough to evade his security guards and get.... wherever here is?

Well, figuring out that is the first step. He stands, looks at one of the trees next to him, rolls his shoulders, and starts to climb. Maybe he'll be able to see a landmark of some sort.

[adaptiveimmunities]

Shaun is surprised to find himself waking up on some grass in the middle of the woods. He's surprised to be waking up at all, considering the fact the he's been mainlining coffee for days to reduce the amount of time he spends asleep. He'd figured he wasn't due for several more hours. Not to mention the fact that he's in some forest somewhere, rather than one of the steady stream of anonymous hotel rooms they've been staying in.

He pushes to his feet and looks around. "Hello? Steve? George? Anyone?"

[choosetruth]

When she hears that voice, she starts to run. "Shaun!"

There's an edge of desperation she still hasn't learned how to hide, and she gets winded faster than she means to. But she sees him, and she hurls herself into his arms.

It's reckless, maybe. There's still a part of her screaming that she needs a blood test. But she's already checked herself and she's not bleeding or showing any other signs of amplification, and Shaun's immune and she doesn't see any blood on him, and now that she knows exactly how much of the constant testing was bullshit, well, making sure she and Shaun are never parted again seems a little more urgent than taking a test to tell them what they already know. Neither of them are amplifying.

So she leans up and kisses him.

[adaptiveimmunities]

UHHH.

Shaun's eyes widen a bit in shock and he actually steps back in surprise. It's not that the gesture isn't welcome--George knows perfectly well that it is--but they have no idea where they are or who else could be here, and... This isn't exactly a private space, even if they do seem to be alone right now.

"Hi, George, it's nice to see you too?"

And the look in his eyes is pure "what the fuck???"

[choosetruth]

Now she looks confused too. Did she misread something? Because Shaun is generally pretty damn happy to kiss her. Is he injured? He's immune, but neither of them know if he's passed the immunity back to her and neither of them are eager for experimentation, so his blood is still dangerous.

"Are you hurt?"

There's something different about him. Something... softer. She frowns, watching him through her sunglasses.

[adaptiveimmunities]

He eyes her dubiously. "Come on. It takes a little more than a walk in the woods to be a problem for me. I'm fine. Are you?"

[choosetruth]

She frowns and tugs her sunglasses off. It's frustrating how they impede her vision now. Taking them off makes her feel less like herself, but she needs to be able to see.

She looks at Shaun through warm brown eyes. He definitely looks softer. There's something still unformed about him, lines and grey hairs that only came with the trauma of losing her that aren't there. He's younger.

"I'm... not sure."

[adaptiveimmunities]

His own eyes widen in shock. He hasn't seen the true color of George's eyes since they were kids. He reaches out to touch her face, fingers brushing gently over her cheekbones despite his previous words. "What happened to your eyes?"

[choosetruth]

She covers his hand with hers and shuts her eyes. He doesn't know? He looks younger than he should and he doesn't know about her eyes and while the explanation of "time travel" shouldn't be possible, it's very hard to ignore the evidence that something unusual is going on.

But then again, she's stuck in a forest filled with pools. So maybe she could have figured that out already.

"What year is it? What's the last thing we were doing before you came here?"

[adaptiveimmunities]

He gives her a confused look. "It's 2040 and you were there, George. You, me and Rick were videochatting with Mahir about what we found at the Rymans' ranch. I guess I fell asleep." He shrugs. It's not really that much of a surprise considering how ragged they've been running themselves, and hot fucking extra it's been since they made their discovery. He's probably more than overdue for passing out at a computer.

[choosetruth]

The Ryman's ranch. Frustratingly, the thought makes her eyes water. She hates that she can cry now. She hates how much about the past she hadn't been able to cry about in the past, and how hard it is to keep from crying now when she thinks about it.

She squeezes his hand again, then opens her eyes, meeting his with all the intensity of her old black-eyed gaze.

"You know how I feel about lying. I'm not going to keep anything from you. But Shaun... you're not going to like what I'm going to say next."

[adaptiveimmunities]

Between the expression on her face and her words, Shaun is the exact opposite of comforted. He hasn't seen George cry since they were little kids and she contracted retinal KA, a condition that she obviously does not currently have. He feels a cold chill go down his spine, but he's not going to hide from a truth that George already knows.

"Okay. Hit me."

[princebuttercup]

Henry jerks awake, propped upright... against a tree? Well, at least he won't have to worry about Philip taking him aside for a long chat about how he is Very Disappointed in him for falling asleep during an interminable meeting. He just needs to find out where he is and how to get back to the meeting he absolutely did not fall asleep during.

He wanders a little, investigating the pools. There's something familiar about them that he can't quite place, though he's sure he'll remember it if he stops trying to think so hard about it. Someplace he's been before? No, that's not right.

He hears a rustling from the trees and glances up. His jaw drops. "Oh my god. Alex. What the hell are you doing here?"

[bisexualdisaster]

Of course Henry's here. Why not? Things weren't crappy enough already. Alex rolls his eyes and shifts until he's sitting more comfortably on his branch. What is he doing here? What a stupid question. Like he'd have any more idea than Henry does.

"Finally being taller than you." He kicks his feet. "So this is what it feels like to look down on everyone else. I can see why you like it so much."

[princebuttercup]

"Ah yes, of course. I live to be superior." He rolls his eyes. "Get down from there. You're going to break your neck."

Because of course Alex is here and being his own obnoxious self.

"Where on earth is your security detail anyway?"

[bisexualdisaster]

"Cash is snorkeling in one of the pools," Alex says, tone deadpan. "Your PPOs aren't anywhere either."

And of course, Henry is trying to tell him what to do. Alex rolls his eyes. "You're not the prince of me. You can't tell me what to do. And this is barely even dangerous. Haven't you ever climbed a tree before?"

[princebuttercup]

"Ah yes. The barely knee-deep pools will hide your hulk of a security detail. Of course." Why does he bother? "And no, not since I was ten." He folds his arms across his chest, huffing a little. "Well? Can you see anything?"

[bisexualdisaster]

Of course not. Climbing trees, especially as an adult, is something people who like fun do. Which is to say, not stuffy princes. "You are literally the most boring person in existence. Here."

He wraps an arm around the trunk, holding fast, and reaches his hand down to offer it to Henry.

"Come up here and see for yourself."

[princebuttercup]

Henry gives a deep sigh, as though he is being extremely put-upon, and takes Alex's hand to help him scramble up onto the tree branch. The limited space on the branch forces them to sit pressed against each other, and Henry glances at Alex. "I assume that we'll need to climb higher if I want to see more than leaves and your face."

[bisexualdisaster]

Alex might have miscalculated.

It's... not comfortable being pressed up against Henry like this. The forest must be more humid than DC this time of year, of course, and with another person next to him--with any person--he's heating up. As always, Henry gets under his skin.

But like hell he's going to admit that.

"But Henry." Alex drapes an arm over Henry's shoulders and turns towards him, fluttering his eyelashes. "Why would you want to see more than my face? I guarantee it's prettier than anything you're gonna see up there."

[princebuttercup]

Henry shoves him, though not hard enough to do more than rock him on the branch. He doesn't actually want to push Alex out of the tree, even if it would be incredibly satisfying. It does have the unintended consequence of dislodging Alex's arm, though, which is more of a loss than Henry feels like admitting.

"You are the single most ridiculous person I have ever met in my life," he says, exasperated.

[bisexualdisaster]

Alex grins. A part of him wants to shove Henry back, to see if they can get into a real fight, see if it would be as good as the shove felt, but... they are in a tree. Alex can be reckless, sometimes, but he's not stupid and he doesn't actually want to fall. So he settles for just bumping his shoulder against Henry's.

"We call that a personality in America. Stick around, you might develop one." He glances up towards the higher branches of the tree. "Race you up. If you can manage without me holding your hand."

[choosetruth]

She bites her lips and tugs him down so they can sit, leaning against the tree. How does she even begin?

"The Ryman campaign." Her words are brisk and chopped. "You know by now that there's been sabotage, right? Eakly. The Ranch. We're being fucked with. By someone with access to live state Kellis-Amberlee and no qualms about weaponizing it."

[princebuttercup]

"Perish the thought," he mutters.

He glances up through the branches. "I am not racing you up this tree. I have no desire to explain to whoever turns up to find us that you broke your neck in some foolish competition. Besides." He smirks at him. "You are at a bit of a height disadvantage."

He moves to start climbing.