[ .. the 'slow going' is indeed the impression Ange is getting as she stares at the collection of flyers the other seems to have gathered. She was hoping that his notice meant that he could actually do something about the things that are lost, but.. the more she looks at the current situation here, the more she feels like Cloud probably is just as lost as the rest of them in this regard.
It's why the girl hesitates to speak for a moment. Would it really matter whether or not she mentions this if he's already slammed with work as-is? Especially when Ange feels like she's going to sound absolutely insane for what she wants to say here.
After that slight pause of hesitation she does slowly speak up though. ]
I need you to not think I'm crazy.
[ Prefacing this! She knows what it sounds like! ]
But I pass by a tree on my way to school. Every single day. But this morning it just.. wasn't there anymore.
[ Well, that's a way to start a conversation. Cloud looks up at her from the various posters and flyers, squinting in suspicion as she first starts with that, but looking down at the various posters. A whole tree going missing is weird but... is it really that weird, in the grand scheme. ]
A tree...?
[ To Cloud's credit, despite some of the suspicion he's getting punked, he takes a breath and takes a seat at the table, motioning for Ange to sit as well. He folds his arms, looking back down at the work he's piled up before speaking up, as if the answer to their dilemma will suddenly take shape before them if he glares at it hard enough. ]
How big was it? Where was it in town? Do you remember? We've been having some weird weather, too, so are you sure it didn't get taken down by strong winds?
[ He tries to make sure the questions are as neutral as he can muster. He's sure Ange doesn't want to be questioning reality any more than he already might be. But he has to eliminate the usual suspects before he can admit to himself something is far more wrong than it appears. ]
[ She shakes her head at the same time as she's moving to sit down. ]
No, that couldn't be it.
[ Even though it definitely sounds like a prank - what sort of person would come in with a story like this and not mean it as a prank, really, especially if they're a teenager on top of it - Ange sounds so serious about all of it. If anything, there's a weird sort of little frown on her face, like the girl is thinking about all of this herself even as she's trying to explain it. ]
If it was just cut down or fell over, there would be traces of that, right? Especially since it was a huge tree. You know, it's the one next to that corner store near the high school. But instead of there being a stump left, or broken up earth, there's.. nothing. Just an empty spot with grass. [ A fact that was just weird enough that even Ange couldn't fall back on the other theories she's had about stuff disappearing around town, like the idea that it was just some dumb people pranking everyone by stealing random stuff. ]
[ Cloud has his arms folded and his eyes closed as Ange works it through. She's exactly right, of course — he can see the tree in his mind's eye, it was a common spot for those still in high school to congregate after school. Big enough to provide plenty of shade. There should be broken earth or a stump left if it was stolen. ]
[ It was proof things were getting weirder. ]
...I believe you.
[ He looks through some of the other flyers and notes he's collected on things going missing. He pulls up a notebook to write things down. ]
Though... I think I might be out of my depth looking for a tree. I wouldn't even know where to start.
[ His head reaches up to the back of his blonde, spiky hair, ruffling it as he tousles his hair is frustration. ] Just another thing gone missing lately that doesn't make sense...
[ Ange glances at all the notes and flyers spread out across the table, indicating that she's talking about them. She can see that he's dealing with a lot at once because of it - and that hardly any of it makes sense, if her own tree case is anything to go by - so she's definitely not going to insist on him solving hers first.
It's likely that all of this is connected somehow, after all, if it's happening in such large numbers. Ange is too smart of a girl to not notice that.
She seems a little less frustrated about it than him, but her eyebrows still at least knit together into a thoughtful frown. ]
At that rate, it kind of feels like the entire town might disappear. Like everything here is leaving, one by one. [ A statement that usually would have sounded ridiculous, even to her.
But with what's going on? It's so strange that it makes even the more extreme scenarios seem less ridiculous than they usually would. ]
You're not the first person to tell me that. That it feels like the whole town might vanish right under our feet.
[ Earlier in the month, Cloud might have written it off as craziness. He'd had the same thought, but even then, it seemed outlandish, but now?
He motions to the flyers. ]
This is just the stuff people have noticed have gone missing. Some of it is little things. Some of it's big. Lot of it doesn't make any sense - trees, business signs... even if there was a culprit, stuff like that going missing wouldn't make any sense — there's no money in it, for one. For another...
[ He sighs, finding his composure again, looking down as he places his hands on his hips. ] In all the cases, it doesn't feel like there's any evidence. Nothing that suggests someone intentionally removed something. Just that it... vanished into thin air. Like magic.
[ HE slowly stands up, as if it all is too much for him to take in sitting down, pacing back and forth in front of the flyers. ] But I don't really get how it could happen. Even magic should leave some trace...right?
[ Well, at least he isn't telling her that she's crazy for what she's saying. At least that's something. It helps make her feel a little bit less ridiculous while talking about stuff that feels entirely ridiculous in theory. ]
Beats me. I mean..
[ She hums, frowning a little. ]
It's not like magic really.. exists, right? [ Yet she almost sounds uncertain as she says that now. Even the gaze she shoots in his direction is uncertain.
It's hard to imagine what else could make everything vanish out of the blue. It's too thorough and elaborate for a prank at this point. ]
[ When she locks eyes with him, his blue-green eyes staring back, it's as if something hits the brakes on his own train of thought. Does magic exist? He kind of took it as a certainty that it had, but— ]
I... I don't know, actually. I'm not sure why I said that.
[ He frowns. That was the other mystery at play. Visions of something that was clearly another life — real or imagined, it was hard to say. Was it starting to bleed through? Is that why he thought magic existed? ]
For some reason I just assumed magic... had to exist. And now I'm not sure why. But if you could explain it with magic, you could explain everything with magic, I guess... [ He sounds more like he's trying to talk himself out of believing magic exists, now. ]
[ The girl seems a little surprised to have the question thrown back at her. Especially when instinct tells her that it's a ridiculous idea. Who would ever ask another person if they've seen magic, unless they meant it in the context of a magic show?
And it's clear that's not the sort of meaning Cloud is going for right now.
She shifts, unsure of why the question makes her feel so uncomfortable. ]
Of course not. You can't see something that doesn't exist.
[ It should be that simple.
And yet-- why does it keep nagging at her brain? ]
Some people around town have talked about seeing strange things though. Vision, almost. I wouldn't count that as magic though, it sounds more like everyone is hallucinating for some reason. [ But there's reasons for hallucinations. Drugs. Medical stuff.
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expiationlogs2024-03-09 08:37 am
iv
It's why the girl hesitates to speak for a moment. Would it really matter whether or not she mentions this if he's already slammed with work as-is? Especially when Ange feels like she's going to sound absolutely insane for what she wants to say here.
After that slight pause of hesitation she does slowly speak up though. ]
I need you to not think I'm crazy.
[ Prefacing this! She knows what it sounds like! ]
But I pass by a tree on my way to school. Every single day. But this morning it just.. wasn't there anymore.
no subject
A tree...?
[ To Cloud's credit, despite some of the suspicion he's getting punked, he takes a breath and takes a seat at the table, motioning for Ange to sit as well. He folds his arms, looking back down at the work he's piled up before speaking up, as if the answer to their dilemma will suddenly take shape before them if he glares at it hard enough. ]
How big was it? Where was it in town? Do you remember? We've been having some weird weather, too, so are you sure it didn't get taken down by strong winds?
[ He tries to make sure the questions are as neutral as he can muster. He's sure Ange doesn't want to be questioning reality any more than he already might be. But he has to eliminate the usual suspects before he can admit to himself something is far more wrong than it appears. ]
no subject
No, that couldn't be it.
[ Even though it definitely sounds like a prank - what sort of person would come in with a story like this and not mean it as a prank, really, especially if they're a teenager on top of it - Ange sounds so serious about all of it. If anything, there's a weird sort of little frown on her face, like the girl is thinking about all of this herself even as she's trying to explain it. ]
If it was just cut down or fell over, there would be traces of that, right? Especially since it was a huge tree. You know, it's the one next to that corner store near the high school. But instead of there being a stump left, or broken up earth, there's.. nothing. Just an empty spot with grass. [ A fact that was just weird enough that even Ange couldn't fall back on the other theories she's had about stuff disappearing around town, like the idea that it was just some dumb people pranking everyone by stealing random stuff. ]
no subject
[ It was proof things were getting weirder. ]
...I believe you.
[ He looks through some of the other flyers and notes he's collected on things going missing. He pulls up a notebook to write things down. ]
Though... I think I might be out of my depth looking for a tree. I wouldn't even know where to start.
[ His head reaches up to the back of his blonde, spiky hair, ruffling it as he tousles his hair is frustration. ] Just another thing gone missing lately that doesn't make sense...
no subject
[ Ange glances at all the notes and flyers spread out across the table, indicating that she's talking about them. She can see that he's dealing with a lot at once because of it - and that hardly any of it makes sense, if her own tree case is anything to go by - so she's definitely not going to insist on him solving hers first.
It's likely that all of this is connected somehow, after all, if it's happening in such large numbers. Ange is too smart of a girl to not notice that.
She seems a little less frustrated about it than him, but her eyebrows still at least knit together into a thoughtful frown. ]
At that rate, it kind of feels like the entire town might disappear. Like everything here is leaving, one by one. [ A statement that usually would have sounded ridiculous, even to her.
But with what's going on? It's so strange that it makes even the more extreme scenarios seem less ridiculous than they usually would. ]
no subject
[ Earlier in the month, Cloud might have written it off as craziness. He'd had the same thought, but even then, it seemed outlandish, but now?
He motions to the flyers. ]
This is just the stuff people have noticed have gone missing. Some of it is little things. Some of it's big. Lot of it doesn't make any sense - trees, business signs... even if there was a culprit, stuff like that going missing wouldn't make any sense — there's no money in it, for one. For another...
[ He sighs, finding his composure again, looking down as he places his hands on his hips. ] In all the cases, it doesn't feel like there's any evidence. Nothing that suggests someone intentionally removed something. Just that it... vanished into thin air. Like magic.
[ HE slowly stands up, as if it all is too much for him to take in sitting down, pacing back and forth in front of the flyers. ] But I don't really get how it could happen. Even magic should leave some trace...right?
no subject
Beats me. I mean..
[ She hums, frowning a little. ]
It's not like magic really.. exists, right? [ Yet she almost sounds uncertain as she says that now. Even the gaze she shoots in his direction is uncertain.
It's hard to imagine what else could make everything vanish out of the blue. It's too thorough and elaborate for a prank at this point. ]
no subject
I... I don't know, actually. I'm not sure why I said that.
[ He frowns. That was the other mystery at play. Visions of something that was clearly another life — real or imagined, it was hard to say. Was it starting to bleed through? Is that why he thought magic existed? ]
For some reason I just assumed magic... had to exist. And now I'm not sure why. But if you could explain it with magic, you could explain everything with magic, I guess... [ He sounds more like he's trying to talk himself out of believing magic exists, now. ]
You've never seen magic, have you?
no subject
[ The girl seems a little surprised to have the question thrown back at her. Especially when instinct tells her that it's a ridiculous idea. Who would ever ask another person if they've seen magic, unless they meant it in the context of a magic show?
And it's clear that's not the sort of meaning Cloud is going for right now.
She shifts, unsure of why the question makes her feel so uncomfortable. ]
Of course not. You can't see something that doesn't exist.
[ It should be that simple.
And yet-- why does it keep nagging at her brain? ]
Some people around town have talked about seeing strange things though. Vision, almost. I wouldn't count that as magic though, it sounds more like everyone is hallucinating for some reason. [ But there's reasons for hallucinations. Drugs. Medical stuff.
Definitely not magic, right? ]