User: #dc143c

[lonered]

[USER: #DC143C]

Hey. Uh. It's Keith.

Something just happened to me, and I don't know if it's happened to anyone else.

I went home. I went home for months. But I'm also not sure I even really left? I've been gone... quiznak, a few days here? Maybe? It's confusing but I swear it's real. I remember all of it.

And more than that, I've got the injuries to back it up. You can't fake a fighter crash injuries under battle wounds just like that. And older scars I didn't have before I...

[He's fine. But the impressively colorful display of bruises and minor cuts that cover most of his body is pretty distinct at the moment, and not something he thinks could come from much besides exactly what he remembers happening. It all matches up perfectly.]

Anyway. I woke up in the woods. I don't remember going out there, but I must have. And someone or something stole my shoes, so that's... also awesome.

Has this happened to anyone else? What the hell is going on?

Oh.

Turns out I'm alive after all, by the way, if anyone was wondering. Back home, I mean.

And I have a mother.

[It has been... a really really weird day. He needs a hug. And to beat the crap out of something, but there's no training deck here so that's unfortunate.]

Comments

[theshowsover]

It's fine. They're all spare pairs.

[He stands quietly while Keith sifts through the shoes, up until he muses on what happened to his own. Akira puts a hand to his chin in thought.]

...Maybe they were stolen.

[lonered]

They had to have been stolen. Both of them are missing. I wouldn't have taken them off on purpose i don't think.

Just the forest messing with me for fun.

[After messing with his head and time and everything else. It seems like insult to injury.]

[theshowsover]

The forest does that.

[And he wonders why the forest does that. It'd be one thing if it were just the things within the forest, but when he thinks about the mirrors, he thinks that sometimes it is, really, the forest itself.]

Were you in the forest, before you went home?

[lonered]

I... I'm not sure. I don't remember what I was doing. It's a weird blur..

[He doesn't remember planning on going into the forest. Generally he's been pretty good about using the buddy system when venturing out there because things go bad quickly.]

That's where I woke up when I wound up back here though.

[theshowsover]

[Even more mysteries to solve, every day... It's as Alice said, curiouser and curiouser.]

...I wonder if this could happen to anyone, at any time.

[And how are they supposed to keep up with everyone, if that can happen?]

[lonered]

I think we have to consider it's possible.

[If it happened to one person, then it could happen to any of them. At least, aside from being confused and annoyed and having sore feet, Keith isn't suffering any lasting consequences of the weird return trip home.]

More reason to keep track of everyone as best we can.

[theshowsover]

Do we even have a complete list...?

[He knows it's been mentioned a few times, but he's not sure they ever actually made one. The town is small, he knows, but there's still several people to keep up with. And given this group's tendency to wander in the woods (present company included), it could be easy for someone to go missing.]

[lonered]

Not yet, no. I started putting one together, and was thinking about treating it like a census, like Dave mentioned. But then the shadows happened. And then I this going home... thing.

[But.] Trying to put together a directory of everyone seems like a useful thing though, with all the weird things that keep happening.

[theshowsover]

[He nods in understanding. It's hardly Keith's fault that things like that happened and interrupted their work. It's hard to keep focused on a census when shadows are trying to wreck your life and relationships.]

We could set something up, on the forum. [Probably the easiest way.]

[lonered]

Yeah. That's what I was thinking. Asking people to opt into it, and then organizing it so people can search through it to find.

And more than that, we can keep track of who is here. And who has disappeared.

[Because yeah. that is now a thing they need to consider.]

[theshowsover]

Right. Or if someone goes missing in the forest. [Since that is a thing that has more or less happened to him.]

But you shouldn't worry about that right now. [He seems to remember himself after that, leaning back some.] You just got back.

[lonered]

Also important. Because who knows what's waiting out there. I don't think we've seen the extent of what might be hiding in the woods yet.

[Pleasant thought, isn't it? Keith is good at those.]

Yeah, but I should get back into the swing of things. Sitting around and being useless won't help me or anyone.

[theshowsover]

[They really don't know all that's in the forest. More exploration might be good, but also dangerous. Maybe the requests will help them clear out some of the more dangerous stuff...

Anyway. He seems understanding of Keith's sentiment.]

Kind of a workaholic, huh? [It's not like Akira is much better, really.]