thoughtformed | The Mother of All Logs

[Walking down main street, Koizumi was looking very distracted and pensive. What's more, somewhere along the way he had amassed an impressive number of lacerations and bruises, a particularly nasty cut running the length of his left cheek. He ignored them, though, deep in thought and seeming to study only the ground beneath him.

That was how it was that he quite literally ran into Anita under a small awning where the first few leave of a sprig of mistletoe began to unfurl themselves over their heads.]

Hey, watch it!

[It was an impulse to protest upon collision, even though it took two to have such a run-in. Anita herself had been rather distracted, too absorbed in her own thoughts to pay much attention to where she was going. In her defense, it had been a heavy week. Widespread memory loss, which had been supremely irritating, and now all of this kissing business.

She steadied herself, shaking her head.]

Sorry, it's my fault, too. You all right?

[By now, she should have been on the alert for ninja sprigs of mistletoe. Rather than look up for any sign of the offending weed, however, she reached out to uncharacteristically touch her fingers to the stranger's shoulder, softening.]

Looks like there's no harm done.

Ah, my apologies! I should have been paying more attention!

[He looked uncharacteristically startled by their sudden run in. It had been a tough week for both of them; if he had lost his memories for much longer, it could have literally meant the end of the world, and this weighed upon his.]

Yes, I am just fine, thank you. And you?

[He must have been very out of it to not recognize the mistletoe's initial effects, but at her touch he simply placed his own hand atop hers, giving her a broad smile as he unconsciously took a step towards her.]

[She smiled warmly, almost coyly, a smile she never would have dared to offer a stranger under normal circumstances.]

Oh, I've had worse days.

[And then, as though it were the most natural thing in the world, she closed the distance between them and leaned in to press her lips against his, as though they had done it a thousand times before and it was all but second nature.]

[He stepped into the kiss, returning it softly and comfortably but with passion. One arm naturally found her cheek, while the other worked its way around her back to draw her closer. He felt an intense closeness to her, a familiarity that was beyond anything rational.

Though some portion of his mind noted what was happening to them, he ignored it. He'd been through enough in the past few days to be able to just accept what life threw his way and just go with it. That's what he was good at anyway - to be honest, even the portion of him that realized what was happening wasn't particularly bothered by it.]

[She only allowed the kiss to break when she felt the need to resurface for air, and even then, she allowed one hand to remain on his shoulder, the other dropping to rest against his waist.

Wait, did she even know his name?

She felt her cheeks flush slightly. Any other day, she would have jumped back and put as much space between them as possible. At the moment, she was quite comfortable where she was.]

And the day continues to improve.

[Koizumi takes in a slightly shuddering breath when they surface for air, his head clearer now that the impulse the mistletoe inspired has been satiated. He grip loosens in case she wants to pull away, but he makes no move to do so himself.

He glances above them and, yes, of course, there is a spring of mistletoe there. He ducks his head and chuckles a little under his breath about the absurdity of the whole situation, before smiling back up at her, this time of his own volition.]

I can certainly say you have brightened my day considerably.

Edited 2012-12-18 03:54 (UTC)

[She smiles cheekily in reply, making no move to pull away, at least for the time being. She, too, glances up to see the mistletoe, but it's effects haven't begun to wear off quite yet. She's perfectly happy to remain as they are.]

Do I get a name to go with that kiss, hot shot?

[Because it's extremely normal to kiss people without even knowing their names.]

[He smiles more deeply at that, his hand curling around a lock of her hair and brushing it out of her face.]

Itsuki Koizumi. And yours?

[The effects continued to fade, for him, but pushing her away would only make things awkward for them later - especially if she was still affected - and would contribute to making this a bad experience on both sides. If they didn't have a choice in the matter, they might as enjoy themselves, right? Besides, even beyond the effects of the mistletoe, this was... nice. He hoped they'd be on good terms, after this was over.]

[She doesn't stop him from brushing her hair back, and while she's beginning to feel distinctly less warm and fuzzy, her smile remains for the time being.]

Anita Blake.

[That warmth is receding more quickly now, and though she looks puzzled over it, she pulls away from him gently, not sure she wants to risk offending him just yet.]

That... is not the first time this has happened. Today, even.

A pleasure to meet you then, Anita Blake.

[Seeing her attempting to pull away, he gently disentangles his arms, taking half a step back to put a decent amount of space between them, but not enough to make it seem as if he were in any hurry to get away.]

No, for me either. Although to be honest, compared to the other things this island has sprung on us, this one is not all that unpleasant.

I don't believe I've seen you around before. You are one of the 'fictionals', like me, correct?

It's definitely not as bad as memory loss, but I'm not a big fan of having my free will or my judgement impeded.

[She glares, briefly, at the sprig of mistletoe over them. It could have been worse, that was true. None of her encounters so far had been anything beyond kissing, which was something she was incredibly grateful for, and none had been particularly volatile.

She sighs.]

I'm sorry. I don't mean to offend, or anything. I'm just not normally so--

[Affectionate?]

Touchy-feely. You've got it, though. At least, that's what the people in charge tell me.

[Some days she's less convinced than others.]

Ah, of course. Nobody enjoys losing their free will. But as it's not pirates or a meteor this time, I'm willing to say there's no harm done and leave it at that.

[He gestures animatedly as he speaks, and remains seemingly cheerful, giving her an inscrutable smile.]

And I take no offense. I myself would generally try to learn a girl's name before kissing her.

[His smile somehow manages to looked slightly amused and yet serious at the same time.]

[She derails things for a moment to look at him rather dubiously.]

There were pirates?

[Well, at least he's in good spirits. This is favorable to the stand-off she and Loki had after their... encounter. She smiles grimly, trying to take this all in stride.]

Well, that's very gentlemanly of you. Didn't know there were any of those left.

Well... not so much 'there were pirates' as 'we were pirates'. And at some time during the 1700s and 1800s, I believe. I was a completely different person, yet the things I did and thought made complete sense to me at the time. It was very disconcerting, as many of the things I did or considered were... I think I'll leave it at 'alarming.' [Remembering that you casually considered murder as a viable options, as well as just how good you were at it, was not an easy thing to fathom.]

What's more, I still have... memories of having memories, I suppose, of things I'd done years before in that life. Things that never really happened, at least not in this reality. Many of them things I'd really prefer not to remember.

[He looks distinctly uncomfortable thinking about it, and the one thing that is probably easiest to notice about Koizumi is that he does not get uncomfortable about things.

He smiles at her comment, however, both amused at it and relieved at the change in subject.]

Well, we all come from very different places. There must be at least one of us left in some reality or another.

[She shifts uncomfortably as she listens, folding her arms over her chest. She's not a fan of what she's hearing. Sure, some of it might be harmless shenanigans, but even the slightest hint of having her memories rewritten or losing any semblance of control just hits way too close to home for her.]

It sounds like living on New Moore is a real treat. All kinds of ways for them to screw with us.

[She, too, is relieved at the change of subject, and smirks in reply.]

That's not a bad way to spin things.

[He grins at her roguishly. As first meetings go, making out in the street goes a long way toward not being terribly shy or reserved around each other. They had quite soundly traversed that territory.]

I try to look on the bright and mildly amusing side. The universe I came from was nearly as strange as this one, but with a semblance of normalcy, all the strange things hidden. There were times when the fate of that reality depended partially on my apparent cheerfulness in dire and depressing circumstances. I suppose I have simply become rather practiced at it.

If I might ask, what was the world you came from like?

[She smiles grimly.]

That depends on who you ask. Some people manage to cling to normalcy, but as a whole, my world is pretty deadly, if you're not careful. People like to romanticize the monsters in it. Get themselves killed because they don't think anyone with nice manners or a well-cut jaw could possibly be bad, even if they don't have a pulse.

Undead? [Koizumi looks interested.]

Perhaps the wave of undead that hit the island during our memory loss was somehow from your world, then. Do you know anything about how they got here?

[His smile turns thoughtful.] It would be nice if we knew enough to prevent that from happening in the future, especially during crises this that where people may not know how to respond.

[She clears her throat briefly.]

Yeah, I might know a little bit about that, though I didn't at the time. I'm glad there weren't too many of them. I don't think anyone was seriously injured, though I got bitten, once.

[She grimaces.]

There shouldn't be another outbreak like that in the future. I'll find a way to safeguard against it.

[Koizumi seems to understand more than is explicitly stated, there.]

I see. Well, if you ever require assistance in that, let me know. I would be more than glad to help any way I can. [He hadn't been bitten, but he had not enjoyed fighting them, especially when all he had to defend himself was a bow.

Then he looks a little diffident.]

The memory loss made me realize that there are safeguards I need to put into place as well, for everyone's sake.

[She can't complain about him not having any further questions. He may not have asked for further explanation, but she's not exactly secretive about her powers. Might as well get it out there.]

I'm an animator. If I don't use my powers regularly, they spill over. Since I didn't remember anything about that, I'm pretty sure that's what happened. For what it's worth, I'm sorry. People getting hurt is the last thing I would have wanted.

[She eyes him for a moment, then nods.]

It seems to be that way for more than a few people here. None of us are exactly poster-kids for normal.

[He nods as if confirming a suspicion of his, and he does not look particularly surprised at the revelation. On the other hand, his demeanor towards her has not appeared to change either, in light of this knowledge.

He smiles understandingly at her.]

I did not hear of anybody getting hurt from the zombies, besides the bite you received. I fought them a few times, but by virtue of having extraordinary companions, came out no worse for wear.

[He was a little more secretive about his powers, though only because the safety of reality depended on keeping the information he knew from one particular high school girl.]

Indeed we are not. [He pauses for a moment, but decides it can't hurt as long as he doesn't get into specifics, and she was open with him.]

I do understand your predicament, though. Though I cannot tell you the source, there are... pocket realities created around here that, as they expand, threaten to destroy and replace this one. I have been granted the power to enter these realities and defeat the creatures within, thus halting this expansion. When I had amnesia... I didn't know about any of it. The spaces, the creatures, or my powers.

[He looks a little self-recriminating, a large display of emotion for him.] It was a stupid oversight on my part that could have literally caused the destruction of the world.

[She listens patiently, and she doesn't question him -- it's obvious enough to her by now that they're all different, as are their worlds of origin, however fictitious they may or may not be. She knows her own world sounds crazy to other people. She's willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.]

It looks like we both have to start taking some precautions, especially if memory loss or tampering is something that happens often around here. Which it seems to be.

[He looks back up at her, giving her a small smile once again.]

Indeed. Perhaps a programmed message on our phones or computers - if we don't type in a codeword the night before, it plays a video we record debriefing us about the situation.

[He pauses then, considering.]

Then again, there were no computers around when, for example, we were pirates for a time. It was only chance there was no closed space then to grow and threaten us before I was myself again.

I suppose part of the issue is we have no way of predicting what the island might do - so it's impossible to know what to prepare for.

I'm gonna go with after, then. So this is not a first for either of them

Sounds like a plan!

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