thirty-eighth.

[ice_echani]

I am awake. I know who I am and what I do here. I have found no trace of the hourglass or the collar that it was on.

Whoever or whatever is responsible for this incident, you will answer if I ever discover you.

Night, I feel I should thank you.

Stoneface, I must speak with you.

Has everyone else who was marked with the hourglass recovered?

Comments

QUICKLOG (Nearing noon of October 2nd)

[its-me-hooray.livejournal.com]

[He sat, back pressed to the cocoon behind him as he quietly strummed a few scales on his acoustic. It was nearing exactly twenty-four hours since the sandstorm began, the crystal cocoon formed... twenty-four hours since he transformed and stowed the cocoon in a safer place away from the elements and the occasional giant squirrel. Yellow eyes that remained vigilant, looking out for villains and natural predators now looked down at the guitar in his hands.

He played basic scales when he was worried. He was worried sick. What if she forgot everything? What if she got mad that he kept watch? What if she never woke up at all? Night wrinkled his nose and stopped playing. No. She'd be fine! Besides, what if she could hear and sense what he was doing right now with those Force senses?]

Ha-hah, yes, I should remain vigilant! I will play another song for you, Handmaiden! Here's one you haven't heard before. Music helps soothe the soul, and I hear it helps give people nice dreams!

[He straightened, smiled as big as he could, and started playing something new he'd learned. He continued speaking, as if she could hear.]

I don't know any lyrics- I was hoping you'd help with that sometime when you have the time- so you're going to have to bear with me. You're going to wake up so refreshed!

QUICKLOG

[ice_echani]

[Handmaiden opens her eyes and instantly regrets it. Without thinking she starts to yelp, and her mouth fills with sand--so now her eyes hurt AND she's swallowing particulate rock. This is not going well. Although it was perhaps foolish of her, considering a moment before the hourglass had wrapped her in a tiny sandstorm--

--that thought goes through her mind very quickly as she is suddenly lying in a heap of sand. Keeping her stinging eyes shut, she sits up and coughs out the sand she was in the middle of swallowing as she finally registers the plunking of Night's guitar. And she was lying down; she'd been standing when the sandstorm hit. Had she blacked out?

She knows who that is. She knows her name is Handmaiden... her dream, her memories, the things she has learned about Edensphere. In these few moments, it seems they are intact. Spitting out some more sand, she turns her head towards him while she waits for her eyes to deal with the sand that's in them.]

Night. What just happened to me?

QUICKLOG WHY ARE WE YELLING

[its-me-hooray.livejournal.com]

[He was maybe a minute into his song when the hard surface against his back suddenly softened, and his body sunk into it. The sudden readjustment to his perspective had him stop playing, the dust from the dry sand causing him to sneeze. Night sat up with a start, scrambling to his feet and ignoring the guitar entirely.]

Handmaiden!

[As she coughed and regained some of her bearings, Night helped dig her out.]

The sandstorm didn't last very long, and then you were sleeping in a big crystal cocoon since yesterday! Wait, hang on, I have some water... it'll help get all that sand off your face.

[Handmaiden would feel a canteen pressed into one of her hands, and a pair of arms aiding her to her feet and out of that mountain of sand.]

QUICKLOG BECAUSE YELLING IS HOW WE ROLL

[ice_echani]

[She gets to her feet, glad for the help because neither her body nor her mind know what in the Galaxy is going on right now. All she knows is that the collar vanished into a garish sandstorm, she had...

...this would be an appropriate moment for swearing, if Star Wars had swears and if Handmaiden was inclined to use them anyway. THAT WAS STONEFACE'S DREAM. ARGH. ARGH ARGH ARGH.

that was his; she should not have had it. Memories are PRIVATE unless the owner chooses to share. GAH.

Crystal cocoon. She rinses her mouth out and spits it away from their feet before taking a long drink and tugging at her shirt. More sand pours down--it feels like she's covered inside and out. Rubbing her face, she finally opens her eyes and blinks several times before looking at the heap of rather plain-colored sand.]

Thank you--only a day has passed, then? Has anything else happened?

QUICKLOG AAAAAA WOOOO

[its-me-hooray.livejournal.com]

[He nodded, gently brushing off sand that clung to her clothing.]

Yep, just a day! Everyone else that wore those hourglasses went to sleep in the weird cocoons too and a lot of people worried. If you're okay, then that means everyone else will--

[He paused, a chill in his stomach. Looking far more serious than she'd ever seen him, he looked her right in the eyes.]

You remember my name! Do you remember yours? Where you work? Where we are?

QUICKLOG RAAAAAAAAA

[ice_echani]

[She notes that, but says nothing on it and pushes it out of her mind as well. There are more important things to think of than Night's body language.]

That is... very strange, and not at all what I had been expecting, given the metaphor that seems to be attached to hourglasses.

[She does see how serious he is though, not at all like his usual flighty self.]

I call myself Handmaiden. This is Edensphere, and I am one of the Watch. You are Night, and you work on the farm and own a chocobo.

QUICKLOG RAAAAA RA-AH-AAH?

[its-me-hooray.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I agree! They tell time, but the result had more to do with the sand.

[Were he cleverer, he would start connecting dots, but... nope. Instead he nodded at each reply, and was relieved when she finished.]

It doesn't seem like you lost anything, then. I was worried it'd be like the regular cocoons, born as a blank slate!

[He sighed in relief and ran his fingers through his hair.]

Then my work here is done! I don't know how, but I'm getting a familiar feeling that sand under the clothing isn't comfortable! I won't force you to stand around here feeling really itchy!

QUICKLOG I HAVE ACTUALLY LISTENED TO A LADY GAGA SONG

[ice_echani]

[Strange... she will have to think about that a great deal. Conferring with someone else who was stuck in a cocoon would be something worth doing... she has every intention of connecting dots.]

No, my mind seems to be quite intact--although only time will tell if I have truly kept everything I know.

[She rubs a hand over her own head, grimacing slightly as a shower of sand falls out. Yes, a shower is quite in order. She wonders about another thing, though.]

What were you doing here?

QUICKLOG I LOVE ALEJANDRO

[its-me-hooray.livejournal.com]

[He couldn't help but giggle a little at all the sand. When the Wilderness was an old western setting, he definitely had to pause to dump it out of his shoes and shake it out of his hair. Still, the warmth and soft sand was rather comforting to him... he wondered why. Maybe it was like home.]

When you fell asleep, I moved the cocoon somewhere safer and kept an eye on it. You never know what a giant squirrel might do to it, and there are crazies about.

[He nodded. One could never know what to expect in this place.]

I played music and wrote some things to pass the time; did you hear any of it?

QUICKLOG I LOVE...NOBOU UEMATSU?

[ice_echani]

[.....well. She's not quite sure how to react to that.]

...I see. I am afraid I heard nothing after the sandstorm--I dreamed, and then I awoke.

[So wait, he was there the whole time?]

I... thank you. There was no need for you to guard me, but I am grateful.

QUICKLOG

[its-me-hooray.livejournal.com]

[There was another nod.]

It's okay, some of the stuff is just a rough draft. I'll touch them up and see about having you critique. That'd be fun!

[His hand went to the back of his head for a moment before he remembered his stuff was on the ground. He'd go gather it up, strapping his guitar to his back.]

Hey, you're welcome! The Mighty Nightlaser will do his best to protect others in their time of need, even in the face of mystery! Who knows what the cocoons could possibly do, but I'm glad to see nothing too bad occurred from it. ...Uh.

[He paused, and took a step forward with his arms open. Stopped. He wanted to hug, but... well. The whole Echani thing. No touchy. He'd respect that. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and smiled brightly at her instead.]

That really scared me a bit. Let's avoid the rainbow sand from here on out, okay?

QUICKLOG

[ice_echani]

I am also surprised that nothing... dire seems to have happened.

[She can see that he's about to hug her but... yeah... she's not a huggy person, sorry. It's a strange gesture to her. She does, however, set her hand on his shoulder for a moment.]

I am sorry to have caused such worry, though I did not choose to have the hourglass.

[Kneeling, Handmaiden sifts through the pile of sand. There is... quite a lot of it. She doesn't even try to find a logical explanation for how sand can turn to glass without heat, never mind reverting to sand. Of an entirely different color, no less.]

Would you help me find the hourglass? I do not know if it still--exists--but I do not want to leave this without seeing if there is anything to be understood about it.

QUICKLOG

[its-me-hooray.livejournal.com]

Uh- Oh yeah, that's a good idea!

[Whahey, time to find ourselves an hourglass. Night went to the other side of the pile and began to dig very much like a dog, shoveling sand down and back behind him. His fingers combed the granules for any solid object...]

I'll start on this side! Let's see, you landed around here, so...

QUICKLOG

[ice_echani]

[Handmaiden's method of searching is a little less frantic, but when it comes down to it... it's digging through a coffin-sized pile of sand for something that's like. Two inches long. She tries reaching out through the Force to see without her eyes, but if it's working, the hourglass isn't there.

She starts just spreading the sand out as thin as she can on the ground, both with her hands and with the Force, but it's still not revealing anything but more sand.]

It does not seem to be here.

[There's definite frustration in her voice. She's not surprised, but she wanted that hourglass. She's still not about to leave--she opens her belt-pouch but well, it already seems to be full of sand.]

I suppose this is all that can be investigated from this.

QUICKLOG

[its-me-hooray.livejournal.com]

Damn... I'm sorry, Handmaiden.

[Shoot, no such luck for evidence or something to go by, eh? That was just like this place. He dusted the sand from his gloves, paused, and suddenly felt a bit awkward. He cleared his throat.]

Right. I'm sure Stoneface would want to know you're okay, so I'm gonna go ahead and set off for work. Lots of things to do before the harvest! The cows need milking and those chicken eggs won't collect themselves!

[He threw a smart salute, took a few steps backwards, then turned and ran like the dickens. He just remembered he was super late for work!]