justonetruth | (no subject)

[No door, but a piece of cloth has been tacked up against one end of the shack to act as one. On closer inspection, it has been cobbled together from a collection of miscellaneous boards, scavenged possible from a wagon, supplemented by a framework that seems to consist of branches cut from trees that look very like those that appear in the garden. It's bare inside, with a sack stuffed full of leaves the only furniture.

Outside, near the the fire, a barrel has been placed as a chair. Ran is welcome to take it as she waits for the owner of the shack to return. He's not long, having been searching for a suitably young stick to cook the rabbit he's hunted on, and he is clearly pleased to see his visitor.]

Kaa-chan!

.....'Kaa-chan'?

[has dressed down a bit today, in a slightly stained red dress with a shawl and a bonnet to protect her from the sun]

I haven't seen Kaa-chan for months!

[The rabbit is set down without preamble, Conan coming over to park himself directly in front of Ran, prime position for the expected hug.]

I haven't been sick -- I've even grown some!

[It is hard to know if this statement is true or not. In height this kid seems no different to any of the other Conan's, and he is just as scrawny. He is considerably more tanned, however, barefoot and wearing simply made clothes that have seen better days.]

You certainly have.

[no harm in indulging him. leans forward a bit, but no hugs!]

It's Conan, isn't it? I'm afraid I'm not your kaa-chan.

Edited 2012-07-22 05:02 (UTC)

No?

[There's a distinctly confused child looking back at you, Ran. It's true that from memory, 'Kaa-chan' doesn't have such a pretty dress, and doesn't smell faintly of sulphur, but she looks and sounds just like her--

Something occurs to Conan and he reaches for Ran's hand, turning it over to look at her wrist. Whatever he is expecting to see isn't there and he lets go, frowning.]

If you're not Kaa-chan ... what are you?

'What'— honestly. There's no need to be rude! [scolding lightly, though she'll take his hands in hers in a reassuring manner if he'll let her]

My name is Miss Ran Mouri, but you likely don't know me. You've come to a rather strange place. Have you seen the Mansion at all yet?

[Conan will allow his hand to be taken, although there is some hesitation. Ran might notice that there is a patch on his left arm, just below the wrist, stretching a good ten centimeters down that doesn't look much like skin. It's smooth and shiny -- plastic? Glass? It's hard to say.]

The big house? I walked around it a few times. [Should he admit to peeking in the windows? Probably not.]

[notes that shiny patch, but doesn't comment on it]

But not inside? [well, she supposes that's reasonable if he doesn't know who's living in it]

It's fairly... unusual. There are endless numbers of rooms that can take any form you can imagine, and enough food for anyone who might appear.

Where were you before coming here?

I was Outside ... Enough food? For everyone?

[Conan's clearly stunned by Ran's statement.]

'Outside'? [he seems to have put a curious emphasis on that]

As much as you'd like, of all sorts. Do you want to see? [stands, still holding his hand]

Outside. Where the food comes from.

[Conan doesn't verbally answer Ran, but the hand she's holding tightens around hers, and she might be able to feel the tension as he nods.]

Edited 2012-07-22 06:01 (UTC)

Then let's have a look.

[starts leading him towards the Mansion doors]

So you can't acquire food 'inside'?

[Conan shakes his head.] Inside's ... inside. It's all sealed off. Even the air tastes different.

Kaa-- I mean, Ran-neechan's sure it's okay?

Sealed off? You mean underground?

Very sure. Many of us have been staying here quite some time. The food is perfectly safe.

No, the mining is Outside too. I think they have some factories Inside, and they're underground, but most of it is up.

Not the food. Going in there.

Factories inside of what?

[why would factories be inside? And underground when everything else is Above...]

Oh, of course. You can even choose a room of your own.

It looks like a big white dome. I don't know what it's made out of but it's light and strong, and dynamite doesn't work on it.

[The face Conan makes at the comment indicates he is not exactly enamoured of that idea. He's looking increasingly wary as the mansion draws nearer, but keeps his pace matching Ran's as best he can.]

A dome? Whatever for?

[suspects he may change his mind when he sees what the Mansion has to offer, but there's only one way to find out. Opening the big double doors one-handedly with no trouble]

Well, that's where they live, of course.

[The sight of the luxurious foyer is momentarily daunting, but Conan relaxes somewhat as he realises that there is no one there. It's reassuring ... but not so reassuring that he's going to stop walking close enough to Ran that he accidently bumps into her occasionally.]

They?

[going slow enough for him to catch himself every time he trips into her, heading for the dining room first]

[Well, at least the slow pace allows Conan plenty of opportunities to assess the organic nature of the interior of much of the mansion, notice smells and traces that don't fit what he knows of Inside and really notice that the mansion is not as inhabited as it should be.]

Them. They don't really have a name, I don't think. At least not one we can say. Is it always quiet like this?

What are they like?

And no, not always. There doesn't seem to be many people about today. Or they may be on the higher floors.

We're not going up there, right? [Reassurance comes before explanation.]

The centaurs are pretty scary. You only see them when something's gone wrong. They're really big, and they've got two really big claws out front -- like pincers. They can go outside if they have special equipment. The nurses are smaller. They're not as scary. They took care of me at first, before I had Kaa-chan.

[Ran's hand gets squeezed again.]

The spiders are the smallest of all and they're everywhere. It doesn't matter if you step on them, more come. [Pause.] I don't see any here and that's weird because no matter where you go Inside, there's something.

Not if you don't want to.

[...wh...at... slowing even more at all that]

Centaurs with claws? And— nurses?

That's the names people gave them, 'cause they had to call them something. I think there might be other types too, only not everyone gets to see them.

I don't know why though. Spiders make sense -- they're little and have lots of legs too, and they climb anywhere. But I haven't seen a real nurse, and Kaito-nii says that centaurs aren't real.