downside

[arenaria]

Voice lets her go.

Shell doesn't know how long it's been. She doesn't know where she is. She doesn't know how to get home, or if she has one.

She stands on Voice's doorstep. She blinks slowly at the brightness.

She walks in a random direction.

Downsiders aren't big on charity. It's not like it's going to kill her if she doesn't get help. It's not like she's unfamiliar with the effects of dehydration and hunger; Voice didn't always remember to take good care of the pet in the basement. Shell walks, and when she's tired she lies down on the ground and sleeps, and when she wakes up she walks, and every few days she curls up on the ground, waits to torch from thirst, and then gets up and goes on.

She doesn't count the number of times this happens. It doesn't matter.

She walks. She has nightmares. She walks.

On an unremarkable day on an unremarkable street after unremarkable stretches of years, she feels herself cross a telltale threshold of dizziness and headache: she cannot make significant forward progress towards Not Where She Is Currently Located until she torches or (less likely) someone gives her a lot of water. It's possible she'll be able to sleep through this torch. She sits. She leans on a wall. She should probably pick up the next sharp object she finds. Maybe a piece of broken glass will present itself. Then she can skip these parts.

She sits, and she closes her eyes, and she waits. If the buildings around her would ever have seemed familiar, they don't now.

Comments

[arenaria]

"Yeah," says Shell. If Sherlock puts her down now she won't wince, even.

[ferratus]

Tony hugs Shell-in-Sherlock's-arms, instead. It is physically awkward but emotionally soothing.

[arenaria]

"I missed you," Shell says, hugging and nuzzling and sighing soothedly.

[ferratus]

"I love you," he murmurs back. "I would've missed you if I'd known you were gone."

[arenaria]

"I love you too and I missed you until I forgot everything and then I missed you again when Bell fixed my memory and now I'm home," sighs Shell.

[she_sells_seashells]

"What do you want to keep?" Bell asks, her mind still on the problem of excess Shell Bells. "The memories - I'm sure you want those after losing them - but is there anything else joined-us should keep?"

[arenaria]

"We should - should subdue my share of memories a little. I don't think we want some of mine as easy to call up as - as standard," says Shell, not unhugging from Tony one little bit to participate in this conversation. "...We probably want to torch. If we could've torched to begin with then the - was it a nuke? I thought it was a nuke - wouldn't've done anything worth caring about except ruined some Europe."

[she_sells_seashells]

"I fixed the bit of Europe," Bell says.

[sicaria]

"I love you," murmurs Sherlock.

[arenaria]

"I love you," says Shell, again with that sigh that makes it sound like loving Sherlock is an enormous comfy pillow for her to sink into. "...We might want my pain tolerance? It's not even magical. It won't go away if something happens to our magic again. I don't know how easy that will be to separate from the memories, though."

[she_sells_seashells]

"We can try wishing it separate and if it doesn't work we can work out something else."

[sicaria]

Sherlock cuddles her armful of Shell.

[arenaria]

Shell cuddles right back. She feels so happy. It is the happiness of dramatic improvement in circumstance, not Bell's usual level buzz of delight, but it's happy and it's very much so.

[she_sells_seashells]

"Since we were the first to try resurrection - although Golden's done it once now too and we should notify her of the glitch - we will also be the first to try merging and I don't want to miss anything," says Bell. "Are we okay to have two of us around for a couple days - Shell, do you mind sticking to the palace? - while we make sure we haven't neglected anything?"

[sicaria]

"I believe we are."

[arenaria]

"I don't mind staying in the palace. I'd only confuse Ranae and Shark and I don't need to see them really. The palace is nice. May I have some coins, please?"

[sicaria]

Sherlock wishes her a bandolier and a comfortable assortment of triangles-through-hexes.

[arenaria]

"Thank you. I love you." Snuzzle. "- Huh, I don't actually know if torching works, outside of Downside -"

[she_sells_seashells]

Bell expects Sherlock to beat her in reaction time, and Sherlock's closer, but she still says "Shell, don't -"

[arenaria]

Shell does anyway. With a wish - it only takes a square, she's not particularly sturdy or well-defended right now - not a conjured knife. (She never did get to the point of not wishing things wouldn't hurt.)

She goes up in heatless flames and reappears.

"It works," she says comfortably.

[sicaria]

"I am surprised," says Sherlock.

[arenaria]

"That it worked?"

[she_sells_seashells]

"Shell," says Bell sharply. "Don't do that."

[arenaria]

"...Why not? I'm fine. And now we know. And if I hadn't been fine, you and Sherlock and Tony would still be fine, and I'd either stop existing or go back to Downside but you'd know to look for me if you wanted me back again, everything would be fine."

[she_sells_seashells]

"You are slightly more redundant than the average Bell, that doesn't mean you should torch yourself without knowing for sure whether it works while Sherlock is holding you," says Bell.