video; 7/15

[cassassin]

[it's a phone. or something very much like one. she doesn't have the word for it, but she doesn't have words for anything. still, she can recognize it for what it is. and she can probably figure it out, she's a resourceful kid. after fiddling with it for a bit and bringing up others' posts, she grasps this can at least reach people who might be able to help. mimicking swiping gestures she's seen from the others walking around her with their phones, the girl--cassandra cain, though that name doesn't mean anything to her yet--blinks in surprise as she sees her own face, filthy and scratched, looking back at her on the screen. her hair is long, down to her mid-back and falling a bit over her eyes, tangled and slightly matted.]

--Ah...?

[her gaze sharpens. so, network, marvel as a nine-year-old girl holds her comm in one hand, gesturing and miming, only managing strangled squeaks and hisses for vocalizations when she bothers at all. she's trying to convey something, though, and her body language is clearly frightened and confused. the girl sits with her knees pulled to her chest, wearing a worn-out shirt printed with cyrillic text, threadbare jeans and sneakers close to falling apart. her arms and neck are cris-crossed with scars, knuckles recently bruised. from what's visible of her surroundings, she's in downtown de chima.

finally, in frustration, and thinking she's gotten across all she can for now, she ends the post there.]

Comments

video;

[creatot]

[ Even though she's only five at the moment, Momo mostly remembers things from when she was fifteen a few days ago. Things like people's names, and how to read. So she squints at the name on her phone, sounding out the letters slowly. ]

Ca...ssa...n...do...ra. Ah! Cassandra-san! You're younger too! Do you remember me? Some people forgot things when they got younger, but I didn't!

video;

[cassassin]

[momo's recognition confuses the runaway girl even further. she has no idea who this is, or what she's saying, but the general thrust of it gets through.

she shakes her head quickly, a response mainly to what momo is asking, though it's partly an upset rejection of... pretty much all of this.]

[creatot]

[ Hm... Cassandra-san isn't talking. That's odd. ]

Are you alright? Are you sick? Did you lose your voice?

Video

[pummelgranite]

I- fuck.

Fuck. Shite. Shitefuck fucking Cassandra?

[cassassin]

[the girl doesn't recognize this woman, but the way she's reacting to her--with recognition, upset--is confusing her further. she makes a noise somewhere between a grunt and a squeak before withdrawing a little more, still watching the screen over her knees, brushing a little bit of her hair out of her eyes. there's something going on here that she doesn't understand. somehow these people know who she is, or think they do. and whatever the sounds meant, she notices both this woman and the little girl made the same sound. hard then a lot of hissing, then hard then soft. she doesn't get the significance yet.

definitely her. sorry, persephone.]

[pummelgranite]

Hi- OK, hey. [ what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck ]


You probably don't remember me. I'm- uh, a friend of your dad's. Do you know where you are right now?

[cassassin]

[again, she got none of that. but the gist of it--wanting to know her location, offering help, trying to set her at ease--comes across, and she relaxes just a bit.

she shakes her head, before panning the camera around a little bit to try to give laura a better sense of the location she's looking at. some storefronts and shop names are visible as she does so.]

[pummelgranite]

OK, yeah. That works. Can you stay there for me a few minutes?

[cassassin]

[she still looks pretty uncertain about this whole thing, but nods. STAYIN PUT.]

[pummelgranite]

Great, I'm coming find you. Uh- but I'll have to hang up first.

[cassassin]

[more intent to come to her. reassurance about the next step.

she just gives another nod.]

[pummelgranite]

[ VROOM VROOM MOTORCYCLE TIME ]

[pummelgranite]

[ VROOM VROOM SKREE ok she's there now ]


Oi, Cassandra? You still out here?

[ How hard can it be to find a baby??? ]

[cassassin]

[when this girl is the tiny child in question? extremely. but persephone is fairly hard to miss, and she doesn't have much reason to hide from her. not yet.

she'd clambered up onto a food truck and ducked behind its signs while she waited, still feeling uncomfortable with the large crowds of people. once she sees laura, however, she drops back off the top of the truck, tucking and rolling. she still really doesn't look sure about any of this, as she approaches.]

[pummelgranite]

Uh . . . hi.


[ WHAT DO I DO WITH THIS???? ]

[cassassin]

[she... waves, a little bit, moving closer. she's about as thrown off as laura is, but laura's own uncertainty is actually helping? wild.]

[pummelgranite]

So, you're Cassandra. Uh. I'm Laura.

[Video]

[batburgers]

[Jason sees the little girl on the network and it's obvious something isn't right with her. She can't talk and she looks scared. He doesn't know what's wrong with her but he can tell she needs help. But he has no idea where she is.]

Hey, wait! Come back! Turn it back on.

[Will she know how to do that? Why are phones so complicated now? What happened to QWERTY keypads and flip phones?]

[cassassin]

[she figures it out easily enough. mostly thanks to symbols on the interface. she blinks, a little wary, not recognizing jason. the girl watches him carefully, gaze analytical and piercing even now.

SHE'S BACK JAY NOW WHAT.]

[batburgers]

[He is surprised that she listens to him at first, but is also glad for it. She looks even younger than he is and he doesn't want to scare her off.]

Uh...good, yeah, great. Are you okay? Just nod or something is you can't talk.

[cassassin]

[is she okay? she doesn't know. she's not hurt, so there's that? she finally nods, before pointing at the screen and tilting her head a little. you don't seem so chill yourself, jay.]

[batburgers]

[When he looked up his address and found his "house" all he got was clothes he couldn't fit, guns he shouldn't have, and things that didn't tell him nearly as much as he'd hope--even though he totally knew the password for the computer because Jason is predictable to himself like that. Something was definitely going on and he was still figuring what it meant for him, but he would take the time to make sure a little girl was okay. Maybe she was like him...]

Do you know where you are? How you got there?