forum The Gods are Falling from the Sky (surreal urban fantasy o/o anyone?[CLOSED ty])

Started November 12, 2019 by @Young-Dusty-the-Monarch-of-Dusteria group

tune

She paused, nodded after a moment, "I think you'll remember everything. Maybe being here is just scrambling your memories." Honor didn't fully trust her words, but she desperately wanted to. She wanted Oscar to remember his home and everything he wanted to remember, even if it meant he didn't remember any of the time on Earth. Just the idea of him being stuck without any idea of his past or his real name felt horrible. It was something out of her control, yes, but that didn't mean she would feel terrible if it did happen. "I think you'll get all of your memories back."

Oscar smiled, seeming much more comforted than he probably should have been. "Okay. I'm sure you're right." He added a brighter yellow to the happy dog in his painting, putting confetti-like dots of color all around it for no real reason. "There. I think this is almost done. I just need to make the bad dog a little scarier." He liked 'scary'. In a strange way, it made more sense to him than safety or beauty did. "Can we find more music on the radio?"

Honor smiled gently and nodded, turning on the radio and scanning through the various channels she got. "Take your pick of what you want to listen too," She offered, happy for the change in subject. Thinking of him getting his memories back was an uneven path of ideas, and she frankly wasn't sure what was going to happen with it. Really anything could happen when Oscar went home, and she would have no idea if he got his memories back or not. That was if she wasn't able to see him again once he left.

Oscar happily selected a station of alternative music and hummed along as they drove down the road, seemingly inspired to add a few extra flourishes to his painting. He sat in contented silence like this for quite a while, as the sun reached the middle of the sky and the scenery changed from fields to hills to tiny towns to fields again.
Eventually, he cleaned his brush and packed it away, then carefully rested his painting on the dashboard to dry. "There. It's done." Stretching, he glanced out the window, feeling restless and suddenly chatty. "I bet we'll be in Talpa pretty soon, right? I hope so. I want to get out and walk around. How are you doing? Also I'm hungry–is there any more food in here I can have?"

"I think we'll be there soon," She said with a nod, blinking a few times as she returned to the present. The majority of the drive, she had tuned out the music and really everything but the road, but as she glanced around now, she realized that they actually were quite close to Talpa. "Also, I'm good for now…maybe a little tired, but nothing that I can't handle. There should be a few more things to snack on by your feet…if you didn't eat them. Otherwise I can stop and grab something from the back."
Honor was happy for the conversation again, having spent much too long quiet while she let Oscar alone. Now that he brought it up too, she was getting quite tired, and her back was stiff from sitting so long in the same position. Maybe a change of drivers in a little while wouldn't be a terrible thing.

(Sorry for the wait and the short reply)
Oscar nodded and started hunting for food, turning down the radio slightly so they could talk. "I'll switch soon with you if you want. I can't wait to meet the Level Five. I'm sure I'll be able to find them right away if I use my powers. But the ice cream factory first, right? I guess I'd better not eat too much so I can save room for that. And then maybe we should find a hotel here just in case, and–" He stopped short, realizing he needed to take a breath. "Uh, sorry. Guess I'm kind of excited."

(All ok!)
Honor chuckled and nodded, amused by his excitement, "If you want to drive for a while, I can take back over when we get to Talpa…that way you can focus on trying to find the Level Five then." She listened to his ideas of what to do, excited for the prospect of ice cream herself. And for the idea of another break from constant driving. The fact that by the end of this trip, she would be most likely going home on her own though… that thought made her a little distant. She had only met Oscar what…less than a week ago, and already she was attached to him. She didn't want to try driving back home all on her own with no one to talk to.

Oscar nodded with his mouth full of chips and dried fruit. "Sure, I can drive for a while. I memorized the next few turns so you can just relax—don't worry about checking the map or anything. Okay?" He noticed her expression turn slightly more serious–just slightly–and paused. "….Is that all right?"

She turned to face him as he broke her out of her thoughts, mustering up a smile, "Yeah, that's alright. Sorry…zoned out." Honor glanced around for somewhere to stop, deciding it would be easiest to just pull over since they were on a fairly rural road. She stopped the truck along the gravel ditch, then hopped out, switching spots with Oscar quickly. Honor stretched her legs as she walked to the other side, reluctantly sliding in and closing the door once more.

Oscar took the wheel and guided them back out onto the road, proud of his responsible self-taught driving skills. "You must be tired. We didn't spend much time resting at the hotel, did we? Do you want to try and sleep a little while I get us there?" He himself felt energized and full of anticipation, but he could guess that Honor might not be running on the same sugar high as him.

She hadn't realized just how tired she was until she slipped into the passenger's seat, sinking against it gratefully. It felt good not to drive. Yes, she liked being able to drive, but after a while, she got sick of sitting there, and driving took much more of her control and focus than she wanted to admit. "I suppose I could try to sleep a little…just let me know if anything happens and wake me up when we get there," Honor said, already leaning her chair back as far as it could go and settling in.

"I will," Oscar promised. "Sleep well."
He drove as smoothly and quietly as possible, and turned down the radio so it wouldn't bother Honor while she napped. The road was mostly empty and the afternoon was very calm, so he didn't have any trouble driving them towards their destination without help. Whenever boredom started to kick in, he occupied himself by counting the segments of the road's yellow center line as they whizzed by, or by calculating the exact time when they'd arrive in Talpa based on the speed limit and the angle of the sun.
Thirty-five minutes passed, and all at once a tiny town appeared on the horizon, heralded by a water tower and a sign advertising gas. Oscar blinked, shook himself, and checked the map.
"Honor," he said, slowing down as they passed the first few buildings. "We're here. This is Talpa."

(I…I thought I replied to this >_< I'm very sorry)
Honor had no trouble falling asleep once she got comfortable. Dreams kept her mind busy as she slept, not once waking her in the entire rest of the drive to Talpa. She only woke when Oscar finally spoke again, and even then, she was still half asleep as she replied, "Hm?" Honor rubbed her eyes and yawned, blinking while she surveyed the start of the town, "This is Talpa?"
Even half-asleep, her thoughts wrapped around the idea that she was going to have to most likely leave Oscar here. For the time being, she pushed those ideas aside, taking in the small town quietly before looking to Oscar, "Anything fun happen while I was asleep?"

(lol no worries fam, I've been there xD)
"Not much," Oscar replied, gliding deeper into the tiny town. As he looked around, he couldn't resist reaching out his senses in search of other Erased Ones, but to his disappointment, there was nothing to be found yet. Perhaps, he thought, the Level Five was cloaking its energy somehow so that it would be harder to find. He would do the same if he knew how.
After a minute, he moved on to more important things. "Well, do you want to look around a bit first, or can we go straight to the ice cream? I'm good either way."

"Uhh…Ice cream," She said, pausing to think over the possibilities. Yes, they needed to start searching for the Level Five, but she was hungry, and ice cream sounded very good. Honor nodded to herself at the decision. As she looked around the town, it seemed like searching could wait, they would need to look for somewhere to stay as well, and it made no sense make two trips around town.
"Do you know where the ice cream place is? Or should I look it up?"

"I know where it is," Oscar replied confidently, already signaling to turn right onto a smaller road. "And Honor, if it costs a lot to get us both in, I'll owe you, okay?" He spoke firmly. "I'm making money now, I just haven't got it yet. And this is just for fun, so it's not fair if you have to pay for all of it. Deal?"

Honor frowned slightly but nodded, seeing as it was fair for him to pay his share. She didn't like the idea of making her guest pay, but he seemed to want to spend his new money on something. "If you're sure you want to pay for part of it," She replied, watching out the window as they turned, "If we find an ATM somewhere, I can withdraw your money from my account, that way you can have it whenever you want. It's your money after all, we just put it in my account to make it easy for your paintings to be paid for."

Oscar smiled. "I'd like that." Seeing a sign up ahead, he turned onto the road it pointed to and found himself in a parking lot. "Well, I think this is the place."
The building was large and rather unassuming from the outside, except for the large, colorful lettering over the doors which advertised the ice cream brand. Since it was a nice, warm day, there was a small line of people waiting to be let inside for a tour. A few families that had already gone through were playing in an ice cream-themed playground off to one side. The atmosphere of the place was calm and cheerful, if a bit mundane.
Oscar, for his part, looked fairly excited to be there as he hopped out of the truck. "Looks like they're open. Coming, Honor?"

Honor studied the building as Oscar parked, a soft smile on her face at his excitement. She nodded in response, getting out of the truck and making sure she had both her phone and wallet. "Make sure you lock the truck," She added as she walked to his side, looking over the building once more. Nothing suspicious stood out to her, no sign of anyone chasing them or any agents looking for Oscar here. It looked happy and calm, and she was ready for something calming like this.

(They better enjoy it while they can… laughs in evil plan )
Oscar obligingly double-checked that the truck was locked, then started off towards the entrance to the building. By the time they got there, the tour guide was busy counting heads and announced that they had enough people to go inside.
"Everyone stay together and please don't touch any machinery with a red warning label on it. There will be a booth at the end of the tour where you can taste-test our upcoming flavors and vote on your favorite." Spotting Honor and Oscar, he gave them a cheerful grin. "Afternoon. You're just in time. It's four dollars per person for the full tour."

(Sorry for the wait and the overall length of the response…life is…interesting)
Honor smiled at the tour guide, looking over to Oscar and pulling out her wallet. "I suppose we should do the tour, right?" She pulled out enough to cover the costs, but didn't hand it over just yet, waiting for Oscar's reaction. The tour sounded quite fun to her, but then again, if he just wanted to taste ice cream, she could save her money and they could simply go and taste the ice cream.

(no worries at all fam, hope you're doing ok!)
Oscar gave her a nod—the tour sounded very exciting to him. He kept a slight distance between himself and the rest of the group, as if worried that one of them would realize he wasn't human, but otherwise he seemed relaxed. "Let's do it."
(I think I'll have a timeskip for most of the actual tour if that's all right with you. The only time I've been to an ice cream factory was the time I felt too carsick to go inside, so I have no idea what they're like x'D )

(That's totally fine lol! I can't say I have any experience inside an ice cream factory either)

Honor returned his nod, handing over the money before she casually joined the rest of the group that was going to go in. Like Oscar, she seemed excited, though all that was visible of that excitement was her smile, and the bit of bounce that appeared in her step. She had never been inside a factory like this, and it seemed interesting, plus, ice cream was a bonus.