And the wind smells slow and sour when it blows

[whichwayyoulean]

Who: The Once-ler and YOU!
What: Nightmares
When: Friday
Where: HIS MIND
Rating: Uh PG/PG13.


[You'd be forgiven for thinking you've entered a pleasant dream, rather than a horrific nightmare here. You've arrived in Truffula Valley, a peaceful, wonderful place that almost puts Paradisa's created beauty to shame. Forest creatures are scurrying about, singing and playing and generally going about their business.

The sky is bright blue, the sun is shining and the waters of the nearby river and pond are crystal clear. And most importantly there are miles upon miles upon miles of Truffula trees. For anyone the Once-ler described these trees to, he wasn't kidding. The touch of their tufts really is softer than silk and that comforting, wonderful smell? Fresh butterfly milk baby.

Nothing good lasts forever, and there's a general unease about the place. A disjointed sort of feel, like someone's putting on a play and you've already been told everyone dies at the end]

[[ooc: Sections: Pretty Valley | Dying Valley | Dead Valley ]]

Comments

[whichwayyoulean]

That's because you probably have. Seriously, shallow breaths.

[His shoulders hunch that little more, his gaze dropping to the ground]

This is Truffula Valley.

[ino]

[she glances over at him, surprised ... wow, she knew it was bad, but not this bad] Your world.

[whichwayyoulean]

[He lets out a sigh, finally looking at her] Yeah, my world.

I told you I'd destroyed it. I really wasn't kidding.

[ino]

... Wow. [ffff she glances out at the landscape around them, breathing carefully. she's spotting that house ... looking thing behind him, now ...] ... You've been living here?

[whichwayyoulean]

I've always lived out here, even when I arrived in the Valley. [Of course, the dark and looming Lerkim is nothing like his happy little cottage. He isn't even sure where that IS now. Gone, most likely]

That's what's left of my factory.

[ino]

[well, that's more what she's referring to. living in this area is one thing, but even after it's so toxic ... she'll just glance up at it]

It's a little like a tower, huh?

[whichwayyoulean]

You can appreciate the irony of where Paradisa decided to put my room now.

[Funnily enough, the Once-ler doesn't seem to be coughing at all. Though if what Ted said had anything to go by, the smog would eventually give his lungs a nice hello boot. But for now prolonged exposure to it has worked in his favour]

[ino]

Mm ... [yeah, unlike miss piggy here, who is pausing to turn her head the other way and cough some more. this breathing shallowly stuff is hard ;;]

[whichwayyoulean]

[He casts her a guilty expression, wishing he could so something, anything, to help her out with that]

You get a little break from the smog inside. Usually I have a fan system that keeps the worst of it out, but for some reason it's stopped working and I can't fix it.

[ino]

[she'll hold up a hand until she stops coughing. weakly:] I'm okay. [but she pauses] I wouldn't mind going inside, though. [she can kinda see where the hermit thing came from ... if she were him, she wouldn't want to look at this, either]

[whichwayyoulean]

[It's certainly more reason than just the sunlight that he boards his windows up. He sighs, heading towards the Lerkim]

It's marginally better than out here, anyway.

[ino]

[she'll just follow him silently, holding on to his sleeve. yes, it feels childish and stupid, but boy does she not want to be by herself, especially not in an unfamiliar place where it's hard to even breathe. she'll take another glance back at the land around them as they walk]

Have you seen anyone else?

[whichwayyoulean]

[Normally something like that would put him on cloud nine. But not here. Not now. Not when his own actions are causing her trouble. He knows he can't keep her safe from the smog, and he doesn't know what it'll do to her if they stay here for too long]

A couple of people showed up, but they vanished again.

[ino]

[she frowns]

Vanished? Vanished how?

[whichwayyoulean]

[He shrugs, opening the door to the Lerkim, the various booby traps deactivated for now]

The same way most people vanish. Here one second, next, poof, gone.

[ino]

[she'll just sigh a little miserably when he says that -- which causes a few coughs -- but follows him into the Lerkim.]

What about a little squirrel?

[whichwayyoulean]

[The Once-ler pauses to wave his hand towards the general expanse of nothing that is the Valley]

There aren't any animals here, Ino. The Lorax sent them all away. The only thing that hangs around now are crows, and I don't even want to know what they're living off. Definitely no squirrels.

[ino]

[impatiently:]

Not from here. Gale is on a loss.

[whichwayyoulean]

...And he's a squirrel? [Welp, that's weird] Sorry, Ino. I haven't seen any animals of any description.

[ino]

[well, that makes her shoulders droop a little. but she doesn't want to dwell on it or make him worry about her, so instead, she'll just focus on the Lerkim. she'll be looking around to see if there's anything of interest inside]

[whichwayyoulean]

I'm sure he's okay.

[He's concerned regardless. Still he heads further into the Lerkim, lighting up an old oil lamp to bring at least a little light and warmth to the place.

It's about as bare as his room in Paradisa is, aside from a few photographs on the walls of his family, and the ever-present-with-a-Once-ler half made inventions.

[ino]

... Yeah.

[she hopes he's right. but she's definitely interested in those photos! she'll carefully touch one of them, examining it]

Is this your family?

[whichwayyoulean]

[Oh. Those. He'd forgotten about those. The Once-ler wanders over to peer at the one she's examining]

Yeah. [He'll point as he names them] That's Aunt Grizelda and Uncle Ubb, those are my brothers Brett and Chett. [Despite the two being identical, he has no issue in identifying them. He pauses at a certain blonde haired lady, his expression unreadable] And that's my mom.

[ino]

[she'll glance back to him, before looking back at the picture]

You don't really look related to any of them.

[whichwayyoulean]

No, I don't do I? [He shrugs and then in the desperate tones of one who has been ostracised from the family enough and needs to find SOME connection somewhere;] Except for my Uncle Ubb. A little.