GLENCOLA INBOX.

[somethingintangible]

Heyyyy! ♥ This is Maddy!

I obviously can't get to my walkie talkie right now, so if you have something to say, you can leave it here and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Oh, and don't be fucking rude. If you send me some nasty shit, I'll fucking cut you.

Comments

voice; MZ114C

[somethingintangible]

[ The laconic, straightforward vibe is appreciated by Maddy. It makes him easier to talk to. Less formal. Makes him feel like less of a capital-A adult. ]

Yeah. With, like, maybe the worst hair day ever. This sucks.

[ Not that she expects him to care! Ugh. Boys. It's true though. She wouldn't even normally want to be seen in public looking like this, but she doesn't have a choice right now.

There are no walls, but she feels like there are walls closing in on her anyway. She imagines the shrubs tightening around her, strangling her, and moves out from under them. Weird. She clutches the book she's found for comfort.

Despite all of that, though, she actually does sound pretty okay! Not too scared. Definitely not crying anymore. ]

How's Jade? You guys are sending somebody to get her, right?

[ His response to that will determine her willingness to receive aid herself. ]

[wingbound]

[ He might care a little. He may have had to resort to painstakingly cutting his hair with nail clippers to avoid looking like a serial killer, after all. ]

[ He also hasn't spoken with Jade, so he doesn't know how she is, actually, but --]

Senku is speaking with her. There's a number of people here.

[ Implying that yes, somebody is probably getting sent out, but it's not like he socializes enough to know all the details. ]

What about you?

[somethingintangible]

[ Then that already ranks him higher than most boys, who are frequently tragically and grotesquely indifferent to things like bad hair days. ]

Speaking with her? So that means what?

[ Is she satisfied with that answer? Maddy isn't sure. It doesn't sound like this guy knows enough to tell her anything definitive, and Jade sounded pretty badly hurt on the radio. Maddy doesn't like the idea of people going for her, instead of Jade, when she isn't even hurt, and she doesn't like not having more concrete reassurance.

But she's also practical enough to realize that she's lost and could probably use the guidance. She doesn't know if she'll ever get out of this forest on her own.

And she's comfortable with Levi, for better or worse. He's straightforward and doesn't talk down to her. Besides, it's not like she needs an ambulance, just a guide.

When he asks how she is, she answers... ]

Like I said, I didn't die. [ She thinks about it. ] I guess I could, like, meet you halfway or something.

[wingbound]

Means he's trying to determine where she is. Once they know that, someone will go.

[ Probably. He'd like to get them both, but he's already promised help to this girl, and what he said is true; there's plenty of people at the camp for multiple rescues, and Jade's is the one being actively organized right now. ]

[ Everyone forgot about you Maddy, don't worry. ]

Good start. [ Whether or not that's sarcasm is anybody's guess. There's a pause, some static. ] Do you have any idea where you are? Which way the beach is?

[somethingintangible]

Okay.

[ Wow, rude!!! That's cool though. She's not hurt, so they shouldn't be trying to find her anyway. ]

Kind of... I'm in the jungle right now. I marked the trees to find my way back to the river. I'm pretty sure I can follow the river to the beach. Meet you there?

[wingbound]

[ Rude, yeah, that sounds like him. ]

Do you know which part of the island you're on?

[ He can't promise to meet her while he has no clue which way to go! It shouldn't be difficult to orient her when she can tell him where the sea and sun is in relation to her, but that's trickier in the middle of the jungle. ]

[somethingintangible]

The, like... south part, I think? The the beach turns into jungle, like, right away, and I keep running into a bunch of rivers...

[wingbound]

[ Okay, "a bunch of rivers" definitely sound familiar, but there could be another spot like this. ]

When you're facing the sea, which way is the sun?

If you can't tell from where you are, try to get back to the beach. Then call me.

[somethingintangible]

[ There's a pause. ]

I don't think I can get anywhere.

[wingbound]

[ Okay, well that's suspicious, but he's not sure if she's being capricious or if something happened. ]

Why not?

[somethingintangible]

[ Deep breath. ]

There's a river. I don't know how to get across. I mean, I can swim, but-- it's rushing pretty fucking fast.

[wingbound]

[ He may or may not have reached one himself yet, but rivers getting all fucked up after a storm like that isn't exactly shocking. ]

...Don't risk it. [ He considers their options. ] If you follow along on shore, it should get you out of the jungle eventually. Don't worry about crossing for now, but I still need to confirm where you are. Then you can just stay there.

[ Another pause. ]

I got trapped by rivers when I got here, too. Crossed one upstream by jumping over rocks. I'll figure it out.

[ He means it as assurance that he'll get to her somehow, but of course it might accidentally serve as an ill-advised inspiration, because when doesn't it? ]

[somethingintangible]

[ Jumping over rocks...? The wheels in Maddy's brain are already turning. She has a strong, sturdy stick she found. Hmmm. An old cartoon starts to tickle at the back of her brain, an image of a redheaded girl jumping over a stream...

At least when she speaks again she sounds buoyed. Comforted by what he said. Won't he be impressed if she's able to cross on her own?! Omg!

But all she says is: ]

Okay.

Thanks, Levi.

[wingbound]

[ Well, uh, it sounds like he's calmed her down at least. That's good, right? He's not entirely sure what to do about her thanking him -- really, he did nothing he thinks is worthy of gratitude -- so there's just awkward silence for a few moments. ]

Right. Call me when you see the beach.

[ And if she doesn't, well, we'll say he took a guess at her whereabouts and got incredibly lucky! ]

[somethingintangible]

Okay.

[ What else is there to say? He clearly isn't comfortable with being thanked, so she's willing to let it go.

She'll call him later on, after her attempt at crossing the first river, since we all know how that turned out. ]