ElegyHydrangea

Dreaming Together With You - A Fading Memory Experiment

There is a moment in every person's life when they are given several options they had to choose from, for William this was this moment, he felt the burning curiosity at whatever the older man was talking about and what they seemed so secretive about it but a look back at his companion made him reign himself, Toby was reacting badly to whatever they were talking about and if he insisted they investigated she would likely take it even worse, he didn't want the normally nervous girl to get even more so.

Giving a last look at the retreating back of the Bilica elder he directed his attention to Toby once more with a smile.

"Wow, I didn't know Mr. Bilica and Mr. Howard were such good friends! Is nice knowing they seem to be so close enough to be hanging up in the festival together, hey it's kind of like us!"

Foot meet mouth, ugh sometimes he wished he had a better filter, what else could he say, he didn't want to leave it at that.., Oh right.

"Hey Toby I just realized I have been kind of dragging you along to Mount Bilica, do you really want to go or would you prefer to wait here for the Festival to start? I get to spend time with a friend so I am cool with both dude"

It was at that moment that he felt his phone vibrate slightly notifying him of a message.

"Wait for a second please just got a message"

Reading it quickly he was torn again between two options again but it was through sheer force of will that he managed to prevail against his childish impulses.

"Yo new phone, who dis?"

He

"Okay right, so what do you say Toby, stay or go?"

@Teyao

"I..." Toby murmured, still unsure of what had just transpired. "I'm cool with anything you want, to be perfectly honest."

The world seemed to be spinning around her - nothing was making sense anymore, everything was haywire. Above all, a deep sense of dread began to coagulate in a pit in her stomach. Something isn't right.

"We should go."

@Teyao

Dreaming Together With You - A Fading Memory Experiment

Will post soon, been very busy lately.

Dreaming Together With You - A Fading Memory Experiment

Toby had watched the exchange unfold with a demeanor that could only be described as that of a frozen statue, completely petrified and unable to even think or process what she'd just witnessed. This was way above her league...

Who are they talking about? Votes? What...

Toby gestured at Will with a worried, trembling gaze, almost shivering in fright. She... she just didn't know what to do.

@Teyao

Dreaming Together With You - A Fading Memory Experiment

Toby scrunched her nose in mild concern, but ultimately shook her head.

"There's no point..." she muttered. "Is there anywhere you'd like to go?"

She hoped Will would have a better idea, frankly. All of her own ideas nowadays were just turning to crap.

@Teyao

Dreaming Together With You - A Fading Memory Experiment

The smile on his face could melt snow he was sure, hanging with someone was always so much fun! Oh he could't wait.

"Great! come jump into my bike and we can star searching for her, do you have any idea where she may be, forget that just point in a directon and we will be off!"

@myrkwise

Toby pondered the question for a bit, before pulling out her phone, attempting to call Audrey right then and there. She knew her cousin had the habit of wandering off, though, so it wouldn't be a surprise if she couldn't pick up...

@Teyao @Gisk

Dreaming Together With You - A Fading Memory Experiment

Toby shuffled awkwardly in place, hesitant on what she should say. Glancing up at the sun, she knew she still had time to spare… And it had been a while since she’d hanged out with Will…

“I… Sure,” she replied. “Do you want to see if Audrey might be around?”

@Teyao

Dreaming Together With You - A Fading Memory Experiment

"I..." Toby began, though she quickly scrambled and hesitated over what to actually say. What could she tell him - that she'd spent the past week in a fugue of self pity over her own failure to perform well in the exams? That would just be self-gratifying.

"Things are fine, I guess," she shrugged. "You?"

Dreaming Together With You - A Fading Memory Experiment

Toby knew she was weak- though, perhaps that wasn't quite the right word for it. Weakness implied a sickness, a defect within her that diminished whatever higher potential there could ever have been. It was a word of capitulation, of admitting one's bankruptcy of strength. The issue, however, was that Toby knew that wasn't the case. There was a sense of will, an impulse within her that drove her forward, that pushed her past her cowardice and allowed her to attain something of value. The reality was not that she lacked any strength at all - it was simply that, for whatever reason, she didn't want to be strong. There was a part of her - she knew - that accepted her passivity, that crowed and longed for it, even. Was it cowardice? No- it was something else entirely.

"... Because... I'm bored. I want to play."

It's fine, Toby internally mused, as her body merely froze in place upon the sight of Odaya. Don't reject it. Don't try to run away. What point is there in that? Isn't this just fair? Don't you deserve this? You shouldn't pretend like-

Her train of thought was shattered by a familiar, warm voice.

"Hey Toby! there you are! come on you promised to help with my deliveries."

William. It was so... like him to interfere in something like this.

In the end, despite the poison that lurked and snapped inside her mind, Toby knew that his presence was a lifeline for her- an opportunity to ignore that malicious taint for a higher, brighter aim. There was no contest, no ofuscation at that point. Paper beat rock, her friend's subtle plea beat her own pathetic complex of self-flagelation.

"Coming." she simply replied, turning to William's direction with a flat expression on her face.

Dreaming Together With You - A Fading Memory Experiment

The marketplace was bustling with the voices of dozens of people, all chattering amongst each other in tones that seemed to meld and warp into a mixed-up bowl of personalities, hopes, and dreams - all of which were, for the moment, irrelevant to Toby's mission. She was currently out shopping on her mother's instruction, with the latter requiring fresh oysters and fish for dinner. Toby was glad to be given an opportunity to show her worth and ability to be responsible - though she couldn't help feeling all too nervous about the whole ordeal, being all alone in seemingly never-ending crowds.

Internally, she wished that someone - anyone - could've been by her side at that moment.

Dreaming Together With You - A Fading Memory Experiment

Prefacing this, Toby is the kind of character who when approached first by anyone for any reason, will probably be pretty clingy and attached. Very, very low standards in terms of relationships and friendships for her. So any one of the other characters could conceivably become a very close friend to her quite easily.

Considering that:

@psych0pomp : I think with Toby and Ambrose, Toby would appreciate his earnestness and compassion a lot, and I could easily see him helping her through her emotional issues.

@Teyao : Interestingly, William and Toby are both 15, being the youngest in the group. I think it would be interesting if they were friends to some degree, though their personalities are quite contrasting - one could say they complement each other?

@Jumbus : Toby and Rowan are quite similar in their anxiety and desire to live up to expectations. The difference I’d say is that Rowan is more capable of actually reaching those expectations, and has somw coping mechanisms. Maybe she could share in these with Toby?

@SilverPaw: Toby would definitely find Damon interesting and be generally friendly towards him, though I don’t think they would be friends right off the bat, unless he made the first move. She’d relate strongly to his desire to be liked and appreciated.

@webboysurf: Nathanial would probably intimidate Toby quite a bit.

@Cassette: Not sure with this one sadly. Maybe Toby and Elias could bond over being raised by single parents.