Winkie's Hut 1} Winkie, Leonor, and Planae

Winkie played by Kiki, Leonor played by Leng, Planae played by Orange

The dimly-lit opening shone like a beacon of hope in the darkness and ominous silence of the beyond. There was a quiet wavering bass sound resonating from it constantly, which was likely a way for blind trolls to find it as well. It was crafted out of some sort of hard mud or clay, branches, and stones. It was fairly large, enough to hold more than one troll inside, and was definitely warm compared to the harsh cold caused by the snow and the overhead trees keeping the bright Amalgaman sun from heating up the forest where the mysterious huts stayed. There was remnants of a campfire outside, covered in ice and ashes. There didn't seem to be any trolls nearby that inhabited it, but it seemed like a very safe place to stay overnight to avoid what little sun crept through the trees to burn trolls' skin, and whatever creatures were out and hungry from the winter drought.

Leonor had been following the strange sound for a while now, it was different from the horrors in her head, and different from all the drums and whispers she was used to hearing. Normally she would not have noticed the sound, as most sounds didn't make it through the rainbow tented nightmare fog she existed in. She she had been walking slowly toward the sound for what seemed like days, and didn't seem to notice when she'd hit the wall of a hut a while ago. She kept trying to move forward paying no head to the solid object blocking her path.

A soft, tired voice came out from behind her. "hello?
winkie can smell you.... is someone there?"
There was a troll of average height behind her, watching her walk into the wall of the hut. It seemed close to breaking under the weight of her, being made of simple materials. They seemed to be looking directly at her, although you could tell from the glazed-over look in their eyes that nothing was being projected towards them, and they were in fact just getting around through smell and sound alone. "do you need help?" They held out a hand towards her, offering to pull her for.. some reason.

Leonor paused in her walking. A voice? It was hard to make out past all the nonexistent shreeking and wailing. She focused on the real world a moment and, very slowly, moved her hand up to her face. Did she get a call from her friend? She squinted at it a moment, trying to focus on reality.

Hrm.. No.. nothing from FR. FR was a busy troll after all, she couldn't be calling all the time.

Hrm.. Maybe she was hearing new things. Well it was a pleasent sound at least! Almost like someone speaking to her. Oh how lovely that would be. It had been a while since she'd met a living person, or even a dead one, in.. well.. person.
She could hear the drumming in the direction of the voice, maybe she was about to find out who'd been doing all that drumming all these years!
"Hello." She whispered hoarsely. "Are you... There?"

"winkie thinks so..." They lowered their hand, and looked down quizzically. "how did you find it here?" They tried to gently move her away from the wall, so that they could repair it. "are you okay?"

She took a moment to focus on Winkie, not putting the slightest bit of resistance against being redirected. She'd had a great deal of practice on focusing since she had started using digital devices. She just didn't always put much effort into it when she didn't already know for sure there was something to see. Though, what she was seeing she wasn't fully sure how much of it was real.
"Sound. Different. So I... Followed it?" She did her best to explain the thought process. It wasn't much of one really. She just didn't always put much effort into thinking either, unless she had something there to think about.

They grazed their hands along her arms and the wall, trying to get a feel for where she was in relation to everything else. "sound is here for winkie to find... winkie cannot see, winkie doesnt think...
They put their hands down and backed up. "who are you?"
Their wings were crooked, seemingly not by choice, but not damaged, either. They were lighting up the hut with their wings and eyes alone, causing it to leak out into the forest.

And who was coming up on the hut, if not Planae, aboard their... board. They were aboard it. On board. Literally. Zooming through the night, looking for adventure. Really they were looking for somewhere to stay for the day, in these as-of-yet unseen areas, they didn't have any patrols this far out. Oh, would you look at that, a glowing hut in the night. A glowing hut. Those were usually interesting, there was that human lady, but this looked considerably more run down. Might as well go and check it out, right?

So they turned towards it, gradually slowing down, to find the source of the glow. It was cold out. Maybe the inside would be warmer....

Drawing a small tazer sort of weapon from a pouch on their belt, Planae gently knocked on the door.

The forest light leakage wasn't from Winkie alone, as Leonor also gave off a glow. But she'd not met many other glowing people in her shuffling, atleast, not that she remembered.
"Am. Leonor. Are you... A ghost?"
Her head turned slightly as she heard more drums in the distance, quickly getting louder. She didn't hear the knock at all, not over all the other sounds going on.

Winkie drifted over to the door, opening it. "winkie doesn't think so... winkie has been alive for a long time...." They looked at Planae, eyes empty. "**is somebody there? winkie smells you.... smells like herbs... do you need help?"

Planae heard a familiar voice-- but not one they could put a finger on. Pushing the surprisingly-unlocked door open, they stepped in. Who were these trolls? Why did the Leonor one-- that seemed to be her name, at least-- look so familiar? But wait.

Wait.
"You're a mutant." The unaffected, robotic voice spoke, while Planae was practically frozen in place. Another mutant? Could they really be? Wings, tails-- they missed their tail-- arms, the color of... This had to be another mutant.

Leonor didn't recognize the new figure, though most of her focus was on Winkie, so she was lucky to even notice there was a new figure.
"No. Dead." She corrected, thinking it was her being spoken to.

"winkie... mutant?" They turned around towards Leonor. "who are you?" Their memory seemed to have finally lapsed, and they had forgotten what was happening. "winkie isn't.... mutant. winkie thinks?"

Planae swallowed all the questions they had. It was time to take stock of the situation. Two trolls, both... glowing... one of them looked half-dead and the other looked one-quarter-dead. Wings, that looked capable enough of flight, if not for the general crookedness. This hut was sturdy enough for now, but it wouldn't last forever.

Dead. Was that some sort of joke? It had to be. They could deal with that later, though, this troll that was clearly a mutant was just denying the fact! "Well, what color is your blood." Planae didn't trust themselves to speak, not with every possible thing to say practically jumping out of their mouth already.

"I like... Blood?" Leonor felt like the newest stranger smelt familiar, but also not at all familiar at the same time. Maybe it was a perfume? Oh no had she stumbled into some romantic affair? How exciting! But also rude of her to interrupt.

"winkie... doesnt know... winkie cannot see..." Winkie pulled Planae in, shutting the door behind them. "*winkie has blood... winkie can give...." They cut off what they were saying, trailing off as a sound outside distracted them. They then stood in place, almost completely still, near-catatonic. Their fins and horns together, along with the color alone, showed that they weren't highblood or lowblood, and that was likely why they didn't even know their own blood color, especially coupled with the lack of sleep quite literally rotting their brain.

Fins. But this was no seadweller. If the wings meant anything, at least, alongside the strangely skewed color of them and their eyes. Almost like an ironblood, but... fins. Huh. Looked pretty mutant-y to Planae, at least. And the other one...

It clicked. She looked exactly like the legendary rainbow drinkers. This was a rainbow drinker. But why did she claim to be dead? Was she actually claiming that? Planae, in their search for shelter, had stumbled upon nothing by like 7 different interconnecting mysteries. Why did the rainbow drinker-- Leonor-- bug them so much, though, they could swear they recognized her...

Leonor couldn't hear anything above all the drums and whispers that were so loud now to her. She hadn't heard them in a while so it was a little overwhelming. Slowly she leaned forward to try and hear what they had to say, though it was hardly ever anything new. Nope, same ol same ol. drink over and over. Really they should try to learn a new thing to whisper.
Slowly she clasped her hands before her. "Lovers. Hidden. Am I... Intruding?"

"lovers?" Winkie asked curiously, sniffing the air again to check who was nearby. "were we lovers? winkie doesn't remember..." They held their hands out to their sides for anyone to grab, wwhich seemed to be their easiest way of communication. Touch always helped them remember, just for a little while longer, so that they could keep track of what was happening. "winkie is sorry, if we were..."

This was ridiculous. Planae stretched their arm out for Winkie to grab, and turned to face Leonor. Then it clicked even more.

"ɭє๏ภ๏г!" They immediately covered up their exclamation with a cough. "Leonor," the robot piped up, "don't worry. You aren't intruding on anything." How'd she get all the way out here? And when did she meet this other mutant troll? Was Planae really the only sane one here?

'Sane' being a stretch, of course.

To hear her name exclaimed so suddenly and knowingly caught her attention. She paused in her very slow action of moving her hands up to clasp the one offered to her and looked to Planae again. She couldn't really make their face out, no matter how hard she tried.
"Friend. Different. Did you get... A makeover?"

"Yes, I think, I think I have changed. It has been a while." The small voicebot was Planae's only barrier between grabbing Leonor by the shoulders and shaking her-- verbally. They realized that, at that point, everyone was holding hands. This was, Leonor. Leonor, Leonor Leonor, they'd certainly met before. Why was it so hard to remember? Was it from before...? No, couldn't be. Something must be bugging out, they had to fix it, that would solve all these strange memory issues. When was it, that they met? If only they could pinpoint a detail.

"Striking. Exotic. I like... Your new look?" She was sure it was amazing, though it almost looked like he had just covered his face in plants. But maybe that was in fashion! How trendy. "Spice. Romance. Tell me... All the details?"

"All the details..." It somehow felt wrong to depend on the robot to speak around her, though they couldn't fathom why. She asked for details, though, but they couldn't remember when they'd originally met! Think, think... New look? Could it have been, before the moss? Must be. Well, that was easy then, she probably didn't remember either.

"I've discovered a new energy source. This moss you see, allows me to function better. I believe I had, robotic enhancements when I met you at first?" The mutant one was clinging to their sleeve, otherwise they seemed fine. As fine as they could seem, with their glassy, wide-eyed stare, and absolutely vacant expression.

"Robotic. Moss. That sounds... Complicated?" Guess they were shy about their love. Oh how she wanted to pry, but that would be rude to ignore what they'd been up to.

"Attractive. Stylish. You function... Fine?"

"Yes, I function as well as ever. At this point, I suspect the mix of moss and robotics is extending my lifespan-- not that I truly know how long it would be, naturally." Planae did love to brag about the moss, it was really their weak spot. Besides all of their other weak spots, like their head, and blood pusher, and, you get the point. Planae is absolutely mortal. "How have... you, been?" They had a sneaking suspicion she would allude to being dead.

"Terrible. Dead. I got.. A moirail?" She was very excited about it. Making a friend after death was something she'd thought imposible, but she'd done it once and that had given ehr the currage to try and make mroe friends, and That was how she'd found a moirail.

OH! Oh this was.. This was her first dead friend! She remembered now, but she couldn't recall their name. How terrible of her to forget the name of someone so important to her? She was sure they had reminded her before. "Stupid. Leonor. I forgot... your name?" And after she'd been doing so good remembering her own.

Planae laughed, shortly, politely, mossily. "Planae, is my name," the robot went on, "and don't worry. It has been some time since we last spoke, after all." A moirail? All the way out here? Could it be this other troll, who Planae had a sneaking suspicion was named Winkie, that was grasping their arm as if they were blind? And she was still going on about being dead, despite the fact that Planae knew full well at that point that she's a rainbow drinker. Who knows, maybe they're all like that, convinced they're dead.

"So long. Planae. I missed... you?" She was glad she didn't say what she thought their name was, Plant. That would have been embarrassing. It must be the face moss that was throwing her off. At least, she assumed it was moss. Hard not to when they had mentioned moss, it was in her head now.

Leonor turned slowly, raising her arm that held Winkie's hand.
"Concupiscent. Conciliatory. Red. Black. I want... Details?"

Winkie blinked a few times, slowly realizing Leonor was talking to them. "quadrants?" They took one of their secondary hands and ran it across some dotted scars in the pattern of braille on their other forearm. "winkie... does not seem to be in any quadrants, that this says..."
They put their hand against Leonor's head, feeling her hair.. almost uncomfortably, but it seemed to just be in a curious manner. "winkie... might be? winkie doesn't know... winkie can't remember."

Planae's theory was changing-- maybe these two weren't moirails, were they... matepsprits? Kismeses? It seemed impossible, neither of them looked like they could maintain that kind of relationship... at all... Well. They weren't here to judge, were they?

"It has been a while, Leonor! I'd been looking, somewhat, to make sure you hadn't fallen prey to any of the monsters out here." Thunder rumbled in the near distance. It was going to rain soon. And we all know what rain means, the funky cool glowing rain!

Leonor was confused why her friend wasn't answering her questions, but perhaps they where shy! Oh really she shouldn't pry, but she so desperately wanted to!

"Monsters. Prey. I have not... Seen any?" She didn't recall coming across a single monster, not one she could say for sure was real anyway. "Silly. Ghost. I am... Safe?"

She didn't react to being touched on the head, either not noticing, not caring, or just being that slow to react. "Slumber. Party." She hoped it wouldn't be rude to invite herself over, just for a bit.

"slumber party?" Winkie gently tugged them both backwards, pulling them into a sitting area. They sat on a pillow, pulling their hands away. "winkie would like that."

Now that Planae was dragged over to the cushioned area, still holding everyone's hands, they notices the incoming rain. The roof of the little hut seemed sturdy enough, and the glow of the other trolls (and to a certain extent, Planae themself) was certainly enough light. The somewhat eerie glow outdoors managed to creep inside, still, along with a sudden chill. Planae had a sneaking suspicion that their new companions neither knew nor cared. Oh well, they weren't likely to get stuck in the rain, and that was fortunate! Who knows what they would get up to, left to the rain's devices.

"A slumber party, you say?" They were being polite, towards their fellow mutant-- as polite as they could be, at least. "And it's good you haven't come across any of the monsters! They're of a nasty sort, you know."

"Mosters. Nasty. You stay... Safe?" Leonor swayed, slowly bringing her hands to her face in excitement. She'd been wanting to have a slumber party since FR mentioned them so long ago. She was so lucky she'd come back as a ghost, she'd missed so many awesome things before she died.
"Stories. Gossip. Makeovers. I want... Them all?"

Winkie began swaying as well, feeling the air move differently and going with the current. They brought each hand up to their face, almost mimicking Leonor, despite not being able to see her. "oh, oh... winkie needs to remember this... winkie will be right back..." They hurried into another room, which wasn't a proper room, it was more like a separated.. area.
They came back with puffy paint, and handed it to Planae. "write this on winkie's arm, please... so winkie will remember..."
They weren't sure if Planae knew braille, but really, they were just happy to have this attention.

Planae did not know braille. Planae did know how to draw, from sweeps of blueprints and schematics. "Yes, I have been safe, myself. And it looks like our friend here, Winkie, hasn't come to much harm either." They dipped a finger in the paint and began, well, painting. Simple strokes, to make a basic shape of themself and Leonor.

Thunder boomed. The wind picked up slightly, furthering the chill in the air. Planae was entirely willing to ignore it, and trust that the little structure they found themself in was sufficient.

Leonor slowly clapped her hands at hearing that everyone was doing well. She was so happy that Planae was sharing his friend with her. that means she had three whole friends now. How exciting! To make friends after death, it almost made all the terror worth it!
"Wonderful. Winkie is... my friend?"

Winkie held their arm out, enjoying the feeling of paint on their arm, like a weird, relaxing massage. "winkie is... friend... what are your names? you might have to tell winkie again soon..." Winkie's tilted wings were very slowly flapping, indicating happiness as they swayed.

"Planae, is what you may call me." Once they were done painting, they almost jumped at the newest boom of thunder. And strangely enough, the other trolls didn't seem to notice it at all. They knew, at least, that Leonor heard those drums all the time, but Winkie? They didn't seem deaf, after all, they could at least somewhat hold a conversation. "And the other, is Leonor."

Leonor seemed to focus just a bit more on hearing her name. Her smile grew. "Love. Friends. Planae. Winkie." Her movements a bit less slowed, she moved in to get a big group hug. "I am... Happy?"

She couldn't wait to tell FR all about her day! But that could wait for later. She was just too excited! Maybe she would have to tell her sooner rather than later, just to get some advice on how to do a sleepover! Surely there was more to it than sleeping! She wasn't sure she ever could sleep, being dead and all.

Winkie flapped their wings faster, going in for the hug. Winkie gives good hugs. Winkie has 4 arms. They squeezed them fairly tight, and for some reason, they were letting off a faint scent of flowers. Winkie could not sleep.

While trapped in the hug, Planae reciprocated as best they could. Damp, kind of sharp, and definitely capable of shocking you, they wrapped their arms around both of the other trolls. It had been a while, since they hugged. It was alright. Planae could sleep if they wanted to, but generally opted out of it. The moss provided enough energy to keep them going.

Leonor had to cut her portion of the hug short, despite being the one to instigate it. The sounds were a bit overwhelming when she was that close and it was making her dizzy. She wasn't sure ghosts were able to be dizzy, it was a new thing she just learned! Being to close to the living made her dizzy. That was a bit sad, but she could enjoy their company without touching them, she was sure. Maybe it was becoming corporal that was making her dizzy. Yes that must be it. It wasn't easy!

To be Continued...

Winkie backed out after Leonor, then fluffed their coat back up. They put one of their hands in their front pockets - one of the pockets had been stained from years of their rubbing, as they used the soft fabric as a means of stimming. The roof of the hut started leaking as the rain got stronger, dripping directly onto Planae and Winkie. Winkie's fins perked up at the feeling of water, and they backed up startledly into Leonor. February 9, 2021

Planae Azolla BOT — 02/09/2021 8:42 PM Planae tried to step away, but there wasn't exactly much room in the hut. Nowhere safe, at least. Oh, well. They just hoped they wouldn't grow too violent, in the fit... It would be a shame if anyone got hurt! Especially given the state of the other trolls, would they even be able to defend themselves? Maybe Planae should just leave-- but it was already almost too late. All they could do was hope it would just be fine, while trying to take just another step back. February 13, 2021

A Confused Soup — 02/13/2021 11:51 AM Leonor sniffled and hugged Winkie again, thinking they wanted another hug. It made her even dizzier and she could almost make out what the whispers were saying, but it was fine. Really! She let go from her second hug and moved away again, shuffling around now ending up under a drip herself. Though she didn't seem to notic is the way she noticed the bump. February 17, 2021

hale enthusiast — 02/17/2021 5:13 PM They hugged back, a nice warm squeeze, then let go when she did. Winkie was trying to avoid the water, not exactly a huge fan of the feeling of Wetness™️. They scrunched their nose up and huddled up onto a pillow in the corner, staring at the other two blankly with no vision - just reacting to sound, water, and wondering what the other two looked like.

Planae Azolla BOT — 02/17/2021 5:19 PM Oh, it was almost impossible to keep from getting dripped on. Planae was resigned to the ordeal, and just leaned back into the wall for the moment.

Oh hey, Platae's here. And he was, at the moment, entirely confused. Where was he? Who was this winged troll? And-- oh, that was Leonor! How did he even get here. Was this someone's hive? For the duration of this, he was just pressed up against the wall, looking around like he didn't know where he was (which was, in a sense, true.) March 16, 2021

A Confused Soup — 03/16/2021 7:44 PM Leonor swayed happily under the dripping water. This was already the best sleep over she'd ever been to! How much fun she was having just standing around with her friends. Oh! She had to tell FR all about this! She pulled her communication device out at a glacial pace and happily started typing. March 17, 2021

hale enthusiast — 03/17/2021 2:25 PM Winkie shook their wings, getting the water off. They shook their head, too, but nothing came out - their hair just absorbed it like a sponge. Well, they tried. And their memory seemed to reset again. March 21, 2021

Planae Azolla BOT — 03/21/2021 10:21 PM Alright. Alright. This was the winged troll's hut, right? And there was Leonor! His friend! He hadn't seen her in so long, had they been travelling together? But he didn't remember seeing her... they must have just crossed paths again. But what did this mutantblood have to do with it?

Of course, Winkie's mutant-hood was obvious to Platae. Flame recognize flame, and all that.

"Ɩɛơŋơཞ!" He rushed over, the few paces away that she was, almost shaking with excitement. More rain was plopping down onto him, and he discarded his hat to soak it in. The last few minutes were fuzzy-- they always seemed to be-- but he was pretty sure she had remembered him. Right? March 22, 2021

A Confused Soup — 03/22/2021 3:10 PM Leonor turned her focus from her communication device up to Platae slowly and smiled. "Excited. Planae. I was texting... my moirail?" She she let it go and it dropped to hang at her side from the rope it was attached too. Hopefully texting a friend to tell them about your fun sleepover wasn't rude to do in the middle a fun sleepover. April 5, 2021

hale enthusiast — 04/05/2021 5:35 PM "moirail?" they said, tilting their head. "did winkie get a moirail? planae?" They came a little closer to the rain again, trying to get better hearing of the conversation, but still avoiding the water. Winkie didn't like to get wet.