Facets
An RP by PapillonCameo and Tachigami

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[justify]Andrew pulled the back door open, breathing in the early morning air. It was heavy with the scent of flowers and grass, fresh, standing water and green leaves and pine. He stepped onto the back porch and stared around as he did every morning, taking it in. The lake sparkled like sodalite, the grass as vibrant as green idocrase. Gem-like flowers were nestled here and there, bordering the cobblestone walkway, and willow trees drooped over the land. Two fountains of limestone sat at the end of two cobblestone walkways, surrounded by thick flowers and spouting water. Between them, a statue Andrew considered one of his many prizes. He stepped forward, bushing his amber-gold hair back despite the breeze blowing it to the side. The statue was a dragon, and looked to be made of howlite, a white stony mineral, and the mineral seemed to glimmer as if from within. The statue was lying calmly, its slender body calm as if it were asleep, but its eyes were open and fitted with sapphires. Crouching beside its head, he pulled one of his delicate hands down the curved horn nearer to him, and studied the sapphires. They were flawless---he had inspected them a while back.

Standing, Andrew looked back at his home. It was large and sprawling, and something that had grown and changed a little at a time with each generation that came to live here. And each generation remembered the statue well. He was sure it had been there before the house was even built. Before the first generation even came to build atop the hill. However it came to be, he loved its company. He often sat beside it and talked to it as if it were a real person, as if it could hear him and respond. He probably looked crazy speaking to a statue, having a conversation with it as if he could understand its replies, if it even replied. He simply conjured up replies to keep the conversation alive.

This morning he decided not to, however. It was still early, and he had only just awakened. Andrew's deep green eyes were half-closed in a state of partial alertness. He stood, finding his way back to his home and casting one more glance back. The sun was just beginning to shine through the trees. He sighed, the silence calming and wonderful despite being so close to a big city.[justify]

The wind brushed across the statue's scales, as it had for years. But on this day, something unusual happened. The dragon of stone twitched, and cracks began to appear. True scales were exposed to light once more and sapphire eyes opened in truth for the first time in centuries. A mind awoke, and all else fell apart. Scales transformed to soft, pale, skin and grey flecked with white became the color of long locks of hair. Trembling limbs failed, and the young seeming human man fell to his knees, sapphire eyes wide with confusion and fright.

"W-where am I?" murmured the dragon to himself. "Who am I?" Naked as the day any being was born, he forced himself to his shaky feet. Clamping his lips closed, Leander made his unsteady way to the nearby structure. He didn't know what it was called. He'd never seen anything like it, or maybe he had ... He couldn't remember even that. Shaking his head, the dragon lifted his hands to try and find a way inside. Perhaps there were others like him there? He hoped someone could tell him who he was, and what.

He leaned against the counter in his kitchen, staring at his reflection in a cup of coffee sitting on the limestone countertop. Soon he would have to go to town---it was the weekend, and the weekend entailed a grocery shopping trip, and that meant interacting with others, which he was very bad at. He could barely look someone in the eye when they said hello to them, let alone hold a conversation like a normal human being. Sighing, he looked up, out the window, and froze.

Someone was at one of the two doors that came in from the back of the grounds. Both curious and cautious, he leaned forward and squinted and was even more surprised to see the form was completely naked. He backed away, stepping carefully out of the kitchen and through the hallway, passing a closet and pausing to pull a robe out. His first impression was that the confused-looking young man was lost, perhaps the victim of a kidnapping or something similar that had managed to get free.

He paused before approaching the glass door, throwing the robe over his arm and waving to catch the young man's attention. His hair was a curious color, pure white it seemed, but perhaps with a bit of a darker discoloration. He moved forward a bit more, unlocking the door and pushing the handle down so it would open inward.

Leander found himself wondering what he would do if no one was there, in this strange place. Before despair could overtake him, he caught sight of movement, and relaxed a bit. For some reason he found himself wary still, though he had no idea why. Surely it was instinct, guiding him while his memories were locked away in the recesses of his mind. The dragon shivered slightly as a cooler breeze swept across his soft human skin. It didn't fit. The body he wore. Leander knew that, but not why, or how things had come to be so.

He shrugged, and winced, trying to make it fit. Leander yelped as suddenly the surface he'd been holding himself up with fell inward. He hit the floor hard, and groaned wordlessly. Shaking his head, disheveled hair everywhere, he looked up at the person who'd let him inside. "What is this? Is it a cave?" It seemed like a cave, but made of something other then stone. Ah, his mind wouldn't stay still upon one thing. Amber hair ... Amber. It made him think of a song.

Andrew gasped, too late to catch the young man as he fell forward, but quickly went about helping him up as he spoke. Another confused bloom opened up in the back of his mind. Cave...? "Um... no. This isn't a cave, it's a house." Had he escaped an asylum? Or a prison? He seemed disoriented in a way that just didn't fit with a kidnapping. The concept of a house---even a door---confused him. Andrew shook his head, taking the robe off his arm and wrapping it around the stranger. If he were crazy... perhaps Andrew could react accordingly if he were to get violent. He wasn't a fighter, but he was sure he could hold his own against such a slight young man.

"Where... where did you come from?" Andrew felt his shyness arise again when he spoke, but bit it back and forced himself to take some kind of lead. "Are you okay? Hurt? Um... do you remember anything...?" He silently urged the young man to follow him to a safe place to sit.

"A ... house?" He tilted his head as he was covered with cloth. Leander shrugged it off, not liking the feel of anything covering him and restricting his movements. It felt like that had been the case for far too long. A house... Leander had to mull over that, and looked around trying to make sense of the concept. A house, was it like a cave then? Someplace of safety, rest and community? It seemed so, to this place was as empty as any he'd ever seen.

He frowned. "I ... I .. don't remember from where, or when .. or Who I am, or what. All I remember is my name. Leander." Leader ignored the cloth, crumpled upon the floor, as he stood to follow the other man. The chairs they settled upon were soft. The red velvet cushions upon them made them so.

When he rejected the clothes Andrew scooped them back up, curious and confused, and a bit cautious as he led the young man into the first floor den. "Here... Leander... At least put this over you." He handed him the clothing and sat across from him. "So... you don't know anything at all? Except your name...?" It rendered him speechless. How could someone forget everything except their name? Everything, even what year it was, and where they even were? "Well... Leander... First of all, my name is Andrew. This is my home, so I guess you could call it a cave. I've lived here my whole life, after my family. And the year is... 2110. Does any of this make sense to you?"

He had heard of amnesia, forgetting so many things, sometimes everything but very basic things, but Leander seemed to have forgotten everything except his name. He was confused at the concept of a house, and didn't even bother focusing on clothing.

He tried, he really did.. But in the end he simply couldn't comply with Andrew's request. He tried putting his legs into the holes for them, but all that did was protect his lower calves, there was still a long stretch of fabric flopping about on the ground uselessly. "Your name. Everything else ..." He frowned and shook his head. "I feel ... like something important happened, but .. I can't remember." He wanted to curl up someplace dark and hide, where he could think safely without the eyes of a stranger looking at him.

Andrew cradled his head in his hands, confusion reigning in his mind. "Okay... Okay, look..." He stepped forward and knelt, picking up the robe and draping it over Leander's bottom half. "You know, trying to force your memory to return won't help. You have to stop trying to force yourself to remember, okay? Just stay calm and relax your mind, and you'll remember soon." He didn't know what to do. Call a doctor? The police? But did he even come from the city just a few miles away? A naked man running down the road would definitely be a suspicious sight, after all. Andrew took a breath to calm himself, finding it easier to talk in his own environment.

"Leander, while you try to remember... are you hungry at all? God only knows how long you've gone without food..." And he did look thin. Perhaps he had wandered until he found Andrew's home and simply couldn't remember the journey.

Forcing himself to remember? Leander doubted he had been doing such a thing. He felt like he'd been testing the waters of his own mind to see to what depths he could plunge. He couldn't go very deep. Not yet. Perhaps not ever again. "Ah .." He looked down at his stomach, lifted a hand to press it against his empty abdomen. With a quick motion of the head, the dragon nodded yes. Food. The prospect of it had him shifting about eagerly.

"Do you live here all alone?" If there were others . .Would they be so trustworthy as Andrew? He seemed rather unique in that way for a human. A human? But Leander was human as well, so why did he seem to think he wasn't? The dragon's features turned to a frown once more as he slipped his hands onto the robe.

Andrew nodded, standing upright and stepping back, bringing Leander with him. "I do live alone, yes... I have for a long time... But I don't really mind." He brought the young man with him as they traveled to the kitchen, through the entrance hall and then the hallway, then the dining room, and finally to the bright, morning-sun lit kitchen. It was full of updated wares, but made to look more vintage. "I don't really know what you eat... So maybe you could tell me?" He stared around the place beside Leander as if looking for an answer.

Was he even human? What a stupid thing to ask himself. Andrew shook his head, pulled his hands through his hair and made it lie back. "What do you eat, Leander?" He could at least remember that. If not, Andrew would have to go through a trial and error movement just so Leander would eat and hopefully begin to remember so neither of them were flailing around in a cloud of cluelessness.

The pale haired dragon allowed himself to be guided through the sumptuous halls. There were so many things to stare at. Images upon the walls, flowers in glass containers, and furniture he had no idea what to call. Everything was alien to him. The cloth covering had fallen away when he'd stood, and it left Leander's hands free to wander the walls, the things. He marveled at the textures, how soft the cloth was, and how the slopping and curving edges of furniture felt beneath his finger tips.

Once inside the kitchen, he walked to the counter and splayed his hands across the cool stone. That felt ... familiar somehow, as if a song only he could hear echoed in his mind. "I don't know what I eat." He knew nothing about himself, or anything else for that matter.

He behaved so oddly. Everything seemed utterly new to him, so much so that the very concept of a picture on the wall seemed to baffle Leander to a strange silence. He left the young man's side, however, when they entered the kitchen and started collecting things he could see. "Ah, you don't? Well, I guess that can be added to the list of questions..." He gathered fruits he still had, cutting their cores and leafy tops off and setting them on a large plate he'd pulled from the cupboard. "But we'll start easy, okay?" He put some remaining strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, grapes, and half a peeled peach onto the plate and set it in front of Leander.

"Everything there is sweet and easy to eat, but if you don't like any of it you don't have to eat... I'm running low on food, but I'm sure I could find something else if you don't like that..." Andrew put a hand to his head, looking around his kitchen and remembering his coffee, finding it lukewarm but still drinkable. He downed half of it in a couple gulps and leaned against the counter. "What do you think so far...?"

Hesitantly, Leander plucked up a red berry. A berry, he knew what those were. Gently, he munched on it. Flavor burst in his mouth. The dragon made a happy sound, and began eating all the berries without really thinking that his companion might want any. He found himself hungrier then he'd expected, and still wanting more when there were none left. "I like these ... But now there aren't anymore for you."

Andrew smiled, brushing back his hair and nodding. "Yeah, well it's okay. Today's the day I go into town and get more, anyway. But I think I have something else you may like..." He turned, pulling the refrigerator door open and finding his nearly-empty bags of vegetables. A few crisp carrots, mild bell peppers, a head of broccoli and cauliflower and a couple sticks of celery. He found a bag of button mushrooms alongside them and decided to pull those out as well.

"These are similar to those, but not really sweet." Andrew noted, washing the items before presenting them on the same plate that had held the fruits before. Leander seemed to be starved---but how long had he gone without food? A day? More? It was definitely painful to think about.

He fidgeted eagerly. All these new things, flavors he'd never tasted before... Leander nearly didn't know how to react when he bit into one of the orange sticks. They had the same kind of crunch as bone, but they tasted to deliciously fresh! He tilted his head to the side as he continued munching on carrots and bell peppers. He had tried to eat the broccoli and cauliflower, but had made a face and set them aside.

"Do people eat bones? I think I remember eating them, no .. " Leander frowned, sapphire eyes scrunching up in concentration. "I didn't eat them, I chewed them in my teeth and sucked out the marrow." It had been so delicious, like the carrots. Maybe it had been a treat?

Bones? Andrew paused, considering. People did eat marrow bones, but that was a rather specific type of bone, wasn't it? "Well... sure, people do eat bones... in a specific way..." It seemed Leander had begun to remember some things. "Look, how about this..." He stepped forward, taking what was left after Leander was finished and cleaning the plate. "I... know you don't know much... not yet... And you're still remembering... But I have to leave for a while... Why don't I show you to a room upstairs and you can rest there, and try to remember who---and what, even---you are? That way you won't hurt yourself while I'm gone, and no one will bother you."

He mentally crossed his fingers, feeling that putting Leander anywhere near a vehicle would be a battle that he didn't need to face---yet---and he didn't even want to think about the people. And Leander's state of undress seemed to be the biggest problem regarding the young man. He had to at least wear pants, but didn't seem to want to.

The young man, or what seemed to be one, leaned his elbows against the hard counter top and tilted his head quizzically. "What are stairs? And ... why would I hurt myself? I don't think .. " He frowned. "I don't think I would do that, would I?" Leander didn't even know himself. His lips trembled a bit at the thought. He was as alien to himself as everything else! There was nothing like that .. that should have happened. He had only been trying to relax, before the .. Well his thoughts stopped short at that. He knew something had happened, he just couldn't remember what, or anything else.

Andrew looked down, stepping to the center island Leander was at and leaning against it the way the young man did. "Look, Leander... I don't know where you come from. But everything here is... strange to you. Stairs, for example---they're stacked... pieces of floor that lead to a higher floor, basically. But then there are other things. Things that give us light---lamps---that might hurt you if you touch them wrong. And blades that I use here to cut up food. And things that'll catch fire if you're not careful. Or burn you, or hurt you in another way if you don't know how to use them. I just want you to be safe because I can't take you to where I'm going off to for a time."

He looked down. "I just don't know much about you yet, but I do want to help you learn. Wherever you came from... it didn't have anything like this, I guess. And since you don't know anything about yourself, we have to figure that out too... Before we get anyone else involved if that's necessary, which I really hope it's not..." He added the last bit quietly, talking to himself.

It felt like he was being hemmed in, and not by stone. Leander growled low in his throat, shifting upon his legs, and shoved himself away from the counter top. He breathed in deep. Soon, calm once more, he tilts his head to peer at the other man once more. "I suppose ... you're right. It's rather maddening though." Not knowing anything at all. It would drive him mad, if he wasn't already.

"Meat, venison .. Do you think you could find such a thing?" Leander didn't know why he wanted it though.

Andrew tilted his head at the young man, worrying that if he had a mental illness it was about to show. But curiously, he settled down easily enough, and Andrew calmed himself in turn. "I know, it's pretty... frustrating... But look---I don't know anything about you. You don' even know where you are and I can't bring you with me right now. It's safest for you to stay here while I'm not around but when I come back, I'll accompany you wherever you want to go, I'll answer any question you have and I'll see if I can help you get your memory back somehow, okay?"

He sighed, nodding. "Sure, I can get you venison... And other meats... I can get you some marrow bones, too, if you want some. But you have to stay in one of my rooms while I'm not here, okay? If you're hurt by something you don't understand... well, I don't know..." He felt he would be responsible, and that hurt to think about. He already felt somewhat responsible for this confused young man.

Leander nodded along. Everything the other man said made quite a lot of sense. It was true, the whole world was alien to him, even himself. "Which room? And ... what is it I'm allowed to touch?" He didn't know anything. In fact, Leander was as ignorant as a child, born new to the world. And like a newborn, he looked to Andrew for all the answers, blue eyes wide and trusting.

Andrew opened his mouth, then stopped. "I... Well, I think it's best I show you, rather than tell you. That way you'll understand what's what while I'm gone. Then I'll be able to help you out with everything else when I'm back. And maybe help you get used to clothing, too..." It was odd to act so nonchalantly while someone was completely naked and acting as if it were normal. For him it may have been, but wherever he came from was nowhere similar to the world Andrew knew. And if Leander wanted to investigate the world, he'd have to wear a bit of clothing. He went around the counter, leading Leander through the house and up the stairs. A pair of wide halls met them, and he approached the door to the immediate left. A guest room that was never used---he never had guests, after all. He opened the door, pushing it in. "Here we are." He said, nodding to Leander.

Clothing. He really didn't like the thought of wearing such restricting things. Even so, he let himself be guided without a word. The stairs were a bit like mountain rocks, uneven and yet steady all the same. The places Andrew walked him through were so strange. There was so much metal, and so many sharp edges. And the room he was shown, it was like nothing he could feel comfortable sleeping in. "It's so ... different then the place I'm used to ..." Why did he remember greenery surrounding him? For years and years, everything green. Either that or rocks, softly singing.