[03, action] A cage is still a cage.

[biladi.livejournal.com]

[ Hands over his eyes, forehead pressed against a high stone wall, a boy counts out loud, pace slow to buy more time for those out of sight. For the moment, he's alone, and he should be, given the game he's playing. ]

Bes. Alti. Yedi. Sekiz...

[ On twenty, the boy uncovers his eyes, turns around, and walks away from the wall. A familiar face from a much younger time, he has the looks (as deceiving as they are) of one in his mid-teens. Different pieces here and there — more metal, more red, and not a speck of green, save for his eyes — but the overall look hasn't strayed too far from what's been seen. Gold bangles around his ankles clink together as he turns in place; aside from the light breeze and occasional songbird, it's the only sound to be heard in the small courtyard.

After a long pause there's a quiet gasp. He's taking in the afternoon scenery more than actively thinking of where to look for those in hiding.

My God. This place is... ]


(ooc: Topkapı Sarayı, during the late 1500s. Here's some more pictures to give you guys an idea of what it looks like, plus more areas to explore.)

Comments

[toomanyverses.livejournal.com]

[Greece finds himself higher than he was a minute ago, toes jammed into a small foothold and vision blocked by a mass of bright green foliage. He remembers this, very clearly; the light is warm, the breeze is soft, the branch he clings to is solid and...

...

Very, very real. He doesn't fall out of the tree, but he does freeze, still in plain sight for anyone who wants to come and find him.

What will they see but a small boy in dirty clothes, bright eyes still wide in his face, perched incredibly, precariously high?]

[biladi.livejournal.com]

[The last thing he remembers before the courtyard is Balamb. His dorm. Had he fallen asleep so soon? But.. he wasn't sleeping, he's sure of it. He almost felt sick moments before, this indescribable, but very tangible thing.

If this isn't a dream, what is it?

Egypt ventures further into the courtyard, nearing the tree Greece had climbed earlier. He pauses every once in a while as if unsure of what to do. Should he go inside the palace, or stay here? Does he want to keep playing? Does he want to try and look for anyone specific?

He's unsure of many things right now.]

[toomanyverses.livejournal.com]

[He... was hiding. Yes. That was what he was doing. Is doing. It all seems so real... should he keep playing along? He can see Egypt down there. Does he want to keep playing? Or does he just want to see Egypt, before Turkey comes back?

He remembers how he got down. ...Should he go?]

[biladi.livejournal.com]

[If he goes, he'll get caught for sure.

...It was hide and seek, wasn't it? And someone used to hide up in the trees. A good climber that didn't mind the scrape of branches across their shins. It's been far too long; Egypt can't remember.

He turns and circles, looking up as he skims fingertips against the old (but much younger) bark, almost right beneath Greece's feet. Close.]

[toomanyverses.livejournal.com]

[Now this is even more familiar -- darting up higher, just in case Egypt touches his foot and realises that he really is there. He wonders why he did that. It would have been sneakier to move slowly, because while the foliage is easy to hide in, it makes a lot of noise.

...This is how he remembers being caught. He used to be so jumpy.]

[biladi.livejournal.com]

[A leaf or two drifts down in front of his face. One lands on the top of his headscarf. Egypt stops circling and cranes his neck, peering through the branches.]

Found you...!

[He's surprised when the words that tumble past his lips are Turkish. A very old kind of Turkish he was certain he'd forgotten how to speak, but the sound of it still resonates.]

[toomanyverses.livejournal.com]

[Greece goes wide-eyed and shrinks back a bit. He hasn't heard Egypt speak like that in centuries; the sound of it is both unsettling and familiar. Egypt had spoken the language long before Greece had stopped spiting Turkey with his mother's speech... now he knows that Turkey is definitely around. Someone would have been listening, ready to tell if someone was getting cocky and speaking in their own way.]

[biladi.livejournal.com]

[Wait, was that—]

Come down. [After a contemplative pause, he reaches up and shakes one of the branches. Gently.

...Don't make him climb. He never did like it much. Egypt vastly prefers his feet touching earth, thank you.]

[toomanyverses.livejournal.com]

[Greece had forgotten how much time he used to spend pretending that he wasn't there. Not just when he wanted to avoid Turkey, but during games, when he didn't want to admit he'd been found.

He used to think that keeping silent and pretending he was part of the tree would always work, too.]

[biladi.livejournal.com]

[Egypt was stubborn even back then. Someone's hiding (very poorly)! He's not giving up!]

Ngh... [He's hoisting himself up on the strongest branch that'll hold his weight, and climbing higher. At some point he winces, left arm recoiling and delaying his ascent. Why does it feel so sore? Gotta be more careful, then...]

[toomanyverses.livejournal.com]

[It's been such a long time since Greece has been small enough to hide anywhere, too. He's got no qualms about slowly backing further into the tree, since Egypt will end up rustling those leaves and accidentally covering for him.]

[biladi.livejournal.com]

[He isn't sure how he feels about all his words coming out in Ottoman Turkish. Why won't the English come like he intends for it to? At least Greece can't see his conflicted expression from here.]

You'll fall... [If you go any higher. Actually, it's more likely that Egypt will be the one falling in his slightly handicapped state. Up and up he goes, trying to catch the little kid still evading him.]

1/2

[bratbeyond.livejournal.com]

[One minute, he's repairing his cellphone - it doesn't get service, but the games still work! (And dangnabit, he's not giving up Angry Birds without a fight) - and the next... the world's...

... well, it's not Garden, that's for sure.]

2/2

[bratbeyond.livejournal.com]

[So he immediately tucks his cellphone and mini-screwdriver into his pockets and starts to inspect the area. It looks like home... it feels like home... but the language doesn't sound home.]

What the hell did I just wander into...?

[monkingaround.livejournal.com]

[Well. This is certainly not the bed he was just sleeping in. Aang blinks a few times, confused, before looking around and spotting Damian some feet away. He looks just as confused as Aang feels. He makes his way over to the other boy, hoping he has some information.]

Uh, Damian...where are we?

[bratbeyond.livejournal.com]

[Pinged by Aang's voice! Thank god he's got someone else in this place--and wait, is Aang speaking Turkish? That's new.]

... I'd tell you, but I don't know. It looks a little like Seville, but it's too new to be my dad's hometown.

[monkingaround.livejournal.com]

How did we even get here? [He looks around, apparently not having noticed anything weird about the language.]

/icon fail

[bratbeyond.livejournal.com]

Good question. [Day sighs, also following Aang's gaze. He recognizes the masjid - it'd be hard not to - and some of the other buildings, but not much else.] I'm guessing somewhere in the Middle East - if we're on Earth - but I'm not sure which country.

[toomanyverses.livejournal.com]

[Greece won't go too high. He'll just edge around the trunk so that he's always on the opposite side of the one that Egypt is climbing on.]

[biladi.livejournal.com]

[Stop trying to evade the inevitable, or Egypt's making you count next—]

[biladi.livejournal.com]

[Crack.]

[biladi.livejournal.com]

?!

[NO. NO, NO, NO.

EGYPT DOES NOT LIKE THIS KIND OF DEJA VU.]

[biladi.livejournal.com]

[At least when he lands this time around, the fall isn't as hard, and he isn't using a fragile young girl to break said fall.]

Ow!

[toomanyverses.livejournal.com]

[OKAY PLAY TIME IS OVER ;___; Greece still knows how to get down, so he goes, though he's careful about it -- he doesn't want to slip and fall on Egypt. He might be a child again, but that doesn't mean that it would be a soft landing.]

Égyptos...!

[biladi.livejournal.com]

[Despite the dull sting in his arm and his behind, Egypt smiles after finally getting a good look at young Greece.

...So young. It's not the same excited joy he felt when first seeing Greece in Balamb. It's more... nostalgic. Very nostalgic.]

...Help me up. [His tone is quiet, holding not a single ounce of demand. Still with that oddly mixed smile, Egypt raises his arms, holding his hands out towards Greece, palms facing downward.]