Third Shard [Action]

[soheartless]

Once upon a time...

There was a prince who was locked in a tower. His kingdom had been conquered by a dark king who was known for his ravenous greed, and he sealed off the prince from his people whom he loved. Alone and desperate, the prince was overwhelmed by sorrow until a miracle appeared. A swan had come to his window, and her feathers concealed letters from the people he missed so dearly. Day after day, the swan returned, bringing him more words of hope and well wishes from his people. These letters helped to rebuild the prince's heart, and he started to have hope again. One day, the swan decided to fulfill that hope. She lent him her wings, and with them he soared to freedom. The wings wore down as he reached land, and the prince was free to lead his people again. It was only then that he realized that by giving up her wings, the swan had trapped herself in his place. She was never seen again, and with that, all of the happiness that the prince had found began to crumble away.

In fact, it is said that this prince never smiled again...

[Action]

[Today, Mytho's wandering around town has something closer resembling meaning to it. Sure, he doesn't live near enough Duck to immediately notice her absence - nor does he come across her path on a daily basis. But he's still searching for her, without stopping. He goes around various locales around the town such as the library, the bakery, the fountain and most places around the plaza. And throughout his search, he specifically looks sad. He had felt that heart shard return to him the previous night, and that emotion - the emotion of sorrow - has been weighing on him ever since.

He will often stop passerby to ask them:]

Excuse me. Have you... seen Duck?

[Or, he may instead ask.]

Do you know... where Tutu is?

[Everyone knows Duck and Tutu, right? But all along, in a way, he knows. They're both gone. He's been able to feel it, ever since he woke up. He's not sure why both Duck and Tutu are associated with his feeling... He just knows that it feels like a piece of his heart is gone.

The search is over when night falls. He sits at the edge of the fountain, wallowing in this sorrow. And wishing he had the strength to try to dance.]

Comments

[godbent]

[Duck-?

Haruhi frowns, and shakes her head. Hellow random boy, how do you do?]

Not recently, no.

[soheartless]

[As random as ever. He's been frowning this whole time, and he looks down at the ground.]

Oh.

I haven't seen her recently, either. I haven't seen her at all.

[godbent]

So she's missing, or are you just not able to find her?

[soheartless]

I don't know. I haven't been able to find her at all.

[And he looks around himself for a moment.]

And... It's been a long time since I've seen... Princess Tutu.

[fortunefail]

[Yuan had been on his way to the store when he realizes he's being approached by a boy. A boy who looks especially depressed. It catches him a bit off guard. Even with all his life experience, he's no good around sad kids. The boy's question is even more surprising.]

Duck?

[soheartless]

Yes. [He answers shortly and simply, as if Yuan should understand what it means.]

I haven't seen her. I don't know where she is.

[fortunefail]

[Sadly, Yuan doesn't entirely understand. Is Duck a person or a duck with a very unoriginal name? Or something else entirely? He'll just make his next question a little ambiguous on the matter.]

What does she look like?

[soheartless]

She looks like... [He tries to think. No matter how much of a lost cause he's thinking this may be, he tries to think of just the right words.] a person.

Her hair... It's orange. [Simply poetic.]

[ex_tessen852]

Mytho... [Suki certainly remembers you. But the mention of Duck's name makes her rather depressed.]

I'm sorry, but she's gone. She went back home.

[soheartless]

Home...?

[He tilts his head.]

I thought that... she lived here.

[ex_tessen852]

Well, she did, but this is a different home. This isn't where we really belong.

[soheartless]

[He nods sadly. He somewhat understands.]

At... Goldkrown? Mr. Cat... He said he'd marry her.

[action]

[untrueheart]

[When she went to check on Mytho in his room he wasn't there.

Great.

Lately it seems every day is like this.

At least she finds him pretty quickly, in the library this time. He always was drawn to books.]

Mytho?

[action]

[soheartless]

[He walks straight towards her with a frown running down his face, a book loosely hanging in his hand.]

Rue...

[action]

[untrueheart]

What? What's wrong? [She forgets so easily that emotions are raw for him and they express themselves that way too.]

[action]

[soheartless]

She's gone. I can't find her.

[It's like a sad whisper as he nears her. With Rue around, it's easier to voice the feeling that's been growing inside him.]

Duck's gone.

[Action]

[bubblywishes]

[It's at the fountain that Norma's approached by the young man. She was taking a break from some shopping - gotta prepare for those coming cold months - nd lifts her head when she hears the question.]

Huh? ...Duck? [Wait, wasn't that the super clumsy girl she met once, forever ago, at the library?] Uh, nope...sorry. I haven't heard from her in a real long time, actually.

[Action]

[soheartless]

[His frown doesn't seem like it's going away any time soon. He gives a quiet nod to the girl.]

I see. Thank you.

I haven't seen her. I haven't seen her or Tutu.

[Action]

[bubblywishes]

Tutu?

[A thin eyebrow raises up in confusion, but Norma was really more talking to herself. Why would a guy care about a tutu? I mean...sure, the kid kinda looked really girly and feminine, but that doesn't mean he'd prance around in a puffy tutu or something, would it? There are male ballet dancers, she knows this, but they usually just wear leotards and tights or something. Not...that other stuff.]

Uh--I men, when was the last time you saw her? Duck, I mean.

[knightofratatosk]

[Emil is just on his way back from work when he spots Mytho wandering around looking... sad? That's a new one, especially knowing what he does about Mytho's lack of emotions due to his lost heart.]

Duck? I haven't seen her since I talked to her when she first arrived. Do you need her for something?

[soheartless]

I don't know right now if I need her or not. [He takes a moment to look down at his hand thoughtfully.]

But I trust her. And... I can't find her.

[knightofratatosk]

We could try sending her a message over the journals. Maybe she's just off doing something right now and forgot to tell anyone where she went. She did seem like a kind of absent-minded girl...

[And he reaches down into his bag, fishing around for his journal.]

[imatreenow]

[With the way Mithos braces himself against passers-by when picking his way through town, you would think it's because they target him for (unwanted, unnecessary) interaction all the time. But few ever actually breach that line. So when Mytho affronts him with a question, he almost seems startled; he hides it, along with any hint of recognition when he realizes who this boy is.]

Why would I?

[soheartless]

I don't know.

[He says as he gazes at Mithos with recognition. He knows him. Perhaps that's part of what drew Mytho to randomly stop him.]

I don't know if you know her or not. But I don't know where she is.

[imatreenow]

That's hardly my problem. I don't know who she is, nor do I care.

[The sharp look in his eyes is just daring Mytho to say anything else on the matter.]