[Katie is in the park. Inna tree. Awesome.] * Katie is in the park. In a tree. She hasn't killed anyone there! Really. She's wearing her school uniform and looking rather comfortable just the same, seated on one of the larger branches and looking off into nowhere. In her hands is a half-finished carving and a knife, though it doesn't seem she's actually working on it at the moment. [Katie's keen hearing picks up violin music.] * Katie does. She looks in that direction. [All the way across the park in another tree, Katie spots Miho. Violin- inna-tree. Go figure.] * Katie blinks. [Miho doesn't blink back. She doesn't even see Katie. Because she's really far away.] * Katie wraps up the wood and puts it away, then sheathes her knife. She tucks that into her satchel, too, before climbing down the tree. * Katie walks over to the violin music. (Is it good?) ( It's not bad. ) [Miho doesn't seem to notice Katie at all. She's concentrating on music.] * Katie climbs up that tree! ( Climbing roll! ) [Katie climbs up the tree. Miho notices that and, startled, nearly falls, but she manages to catch herself before she does. Or rather she catches the tree.] * Katie smiles a little and has a seat nearby. "Hi," she says in that quiet, kind of flat way. [Miho... says nothing.] I liked your music. Should I go? [Miho stares at Katie for a minute, then shakes her head. She smiles a bit, and makes a "kkck"ing sound.] * Katie nods. "It's nice seeing you, too." She looks off, then back to Miho. "How've you been?" [Lacking better means to communicate, she shrugs.] * Katie sighs. "Me too." She pauses. "I guess it'll be kinda hard to talk with your hands full." [She smiles helplessly.] * Katie pulls out a pen and notepad. "Do you want to talk?" [She chuckles, although it doesn't sound like a chuckle as much as a gurgle. But she takes the pen and notepad and writes, "YES."] * Katie laughs a little. She holds her hands out for the violin and bow, if Miho wants to hand them over so they don't fall. [Miho hands them over. She writes: "Takeo says I can play with him and Sumire this weekend, so I'm practicing."] Oh, that's cool. Where are you playing? [She writes: "Dark Knight Concerto"] * Katie nods. "When this weekend?" ["Saturday."] * Katie thinks about that. "At night?" [She nods.] Will it be very loud? [She shrugs and writes, "They've never tried this before, so we don't really know."] Oh. Well, maybe I'll go anyway. I can bring earplugs. If you want me to? [She grins and nods. "Au!" she says, whatever that means.] * Katie chuckles softly. "Okay." She leans back against the trunk, holding the instrument carefully. [Miho waits a bit longer, then writes, "I did like having you for a roommate, by the way. Even though we didn't do much."] * Katie blinks. "You did? Why?" [She thinks about it a good long while, then shrugs.] I mean, I was pretty... crazy. * Katie sighs. "You know... it's not just me. This is all pretty crazy. We both did stupid stuff, I think, and we've paid for it." [Miho sighs. But not in unison.] * Katie keeps speaking, very quietly, "I'm just trying to figure out when we have to stop paying. What I... what I have to do. And why I did it in the first place." [Miho nods.] I don't know if I'm the best person to be friends with, Miho. I know I'm generally nice to you, but... you know what I am. Everything's a mess around people like me. [Miho writes: "We're all doomed anyway :)"] * Katie smiles, just a tiny bit. "The smiley makes it look less awful." But you know who my friends are, too. You're okay with that? [Miho blinks a few times and writes, "Who?"] * Katie hesitates, then says, "Kaede and Haruko. I think you helped with kidnapping one..." She trails off. [Miho blinks a few times. She shakes her head.] I was locked up, but they told me. You helped Tenjirou and Shingo? [Her eyes go wide, but she shakes her head more.] * Katie blinks. "But isn't what happened because of that why you can't talk?" She doesn't sound accusatory or anything like; it's just quiet confusion. [Miho suddenly grimaces and clutches at her head, letting the pad and pen fall to the ground below.] * Katie starts. "Miho?" she asks, not raising her voice, but clearly worried. "Miho, are you okay?" [Miho wobbles, then loses her balance.] * Katie starts and reaches over to catch her, dropping the bow in her grab. (Can I try to use my powers to help stop/cushion her fall before she hits the ground?) ( Sure. ) * Katie makes a slight yelp as her hand snatches air, then concentrates. [A fierce updraft slows Miho's fall so she doesn't land hard on the ground. But once there, her body spasms.] * Katie quickly climbs down the tree, much easier now that she's just holding the violin. [Miho's body spasms a few more times until she's left on her side, her back arched. Tears are flowing from her eyes.] * Katie puts the violin aside and kneels, grabbing hold of one of Miho's hands, looking her over. "Miho?" [She mutters, "Ahh... Th... khk... thaa..."] * Katie doesn't raise her voice, but she does clutch Miho's hands. "I don't understand. Just stay with me, okay?" [She moans.] Do you need something? Water? (Can Katie tell what's wrong with her?) [She nods. Slowly at first, then quickly, as though she wasn't sure Katie understood the first one.] ( Ummm... Medical (diagnosis) +4 ) * Katie lets go of Miho's hands to open her satchel. She looks through it hurriedly until she comes up with a plastic bottle filled with tap water. She unscrews the cap and scoots over, bringing it to Miho's mouth. [Miho drinks hurriedly, spilling much of the water on herself. She sits up, too.] * Katie helps steady her as she sits up and tries to hold the bottle so it doesn't spill *too* much. [Miho drinks about half the water, then pushes it away. She looks significantly less spazzed out now.] * Katie lets it be pushed away without complaint. She screws the cap back on, still looking at Miho with faint concern. [Miho slowly brings a hand to her throat, eyes not focused on anything.] * Katie sets the bottle down. She's still kneeling. "Miho?" [Miho looks at Katie. "Khhk," she says, and tries again. "Khthk." She looks horrified at Katie, then buries her face in her hands.] * Katie looks back at Miho, and she lets her have a moment of that before darting in, wrapping her arms around the other girl in a hug. [End!]