[003]

[oliverplus]

[when Oliver arrives on the Plane, he starts his common habit of wandering about and seeing who he might run into. he's near the forest on this particular occasion, looking to be enjoying his walk and the view of the starry Plane around him. if anyone were looking closely, they would see that he has some sort of earbuds in, though there is no sign of a cord. behold, the mp3 of the future! no cords, and the music is stored on the datapad in his pocket]

[he pauses, however, when he sees someone else, just obscured enough by the trees that he can't quite tell who it is. being Oliver, he waves with one hand, deftly popping out one of the earbuds with the other. he opens his mouth to call a greeting to the other person, but then he stops mid-wave as absolutely no sound comes out. confused, he lowers his hand, moving his mouth as he tries again to speak. still nothing. distressed, Oliver turns his attention back to his unknown companion, hoping it's someone who might be able to do something about this...whatever it is. he beckons the figure his way, starting to jog toward the person at the same time]

[OOC: Oliver's first experiment! He is currently completely mute, i.e. unable to produce, not only speech sounds, but vocalizations of any kind.]

Comments

[forever-noble.livejournal.com]

[she grins seeing him, not immediately getting that something's wrong]

Hello, Ollie boy! What's the matter, cat got your tongue?

[oliverplus]

[oh her. well, that figures. indignant that he can't even protest the nickname, he stops in front of her, debating what to do. then he shrugs, gesturing at his throat. his mouth moves as he attempts again to speak, but no sound comes out]

[forever-noble.livejournal.com]

[too bad, she's not going to change that nickname now!] Oh come on, next thing I know you're going to start signing at me.

[but she frowns seeing him gesture like that, eyebrows knitting together in concern] Something really is wrong, isn't there?

[oliverplus]

[sighs and nods, trying to say that he can't speak but only succeeding in mouthing it. shrugs helplessly]

[forever-noble.livejournal.com]

[lucky for you, she's a pretty good lip-reader] You can't speak? Well, I got that all right. How'd it happen?

[oliverplus]

[throws his hands up in the air, shaking his head. then he stomps on the starry ground of the Plane a few times, pointing at it]

[forever-noble.livejournal.com]

...The sky fell? No, that can't be--oh! The Plane! Oi, this place can do that?

[oliverplus]

[nods, pointing enthusiastically when she mentions the Plane. yay, she got it! but at her question, he shrugs--got any better ideas?]

[forever-noble.livejournal.com]

Well, let's get you out of this forest, huh? What would you do if a tree fell over on top of you? [takes his hand, and starts leading him out]

[oliverplus]

[quirks an eyebrow at her, wondering how being without a voice has ANYTHING AT ALL to do with trees falling over. but he sighs when she takes his hand, reluctantly allowing her to lead him away. he doesn't want to hurt her feelings, and he's not sure how to explain that he's not an invalid through hand gestures. he'll just have to wait a few moments to get her attention again]

[forever-noble.livejournal.com]

[shush, Oliver, she's in pseudo-mothering mode.]

[and once they're out of the forest, she waits until they come upon a pair of chairs resting peacefully on the Plane before stopping] Right. Hold on a mo', will you? [she quickly drops off the Plane, then returns with a notepad and pen, holding it out to him.] There, this ought to help.

[oliverplus]

[his eyes widen, and he takes the notepad and pen with a grateful smile, mouthing a thank you. then he scribbles, "Thanks" on the notepad. and, after a moment's thought, adds, "Falling trees???"

[forever-noble.livejournal.com]

You know, "If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"

[oliverplus]

[gives her a deadpan look, then shakes his head, rolling his eyes. writes simply, "No experiment on trees."]

[forever-noble.livejournal.com]

No, of course not! What would the environmentalists say? [she grins]

[oliverplus]

[laughs--which, unfortunately, also comes out without sound. rather startled by that discovery, he clamps his mouth shut; LAUGHTER SHOULD NOT BE SILENT. then he scribbles on the paper:]

No Plane ecosystem.

How r u?

[forever-noble.livejournal.com]

[gives him a look at the first statement, one that says, "No duh, even I've noticed that."]

Well enough. Getting used to things here. You? Besides your lack of voice, I mean.

[oliverplus]

[makes a face; he'll spare her from a rant about how annoying this is]

Fine.

[after a moment's pause, he adds]

Hands soft as baby yet?

[yes, he did read the goofy packaging on that hand moisturizer he gave you]

[forever-noble.livejournal.com]

Well, you tell me. What'd you think? [wiggles her fingers]

[oliverplus]

[laughs soundlessly, taking her hand in one of his. runs his fingers along hers, pretending to consider their softness for a moment, then nods in apparent approval, letting go of her hand]

Getting there. Soon you'll impress the aliens.

[forever-noble.livejournal.com]

[laughs] Oh, you're an awful flatterer.

So. How long have you been like this?

[oliverplus]

[makes a face. his frustration is probably visible in his handwriting]

Minutes!

[forever-noble.livejournal.com]

[hmm, it is]

Minutes? Right then. We need to get you to a doctor. [she stands, looking around the Plane, but she doesn't see any Doctors--or anyone remotely Doctor-shaped.] Oh, where's that space dunce when you need him?

[oliverplus]

[for a second, he thinks she's assuming this is a medical problem like everyone else seems to be. then he realises who she means. hah, perfect solution--if you can find him. Oliver shakes his head, shrugging as he looks around, too. usually you just look for trouble or the blue box, but unfortunately that default doesn't work on the Plane]

[forever-noble.livejournal.com]

It just might be you and me, Ollie boy. [she frowns, having a seat again.] What would the Doctor do...? [she can think of a number of things he'd do, but nothing exactly helpful at the mo']