[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

[oliverplus]

[normally he'd find that last comment quite odd, but coming from Sebastian, it works somehow. he'd love to respond that he rather likes his voice, too, but unfortunately he can't as it's too much to type. instead, he settles for trying to better express his theory on the matter]

Voice was fine. Came to Plane, voice gone. Throat doesn't hurt.

[fruitbrandy.livejournal.com]

[Sebastian is almost consciously trying to avoid the suggestion that someone might have done that to Oliver on purpose]

That sounds something like an allergy. Could there be something in the air? Perhaps you were cursed on accident. There is magic here.

[oliverplus]

[raises an eyebrow at him, trying to decide if Sebastian's being serious. and really, the magic idea sounds almost plausible, but he's not sure it's any better than an experiment anyway]

Didn't hit you?

[fruitbrandy.livejournal.com]

How tedius it is to write it all out! Say, if your voice still doesn't work at home, what will you do?

[oliverplus]

[his eyes widen at that thought--Sebastian makes a good point. he can't exactly tell Anna the Plane did it, nor anyone at work. after a moment's thought, he types a response]

Don't know. Claim laryngitis? Cough a lot.

[fruitbrandy.livejournal.com]

You could stay here. It might get very dull, though.

[oliverplus]

[glances at him, considering Sebastian's expression for a moment before he types a response]

I'd have friends.

[fruitbrandy.livejournal.com]

Yes, you rather would. [Sebastian smiles, then sighs] Perhaps I shall hide here as well. The house is full of my family. A few weeks without them would be a blessing.

[oliverplus]

[smiles back. he wouldn't mind hiding out on the Plane with Sebastian for a while. it could hardly be boring! but he raises an eyebrow at the comment about Sebastian's family]

Reunion?

[fruitbrandy.livejournal.com]

Summer vacation.

[oliverplus]

[makes a face] Thank god for Plane?

[fruitbrandy.livejournal.com]

Very. I'd not even be able to see Charles if it weren't for the Plane, as of course I can't take him back to Brideshead. I can leave whenever I want, now. It's quite the gift.

[oliverplus]

[blinks, surprised at that] Charles here?

[fruitbrandy.livejournal.com]

Yes, though I couldn't say how long ago it was that he first arrived. We went missing each at home but we fixed that after a while.

[oliverplus]

[raises an eyebrow, figuring he doesn't need words to express his lack of understanding]

[fruitbrandy.livejournal.com]

It was the strangest thing, Oliver! We could both go home, but he said no one he spoke to could see me, and as far as I could tell, no one I spoke to could see him. As if we were talking to completely different people. So we went here until it worked itself out.

[oliverplus]

[frowns, rather disturbed by that]

Weird. People notice you missing?

[fruitbrandy.livejournal.com]

Apparently. It was like we were each in a world of ghosts that couldn't see real people.

[oliverplus]

[that does not sound pleasant at all. gives him a hopeful look]

Fixed now?

[fruitbrandy.livejournal.com]

I think so. If it isn't, I haven't noticed, nor has Charles.

[oliverplus]

[by the sound of the situation, it's unlikely they wouldn't have noticed. smiles]

Good. Glad your friend is here.

[fruitbrandy.livejournal.com]

[smiles as well]

I am too. I'm glad he was able to endure it. He can be such a dreadful sceptic sometimes. I was worried he would faint in a fit of rationalist shock upon arrival.

[oliverplus]

[laughs soundlessly]

Handling aliens okay?

[fruitbrandy.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure that he's met any. But he'll have quite the shock when he meets Straxus. I've already told him, of course, but Straxus bears a striking resemblance to a friend of ours.

[oliverplus]

[raises an eyebrow, figuring his expression is asking for elaboration well enough]