russian intensifies

[constellates]

[When you wake up on this fine morning and check your Retrospec feed, you'll find... Russian spam? It begins - ]

Доброе утро. Меня зовут Аня. [ - and it continues on from there, resulting in a full paragraph.

For anyone who can read Cyrillic, they'll find the following message: Good morning. My name is Anya. Is anyone able to understand this? I recognize it as Cyrillic, as Russian, however I don't recall ever being able to speak this language. I woke up and suddenly it's all I knew. If the people on here remember horses, maybe they remember me speaking differently? Properly? Maybe? Please let me know.

In an entirely separate text, she tries again. In two more languages.]

おはようございます。私の名前はAnyaです。わかりますか？これは日本語です。でも昨日でAnyaは日本語を話しません。

[ - and that also goes on. An English message, with the same approximate fluency level as the Japanese, to explain the whole situation is finally provided at the end. Third try's the charm?]

good morning. my name is anya. i am sorry to try again but i am confused. today i know how to speak russian and japanese. the russian is easy but the japanese is harder. english is also harder now. even though yesterday i only spoke english?

??? why?

if the people here remember horses do they remember the anya that did not know russian? please help. please. thank you.

[ ACTION ]

[ a: авария

Normally Anya is full of life. There's a skip in her step, there's a smile on her face, there's a whole-hearted willingness to tackle the day and everything that it brings her. It was easy to call Anya cheerful and friendly.

That doesn't appear to be the case anymore.

She avoids her friends. She ducks her head and doesn't make eye contact at school. She doesn't open her mouth to speak once, brows furrowed and lips pressed into a thin line.

Yet with her head bowed as it is, it's hard to steer clear of others, isn't it? Which is why she bumps into you - somewhere. She still wanders, even if she isn't at her best. Whether it's at school, at the dance studio, wandering around the city, she seems to have accidentally run right into you.

Startled, she exclaims in smooth Russian:]

Извините! [Then her eyes widen and she seems to pause, having to take a sincere moment to recall the words she's looking for. Even now, a distinct Russian accent colors her words.] Ah, um... I'm sorry...

[There's no helping the sad, defeated look on her face - but Anya is still a very gentle girl. Even though she wants to be by herself, she finds herself looking up to whoever she ran into uncertainly.]

Are you okay...?

[ b: секрет

Distracted as she is, Anya isn't really noticing any of the secrets that are posted around today - or her own. So there's a neat little sign posted on her back, whether it's detailing something small like:]

i ) Anastasia sometimes sneaks out to climb the rooftop of her house even though her mother has told her not to.
ii ) Anastasia used to be a cheerleader.

[Or something a little bit more telling like:]

iii ) Anastasia doesn't like to be left alone.
iv ) Anastasia is too scared to be an idol anymore.

[ ooc: anya's regain was her canon language tick! an example can be found here! complete with sprinkles of Russian and accent. an additional note is that if you hover over the different alphabets, the exact translation should come up! AND FINALLY, Anya's hair used to be the lightest shade of the blonde in the world - and now it's gone full silver, but that's the least of her problems.]

Comments

[constellates]

[ . . . well. Anya's honest at least. So she shakes her head even as Alicia trails off. No, she's not okay. That much is obvious.

But even so she takes a moment to find her words, very clearly pacing them out in her head in the little pause so she can get them in order.]

But you... Mm. [softly:] суетиться?

Ah. Do not need to worry.

[... probably. She'll figure herself out.]

[rosettareflected]

[No, of course she isn't okay. That would be silly. The pause is noticeable, and Alicia frowns slightly when the words follow.]

I don't need to. But I want to. I do not have that many friends, to let something happen without being worried.

[She's not consciously slowing down yet - hasn't thought that far ahead - but the formality she's still working on is making her a little easier to understand, at least.]

You scared me this morning. I... wasn't sure what to do. How to help. I'm still not sure.

[constellates]

[ . . . oh. Anya can't help but glance downward at being told that she's made one of her friends worried. Um.]

Извините... Sorry. I did not mean to scare you.

[but she was looking for answers... not that she's managed to find any]

I do not know what to do either. Sorry.

[rosettareflected]

Don't, okay? This isn't your fault. I'm... bad at words right now. [She reaches a hand out to assure her, but pauses most of the way there - Alicia isn't sure her friend will appreciate pity. But a moment's consideration decides her, and that hand lands softly on Anya's shoulder. She does her best to smile, but it's... probably not terribly convincing.]

It's all right if you don't know yet. We can find out together, right? All of us.

[constellates]

[The hand on her shoulder manages to get her to look up, and though it surprises her, it doesn't appear to be an unwelcome gesture. Anya tends to be a bit of a physical person, after all. Still at the smile, her expression softens even if she can't muster up one of her own just yet.]

Да... Yes. We can try.

[but ah-]

Do not... be sorry for your words?

[with a bit of a rueful quirk of her lips. between the two of them, she can realize who's not doing so hot with words right now]

[rosettareflected]

[Spoilers: it's both of them. Anya at least knows what she wants to say, she just can't vocalize it. Alicia can't even get her thoughts straight, she feels like. Still, her smile turns a bit more genuine seeing Anya calming down just a touch.]

Mm, got it. I just don't like to see you so sad. It feels wrong, somehow.

[There's a brief moment where the light shifts and she's reminded of the other change she'd set aside a moment ago. Her gaze slides up to hair that was definitely blonde the last time she saw it - which was not that long ago, yet none of it remains? This isn't how biology works, and for a moment there's a chilling reminder of past conversations. Still, it looks... natural? Aside from being a less-than-natural color?]

Not to change the subject too much, but the Anya I remember was blonde, too. Did this happen at the same time?

[Remembering the message from this morning too late, Alicia hides the grimace when she realizes she's borrowed Anya's words. She has a vague feeling the reminder might not be appreciated.]

[constellates]

[Well. Yes. Anya blinks at the mention of her hair and she reaches up - it's definitely silver. It's pretty, she thinks, she doesn't even really mind it. It might even fit her aesthetic better? But well.... it's not something that she did on her own.]

Да. It did. I woke up with silver hair too. Um... I did not go to...

[She struggles for a moment to find the word, mumbling softly to herself:] Haircut? Color?

The salon.

[she sorta got there, she was looking for hairdresser??]

Забывчивый... I forget that it changed too. I only notice near a mirror.

[rosettareflected]

[That first word must be... an affirmative in Russian? Okay, one word sort-of learned. Only... thousands more to go. Well, she'll get there. She smiles, patiently waiting while Anya fishes for the word she's looking for.]

It looks good, at least. And it's distinctive - anything that makes you memorable can only be a good thing, right? Not that anyone who's ever met you could forget you.

[constellates]

[Anya has to take a moment to parse out the words - "distinctive" is a little bit much for her, but she uses context clues to figure it out.

At the compliment, she manages a small smile.]

Mm... Alicia is trying to make me feel better?

[There's a little bit of a nod.]

спасибо. Thank you.

[rosettareflected]

Someone important to me once told me that, even if I didn't have the right words, as long as I meant what I said, and I was genuine, it might be enough to get my feelings across.

[Her grin widens, as she looks straight to Anya.]

I'm just taking her advice. If I can make someone happy, if I can help them take their mind off something for a while, that's enough. Yes, I am trying to make you feel better. I hope it's working.

[She's fully expecting to be laughed at - or stared at like an idiot - but if it works, it's fine.]

[constellates]

[ . . . that's embarrassing, isn't it? Anya recognizes her words distantly, remembering back when she still had all of them, and she finds herself both embarrassed and endeared by it. Her expression softens, the lines of worrying disappearing a bit.

Automatically, she reaches out to hold onto one of Alicia's hands with both of hers even as she nods.]

It is.

What Anya is feeling is... радость? Ah - it is like...

I am glad that we are friends.

[rosettareflected]

[Mission... accomplished for now! She meant what she'd said earlier - a depressed Anya just felt wrong to her, even after so short a time knowing her. It feels like there's a weight lifted from her shoulders; maybe she's overthinking it, though.]

I am, too. You're good at making people happy - including myself - so...

[She can feel her face heating up as she trails off; she's blushing? Even she hadn't expected that, and it throws her for a loop. Anya's hands on hers make her happier than she'd expected, so it takes her a moment to calm down enough not to just blubber meaningless things. Randomly catching sight of a clock is enough to start to pull her back down, at least - class will start relatively soon.]

...a-ah, um. Are you going to be all right today? Class is probably going to be a little rough.

[Smooth subject change, there. Completely opaque. Not.]

[constellates]

[ . . . oh, cute. Anya is about to say as much until there's a mention of class and today and she appears thoughtful for a moment. Then there's a little shake of her head.]

It will be okay.

Everyone is trying to... упрощать? Make it easier for me. I am a little slower than everyone in English, but I will try to catch up. Science and math are the same. So it will be okay.

[And she squeezes Alicia's hands reassuringly, remembering what she wanted to say before.]

спасибо. Thank you for worrying about me. It is very cute and sweet.

[rosettareflected]

[Normal topics, thank heaven, she can start to get her emotional feet back under her-]

Okay. I probably won't be much help in that, but if there's anything I can do, let me know?

[-JUST KIDDING, letting her guard down to start to build herself back up was a terrible idea. That blush runs all the way up to the tips of her ears, as she laughs softly. She's smiling, even as she's fighting not to let some weird expression show instead. It may or may not be working.]

Of- of course, Anya, I... mm, I think I just kind of said what was on my mind? I don't think it would be the same without the cheery Anya I'm used to. I'm sorry, I'm probably acting really weird right now...

[Because she definitely feels like it, but she also wouldn't trade this feeling for the world. Is this what she's been missing by having overly thick skin all these years...?]

[constellates]

Застенчивый.... Alicia is blushing? Also very cute.

[SHAMELESS but well, she would've said this before anyway. There's a shake of her head that follows after it.]

It is not weird. You are being very nice. Do not say sorry.