The Name's Topaz

[From somewhere near the mountain island, there's the sound of a crash. A person in a very, very low-quality spacesuit can be seen running away from the crash site, and a few moments later there's a small explosion. It's enough to knock the person off their feet, but it doesn't seem to hurt them too badly. They lay on the sand for a moment before getting up, looking around, and then staring at you. They seem surprised by your presence.]

[They stare at you for a moment longer, four orange eyes barely visible behind a slightly cracked and yellow-tinted visor, before they take your hand and haul themself up.]

Ryley waves his hands around.

[They relax a little when you say it's no big deal.]

He squints his eyes in thought for a moment, puckering his lips out and tapping his fingers together.

[Their shoulders lower when you point out the crashed ship. It seems they aren't the most observant..]

He looks back at them with a sad sparkle in his eyes. A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth, but only very slightly.

“I'm from Timber Hearth!” [There's an air of pride in their voice. They clearly love their home a good bit.]

Ryley nods and smiles a little from hearing the pride in their voice. It fades quickly, though.

“Well, I was tryin' to explore the Stranger – do I need to explain what that is? – but I guess I was there longer than I thought, 'cause when I finally got bored and left I was completely out of my solar system and couldn't find where I was on my map.”

“Yeah, uh, I dunno what the Stranger is… yeesh, well, it’s a good thing you, um… landed here, then. Could’ve been much worse, really. I mean— it obviously could be a lot better for both of us, but… mm.” He shrugs before glancing at the ocean again.

“Alright, well to put it simply, the Stranger is an artificial world made by these guys called the Owlks. They're all super dead, but they have this simulation thing that I like to explore sometimes. The Stranger goes wherever it wants, and I probably should've thought about that before I spent hours explorin' it.”

“Hhhhuh. That’s funny.” He mutters to himself, “Alterra would have a field day with that.”

“The entire planet is ocean? The- the entire planet? And the only land is some islands?”

“Y-yeah, it’s… pretty much all just this. But you’re not gonna die! I won’t let you!” He chuckles awkwardly. “I’m the only survivor of that crash, at least, so… I’d really like to have someone to talk to and not…” Ryley goes pale before shaking his head. “You know.”

“Oh, Gabby's a friend of mine! Technically their name's Gabbro, but I've been callin' them Gabby for a while 'cause it annoys them. They're an astronaut too! They spent a lot of time on this planet called Giant's Deep, ocean planet from my star system, before them and me got grounded for ‘medical concerns’ or whatever.”

Ryley looks a little concerned himself, but only hums in response.

[They stare at the shore for a minute longer before sighing audibly (and dramatically).]

[From somewhere near the mountain island, there's the sound of a crash. A person in a very, very low-quality spacesuit can be seen running away from the crash site, and a few moments later there's a small explosion. It's enough to knock the person off their feet, but it doesn't seem to hurt them too badly. They lay on the sand for a moment before getting up, looking around, and then staring at you. They seem surprised by your presence.]

[They stare at you for a moment longer, four orange eyes barely visible behind a slightly cracked and yellow-tinted visor, before they take your hand and haul themself up.]

Ryley waves his hands around.

[They relax a little when you say it's no big deal.]

He squints his eyes in thought for a moment, puckering his lips out and tapping his fingers together.

[Their shoulders lower when you point out the crashed ship. It seems they aren't the most observant..]

He looks back at them with a sad sparkle in his eyes. A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth, but only very slightly.

“I'm from Timber Hearth!” [There's an air of pride in their voice. They clearly love their home a good bit.]

Ryley nods and smiles a little from hearing the pride in their voice. It fades quickly, though.

“Well, I was tryin' to explore the Stranger – do I need to explain what that is? – but I guess I was there longer than I thought, 'cause when I finally got bored and left I was completely out of my solar system and couldn't find where I was on my map.”

“Yeah, uh, I dunno what the Stranger is… yeesh, well, it’s a good thing you, um… landed here, then. Could’ve been much worse, really. I mean— it obviously could be a lot better for both of us, but… mm.” He shrugs before glancing at the ocean again.

“Alright, well to put it simply, the Stranger is an artificial world made by these guys called the Owlks. They're all super dead, but they have this simulation thing that I like to explore sometimes. The Stranger goes wherever it wants, and I probably should've thought about that before I spent hours explorin' it.”

“Hhhhuh. That’s funny.” He mutters to himself, “Alterra would have a field day with that.”

“The entire planet is ocean? The- the entire planet? And the only land is some islands?”

“Y-yeah, it’s… pretty much all just this. But you’re not gonna die! I won’t let you!” He chuckles awkwardly. “I’m the only survivor of that crash, at least, so… I’d really like to have someone to talk to and not…” Ryley goes pale before shaking his head. “You know.”

“Oh, Gabby's a friend of mine! Technically their name's Gabbro, but I've been callin' them Gabby for a while 'cause it annoys them. They're an astronaut too! They spent a lot of time on this planet called Giant's Deep, ocean planet from my star system, before them and me got grounded for ‘medical concerns’ or whatever.”

[From somewhere near the mountain island, there's the sound of a crash. A person in a very, very low-quality spacesuit can be seen running away from the crash site, and a few moments later there's a small explosion. It's enough to knock the person off their feet, but it doesn't seem to hurt them too badly. They lay on the sand for a moment before getting up, looking around, and then staring at you. They seem surprised by your presence.]

[They stare at you for a moment longer, four orange eyes barely visible behind a slightly cracked and yellow-tinted visor, before they take your hand and haul themself up.]

Ryley waves his hands around.

[They relax a little when you say it's no big deal.]

He squints his eyes in thought for a moment, puckering his lips out and tapping his fingers together.

[Their shoulders lower when you point out the crashed ship. It seems they aren't the most observant..]

He looks back at them with a sad sparkle in his eyes. A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth, but only very slightly.

“I'm from Timber Hearth!” [There's an air of pride in their voice. They clearly love their home a good bit.]

Ryley nods and smiles a little from hearing the pride in their voice. It fades quickly, though.

“Well, I was tryin' to explore the Stranger – do I need to explain what that is? – but I guess I was there longer than I thought, 'cause when I finally got bored and left I was completely out of my solar system and couldn't find where I was on my map.”

“Yeah, uh, I dunno what the Stranger is… yeesh, well, it’s a good thing you, um… landed here, then. Could’ve been much worse, really. I mean— it obviously could be a lot better for both of us, but… mm.” He shrugs before glancing at the ocean again.

“Alright, well to put it simply, the Stranger is an artificial world made by these guys called the Owlks. They're all super dead, but they have this simulation thing that I like to explore sometimes. The Stranger goes wherever it wants, and I probably should've thought about that before I spent hours explorin' it.”

“Hhhhuh. That’s funny.” He mutters to himself, “Alterra would have a field day with that.”

“The entire planet is ocean? The- the entire planet? And the only land is some islands?”

[From somewhere near the mountain island, there's the sound of a crash. A person in a very, very low-quality spacesuit can be seen running away from the crash site, and a few moments later there's a small explosion. It's enough to knock the person off their feet, but it doesn't seem to hurt them too badly. They lay on the sand for a moment before getting up, looking around, and then staring at you. They seem surprised by your presence.]

[They stare at you for a moment longer, four orange eyes barely visible behind a slightly cracked and yellow-tinted visor, before they take your hand and haul themself up.]

Ryley waves his hands around.

[They relax a little when you say it's no big deal.]

He squints his eyes in thought for a moment, puckering his lips out and tapping his fingers together.

[Their shoulders lower when you point out the crashed ship. It seems they aren't the most observant..]

He looks back at them with a sad sparkle in his eyes. A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth, but only very slightly.

“I'm from Timber Hearth!” [There's an air of pride in their voice. They clearly love their home a good bit.]

Ryley nods and smiles a little from hearing the pride in their voice. It fades quickly, though.

“Well, I was tryin' to explore the Stranger – do I need to explain what that is? – but I guess I was there longer than I thought, 'cause when I finally got bored and left I was completely out of my solar system and couldn't find where I was on my map.”

“Yeah, uh, I dunno what the Stranger is… yeesh, well, it’s a good thing you, um… landed here, then. Could’ve been much worse, really. I mean— it obviously could be a lot better for both of us, but… mm.” He shrugs before glancing at the ocean again.

“Alright, well to put it simply, the Stranger is an artificial world made by these guys called the Owlks. They're all super dead, but they have this simulation thing that I like to explore sometimes. The Stranger goes wherever it wants, and I probably should've thought about that before I spent hours explorin' it.”

[From somewhere near the mountain island, there's the sound of a crash. A person in a very, very low-quality spacesuit can be seen running away from the crash site, and a few moments later there's a small explosion. It's enough to knock the person off their feet, but it doesn't seem to hurt them too badly. They lay on the sand for a moment before getting up, looking around, and then staring at you. They seem surprised by your presence.]

[They stare at you for a moment longer, four orange eyes barely visible behind a slightly cracked and yellow-tinted visor, before they take your hand and haul themself up.]

Ryley waves his hands around.

[They relax a little when you say it's no big deal.]

He squints his eyes in thought for a moment, puckering his lips out and tapping his fingers together.

[Their shoulders lower when you point out the crashed ship. It seems they aren't the most observant..]

He looks back at them with a sad sparkle in his eyes. A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth, but only very slightly.

“I'm from Timber Hearth!” [There's an air of pride in their voice. They clearly love their home a good bit.]

Ryley nods and smiles a little from hearing the pride in their voice. It fades quickly, though.

“Well, I was tryin' to explore the Stranger – do I need to explain what that is? – but I guess I was there longer than I thought, 'cause when I finally got bored and left I was completely out of my solar system and couldn't find where I was on my map.”

[From somewhere near the mountain island, there's the sound of a crash. A person in a very, very low-quality spacesuit can be seen running away from the crash site, and a few moments later there's a small explosion. It's enough to knock the person off their feet, but it doesn't seem to hurt them too badly. They lay on the sand for a moment before getting up, looking around, and then staring at you. They seem surprised by your presence.]

[They stare at you for a moment longer, four orange eyes barely visible behind a slightly cracked and yellow-tinted visor, before they take your hand and haul themself up.]

Ryley waves his hands around.

[They relax a little when you say it's no big deal.]

He squints his eyes in thought for a moment, puckering his lips out and tapping his fingers together.

[Their shoulders lower when you point out the crashed ship. It seems they aren't the most observant..]

He looks back at them with a sad sparkle in his eyes. A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth, but only very slightly.

“I'm from Timber Hearth!” [There's an air of pride in their voice. They clearly love their home a good bit.]

[From somewhere near the mountain island, there's the sound of a crash. A person in a very, very low-quality spacesuit can be seen running away from the crash site, and a few moments later there's a small explosion. It's enough to knock the person off their feet, but it doesn't seem to hurt them too badly. They lay on the sand for a moment before getting up, looking around, and then staring at you. They seem surprised by your presence.]

[They stare at you for a moment longer, four orange eyes barely visible behind a slightly cracked and yellow-tinted visor, before they take your hand and haul themself up.]

Ryley waves his hands around.

[They relax a little when you say it's no big deal.]

He squints his eyes in thought for a moment, puckering his lips out and tapping his fingers together.

[Their shoulders lower when you point out the crashed ship. It seems they aren't the most observant..]

[From somewhere near the mountain island, there's the sound of a crash. A person in a very, very low-quality spacesuit can be seen running away from the crash site, and a few moments later there's a small explosion. It's enough to knock the person off their feet, but it doesn't seem to hurt them too badly. They lay on the sand for a moment before getting up, looking around, and then staring at you. They seem surprised by your presence.]

[They stare at you for a moment longer, four orange eyes barely visible behind a slightly cracked and yellow-tinted visor, before they take your hand and haul themself up.]

Ryley waves his hands around.

[They relax a little when you say it's no big deal.]

[From somewhere near the mountain island, there's the sound of a crash. A person in a very, very low-quality spacesuit can be seen running away from the crash site, and a few moments later there's a small explosion. It's enough to knock the person off their feet, but it doesn't seem to hurt them too badly. They lay on the sand for a moment before getting up, looking around, and then staring at you. They seem surprised by your presence.]

[They stare at you for a moment longer, four orange eyes barely visible behind a slightly cracked and yellow-tinted visor, before they take your hand and haul themself up.]