[TOY] Plaything

[skinstealer]

POLKA DOT: I guess…what can you tell me about the time before I woke up?
POLKA DOT: What is the Store?
 

Vine takes a moment to think her words over.

VINE: The Toy Store is where all toys come from.
VINE: All of them, no exceptions.
VINE: You can liken it to being “born”, I guess…and your time there as a childhood.
VINE: A lot of people claim it doesn’t exist, because they can’t remember it at all aside from bits and pieces…
VINE: But I know people who have been back there.
VINE: Not without consequences, though…
 

She finishes her water, setting the mug aside.

VINE: The Store doesn’t take well to people coming in and out of it, and from what my friend was able to tell, the place is a proper labyrinth.
VINE: Places in settlements, like this city…they change where they are, but as long as you know where you’re going and a relative direction, you should be able to get to it- especially if you’ve been there before.
VINE: The Store?
VINE: You can get lost in there forever, if you’re not careful. Being able to get out is at the complete mercy of the forces that drive this world- call it what you like, but something pulls at everyone and everything’s strings. 
VINE: You don’t get out until whatever runs that place decides you can.
VINE: And it often takes…well, no one’s got a proper estimate, but a good few years passed between my friend getting there and coming back.
VINE: When you get out for the first time, though…you’re always an adult. 
VINE: Some people speculate that the Store spits you out for the first time once it determines you’re mature enough to handle the “real world”- whatever that entails.
VINE: No kids allowed in places like these, I guess.
 

You’re taking in her words as best you can, but she continues on after a few moments’ pause. 

VINE: That doesn’t mean the Toy Store is all sunshine and rainbows for the kiddies, though.
VINE: Pretty much…everyone comes out of there messed up somehow, even if they can’t remember it.
VINE: I’m just as clueless as anyone else as to my origins, but I’ve picked up bits and pieces…
VINE: Things like having to fend for myself for food, and losing people who tried to protect me.
POLKA DOT: Like…they died?
 

She doesn’t say anything, but you can tell by the way that her eyelids fall that whatever it was, it wasn’t pleasant for her.

VINE: I guess the way I posture myself here’s a result of that.
VINE: I want to provide for others, and I want to make sure people are well set up. S’what appealed to me about Laurie’s Place.
VINE: Some people have called me pretty “parental”, but I don’t know if that sums it up, really. Don’t think I’m cut out for a role like that.
VINE: More content to just…be a mentor.
 

She shakes her head.

VINE: Enough about me. You’ve probably got more questions.
POLKA DOT: …are there…stairs there?
VINE: Yeah, of course. Mainly escalators, but there’s plenty of houses and structures within the Store- the place is huge. Oversized.
VINE: If you remember something like that, it’s probably pretty important. Whatever flickers people seem to retain are formative…possibly even “useful” in the outside world. 
 

You aren’t sure how to feel about that one.