[ Kieren is plenty used to the colder climates, but certainly nothing like this before. This isn’t the rolling hills of Northern England, with its clinging damp and dreariness, the bleak emptiness of a landscape still recovering from the return of the dead. Instead he finds himself staring out of the open mouth of a cave, slack jawed in some slow-dawning horror and confusion. He remembers the lights, the noise and then… well, he doesn’t know where this is. The uncertainty is a gnawing ache, over-shadowing any sense of wonder and marvel at the sight of this place. He’s never seen snow this deep before, not in person. But it isn’t home, snow would never fall like this back home, not even in the hardest of winters. And the question of where he might be is one that sits within him like a stone. He knows he can’t just stay here, though. Wherever this is, he needs to work it out, and work out just how he’s going to get back home. The voice rings in his ears, clear as day: you are not part of nature’s design. It almost makes him want to laugh, yeah, you didn’t need to tell him that twice.

Whatever it is that’s brought him here, at least they were kind enough to send him with supplies. He stuffs the boxes of his cover up mousse and contact lenses into his hoodie pockets with haste. The photograph he finds upon the floor he’s a lot more careful with as he gently puts it in his back pocket, not wanting to stare too hard at the two faces in it.

He stumbles off into the unknown, clumsy and awkward through the deep snow. It’s the most difficult part of it all. He doesn’t feel the cold; part of him wonders if that might just be a blessing. He knows it’s not exactly going to be tropical temperatures stumbling around in this winter wonderland. Very little breath fogs around him, only with the sharp exhales of frustration can it be seen — a room-temperature body in a frigid world.

Upon finding one of the trails he'll eventually come across someone, slowing to a stop with a cautious air. Holy shit, a person? ]

Uh, hello. [ There's an awkward wave. Wait, this isn't him just imagining things, is it? God knows how long he's been walking for. Ages, probably. ] I'm... shit, are you real? I was thinking I was completely alone here.

[ This place definitely feels a bit... desolate. ]

[ The first thing Kieren does is head into the Hall’s bathroom in search of a mirror. He needs to check his cover-up, to make sure his hike through the woods to get into town hasn’t smeared away anything on his face. The need to remain undetected in strong. He doesn't know how well people will react to him, there's so much unknown here.

At first he’ll keep to the fringes of the room, just watching the happenings as more and more people file in. He stands somewhat awkwardly, hands in his hoodie pockets and half-soaked from the trek into the town through the snow. If anyone comes to him with food, or tries to encourage him to get something to eat, he'll quickly shake his head with a smile. He doesn't eat. Not anymore. ]

Oh, no. I’m alright. I ate, already. [ Yeah, back in 2009. He pats his stomach with both hands and chuckles. ] Still full.

[ Knowing fine well not eating isn’t very… uh, ‘normal’, he will eventually take a seat by the fire. His hood up as he quietly warms his hands by the fire. Even if he doesn’t feel the heat, it would probably be the thing to do, would it? Yeah. Try to not draw suspicion, that’ll be good. If anyone draws near, there’ll be the faint disarming smile as he half-looks to the person ]

So... has anyone actually worked out where this place is yet?

[ It isn’t long before Kieren is out searching the town of Milton. He doesn’t want to dwell in the Hall for long, a new gnawing in his stomach. He has his cover up and his contacts, but they won’t be enough to last him long. A few months worth, at best. One very important thing has been absent: his Neurotriptyline. The gnawing feeling hasn’t quite slid into panic just yet, but it’s certainly rising. He needs the Neurotriptyline. If he doesn’t have it, then… then— he can’t think about it. Not yet.

The first thing he does is head to the store in hopes of finding some kind of pharmacy section, quickly heading to the back of the store to find a small, locked up pharmacist's counter. If there’ll be any Neurotriptyline, then surely it’ll be there. Only there’s a locked door in his way, and he certainly doesn’t have a key. He looks around, seeing if there’s something he can use to break the door – it doesn’t look too difficult, or so he thinks. At least there’s not any kind of passcode for the door, he’s got that on his side.

He’ll try ramming the door with his shoulder a few times, until he stops with the uncertainty of if he’s either using enough force, or if he’s using too much and about to give himself some kind of injury. Eventually, he gives up and finds a nearby fire extinguisher to start bashing it against the door handle.

... Until someone comes across him and Kieren’s startled back enough to cry out and drop the fire extinguisher. He quickly raises his hands up in a defensive gesture. It’s not a very good look to be immediately breaking into a pharmacy, and he cringes a little at the whole visual. ]

Christ, you startled me. [ There’s a strange little sound, half-whine, half-nervous laugh. It quickly melts away into an awkward silence as he looks to the fire extinguisher at his feet then back to the person who's happened upon him. ] Listen. So... as bad as this looks, I’m not a junkie. Promise.