( The last thing Rose remembers is the smell of the ocean, and a deep, pressing ache in her chest. She was returning home to her most precious person, and yet — leaving another version of that most precious person behind as she started to step back into the waves. It was her time to go, but her heart couldn't feel at true peace, split in two.

When she wakes this time, it's with the soft, fluttering knowledge that she has returned to her daughter back home — Sharon, nine years old, smiling bright and white (maybe a little too sharp, a little too strange, something had changed about her, but Rose didn't care, she had her back). Even if neither of them could ever truly be home again, even if that perpetual white haze hung around them. She had all she needed. She was happy.

Rose slowly sits up from a hospital bed, thinking for a moment that she'd seen the soft glow of feathery white over her shoulder. The wings have vanished for now, but she knows something's changed, yet again, in her. Folkmore, the word whispers in her mind.

She knows this self is without her daughter once more, an understanding that stabs her through the chest. Rose gives a soft exhale as she looks around the room, and alarm quickly joins her sorrow, not quite replacing it, but demanding her immediate attention. She's clearly in some sort of medical facility, and memories of the horrors of Brookhaven Hospital flash in her mind. Could she be.. back there? Back in Silent Hill? That doesn't match what the Fox told her, and somewhere deep down Rose knows it isn't right, but she can't help hanging onto the notion as she slips from the bed, keeping her footsteps light.

If you happen to also be in the medical wing, she'll quickly become alerted to the presence of another person and immediately freeze, wide-eyed as she tenses back — but she seems more resolved than truly afraid, and her voice doesn't tremble when she speaks, eyes hard and locked on to her new companion. She won't trust anyone until she knows she can. )

Who are you?

( Later, after Rose leaves the area, it becomes apparent that it's not an entire hospital. It's something else — some kind of school? University? It's huge, and she's having a hard time navigating her way. This time, there are no children's drawings to guide her, no flash against the peripheral of her vision of a little girl darting away for her to follow. This is surreal, but she's certainly no stranger to surreal things by now, and though she's wary of any stranger, she will begin to approach others in the school. )

Excuse me. What can you tell me about this place...?

( Once instructions are given to her regarding the little scavenger hunt, Rose sets out to track down the items she'd listed on her Relic, but she hadn't spent much time considering them, typing them in quickly. Food, water, a blanket. First aid. Her coat. A weapon. She's really only concerned with finding one thing. She knows another version of her daughter exists out there in the universe, and though maybe there's a slim chance that she would end up with her again, Rose will never give up looking for her. Never. She'll search this entire place to make sure, however long it takes.

But even she can't keep going without some of those aforementioned items on her list. Soon enough, she's feeling the pang of hunger, the unpleasant dryness at the back of her throat, yearning for something to drink. As she searches for her daughter, she's simultaneously searching for these things that were alluded to, and makes her way into the forest area of the strange school. She steps carefully, knee-high boots light against the forest floor, placing her hand against tree trunks as she pushes her way through.

When she eventually comes across one of those miniature cubes, she halts, tilting her head up as she stares at the thing, hovering between two tree branches. It's high enough that she has to stand on tiptoes to grasp for the item, but as soon as her fingertips come close.... it evades her as though it has a mind of its own, darting away to rest on another branch. Rose startles, brows raised — and tries again, only for the incident to repeat. Frustrated, she gives a huff and takes a step back, then crouches to the ground to scoop up a few small loose stones. Maybe she has to hit the thing....? Feeling ridiculous, like she's playing some carnival game, she starts tossing them at the cube — but nothing happens, only the soft thuds of stones bouncing off and hitting the ground. )

Come on....!

( Even Silent Hill, a hellscape full of twisted puzzles, lacked anything like this..... )

( The device is... strange, but Rose figures out how to work it soon enough, thanks to the tutorial that pops up when she turns the thing on. )

un: RDS —
Is anyone here familiar with a place called Silent Hill?

— ETC.