[ It hadn't been very long since the plane had went down. Or at least that was how it seemed. A couple of days might have passed but the mood was just as frantic as the first and the people were no different. Ralph might have seen everyone that was present by now, although he hadn't spoken to them all. Maybe there were more, but amongst so many, faces that weren't familiar tended to blur together. As true as that was, sometimes the striking features of an unfamiliar face stuck with you. Such as the sharp blue eyes he caught looking in his direction. ]
[ The man averted his gaze as soon as the other had caught it, traveling down instead towards his bandaged foot, as he stayed leaning against the body of a tree with crossed arms.
For someone who was sharing his circumstance, he behaved strangely. If he was distressed, his face showed no sign of it. He was silent and simply scoping out the enviornment he was stuck on and the people he was stuck with, trying to decide who was worth the effort of communication. Maybe Ralph had seem him before, if he attemped to remember. He could have recalled the same eyes and the freckled face, but the face he did recall was not lacking in any expression he could read, and had a head of black hair which went against this light brunette.
The man looked up to meet his eyes again, an expression crossing his face then wondering why he still had the others attention.
He made a gesture then with his hands, something that was easily recognizable as sign language, and Ralph would know meant, 'good afternoon'. He did not make the gesture expecting a conversation. He was expecting the acknowledgement of his lack of voice and to be dismissed, away from the light of attention. ]
"..."
- 🪶 @a-sunken-reverie
[ Ralph's eyes seem to light up at the hand gesture, an acknowledgment in his eyes that could only be characterised by understanding. Although he had no clue who the other man was, he was familiar enough to be a face that Ralph would have to know. There was no escaping the island that they had been damned to. Faces would become attached to names, whether it was now or weeks from now. ]
[ Ralph reaches his hand up to wave, sheepish and awkward before he turns his gaze downwards to the coarse sand that burns beneath his feet. Going over to the dirt-infused mixture of sand and mud may be more helpful for the burn that were blossoming on his heels. Ralph gathers the discarded sweater, tie, and shoes in his arms and moves expertly between the pockets of people whispering amongst themselves about the fate of those lost on the island. He lays his stuff down next to the young man, stretching his arms above his head in a large, dramatic motion, before cracking his knuckles. ]
Good afternoon. My name is Ralph. Can you hear?
[ Ralph smiles at the other, the fluency of his sign signifying that he had been doing it for far longer than a few months. He seems to be elated at the sensation of actually using a language he was fluent in, at utilising muscles that had been left untouched for who knows how long. Ralph simply looks happy to be standing next to the young man, bottom lip caught between his teeth in a boyish grin. ]
@a-sunken-reverie
