I crept through the trees of home, and the forest and the fields. Now I'm here, and I don't know what to do with myself.
My eyes are adjusted somewhat to the dim. The world is a greyscale now, and I think I would get a headache if all that color came back. Mother says we shouldn't want the sun to come back. That the darkness keeps us safe, and the shadows won't hurt us if we listen to her. That's why I keep looking over my shoulders.
Now, I am far from home, far from the trees that creak endlessly in the wind, and the voices and the hungry eyes of my mother's followers. She said not to leave the bounds of our home. That she can't guarantee my safety if I leave. But I don't think she can guarantee it if I stay either, and today I decided to take my chances with the shadows.
She's been gone for a few days, and unless I'm dreadfully unlucky, she won't notice I left at all. Not unless They tell her.
My slender legs are eager to walk new paths, and I look at every strange tree, hoping if I remember them, they'll help me find my way home again. I have friends in the Sylva woods, I can't leave them behind forever. Just for today. Just long enough to see what lies beyond the trees I was born in.
As it happens, there's quite a lot. More than I can see in a single day, and my waifish body is tired already. There's a long way to go to get back home again, and I think I should start going that way soon. Soon, but not yet. I can rest for a while before I go.
And like an idiot, when I open my eyes again, time has passed. It's impossible to know how much. The darkness doesn't change, no matter how much time moves on. But there's a stranger here who wasn't before, and I can only stare at them a moment before deciding what to do now.
In the end, I can't help myself. I have to see closer the being who's entered my space. "Hello," I say, soft and coaxing, stepping near as I do. "Oh, but aren't you lovely, yes you are. Do you want to come home with me?" Soft as a cooing dove, my voice hardly carries at all, but I don't care. They always hear me. Bones, perfect and clean and all of them together, I bump my nose affectionately towards the nearest scapula. I'm not as tall, and it's so odd to see them standing like this. But wonderful, too.
@[Tamlin]
@[The Monsters] please mess with her Disease Acceleration!
My eyes are adjusted somewhat to the dim. The world is a greyscale now, and I think I would get a headache if all that color came back. Mother says we shouldn't want the sun to come back. That the darkness keeps us safe, and the shadows won't hurt us if we listen to her. That's why I keep looking over my shoulders.
Now, I am far from home, far from the trees that creak endlessly in the wind, and the voices and the hungry eyes of my mother's followers. She said not to leave the bounds of our home. That she can't guarantee my safety if I leave. But I don't think she can guarantee it if I stay either, and today I decided to take my chances with the shadows.
She's been gone for a few days, and unless I'm dreadfully unlucky, she won't notice I left at all. Not unless They tell her.
My slender legs are eager to walk new paths, and I look at every strange tree, hoping if I remember them, they'll help me find my way home again. I have friends in the Sylva woods, I can't leave them behind forever. Just for today. Just long enough to see what lies beyond the trees I was born in.
As it happens, there's quite a lot. More than I can see in a single day, and my waifish body is tired already. There's a long way to go to get back home again, and I think I should start going that way soon. Soon, but not yet. I can rest for a while before I go.
And like an idiot, when I open my eyes again, time has passed. It's impossible to know how much. The darkness doesn't change, no matter how much time moves on. But there's a stranger here who wasn't before, and I can only stare at them a moment before deciding what to do now.
In the end, I can't help myself. I have to see closer the being who's entered my space. "Hello," I say, soft and coaxing, stepping near as I do. "Oh, but aren't you lovely, yes you are. Do you want to come home with me?" Soft as a cooing dove, my voice hardly carries at all, but I don't care. They always hear me. Bones, perfect and clean and all of them together, I bump my nose affectionately towards the nearest scapula. I'm not as tall, and it's so odd to see them standing like this. But wonderful, too.
@[Tamlin]
@[The Monsters] please mess with her Disease Acceleration!