03-20-2021, 07:03 AM
There is no telling what the other group will face, if they must die to pass (who am I kidding, we’ve probably all been dead since the moment we committed to this), if they will make it or not. It’s not the path I chose - I’m here to give them their fighting chance. My mind is with the Taigan leader for longer than I care to admit, but I can’t afford to pine after someone whom I long ago set free - if I ever had any right to claim a tie to her, that is.
The children are safe, is the mantra I keep repeating in my head. I only have to see Reave in the corner of my eye to know it’s not entirely true, and so I try the tactics of focusing on the fairy instead. But the task is simple. Go in, make a ruckus, the end. I breathe in slowly through my nostrils, give Ama and Reave a half-smile, and one my one we enter the realm of the dead.
Funny, I never thought I’d get this far. I’ve been rejected at the door so many times; unworthy of dying in a sense. Perhaps with the veil torn, this works both ways.
I’ve always wondered what it was like to die.
Greyness fills my vision, rather a shock to what my dragon eyesight is used to. It’s dull here; how could anyone stand it? I wouldn’t dare to call it outright boring though - there is room for exploration, and in fact a glowing path to follow. My senses feel all wrong, here, and my normal instinct to not be that obedient now suddenly seems like a bad idea. Perhaps part of me still wants to live, despite knowing that I probably won’t.
The golden path seems to attract visitors. Ghosts in the distance watch each of us pass, or at least that’s how it feels to me. We must be all wrong to them, in a sense, just like a ghost in the land of the living would stand out.
We’re not here for the dead, though, so I shake my head. Focus. The path continues, winds around rocks, past tropical trees, a waterfall and a brine scent. I frown, but then I see her shape, and my frown makes place for a wide grin. My older sister shares my colouring, with exception to the gold I earned later in life, and any child of Scorch would recognize the shape and manner of another - at least, so I think. ”Ea.” I greet the silver bay roan, following up with a chuckle. ”Fancy seeing you here.”
As she scans me, I can feel her burning gaze which is not unlike my mother’s. ”Leilan, you idiot. What are you doing here if you’re not dead?” She frowns, and I suppose she must be rather confused at my undead presence here. Which is strange considering the time that the Afterlife had been open, now. I tilt my head. ”You hadn’t heard? The veil is torn. This path led me in, but, you know, perhaps it works the other way around as well.” It’s the only conclusion I can draw - her having settled here, in fake-Ischia’s greyness. ”Don’t tell me you’ve given up,” I add for good measure, and then I see her eye color change and don’t know how fast to move aside to let her pass. ”See you on the other side - if you make it.” I grin because I know how it would have provoked me, and see her silvery tail leave for the exit with a feeling of utter satisfaction.
I continue on my way forward, leaving the smell of tropics and salt behind. The scenery changes, red and pine trees make way for a more wide, hilly landscape. I slow down a little, but the path leads right through the red rocks. It reminds me of Loess, and I know it could contain anything and anyone from Arthas to Castile.
”You’ve got some nerve coming here,” I hear the voice from about seven o’clock, and glance backwards to something colored in white, yellow and blue. There’s no malice, however much he’d tried, so I grin and receive a fanged grin myself. ”You’ve looked better,” I state the obvious nodding at his grey-ish, see-through self. ”Though… worse as well, I suppose.” This triggers the old familial way we used to banter, same way I did with the Andalusian and he with both of us; then I nod towards the path and the way it continues in the distance. ”Some fairy dust to follow. You know… actual monsters to fight. Wouldn’t mind the company,” I tell Wolfbane, emphasizing the word monsters just a little more than I should. He shakes his head. ”Nah, I’m done with that. I’m good with chasing this one out of my territory,” he claims.
As we continue down our banter, a match that I feel we could keep up for eternity, I figure that maybe it’s just information he needs. So I update him a bit on the north, tell him about Yan beating me with his emotional trait with a wry shake of my head, tell him about Nashua moving north and managing a small family. ”You know, I’ll tell Lilli and the kids you said hi. Like, the real you.” I leave out the part of Lilli’s other children - mine - because for some reason I don’t feel like stabbing what’s already dead. That must be a first, I think - but then, the implication that I’ve had a closer relationship with his sons might just be enough of an under-the-belt stab already.
I leave before he gets the chance to actually get angry with me, just in case.
Leaving the ghosts of the past behind me, I soon find myself at a split. I frown - the fairy would probably not have done that intentionally. One of these paths must be fake, but there is no way to tell which way is the right one. There seem to be hoof marks on both, one set from the cloudy leopard stallion who went in first, the other must be Reave’s. Only a few of us can be right.
I should follow Lilli’s son, I think. It’s what she would want me to do, to keep him safe. But safe is an illusion out here - falling off a cliff is the better way to die, than to drown in the river I hear rushing nearby.
Cliffs remind me of Nerine, of home, of safety.
I didn’t come here to be safe, so I go down to the river instead.
The children are safe, is the mantra I keep repeating in my head. I only have to see Reave in the corner of my eye to know it’s not entirely true, and so I try the tactics of focusing on the fairy instead. But the task is simple. Go in, make a ruckus, the end. I breathe in slowly through my nostrils, give Ama and Reave a half-smile, and one my one we enter the realm of the dead.
Funny, I never thought I’d get this far. I’ve been rejected at the door so many times; unworthy of dying in a sense. Perhaps with the veil torn, this works both ways.
I’ve always wondered what it was like to die.
Greyness fills my vision, rather a shock to what my dragon eyesight is used to. It’s dull here; how could anyone stand it? I wouldn’t dare to call it outright boring though - there is room for exploration, and in fact a glowing path to follow. My senses feel all wrong, here, and my normal instinct to not be that obedient now suddenly seems like a bad idea. Perhaps part of me still wants to live, despite knowing that I probably won’t.
The golden path seems to attract visitors. Ghosts in the distance watch each of us pass, or at least that’s how it feels to me. We must be all wrong to them, in a sense, just like a ghost in the land of the living would stand out.
We’re not here for the dead, though, so I shake my head. Focus. The path continues, winds around rocks, past tropical trees, a waterfall and a brine scent. I frown, but then I see her shape, and my frown makes place for a wide grin. My older sister shares my colouring, with exception to the gold I earned later in life, and any child of Scorch would recognize the shape and manner of another - at least, so I think. ”Ea.” I greet the silver bay roan, following up with a chuckle. ”Fancy seeing you here.”
As she scans me, I can feel her burning gaze which is not unlike my mother’s. ”Leilan, you idiot. What are you doing here if you’re not dead?” She frowns, and I suppose she must be rather confused at my undead presence here. Which is strange considering the time that the Afterlife had been open, now. I tilt my head. ”You hadn’t heard? The veil is torn. This path led me in, but, you know, perhaps it works the other way around as well.” It’s the only conclusion I can draw - her having settled here, in fake-Ischia’s greyness. ”Don’t tell me you’ve given up,” I add for good measure, and then I see her eye color change and don’t know how fast to move aside to let her pass. ”See you on the other side - if you make it.” I grin because I know how it would have provoked me, and see her silvery tail leave for the exit with a feeling of utter satisfaction.
I continue on my way forward, leaving the smell of tropics and salt behind. The scenery changes, red and pine trees make way for a more wide, hilly landscape. I slow down a little, but the path leads right through the red rocks. It reminds me of Loess, and I know it could contain anything and anyone from Arthas to Castile.
”You’ve got some nerve coming here,” I hear the voice from about seven o’clock, and glance backwards to something colored in white, yellow and blue. There’s no malice, however much he’d tried, so I grin and receive a fanged grin myself. ”You’ve looked better,” I state the obvious nodding at his grey-ish, see-through self. ”Though… worse as well, I suppose.” This triggers the old familial way we used to banter, same way I did with the Andalusian and he with both of us; then I nod towards the path and the way it continues in the distance. ”Some fairy dust to follow. You know… actual monsters to fight. Wouldn’t mind the company,” I tell Wolfbane, emphasizing the word monsters just a little more than I should. He shakes his head. ”Nah, I’m done with that. I’m good with chasing this one out of my territory,” he claims.
As we continue down our banter, a match that I feel we could keep up for eternity, I figure that maybe it’s just information he needs. So I update him a bit on the north, tell him about Yan beating me with his emotional trait with a wry shake of my head, tell him about Nashua moving north and managing a small family. ”You know, I’ll tell Lilli and the kids you said hi. Like, the real you.” I leave out the part of Lilli’s other children - mine - because for some reason I don’t feel like stabbing what’s already dead. That must be a first, I think - but then, the implication that I’ve had a closer relationship with his sons might just be enough of an under-the-belt stab already.
I leave before he gets the chance to actually get angry with me, just in case.
Leaving the ghosts of the past behind me, I soon find myself at a split. I frown - the fairy would probably not have done that intentionally. One of these paths must be fake, but there is no way to tell which way is the right one. There seem to be hoof marks on both, one set from the cloudy leopard stallion who went in first, the other must be Reave’s. Only a few of us can be right.
I should follow Lilli’s son, I think. It’s what she would want me to do, to keep him safe. But safe is an illusion out here - falling off a cliff is the better way to die, than to drown in the river I hear rushing nearby.
Cliffs remind me of Nerine, of home, of safety.
I didn’t come here to be safe, so I go down to the river instead.
Two things I know I can make: pretty kids, and people mad.
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