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Quinn ran a hand through her mussed hair, "Yeah. We're fine. You think there was some kind of Fa'e wide attack on guardians?" She sat up then, suddenly alert. "Has anyone called Arkanti? What about Caoihme? Or any of the others?" She suddenly remembered the paper she had found in Addie's balled up fist. "Addie honey, what did you do with that paper? Bring it out here."
Addie hopped off the couch and disappeared into her room, returning with a crumpled slip of paper, which she handed to Quinn, before resuming her place next to Sati.
Quinn smoothed out the paper and held it out to Sati. "Addie had this in her hand, when that black stuff was at the door. Does it mean anything to you?"
Addie hopped off the couch and disappeared into her room, returning with a crumpled slip of paper, which she handed to Quinn, before resuming her place next to Sati.
Quinn smoothed out the paper and held it out to Sati. "Addie had this in her hand, when that black stuff was at the door. Does it mean anything to you?"
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[.:In Which Evil is Confronted:.]
Silverah
This place gave him the creeps. The grounds around Fa'e HQ remained cursed and twisted, marred by shadows so ink black they looked like portals to other dimensions, and... those birds. The less that was said about those birds the better, in Astor's opinion.
Still, the place seemed to call to him (was it that Airi still lay trapped inside?), and he was hoping that others had had the same feeling. The boy held the list of clues as typed by Sei grasped in his hands, and he was eager to find someone else as eager to solve them as he was. He was eying the second set of clues and their allusions to a hospital, but was reluctant to start on it alone.
"Hello?" he called uncertainly as he picked his way across the eerie grounds. Even in broad daylight, they remained as eerie as ever. "Anyone around?"
Still, the place seemed to call to him (was it that Airi still lay trapped inside?), and he was hoping that others had had the same feeling. The boy held the list of clues as typed by Sei grasped in his hands, and he was eager to find someone else as eager to solve them as he was. He was eying the second set of clues and their allusions to a hospital, but was reluctant to start on it alone.
"Hello?" he called uncertainly as he picked his way across the eerie grounds. Even in broad daylight, they remained as eerie as ever. "Anyone around?"
Seeno
A curious figure darted around the grounds quietly. For once, not intent on drawing attention to herself. This wasn't the same way the youth would have carried herself in just a year or so ago. It was reserved and calculated. There was certainly risk involved in visiting the grounds but she was convinced that there were answers to be had somewhere. The past year had been a ********. From dreams to growing pains, the toll of birth and the generally degenerate, unattractive state she found herself in did not help her cause.
Dreams of chaos, imbalance and the future. Hopes for the future that she had tossed away without any further consideration. It was just her, and Keene who trailed at her feet reluctantly. There had been no place to call home, no sanctuary to rest in nor any friends to guide her along the way. It had all been a bit desolate and desperate. Keene blamed the feline Fa'e for bringing it upon herself. She had grown to detest her own kind.
Keene, himself, was not even certain of the reasoning behind her visiting the old Fa'e HQ area. Answers, perhaps.
The cat clocked Astor. Look! He warned.
Dreams of chaos, imbalance and the future. Hopes for the future that she had tossed away without any further consideration. It was just her, and Keene who trailed at her feet reluctantly. There had been no place to call home, no sanctuary to rest in nor any friends to guide her along the way. It had all been a bit desolate and desperate. Keene blamed the feline Fa'e for bringing it upon herself. She had grown to detest her own kind.
Keene, himself, was not even certain of the reasoning behind her visiting the old Fa'e HQ area. Answers, perhaps.
The cat clocked Astor. Look! He warned.
Silverah
Astor heard rustling and froze midstep. He didn't want to know what sort of things were lurking around this place - other Fa'e were welcome, but so much seemed wrong about headquarters that he had to be on edge. You never knew when one of those creepy birds might come back.
The boy scanned his surroundings cautiously, eyes narrowed suspiciously at each and every clump of grass. He couldn't move until he was certain if there was something there or not. Was there? What was that? Just his mind playing tricks on him, or-! There was something there.
Cautiously, Astor advanced.
It was a cat.
Black cat crosses your path... his mother's curious old Earth wisdom rang, but the boy shook his head. He liked cats. And it was just a cat. Actually, it was sort of weird. He hadn't exactly seen any other animals around here, had he?
Astor crouched and extended a hand to the cat. "What are you doing here, hmmm?" he asked it.
The boy scanned his surroundings cautiously, eyes narrowed suspiciously at each and every clump of grass. He couldn't move until he was certain if there was something there or not. Was there? What was that? Just his mind playing tricks on him, or-! There was something there.
Cautiously, Astor advanced.
It was a cat.
Black cat crosses your path... his mother's curious old Earth wisdom rang, but the boy shook his head. He liked cats. And it was just a cat. Actually, it was sort of weird. He hadn't exactly seen any other animals around here, had he?
Astor crouched and extended a hand to the cat. "What are you doing here, hmmm?" he asked it.
Quinny-chan
After the trouble with the blackness, the thing Addie called "black dreams," the thing that seemed to be targeting guardians, Quinn had decided to take her charge and get the hell out of dodge. They'd spent the last few months traveling, seeing the sites and playing in mystic climes. They hadn't had any trouble while they were gone and their last few days home had seemed normal by all accounts.
Feeling reassured, Quinn decided that today was the day to head over to the HQ. She'd been keeping her distance from the other Fa'e, but Addie was insistent and they had a few gifts to distribute from their travels. She knew where Caoihme and Arkie lived, Sati too, but she thought she could get an address for Dustin at the HQ.
So, loading their gifts into Addie's stroller, the pair skipped off toward the HQ, deciding to make a day of reacquainting themselves with old friends. Quinn still felt guilty for running away, as it wasn't in her nature, but when she had thought her child was threatened, she had done what she thought she had to to protect her.
Lost in these dark thoughts, it was Addie who first realized something was wrong. She grabbed her mother by the leg, halting both of them with a jerk. "No, momma. Bad black." There was no panic in her voice, for though she was small, she was mighty.
Quinn's head jerked up, eyes focusing on the devastation that was spread before her. Her toes rested just at the edge of the black and Addie tugged when she tried, involuntarily, to take a step forward. All she could think to say was, "Woah."
Feeling reassured, Quinn decided that today was the day to head over to the HQ. She'd been keeping her distance from the other Fa'e, but Addie was insistent and they had a few gifts to distribute from their travels. She knew where Caoihme and Arkie lived, Sati too, but she thought she could get an address for Dustin at the HQ.
So, loading their gifts into Addie's stroller, the pair skipped off toward the HQ, deciding to make a day of reacquainting themselves with old friends. Quinn still felt guilty for running away, as it wasn't in her nature, but when she had thought her child was threatened, she had done what she thought she had to to protect her.
Lost in these dark thoughts, it was Addie who first realized something was wrong. She grabbed her mother by the leg, halting both of them with a jerk. "No, momma. Bad black." There was no panic in her voice, for though she was small, she was mighty.
Quinn's head jerked up, eyes focusing on the devastation that was spread before her. Her toes rested just at the edge of the black and Addie tugged when she tried, involuntarily, to take a step forward. All she could think to say was, "Woah."
Arrien
For a long time, Dusty had just... waited.
Waited for something. For his Guardian to come back, maybe. Or for himself to start fading, to force him into some action. Maybe for Nil to make contact, to tell him to get off his lazy arse and seek out the companions he was meant to find. Anything.
But he got none of that. Just the odd nightmare of a face he barely knew, and between that... well....
He'd watched a lot of Maury, Springer, and Oprah. He'd beaten every game he owned - twice. He'd put on about five pounds, mostly from milkshakes. He'd made peace with Potter, the skittish house cat-like thing that he'd tormented as a child; lived pretty comfortably off of his Guardian's monthly stipend, which continued to arrive in spite of the fact that she was no longer there; and after a while, he'd even started leaving the house for a few hours a day, wondering whether he might see someone he knew, wondering whether he really wanted to.
But never in that time had he even considered going back to the HQ. He'd crossed the place off, resolved to leave it behind him until he had reason to do otherwise. Dusty had his own problems, after all - leave it to some other Fa'e to solve this one!
There came the day, though, where his resolve faltered. Maybe it was out of boredom, or loneliness. Maybe he'd reasoned out that there might be some answers to the whereabouts of his Guardian there, or maybe he just figured that if it were companions that he needed to find for the sake of his kingdom, then he would need his fellow Fa'e to help him. Whatever the cause, the decision was made - and, soon enough, he was clopping down the sidewalk toward the place he'd been when everything had gone wrong.
He did not, of course, come unarmed. The laughingstock of a pink holy sword was on his back, the obsidian dagger at his belt. Armored as always, looking at least twice as grouchy as usual, the deerkitten arrived on the already-populated scene. People - Dusty didn't care to note who just yet, but only counted their presence - just milling around in the yard, or the street, but no one approaching the building. For obvious reasons.
"You'd think there'd be some sort of agency," Dusty muttered. "Like the cops, but for this sort of s**t." They did live on Gaia, after all. This sort of thing had to happen once a month, at least. How did civilization move on, with an eyesore like this stuck in the middle of everything? Why hadn't anybody done anything?
Waited for something. For his Guardian to come back, maybe. Or for himself to start fading, to force him into some action. Maybe for Nil to make contact, to tell him to get off his lazy arse and seek out the companions he was meant to find. Anything.
But he got none of that. Just the odd nightmare of a face he barely knew, and between that... well....
He'd watched a lot of Maury, Springer, and Oprah. He'd beaten every game he owned - twice. He'd put on about five pounds, mostly from milkshakes. He'd made peace with Potter, the skittish house cat-like thing that he'd tormented as a child; lived pretty comfortably off of his Guardian's monthly stipend, which continued to arrive in spite of the fact that she was no longer there; and after a while, he'd even started leaving the house for a few hours a day, wondering whether he might see someone he knew, wondering whether he really wanted to.
But never in that time had he even considered going back to the HQ. He'd crossed the place off, resolved to leave it behind him until he had reason to do otherwise. Dusty had his own problems, after all - leave it to some other Fa'e to solve this one!
There came the day, though, where his resolve faltered. Maybe it was out of boredom, or loneliness. Maybe he'd reasoned out that there might be some answers to the whereabouts of his Guardian there, or maybe he just figured that if it were companions that he needed to find for the sake of his kingdom, then he would need his fellow Fa'e to help him. Whatever the cause, the decision was made - and, soon enough, he was clopping down the sidewalk toward the place he'd been when everything had gone wrong.
He did not, of course, come unarmed. The laughingstock of a pink holy sword was on his back, the obsidian dagger at his belt. Armored as always, looking at least twice as grouchy as usual, the deerkitten arrived on the already-populated scene. People - Dusty didn't care to note who just yet, but only counted their presence - just milling around in the yard, or the street, but no one approaching the building. For obvious reasons.
"You'd think there'd be some sort of agency," Dusty muttered. "Like the cops, but for this sort of s**t." They did live on Gaia, after all. This sort of thing had to happen once a month, at least. How did civilization move on, with an eyesore like this stuck in the middle of everything? Why hadn't anybody done anything?
Fae HQ
Somewhere in the cold and the dark, something was breathing. It hissed in and out, something like lungs so accustomed to the stale air of being buried, of being bricked in behind a wall made from the patchwork ends of the universe, that this citrus taste of reality on its tongue was as easily like choking as it was like living. It took him so long to become accustomed to it. To anticipate it. Here then: the slow stretching of atrophied muscles, a cat curling its back after a long nap in a dark corner. A cactus growing toward the sun by degrees. Slowly, the something had reached out for it. It had tasted and it had touched, and the air grew clearer and the world grew sharper and the hole in the wall crumpled open until the air welled into the hole they had dug for him.
Until he could press his mouth to it and breathe out life and death and the inbetweens of it. And stars fell from the sky for it and children died for it and fires burned and souls turned to stone and then ash and in his mania, darkness fell and looped a string around a dream's neck for him to pull. He wound it round his finger to draw her close; he was removing himself, brick by brick with every painful lungful until the barrier had worn so thin that finally, he felt capable of doing more than just tasting the air outside, of gathering it to him.
Chaos breathed and somewhere, a place should should have been impossible to touch but was now so very very near, a flock of dark eyed birds alighted on the top of a building that had once been headquarters and home. The birds, as one autonomous creature, turned their eyes onto the Fa'e in the yard. They blinked and did not caw.
The Fa'e looked so small, so very insignificant. They glowed in the darkness with the hum of life, but still - so fractured. The boy with stars in his hair and the sad orphan with nothing left, a little child who knew nothing of the world, the bitter and broken. So few and so sad and so painfully hopeless. So very ineffective. If they were a wall, they were foundering. If they were bricks, they had already so clearly been disassembled and divided - no mortar left between them.
The birds clacked their beaks simultaneously and through the narrowed crack between that world and this, the end of the universe, it spoke to them in the voice of the legion at once hollowed by distance and the whisper pressed against a child's ear.
"I am coming through the wall," the crows said. "I am coming through the wall. I am coming through the wall."
Until he could press his mouth to it and breathe out life and death and the inbetweens of it. And stars fell from the sky for it and children died for it and fires burned and souls turned to stone and then ash and in his mania, darkness fell and looped a string around a dream's neck for him to pull. He wound it round his finger to draw her close; he was removing himself, brick by brick with every painful lungful until the barrier had worn so thin that finally, he felt capable of doing more than just tasting the air outside, of gathering it to him.
Chaos breathed and somewhere, a place should should have been impossible to touch but was now so very very near, a flock of dark eyed birds alighted on the top of a building that had once been headquarters and home. The birds, as one autonomous creature, turned their eyes onto the Fa'e in the yard. They blinked and did not caw.
The Fa'e looked so small, so very insignificant. They glowed in the darkness with the hum of life, but still - so fractured. The boy with stars in his hair and the sad orphan with nothing left, a little child who knew nothing of the world, the bitter and broken. So few and so sad and so painfully hopeless. So very ineffective. If they were a wall, they were foundering. If they were bricks, they had already so clearly been disassembled and divided - no mortar left between them.
The birds clacked their beaks simultaneously and through the narrowed crack between that world and this, the end of the universe, it spoke to them in the voice of the legion at once hollowed by distance and the whisper pressed against a child's ear.
"I am coming through the wall," the crows said. "I am coming through the wall. I am coming through the wall."
Silverah
The cat, being a cat, naturally did not reply. Maybe, thought Astor, it had come to check out the weird birds. He doubted it would find them to be very good eating, but then again there wasn't anything more sinister about it, no need to be alarmed. Sometimes a cat was just a cat. (Usually, a cat was just a cat. But this was Gaia and he'd met cats who ran clothing stores, so you never knew.)
The boy got back to his feet and dusted off his knees. Loamy soil clung to his pants legs and Mom would throw a fit later about it, but that was okay. He looked around, trying to ascertain better that he was alone, but couldn't shake the niggling feeling that he wasn't. It was the rustling of feathers as some of those damn birds took flight that had him on edge, he was sure of it -
Mercifully, Astor spotted the woman with the stroller only a few yards away. "Hey," he called, pushing through the tall grass back towards the paved walkway. The birds had stopped their flapping, mercifully, but a glance up at the roofline made it no better. Those things were creepy.
A shiver ran down Astor's spine. He paused in place, still some nine feet distant from the woman and her child, and stared up at the birds.
And then they spoke. Oh, god, they spoke. It was a horrible, horrible noise. Astor tried pressing his hands over his ears, but it was no use, so he gave up and looked helplessly over towards the people he'd been trying to reach. "Can you hear that?" he called.
He hoped it wasn't just inside his head. He'd had voices inside his head before and this just didn't seem like the same thing. It was coming through the wall? What wall? And who, he had to wonder, even in his immense discomfort, was this "I" referring to?
The boy got back to his feet and dusted off his knees. Loamy soil clung to his pants legs and Mom would throw a fit later about it, but that was okay. He looked around, trying to ascertain better that he was alone, but couldn't shake the niggling feeling that he wasn't. It was the rustling of feathers as some of those damn birds took flight that had him on edge, he was sure of it -
Mercifully, Astor spotted the woman with the stroller only a few yards away. "Hey," he called, pushing through the tall grass back towards the paved walkway. The birds had stopped their flapping, mercifully, but a glance up at the roofline made it no better. Those things were creepy.
A shiver ran down Astor's spine. He paused in place, still some nine feet distant from the woman and her child, and stared up at the birds.
And then they spoke. Oh, god, they spoke. It was a horrible, horrible noise. Astor tried pressing his hands over his ears, but it was no use, so he gave up and looked helplessly over towards the people he'd been trying to reach. "Can you hear that?" he called.
He hoped it wasn't just inside his head. He'd had voices inside his head before and this just didn't seem like the same thing. It was coming through the wall? What wall? And who, he had to wonder, even in his immense discomfort, was this "I" referring to?
Quinny-chan
Addie watched the birds alight on what had once been the headquarters through eyes narrowed to slits. She didn't know what they were, but she knew they were bad. They reminded her of the Bad Black, not the same, but a close kin. She did not want Quinn to go any nearer to them that she had to.
The kangaroo-lizard wound her mother's tail around her arm, taking a firm hold near the base. It wouldn't stop Quinn if she really felt like moving, but Addie hoped her tugs would be enough to keep her guardian safe.
The movement near her rear brought Quinn out of her reverie and she wiped a hand over her face, trying to clear the shock that still clung there. Her eyes turned to the starry-haired boy that had called out to her, but she paused, ear twitching as something that was almost beyond hearing caught her attention. "I am coming through the wall."
Addie whimpered and pressed her hands to her ears, curling herself into a ball in an effort to block out the grating sound of the legion-birds, a sound she heard much louder than her mother. Quinn bent to the child, wrapping her arms protectively around her, pressing her face into the back of Addie's head and asking, "Baby? Baby, what's wrong?"
She looked up at the boy, "What's wrong? What are you hearing? I thought I heard... I thought..."
She turned her head back to her charge as Addie moved to face her. "It's coming, Momma," she said. "The Bad is coming back."
The kangaroo-lizard wound her mother's tail around her arm, taking a firm hold near the base. It wouldn't stop Quinn if she really felt like moving, but Addie hoped her tugs would be enough to keep her guardian safe.
The movement near her rear brought Quinn out of her reverie and she wiped a hand over her face, trying to clear the shock that still clung there. Her eyes turned to the starry-haired boy that had called out to her, but she paused, ear twitching as something that was almost beyond hearing caught her attention. "I am coming through the wall."
Addie whimpered and pressed her hands to her ears, curling herself into a ball in an effort to block out the grating sound of the legion-birds, a sound she heard much louder than her mother. Quinn bent to the child, wrapping her arms protectively around her, pressing her face into the back of Addie's head and asking, "Baby? Baby, what's wrong?"
She looked up at the boy, "What's wrong? What are you hearing? I thought I heard... I thought..."
She turned her head back to her charge as Addie moved to face her. "It's coming, Momma," she said. "The Bad is coming back."
Silverah
Astor closed the remaining gap, coming to stand beside the two. His discomfort with all this was clear on his face. "I hear-"
He paused, looking curiously. She thought she heard? She thought? Oh, don't say it was all in his head, because he'd been there before and it wasn't pretty - only the little girl's protests reassured Astor of his own sanity. "The birds are talking," he grimaced. "She can hear it," the boy added, motioning to the squirming child. Maybe because the girl was Fa'e and her mother wasn't?
"They say," he said, and cut off again, reluctantly looking back towards the birds. They were still chattering, the same words over and over, and it made his skin crawl and his stomach churn. "I am coming through the wall," he repeated.
But what was coming through the wall? Was the Bad coming through the wall? But then, what was the bad?
"Can't you hear it?" he demanded shakily.
He paused, looking curiously. She thought she heard? She thought? Oh, don't say it was all in his head, because he'd been there before and it wasn't pretty - only the little girl's protests reassured Astor of his own sanity. "The birds are talking," he grimaced. "She can hear it," the boy added, motioning to the squirming child. Maybe because the girl was Fa'e and her mother wasn't?
"They say," he said, and cut off again, reluctantly looking back towards the birds. They were still chattering, the same words over and over, and it made his skin crawl and his stomach churn. "I am coming through the wall," he repeated.
But what was coming through the wall? Was the Bad coming through the wall? But then, what was the bad?
"Can't you hear it?" he demanded shakily.
Quinny-chan
Quinn tried to soothe her daughter and listen to the boy all at once. She didn't know what was going on, but she knew enough to know it wasn't good. At the boy's request, she scrunched up her face in concentration, her sensitive ears straining to pick up anything about a wall. It was there, just at the edge of her hearing, but it gave her the impression that it didn't want her to hear it. That it was almost angry that she did, her acute hearing be damned.
"I can hear it, barely," she admitted to the boy, hoisting a struggling Addie into the air. "But I don't think it's meant for me. If you can hear it, and Addie can hear it, I think it's meant for the Fa'e." She assumed that any out of the ordinary creature hanging around the HQ must be a Fa'e. (Says the lady with fox ears and a tail.)
Quinn looked at the ruins of the headquarters, grimacing, "But what wall? There's barely anything left! I think we should leave. You guys are just kids and this place looks dangerous. I don't want anyone getting hurt." She turned and attempted to strap the now flailing Adelaide into her stroller. With a grunt, she added, "If you don't have anywhere to go, you can come to our house. But I can't let Addie stay here. Something's wrong. She's just a baby..."
It was then that one of Addie's spring-coiled feet connected with the side of Quinn's head and the fox lady crumpled in a pile at the base of the stroller, knocked cold. Adelaide hadn't meant to hurt her mother, only to avoid her stroller, but she knew running away wouldn't solve anything. Slowly, she stepped over her mother, being careful not to bump her. When her feet had found the ground once more, she smoothed Quinn's hair and kissed the bruise that was already forming on the side of her face. "Sorry momma," she nuzzled into Quinn's ear. "Sorry, but Addie needs to stay and fight."
It never occurred to the little one that no one had told her mother about her valiant exploits at Caoihme's party, or that 4 was a little young for the kicking a** and taking names that she was capable of at times. She just knew that something bad was coming and that she wasn't going to let it hurt her mother again.
She gazed up at the boy with the stars in his hair and then back down to Quinn. They couldn't leave her there, she might get stepped on. Her gaze whipped around their surroundings, landing on a hedge on the other side of the street, well clear of the dark patch surrounding the HQ. "Starboy," she reached up to tug on his hand to make sure he knew who she meant, "help me move momma over there." She indicated the hedge and then proceeded to ineffectually tug at Quinn, trying to move her out of harm's way.
"I can hear it, barely," she admitted to the boy, hoisting a struggling Addie into the air. "But I don't think it's meant for me. If you can hear it, and Addie can hear it, I think it's meant for the Fa'e." She assumed that any out of the ordinary creature hanging around the HQ must be a Fa'e. (Says the lady with fox ears and a tail.)
Quinn looked at the ruins of the headquarters, grimacing, "But what wall? There's barely anything left! I think we should leave. You guys are just kids and this place looks dangerous. I don't want anyone getting hurt." She turned and attempted to strap the now flailing Adelaide into her stroller. With a grunt, she added, "If you don't have anywhere to go, you can come to our house. But I can't let Addie stay here. Something's wrong. She's just a baby..."
It was then that one of Addie's spring-coiled feet connected with the side of Quinn's head and the fox lady crumpled in a pile at the base of the stroller, knocked cold. Adelaide hadn't meant to hurt her mother, only to avoid her stroller, but she knew running away wouldn't solve anything. Slowly, she stepped over her mother, being careful not to bump her. When her feet had found the ground once more, she smoothed Quinn's hair and kissed the bruise that was already forming on the side of her face. "Sorry momma," she nuzzled into Quinn's ear. "Sorry, but Addie needs to stay and fight."
It never occurred to the little one that no one had told her mother about her valiant exploits at Caoihme's party, or that 4 was a little young for the kicking a** and taking names that she was capable of at times. She just knew that something bad was coming and that she wasn't going to let it hurt her mother again.
She gazed up at the boy with the stars in his hair and then back down to Quinn. They couldn't leave her there, she might get stepped on. Her gaze whipped around their surroundings, landing on a hedge on the other side of the street, well clear of the dark patch surrounding the HQ. "Starboy," she reached up to tug on his hand to make sure he knew who she meant, "help me move momma over there." She indicated the hedge and then proceeded to ineffectually tug at Quinn, trying to move her out of harm's way.
Silverah
For a moment, Astor just stared blankly at the girl. Had she just...? She had. Despite her small stature and young age, he decided it was in his best interests to do whatever she said. You couldn't argue with a toddler who had just knocked a grown woman out cold.
"'M Astor," he said sheepishly as he hoisted the fox-woman by her armpits. "You're Addie?" he asked as he dragged her, a bit roughly, towards the hedge. He looked apologetic as he set her down, and hoped for Addie's sake that there would not be any especially harsh disciplinary action when her momma woke up. Had he tried anything of the sort on Chess, he would probably have been out an airlock in a second.
Once Addie's mother was secured, they crossed back to the darkened lawn of headquarters. Astor looked down at the determined little girl who seemed much more in control of the situation than he was. (But, then, wasn't that always the case?)
The crows were still chattering their awful, eerie threat.
"This is the part where you tell me you're not as young as you look," he said to her. Because, damn.
"'M Astor," he said sheepishly as he hoisted the fox-woman by her armpits. "You're Addie?" he asked as he dragged her, a bit roughly, towards the hedge. He looked apologetic as he set her down, and hoped for Addie's sake that there would not be any especially harsh disciplinary action when her momma woke up. Had he tried anything of the sort on Chess, he would probably have been out an airlock in a second.
Once Addie's mother was secured, they crossed back to the darkened lawn of headquarters. Astor looked down at the determined little girl who seemed much more in control of the situation than he was. (But, then, wasn't that always the case?)
The crows were still chattering their awful, eerie threat.
"This is the part where you tell me you're not as young as you look," he said to her. Because, damn.
Arrien
"We're Fa'e," Dusty interjected scornfully. "Everyone here's younger than they look." It went unsaid, but the deerkitten was obviously thinking it pretty hard - dumbass.
So far as Addie being young went, though, Dusty wasn't about to underestimate her. He remembered the Finfolk, after all - Adelaide was a vicious little beast when she wanted to be, and besides which. It wasn't his job to tell her no. His job was pretty simple - loosen the sword from the sheath (not draw it yet, just make ready) and keep watch.
So far as Addie being young went, though, Dusty wasn't about to underestimate her. He remembered the Finfolk, after all - Adelaide was a vicious little beast when she wanted to be, and besides which. It wasn't his job to tell her no. His job was pretty simple - loosen the sword from the sheath (not draw it yet, just make ready) and keep watch.
Quinny-chan
Adelaide nodded as Astor asked her name and helped lug her guardian across the street as best as she could. Mostly, she just kept Quinn's tail from dragging in the dirt.
She followed the boy back across the street to the ruin of the HQ and began digging in the bags that were stowed on the parcel shelf of her stroller. She tossed a small garbage can lid on the ground, followed by a man's tie that appeared to have loops of ribbon stitched to it at regular intervals. Next came a small wooden sword; a net bag of marbles; a small pouch which appeared to hold chapstick, bandaids, and some sort of antibiotic cream; a small metal bottle of water with a carabiner hooked to the cap; and a plastic viking helmet.
Grinning up at Astor so that the sun glinted off one of her tiny sharp fangs, Addie wiggled out of her dress, hiked up her bloomers and replied, "I'm a big girl." She paused at looked up at Dusty as she tied the necktie in a messy knot at her hip. "Ask my kitty."
She fitted her sword into it's ribbon loop sheath, making sure that Dusty could see that she was as well armed as he was, and followed that by attaching her various other accouterments to their designated spots. She tucked Gloo safely behind her ear before finally fitting the garbage can lid to her chest, slinging the jute harness Quinn had tied to it over her head.
She looked down at herself and grinned with glee. She'd never gotten to wear all her stuff before. She was rather pleased with herself for sneaking it all along with them as they left the house. She nodded at Dusty, confident that he was properly attired as well. When her face fell on Astor, however, her grin turned to a grimace. She looked through her stuff, trying to decide what she could share with the poor, ill-prepared Starboy. Her eyes fell on her viking helmet and she picked it up by one of the horns and hopped it over to him.
"Here," she said, proffering this flashy, if ineffectual bit of armor. " 'S for pro-tek-shun."
She followed the boy back across the street to the ruin of the HQ and began digging in the bags that were stowed on the parcel shelf of her stroller. She tossed a small garbage can lid on the ground, followed by a man's tie that appeared to have loops of ribbon stitched to it at regular intervals. Next came a small wooden sword; a net bag of marbles; a small pouch which appeared to hold chapstick, bandaids, and some sort of antibiotic cream; a small metal bottle of water with a carabiner hooked to the cap; and a plastic viking helmet.
Grinning up at Astor so that the sun glinted off one of her tiny sharp fangs, Addie wiggled out of her dress, hiked up her bloomers and replied, "I'm a big girl." She paused at looked up at Dusty as she tied the necktie in a messy knot at her hip. "Ask my kitty."
She fitted her sword into it's ribbon loop sheath, making sure that Dusty could see that she was as well armed as he was, and followed that by attaching her various other accouterments to their designated spots. She tucked Gloo safely behind her ear before finally fitting the garbage can lid to her chest, slinging the jute harness Quinn had tied to it over her head.
She looked down at herself and grinned with glee. She'd never gotten to wear all her stuff before. She was rather pleased with herself for sneaking it all along with them as they left the house. She nodded at Dusty, confident that he was properly attired as well. When her face fell on Astor, however, her grin turned to a grimace. She looked through her stuff, trying to decide what she could share with the poor, ill-prepared Starboy. Her eyes fell on her viking helmet and she picked it up by one of the horns and hopped it over to him.
"Here," she said, proffering this flashy, if ineffectual bit of armor. " 'S for pro-tek-shun."
Silverah
Astor was baffled. Absolutely baffled. He had just watched a small child knock out a grown woman, then watched said small child put on a full suit of (improvised) armor. Mutely, he accepted the viking helm and set it atop his dreadlocks - the fireflies swarmed briefly to check it out, then settled back to their usual business.
He nodded to Addie, not feeling particularly protected but hoping that wearing the silly hat would gain him some degree of respect from the younger Fa'e. For one so small, she packed a hell of a punch. "Er, thanks," he said, and looked to their other companion.
"You're Dusty, right?" he asked, fairly certain in the appraisal. They'd only met in passing, but the fortunate thing about his newfound social circle was that everyone was pretty distinctive looking. It was sort of hard to forget someone with gems sticking out of their face.
He looked back up at the building and pulled a face. "So, what do we do now?" he questioned. "Wait?" This certainly didn't seem like such a good plan, but no one had suggested anything better yet. He cupped a hand around his chin, mostly for effect, and looked pensive as he chewed the skin between his thumb and forefinger. With his other hand, he reached up and adjusted the slipping viking helmet.
"Why is it that whenever we go someplace, everyone is so much more prepared than I am?" he asked in frustration, and then went back to thinking, looking around for things he might be able to use.
"We could always chuck things at it and see what happens," he finally suggested, and picked up a rock. Chucking things was generally the best you could do to check things out.
Astor pitched the rock towards the shadowy building in an easy, strong overhand. He watched its trajectory and waited for the collision. Maybe something would explode - that was always exciting.
He nodded to Addie, not feeling particularly protected but hoping that wearing the silly hat would gain him some degree of respect from the younger Fa'e. For one so small, she packed a hell of a punch. "Er, thanks," he said, and looked to their other companion.
"You're Dusty, right?" he asked, fairly certain in the appraisal. They'd only met in passing, but the fortunate thing about his newfound social circle was that everyone was pretty distinctive looking. It was sort of hard to forget someone with gems sticking out of their face.
He looked back up at the building and pulled a face. "So, what do we do now?" he questioned. "Wait?" This certainly didn't seem like such a good plan, but no one had suggested anything better yet. He cupped a hand around his chin, mostly for effect, and looked pensive as he chewed the skin between his thumb and forefinger. With his other hand, he reached up and adjusted the slipping viking helmet.
"Why is it that whenever we go someplace, everyone is so much more prepared than I am?" he asked in frustration, and then went back to thinking, looking around for things he might be able to use.
"We could always chuck things at it and see what happens," he finally suggested, and picked up a rock. Chucking things was generally the best you could do to check things out.
Astor pitched the rock towards the shadowy building in an easy, strong overhand. He watched its trajectory and waited for the collision. Maybe something would explode - that was always exciting.
Akina Tokuwa
Caoimhe could never stay away from the Fa'e HQ for long. Even as it rotted away into darkness, the selkie youth felt drawn to it like a moth to the flame. She had come the night before and sat for a long while staring blankly at the blackened hull of a home she had once known. For a girl who had experienced very little security in her life, Caoimhe should have been prepared to lose another home. And yet, she wasn't.
The wound across her back had dulled in pain. Healing had begun, but the scar was an angry wound layered with gaze and healing salves. When she leaned on it too hard, a white hot jet of pain would sear the space between her shoulder blades, an ache that lasted for hours. It didn't keep her inside or bedridden, nothing ever could.
Gristla was more worried than she had ever been, and it took four hours for her to give up on prowling outside of Caoimhe's door to make sure she stayed inside. It was a tiny window, and Caoi took it. She was kind enough to leave a note:
Eloquent as ever, Caoi popped the note on the counter and slipped out in a pair of leggings and an airy cotton top. She had learned her mistake with the Fallen Star. This time, she took the time to rummage through her things and find the weapons she had come to Gaia with from Aranorn: a weighted throwing strip and a long, coiled whip. It wasn't much, but by Caoimhe's standards, her fists were the best weapons she had at her disposal. The whip was a precaution.
The HQ was as she remembered it -- dark, hopeless, a shadow swirling swiftly into deeper shades of loss. There were birds now though, and something else. Caoimhe started walking faster, eyes fixated on the little green toddler whom she largely considered to be her protege in the making. "Addie? What are you doing here?" Her eyes flickered to the downed guardian, but she didn't say anything about it.
Only then did she notice the others. "Astor," she said first. And then, with a touch of relief, "Dusty, hi." Caoimhe quickly closed the space between them. "What is going on?" She looked up toward the roof of the HQ. "Where are you going?" Then, with more conviction: "I'm coming."
The wound across her back had dulled in pain. Healing had begun, but the scar was an angry wound layered with gaze and healing salves. When she leaned on it too hard, a white hot jet of pain would sear the space between her shoulder blades, an ache that lasted for hours. It didn't keep her inside or bedridden, nothing ever could.
Gristla was more worried than she had ever been, and it took four hours for her to give up on prowling outside of Caoimhe's door to make sure she stayed inside. It was a tiny window, and Caoi took it. She was kind enough to leave a note:
Note
im goin out. dont try to find me. this is for me 2 do. a fae thing. and u 2 not wurry about. if im not back in 3 days, then mayb wurry. but dont worry. im thinkin of u.
- me
- me
Eloquent as ever, Caoi popped the note on the counter and slipped out in a pair of leggings and an airy cotton top. She had learned her mistake with the Fallen Star. This time, she took the time to rummage through her things and find the weapons she had come to Gaia with from Aranorn: a weighted throwing strip and a long, coiled whip. It wasn't much, but by Caoimhe's standards, her fists were the best weapons she had at her disposal. The whip was a precaution.
The HQ was as she remembered it -- dark, hopeless, a shadow swirling swiftly into deeper shades of loss. There were birds now though, and something else. Caoimhe started walking faster, eyes fixated on the little green toddler whom she largely considered to be her protege in the making. "Addie? What are you doing here?" Her eyes flickered to the downed guardian, but she didn't say anything about it.
Only then did she notice the others. "Astor," she said first. And then, with a touch of relief, "Dusty, hi." Caoimhe quickly closed the space between them. "What is going on?" She looked up toward the roof of the HQ. "Where are you going?" Then, with more conviction: "I'm coming."
Fae HQ
He had existed for millennia, buried deep and low like a dangerous toxin. Stretching his muscles and growing stronger, ferreting out the gaps in the wall until there was space for him to reach out into the world. Through the barrier he had reached, navigating by the single point of light in his view of what was left of the fractured universe. Dream.
It had taken an outpouring of the power that he had amassed over the years the decades, the centuries. He had ten thousand universes to draw from and he had slowly chalked it up in bits and pieces until he could close his fingers around Airi's throat and drag her into the darkness. It had taken nearly all of him to do it, the struggle birthing the darkness that had swallowed Airi's little sacred corner of the world, but now he had her in his sharp fingers. Her fear was something to be tasted, his unbidden contact with her after so long the purest form of nightmare.
It was like drowning. It was being undone and made new as he tore Airi from Gaia and pulled her into the darkness with as much force as he could manage.
The collected power hadn't been enough though - had felt himself splintering with the contact. The touch of Airi's consciousness burned like hot iron and repelled him like magnetic poles. But he had waited and planned and been patient enough; it was impossible to fail completely. He ripped her away from her feeble corporeal presence on the physical plane, dragging what was left into the smothering weight of the void as pieces of his power hemorrhaged and surged, the touch between them sparking a fire that caught and burst open:
A star, a child, a light, a soul - all facets of the same hot fire that burned between them as Chaos dragged Airi into the depths of his prison, sinking until his power ran thin. It was like a rope unwinding, strings snapping and the light humming between them fading with each fissure as they drew further and further from the world. The tether to Gaia stretched and frayed, and it was only when a single thread was left to the outside world that Chaos buoyed in order to catch whatever semblance of breath he needed.
Airi lay still in the darkness, whatever physical movement she was capable of lost in the divide between her body and what constituted as her soul. Still, she burned: what tiny light here power put off was faint and flickering - a single candle's worth that Chaos couldn't quite touch. Not just yet.
"I'm coming through the wall," far away scores of birds spoke. "I am coming through the wall wearing her power like a glove made of fair skin. I am coming through the wall. It is the beginning and it is the end. Made new; all of it will be made new. I am coming through the wall."
In the pit, Chaos pulled that single thread still connecting him to the world. It tugged at the pieces he had left behind when he had kidnapped Dream. Like fish on hooks, they answered to the pull: a body ached and sloughed skin from the bone, a child jerked to its tip toes from the bed she had slept in all her life and fell from the window of the hospital room, a monster shrieked from what burned it from the inside, and the stone the star had left burned white hot where it was being kept in the possession of one of Dream's children.
He needed them. Needed their power to rebuild his connection to the physical plane. He had taken Dream into his prison through a crack in the wall, and now if they just could open the door to free him--
On the peaked roof of the Fa'e Headquarters, the birds suddenly quieted. They didn't stir from their perches, but instead they peered as one down at the shabby assembly on the lawn. It was a sad patchwork, such a lonely collection of would-be heroes. Perhaps the tie between the Fa'e and their creator had waned along with her presence in this world; so many had dwindled to so very few. They were like a light preparing to go out.
As one, the birds suddenly shifted as the hold over them ceased: once more they were just a flock, individuals hopping on the roof, on the window ledges, until something startled. The mass of carrion birds alighted from the desolate Headquarters and splintered off into the sky. They shrieked as they whirled away.
Silence was left in their wake. It ticked on for right felt like a decade, until it was broken by something coming from out of the undergrowth that edged the headquarters' lawn. The rustle of bushes, the rasp of sticks and leaves as something was dragged clumsily over the ground.
It was a child who staggered through the trees, limbs akimbo and head slung low between her shoulders. Each step she took dragged her toes, the tops of her feet and the legs of the stuffed bear which she clutched in one hand. An orange glow bobbed over her head in time to each limp swing of her chin, though it was only when the girl sloughed out into the open beyond the edge of the trees that the nature of the glow become wholly apparent:
The child lifted her face, soul pouring out of her eyes and twisting overhead to the skull-shaped mist that directly mimed every twist of her head. The ghostly skull stared with eyes the girl's body no longer possessed. The child's body swayed uncertainly on the dark grass, the hospital iv somehow still in her arm dragging along the ground behind her. A medical wristband hung loosely around her other wrist. The skull blinked at the Fa'e on the lawn. As one, body and soul swung to peer at the rotting structure of the Fa'e Headquarters.
Almost comically, the line of the creature's sight twisted back to the Fa'e on the drive. It spoke, two voices of two different children: "I need you," it said, lurching forward slowly: a tangle of limbs. The girl's hair twined out toward them like grasping fingers. "Please let me have you. I'll use your little bones to make a key to open the door. My daddy's behind it."
It had taken an outpouring of the power that he had amassed over the years the decades, the centuries. He had ten thousand universes to draw from and he had slowly chalked it up in bits and pieces until he could close his fingers around Airi's throat and drag her into the darkness. It had taken nearly all of him to do it, the struggle birthing the darkness that had swallowed Airi's little sacred corner of the world, but now he had her in his sharp fingers. Her fear was something to be tasted, his unbidden contact with her after so long the purest form of nightmare.
It was like drowning. It was being undone and made new as he tore Airi from Gaia and pulled her into the darkness with as much force as he could manage.
The collected power hadn't been enough though - had felt himself splintering with the contact. The touch of Airi's consciousness burned like hot iron and repelled him like magnetic poles. But he had waited and planned and been patient enough; it was impossible to fail completely. He ripped her away from her feeble corporeal presence on the physical plane, dragging what was left into the smothering weight of the void as pieces of his power hemorrhaged and surged, the touch between them sparking a fire that caught and burst open:
A star, a child, a light, a soul - all facets of the same hot fire that burned between them as Chaos dragged Airi into the depths of his prison, sinking until his power ran thin. It was like a rope unwinding, strings snapping and the light humming between them fading with each fissure as they drew further and further from the world. The tether to Gaia stretched and frayed, and it was only when a single thread was left to the outside world that Chaos buoyed in order to catch whatever semblance of breath he needed.
Airi lay still in the darkness, whatever physical movement she was capable of lost in the divide between her body and what constituted as her soul. Still, she burned: what tiny light here power put off was faint and flickering - a single candle's worth that Chaos couldn't quite touch. Not just yet.
"I'm coming through the wall," far away scores of birds spoke. "I am coming through the wall wearing her power like a glove made of fair skin. I am coming through the wall. It is the beginning and it is the end. Made new; all of it will be made new. I am coming through the wall."
In the pit, Chaos pulled that single thread still connecting him to the world. It tugged at the pieces he had left behind when he had kidnapped Dream. Like fish on hooks, they answered to the pull: a body ached and sloughed skin from the bone, a child jerked to its tip toes from the bed she had slept in all her life and fell from the window of the hospital room, a monster shrieked from what burned it from the inside, and the stone the star had left burned white hot where it was being kept in the possession of one of Dream's children.
He needed them. Needed their power to rebuild his connection to the physical plane. He had taken Dream into his prison through a crack in the wall, and now if they just could open the door to free him--
***********
On the peaked roof of the Fa'e Headquarters, the birds suddenly quieted. They didn't stir from their perches, but instead they peered as one down at the shabby assembly on the lawn. It was a sad patchwork, such a lonely collection of would-be heroes. Perhaps the tie between the Fa'e and their creator had waned along with her presence in this world; so many had dwindled to so very few. They were like a light preparing to go out.
As one, the birds suddenly shifted as the hold over them ceased: once more they were just a flock, individuals hopping on the roof, on the window ledges, until something startled. The mass of carrion birds alighted from the desolate Headquarters and splintered off into the sky. They shrieked as they whirled away.
Silence was left in their wake. It ticked on for right felt like a decade, until it was broken by something coming from out of the undergrowth that edged the headquarters' lawn. The rustle of bushes, the rasp of sticks and leaves as something was dragged clumsily over the ground.
It was a child who staggered through the trees, limbs akimbo and head slung low between her shoulders. Each step she took dragged her toes, the tops of her feet and the legs of the stuffed bear which she clutched in one hand. An orange glow bobbed over her head in time to each limp swing of her chin, though it was only when the girl sloughed out into the open beyond the edge of the trees that the nature of the glow become wholly apparent:
The child lifted her face, soul pouring out of her eyes and twisting overhead to the skull-shaped mist that directly mimed every twist of her head. The ghostly skull stared with eyes the girl's body no longer possessed. The child's body swayed uncertainly on the dark grass, the hospital iv somehow still in her arm dragging along the ground behind her. A medical wristband hung loosely around her other wrist. The skull blinked at the Fa'e on the lawn. As one, body and soul swung to peer at the rotting structure of the Fa'e Headquarters.
Almost comically, the line of the creature's sight twisted back to the Fa'e on the drive. It spoke, two voices of two different children: "I need you," it said, lurching forward slowly: a tangle of limbs. The girl's hair twined out toward them like grasping fingers. "Please let me have you. I'll use your little bones to make a key to open the door. My daddy's behind it."
Silverah
His rock didn't do anything, and Astor looked balefully towards the newly-arrived Caoimhe. "Well," he fumbled, and glanced towards Addie. "I think she knows, I mean..." He bit his lip, looked towards the ominous looking building before them, and admitted, "We're going to fight the bad thing."
Caoimhe, with her petite fury, could always make him feel a bit stupid. He stopped chewing on his thumbnail, jerked it towards the building. "Can't you hear it? I am coming through the wall?!"
But they were saying something else now - he hadn't imagined it could get any worse, but it had. Because now it wasn't just coming through the wall. The specifics washed over him in his renewed panic, but he caught references to a girl with power, and the beginning of the end, and that couldn't possibly be good.
Wide-eyed, Astor looked frantically from Caoimhe to Dusty, and then to Addie, because she seemed like she might just be the strongest person here. "Did you get much of that?" he asked shakily. He thought it might mean Airi, but he didn't want to say that just yet and damn it. (He was pretty sure it meant Airi, he just didn't want to admit it did.)
But worse was not the worst. No, this situation wasn't done yet. There was something behind them, coming through the tree, pushing its way towards them. "Do you hear that?" the boy asked nervously, turning to look. As the figure emerged from the trees, Astor fought the urge to hurl. That was just wrong.
But worse wasn't done yet. Because she was asking for bones and--
Astor looked down at his hands wincingly. "Maybe I can spare a finger," he said meekly. No, that probably wouldn't work.
Caoimhe, with her petite fury, could always make him feel a bit stupid. He stopped chewing on his thumbnail, jerked it towards the building. "Can't you hear it? I am coming through the wall?!"
But they were saying something else now - he hadn't imagined it could get any worse, but it had. Because now it wasn't just coming through the wall. The specifics washed over him in his renewed panic, but he caught references to a girl with power, and the beginning of the end, and that couldn't possibly be good.
Wide-eyed, Astor looked frantically from Caoimhe to Dusty, and then to Addie, because she seemed like she might just be the strongest person here. "Did you get much of that?" he asked shakily. He thought it might mean Airi, but he didn't want to say that just yet and damn it. (He was pretty sure it meant Airi, he just didn't want to admit it did.)
But worse was not the worst. No, this situation wasn't done yet. There was something behind them, coming through the tree, pushing its way towards them. "Do you hear that?" the boy asked nervously, turning to look. As the figure emerged from the trees, Astor fought the urge to hurl. That was just wrong.
But worse wasn't done yet. Because she was asking for bones and--
Astor looked down at his hands wincingly. "Maybe I can spare a finger," he said meekly. No, that probably wouldn't work.
Akina Tokuwa
Words? Bah. What were words but tiny diplomatic sounds that squawked uselessly in the absence of a concrete action? Caoimhe had no use for such things. Her hands tightened into fists in the face of the talking birds. She didn't like ominous anything, let alone those harbingers of the feathered variety.
When they flew away, her mouth tightened, but the selkie made no move toward immediate action. Not yet, anyway. Her eyes flickered across the gathered faces, landing on Astor. She could agree with one thing Astor said: "A fight?" A grin cocked in the corner of her mouth. "Let's dance then." It was a phrase she had heard on TV, but Caoi liked it. Absentmindedly, she jutted out one leg and attempted to push Addie behind her.
"Stay here, Squirt."
Apparently, despite Addie's record of murderous mayhem, Caoi did not want to expose the toddler to too much danger. Or perhaps she wanted to keep it all for herself? This was unclear. The only thing that was absolutely certain was the distinct flinching of the thick layers of muscle when the strange child skulked onto the scene.
The selkie Fa'e squared her soldiers to the gown-clad girl. "We ain't giving up anything to you, or your daddy," she spat, though she had no idea what or who the girl was talking about. "You're the one hanging out in our home. Why don't you get off our property?" It was evident that Caoimhe had not learned her lesson with the fallen star child. Did she ever?
The scar on her back was apparently not reminder enough.
When they flew away, her mouth tightened, but the selkie made no move toward immediate action. Not yet, anyway. Her eyes flickered across the gathered faces, landing on Astor. She could agree with one thing Astor said: "A fight?" A grin cocked in the corner of her mouth. "Let's dance then." It was a phrase she had heard on TV, but Caoi liked it. Absentmindedly, she jutted out one leg and attempted to push Addie behind her.
"Stay here, Squirt."
Apparently, despite Addie's record of murderous mayhem, Caoi did not want to expose the toddler to too much danger. Or perhaps she wanted to keep it all for herself? This was unclear. The only thing that was absolutely certain was the distinct flinching of the thick layers of muscle when the strange child skulked onto the scene.
The selkie Fa'e squared her soldiers to the gown-clad girl. "We ain't giving up anything to you, or your daddy," she spat, though she had no idea what or who the girl was talking about. "You're the one hanging out in our home. Why don't you get off our property?" It was evident that Caoimhe had not learned her lesson with the fallen star child. Did she ever?
The scar on her back was apparently not reminder enough.
Fae HQ
An offer and a promise. The child's response to both of them was measured, thoughtful, and then after a moment of swaying on the grass, she swayed in Astor's direction and held out both her hands: wrists limp, the stuffed bear flopping and swinging in her grasp. The IV drip still taped to her arm tugged slightly with each step, the cord flopping aimlessly over the grass. "Give me your fingers. I want all of them. He says to open the door for him, that you can do it with your little bones and pretty skin." The twin voices chattered at him as she lurched forward, closing the distance, completely ignoring Caoihme - for now.
She'd need all of them. Need all their hearts to open it. Tear them open piece by piece and then feed what was left to the lion guarding the door. Take one and use his power to take the other until she had all the keys she needed.
The difference between them wasn't obvious - looked the same, felt the same, and she recognized them immediately as something near to her. Not really Chaos born, but something similar. Something close to it - and it was like metal shavings drawn to a magnet. It was obvious. Like looking at her own hands and recognizing them as her own - though that made sense only because they weren't really. Not quite. Borrowed hands and borrowed body for borrowing pieces to open a door.
"Give it to me," the child spoke, skull overhead chattering and staring. "Give it to me now. He's waiting for me to open it and he doesn't like waiting. And I want to see him." The medical bracelet on the girl's arm slid over her wrist, turning and turning.
She'd need all of them. Need all their hearts to open it. Tear them open piece by piece and then feed what was left to the lion guarding the door. Take one and use his power to take the other until she had all the keys she needed.
The difference between them wasn't obvious - looked the same, felt the same, and she recognized them immediately as something near to her. Not really Chaos born, but something similar. Something close to it - and it was like metal shavings drawn to a magnet. It was obvious. Like looking at her own hands and recognizing them as her own - though that made sense only because they weren't really. Not quite. Borrowed hands and borrowed body for borrowing pieces to open a door.
"Give it to me," the child spoke, skull overhead chattering and staring. "Give it to me now. He's waiting for me to open it and he doesn't like waiting. And I want to see him." The medical bracelet on the girl's arm slid over her wrist, turning and turning.
Pukio
((Uhn, some some that's metaplot related and directly prior to this, but I felt made more sense going into Onora's journal, so if you want to read it you can find it over here.))
Onora hadn't bothered to change out of her work clothes before going to the Fa'e headquarters. She had, however, slung her sword over her pack and put on oven mitts she could properly transport the pot that was now housing the red-hot stone that had once belonged the a fallen star. She carried the pot awkwardly in front of her as she walked, but was otherwise the picture of determination - it created something of a hilarious dichotomy as Onora stomped up the drive toward the Fa'e Headquarters.
Someone had to be there. Something had to be going on and she couldn't imagine she'd be the first one on site. Gods, at least - she hoped that wouldn't be the case. If she was the only person around, she had no idea what she was going to do.
She almost sighed in relief when she saw the small group near the old building - Astor, Caoihme, whom she recognized immediately, although the other four not so much and-- Onora jerked up, stopping sharply mid-stride. The girl she'd immediately mistook for Fa'e on that simple heart-deep recognition of like souls, was wrong. The girl wasn't...wasn't quite right. And as she edged closer, the more sure she was. Nevermind that the girl was saying insane things, that she looked creepier than s**t. She just...felt a little off.
Onora dropped the pot onto the driveway with a clang. "What the hell is going on here?"
Onora hadn't bothered to change out of her work clothes before going to the Fa'e headquarters. She had, however, slung her sword over her pack and put on oven mitts she could properly transport the pot that was now housing the red-hot stone that had once belonged the a fallen star. She carried the pot awkwardly in front of her as she walked, but was otherwise the picture of determination - it created something of a hilarious dichotomy as Onora stomped up the drive toward the Fa'e Headquarters.
Someone had to be there. Something had to be going on and she couldn't imagine she'd be the first one on site. Gods, at least - she hoped that wouldn't be the case. If she was the only person around, she had no idea what she was going to do.
She almost sighed in relief when she saw the small group near the old building - Astor, Caoihme, whom she recognized immediately, although the other four not so much and-- Onora jerked up, stopping sharply mid-stride. The girl she'd immediately mistook for Fa'e on that simple heart-deep recognition of like souls, was wrong. The girl wasn't...wasn't quite right. And as she edged closer, the more sure she was. Nevermind that the girl was saying insane things, that she looked creepier than s**t. She just...felt a little off.
Onora dropped the pot onto the driveway with a clang. "What the hell is going on here?"
Silverah
He actually honestly considered giving her his fingers for a moment when she swayed his way, even detached his left pinky at the knuckle and wiggled it in the air. "Will I get them back?" asked Astor, trying to decide which set of eyes to make contact with. "I kind of need them--"
And then he shut his mouth and put it back on, because Caoi had said they weren't giving her anything, and experience showed it was best to listen to Caoi when she gave an order. Also, she was sort of intimidating; all four feet eleven inches of her. Astor shook his head. "No," he told the girl with her soul pouring out her eyes. "I can't give them to you, not to let Him out."
He was sure who He was, but he didn't like the sounds of it. Whoever He was, he'd done something to Airi, and something to cause all this, and giving the girl his fingers would be a very bad idea.
A clang made him jump. Astor glanced over at Onora, noting her oven mitts with some confusion. But Onora was here! He brightened a bit - Onora would know what to do. "Hi, 'Nora," he said sheepishly, clasping his hands together uncomfortably like he needed to guard his fingers. "What's in the pot?"
And then he shut his mouth and put it back on, because Caoi had said they weren't giving her anything, and experience showed it was best to listen to Caoi when she gave an order. Also, she was sort of intimidating; all four feet eleven inches of her. Astor shook his head. "No," he told the girl with her soul pouring out her eyes. "I can't give them to you, not to let Him out."
He was sure who He was, but he didn't like the sounds of it. Whoever He was, he'd done something to Airi, and something to cause all this, and giving the girl his fingers would be a very bad idea.
A clang made him jump. Astor glanced over at Onora, noting her oven mitts with some confusion. But Onora was here! He brightened a bit - Onora would know what to do. "Hi, 'Nora," he said sheepishly, clasping his hands together uncomfortably like he needed to guard his fingers. "What's in the pot?"
Pukio
Onora didn't pay any attention to Astor's fairly congenial greeting. Instead, she scrambled to sling the sword from over her shoulder, unsheathing the blunt, savage looking blade. "Astor, get away from her. She's dangerous."
Gods, were they all so stupid just to stand there as the child thrashed toward them. She wanted Astor's fingers, for Gods' sake. There was no way she had any intention of what had happened to Caoihme at the quarry with the star repeat itself here. These things were dangerous, and if the cold measure of the star womanh hd led to Caoi having her back ripped open, Onora didn't want to think what might happen if they made a child angry.
"Come on, we need to get away from it. Leave it alone." Gods, just looking at it made her stomach lurch - something about the way the skull swayed over the child's head like it was the one doing the thinking.
Gods, were they all so stupid just to stand there as the child thrashed toward them. She wanted Astor's fingers, for Gods' sake. There was no way she had any intention of what had happened to Caoihme at the quarry with the star repeat itself here. These things were dangerous, and if the cold measure of the star womanh hd led to Caoi having her back ripped open, Onora didn't want to think what might happen if they made a child angry.
"Come on, we need to get away from it. Leave it alone." Gods, just looking at it made her stomach lurch - something about the way the skull swayed over the child's head like it was the one doing the thinking.
Silverah
The child was still looking hungrily at his fingers, and Astor shoved his hands into his pockets. He took a few steps away, and then at Onora's urging took a few more so that he was standing behind the warrior girl. "Something weird's going on," he muttered to his friend, keeping his eyes trained on the child in front of them.
"The birds were talking," he added hastily, clenching his hands, running his thumbs from finger to finger, counting them over and over. Urgh, he felt tainted. "There's this thing, it says it's coming through the wall."
He glanced to Dusty, Caoi, and Addie for reassurance. "We all heard it," he assured her. Trust the damn birds to stop talking right when Onora showed up, right? Typical. But the child had swayed towards them again, moving like she was being yanked around on invisible strings, and it was making him feel ill.
"Whatever's in the wall, it's done something to Airi," he emphasized, shrinking behind Onora. He knew the child could still see him, knew it wouldn't do him any good to hide, but Onora had a sword. That was right - Onora had a sword.
"You think you could just, like, cut that girl-thing up a bit?" he asked. It wasn't really a child, he reasoned. No child acted like that outside of a video game.
"The birds were talking," he added hastily, clenching his hands, running his thumbs from finger to finger, counting them over and over. Urgh, he felt tainted. "There's this thing, it says it's coming through the wall."
He glanced to Dusty, Caoi, and Addie for reassurance. "We all heard it," he assured her. Trust the damn birds to stop talking right when Onora showed up, right? Typical. But the child had swayed towards them again, moving like she was being yanked around on invisible strings, and it was making him feel ill.
"Whatever's in the wall, it's done something to Airi," he emphasized, shrinking behind Onora. He knew the child could still see him, knew it wouldn't do him any good to hide, but Onora had a sword. That was right - Onora had a sword.
"You think you could just, like, cut that girl-thing up a bit?" he asked. It wasn't really a child, he reasoned. No child acted like that outside of a video game.
Fae HQ
The appearance of the other fa'e was something of note - not because of her presence, but rather due to what she brought with her. The child straightened, all rickety limbs and staring empty eye sockets. The skull above her twisted its head at the same time, gaze unblinking at it studied the pot containing the diamond.
"That doesn't belong to you," the child and spirit chattered, teeth clacking and jaw going slack. "That's not yours. You stole it. You took it. YOU. TOOK. IT." The twisted imitation of Fa'e's voice rose an octave with each word, the spirals of the girl's hair twisting like distressed fingers, hands wringing.
The movement was blink-and-you'll-miss-it fast, a horrifying contrast to the scraping, knock kneed way the child had been moving before. She lunged immediately toward the pot containing the stone, snatching it off the ground with a shriek. The heat of the metal burned the child's bare hands, but she didn't seem to immediately notice. Not that she held it long - rather, the child quickly threw the pot behind her, spilling the diamond onto the gravel walkway. Meanwhile, she leaped wildly for Astor and Onora, child and skull making some awful, ungodly noise in lieu of some lesser threat as she swung around Onora and grasped for Astor's throat. She was going to rip his head off, tear his arms off and make a key from his bones.
"That doesn't belong to you," the child and spirit chattered, teeth clacking and jaw going slack. "That's not yours. You stole it. You took it. YOU. TOOK. IT." The twisted imitation of Fa'e's voice rose an octave with each word, the spirals of the girl's hair twisting like distressed fingers, hands wringing.
The movement was blink-and-you'll-miss-it fast, a horrifying contrast to the scraping, knock kneed way the child had been moving before. She lunged immediately toward the pot containing the stone, snatching it off the ground with a shriek. The heat of the metal burned the child's bare hands, but she didn't seem to immediately notice. Not that she held it long - rather, the child quickly threw the pot behind her, spilling the diamond onto the gravel walkway. Meanwhile, she leaped wildly for Astor and Onora, child and skull making some awful, ungodly noise in lieu of some lesser threat as she swung around Onora and grasped for Astor's throat. She was going to rip his head off, tear his arms off and make a key from his bones.
Silverah
He'd barely seen her coming, and now there was a sickly child clinging to Astor's neck with all the ferocious might of a mountain lion, her fingers digging into his skin. Her blistered palms were pressed against his neck and squeezing, and he was getting a good eyeful of that fiery skull. (Was it worse up close? It was definitely worse up close.)
"'Nora," gasped Astor, staggering backwards. The girl smelled like ammonia and the faint odor of illness. There was a note of decay on her breath. The harder she squeezed, the closer Astor felt the balance of his head tip. It wasn't quite there yet, but he couldn't breathe, and he felt downright ill.
"'Nora," he croaked, "help me--"
He took a few jagged steps, then toppled forward onto the girl. Her arms stayed locked on his neck, and the skull stared dizzyingly into his eyes. No, no, not good. He couldn't breathe, he was dizzy, he felt the bile rising in his throat--
Astor hiccuped once, then vomited.
"'Nora," gasped Astor, staggering backwards. The girl smelled like ammonia and the faint odor of illness. There was a note of decay on her breath. The harder she squeezed, the closer Astor felt the balance of his head tip. It wasn't quite there yet, but he couldn't breathe, and he felt downright ill.
"'Nora," he croaked, "help me--"
He took a few jagged steps, then toppled forward onto the girl. Her arms stayed locked on his neck, and the skull stared dizzyingly into his eyes. No, no, not good. He couldn't breathe, he was dizzy, he felt the bile rising in his throat--
Astor hiccuped once, then vomited.
Quinny-chan
Caoihme's voice caused Addie's head to whip around, a huge grin blooming on her dark face. The toddler wasn't sure what was happening, but she knew it was bad; could feel the evil in her bones like the remnants of a nightmare, and Caoihme's presence reassured her. Deep inside, what she really wanted was for Quinn to pick her up and make everything OK, but she would never admit that in front of Caoi and Dusty.
So instead, she hopped over to the selkie, knees banging on her garbage lid breastplate. She opened her mouth to begin a reply when the birds began to speak again. Her ears turned backwards at the sound and Gloo's antenna waved erratically from inside her hair. Poorly concealed worry and fright pinched her face and Addie laid one small hand on Caoihme's thigh, trying to be brave, but needing the comfort found in the touch.
When the girl-creature shuffled out of the foliage, Addie shakily drew her sword. She gulped and prepared to move forward, her stalwart will forcing fight to win out over flight, when Caoihme pushed her back. She stumbled a little, scowling and putting on a good face, but she was glad to have a warm body between her and the Chaos-child.
She was more afraid than she had ever been in her short life and she held back her tears by shear force of will, not wanting Caoihme or Dusty to think her weak. Bones, she thought. She wants our bones. This terrifying thought repeated over and over in her mind and she was glad her makeshift armor hid the skeleton markings on her chest. Her breath began to grow shallow and panting as her fear grew and when a clear voice rung out from behind her, she jumped, tripping backwards, her foot coming down hard on a twig. It cracked and she cried out, thinking that the creature had succeeded in stealing one of their bones.
The distraction cleared her head, aided by the girl moving away from her, and Addie began to think clearly once more. She remembered a story her mother had read to her about a little girl who had fooled a terrible witch by using a twig to make her finger feel bony instead of plump. Sheathing her sword and scanning the ground for suitable twigs, she picked up all she could find, clutching them in her black fingers.
The girl-thing's lunge attack caused her to jump, dropping all the sticks in a clatter at her feet. The thing, the girl-thing had the Starboy. She had him by the neck and his face was turning bluish and... and eww! He was puking on it! Heart beating like a hummingbird, Addie scooped up the sticks, whispered "Courage is being afraid and doing it anyway," to herself and hopped over towards Astor.
"H-hey! HEY! I got some bones for you. I got you some bones. Just leave him alone and you can have them." She bounced on her toes, anxiety and fear preventing her from staying still. She hoped the floating eyes couldn't see well through all that fire. Hoped that they would be fooled long enough for the boy to get free. The helmet hadn't protected him after all.
So instead, she hopped over to the selkie, knees banging on her garbage lid breastplate. She opened her mouth to begin a reply when the birds began to speak again. Her ears turned backwards at the sound and Gloo's antenna waved erratically from inside her hair. Poorly concealed worry and fright pinched her face and Addie laid one small hand on Caoihme's thigh, trying to be brave, but needing the comfort found in the touch.
When the girl-creature shuffled out of the foliage, Addie shakily drew her sword. She gulped and prepared to move forward, her stalwart will forcing fight to win out over flight, when Caoihme pushed her back. She stumbled a little, scowling and putting on a good face, but she was glad to have a warm body between her and the Chaos-child.
She was more afraid than she had ever been in her short life and she held back her tears by shear force of will, not wanting Caoihme or Dusty to think her weak. Bones, she thought. She wants our bones. This terrifying thought repeated over and over in her mind and she was glad her makeshift armor hid the skeleton markings on her chest. Her breath began to grow shallow and panting as her fear grew and when a clear voice rung out from behind her, she jumped, tripping backwards, her foot coming down hard on a twig. It cracked and she cried out, thinking that the creature had succeeded in stealing one of their bones.
The distraction cleared her head, aided by the girl moving away from her, and Addie began to think clearly once more. She remembered a story her mother had read to her about a little girl who had fooled a terrible witch by using a twig to make her finger feel bony instead of plump. Sheathing her sword and scanning the ground for suitable twigs, she picked up all she could find, clutching them in her black fingers.
The girl-thing's lunge attack caused her to jump, dropping all the sticks in a clatter at her feet. The thing, the girl-thing had the Starboy. She had him by the neck and his face was turning bluish and... and eww! He was puking on it! Heart beating like a hummingbird, Addie scooped up the sticks, whispered "Courage is being afraid and doing it anyway," to herself and hopped over towards Astor.
"H-hey! HEY! I got some bones for you. I got you some bones. Just leave him alone and you can have them." She bounced on her toes, anxiety and fear preventing her from staying still. She hoped the floating eyes couldn't see well through all that fire. Hoped that they would be fooled long enough for the boy to get free. The helmet hadn't protected him after all.
