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▇▇▇▇▇Luca leaned her head to the side and looked away, apparently thinking. She combed her buoyant hair behind her ear, as though it would help to tame it.
▇▇▇▇▇“I… I’m not sure. I think I’m a human. That sounds right. But then again, who knows?”
▇▇▇▇▇She looked down curiously as he shook her hand, and smiled with polite uncertainty. Maybe it was his nervous habit? Who could be sure?
▇▇▇▇▇“Owen,” she repeated.
▇▇▇▇▇She closed her eyes and seemed to taste the name as she said it.
▇▇▇▇▇“Oooh-when...” she breathed.
▇▇▇▇▇She released his hand and snapped her fingers suddenly, and a pendant appeared, floating in mid-air. It was a flat piece of green metal. And on it, his name was written vertically. She caught it by its string and held it up for him to read.
▇▇▇▇▇“It’s good for you to remember your name. Names are precious here. Knowing your name keeps you from becoming something else. Don’t forget it.”
▇▇▇▇▇She leaned forward without hesitation and tied the necklace around his neck, sliding a finger down the string before letting it fall to his chest. She stood, and offered him a hand.
▇▇▇▇▇“Are we dead? Maybe,” she said, smiling. “But I don’t really remember being alive. So what’s the difference?”

Dapper Exhibitionist


Owen narrowed his eyes, looking at Luca "You can't... remember?" He looked confused, but then thought about it himself for a moment. "This place makes you forget..." it sounded like a question, but it also sounded like a statement.

The man nodded when she repeated his name. He smiled and opened his mouth to speak again when she wrapped her arms around his neck to tie the necklace around. He looked confused a moment and looked down at the pendant. He reached up to touch it, to make sure it was real.

"Think of something... and it happens." he spoke to himself and nodded when she addressed the name situation. "So those two... frog-things... creatures, they were once human too?" He let the pendant drop back onto his chest and stood from the ground, accepting her offer, then dusted himself off lightly. "Keep my name." He confirmed with himself, and then decided to tuck the pendant under his shirt. He did not have to go around with people... things, already knowing his name.

Names have power. He knew that. From where?

Owen looked around and took in a deep breath. The colour was returning to the area around him, but he himself was still a little off. "Do you know how long you have been here?"
▇▇▇▇▇"This place makes you forget..." he said.
▇▇▇▇▇Luca looked up at the silent, watchful trees.
▇▇▇▇▇“Yup. I guess. Or... maybe… you come here because you’ve forgotten. That’s a possibility, too.”
▇▇▇▇▇She laughed when he asked about the frogs.
▇▇▇▇▇“No, they’re just frog spirits. But they have voracious appetites. You can make them small by not being afraid of them, and it’s hard for them to hurt you, then. I’ve talked with them before. They’re really quite nice when you get to know them. Funny, too,” she said.
▇▇▇▇▇Her smile faded, and she looked him in the eyes, seeming suddenly several years older.
▇▇▇▇▇“Your fear did that to them. See how dangerous your fears can be here? And as for humans...” she said, trailing off. She looked at the ground. The wood seemed a little bit bluer and colder for a moment. “They don’t come here often, and when they do, they’re always afraid.”
▇▇▇▇▇She bent down and retrieved her mask from the ground. The beads clicked against each other. She took a breath and smiled, looking back up at Owen. The air relaxed, and the green of the woods seemed a bit brighter.
▇▇▇▇▇“I’m glad I found you in time.”

▇▇▇▇▇"Do you know how long you have been here?" he asked.
▇▇▇▇▇“How long?” she repeated, and hesitated. She bit her lip in thought. “I… hmm. I don’t know. Maybe forever. If there was a life before this... it’s hard to tell the difference. But I know how things work around here better than you. So I’ve been here longer than you have, probably.”
▇▇▇▇▇She swept the mask’s hood and beads over her head before securing the eyeholes where they needed to be.
▇▇▇▇▇“It was nice to meet you, Owen,” she said, smiling. “I don’t know why… but you feel so familiar.”
▇▇▇▇▇She turned to go.

Dapper Exhibitionist


"Frog spirits... aye, they can look scary." Owen frowned and brushed a hand through his hair. "Now I know what they are, I can just imagine them tiny" he nodded, "Just stop being afraid."

Owen watched her. She kept changing from one age to another, it was strange and he wondered if she was doing it on purpose, or if she even knew that she was doing it at all. "Thank you He nodded to her, "I think, I have just gotten here... So yeah, I believe you have been here longer" he chuckled nervously. He saw that she was turning to leave and he stepped forward.

"H-hey, where are you going? Can I come? I don't know if... Well, since I am new here, think you can still help me out?"
▇▇▇▇▇She paused when he called to her, and then turned to look at him, seeming slightly surprised.
▇▇▇▇▇“I’d like that,” she said, smiling. “But you should know... I don’t know where I’m going. There’s something I need to find. Though… I can’t remember what.”
▇▇▇▇▇She turned back to the forest to gaze thoughtfully into the aether.
▇▇▇▇▇“But I’m sure I’ll know it when I see it.”

Dapper Exhibitionist


Owen shrugged and smiled "Well, it is better than just me wandering on my own" he walked behind her. "Feel like you lost something? Maybe I can help you look for it? Even though you don't know what it is. Always better to have someone around to watch your back."
▇▇▇▇▇"Maybe I can help you look for it? Even though you don't know what it is. Always better to have someone around to watch your back."
▇▇▇▇▇“That’s true. I’d love the help!” she said. “Ok, then, where should we start? Usually, for this sort of thing, people say you should go back to where you lost the thing you’re looking for in the first place. But, since we don’t know where that is, how about we go to the city? There’s lots of stuff there. Maybe I’ll remember something. Maybe you’ll remember something.”

Dapper Exhibitionist


Owen looked around, raising an eyebrow. This place seemed to go on forever. "You're saying... that there is a city here?" he looked at Luca in disbelief. He scratched his head, brushing his hair again with his fingers.

"If you think it can help, then by all means, lead the way."
▇▇▇▇▇Luca nodded.
▇▇▇▇▇“Yeah,” she said, “At least one. Not all spirits are animal spirits. They have to live somewhere, don’t they? It’s a ways off, but we can get there. It’s…” she said, turning around uncertainly. She stopped turning, and looked around, confused. For once, she was silent, and stayed that way for a long moment. “Owen,” she said softly, “I can’t remember.”


¢нαρтєя 2: α ωαℓк ιи тнє мιѕт

▇▇▇▇▇Luca leapt easily over the knotted roots of a tree. They were taller than she was, but didn’t seem to matter, here. You could jump as high as you though you could jump. And Luca, apparently, thought she could jump very high, and in such a fluid motion that she seemed to float for a moment before hitting the ground again. They had been walking for what seemed like a very long time in the direction of Luca’s best hunch. This was only because neither one could remember having anything better to do. And it was better to be together anyhow. She looked up at the branches of the trees above.
▇▇▇▇▇“They say there is no sky here--just branches that go up forever.” she said, “And light that shines glows where it wishes. How are you doing, Owen? Still out of breath?”

Dapper Exhibitionist


Owen seemed to have a little more trouble navigating through the forest. Luca made it look so easy. He struggled and climbed over what he could, and tried to jump as Luca did, but there was something that seemed to hold him back. For some reason, he could not remember, someone should not be able to jump that high. It seemed... illogical? But nothing was very logical in this place, now was it.

Owen took in a heavy breath as he reached the top of the roots and lay there a moment, looking up to what Luca described as the sky.

"Maybe... Maybe the branches are the sky?" he sat up after a moment, finding his breath and brought himself to his feet. "Aye... I got my breath back for the moment. All this walking and climbing.... How do you make it look so easy? Jumping around like that. Its like you know the secrets of the universe, or something..." He brought a hand to brush his hair back from his face. He looked out in front of them, squinting, trying to see if there was anything other than forest.

"Do you remember what the place... looks... like..?" His voice faded as his eyes fell to the world below his feet and he froze. "H-how... high is this?" his voice faltered as he shrunk down to bring himself closer to the roots. Closer to the ground. "This... is really high..."
▇▇▇▇▇“They might be,” said Luca, “But then again, you can see the stars in some places. I don’t know if they really are stars, but they look that way.”
▇▇▇▇▇She laughed.
▇▇▇▇▇“Haha, secrets of the universe?” she said, “I dunno, it just feels natural.” she said. She turned with a smile, tossing her chocolatey hair like a banner. The smile faded when she saw the look on his face.
▇▇▇▇▇“Owen, you’re not that high up.”
▇▇▇▇▇She jumped in an easy step to the root he was on landed, balancing on the edge of it. The atmosphere darkened, and the ground beneath the roots began to sink away, stretching out, growing deeper. It was now much further to the ground. Luca observed this reaction stoically. Then, she turned, walked the root to where Owen was, and squatted down. She pushed back her mask and looked in his eyes.
▇▇▇▇▇“It’s a beautiful city. It’s dense, and packed full of all kinds of spirits. But it’s always clean. Spirits don’t really litter. And there are light spirits everywhere in every color. The colors aren’t very strong, but they do glow--almost like Christmas lights. It makes it look like a watercolor painting.”
▇▇▇▇▇She paused to sit down on her bottom, letting one of her legs dangle over the side.
▇▇▇▇▇“Everything is carved into the ground and faced with stone. Sometimes, the lake floods the streets, and then everyone gets out their little boats and floats around. It’s fun. Now that I think about it, we’re not really that far at all...”
▇▇▇▇▇She looked to the east with sudden clarity. She offered her hand.
▇▇▇▇▇“Come on Owen, I think I know where it is!”

Dapper Exhibitionist



Owen heard Luca's voice. Apparently he was not that high up, and at first, he was not. The colour seemed to drain from him, and the roots began to shift. He kept low and held tightly onto them as they seemed to give into the image in his mind. They began to lift, or the ground sunk away, Owen could not tell the difference, but he closed his eyes tight. He hated heights. They gave him a sinking feeling in his gut and made his head spin.

Owen opened his eyes when he heard Luca land not too for off from where he held onto the root. He could feel it still climbing, giving into his fear. He looked up at Luca and blinked. She looked fearless and wild to him. He tried to look away, his eyes falling to her hand she offered him. The roots or the ground - whichever decided first - stopped. He looked back up to her eyes and listened to her talk about the city.

"It... sounds nice..." he mumbled glancing away a moment.

Owen reached up, and grabbed hold of Luca's hand. "I don't... Like heights..." He mumbled, gripping at her hand unsteady. He slowly began to stand, using Luca to balance him and distract him from the height.
▇▇▇▇▇Luca stood up, steadying Owen carefully.
▇▇▇▇▇“I don't... Like heights…” he said.
▇▇▇▇▇“I know,” she said, “But you’re doing very well.”
▇▇▇▇▇She looked down for a moment, and then back at Owen.
▇▇▇▇▇“Are you ready to get down?”

Dapper Exhibitionist



A light blush seemed to creep on Owen's face as he steadied himself properly. "A-aye... Thanks." he looked down and noticed the ground had met up with them and he easily stepped off of the root, with a happy sigh of relief. "Sorry about that..." he brought a hand to his head and ran his fingers through his hair. "I'll try to avoid from panicking if I can help it.... Shall we continue?" He smiled at her and began walking.
▇▇▇▇▇His hand slid out of hers as he walked forward, and she stared at where it had been for a moment, then looked up at the back of his head. Her thoughts were inscrutable, even to her. He felt like a memory, or a dream, but she couldn’t place him. After a moment, she smiled and pushed back her hair, beads and charms tinking against each other. She took a few fast steps to catch up to him. The atmosphere felt relaxed and calm again.
▇▇▇▇▇“You did really well back there.” she said, “Keep that up and you’ll know the secrets of the universe too.”

▇▇▇▇▇They walked for a long time in peace. How long, neither one could say. There was no sun to suggest a time. The little lights, which might have been stars, came and went as they pleased. In the particular place they found themselves in, it began to look dusky and gray. The shadows settled once again beneath the trees. Luca’s chilled senses began to tingle. There was a snap in inky blackness of the shadow of the wood, and the two travelers paused.
▇▇▇▇▇“Did you hear that?” she breathed.
▇▇▇▇▇Then, there was a huge, echoing growl. Two eyes the size of dish plates seemed to illuminate the forest.
▇▇▇▇▇“Owen, run!” she screamed.

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