(Note: Backdated a bit)
For a full week, Ellie Spectre had been antsy. Her parents couldn't explain it, nor could her boss, nor could her coworker, nor could her friends. She just seemed wound up in a way none of them had ever seen before. The other senshi on her team might have noticed it too, but it went unmentioned, especially when Sailor Iris shot them a look that was almost as lethal as getting shot by a gun. Even *********, who usually wasn't afraid to ask the questions others from the group wanted to ask knew it was not something for her to question. There was lots of impatient foot tapping and almost nervous pacing on Sailor Iris' part, which had made patrolling nearly impossible for the blonde. With her mind as distracted as it had been, it was probably for the best that she didn't patrol.
The moment she came home the week before after remembering the Sacred Lands of her asteroid home world, she wanted to go back. The dark desert sands of her past home only were willing to share so much information at a time, and usually this was acceptable. However, needing to wait a week was torture when she wanted to go back now.
So she waited one day, then two days, and soon enough 7 days passed. When she was in the clear, she made certain to go to the asteroid prepared for a long visit. Fortunately, with Summer fading away and the season beginning to crumple into Autumn, the amount of sunshine during the daytime on asteroid Iris was beginning to lessen as well. It didn't make things any less hot, but it did make it slightly easier to predict when to visit. Deciding an early morning visit might work out the best for her, she arrived when the sun had not even hit the horizon. The temperature was cool, but easily preparing to get hotter the longer she stayed.
Settling herself down in the dark sand, she placed her three water bottles next to where she sat, then waited.
Of course, considering how impatient she had been with a week of waiting, it didn't take long for Sailor Iris to start talking out loud to the world she was sitting on. "Come on! Ya know ya wanna show me stuff! I want ya t'show me stuff..."
There was nothing.
"Come on... show me what th'Sacred Lands were like." The girl tilted her head slightly, as if trying to ease the land into giving her just what she wanted.
Nothing.
"Son o'va b*tch! Jus... why... why can't ya ever jus' show me stuff in a straight forward manner?!" She beat her fist against the sand in a slight tantrum style. "Like, what was up with that sh*t with Aque?! Why... why did ya have t'show me him like that? After... what I remembered. That's f*ckin' cruel! That's what it is!"
The land still offered her nothing, save for a slight hint of the sun starting rise even higher along the horizon.
"...what did I expect? Waited a whole F*CKIN' week... fer what? Fer this?!" Haphazardly, she gestured to all that surrounded her, flinging a small bit of the dark sands into the air, making a small cloud of dust. Crossing her arms, she then challenged the world itself.
"Ya know what?! I ain't leavin'! I ain't leavin' til I see exactly what it is I wanted t'see! I want t'know 'bout th'Sacred Lands! I've got all f*ckin' day fer this!"
With that, she sat. And sat. And sat.
And while she sat, the sun rose, bringing the temperatures up to what she had initially been trying to avoid with her early arrival. Her eyes had fixated themselves upon the horizon, and in all honesty, she had never noticed that as the sun rose, one could see a faint sheen of multiple colors along the edge of the land just under the sun. Had it always been like that? How come she had never noticed something like that before?
No! Don't lose focus! You came here to remember something, damn it! So remember it already!
For a moment, she squeezed her eyes shut, as if trying to hide what was around her so she could just catch what she was looking for. Come on... remember!
When she opened her eyes, everything around her had changed. Ahead of her were the dark mountains of the Sacred Lands. Sailor Iris had gotten what she had asked for. She was going to remember everything.
This, however, wasn't like her other memories. So many times, she had felt completely disconnected from the memory, she was able to distinguish what was the memory and what was going on right now. Currently, her body was sitting in the sands next to a pile of partially drunken water bottles. Yet, as she sat there, her memories had taken over all of her senses completely. Though she was sitting, the way she was feeling things, she was now standing, moving forward, past the archway she had seen in her previous visit to the asteroid. She was wearing the fuku she had started off with as a senshi, lacking wings or giant butt bows, and covering herself with a cloth that seemed to keep her quite cool, despite the temperature. In her hands, she held onto that crystalline object filled with water. Even now, as she stepped forward, she was remembering that it had been called an Ewer, and that it was a sacred item here.
The moment she stepped out from under the archway, her eyes were overwhelmed by the brightest of lights. Squinting, Sailor Iris moved to shade her eyes with part of her shimmering cloak. As she stood there, attempting to recover so she could move forward, the sentiment that this was her duty to her people seemed to hang upon her heart. She'd suffer the brightest of lights for them. After what seemed like at least a half an hour, her eyes finally began to recover, the shape of the mountains once more coming into view, if not a bit fainter than before. With a nod of the head, she knew it was time to move again.
Her feet guided her towards the bottom of the dark mountain. Where as her present self might have questioned what she needed to do, her past self was very much in control of her senses. Her past self knew the mountain was not going to climb itself. Shifting to holding the Ewer with only one hand, the cloaked girl set her boot to the base of the mountain. The stone forming this mountain seemed smooth, almost like glass, with that strange multicolored sheen to it. It would have been easy to slip during the climb in all honesty if it weren't for the fact the climb was not steep in the slightest.
It was, however, quite long. If she was lucky, she'd be able to make it to the top by the end of the day. In fact, Iris remembered that years before, when she had done this duty, it had taken her a day in more recent years, and in the earlier days of her duty as Sailor Iris, as long as 3 days.
Time was lost to the cloaked senshi as she walked, holding the crystalline Ewer in one hand, and maintaining some shade for her face by holding up her arm hand about forehead level. Despite her recovery, her eyes still had to squint to be able to make out the lay of the mountain's land so she didn't misstep. And as she continued to progress towards a goal that could almost be called Godot, the intensity of the light began to take another toll on her.
Light also created heat. The heat of the asteroid desert had been quite bearable compared to this. It felt as if someone had taken a giant magnifying glass and was shining an intense beam of light upon the girl as she continued up. However, it wasn't just a beam of light following her, it was a beam of light that was covering the whole Mountain. Her body was getting minor relief from the cloth she wore over her uniform, but it was nearly nothing in comparison to the heat she was suffering. Her body had expelled all of the water it could via sweat in an effort to cool her body off naturally, but it wasn't enough. It never was enough.
Yet, nobody else on this asteroid could do this journey. And no foreigner would ever be permitted to do such a task in the name of the Iridians. It was still too early to give up against the Sacred Lands.
Her steps were evenly paced, maintaining an easy leisurely walk. To try to rush this would be suicide and foolish. Casually, she glanced down to the Ewer for a brief second. It was still just as full as it had been at the beginning. Not a single drop had been lost, which was definitely to her benefit, considering the task at hand. Her eyes darted away from the Ewer, and once more she was keeping track of her steps.
It still seemed as if there was no end to her journey, and eventually her body was starting to give way to the heat. The sweat began to dry, leaving her body even hotter than before, and her mouth began to even feel a bit stickier than it should have, as even the moisture in her mouth began to dry up. Her eyes drifted to the Ewer again, which still remained oddly full. Her increasingly dry tongue rolled about in her mouth, as if it wanted her to drink from the container. Unfortunately, it was forbidden to do so. Even in a life and death scenario, Sailor Iris would have needed to choose death. What she was doing was sacred. To go against the ritual would be taboo. The people of the asteroid would have lost all faith and hope.
It was not taboo, however, to pause in step during her journey to think. Her feet slowed to a stop, and her eyes closed for a moment to think of the people. Even with her eyelids shut, she could still see light through the skins, preventing her from seeing true darkness. It was a sort of warm orange color that she was seeing as she thought to herself.
Without their sense of hope to steer them through the toughest of trials, the Iridians would truly be a dying race. This world has no water. The fact they live in this environment is nothing short of a miracle. I have been lucky, for I have seen other lands, seen worlds like nothing anyone from Iris has seen. So many here will never experience any other worlds. All they will ever know is sand and heat. I cannot fail them, if only to just give them something to believe in. Their faith is truly the only thing that keeps them alive.
With a renewed strength, her eyes dared to peek open a crack, as if to start off squinting so the rush of light wouldn't blind her temporarily like it had the first time. Fingers tightening about the handle of the Ewer, she began once more. Her pace was vaguely slower, but exhaustion had a way of causing a person to wear down.
It felt as if the cloaked senshi had been walking for another 8 hours. Her limbs were all aching, almost creaking at the joints as she moved forward. Her most base desire was to have some water to drink, but now she also felt the pangs of hunger clenching against her stomach. Yet, after all of her walking, the end was finally in view. An archway, similar to the one at the beginning of her journey, stood over the edge of the mountain, waiting for the senshi to pass under it. As she passed underneath the arch, it almost felt as if the hardest part of her journey was over.
Under the arch was a clearing of leveled dark stone. From where she stood, she could see a small patch of sand to the left with the strange dark silky hairs sprouting out in curls. To the right was what seemed like a simplistic well structure made of a white stone, which made it stand out much more than the rest of the land.
Having finished the journey did not mean an end to her task. It did not mean she had time to rest before continuing. In an almost wobbling manner, the girl made her way, one step at a time, towards the well. When she was immediately in front of it, she set the Ewer down against the lip of the seemingly ancient structure. She stepped back, then shed off the cloth which had been protecting her for the journey across the Sacred Lands. She took another step back, taking in a large breath as she did such. Her body ached from the lack of hydration, and in the pit of her stomach, she felt nauseous, yet there was one more thing before her duties were done.
Sailor Iris was by herself, with no spectators. She could have honestly skipped this portion of the ritual if she truly wanted to, but she had a duty to her people. So with the Iridians overwhelming her thoughts, she proceeded into a well practiced movement. She had no audience, yet as if she was performing for the whole world, the blonde girl danced. Her joints continued to creak, but the senshi put her all into making certain her movements were not out of step and remained as elegant as possible. Dancing was sacred on this asteroid, as was singing, so she had to make certain every step was where it needed to be. One wrong step could make this a funeral dance, rather than the Dance of the Water Bearer. With a final sweeping step, she then stepped forward to the well once more.
With a deep breath, she then began to chant in a melodic manner. If the more modern Iris were able to make an observation, she would have noted this was similar to how prayers might have been in an Orthodox Jewish Ceremony. The words were not familiar to Iris herself, but as the words were now said aloud, the meaning of them seemed to ring all the way through her whole being.
I have traveled many worlds to satiate your thirst. As the sun brings life, so does the water. As I offer you this water to satisfy your thirst, I pray that you bless this world with life and prosperity.
As the final words left her lips, she picked up the Ewer once more with both hands. Using the left hand upon the handle and the right to steady the tip where the water would flow, she then poured the modest amount of water into the well. Her eyes were closed as she made certain to not peer into the structure. Once the water was completely drained from the Ewer, the girl stepped back three times before opening her eyes again.
When she opened her eyes, she caught a glimpse of the rainbow high in the sky that had formed after she completed her task. It was the signal to the rest of the asteroid she had done her duty correctly. All across the sky from any point on the asteroid, everyone would be able to see that rainbow. It would remain in the sky for approximately an hour. The girl's lips curled slightly, feeling them crack slightly from such a small gesture.
"It is done..." Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew now was the time to go dig up her stash of Sand Root from the sandy area. After performing this task for as long as she had been, she had managed to sneak some Sand Root up one time as she traveled so when she finished for years to come, there would be nourishment to say the least. This was, without a doubt, the ideal place to grow Sand Root.
It was with that final thought about the Sand Root that the memory faded. The real world began to fade back into existence for the teen. Sailor Iris was just too stunned to really know what to make of everything she had just experienced. Had she once been that dedicated to this asteroid? To the point where she was willing to die just so that her people could maintain good faith in the world they lived on. To suffer so much for such a long period of time...
It was about then that Sailor Iris realized that the memory had happened over such a long period of time. Had she been in a daze for several hours, like the events of the Sacred Lands? In a rushed manner, she pulled out her cell phone.
It was only an hour and a half after she had arrived today. Even time seemed an easy victim to her memories.
The senshi didn't put away the phone, but she did reach for the bottles of water, then quickly proceeded to drain them of all of the remaining contents. After such a long memory where she craved water more than anything else, it felt so good to drink the now hot water.
Grabbing all three plastic containers under her arm, she stood herself, then looked over the dark sands for a final time for the day. In a low voice, she offered something simple to show her gratitude before she returned home.
"Thank you."
For a full week, Ellie Spectre had been antsy. Her parents couldn't explain it, nor could her boss, nor could her coworker, nor could her friends. She just seemed wound up in a way none of them had ever seen before. The other senshi on her team might have noticed it too, but it went unmentioned, especially when Sailor Iris shot them a look that was almost as lethal as getting shot by a gun. Even *********, who usually wasn't afraid to ask the questions others from the group wanted to ask knew it was not something for her to question. There was lots of impatient foot tapping and almost nervous pacing on Sailor Iris' part, which had made patrolling nearly impossible for the blonde. With her mind as distracted as it had been, it was probably for the best that she didn't patrol.
The moment she came home the week before after remembering the Sacred Lands of her asteroid home world, she wanted to go back. The dark desert sands of her past home only were willing to share so much information at a time, and usually this was acceptable. However, needing to wait a week was torture when she wanted to go back now.
So she waited one day, then two days, and soon enough 7 days passed. When she was in the clear, she made certain to go to the asteroid prepared for a long visit. Fortunately, with Summer fading away and the season beginning to crumple into Autumn, the amount of sunshine during the daytime on asteroid Iris was beginning to lessen as well. It didn't make things any less hot, but it did make it slightly easier to predict when to visit. Deciding an early morning visit might work out the best for her, she arrived when the sun had not even hit the horizon. The temperature was cool, but easily preparing to get hotter the longer she stayed.
Settling herself down in the dark sand, she placed her three water bottles next to where she sat, then waited.
Of course, considering how impatient she had been with a week of waiting, it didn't take long for Sailor Iris to start talking out loud to the world she was sitting on. "Come on! Ya know ya wanna show me stuff! I want ya t'show me stuff..."
There was nothing.
"Come on... show me what th'Sacred Lands were like." The girl tilted her head slightly, as if trying to ease the land into giving her just what she wanted.
Nothing.
"Son o'va b*tch! Jus... why... why can't ya ever jus' show me stuff in a straight forward manner?!" She beat her fist against the sand in a slight tantrum style. "Like, what was up with that sh*t with Aque?! Why... why did ya have t'show me him like that? After... what I remembered. That's f*ckin' cruel! That's what it is!"
The land still offered her nothing, save for a slight hint of the sun starting rise even higher along the horizon.
"...what did I expect? Waited a whole F*CKIN' week... fer what? Fer this?!" Haphazardly, she gestured to all that surrounded her, flinging a small bit of the dark sands into the air, making a small cloud of dust. Crossing her arms, she then challenged the world itself.
"Ya know what?! I ain't leavin'! I ain't leavin' til I see exactly what it is I wanted t'see! I want t'know 'bout th'Sacred Lands! I've got all f*ckin' day fer this!"
With that, she sat. And sat. And sat.
And while she sat, the sun rose, bringing the temperatures up to what she had initially been trying to avoid with her early arrival. Her eyes had fixated themselves upon the horizon, and in all honesty, she had never noticed that as the sun rose, one could see a faint sheen of multiple colors along the edge of the land just under the sun. Had it always been like that? How come she had never noticed something like that before?
No! Don't lose focus! You came here to remember something, damn it! So remember it already!
For a moment, she squeezed her eyes shut, as if trying to hide what was around her so she could just catch what she was looking for. Come on... remember!
When she opened her eyes, everything around her had changed. Ahead of her were the dark mountains of the Sacred Lands. Sailor Iris had gotten what she had asked for. She was going to remember everything.
This, however, wasn't like her other memories. So many times, she had felt completely disconnected from the memory, she was able to distinguish what was the memory and what was going on right now. Currently, her body was sitting in the sands next to a pile of partially drunken water bottles. Yet, as she sat there, her memories had taken over all of her senses completely. Though she was sitting, the way she was feeling things, she was now standing, moving forward, past the archway she had seen in her previous visit to the asteroid. She was wearing the fuku she had started off with as a senshi, lacking wings or giant butt bows, and covering herself with a cloth that seemed to keep her quite cool, despite the temperature. In her hands, she held onto that crystalline object filled with water. Even now, as she stepped forward, she was remembering that it had been called an Ewer, and that it was a sacred item here.
The moment she stepped out from under the archway, her eyes were overwhelmed by the brightest of lights. Squinting, Sailor Iris moved to shade her eyes with part of her shimmering cloak. As she stood there, attempting to recover so she could move forward, the sentiment that this was her duty to her people seemed to hang upon her heart. She'd suffer the brightest of lights for them. After what seemed like at least a half an hour, her eyes finally began to recover, the shape of the mountains once more coming into view, if not a bit fainter than before. With a nod of the head, she knew it was time to move again.
Her feet guided her towards the bottom of the dark mountain. Where as her present self might have questioned what she needed to do, her past self was very much in control of her senses. Her past self knew the mountain was not going to climb itself. Shifting to holding the Ewer with only one hand, the cloaked girl set her boot to the base of the mountain. The stone forming this mountain seemed smooth, almost like glass, with that strange multicolored sheen to it. It would have been easy to slip during the climb in all honesty if it weren't for the fact the climb was not steep in the slightest.
It was, however, quite long. If she was lucky, she'd be able to make it to the top by the end of the day. In fact, Iris remembered that years before, when she had done this duty, it had taken her a day in more recent years, and in the earlier days of her duty as Sailor Iris, as long as 3 days.
Time was lost to the cloaked senshi as she walked, holding the crystalline Ewer in one hand, and maintaining some shade for her face by holding up her arm hand about forehead level. Despite her recovery, her eyes still had to squint to be able to make out the lay of the mountain's land so she didn't misstep. And as she continued to progress towards a goal that could almost be called Godot, the intensity of the light began to take another toll on her.
Light also created heat. The heat of the asteroid desert had been quite bearable compared to this. It felt as if someone had taken a giant magnifying glass and was shining an intense beam of light upon the girl as she continued up. However, it wasn't just a beam of light following her, it was a beam of light that was covering the whole Mountain. Her body was getting minor relief from the cloth she wore over her uniform, but it was nearly nothing in comparison to the heat she was suffering. Her body had expelled all of the water it could via sweat in an effort to cool her body off naturally, but it wasn't enough. It never was enough.
Yet, nobody else on this asteroid could do this journey. And no foreigner would ever be permitted to do such a task in the name of the Iridians. It was still too early to give up against the Sacred Lands.
Her steps were evenly paced, maintaining an easy leisurely walk. To try to rush this would be suicide and foolish. Casually, she glanced down to the Ewer for a brief second. It was still just as full as it had been at the beginning. Not a single drop had been lost, which was definitely to her benefit, considering the task at hand. Her eyes darted away from the Ewer, and once more she was keeping track of her steps.
It still seemed as if there was no end to her journey, and eventually her body was starting to give way to the heat. The sweat began to dry, leaving her body even hotter than before, and her mouth began to even feel a bit stickier than it should have, as even the moisture in her mouth began to dry up. Her eyes drifted to the Ewer again, which still remained oddly full. Her increasingly dry tongue rolled about in her mouth, as if it wanted her to drink from the container. Unfortunately, it was forbidden to do so. Even in a life and death scenario, Sailor Iris would have needed to choose death. What she was doing was sacred. To go against the ritual would be taboo. The people of the asteroid would have lost all faith and hope.
It was not taboo, however, to pause in step during her journey to think. Her feet slowed to a stop, and her eyes closed for a moment to think of the people. Even with her eyelids shut, she could still see light through the skins, preventing her from seeing true darkness. It was a sort of warm orange color that she was seeing as she thought to herself.
Without their sense of hope to steer them through the toughest of trials, the Iridians would truly be a dying race. This world has no water. The fact they live in this environment is nothing short of a miracle. I have been lucky, for I have seen other lands, seen worlds like nothing anyone from Iris has seen. So many here will never experience any other worlds. All they will ever know is sand and heat. I cannot fail them, if only to just give them something to believe in. Their faith is truly the only thing that keeps them alive.
With a renewed strength, her eyes dared to peek open a crack, as if to start off squinting so the rush of light wouldn't blind her temporarily like it had the first time. Fingers tightening about the handle of the Ewer, she began once more. Her pace was vaguely slower, but exhaustion had a way of causing a person to wear down.
It felt as if the cloaked senshi had been walking for another 8 hours. Her limbs were all aching, almost creaking at the joints as she moved forward. Her most base desire was to have some water to drink, but now she also felt the pangs of hunger clenching against her stomach. Yet, after all of her walking, the end was finally in view. An archway, similar to the one at the beginning of her journey, stood over the edge of the mountain, waiting for the senshi to pass under it. As she passed underneath the arch, it almost felt as if the hardest part of her journey was over.
Under the arch was a clearing of leveled dark stone. From where she stood, she could see a small patch of sand to the left with the strange dark silky hairs sprouting out in curls. To the right was what seemed like a simplistic well structure made of a white stone, which made it stand out much more than the rest of the land.
Having finished the journey did not mean an end to her task. It did not mean she had time to rest before continuing. In an almost wobbling manner, the girl made her way, one step at a time, towards the well. When she was immediately in front of it, she set the Ewer down against the lip of the seemingly ancient structure. She stepped back, then shed off the cloth which had been protecting her for the journey across the Sacred Lands. She took another step back, taking in a large breath as she did such. Her body ached from the lack of hydration, and in the pit of her stomach, she felt nauseous, yet there was one more thing before her duties were done.
Sailor Iris was by herself, with no spectators. She could have honestly skipped this portion of the ritual if she truly wanted to, but she had a duty to her people. So with the Iridians overwhelming her thoughts, she proceeded into a well practiced movement. She had no audience, yet as if she was performing for the whole world, the blonde girl danced. Her joints continued to creak, but the senshi put her all into making certain her movements were not out of step and remained as elegant as possible. Dancing was sacred on this asteroid, as was singing, so she had to make certain every step was where it needed to be. One wrong step could make this a funeral dance, rather than the Dance of the Water Bearer. With a final sweeping step, she then stepped forward to the well once more.
With a deep breath, she then began to chant in a melodic manner. If the more modern Iris were able to make an observation, she would have noted this was similar to how prayers might have been in an Orthodox Jewish Ceremony. The words were not familiar to Iris herself, but as the words were now said aloud, the meaning of them seemed to ring all the way through her whole being.
I have traveled many worlds to satiate your thirst. As the sun brings life, so does the water. As I offer you this water to satisfy your thirst, I pray that you bless this world with life and prosperity.
As the final words left her lips, she picked up the Ewer once more with both hands. Using the left hand upon the handle and the right to steady the tip where the water would flow, she then poured the modest amount of water into the well. Her eyes were closed as she made certain to not peer into the structure. Once the water was completely drained from the Ewer, the girl stepped back three times before opening her eyes again.
When she opened her eyes, she caught a glimpse of the rainbow high in the sky that had formed after she completed her task. It was the signal to the rest of the asteroid she had done her duty correctly. All across the sky from any point on the asteroid, everyone would be able to see that rainbow. It would remain in the sky for approximately an hour. The girl's lips curled slightly, feeling them crack slightly from such a small gesture.
"It is done..." Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew now was the time to go dig up her stash of Sand Root from the sandy area. After performing this task for as long as she had been, she had managed to sneak some Sand Root up one time as she traveled so when she finished for years to come, there would be nourishment to say the least. This was, without a doubt, the ideal place to grow Sand Root.
It was with that final thought about the Sand Root that the memory faded. The real world began to fade back into existence for the teen. Sailor Iris was just too stunned to really know what to make of everything she had just experienced. Had she once been that dedicated to this asteroid? To the point where she was willing to die just so that her people could maintain good faith in the world they lived on. To suffer so much for such a long period of time...
It was about then that Sailor Iris realized that the memory had happened over such a long period of time. Had she been in a daze for several hours, like the events of the Sacred Lands? In a rushed manner, she pulled out her cell phone.
It was only an hour and a half after she had arrived today. Even time seemed an easy victim to her memories.
The senshi didn't put away the phone, but she did reach for the bottles of water, then quickly proceeded to drain them of all of the remaining contents. After such a long memory where she craved water more than anything else, it felt so good to drink the now hot water.
Grabbing all three plastic containers under her arm, she stood herself, then looked over the dark sands for a final time for the day. In a low voice, she offered something simple to show her gratitude before she returned home.
"Thank you."
