The Goddess, wrought with Paranoia, created ====, her last and final project before ====. It was then that she discovered how to replicate ====.
[ Starting your personal descent ]
Unease settled over the young woman as she stood there, trying to process everything. The bag was empty. What sort of gift was that? What... ?
Another task at hand; things ahead of her, more to come.
Her fingers tightened around the scissors that had been given to her as well; not holding them by the handles, as one who might be readying themselves to use them properly, but gripped just beneath the handle as though ready to stab. Frightening, really, that it seemed so natural to hold them in such a way, given the words that had been presented to her along with the 'gift'.
Hearts were not made of paper. They couldn't simply be cut away...
Could they?
She shuddered, swallowing once more as she stepped up, trying not to let her thoughts, as one-track as they had been initially, think too hard on the last words that the Goddess had said before ushering her on her way.
... they didn't quite make it.
Who. Who hadn't made it? Others that had been sent searching? Others who had lost things? Who?
Raedala shook the thought from her mind as she approached the three doors. She had a decision to make; another decision. Another path... The first seemed like the right choice to make. It had to be wrong. "No."
She approached the second, holding her hand out as though, for whatever reason, her palm would be able to make the choice for her; to ward off the bad idea, to tingle at the impending danger. It wasn't 'safe' as the first one might be, but not nearly as imposing as the third.
Taking a step closer she ran her fingers idly over the etchings... No, too nice of a word... Gouges, wondering what had come before her.
... they didn't quite make it.
"Shut up." She murmured to herself before pushing open the door.
Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 11:21 am
[ Extracting the Heart ]
Aleka... She had set the scissors aside so that she could work on a particularly stubborn knot with her fingers; not trusting their sharp, clumsy length to not damage the heart if she were to simply cut through it. Her fingers were starting to hurt from having worked through the various layers, but she felt as though she were getting closer. She had to be at this point.
Aleka...
The whisper came again and this time she paused, bringing her hand up to brush a strand of hair away from her face with the back of it, resting back on her heels as she tried to remember why that name felt so familiar.
Taking a breath, she reached for the scissors again, leaning back forward to return to the task at hand. As she did so her mind wandered, attaching to the name and adding things to it.
Hers was a cold beauty; eyes the color of the sky over the sea right before a storm. white blonde hair, a sharp nose, angled features. Birdlike. Stern. Magnificent. Aleka was beautiful; at least she thought so. Aleka was everything that she had wanted to be...
Raedala closed her eyes in an attempt to draw a better picture of the face working its way back into her memory. Was the memory really hers? It seemed so, with how vividly the image came to her now that she was focusing just a little bit more firmly on it.
They were the same age, she and Aleka. They had come from the same rookery as fledgelings, but their paths had never crossed directly. Aleka was always one step above her, one step higher. She always seemed so much older; some much wiser. If her own father had been a magpie, surely Aleka's had been something much more noble...
That feeling of longing that had been present in her heart since she had formed around it became stronger. Raedala was not sure if she had ever felt so alone before; so lost. It was foolish to feel this way, was it not? Pointless. Abandoned.
Such longing...
"More knots." She murmured aloud, setting the scissors down once more so that she could use both hands to work the knot away from the fabric, holding it in place so that, as she had before, she could simply snip it free. "Snip, snip..." One more layer gone, and there it was.
Thump-thump.
It was beautiful; pulsing and alive.
Thump-thump.
Each throb was an invitation, entrancing her and inviting her to do as she had been bid by the Goddess.
Thump-thump.
Raedala reached in slowly after cutting the last bit of fabric away, lifting the heart gently. "I have a special place for you..."
"There is a special place in our flock for each and every one of you. As you grow you will find this place and fall in, just as others have before you. It is natural. It is the way things are. There is no escaping it." The instructor paced down the line of fledgelings; some trembling, others standing tall. Her nose protruded like a beak and her eyes were bold and narrow. She was absolutely terrifying in the sense that she was everything that they were all expected to grow up to be and only a handful of the little feathered children seemed to understand that in full depth.
The young harpy stood a little bit taller to stretch her back, taloned toe tapping lightly on the stone beneath it as she tried, very desperately, not to yawn. Yawning during a lecture was never... Never... Yawwwwwwn... Never good.
"Was that a volunteer? You." A clawed finger pointed directly at her and she felt her heart skip. "What was your name again, runt? Never mind. You'll do." The strong hand snagged her shoulder, dragging her forward to make an example of her. "One of the most important things for all of you to learn is to make use of your flight feathers. You all know what those are, aren't you? I should certainly hope so..."
She ignored the lecture as a means of trying to calm her panic. Flight? Flight? Of course she had practiced on her own, they all had she was certain, but taking things in to your own hands... And being made an example of in front of the entire brood was...
"You aren't even listening."
When she opened her eyes the hawk-like gaze of the instructor was inches from her face and she was being bulled backwards towards the edge of the landing. "I... I..." She couldn't stammer fast enough, couldn't come up with enough excuses; could only back up just quickly enough to avoid the swipe of talons that startled her into losing her footing.
"Fly or fall."
She was falling; shrieking and falling. Flailing. Calm. Stay calm. She couldn't not like this. She was going to find her end on the rocks below. Her body would be picked apart by the other birds of prey and the rest of her would rot on the rocks. Her wings weren't strong enough to catch her; feathers weren't long enough to properly fly.
The young harpy was going to die.
When her body jerked to a stop she had only a moment to wonder where the bone-shattering pain was. Her heart was still pounding and she couldn't feel blood being pumped out with each beat. She...
"Sure weigh a lot for such a... Scrawny thing." Aleka huffed, head tilting down to peer at the other youngster, talons digging into her shoulder pads as she held on. The sun caught her hair in just the right way, giving her the brief appearance of a guardian angel as opposed to a battle-ready beauty.
"... Thank you!" She called up, trying to catch her breath enough that she could gather enough strength to fly on her own, certain she could manage as long as she wasn't trying to pull out of a fall.
"Aleka. And you're welcome!" The other harpy called back. "You owe me one."
Raedala could feel tears stinging her eyes at that memory; at the wave of fear followed by the rush of relief. "Aleka..." Was this... In her hands... Was this her heart?
Swallowing hard, she tucked the heart into the bag with the key, pushing herself quickly to her feet after retrieving her scissors. She couldn't stay here any more...
The water rose up over her head as she pushed down and she began to struggle. Hands came up, trying to grasp wrists, trying to fight, trying to do anything.
"You just have to relax. Trust me. You know how to swim, right?"
Her own heart was thundering in her chest again as she thrashed, kicking at nothing and flailing her arms again. Please. Please don't. I had to... Don't you understand?
"I am only going to tell you this once more. You. Have. To. Relax."
Raedala listened. Fighting was getting her nowhere. As terrifying as it was, she had to give up. She let her body go, feeling herself float until she could meet the gaze of her attacker... And then she was drowning again; the memory swallowing her hole.
"Of course I know how to swim. Who lives by the sea and doesn't know how to swim?" She huffed as she brought a clawed hand up, swatting at the other girl's arm. "I learned how to swim before I learned how to..."
"Fly? That's obvious enough." Aleka rolled her eyes before flashing a a grin at the other harpy girl. Since their spectacular tandem dive flight she had taken Aldara under her wing; partially because the midnight rook had insisted on 'paying her back' for saving her and partially because she found the petite grump absolutely enchanting in an almost infuriating sort of way.
The shorter girl bristled at that, feathers fluffing in irritation before slowly evening back out as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Recovering from a fall is a lot like recovering from being hit by a wave. You have to remember not to panic; stay calm and remember that flying is a part of who you are. It should be second nature to a girl with wings..." Aleka's eyes drifted down to Aldara once more. "Besides, if it comes down to it in a fight I might not be around to save you..."
Aleka... Aleka, please...
Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 2:05 pm
[ The Escape ]
Somewhere amongst the coughing there were tears; the sting of them almost as bad as the burning in her chest as she continued to gag and sputter on the liquid that had nearly drowned her.
Raedala pulled herself away from the edge, pushing herself to her feet while making certain that she still had a firm hold on the bag that contained the heart that she had liberated... Stolen... Taken.
She ran.
As fast as her feet would take her towards the light, Raedala ran. Through the tears and the burning ache she ran. "Sorry... I'm so sorry..."
What if she had put an end to the one thing that she had been searching so hard for?
[ YOU ARE BEING FOLLOWED ]: You are being pursued by an unknown shadowed figure that will instantly kill you if they reach you. The figure will occasionally taunt you with words, sometimes familiar ones or ones that are simply twisted in a familiar tone. They CAN be the same figure that you stole the Heart from in Task 1 (though your character does not remember this anymore), OR another figure entirely, one that in your character's original (pre meta) life, they considered a threat or danger. if you have not participated in Task 1, they are a figure from your character's past (pre meta) memory, now twisted beyond comprehension. Please do not use existing characters in this meta, if you are using someone else's character that is not an NPC, please contact that rper for permission. - The distance between you and the follower is currently 50 feet. If the distance between you and the follow hits 0 feet at any point in this story, it is game over. - Your goal is to escape out of this area.
Rae could feel terror welling in her chest. As if it had not been bad enough before, now she was trapped and oh Goddess. "Nooo!" She wailed, banging fruitlessly at the door.
"Remember when you were falling... Falling so fast. A baby bird, out of the nest..."
The sound of the voice sent chills racing down her spine. "I didn't fall! I landed at the Sacred Flights, I..."
OOC
Name of character: Raedala Looming Despair In 35/40ft Current HP: 80/80 Special ability: Knight's Code Species Ability: Only Applicable in Arena Current weapon equipped:Crumbling Hope 2d8-6 TARGET: Escape
Again she pushed at the doors as though they would sense her great need and let her escape. This was not good.
"What about the next time. You weren't pushed then and you still fell. You're so useless, magpie."
Growling she shook at the doors again. "I don't know what you're talking about. Shut up. Go away."
OOC
Name of character: Raedala Looming Despair In 30/40ft Current HP: 80/80 Special ability: Knight's Code Species Ability: Only Applicable in Arena Current weapon equipped:Crumbling Hope 2d8-6 TARGET: Escape
The doors weren't working. There had to be another way out. Her gaze drifted around quickly and then suddenly she became light-headed, eyes blurring. She wobbled on her feet, hand coming out to rest on the wall.
It was late and she should have been in her nest; they both should have, really. The instructor had come down hard on her again and she needed an outlet; something to vent frustrations that she couldn't control... And Aleka had offered to help her.
"C'mon." The tall, slender blonde tossed a staff to her before idly twirling one of her own. "Come at me, Aldara. Let's blow some steam."
That smile... Aleka had such a beautiful smile...
She shook her head, bringing her hand up to rub at her eyes. Something was wrong. Something was... "SHUT UP!"
OOC
Name of character: Raedala Looming Despair In 25/40ft Current HP: 80/80 Special ability: Knight's Code Species Ability: Only Applicable in Arena Current weapon equipped:Crumbling Hope 2d8-6 TARGET: Escape
With her eyes now cleared of whatever had caused the images to flood through her mind, she looked around again; finally spotting a piece of paper stained in red. Was it blood? She tried not to think about it, instead reading the four letters on the page.
A C E G.
"What... What is this? This doesn't make any sense. This..." She glanced back over her shoulder, heart pounding as she saw the deformed, mutilated creature creeping closer to her. "I don't have time for this. I don't..."
OOC
Name of character: Raedala Looming Despair In 20/40ft Current HP: 80/80 Special ability: Knight's Code Species Ability: Only Applicable in Arena Current weapon equipped:Crumbling Hope 2d8-6 TARGET: Escape
It was then that she noticed the second piece of paper. She took a moment to glimpse back and forth between the two and then it clicked. Frantically she searched the door, spotting a number pad that she jammed numbers in to.
0 2 4 5
The door slid open and Raedala continued to flee.
OOC
Name of character: Raedala Looming Despair In20/40ft RUN AWAY Current HP: 80/80 Special ability: Knight's Code Species Ability: Only Applicable in Arena Current weapon equipped:Crumbling Hope 2d8-6 TARGET: Escape
Without looking back and further, you continue to run. The figure following you taunts at you. Occasionally through the loud crunching of their footsteps you can hear steady snipping. They taunt you about returning their Heart. They taunt you about taking your Heart in return.
You reach the end of the trees to a long bridge. It looks rickety and unsure, swaying uneasily. You will need to cross it.
Raedala was a pro when it came to rickety bridges. The 'training' she had done at the Aether Cliffs had taught her what to look for, what to expect when it came to rotting, crumbling wood; just how fast to run... Even her last trip through had prepared her for the swaying of the bridge at the end.
It had not prepared her for the sudden stabbing pain in her back after the snag of claws in her shoulder. She arched into the feeling, letting out a startled cry. Whatever had stabbed her drew out and she sobbed, pushing the choking feeling away once more so that she could run. She had to keep running.
"Sweet Goddess, help me..."
OOC
Name of character: Raedala Looming Despair In30/30ft RUN AWAY! Current HP: 80/80 Special ability: Knight's Code Species Ability: Only Applicable in Arena Current weapon equipped:Crumbling Hope 2d8-6 TARGET: Escape
"I..." Was this the answer to her prayer? Now or never? "I don't know what you mean! I don't..."
She turned and there it was; the creature of her nightmares, the thing that had followed her from room to bridge and now to house. "What do you want?"
"I want... What you took from me, Aldara."
"They said... That I'm not good enough. My own mother agrees with that... That b***h." She spat, steel blue eyes red at the corners from the tears she had shed. Aldara had been trying so hard to become everything that they had wanted her to be; to live up to her full potential. She had learned how to fly, how to fight. Aleka had seen to that; had hounded her just as relentlessly, but it wasn't enough. It would never be enough.
She was too sweet; to petite. All of the sting came from her tongue and not enough from her claws.
"What if I don't see you again?"
The Memory. It was the memory that she would blame in the end; the reason why she couldn't strike out. It had distracted her, made her feel weak... Pointed out all of her flaws.
It was why she had frozen. It was why...
It was why she was dead.
Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 8:32 am
[ GAME OVER ]
A part of her was aware of fingers in her hair, stroking slowly through the tangled, grey strands. Was their blood on them? Would the blood come off? What was going to happen to her now?
She wanted to slap the hand away. She wanted to fight. She wanted to continue to stand her ground, but she had failed. Failed the Goddess... Failed herself.
Raedala panicked and the sound of the thudding echoed. Louder. Faster. That was her. That was her fear giving it the power to pulse on, racing like a...
Like a frightened little bird.
Tears stung her eyes but she couldn't move to brush them away. She couldn't move to do anything.
"Don't worry," the voice cooed softly at her, "It only hurts once."
She was not aware of either of the loud snips as much as she was aware of the pain that felt like it was stabbing right in to her soul. It was worse than that, it seemed. This was a pain of the heart.
Thump thump.
Rae watched her heart walk away.
Thump thump.
The sound of the pulse grew distant as her vision began to fade.
Thump thump.
The scissors... Why... Why did something about them seem so familiar?
Thump thump.
Raedala's eyes closed, body staying still and likely growing cold, like the mist of the Aether Cliffs... Her mind drifted to the memory; the last glimpse that she had gotten of the girl... Such a sad girl.
It seemed as though they had something in common at last... They had both lost their hearts.
