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 Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2016 1:03 am
Dream
Chel spent the next few days ignoring the general public. She didn't sleep at Shun's, she didn't kick it with Jack. She avoided trouble and she ducked her head low. She only left Chris' apartment once to go to work, and afterwards she came right back.
It was unlike her, to shunt offers of familiarity and company. Chel was best in the company of others; she came alive in crowds and in the rush of the moment. She was like lightning that struck and dissipated. Never a storm of a presence, never the night sky but instead one moment of intensity from now until the next.
She put her head down on the broken couch she called "her" bed. "
(The truth was that Chel didn't know how you rented an apartment and she was too proud to ask anyone for help).
The ratty rag she called a blanket was pulled over her shoulder and she closed her eyes. Tomorrow she'd hit someone up. Right now she needed to sleep.
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Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2016 1:31 am
Dream
Chel dreamed in lilac that night.
Lilacs only bloomed from late April to May. Chel didn't know this; she thought the flowers were nice.
It was raining. Small droplets bounced between purple petals, sewing the grey sky and the purple ground together in a harmonious balance between the two colors. Her pink and orange hair almost offended the scenery; she felt bad for being there. Chel felt bad being anywhere.
She walked though the field, hands tracing along the flowers and knocking the droplets to the ground with a dull splash. She didn't remember getting wet. In the back of her mind she knew she should be panicking; rain meant running mascara and a ruined dye job and messy clothes. She just ... didn't mind here. It felt at peace.
The field dipped down a hill and Chel was struck with the urge to run. She resisted, of course, because it was wet and she was reckless, not stupid. The hill side dipped inwards, a small cave forming. Chel liked caves. Tiny holes away from the world that spoke to something primitive in her; something natural and good. Places that could be mysterious and familiar at the same time. She liked those gray areas.
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Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2016 2:39 pm
Dream
From inside the cave, the rain actually sounded kind of peaceful. Now she was regretting getting poured on; as water slowly dripped off of her, she could feel the ice setting in. She rubbed her hands together.
She pulled out her cell phone to try and get a read on it. Nothing. No signal.
Behind her, the light from the phone accentuated the shadows. They began to billow behind her, growing quickly and quietly until they arched over her head and filled the rocky crevice. Slowly the black substance began to ooze from the ceiling. One drop. Then two. Then four. Then twelve.
Chel looked up and her eyes went wide.
Wide eyes stared back.
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Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2016 3:51 pm
Where She Walks
"I want a snickers," Chel announced, pointing to the stocked shelving in the grocery story line. She reached for the candy without thinking about it; she was in fourth grade and never thought to ask before doing something.
Both of her parents shared a look. Her father looked down, guilty; the same expression Chel wore as an adult when she looked down. Embarrassed, quiet, subservient. Her mother's face twisted in a tired frown. She looked tired more often these days.
"No Chel, not today."
Chel hadn't been told no before. She didn't understand why today was different.
"Why?" Being who she was, Chel always asked why, why, why. She needed explanations, she often couldn't understand. A slow learner who needed the repetition.
"Because we don't have the money for that right now," her mother said simply. Chel got her straightforward nature from her mother. "Don't ask me again."
Chel didn't understand. She put the snickers back down and crossed her arms. She thought it was just her parents being parents. Little did she realize what that would mean for her later.
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Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2016 4:24 pm
Dream
Chel blinked between grocery aisles and the cave. The wall was now covered in eyes, all yellow with a magenta center, in which a deep black iris sat. Only one eye was a dully murky gray; unfocused, lazy.
She tried to back up only to find her hand meet with something slimy at squishy. The whole creature (?) seemed to be slimy and whispy at the same time. A collection of shadows and eyes. She only realized in looking around the cave (or what remained of the cave) that there wasn't just one kind of eyes. There were small ones, big ones, one's that seemed a solid black color and others that seemed almost crystalline. Ones that glowed and others that changed colors.
< What have we here? > The voice didn't come from any one location; it was echoed throughout the area, rang into her mind.
"Stay back," Chel said, holding up her hands and trying to back out of the cave.
A mirthy laugh filled the area. < I do not wish to hurt you, small one. > The way he accentuated the last two words felt belittling. Bemidst shadows she couldn't seem to escape, Chel felt small.
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Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2016 5:33 pm
Wind
Chel felt her hair flying behind her, her roots clamped under a stylish helmet. In front of her was open road, cracked a little from desert heat. Chel had always hated how Ashdown never seemed to get really warm. Chel longed for southern heat and for sun that didn't hide behind clouds.
A ducati motorcycle purred beneath her and Chel found she was driving it. How, she wasn't sure; she didn't remember getting her license and she didn't remember getting a motorcycle.
But ... she was. Giddiness spread throughout her body and she leaned into the motion of the moment. She didn't know how to stop the bike anyways; why not ride it out?
Open sky, open road. That was her dream.
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Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2016 5:45 pm
Dream
< You see? > it spoke, a voice that was nice. < It's fun. >
She still felt wind her hair. The giddy feeling that had struck her core remained. "Yeah I guess it kinda was." She couldn't lie about it; escaping had always been her dream. "What's yer name anyways?"
< All Seeing. >
"Because of the-
< Eyes. Yes. > Said eyes refocused on her, shifting through the shadows as they talked. Some of the eyes sank into the darkness while others emerged, constantly in motion and surveying the area. Chel would have found it creepy had she not been enamored.
"An' you live here?"
< I moved around a bit but ... yes this is my home for now. >
She blinked owlishly. "So ... what's yer deal?"
< I know ... many things, Chelsea Craft. > Chel squinted; how had he known her name? < For example, you are looking for power. I too, am looking for power, in a way.. >
"The ******** that mean?"
If the creature had a face, it would have scoffed. < You want a way to help. I want to help you. >
Chel certainly wasn't closed off for debate. The creature was right in a way. She wanted to stop being so useless so Shun didn't have to keep doing things like kill Heliodora on his own. She wanted to have some hand in this fight against the Enemy, whatever that looked like. "Help ... how?"
< Aha.. >
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Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2016 5:51 pm
I'll Bet A Fiddle of Gold
The longer they talked, the more inebriated Chel felt. Not drunk, persay, but ... light. She could have sat there for a few minutes or a few hours, she wasn't entirely sure. They talked about greatness. They talked about struggle. It was nice, Chel thought, to have someone she could confide in. Someone not related to any part of the situation.
All Seeing was nice. He laughed at her jokes and he listened to her intently. The darkness in his cave stopped being mysterious, but instead, comforting. They were alone and she didn't have to worry about what was going to happen when she stepped outside of the cave.
She found herself smiling in a way that she hadn't for a long time. Her father's smile from when she was little.
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Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2016 8:42 pm
Against Your Soul
"Yer nicer than I thought, All Seein'.
< Thank you. As are you, Chelsea Craft. >
"Most otherbein's suck d**k. They were real asswipes at that party." Chel had taken to relaxing in his shadows, sitting in them as though they were a squishy beanbag. He didn't seem pained by this action.
< Did you try to get to know them? >
Chel blinked a few times. "s**t. I guess I hadn't thought of it that way." Usually Chel was the one pushing for friendship and peaceful solutions. She would take out any son of a b***h that talked smack about her, but at her core she really didn't like violent solutions. It was part of why Shun and Heliodora bothered her so much. She wanted to start having a hand in making sure innocent people swept up in magic weren't held victim to their sways. That people like Algernon and Shun didn't have to do what they'd been doing.
< Can I offer you a gift? >
The statement set her on edge. "Depends. I don't usually like s**t from you guys."
< I sympathize with you and your compatriots cause. >
"What?"
< Is it so surprising? Not all residents of this place are members of the court. >
Chel rubbed her chin. She really didn't know how any of this worked. She also had no idea if he was telling the truth. "What did you have in mind?"
The creature created a noise something akin to a pleased purr. < I would give you a power that expands your sight, and I would only ask that it be used for your benefit. >
"People don't just give stuff fer nothin'. An' what you mean 'expand my sight' that sounds fishy as hell."
One of the eyeballs blinked. < Ah. I understand that suspicion. It is fair considering the nature of many creatures here. The only thing I want is to be able to see through your eyes. I am ... curious about your world. It is interesting to me. I just wish to see it. >
"You can't just go there yourself?"
The room grew a little dimmer, a little more dismal. The eyes shifted uncomfortably. < No. I cannot. This is why I am curious. >
"Alright ... what are you gonna give me f'I agree?"
< Your sight will improve when you see with my eyes. I can see ... many things. This will be beneficial to you, will it not? >
Chel debated for a moment. "What kinda things?"
< You will be able to sense those that are magical ... perhaps this will aid you in your search for those to avoid or protect? >
It did sound ... enticing. She wanted more time to think it over, but ...
This guy was so nice. In the famous last words of many dead people: what could possibly go wrong?
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Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2016 11:22 pm
An Eye For An Eye
"Alright," Chel agreed. She held her hand out for a ... handshake. If this thing could shake hands.
It couldn't. Instead, a tendril of shadows raised up below her hands. It began to swell and bulge at the end, until finally it burst, forming a tiny eyeball with a yellow and magenta colored center. The eyeball began to glow and grew to a white hot intensity. So much so that Chel had to shield her eyes momentarily. It began rising towards her hand, dripping shadows off of it. Chel felt the air crackle and her hair began to float upwards gently, her clothes rising against the skin of her stomach.
The eyeball landed softly in her hand and the glow dulled. For a moment she thought something had gone wrong, and then the eyeball exploded in a flash of white light. The air around where the eyeball had been pushed outwards and bounced off the cave walls; hundreds of tiny eyeballs looked at her curiously.
A low laugh began to echo in the cave around her, and when Chel blinked, she was elsewhere.
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Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2016 11:38 pm
A New Perspective
Chel awoke in Chris' shitty apartment and looked around, blinking somewhat blearily. This ... was home. Okay. She was home.
She tried for a moment to recollect her thoughts. She'd ventured to Other Ashdown, traveled through a lilac field ... rain ... the creature, All Seeing had been a pretty chill dude. She'd made a deal with him: he got to use her eyes and in exchange she got ... some kind of power. Come to think of it, she probably should have asked how that all worked.
Where had that eyeball he'd gifted her gone anyways? Hadn't that been part of the deal?
As if on cue, her arm began to burn and she let out an, "Ahhh, ah, ah." At the sensation. It was like touching a hot stove for only a moment; over in a flash but it still stung slightly by the time it was finished. What was left in its wake was a blackish eye marking, with a small teardrop and set of triangles below it.
Only now did the thought occur to her: maybe she'd meddled with something she shouldn't have.
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