Again, Yiro stood at the wall. It needed to be built, the goddess said. It protects us from harm, the goddess said.
It seemed like nothing ever changed, no matter how much the wall was built up. Bad things still happened. Yet, it didn't stop her. There was one thing she wanted more than any other, and that was paranoia's approval. A friendship bracelet was the lucky trinket that managed to catch her eye today. Yiro's slender fingers lifted it off the ground and carefully examined the bright piece of jewelry. Now, where would this little jewel fit?
Ah! Perfect. That pale arm reaching from under some equipment. Silently, the shadow slipped the bracelet onto the inanimate appendage... Only to have it grasp at her painfully.
The silhouette's eyes darted down, only to be shocked when she realized the wall was gone. All that was left was a beautiful sunset and an unending field.
And... As the hand released her own, one thousand more took it's place. They reached out for her, and as she took one after the other... They vanished.
Until only she was left standing there in the darkness.
Abruptly, Riyo sat up in a strange bed. A bed that she did not recognize as hers. It was pink, and the whole room she occupied was a plethora of light hues. Almost the opposite of the dark oak and crimson she had grown accustomed to. The feline reached up to clutch her head, only to realize...
Her hair was cut short.
It sent her into a panic. The second she started screaming, however, a figure ran in through the door. It was... Her father. In a pink apron.
The whole thing sent her into a panic, until he slowly explained that her whole world must have been a bad dream. This was her real life. Living in a cabin that bordered the woods with a loving parent who wanted nothing but good things for her.
It was beautiful, but it wasn't real.
Riyo had figured out half way through the dream that none of it was real, and she fought with herself to admit it. She wanted this life. She wanted to be safe and loved.
But just dreaming it was cheating, and the only way to leave was... To jolt herself awake.
She stood at the cliff face, legs shaking as she stared at the bottomless abyss. In the end, she couldn't do it by herself. She had to be pushed. And who better to do the pushing than... Titus.
Down, down she fell. Back to the bottom of the barrel where she belonged. Only now... She knew there was a top that she could climb out of.
Yiro shouted as she awoke one more time, eyes darting around only to find... Her goddess kneeling over her. With a frantic expression, her eyes closed once more. Please goddess. Comfort her. Remove the things that plagued her. Show her what she wanted most.
For the last time, Yiro woke up. As her glance was graced by the walls presence, she knew without a doubt.
It was only a matter of time before the wall came crashing down around her... And only a matter of time before she had to face everything she was hiding from.
Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2013 1:14 pm
He took a cassette tape, and had the odd compulsion to let it play in a wonky TV/VCR that was currently making up a part of the wall. As if in a trance, he felt his vision close in solely on the screen. The haunting scene played out, his heart racing painfully with each agonizing moment. As the tape ended, something else seamlessly took it's place.
A foggy room, whispers rang through his mind. "You never left that place. You're still there, inside that cell. This is just another nightmare. Another trance. Another illusions. You never escaped, you were never rescued. You will rot down there, alone, and know of nothing but nightmares for eternity."
The fog played games with him, but he was too vulnerable to see it for what it was. This place contaminated with Insanity had found the weak spot in his mind and took advantage. The teen boy wailed, running through the foggy and decrepit halls of the Haunted House, his anguish bare for all he passed to see. It was all a lie. The rescue, the escape, the time after it all. He would be trapped in the Horsemen's Lair forever. No one ever came for him. He was always alone, and no hope or happiness would ever find him.
All semblance of having himself together was shattered. His will, his strength to hold face. He cried even as he ran straight into someone. The person was accompanied by a familiar few others, and kept calling his name, asking him what was wrong.
All Otto could do was cry. A cry filled with raw sadness, and despair. They were just a dream too. A dream meant to build up hope, just so that Horsemen witch could see it shatter again and again.
Itoto took in a sharp breath as a head and body lunged out from the screen, his fragile red heart bright but scared. He couldn't move or speak as she reached into his mind with her long fingers. He could feel each second of that memory ripped from his core.
Once again, he was left feeling a little emptier inside.
The friendship bracelet shone bright among the rubble, a spot of color in a world of grey. This would do. Rojand picked it up and brought it back to the Wall. A mannequin, its dead eyes blank, held its hand out beseechingly, and he slipped the bracelet over its fingers and settled it around the wrist.
He drew in a startled breath as it grabbed him, pulled back in a rush of panic. It slipped away, and a swell of guilt made him grab for it. He stood in a field, a field with the blaze of sunset arching over it, with reaching hands growing like grass from the ground. They needed him. They all needed him, and he grabbed for them, only to feel them crumble, or slip away, or dissolve like smoke, one by one by one, until there were non left, and it was night, and he was alone. So very, very alone, and when he reached up towards the sky, nothing reached back.
He surfaced from the dream with a shocked gasp, found himself alone in a damp, oppressive stone cell carved with faintly glowing runes. The drug swam through his veins. The dull ache at the back of his neck matched the ache of cramped muscles and slumped joints. How long had he been curled into a huddled ball? Too long. Days, maybe. His throat was parched and his stomach clenched emptily. The buzzing haze of the runes and the drug drew him inexorably back under, no matter how hard he struggled to stay awake.
He woke in the cell. His bones hurt, a dull awful pain like they were filled with hot sand, and he lifted his hand and couldn't lift his hand. He couldn't move his legs. He couldn't move at all. His eyes were open, but he couldn't move them. He saw with a flinch and surge of horror that his feet had gone grey, the grey of the stone under them, that he was entirely grey, that the endlessly dripping water dropping onto him ran over the rough texture of stone. Algae and lichen had begun to gather in the folds of his trousers, in the cracks of his fingers.
He was conscious. He couldn't close his eyes. He couldn't return to the oblivion of sleep. He had become stone, and he was hungry, thirsty, aching, tired, awake within himself and entirely unable to seek relief.
He woke again with a start, sweating and shaking. The Goddess knelt over him; before he could answer her, tell her no, he wanted to remember, it was awful but he wanted to remember, her hand stroked down over his brow, his eyes, and he plunged down helplessly into deep and dreamless sleep.
When he opened his eyes, he stayed where he was, lying limply below the Wall, and stared up at it. It couldn't protect him forever. Only for a little while longer.
Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2013 2:37 pm
Shaw stared at the cracked cell phone, confused by the strange memory he was sure wasn't his -
It rang again, and he brought it to his ear tentatively.
"Hello?"
It had all begun at lunch.
shaW sat at the cafeteria table, idly poking at his food as his friends around him chatted and gossiped. They'd had some of the best seats in the cafeteria - he was second string on the football team, and it was his senior year, but he didn't mind. He was never interested in being the best player, or the most popular - he was happy following quietly in the footsteps of his teammates. He liked the company, and the treatment associated with having a letterman's jacket emblazoned with a proud eagle across the breast.
"Hey man, there go those weirdos again."
He ignored them. He had a calculus test next period, and he was skimming his practice problems, checking his work with agonizing slowness. Math wasn't his strong suit, but he'd managed to maintain a high C - one that he was hoping to turn into a B.
His buddy elbowed him after a moment, non-too-gently.
"What?"
"Hey, man. He's messin' with your brother."
He did look up then, his fists clenching. He could felt a sinking feeling in his gut. Not again. But sure enough, there he was, his little brother, a freshman, handing out fliers for the 'Paranormal Awareness' group he'd been going on about for ages.
He studiously looked back at his homework, inspecting it with renewed interest.
"You ain't gonna do nothin'?"
shaW glanced over, but didn't meet his eyes. What did he expect him to do? He was being - well, he was being weird. And ridiculous. And above all else, embarassing.
"Nah man," he said uncomfortably, after a few moments of silence. "I ain't gettin' in his s**t." David had done it to himself, after all. Why couldn't he just be normal like everyone else? Wash had worked hard to get where he was, but ever since his brother had moved up to high school, his presence had been a constant chore.
Why couldn't he just pretend?
The phone call had come later.
The kitchen echoed with the trill sound of the corded phone that hung from the wall - but it was all background noise to young shaW, and he ignored it, focusing on his homework instead. His mother was in the kitchen anyway, and soon enough silence settled over the house again.
"Hello? Oh, hey b-"
A pause.
"Oh?"
Another pause, shorter this time. "Washington."
shaW looked up irritably, shoving back his chair and stomping into the kitchen with all the malcontent of an interrupted teenager.
"What, mom?" he drawled, crossing his arm and leaning on the cabinet.
She handed him the phone, lips pressed in a firm line. "It's your father."
That tone, and the look on her face - he was in trouble, but he wasn't sure why.
He took the headset sullenly, and pressed it to his ear.
"shaW. What," the voice paused, stern even in its silence, "happened at school today?"
"I dunno what you're talkin' bout," he replied, but there was an edge that hadn't been there before- an edge of worry.
"The counsellor called me today. Said your brother was bein' picked on again. She said she thinks they'd stop if you'd jus' say somethin', call 'em off." The silence was longer this time. "Son, she said it was your friends causin' the most trouble."
It was shaW's turn to pause, sighing angrily into the phone. "Dad, he's always doin' weird s**t, if he would jus'"
"Don't you take that tone with me." The voice was angry now, but more than that - it was disappointed. "I don't know how no son o' mine could just sit there while his baby brother, his own damn family was bein' ragged on right in his face. You know better than that. I raised you better 'n that."
The voice was tinny, and shaW could make out other people speaking in the background. He hadn't known the school had his father's work number. He clenched his fists. This was just another insult to lay at the feet of his sibling - now he'd gone and pissed DAD off -
"shaW, you still there?"
He made a noncommital noise.
"Son, I am at work, and I can't be gettin' these calls every damn day, do you understand me? You need t'step up. He's your brother, son. You don't have t'like him, but you gotta live with him." He sighed into the reciever, and shaW could picture the look on his face, the way he pinched his nose just above the bridge of his bifocals.
"Now listen here. I know your brother and sister is, well. They's strange. Like your mother. But that don't matter, son. Theys still people, and you can't just ignore 'im and hope he goes away. We - your mother an' I - we ain't always gonna be around to look after 'em. That's gonna be your job, one day." The voices in the background grew louder.
"I gotta go. I'm very disappointed in you, today."
shaW didn't respond.
"Goodnight, son."
Shaw came back to himself, and there was the goddess, taking both the phone and the shameful memories from his mind.
He nodded mutely, suddenly afraid.
The wall was gone - perhaps it had never been there after all.
Thean looked up at the Wall once more. It was time to fortify once more. She wanted to keep the bad things away. The frame was so high, yet the actual Wall, so small. She better start. She looks and searches for material to build. She finds a small object of blue plastic and metal. It seems to be able to fit into something. What did it fit into? Could Thean find it?
Then searched for the fit of the object. Finally she found it in a sleek computer tower with a monitor attached. She plugged it in and the screen flickered to life. The screen and other screens erupt into life. Data, faces, statuses, tests, all spread over the screens like paint. She notices one. They seem to be doing tests. Thean peers at it. Men. Out of mud. And crumbling to dust. Huh. She continues to watch time after time as the man appears from the dust, and to the dust he returns. She feels like this is something significant for the girl in the screen. She keeps changing tests and variables. Thean watches as one of the last entries is shown. One of her and the mud man talking before he disappears. This seems so exciting to the woman testing. The woman and mud disappear and a new scene appears.
They walked along a pond filled with koi. one man was tall, the other, a little girl, walked with her hand engulfed in the mans fist. The little girl looked upset.
"Daddy! But why! But why! Ander gets to learn so why can't I!" she complains, trying to get the dad to see. "Sweet, Ander is a boy and you are a girl. You need to learn stuff that will benefit your role in the future. Learning how to fight is not for girls."
" No daddy," she pouts"it is. I want to protect you and Ander and everyone when I grow up. I want to be strong for everyone." She puffs out her chest. "I can handle it papa, I can, I can."
The man sighs, putting his hand on his head." Fine sweet pea, if you can get permission from your tutors you can go to lessons with Ander. But if I hear one word about misbehavior I am pulling you out. Understood?" "Yes papa yes! Thank you thank you!!" She squeals as he picks the little girl up and twirls her around, wings flaring from her and his backs.
Thean realizes it is a memory. A memory of a happier time. The image morphs. The Goddess stares down. our only hope is in survival," her voice booms from a hundred small speaker. "Your only hope is through me, do you understand....how much it takes? How much we need? We do this for you, and yet you cling to such things?" She embraces Thean and the memory was gone.
Thean feels caged. The screens flicker blue errors. The Wall keeps bad things at bay. Or does it?
Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2013 2:55 pm
A great risk. A moment where you laid all you had on the line for a small chance. A risk that could take your life was one he couldn't fathom risking. It was too much to lay down for immortality. Risk dying for good, for the chance to never have to... could he ever do that? What about the beautiful red head that woman could have left behind? Waiting for her...
A risk... even a small one though.. sometimes it was worth it.
Otto paced his room, muttering to himself over and over. His ruffled the hair under his hat, the feeling of dampness combing through his short tresses. Line after line, speech after speech. Rejected, rejected, rejected. Every attempt he made to go over what he wanted to say, he fumbled. It didn't make his feelings clear, or he said something in a way he might be misinterpreted.
Maybe he was thinking too much about it. He should just march out there to her room and spill his guts. Bare it all. But baring it all was what he was afraid of. Wasn't there an option to let her know how he felt without letting her know.. how.. he felt?
That was stupid. Tenya agreed too. He was stupid.
Otto groaned out loudly, flopping to the floor and hugging his knees. "This is all your fault, Nevada..." He muttered sulking. If she hadn't confessed to him, he'd never of took serious consideration to do this. To tell Eva how he felt.
He liked Nevada. Liked her a lot. But his heart had belonged to Eva before he'd realized it was Love. He couldn't give Nevada a proper answer until he knew for sure. He needed to know if he and Eva ever stood a chance, or if it was something he was just delusional about. Eva.. she liked everyone. She treated him like a pet more than anything else, but he still loved her. She made his heart race just by being in the same room. He couldn't just make himself forget such a feeling.
So this was it. Risk his friendship, and risk his fragile heart on the off chance that Eva might feel the same. She'd never try to hurt him, likely she'd turn him down so nicely he wouldn't feel the pain right away. But no matter how, if she found out how he felt about her, he wasn't so sure he could see her anymore after that. Allowing someone to see such a weak side of himself again, after so long... No...
Nevada had the courage though. She bared her feelings, and held onto hope. She had more balls than he did. That was what gave him the drive to do this. He had to be brave, because if Nevada could be true to her heart and bare herself for him, why couldn't he do that too?
Besides... what if Eva liked him too...
He was outside her door now, pacing and trying to calm his breathing.
He knocked on the door.
A smiling, blue eyed angel opened, a smile that shone like the sun. Yeah.. he could do this. For her..
And just like that, after all that fear of rejection, of loss, of opening his feelings to someone so dear to him... that risk had been worth it to hear her words. From her silky voice, from her beautiful lips. His heart warmed as it beat rapidly in excitement in his chest. He'd never felt so happy in his life. She welcomed his heart and his feelings so readily, and even better, offered hers in return.
His heart felt warm. Fluttering. It was such a beautiful memory, one he wanted to keep so close to his heart and help him through hard times. The whisper of the Goddess sent a chill down his spine, his heart missing a beat in fear. He knew what she wanted from him.. something very precious. The long fingers traced his face as he stared with wide eyes, the sensation gripping his small neck.
No.. not this memory.. just let him keep this one thing. This one, beautiful thing..
It burned as she removed it from him. It was gone. Something precious... what was it again. He didn't know anymore but.. it hurt. It hurt a lot.
Something precious has been taken from him.
Bittiface
Sarcastic Hunter
Offline
[A.V.]
Dangerous Hunter
Offline
Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2013 2:58 pm
The wall. It needed to be higher. Needed to be stronger. He followed after the others, continuing his task. This time, his hands sought out a strange rectangular box, and he stared at it curiously, flipping it in his hands. Everything was still bleak and grey but something managed to catch his eye. Colour.
Turning the object, he looked down at the words scrawled on the label.
Clark County General Security Zone 3 05/19/2008 12:24am-7:02am
This was...
He only shook his head, already looking for a place to put it into on the wall. There was a big bulky box, and on top of it, another box, with a slot. A slot that seemed big enough for the object in his hand. And so, without hesitation, he slid it in, jumping slightly when the screen flickered to life.
The scene before him, he didn't understand. Didn't understand, and didn't want to understand. Before he could reach out to try turning it off, something else played. Something different, yet the same. Something... about him.
He was covered in blood, the same brilliant crimson he had witnessed on the screen, and in his hand, a knife. There were two bodies before him, covered in the same vibrant liquid. He was panting heavily, blade dripping of the liquid surrounding him. He didn't know if it was his, or theirs. It didn't matter, not anymore.
"Please... promise me... you won't... do anything..."
Had he promised? He hadn't. She died before he had even said anything. But even so, he wouldn't have promised. He couldn't. She was innocent, and yet they...
They deserved it.
It was a statement. A fact.
They deserved what they had coming to them.
Protecting a life was so hard, but taking it away? Why was it so easy to end a life? But no, just ending it wasn't enough. He wanted to torture them more, let them feel the pain he felt ten times over. Did they know what they had done to him? Did they know what they had taken away? Just ending his life would have been much more kinder. But no, they opted for the latter. They took away everything else. Everything that mattered to him, everything that he held dear, cherished, loved. They had taken everything, and yet, he was still forced to live. Forced to live this empty hollow life.
Yes, death would have been much kinder, and he cursed them for losing theirs so easily. He wanted to hurt them more, make them suffer. He wanted revenge. This wasn't enough. He wanted more.
The screen flickered again, and he blinked, staring at the monochrome screen, showing nothing but noise. Though it startled him, he didn't move, staying perfectly still as a pair of hands reached out, a head, a torso.
"That isn't yours, not any longer and not ever again."
There was no movement, no sound as she reached into his eyes, pulling something away. His sight? His memories? Everything was dark and quiet and he sat there. For how long, he didn't know. He sat until sight finally returned, staring at the empty tv, letting the sound of the fuzz wash over him.
Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2013 3:02 pm
It had been hard to distinguish between the whispers she heard through the days, some seemed like memories and others seemed like guidance. It took her some time to realize that one set was trying to lead her somewhere and when she found herself at the Wall, that made it a little more clear. She was supposed to help! Well, why wouldn't she help. It seemed like a good thing to do.
So without a word, she went looking for things to pick up and pack into the wall. There were so many choices - she was a little reminded of a certain junkyard and a test - and eventually she found an interesting object amonst the clutter.
She picked it up, turning it over a few times to get a better look at it. It looked like one of the monster things they kept fighting. The ones that always greeted them. But smaller, half melted and serving a different function. She felt safe with it, like it would guide her through the darkness. Viola' flicked the switch, activating the light. It got brighter... and brighter... wow this was a really good flashlight...
But then it was dark but she was in the comfort of her own bed with the covered pulled all the way up and over. She only took a small portion of the bed up and she could feel her little heart thumping against her chest (these were really new sensations, a bed and a heart...). She wanted to be alone but she wasn't, something stirred outside the safety of the blanket. It laughed, looking over her and yanked the blanket away violently. All she saw was a smile, razor sharp and inky black -
- The Islands had fallen, they had fought so hard. Every part of her actually ached; she had been struck by arrows, exploding tiles and attacks from every angle. And the islands had fallen along with a friend among the students. Olivia didn't have this connection with this person, but she could feel the sadness all around her as well as what happened with the now stone figure.
These were times she wished she could cry. But all she could do was stare as she stood by Amarus and Faustus, there was nothing else she could do. Nothing. Just stand there in solace of what happened. She felt an arm wrap around her, one of her new friend had pulled the three of them into a hug and for the time being that seemed like the only thing that could be done.
Viola'i watched as the memory and the light drifted away like fresh fallen snow before her eyes, seeming to morph and reshape into that of the Goddess. The girl was confused and sad and Protection seemed to realize this, taking her hands in her own. "It only frightens you, it only makes things worse. Let me take it from you, that feeling...that time..." She said as she reached out, reached in and pulled something out. That something, the memory was gone and she glowed brighter than what the sun probably did.
The wall. He had come back to it again, though he wasn't sure if it was intentional or unintentional. Still he was here, and it needed to be built up. To strenghten the wall.
He began to look for something to use, and discarded both a bracelet and an alarm clock before picking up the cell phone. It seemed slightly out of place, but not really, and he decided that it would do.
Ri started to walk, and as he approached the wall, the phone began to ring. He answered it.
"Hello?"
"Hey, I need you to come down to the labs, I've got a bit of mess here." The voice sounds light-hearted and a bit chagrined, and when he looked up, he was walking down a pristine white hallway. He was moving quickly, but not enough to draw any attention. He entered the room to find the blond woman kneeling over a bloody, mangled body. She looks at him with a crooked little smile, "He found out. I can make a replacement, but I'll need some time and..." She flushes and gives a wry laugh, "It really is a mess." There's large slashes across her face and torso, but even as he reached toward her, he can see the blood moving back into the wounds. Soon the flesh heals over and she's perfect once again, right down to the pristine white of her coat. "Thank you," and this time it is the Goddess, in all her hungry-eyed warmth, that smiled.
He could see things on the back of her neck, twisting and lengthening along her skin. He said nothing. He wasn't stupid.
The phone rang again, and once more he answered.
"Hello?"
"Myr?"
"Mom? What are you calling for?"
It wasn't that he didn't want a phone call from her, but, so far, they had only exchanged letters and e-mails. That had seemed good enough for him. "Your father and I discussed it, we want you to come home. We've heard some disturbing things about what's been going on, and we don't think that it's a good enviroment for you anymore."
He could hear the words that weren't said. That it hadn't been a good enviroment for him in the beginning. "Everything's fine here. Everything was just a big misunderstanding, you know." Or a cover-up. Either way. He wasn't going to go home. "I've got to go, glad you called, love you lots."
"Don't you dare.." He hung up. He was back at the wall, and the Goddess took the phone from him, and the call from his mind. "You understand don't you? Why it had to be done?" Her expression shifts from empty to something of terrible power. "Yes, of course you do."
This world was insanity and fog, and for a moment he saw the true depth of madness that twists and corrupts everything it touches. There was no wall, there was only the Goddess.
He left.
[Rizetmer'yl acquired the Blessing.]
Character name: Rizetmer'yl Character appearance: The grey figure is average height but slender, with what might be slightly pointed ears. There is a shining white skull pin pinned to his pants, and a spear weapon slung across his back. His core is red. Link to Heart LogHeart Log Current HP 22/40 Current weapon equipped Simple Pride
Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2013 3:33 pm
The wall would keep him safe. The wall would protect him. The goddess would never lie. And so he continued his quest, searching for more to help aid the wall, to build it stronger, higher, sturdier.
He came across a strange knotted thing, vibrant in colour, seeming to stand out against the stark gray contrast around him. Though he knew not what it was, the sight of it made him smile, reassured him in some way.
Smiling, he sought out where to place it, and finding a plastic mannequin, he took its hand, slowly slipping it on around its wrist. What he hadn't expected, was for the hand to pull back, its grip firm, strong. Too strong. It was hurting him, and he tried to pull away, but it kept pulling, pulling...
And then he was in a field, the wall no longer before him. The brilliance of the sunset was masked by the surrounding around him. Darkness crept close, and the hand that was in his fell away. But there were more, so many, reaching for him. As if pleading, begging, seeking his help. He grabbed one and pulled, but then their grip went slack, and no matter how hard he pulled, it wouldn't come free. He reached for another, letting out a gasp as it shattered at his touch. Again. Again. Each time was the same.
Finally, he was alone. It was dark. There was nothing.
He gasped, awaking from the memory, but then another took hold of him. A memory, a dream, a fear perhaps. There is a woman, with beautiful brown hair and bright green eyes. She's smiling, reaching for him, calling his name. He tries to reach out, but she grows farther. He runs after her, desperately trying to take her hand, but something is different. She's no longer smiling. Tears stain her face. Those once bright eyes, always happy to see him, were dull. She shakes her head, turns away. He pleads, begging her not to leave, but then she is gone. She will never come back.
A new scene plays, and he finds her again, that beautiful brown-haired woman with those bright green eyes. Yet this time, something seems different. Her hair, once luscious brown locks resting against her back was gone. It was shorter now, barely past her shoulder, and shone of a bright yellow, the colour of the rising dawn. No. It was more brilliant. Her eyes, the bright green eyes he once knew and loved, were now yellow, liquid gold, as he liked to say. Her hair, liquid sunshine, and eyes, liquid gold.
She was laughing at him, smiling at him, taking his hand in hers, pulling him towards her. He knows she is not the same woman from before, and yet, around her, he feels the same warm feelings he felt when with that woman from before, and though it had hurt before, he feels he can learn to let go, learn to start anew. He found happiness once again, and with this, he was content.
But no, as one would say, history repeats itself. She was crying, hurt. He tried to reach out for her, but she pushed him away. He cries out, begs her not to leave him, but she only shakes her head, apologizing over and over again. He didn't want to lose another. Please, no. Please, don't leave him again. Why? Why does it have to be this way? Was it because he wasn't strong enough? Was it because there was another before her? Because he couldn't protect her? He swore it would be different this time, that he wouldn't let another get hurt because of him, but it was all a lie. In the end, he couldn't protect anyone.
Two bodies before him, one with long brown hair, the other with short blond hair. Both were unmoving, both covered in blood. What was he doing wrong? Why was this happening? No more... please, no more... He didn't want to see anyone get hurt because of him. Please... no more...
He is still trembling when the goddess kneels over his body.
"You need rest, you give so much and still they would plague you."
No more... please... no more...
He felt her hands over his eyes, and obeyed, closing his eyes, letting her take them, take the unhappy memory. He didn't want to remember. Not anymore. Not this. When he awoke, though the memory was gone, he soon realized something.
A wall does not protect, a wall can only buy you time.
The Wall. The thing to keep the bad things away. but it seemed slightly wrong. Oh well. Thean searched for another thing to add to the Wall once more. She picked up something reminiscent of a bracelet. The colors are a rainbow, full of life and happiness against the Ruins she had wandered. She slips it onto a mannequin arm. It grabs her. As she is about to scream she is not at the wall anymore.
The sun beats down on a field of arms, all reaching, all beckoning. They want her to save them, save them all. They seem to be crying out to her. She pulls the first one to try and save, but it slips away, down down down. She tries another it turns to dust. Thean gets increasing more frantic, trying to save, trying to brink these arms back to life. Until there is nothing. Nothing but the empty field and the sun. She reaches and she falls.
She opens her eyes. The world is on fire. The sun above her is blood red, colored by the smoke and rust in the air. Maybe even blood. She screams. she looks around. she sees bodies burning, reaching out to her. They crawl on fire towards her, whispering. Their whispers are shouts in her ears. She backs up but hits a wall. She looks up. The building is sprouting flames. She hears whispers closing in. She looks out into the sea. "Why didn't you save us? You could have saved us."
"NO" she screamed "I CAN'T!" A white crow flies overhead, a beacon of hope in the darkness. But she knows what it means. It brings nothing but dread to her. Despair is like a weight upon her. It ties her to the floor. The bodies reach her. She screams.
"You need rest, you give so much and still they would plague you." She caresses your brow and slides her hand over your eyes, closing them. "That's enough for now."
Thean wakes up later. She doesn't remember what had happened. But slowly and surely one thought rises to her mind like a wave.
A wall does not protect, a wall can only buy you time.
Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2013 3:46 pm
She returned - did she even leave really? Or did she just make a circle or took a step and came back. The whispers, it was probably the whispers that didn't make her go. And she was happy, safe. The wall did this and she wanted to make it go higher.
So, she looked for things. There were many big things around, so many electronics on the ground in the area she found herself and somehow she noticed one of the smallest things first. It glistened in the light or maybe simply glowed. It was blue, it was pretty so Viola'i picked it up. It was unfamiliar too and she wasn't sure where it would go. But when she got to the wall, it was like she knew. Here, she realized. This little slot. Perfect for it. The shadow girl plugged in the USB into its port activating the wall itself perhaps. Everything glowed and she stood back in wonder at the screens.
They showed various things, interesting things. A man in one. A woman in another, some didn't have anything at all. But the woman began to speak, drawing her attention more. It seemed like she was doing some kind of personal recording, noting the time and the project itself. Viola'i was curious to what she was doing, she leaned in a little to see.
Each segment seemed to be a jump in time. Each time involving the lump of mud that had been on the table. First simply bubbling before it magically turned into a man - Viola'i gasped, how cool - and the second jump he was already there. He was like a person, she thought he really was before he was no longer, simply the clay from before. It was amazing, she created someone. Simply from what looked like mud. She wanted to know more. Her face was practically on the screen but instead of progressing the experiment something else was shown.
Viola'i had to pull back a little to finally see. And then tilted her head, confused. Because she was seeing herself, so much blue but so very pale looking forlorn and out a window with dull eyes. It was just a screen but Viola'i could feel what that self was feeling. Haze, lost, confused, anger, frustration, pain. There was a woman, kneeling down at this self, her eyes were glowing and she was trying to say something but this self didn't respond in any way. Just sat there.
The scene shifted again, still she hadn't moved and two people standing to one side looked worried, they were talking amongst themselves and she couldn't hear them. Whispers. The pain was ebbing away, but she was still lost and she didn't know how to be found.
Again. Another girl, not that same woman from before but older than this self was tying to get that self to sit up properly. Her self's head lulled a little to the side, vacant and unknowing. The other girl had a pretty dress in her hands, she was trying to size it to that self. The other girl smiled.
It changed. Now that self was dressed a little better, no more in the blood stained clothing. She still felt lost, so very lost. So empty, she didn't know what was going on but she wanted to. But she couldn't push through the haze. But finally, slowly her eyelashes fell, her eyes closed and for a moment it looked like she was finally gone from the world but those blue eyes opened again, now with a dull soft glow. So lost, but the haze was receding.
Then the screen went black, nothing but static could be heard and Viola'i frowned, feeling she was once again let down. How did that end?! How did either of them end? When the face of the Goddess flashed on the screen, the girl hoped she was finally getting her answer.
But she didn't.
"Your only hope is in survival," her voice booms from a hundred small speaker. "Your only hope is through me, do you understand....how much it takes? How much we need? We do this for you, and yet you cling to such things?" Her hand was suddenly wrapping around her entire form, but Viola'i didn't struggle. She wanted to know what was going on. The hand felt safe though, just like before and like before it let her go pulling away the memories she had just seen.
She was empty again, she awayed. And dread filled her.
chirigami
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chirigami
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Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2013 4:20 pm
The wall was made to keep things out, but things just seemed to also return to it. Like Viola'i. She had heard the whispers again and without even looking at the towering beast of a structure she was looking for items on the ground.
Once again, she managed to find something so small. But perhaps more for herself, something to keep because there wasn't much use a rainbow knotted bracelet could have on the wall. She felt warm with it in her hands, wanting to keep it for herself. It was pretty, it didn't belong on a wall, or maybe it did as she glanced at it. There was a mannequin, its arm outreached as if wanting it for itself. The girl frowned, but gave in and approached without much worry even with the lingering dread from the last time at the wall. Slowly, she slipped on the bracelet and turned to go only to find herself unable to. And a painful pressure on her wrist. Viola'i cried out, the mannequin had somehow come to life and would not release her.
Suddenly there was no wall, build an open field as the blazing orange of a sunset took up the horizon. Night was coming along with many more hands. Reaching, grabbing, covering the field before she knew it. They wanted her, but she wouldn't let them so she grabbed for one instead. It went limp in her hands, as another shattered into pieces in her other. She went on, pulling at the grabbing hands as they all dropped or crumbled without much fight left in them.
And then. She was alone in the darkness.
Viola'i's hand reached out but nothing caught it -
She was falling, her skin was charred and her back was covered in arrows but the earth had still fallen away from her. She could see all around her, others falling, beaten and bruised. Pained and falling as she was. Olivia called out to them but none of them responded, no one seemed to notice her or acknowledge her. She tried to reach out with her bruised hand but they always seemed so far away. She couldn't reach them.
She was alone surrounded by others, their faces blank. No features, nothing. Couldn't remember them. She was alone and falling. Faster now, pulling away from all those familiar unrecognizable people. They would never catch her, she would be away from them forever and she would never find them again.
She was alone.
It had been the first time Olivia had slept, her body had ached, it had been so tired from so much pain. Needed to recover. But she had dreamed a terrible dream.
And Viola'i found herself waking up, startled and her heart heavy. Alone. She didn't want to be alone. And she wasn't, not now. The Goddess hovered over her, her expression gentle. "You need rest, you give so much and still they would plague you." She said, gently caressing her brow. Her gentle hand worked their way to her eyes and slowly closed them. "That's enough for now."
Sometime later, Viola'i awoke one more, the first thing she saw was the wall - and how could she not? It was so large after all. The nightmare was gone, had she even had one? All that remained was a clear thought.
A wall does not protect, a wall can only buy you time.
Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2013 5:30 pm
Sarviur was back - of course he was back; the wall needed building.
He left hardly a glance for the other builders, all here to also do their duty, and went right to searching for something sturdy and sensible to build the wall up with. So far it looked haphazard, with all sorts of, well, junk crammed into every cranny. There was a video cassette on the ground: it looked nice and solid and rectangular and orderly, and Sarviur liked that. He picked it up, even knowing it was far more fragile than the brick he'd chosen before. He walked along the wall, thinking he was looking for another conveniently-shaped hole.
Instead he found a television set, and a VCR beneath it.
He bit his lip, glanced to see whether anyone else could see what he was doing (did it matter? They all had their own contributions) and hesitantly pushed it inside. At least it'd fit that hole perfectly.
He didn't expect it to whir to life. He watched breathless as an unfamiliar scene played out before him - a bloody, frightening scene with frightened and forboding and unfamiliar people. This was what the Goddess would protect him from, he reasoned. It showed the world beyond the wall.
Well, not now. Now it showed static. Sarviur turned to leave, satisfied that he'd done his job right. But a loud crash convinced him to turn back -
He is so incredibly small.
Well, Varrus thinks that about a lot of people. But here, up close - here, he can see how small the guy is. And how stupid, he amends. Because he isn't looking around to see how he might be able to get out of this; he isn't struggling; he's just...staring. Stupidly calmn. Even though Varrus has him shoved up against the fence where - where he belongs, Varrus thinks grimly.
(That's not fair, bro, says a small part of him - the part that listens to Nadim too much.)
All eyes are on him, right now. Varrus tends to be quiet and peaceful, the big guy that takes little minced steps, whenever he's not at practice or at competition or at a game. Well - well, he supposes they're at practice now, but they're on a break. Everyone thought he'd just sit there drinking water like he does, well, every day. He lowers his hand slowly - not letting go, obviously, but he's gripping Remilius' shoulder now and not his neck. That doesn't give anyone illusions that he's safe.
He breathes, hard, and Nadim (real Nadim) behind him says, "Hey, V, you wanna maybe - "
Varrus punches him. Remilius, not Nadim, because Varrus could never hurt Nadim, and he would never stand to see Nadim hurt. Nadim gives a surprised, startled laugh, and Varrus does it again. Remilius' eyes are closed, and he (this is surprising) whines, soft as anything.
Varrus pulls back. "Yeah," he says, throat aching for some reason. "Yeah, a walk sounds good."
Nadim leads the way.
Sarviur was left staring. He wasn't surprised at his violence, of course: he is quite aggressive, if he says so himself, especially against the fog creatures that came hourly to attack the Goddess' lands. But to attack another shadow...
Static buzzed again on the screen, and two hands pulled each other out, along with arms, shoulders, a neck, and a head with empty yellow eyes: the Goddess of Paranoia. "That," she hissed, a strange sibilant sound, "isn't yours. Not any longer and not ever again." She lunges for Sarviur and her hands dipped into his eyes: they were cool. She pulled it out of him so that he couldn't even remember the fence (hot and dirty) and slid, easy, back into the television. Then colors: red, green, and blue, and the words OFF THE AIR.
Sarviur backed away. He felt safe again, but...perhaps he would not be safe for long.
thyPOPE
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Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2013 5:46 pm
[Enter] Nerissa approached the wall feeling conflicted, she had started happily enough enjoying the feeling of being, the feeling of controlling herself. The knowledge that she could move where she wished and when she wished it had contented her. Now she was not so happy, she questioned often how in control she really was. The knowledge and ability to influence her own actions were no longer enough, every question she had without an answer only made her more worried. She was fairly certain something terrible was going to happen to her, she kept waking up places confused and feeling strange, and there were odd memories that flittered past her thoughts and then vanished. She hugged herself tight and then looked up at a soft whisper, the soft whisper of the Goddess who had bestowed her with her first blessing. The wall…yes…yes she had to build it higher so she could protect herself, if she built it maybe the terrible things could be kept away.
She saw others as they built, she had to build too.
She looked up started by how the wall…
Is it growing?
Can it really protect me?
Is it strong enough?
Frustrated by her inability to answer she started to search for materials eager to add to the wall. She rummaged about discouraged at finding nthing of use until…she picked up an object and examined it. It felt safe, it felt like it belonged in the wall. Half of it was a little white cat, the other half a black melted lump like a charred feline. She started to try and find a place for it and struggled to wedge it in somewhere, somewhere it could continue to provide it's safety. The little light started to flicker and then it's glow became stronger, yes she was so close. She shoved the light trying to make sure it was secure, it was brighter, too bright almost, her vision was flooded with it's light blinding her in dazzling white.
She lay on the bed, it was dark, so dark and she was small, so small, so weak.
Thump-thump-thumpthump-thumpthump-thumpthumpthump
Her heart pounded now painful and quick in her chest as something laughed and moved the bed, something sat above, something yanked away the covers and the razor sharp smile glinted in the darkness!
She remembered, she remembered fear, the fear of being in a cage, of being helpless, they would come and when they did…oh Jack what was she going to do! She remembered the terror, the thought that the hunters would return soon and turn her into an instrument, a tool, a living slave to their hands. She would rather dissipate, rather have her fear lost forever then become a weapon to one of them! The thought terrified her, but she was trapped and there was no way out.
Slowly the memory faded the light becoming the Goddess, she was warm, so warm, so safe. The memory still had her trembling, she still felt caged. She kept her hands linked with the Goddess taking courage from her warmth as she listened.
"It only frightens you, it only makes things worse. Let me take it from you, that feeling...that time..."
Yes, and then warmth, so much warmth it burrowed inside and…and…what? What had happened? Oh yes, she was warm and safe and the wall would keep her that way.
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