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Turns out tree girls can move when they want to!
She raced up the stairs, trailing some silver miasma from the draining wounds she had recieved from the battlefield like streamers.
There it was. THERE IT WAS. the exit!

Shun reached the top of the set of stairs, but paused as he heard the Voice speaking to him again. His eyes narrowed at its words. Yes, and in seeking out the true king, he was going to end up slaughtering his little sister in the process. The real Xiu slept, in threat of slumbering for all of eternity, or until she withered away to nothing due to this parasite of a Voice.

Where was the 'no harm' in that?

It annoyed him in turn. If this Voice had a throat, he wanted to slit it.
.


((Exit))

[[ Entering ]]

To enter, she needed to sacrifice her hearing.

Of course.

Was it possible that this was how she would fade away? One by one, she would lose every sense she had, until she couldn't touch, couldn't hear, couldn't see, couldn't speak, couldn't taste, couldn't smell, couldn't laugh, couldn't even cry as what she was disappeared? ... Ah, how morbid. She wouldn't let it get to her, not now. If that was what her end was, so be it.

For now, she would climb.

As much as she hated stairs--really, truly, hated stairs and large towers and all of it--it didn't seem to hurt as much to climb, this time. She was met with no resistance, no one attempting to destroy her as she climbed. Perhaps the environment was doing the destruction for her, but then again, did it honestly matter? She needed answers, she needed some kind of meaning.

She also needed her fellows of the Blue Kingdom, the other Pawns like her who had been given such a rude awakening to their lives. It was time to stop drinking. Maybe she could find them as she climbed.

Davyne had startled at the grip of the other woman's hand on hers, but other than a fleetingly panicked look at Nkosazana, had quickly gotten over her shock. It was practical, after all, that they hold hands - it'd certainly help them keep track of each other, and surely there were other uses. Surely. It had nothing to do with comfort or anything of the like, certainly not -

- a tightening of her lips, and the golden-haired woman gave up her denials. It was comforting to have a physical reminder that she was not alone in this, whatever this turned out to be. And so, for once, she let it be and moved onwards.

They did not get very far before their progress was halted by a door. Not the worst obstacle one could face in unknown territory. But... perhaps it was a bit more than just a door, she contemplated as she read what was written upon it. "Sacrifice all that you hear... hm. That sounds faintly ominous, I would say. Shall we? There is no way but onwards, after all." A slight quirk of the lips and a bit of humour in her eyes, Davyne found herself in better spirits than she'd been when she'd entered the Tower. They had not yet been maimed or killed, and that was surely a good sign.

Somewhere along the way they had scattered, and now, now they had caught back up. Sammy stood just behind the others all squished in a group hug, it was rather inconvenient actually as the whole group did well to block the stairs.

Moving up she tapped G on the shoulder before jerking her thumb farther up the steps as if suggesting they keep going.

It was, admittedly, a relief for Nkosazana that Davyne did not attempt to pull her hand away. Something in her needed the comfort, too, even if it was the comfort of someone who technically didn't exist. She didn't, either. Perhaps two nonexistent people could be the best kind to help each other through such a horrifying circumstance.

It comforted her, in a way, to have something warmer in her hand than these gloves. At least if she was holding onto someone, whether it be for the practicality of it all or for what it truly was for, to let herself know someone else must have been there ... she knew they were there. Even if she lost everything else, she would know she had that hand in her grasp.

When they approached the door, Nkosazana remained silent for the moment, letting her eyes read over the words and attempt to absorb them. To move on, she needed to lose all she heard--That sounds fairly ominous, I would say--yes, indeed, it did, and there was no real avoiding that. Becoming deaf to get herself some answers, though? That was okay. Davyne may have been the last voice she would ever hear, but at least she heard a voice, and at least she was going to find some answers to whatever horrid thing had caused what they became ... or really, what they always had been.

She appreciated the humour in Davyne's eyes, and couldn't help the fact that humour was infectious. She smiled back. This would be okay.

"No way but onwards."

As soon as she opened the door and stepped inside, not even the sounds of her footfalls properly reached her ears. It was disorienting, initially, but ... this would be okay. And so, she put her foot on one of the steps and began to climb, attempting to make sure her grip on Davyne's hand was not lost. Hopefully, they could keep pace with each other.

[step 34]

Up ahead he saw... what were they all doing? they were his fellow blues, strange he felt more a part of them now, even though he had not spent long with them, and they were all hugging? Well, he had caught up at least. he approached carefully.