|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:25 am
[ Message temporarily off-line ]
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:25 am
Originally posted May 16th, 2004
Sosiqui quietly climbs up the ladder, having taken some time to attend to certain, er, important needs. The spirit dims and almost flickers out like a candle flame, but then brightens as it seems to realize who it is...
She smiles. "Hello there little one, I'm back... I needed to check on my friends, and take care of some things." She sits down next to the papasan chair, halfway between the chair and the bowl of water. The spirit still bobs in the bowl, and the glass pieces have moved around a lot compared to how they were placed when Sosi left.
The spirit picks up one corner of the white linen cloth and waves it around slightly. Sosiqui smiles. "I went out to check on a friend of mine, who is taking care of my kyunru egg and kun-kun gem..."
At the words, the spirit brightens still more, and Sosiqui laughs softly. "Oh? Do you remember them? Yes, I take care of one of each. The kyunru egg was taken by a very mean rabbit, but I rescued it and am taking care of it. The gem was a gift from another friend. Hopefully when they hatch... they will be friends with you?"
The spirit coils its tendrils around itself as if thinking again, then ripples outward. It kind of looks like a shrug, but Sosiqui is unsure how to take it. "Um, have you had a good time today?"
The spirit curls up again, then bobs up above the bowl, drooping. Sosiqui realizes the water level in the bowl is low. "Oh dear. That much fun huh?" she says wryly. She crawls over to her food stash, the spirit watching with apparent interest, and gets out a few water bottles. She fills the bowl again with them, and the spirit settles down into it. It perks up when it touches the fresh water, like a happy plant or something.
"Well, good. Glad you like it. Um... do you want more stories? You liked it last night..." She picks up the book.
Instantly, the spirit dims and flickers, and she drops the book as if its made of hot coals. "Oh, um. okay, not that then..."
The spirit brightens a bit, then reaches out one long tendril. It brushes Sosiqui's cheek, and she feels it as a tingle of cold along her jaw. The spirit's movements brush her cheek, then her lips, then flow out into the air...
"I... I don't understand..." Sosiqui says quietly. The spirit coils up again and dims.
No book. But touching her face? Her mouth? What...?
"... you want a story?"
The light brightens, just a little tiny bit.
"But not from the book."
Brighter.
"... you want me to tell you one without the book?"
Brighter still, and this time the tendrils uncoil completely. So that was it, huh?
Sosiqui thought quickly. "Well, I'm not a really good storyteller, but I'll try... ahem... um...
Once upon a time..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:26 am
Originally posted May 17th, 2004Sosiqui sits on the edge of the shelf, her legs dangling off the side, and begins to write in her journal: Sosiqui I'm almost beginning to get used to this... this living with a spirit. A good thing, since if all goes well I'll be living with one for a long time! The spirit really seemed to enjoy the story last night, and was bobbing up and down in the water bowl when I drifted off to sleep. When I woke up, it was still there, but it had drawn the linen towel over the top of the bowl and was resting on the dry top. Unusual, but at least it's definetely moving around and interacting with its environment. That has to be a good sign. The morning was spent in... watching it. Shortly after I finished eating my breakfast (not much - two cold poptarts and a juice box, breakfast of champions here) I noticed the spirit was moving a lot. It stilled when I turned my full attention to it, and proceeded to... To what? I wasn't sure at the time, but for a good hour and a half I watched it move in beautiful swirls and gestures, like a dance. When it was done, it looked at me, almost expectantly. I applauded and replied "You dance beautifully." Instantly, the spirit dimmed, and drooped. "Wh-what is it?" I said quickly. "It was very nice...." The spirit shook a little, as if sad, and drifted to me. It repeated the gesture it made last night, touching my cheek and lips. "Story...?" It then drew one tendril along one of my ears. I shivered involuntarily. "Ear... e.. listen? Hear? Were you... telling a story?" Immediately, the spirit brightened, but I shook my head. "I'm... I'm sorry. I didn't hear it..." It drooped again, lower than it had been all day. "No, it was... what I saw was beautiful..." It drifted to the bowl and bobbed above it, coiling its tendrils up tightly. "Look," I said, quietly. "You.. maybe if you take a physical form... the relic ceremony... you can tell me your stories..." I gestured towards the relic. "I would like very much to hear them." The spirit looked at the relic as if in thought, then uncurled a bit. As if to say... perhaps.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:26 am
Originally posted May 17th, 2004Sosiqui has only just removed the small round packet from her backpack when the spirit bobs over, circling around the new object with a mixture of wary curiosity. "Oh, this?" she says, smiling. "This is for you." The spirit reaches out one tendril but doesn't quite touch the white paper wrapping, still hesitant, so Sosiqui is the one that pulls the paper off with a crackle. The paper reveals its contents, a small box made of white porcelain, with a carved wooden swan on the top. The spirit gently touches the paper, as if curious about the crackling sound, but Sosiqui puts the box down gently on the shelf floor. "Now. Listen..." She turns a metal key on one side of the box, and opens the lid... A soft, sweet melody emerges, and the spirit turns quickly, backing up a little bit. After a few more seconds of song, the spirit reaches out a tendril and lightly brushes the wooden swan, then begins to swirl in time to the music. Sosiqui grins. "You like it?" The spirit pulses a little brighter. "I'm glad. The music is by a great human composer. Tchaikovsky. It is from his ballet, Swan Lake..." And, quietly, she goes on to tell the spirit the tale of the ballet. The ending makes the spirit pause in its movements. "Yes, I know. It is sad, but... she has her friends the swans to aid her through the tragedy. Even the deepest wound is not forever, and companions help us," Sosiqui explains gently. The spirit hovers a moment as if considering this, then floats over to the water bowl and plucks the white linen cloth from the top of it. It then drapes the linen in a few crumply folds on top of the relic, and settles down in its new little nest. Sosiqui smiles. "Well, that will work. I'm glad..." She winds the music box again and they listen. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:27 am
Originally posted May 18th, 2004
Sosiqui is scribbling in her journal, one of the larger lanterns tilted over so she can see, when she feels an odd chill on one shoulder. She looks to see the spirit hovering there, and smiles. "Yes? What do you wish, little one?"
The spirit had spent most of the day moving around the shelf, flitting around the branches and amusing itself. Occasionally it had inched off the shelf and coasted around the unoccpied ledges, although Sosiqui noted that it did not ever go beyond the tree itself. Now, the spirit floats and bobs as if nodding. Sosiqui puts down her journal and pen.
Slowly, the spirit picks up the music box and winds the key, a little bit clumsily. The music plays brightly, and the spirit turns, pulses again... and begins to move.
It swirls in time to the music, twirling its tendrils in extravagant movements. Sosiqui watches, spellbound... at first, thinking it is only a dance, but soon she catches a pattern to it. A certain curve of a tendril suggests wings and a long neck, then another a crown...
Amazed, she stares as the spirit, voiceless but not truly silenced, tells the story of Swan Lake to accompaniment from the music box. In the end, the spirit droops and swirls into a beautiful landing on top of the relic, a strange yet somehow appropriate image of the devasted Odette.
Then it looks up, as if hopeful.
Sosiqui claps. "Oh... that was wonderful! What a beautiful..."
The spirit leans forward as if intent on that last word.
"... story."
It shines so brightly that Sosiqui has to look away for a moment. Then it is up near her face again, touching her cheek and lips in the motion that means 'speak'. It then touches her hand... then her chest, over her heart.
Then, as if satisfied, it floats over to the relic and bobs around it, touching the flow of the wood, before returning to Sosiqui and indicating the heart once more.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:27 am
Originally posted May 19th, 2004
Sosiqui wakes up blearily, feeling the tingly touch on her cheek. "Huh. Whassat? Nggg...." She yawns and flails briefly at the blankets before remembering where she is and what's going on. "Oh," she manages, seeing the spirit hovering just barely out of flailing-arms-range. "G'morning... ugh, don't look at me. My hair looks hideous..."
Her voice trails off as the spirit drifts up to her, now that her blanket-kicking movements have ceased. It reaches out gently with one tendril and touches her cheek again, and then her chest above her heart. Then, in a quick movement, it curls itself around her neck, like a cat brushing against someone's legs.
It hovers in front of her again, then brightens... and swirls into the hole in front of the relic.
Sosiqui stares. "Bu.. you... whaaaaaa? Whoa. Okay, it's too early in the morning for this."
The spirit pokes a tendril out of the opening, hesitant. "No! No, I mean, you can stay in there, I'm just surprised and it's a lot to wake up to and damnit, I'm babbling, I'm sorry."
The tendril curls upwards in the shape of a smile, then pulls into the relic completely. Sosiqui sits back in the bed, flabbergased. "Well," she manages, running one hand through her disheveled hair. "Well."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:27 am
Originally posted May 20th, 2004What came before The world was flying apart. No, no, it already had... already... had... al...read.. y.... The idea was unthinkable. Fled from down the broken corridors of the mind, only to be found right behind you when you finally thought you were safe. The world was broken everywhere, great gaping cracks distorting a frightening world that she could not understand. The tree was the only thing she could recognize consistently; even the bright sparks of the others occassionally fractured into bits, or became nightmares that fell away into the void. It glowed faintly like a fading beacon, calling her on to... To what? Something safe? A place to wake up from this most terrible of bad dreams? There was nothing else. Nothing but broken pieces and snapped threads, memories that tangled and skidded off into nothingness. There were lights on the tree, in a few places. Real lights, lights that did not fade or change when she watched them. They did not fall into the cracks and slip away. She approached some, curious. The voice sent her away again, or very nearly; perilously near the edge of one of the cracks in the world. But she clung to the lights... and remained. It was not a mean voice. It was not like the howling cry that had been the last sound she'd heard before... before.. be... fo..re... The water shimmered below. Something else suddenly whole in her mind; water. The touch of it was cool and pleasant, the lights it made beautiful... The voice spoke again, but it was kind. Kind. This was another thing she remembered, she reclaimed from the gaps in the world. Good things that cannot be shaken or changed... She made music, and swirled for momentary joy at it. Another true sound, another gap in the world that slowly closed... She could see better now. The cracks were not so large as she had thought... perhaps there was a beacon. Perhaps there was hope...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:28 am
Originally posted May 22nd, 2004
Sosiqui sits on the shelf, her papasan chair pulled over close to the relic, and certain favorite objects arranged outside the opening so they can - theoretically - be seen from within...
A steady, soft glow emerges from the inside of the relic. She had tried to look into it once, but the spirit began to fuss so intensely that she withdrew for fear of hurting it. So. She sat alongside, and talked to it almost constantly, and wound up the music box while she was asleep or planning on being away for necessary reasons.
"Little swan, you'll be so beautiful," she says softly, turning the page of the book she'd been reading aloud. Greek mythology this time, Leda and the Swan. "I'm so happy..."
No sound comes from the relic, but she thinks the glow brightened just for a moment. Maybe.
She moves the glass pieces in front of the relic into a new formation, then begins to read again.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:28 am
Originally posted May 22nd, 2004
lightdarklightdarklightdark
A shiver.
it's so... strange.. in here....
The cracks in the world have sealed up, replaced by wooden walls and a maelstrom of magic. Despite the whirl and spin of power around her, she is not afraid... there is always music or the voice of the one she has come to trust. Her beacon.
thisisn'tsomethingfrommemory
Nothing in the fragments of her mind is anything like this. Pulled one way, then the next, fused into the wood, part of it, then pushed free again to fly in tiny, wood-bounded skies...
It makes no sense.
The voice is her beacon.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:28 am
Originally posted May 26th, 2004Sosiqui sits on the edge of her shelf, watching the light of the sun in the leaves. Looking back at the relic, thoughtfully, she pulls out her journal and begins to write. Sosiqui It has been several days since she... yes, she. I somehow know beyond a doubt that this brilliant one is, or was at one point, female. It has been several days since she entered the relic, and although I tried to look in once, she seemed so uncomfortable that I have not done so again. I do not know what is happeing to her. She is quiet, only the light level changes, and that at seemingly random times. It frightens me sometimes, so I keep talking to her softly. Gently, as reassuring as I can be, to soothe myself and to soothe her. Our days are quiet. I have forbidden visitors, and I can see a few other shelves from my perch that have done the same. Karma's is closest, and sometimes the sound from her movements or activities reaches us. I assume the reverse is also true. Thus far, it has not been a problem. I read what Karasu had by way of information about the spirit transformation, but... it will still be good to have this over with. I've barely left the shelf aside from a few trips for food and, er, other requirements of the body. Pantalai reassures me that egg and gem are both safe and has of yet not hatched or emerged. With that, I will end for now... I do not like being quiet for very long. Sound, activity, is good. Within the relic, the spirit flickers a bit. Although Sosiqui cannot see, it has drawn itself into a tight, defensive, angry ball. Magic working on it... it remembers this. It remembers this all too well... the Beast... Tendrils of its own meager self push against the magic of the relic. It will not be taken again. Never!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:32 am
Originally posted June 2nd, 2004The shelf is empty at the moment, except for the relic, which is glowing... a few cracks on the side emit light, and occasionally the surface trembles. A breeze blows across the shelf, and flips the pages of Sosiqui's abandoned journal. The first page with writing reads: Sosiqui I think something is wrong. The sides of the relic are sort of... cracking in places. At first I got excited, thinking that it meant my Ieldi would emerge with physical form soon, but when I got down to peek inside... I saw only the spirit, curled up in an angry, vibrating ball, fending off what looked like tendrils of magic emanating from the relic. I think it's fighting the change, and I don't know why. Whatever it is, the spirit looks exhausted. I could FEEL that, flowing out in waves. It almost made me fall over. Still, it seems defiant even in that exhaustion... I need to research. Rasu and the others may know what I can do. There's something critical I am not understanding here, and I need to figure it out as soon as I can. I'm going down to open some doors.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:33 am
[ Message temporarily off-line ]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:33 am
Originally posted June 28th, 2004
Sosiqui quietly climbed up into the shelf again, looking sadly at the relic and the spirit within. "It's okay," she said softly, bending down to actually LOOK inside clearly for the first time since the spirit had entered.
The spirit was a tightly curled ball, occasionally lashing at the power of the relic. Sosiqui sighed. "I read the books and talked to the others," she said, sitting down cross-legged in front of the relic opening, not turning her eyes away from the spirit. "I understand now. Why you're fighting." She took a deep breath. "I know about the Beast."
The spirit pulsed brighter, as if aroused to a greater intensity of defiance.
"I know what it did, I know... and this isn't what's happening now, I promise you," Sosiqui continued, pouring as much compassion and reassurance into her voice as she could. "This is a good thing, this is the closest thing we have to a return for you, for all of you. You're not alone, there are other Ieldi in other relics, undergoing the same magic you are. You're going to come back into the world, and there is no Beast here."
The pulsing stopped, and a few tendrils of magic from the relic latched onto the spirit's sides. The little one shuddered convulsively, but her attention was all on the human now.
"I promise, on... all the stories we've shared, on all the gods of your world I know. They're here too, did you know that? And the kyunru, and the kun-kuns... this place is safe, your nightmares will go away, I promise. Please, don't fight it..." Sosiqui trailed off with that last plea, running out of words to say. "Please," she said, finally.
The spirit's light increased for a moment, and Sosiqui was afraid that it would lash away the magic once more... but instead, a shining tendril reached out to curl just at the blocked doorway.
Sosiqui bent down and put her hand to it. The magic between did not give way, but she could feel the tingle of the spirit nonetheless. And with it, a promise... if she would fulfill hers.
"I will," she said, quietly.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:34 am
Originally posted July 1st, 2004((OOC: I was listening to my MP3s today, and when I heard the song I knew it had to be SOMEBODY'S theme song. It hit me, finally - this song belongs to Odilen. It works so well with the Ieldi situation, and her character. n_n So, without further ado, the lyrics: Quote: Aurora ~ Ordinary WorldCame in from a rainy Thursday on the avenue Thought I heard you talking softly I turned on the lights, the TV and the radio Still I can't escape the ghost of you What is happening to it all? Crazy some say Where is the life that I recognize? Gone away But I won't cry for yesterday There's an ordinary world somehow I have to find And as I try to make my way to the ordinary world I will learn to survive Passion or coincidence once prompted you to say Pride will tear us both apart Well now pride's gone out the window Cross the rooftops, runaway Left me in the vacuum of my heart What is happening to me? Crazy some say Where is my friend when I need you most? Gone away But I won't cry for yesterday There's an ordinary world somehow I have to find And as I try to make my way to the ordinary world I will learn to survive n_n))
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:35 am
Originally posted July 7th, 2004Sosiqui sat just inside the tent of HQ, looking out at the mist, biting her lip and fiddling with her pen. After a while, she made herself calm down, put pen to notebook and began to write in her journal: Sosiqui It's been a week since the mist descended, and it's taken me that long to gather my thoughts. To sum up: I left my shelf at Pantalai's call, he came bearing egg shards and an empty gem-bottle. As soon as I and the other Ieldi keepers had left the tree, a great mist descended... one that was impenetrable to the eye. It has remained ever since. Karasu, the leader of those humans that ally with kyunru, kun-kuns and Ieldi, has reassured us that everything is well and that our babies (of all three species) are safe. The kuns and kyuns have arrived, but we cannot see them for a little while yet. As for the Ieldi, I do not know how they are doing, but I can only hope that they are well within their relics. Rasu said something about a surprise... well, the Light Goddess Ullue is watching them, so I'm sure they will do well. I'm hoping to meet some of the other Keepers and speak with them, while I wait. I'm half-nervous, half-excited... any eddy or tiny twitch in the mist makes me feel as though my heart would burst! I hope this doesn't last too much longer, or I might just explode!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
