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 Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2007 12:00 pm
[.:Quest #2:..: Toddler /Kid:.]
The Dreams Pt. 2
Art felt strangely tired as she slipped lower to the ground and eventually into darkness once more.
“No, no Artemis, it is one two one two, not One two two, try again!” Art saw an old teacher come into view as the world changed yet again. She was nagging and chiding the small girl who looked just slightly older than herself.
“Can’t I go play?” The girl whined, “It’s a nice day! Pleeeeeesssee?” she batted her eyes and clasped her hands together, a typical pose for a desperate child.
“You can play after you master this step!” The older woman clapped.
“Fine…” Artemis found herself talking. But… how? She realized suddenly that she was in the girl’s body, and she was moving around. Her feet took slow steps, only moving every so often as she twisted around. As much as Artemis struggled she couldn’t get the body to do what she wanted, Further she couldn’t leave the body.
Giving up she just looked out and felt the body she was in do the steps over and over, each time getting them more and more correct….
Her hands would flow into the sky as if welcoming the clouds, they would wave as if they were the wind, all the while her hips and feet moved in opposing directions, swirling, swiveling, and slowly stepping foreword and back and to the side on one foot.
All the while the elderly lady, who Art began to notice, was dressed very well, in silk and jewelry She looked like someone important, someone who knew what she was talking about, despite the fact that all the lady was able to make come out of her mouth were the words ‘one’ and ‘two’.
She paused and started for what seemed the millionth time, this time, Art trapped in the body attempted to try to help the girl move to the steps and rhythm of the old lady’s chanting.
It was kind of fun, trance like and thrilling, Artemis thought, and for a moment she forgot that this wasn’t her actual body.
She felt that she was lifted somewhere into the heavens as she silently went over the steps in her mind, she breathed and stepped and twisted and bent, and with each step her body felt lighter and lighter, as if she were on clouds. Only to be brought back down to earth harshly by the halted chanting of the old lady.
“Now that is what I like to see, perfect!” The lady applauded, “Next week I expect that to be the same as I just saw it…”
“Yes I promise I’ll work on it!” the other art jumped up and promised, knocking art back into the reality that this girl wasn’t her, at least, it wasn’t her now…
“May I go play NOW?” the other girl begged, her words fading as Art seemed to be pulled away again.
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Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 9:26 am
[.:Quest #2:..: Toddler /Kid:.]
The Dreams Pt. 3
“Naditu Artemis.” A woman spoke softly, touching her shoulder. Artemis’s eyes fluttered open from their closed state. Naditu, a voice sounded in her mind, was a name for a woman who was independent in the society. Unlike other women, they weren’t trapped by marriage or obligations to man. The Naditu were also priestesses at this time, those who were kept pure from the rituals that involved the body.
“Yes?” the small voice answered back. She was hardly old enough to be an official Naditu, but the priestesses had found that for Artemis, her purity was unquestionable, even at a young age. She practiced in the art of dance, the bow, and prayer with dedication despite her obvious disinterest in the activities.
Art didn’t know where this information was coming from; it just seemed to stream into her mind.
The woman she saw was wearing white robes, long and covering her whole body. Her face was free, but her hair was hidden as was the style during this season among the local women. It represented a clean and chaste state, a modest and stable mind. Artemis wouldn’t expect anything less from this woman.
“Clari,” She smiled, finally remembering the name for the face as she folded her hands, “What a pleasant surprise.”
Art waited helplessly as all this information entered her mind, and the actions before her eyes took place.
“Naditu Artemis, it is good to see you,” the woman folded her hands the same way, before she too bowed. “I must confess I came to seek more insight from you.” She opened one eye and looked up at art before they both began to giggle.
“What troubles you,” Art asked, changing her position from her prayer form to a more comfortable one. Unlike the woman, Art wore silks of many shakes of blue, they flowed around her body.
“You are but a child Naditu, yet your faith in the goddess is so strong, why is that?” The woman asked solemnly.
“Oh.” Artemis seemed surprised and she paused for a moment. Art waited anxiously to learn of this information too, since it seemed odd that this girl, who was taken from her parents, who was forced to practice dance instead of playing, would love the deity that caused all of this.
“The Goddess has done many bad, or at least what many would consider bad, things to me so far.” Artemis began, “The elder priestesses remind me that I was brought here from a family I hardly remember to serve the goddess. I know I should be angry with Istar for doing that to me.” She paused, yet the woman said nothing, “But if she hadn’t taken me, I wouldn’t have learned how to dance, I wouldn’t have learned that freedom of expression, that art that is taught only to the priestesses.” She smiled at the woman, “She also protected me, when all new priestesses are brought here, they are raised kindly by the women, they are taught how to speak properly read and write. But when they are old enough to understand, and they are taught how to give themselves up to men.” She looked down momentarily and took a breath, “The goddess appeared to the woman who was about to teach me, and stopped her. The Goddess saved me from having to learn that, she protected my purity and told the priestess to teach me as a Naditu.”
The woman looked at art sympathetically, as if she knew the pain that the girl had narrowly avoided. The images that swam through Art’s mind were of other girls who, once bright and cheerful, receded into the shadows, or became completely different people due to that particular lesson. She felt Artemis’s fear of learning what seemed to be so painful to ones soul.
“She saved me,” Artemis repeated, “While I don’t yet fully understand why she didn’t save the others, I know that the goddess must have a reason for it. So, in my gratitude, I try to understand. Through that understanding I find that the goddess is indeed wise, and my gratitude changed to faith.” She leaned foreword and touched the woman’s hands, “I’m sure that what ever is causing you to question your faith, you’ll find that in the end, everything will be as it should be, and you’ll be alright.”
“You are very wise Naditu Artemis.” The woman bowed her head, “Even as a child you speak as if you have lived for centuries.” She smiled and stood, “Thank you for your time, I’m sorry to have pulled you from your prayers.”
“Anytime Clari,” Artemis bowed her head before returning to her praying position, she folded her hands and put her head down to pray as she closed her eyes, letting herself fall up into the heavens.
Or at least, Art felt like she was being pulled up and up and up, until a pain in her head caused her to flutter her eyes open to bright white light.
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Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 10:11 am
[.:Quest #2:..: Toddler /Kid:.]
The Dream - Pt. 4
It was bright and warm when Art could see again. She was outside of the temple, where a bustling market was preparing for a great holiday. She wasn't sure how yet, but the information about this world just flew into her mind, as if it had always been there.
Art looked around for the girl she had been following, but couldn't find her anywhere. There didn't appear to be any children at all around. Not fully understanding what was going on, Art ran through the non existent scenery. She scanned most of the market place until she saw a group of Priestesses in their festival wear. Some wore skirts, others wore pants, but they all wore tiny tops that only covered up the very top. Wrapped around their heads were scarves that were decorated in gems and beads. Along their arms were bangles and ornaments.
Then Art saw something. One of the women had a small silver marking on the right side of her stomach, it was a crescent moon with two dots, like the one she had. It was in the exact same place too.
It was then that Art confirmed that she was indeed looking at herself. But this couldn't be her, she was older.
"Artemis?" One of the other ladies spoke towards the girl with the crescent marking, dressed in light blues and silvers.
Artemis looked over at the other woman and replied, "Yes, what is it Tahidi?"
"Are you ready for today's performance? It is your first public ritual dance by yourself, sure you aren't nervous?" The woman giggled and moved one of her hands up to her face. The veils that fell behind her back followed her hand as if attached.
"Of course I am ready," Artemis spun in front of them, "I know my steps by heart and if I get lost in the music the goddess wil guide my feet to the proper rhythm." She giggled and skipped foreword along the path. The others quickly followed to catch up.
"Right," another one of the women replied, "But that isn't for hours yet so lets just enjoy ourselves for now alright?"
As they all consented the world fell out below Art's feet...
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Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2008 1:32 am
[.:Quest #2:..: Toddler /Kid:.]
The Dream - Pt. 5
If the woman was her, and yet she was here as a shadow, and the woman's life kept moving foreword, then that meat... Art could barely believe it herself, even after she had seen it for herself, right in front of her eyes. She had lived once before. She was this woman who was stepping forth onto the stage in the center of the market place. Logic failed her, comprehension failed her as she had never experienced this type of thing before.
The Sun had set and it was dark. The stage and the entire surrounding area was lit from the light of many torches and pedestals of fire. A single sound chimed like a tambourine as Artemis stepped onto the stage, her face unveiled. She stepped and spun and lifted her arms up as her body turned, and then seemed to collapse on the ground. She slowly rose, her hips moving as if possessed back and forth.
Art felt drawn into her, like she was dancing, not the image before her. They both moved as if something greater was their puppeteer and they were mere puppets. The music slowly rose in volume, and other instruments joined in the melody and rhythm of the dance.
Snakes wrapped in and out around their feet, not biting, not noticing the other was there as the serpents moved to their own dance for the goddess. They slithered across the floor as nimble as Art and Artemis moved in sync.
Art couldn't control her body, she didn't want to, but if she had wanted she couldn't have stopped herself from the dance. It was wonderful, exhilarating, and over before she knew it.
She also couldn't see Artemis anymore, and soon realized that she was again only able to see from within the woman.
The cheers were deafening. The entire crowd was floored by the performance. They were all shouting different things, mostly all the same, the words flying too and fro of how wonderful the dance was, how Istar would be pleased...
"I bet Artemis dances better than Istar herself!" It was not a loud comment, but Art sensed it was the only one to really reach Artemis's ears through the din. Her blood ran cold and Art could feel the chill run up her spine.
"I AM NOT!" Artemis shouted back, her voice horse with rage. The entire crowd silenced. Not many people had heard the comment, and even those who did, had no reason to believe she was responding to it. After all her movements were amazing.
She looked around at them all in utter shock, as they looked back amazed. "I am not better than Istar!" Tears ran down her face uninvited. "Heresy on all of you who think that, and damnation on the one who dared claim it!" she collapsed to her knees and folded her hands. "Istar forgive them, and forgive me for my dance. I, in no way intended to challenge your greatness. Forgive me if I have angered you my Goddess." She prayed, the words barely escaping her lips.
Art could feel the anguish Artemis was feeling as she was pulled slowly away into the darkness...
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Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2008 1:59 am
[.:Quest #2:..: Toddler /Kid:.]
Sleeping - Returning Part 1
"All we can do is hope for the fever to drop." The doctor spoke evenly, his eyes focused on Ari. "There is nothing else wrong with her, or rather, nothing else we can tell is wrong with her until the fever is gone." He looked down at his notepad, not even to read it, but rather to save himself from having to face a mother whose child was in what appeared to be a coma with a fever. "I'm Sorry Ms. Mason." He finished before walking away down the dark and cold corridor.
No one else was up in the hospital, and mostly all the day help had gone home. It was like a ghost town. It had been a day since Artemis had collapsed and the doctors were already whispering about the chance that Art was in a coma. Ariel wasn't blind or deaf or dumb. She knew that once the nurses started pressing her about whether Art had hit her head recently, that they had already bypassed everything else, labeled her a bad mother, and were getting ready to make Artemis a more permanent resident.
Ari couldn't accept that Art was in a Coma. She suspected that from her answers, the nurses had begun to realize this much, and informed the doctors. They all were tip toeing around her, talking about the fever and avoiding all other words and diagnosis.
It wasn't enough that Art got sick frequently, or that her adoption records were far from stable. I mean honestly with no earlier known parents and no orphanage involved people did try to question her. But the adoption was official and final. So no one openly bothered her about it.
Ari stepped into Artemis's room and walked over to the bed. She pulled up one of the oddly shaped chairs for patients next to the bed and sat and looked at her adopted daughter.
"I know that odd things happen to you Artemis sweetheart, but you need to come home now." She brushed one of Art's black curls back from in front of her face and to behind her ears, " Also, please try not to do anything that might scare the poor doctors, they have been taking good care of you." She looked at her as the light from the moon shone through the windows and lit Artemis's face. "You are only sleeping." Ari said out loud, almost wishing for it to be true. "When you come back don't expect to stay awake for an entire day either, I wont allow it. We finally got you to normal sleeping patterns and I wont sacrifice-" She yawned, "that due to you sleeping for all this time." She leaned on the bed, a little nap couldn't hurt much.
And it wasn't like the hospital staff could kick her out.
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 4:14 pm
[.:Quest #2:..: Toddler /Kid:.]
Waking – Returning Part 2
Waking was the easiest part, Artemis thought as she opened her eyes to the blue-white lights of the hospital room. The bed was stiff, and felt like it was stuffed with plastic, which probably explained her stiff back. She was obviously no longer in the past; things were too modern, too plastic and too metal. There wasn’t enough incense, wood or stone.
But beyond being in the hospital again, something else was different. The world was slightly smaller, and her body felt more mobile. As she sat up to examine the room she had to hold her head to stop it from spinning off her shoulders. She noticed that part of the cloth didn’t move with her, and drawing her eyes over to the rebellious linen she saw her mom lying on the bed, holding it hostage. Art quietly chuckled before slipping out of bed.
She was taller than before, and her body obeyed more. She wasn’t as big as Artemis was in the past, but about the time when she first met the girl at the temple. In fact, Artemis thought as she examined the mirror near the bed, she looked almost exactly the same. How odd. She turned to walk over to her mom, she had to wake her up and tell her about the dream she had about the kind goddess Istar, and her past.
Ari woke easily with a shake, even though it took her a moment to become fully conscious. Art waited for her mom to rub her eyes open before smiling and waving.
Ari’s eyes grew twice their size when she saw Artemis standing there in front of her. She fell backwards out of her chair as she attempted to get her, her mouth sputtering out nonsense as her mind attempted to comprehend why her daughter grew so much.
“Mom you ok?” Artemis asked as she quickly maneuvered around to behind her mom and helped her get up.
“No, but I will be.” She answered once she was stable in her chair. She reached out a hand to caress Artemis’s face, “It seems your fever broke at least.” She sighed, “That’s a relief.”
“Fever?” Artemis tilted her head to the side, she wasn’t aware of a fever…
“Do you remember what happened before you fell asleep?” Ari asked gently.
Artemis considered it, but it seemed like so long ago that it was very blurry. It was almost like another time, before she was the lady who could dance beautifully. A small image, blurred and fragmented entered her mind. A TV program she had been watching about a lady who danced well.
Then her mom called her for dinner, and as she was running…
“Did I feint?” Artemis asked her mom, honestly lost on what happened after she had started to go to her mom for dinner. It was as if she had immediately fell into the form of a baby in that woman’s arms so long ago.
“You could say that.” Ari chuckled at her daughter’s innocence, “If feinting lasts for more than one day.”
“I was gone for an entire day?” Artemis gasped, “I thought it was longer then that…”
“Longer?” Ari crouched before her daughter with a concerned look, brushing away her curly black hair, “What do you mean longer?”
“Well there was this temple and these priestesses, and I was one of them and I could dance very well, they took me from my parents but I forgave them because they taught me how to dance and the goddess protected me and –.” Ari placed her hand over her daughter’s mouth to quiet her. She had heard foot steps.
“It sounds like quite the tale; you can tell me when we get home alright?” Ari whispered smiling at her daughter in a reassuring away as her eyes darted around the room.
Art nodded, confused on why her mom was acting like she was. “Mom is something wrong?” Art asked, concerned that something else had happened that she had missed.
“Well when you feinted I was so scared I called the hospital, they think you are in a coma… and well… still a toddler.” She wasn’t sure if Art would understand the reason why her growing so fast was of concern, but she hoped that if only just for now she would buy it long enough for them to get out.
“A toddler?” Art blinked and she looked at herself, “I grew?” Speaking had become easier, but then again she had been speaking fine in the past as well, so maybe it was just her body? Ari grabbed the arm that Art had been poking and pulled Art close to her body, “Yes, and if the doctors see you awake and older, they wont let you leave here for a very long time.” Ari brushed her daughter’s hair to the side, it was being unruly today. “So you need to be quiet and we have to find a way out of here, ok?”
Art nodded she understood, but was concerned at how nervous her mom was, didn’t she know Istar would ensure everything was alright? Maybe she didn’t… Art considered as she recalled that only she knew about Istar now, and thus it became her job to let everyone know about her. She tugged her mom’s sleeve, “Mom, Istar will make sure everything is ok.”
“Istar?”
“My goddess.” Art smiled, “She has always watched out for me, so there is no reason to worry.”
Ari could only look at her daughter in concern, “That must have been one dream; we’ll talk about it later, for now lets get out of here.”
Ari led art out of the hospital room, and they both walked with their quiet feet along the corridor, while playing the silent game. Ari held Artemis close as they waited for staff to pass by in the dark nooks and crannies of the hospital’s long hallways. Thank goodness it wasn’t yet normal operation hours and that they were in a dark ward or else the lights would have all been on.
Ari sneaked around and watched the movements of the staff, as she located a back door, which was their ticket out since the front entrance was well guarded with welcoming nurses, and the other emergency exits were all alarmed.
She and Art quietly made their way out and ran to the car where she buckled Art in. “Stay here for a moment, I’ll be right back ok?” Ari calmly informed her daughter before locking her in and going back to the hospital.
It had been ages since she had to remove evidence and information from a site. She just hoped her skills weren’t rusty yet.
-End-
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Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 2:21 pm
[. razz rivate RP #13:..: Kid :.]
Time for new Clothes... - Ariel, Art, Pales, Kaveri
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