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 Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2005 8:35 pm
[reactions and the decision not to Shadow walk for a while >
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Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 8:07 pm
[October 20th, 2005]
-Light: Part I-
[This is a right turned wrong universe.]
The sun was nearing the horizon, drawing out the shadows into long disproportionate figures, making Aido's legs look twice as long as they had any right to be as they swung out and away from her, then back again in smooth, even arcs.
Honestly, she believed that she was probably waiting for someone, but maybe she wasn't, she didn't even know how long she'd been there. Her pocket watch was, more likely than not, with her clothing. Perhaps it was all laying in a tangled mass somewhere far away from where she was now. Without it there doesn't seem to be any way to find out how much time had passed, or if time was even passing at all. She'd tried to use the sun but, in all truth, at this point she'd begun to wonder if the luminary was even moving westwards across the sky at all.
There wasn't much to do, getting up didn't feel like an option, despite the fact that her legs were beginning to prickle gently from lack of any real movement.
Her thoughts wandered in no particular direction, eventually landing on her mother. Where was she? Hopefully she wasn't worrying, or scared or looking around in the forests to see where she was, because somehow, innately, she knew she wasn't there or anywhere near the forests of home. Even though her body was firmly planted on the stable tree stump and around her towered innately familiar trunks that stretched up towards the darkening sky, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was too far, or maybe too close (isn't the farthest place away from anyone one step to their side, because they'll have to walk around the entirety of that world in order to get there?) for her mother to find her.
She shifted with a slight grumble, feeling bare flesh slide over wood as she looked around; the pricklings of fear beginning to set in. How long would she, could she really, wait here?
As long as need be, chimed one voice, its tone edged with such stark desperateness that the arguments to be easily faded into the background before they could even rise to existence. With a grunt of a breath she clasped her palms over her ears and willed the bizarre feeling, the almost wrongness of the thought, to ebb away from her consciousness.
A few scant moments later it did just that, but not because of her prodding. A pair of sturdy hands clasped over her own, seemingly forming out of the air itself as a new shadow flickered into existence. The larger hands easily encased the still small appendages before sliding away, through longer than normal, but shorter than it should have been, strands of hair and onto her scarf, spreading the lone article of clothing more fully over her bare chest and back.
It's was almost like the quiet motion had smoothed not only the fabric but her mind as well, pushing away the troublesome ripples of conflicting knowledge bases, smoothing two shades of grey into one. She breathed out a sharp breath against her teeth and leant her head forward onto the broad torso of the new figure.
"I can't do it anymore..." it came out quiet and breathless, sounding somehow like a confession Forgive me father for I have sinned....
"Better a jungle in the head; than rootless concrete. Better to stand bewildered; by the fireflies' crooked street~"
Quoting poetry- no, that wasn't right... Bi-colored eyes looked up to see her mother's warm face above her, bluegrey eyes sad and knowing. She wrapped her arms closer around her bare daughter.
"You found me."
"I'll always find you," the teen murmured, planting a small kiss on her forehead, in the middle of the dark mark that resided there and swept her suddenly small form into her larger arms, turning around.
Around them stretched infinity, dark and rolling, speckled with stars. A smile tugged at Aido's lips and she reached up, feeling the light and shadows reaching back and the hold of her mother fading away.
She looked back, barely catching sight of her mother's small figure, waving towards her own.
"I'll be back soon Aemu!"
The woman didn't reply and Aido felt the shadows envelope her and part merely a moment later, sending her onto firm land at a brisk run, stride long and encompassing, scarf trailing behind her, halo bright and easily lighting her way as her eyes darted about, taking in the scenery.
Her pace lessened as she began to orient herself. She knew this place. The high cliff jutted up before her, leading to someplace she couldn't make out in the darkness of the night.
Well, she had no intention of going back there. Turning she headed away, steps light over the grass beneath her feet.
Moments later two more pairs of feet fell into step with her own, the small chorus breaking the silence of the world around them.
"You shouldn't head this way," one chimed, directing Aido's attention its way. A woman was beside her, older than her Aemu, dark hair pulled back into a long braid, bright grey blue eyes fixed on her.
"I shouldn't?"
"No," another voice added from her other side and Aido's eyes darted to her left, taking in the sight of another woman, younger than the first, but still older than herself or her Aemu. Her own hair was also pulled back into a braid, a skirt swished against her otherwise bare legs but her eyes were darker, blue grey and shadowed in the darkness.
Aido blinked, "I know you."
"Yes, you do," the woman replied easily, though her voice lacked any strong emotion that might have indicated what she felt about their relationship, "you really should head back."
"I've been there before," Aido replied, she didn't want to go back there, didn't want to get lost and stuck in the dark.
"You've been here before too, it's much less pleasant."
The ground was loosing it's texture, changing from grass to something the Tale couldn't place.
"She really is right you know," the first woman stated, looking back behind them, "but oh well, I suppose it doesn't matter either way now."
Aido tilted her head, about to ask why when the ground seemed to fall out from under her feet, plunging her into icy coldness and for a moment all her senses seemed to desert her. Then two pairs of hands grabbed fiercely onto her floundering arms, tugging against the current. Her senses returned in a rush and she found herself nose to nose with the second woman, "head northwest," it sounded like she was whispering a secret plot, one which would overthrow some unseen, unknown force, and Aido felt herself straining to memorize the other girl's words, "third window, second floor, remember; there are always dry places even where it seems water has seeped into every available crack, at least where humans are involved."
The second woman smiled kindly, "don't be afraid to take what you can, if there is no life it is up to scavengers to make use of what is left behind. Be wary of any Shadows except your own."
"And good luck," they chorused, kind, sad, smiles tugging at the elder woman's lips while the younger merely glowered, "be wary of those who might kill you."
Warnings and whispers, words of caution and tokens of luck, what was this all about?
"You'll see," and the two women drew her up out of the water.
Aido's eyes flickered open as flecks of water brushed against her face.
Rael looked down, golden eyes meeting her own for just a moment before he looked back out.
"What're you doing awake?" Aido asked, rubbing at her eyes, blinking at how cold her own hand was against the semi-warm skin of her eyelids.
-I'm surprised you didn't wake up sooner.-
"Why? What's going on?" Why in heaven's name was she so cold? Even though her mother tended to keep the house's temperature on the lower side of the spectrum it shouldn't have been this bad. She looked around, Rael had grown vastly, and wrapped around her pajama clad form completely, the shadow fur forming a wall like structure around her and yet the occasional splatter of water would rise up from around the wall.
Water; there were few sources large enough and fast enough to be splattering up over Rael at this size.
A chill ran down the Tale's back and she pushed herself up, bare, numb fingers grazing the wet rock that had evidently been beneath her all this time, which explained why half her side was completely soaked and quickly chilling as the freezing air fully brushed by her for the first time.
Fingering her scarf she pushed herself up onto tiptoes, peering up and over Rael, feeling her Companion's worry flit through her mind more prominently than before as for the first time she saw what the cause of the feelings were.
Stretching out before them was water, leading from behind their small perch to the horizon beyond, it was littered with small chunks of ice which gradually drifted past them to somewhere she couldn't see.
Aido fell back onto her feet with a gasp, her heart beating widely at the thought of being surrounded by so much water, water than undoubtedly had currents much worse than that of the rivers at home, water that could pull and hold her under with absolutely no chance of escape. The shivers of before became full fledged, body racking shudders as she attempted to take several deep breaths, latching onto Rael's fur, relishing in the familiarity. Yet her mind wouldn't stop, it fiercely threw it's final conclusion at her. The water was not a fresh water deposit, it was salt water. They were in the middle of an ocean or perhaps a sea, and the track of water couldn't be Gambino's as that region was currently still experiencing tropical weather whereas this place looked as if it'd been the depths of winter for months.
"Rael, where are we?" she breathed out after a moment.
-I don't know.-
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Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 3:56 pm
-Light: Part II-
[If you could see it then you'd understand.]
Well, that was, to put it nicely, bad news.
Aido rubbed at her temples, willing away the initial wave of panic. "Are we still in Gaia?"
-No.-
The panic returned tenfold and Aido quietly counted backwards from ten and stood, shoving that knowledge to the back of her skull as she looked around. Okay, so she wasn't in her home world, that was alright, they could get back- From this far? a small voice in the back of her mind whispered but she shoved it away. They would get back, even if it was a farther than usual, but...
"I don't think this is the best place to try to Shadow Walk, is it?"
Rael wordlessly shook his head and Aido climbed up onto her Companion's back, keeping her eyes firmly on the Shadows beneath her hands rather than the freezing water which lapped against her bare foot as she got herself situated. Once she was sure she was in no danger of slipping as Rael's fur had wound around her ankles, she looked around, eyes darting towards the sky.
"Rael, did the sun move at all while I was asleep?" Luminaries rises in the East and sets in the West....
-Yes, that way,- the Shadow replied with a toss of his head, turning slightly as he watched Aido count out the directions.
"Let's head northwest," she said firmly, the words of her dream drifting back to her. Her dreams had never really helped before, but honestly, when one is surrounded by water any direction if probably as good as the next.
With a short nod of agreeance Rael uncoiled himself, standing in one fluid motion. The water immediately rushed forward to cover the perch they'd been using and in moments the rock was blurred so fiercely by the current and patches of drifting ice that Aido could barely make it out at all.
A wind stirred gently and ripped through her, sending shiver up her form and she hunkered closer to Rael who seemed positively warm in comparison to the air. The shadows twitched and shifted to more fully cover her form, providing an extra barrier against the wind and water. She wrapped her scarf as fully as she could around her neck, chin, nose and ears, breathing in briefly the scent of home before she settled down, body nearly flat against Rael's back.
-Swim or run?-
"Run, if possible," was the muffled reply.
Aido could feel the shift in Rael's shadow more than she could feel the change in her companion himself, disentangling her self a bit she looked over the side, noting just how long her Companion's legs were and chuckled lightly, dispite the situation.
"Nice legs."
-I've heard they're all the rage in foreign lands.-
Aido let out a soft laugh through a shiver as Rael tensed beneath her and leapt from their perch, landing with a splash in the water and began sloggishly heading in the direction they both hoped would lead them out of this world of water and onto dry land.
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Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 2:44 pm
-Light: Part III-
[Heading towards the city lights, winking diamonds at me, arms stretched out now.]
The sun was nearing the horizon when Rael finally sighted something that looked suspiciously like land. When running had proved far too tedious for both Tale and Shadow he'd reverted to swimming, body waving too and fro while Aido had merely bunkered down, occasionally nearly drifting off to sleep, only to be woken up after mere moments to look around worriedly.
Her eyelids had been drifting closed again, it seemed almost painful to try to stay awake, conscious to her own shivering and the water all around her, it'd be so much easier to just....
-There.-
She started slightly, wrenching herself up, taking the shadows with her, bi-colored eyes glancing around from the slit that her scarf left for her to see.
"Where?"
-Seems like there's two one's that way- Aido glanced to where Rael was looking, sighting what appeared to be land some distance away in a more easternly direction.
-And there.-
Another piece of land, more towards where the setting sun was mutely fading.
"Let's head to that one," it looked bigger, so hopefully that meant it was closer, the second she was out of the water she was going to kiss the soil.
With a mute nod Rael adjusted their course and continued on. With nothing else to do the Tale merely sighed and bunkered down once more.
The sun had finally set by the time they had reached the landmass. The thankfully clear sky allowed them to see by the light of the duel moons in the sky and soon they'd come to shallow waters.
As soon as they were on land Aido jumped off Rael, the shadows no longer holding her, only to stumble and trip over her own feet, making her reunion with land something of a painful experience.
She threw a bit of hard soil at Rael when he laughed and stood shakily, immediately reminded of how cold this place was as a dull wind easily chilled her once more and her feet prickled with cold, forcing her to remount the now correctly proportioned Rael who quickly trotted forward as Aido surveyed their new surroundings.
"Looks like a dead town," she grumbled, highly disappointed at the lack of light or movement within the scattered dwellings.
-At least there's shelter.-
"I suppose."
Suddenly Rael turned sharply, heading up a hill.
"Where're we going?"
-This way.-
A glare.
-Do you see any houses with more than one floors here? Perhaps this was the poor section of town, or maybe even just a business district where only basements would be needed for storage, either way up there looks more promising.-
"Oh," she'd explained the end part of her dream at some point during their swim, in part to keep herself awake but also, if there were two sets of eyes on the lookout they'd have a better chance of following her dream's vague hints.
-Look.-
She did and blinked, in front of them was a huge building, bigger even than some of the mansions Aido had seen before. It stretched out, elegant in architecture, bending in a curve to fit of this section of the island.
"What is it?"
-A common house, if I'm not mistaken.-
At her questioning silence he continued, nudging open a rusted gate and heading closer to the building, -a house that houses many families, rather than just one.-
"Not a mansion then?"
-No.-
The Tale merely nodded, seeing no need to question her Companion on how he knew this tidbit of knowledge.
Either way, the building was the only one they'd seen with more than one floor so far, and at the very least it would (hopefully) provide shelter for the night.
Taking a deep breath Aido leant forward and pushed the door.
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Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2005 5:47 am
-Light: Part IV-
[All the sky will scream a mystery.]
A cloud of dust was pulled up to meet them as the duo pushed through, forcing Aido to squint and pull her scarf a bit closer against her face.
All hope of additional warmth exhausted itself immediately as they stepped further into the room, easing away from the door and the dust cloud; the room was just as cold, if not colder, than the area outside. The thick layer of dust was disturbed slightly as Rael swept over it, leaving the barest of markings in their wake.
Aido leant over the side, glancing over the floor and, noting that the only markings were tiny scratch ones, probably made by something rat like. She ran her numb fingers briefly over a nearby shadow of the steps Rael was beginning to ascend. It flickered and immediately wove around her wrist, murmurs of monotony rippling over the back of her mind. The only movement these shadows had seen for ages was that caused by their luminary's cycle and the brief scuttle of small animals. Whoever had built this place was long gone.
"I wonder why they left," she murmured, voice echoing in the large, empty hall.
-I hope we don't find out- Rael rumbled in reply, his voice lacking the echo her's had had as he looked at the split they'd found themselves at. -Left or right?-
"Left."
They headed down the hall, counting off doors and stopping at the third. Aido pushed open the door and they poked their heads inside.
-A washroom.-
"A well lit washroom."
-I don't think this is what we're looking for.- Aido snorted and shook her head, they were following directions from a dream, who was to judge what they were looking for? Maybe the girl had wanted to give her directions should she need to relieve herself. -Shall we try the left side?-
"Might as well," she murmured, feeling her spirit sink as homesickness suddenly hit her as she glanced one last time as the empty, dust coated bathroom. Home's was filled with all measure of odds and ends, from toothbrushes for the five humanoid members to fur clippers for those who needed it.
They left the empty bathroom behind and made their way back to the stairs then off along the other hallway.
One...two...three...
Rael nudged this door open with ease and without ceremony. Inside was what looked like a bedroom. Moth eaten bed over to the side, once fluffy carpet strewn out along the floor.
Aido hopped off Rael and began to poke around. "I think we're here," she suddenly threw over her should as her hand strayed over the closet door. Immediately she threw said door open, only to be overtaken by moths which flocked towards her halo. Thankfully she hadn't inherited her mother's aversion to bugs and merely continued into the closet.
Rael threw the Tale an odd look, taking in the sudden confidence and excitement with surprise. A moment ago the girl had seemed prepared to merely flop down on his back and fall asleep, danger of hypothermia be damned. If she doesn't have it already, something that seemed dangerously unlikely. The Shadow took in the blueish tint of Aido's lips had acquired at one point and the slight tremble of limbs as she worked to throw aside the moth eaten clothing with worried eyes.
-How do you know?-
"The shadows here feel like, all clumped and..." she paused, searching for the right word, fingers pawing feelinglessly at the nearby clothe, feeling the emotions of the shadows bleeding into her own exhausted ones, "more... alive?" Alive, happy, moving, laughing, excited a million jumbled feeling or more, all bleeding into her, overcoming exhausted senses. The only thing she could relate it to was the feeling the shadows radiated when she would make them into something new; a knife, a small figure, or whatever else she'd managed with her limited skills. This seemed the same, but on a larger, older scale.
Now at the very back of the space she ran her hands over the wall, trying to find the source of the clump.
With a noise of triumph she plunged her hands in. The shadows shivered away, leaving her hands gripping a vaguely warm door handle.
Noting that Rael was behind her she turned and pushed. The door slid, screeching slightly as it pressed against the floor.
Her halo's light increased and she looked around the room, wiggling her toes in the suddenly thick carpet.
-Looks like someone was prepared,- Rael noted, looking around. The room wasn't large, possibly half the size of the previous one, but it was stocked with dry, still whole clothing, several packages of what looked to be food and several boxes full of what appeared to be books and loose paper.
"For what? The exodus this place went through?" Aido asked, seemingly to the room at large as she walked around, rubbing her feet in the carpet in an instinctive attempt to get the circulation going again.
-Who knows? But there are none here now, go put on warmer clothing,- the statement was close to a snap and Aido nearly jumped away from the books she'd begun to pick through. She'd nearly forgotten about her numbness and all at once the need to be warm became priority in her mind.
"Right," she said and hurried over to the clothing while Rael turned to give the room his own inspection. Upon second look he noted that the walls of the room were littered with papers, most of the map variety. Most with notes in fairly elegant script littering corners and areas that were probably of interest to whoever had written on them.
Pulling on the last of the layers she could comfortably fit into Aido stood again, surveying the room with pursed lips, confidence and excitement suddenly gone again as the shadows no longer had access to her bare skin, leaving her merely feeling exhausted, disappointed and homesick.
"Seems like so much just to reach this room..." she murmured with a shake of her head, heading over to the nearest shadowed wall.
-Should we look around more?-
"No, I want to go home," she replied, plunging hands into the shadow then glancing back to Rael questioningly, "coming?"
-You go ahead.-
The hairs on the back of Aido's neck stood up but she nodded anyway, shoving away any curiosity as to why her normally overprotective, always had to be the first to go into anything Companion would tell her to 'go ahead.' Without hesitation she plunged completely into the Shadows.
Rael sat heavily and waited, after nearly two minutes Aido emerged from the same shadow at a trot, nearly tripping over her own feet as she threw a glance over her shoulder back at the shadow from which she'd come.
"Rael... it's all static," she said, worry bleeding into her voice, "the shadows, they're never that strong! I couldn't get past them," she was gripping her scarf firmly, eyes wide and confused. She'd been thrown back, grabbed on all sides by writhing, protesting shadows and thrust back the way she'd come. Even when she was little, or had gotten off track that had never, ever happened.
-It's...a wall.-
"A wall?"
-Aido... we're not in Gaia. We're in another world.-
Aido sat heavily, hanging her head, "Rael, just... no secrets, no cryptic information, no beating around the bush. Please, just tell me why I can't get home... I can feel it! It's like it's there, off in the distance, but I just can't..." she shook her head.
Rael sat in front of her, gathering up his fractured thoughts, -Shadows, normal shadows, and even some normal creatures can pass from world to world with ease. But every world has its barriers...this has ones that I don't think you'll be able to cross.-
"Then how did I get here?"
-I don't know....-
Aido let out a shaky breath and dropped her head into her hands.
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Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2005 5:48 am
[reserved: Dusk Interlude Chao finally realizes Aido is missing and freaks :3]
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Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2005 8:50 pm
[Dusk: Part I]
[Home is places we've known, all of us are done for.]
The night hadn't passed easily.
After a few minutes Aido had picked herself up, taken a deep breath and surged back into the shadows, prepared to fight tooth and nail to get home.
But time after time she'd been wrenched back into the same room, often mere minutes after she'd started. Once Rael had thought she'd somehow done it, as the Tale had been gone for nearly an hour, but soon she was thrown back, though from the wall opposite that from which she'd started.
She'd fought until she could barely lift bruising, numbed limbs and could no longer bring herself to try again.
In the end they'd dragged in a moth eaten mattress from the normal bed room and spread out several of the still intact jackets upon it, completing the impromtu bed by throwing the blanket with the least amount of holes that they could fine. With no more than a brief sigh, the duo had fallen into sleep's waiting arms.
Rael returned to formal consciousness to the sounds of Aido rummaging about. She'd pulled on different clothing, fastened slightly too large, seemingly fur lined, boots onto her feet and fairly well fitting gloves onto her hands.
-What're you doing?-
Aido blinked and looked over, shrugging slightly, "If we're stuck here we might as well make the most of it, right?" besides, the Tale felt so restless she was surprised she hadn't exploded or some such thing. Restless and homesick and frustrated... it was fight the shadows that were so intent on keeping her here or explore. For now she choose the latter.
She glanced at a map, noted what she guessed was their current position and tucked it carefully under her arm. It was as good a place as any to start.
Rael stretched and trotted to her side as she pulled the door open, grimacing as the cold air brushed against her face. The room they'd been staying in was warm compared to this.
Still, she squared her shoulders and pushed herself out, closing the door after Rael slipped out.
Once they'd reached the hall again she briefly checked the map and looked around, noting how different the placed looked by light of day, and how there truly were no other footprints but their own littering the dusty floor.
Before homesickness could grip her once more she set off down the hall at a jog, intent on finding the library the map had indicated, maybe then she could get a real idea of where she was.
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 5:24 pm
[Dusk: Part II]
[I wanted to walk through the empty streets and feel something constant under my feet.]
A splash echoed about the dimly lit tunnel as boots hit the thin film of water.
Halo alit the Tale paused, taking in the new scenery and quickly comparing it to the map in her hands as she waited for Rael to pull himself out of the shadows.
It'd been days since she'd first arrived in the place, though just how many she refused to think about. The food store was holding up, though subsisting on the slightly stale, dried food had gotten old quite quickly she was still grateful for the food storage. She'd wandered, briefly, into the small forest and fields that curled along behind the buildings of the main town and, as expected, everything was frozen and long dead. Even if there had been plant life to eat she had no way of knowing what was safe and what wasn't and didn't doubt that, the way her luck was at present, she would have ended up accidentally poisoning herself.
Mostly exploration had been centered on the lifeless Common House itself, an area which was proving more than enough to keep the Tale occupied with exploration and moving until she was too tired to think about her current, unimproved situation.
"Wow..."
-Hrm?- the newly emerged Rael replied sleepily, sliding along beside Aido as she began to move down the tunnel, pulling off one glove and scratching at the flesh.
"These waterways have levels..." she looked around, pocketing the map and dragging her fingers over the walls, allows the cool touch of the shadows to ease away the itch in the hand itself.
-Levels?-
"Yeah, the map had lots of arrows, showing how they wound downwards," they could just wander and wander down this way, for hours upon hours, and probably get completely lost, but still, "the map itself didn't even look complete." She glanced over, "what do you think is at the bottom?"
-Probably just exit out into the ocean.-
"Doesn't it see-" she paused mid-step, semi numb fingers kneading the shadow beneath it slightly, "it's not stale."
-What?-
"It's not..." Aido murmured in amazement, rolling the clinging shadow over her hand, trying to get the full range of its removed, slightly unreceptive emotions. "It's moved, not...regularity, it doesn't have that stale feeling."
Rael paused then strode on, -probably just a rat.-
Aido gave the shadow a curious look, doubting her Companion's assessment. But, rat or not, it didn't seem to matter; while not nearly as stale as the other shadows in the compound this one had moved fairly long ago, nothing to be too excited about.
With a disappointed sigh she pulled back on her glove and continued walking down.
"Rael, I've been wondering, you said normal shadows could get from one world to another pretty easily, right?"
Gold eyes flicked back and Rael's maw twisted into something akin to a frown. -Yes.-
"Could you get home? Without me?"
-Aido I wouldn't...-
"No, not staying there, unless you wanted to," she amended hurriedly, "but, if you could make it I could get a message home, couldn't I? Let Mu' and everyone know I didn't run off and am just..." she splayed her gloved hands, "lost for a bit."
-I don't know. Sometimes it's nearly impossible to get objects from one world to another.-
"Sometimes?"
-Yes.-
"But not always?"
-No...-
"Then can't we at least try?"
Rael shook his head and let out a frustrated grunt, maw twisting into something resembling a disgruntled frown, but Aido smiled all the same, knowing he wasn't about to refuse.
-Yes, yes we can try. But Aido please don't get your hopes up.-
A smile flickered into life and her halo's grow brightened, even as Rael rolled his eyes and snorted.
"I won't," another snort from her Companion and she paused by a ladder, pulling out the map and approximating where it would lead them. Near the library. Perfect. The library had paper and, hopefully, something she could write with.
Glancing around at the waterways she shuddered slightly, glad for the excuse to leave this place. The long, water lined pathways were beginning to feel much to small, their atmosphere far too eerie. It was more than just the stone walls that were lit only by her halo's light which flickered off the water or the fact that the series of twists and turns just never seemed to end. It was something that had the hairs of her neck standing to attention beneath her scarf and she honestly didn't want to question or prod the feeling, instead she felt perfectly content to escape the area and simply not return.
Pocketing the map she gripped the rungs of the ladder and pulled herself up, Rael following shortly on her heals as she mentally began to compose her letter home.
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 5:27 pm
[October 29th, 2005]
Dusk Interlude
[I'll just be waiting here.]
Worry worry worry. The house had been alight with panic after the small revelation that one of its members had gone missing. Rico, Fai and Chao, always carrying Reid, had searched the woods, accompanied by the numerous companions who lived within their home. They'd stretched out, searching Gambino and taking numerous trips to the Stationary Store where Aido had been first arrived.
All to no avail, there'd been no sight or sign of the missing Tale. No note, nothing missing from her room, even the red shirt the girl was so fond of had been left behind. There'd been no sign of a struggle, save rumpled bed sheets, but those had been in place before.
Chao had finally gone to the police and put out a search warrant, but that had been day's ago.
The household had finally collapsed under the weight of its own worry and nearly all of the occupants we currently collapsed in bed.
Chao had dragged her exhausted limbs over to the living room and curled up, a sleeping Reid cradled carefully in her arms as she sat, hunched over her child. The teen was indulging in something she hadn't done in a very long time, a quiet bout of tears that she felt would never cease.
Reid wriggled, coming back to the world of waking as several drops of liquid pattered onto his face. Looking up he frowned, watching as the liquid ran down his mother's face, occasionally plopping onto his own head, and listening as she occasionally sniffled. The tone was awful to hear but his concern for his mother was greater than the desire to try and block out the sounds. Reaching up he gently pat her on the face, tiny hands attempting to rub away the liquid, hoping that would make his mother happier, "Mu...?"
Chao sniffled and let out a tiny, pained laugh that had the firefly grimacing as his mother wiped at her eyes. "I'm sorry Reid..." she murmured, the words chopped and jagged, "I just can't seem to stop...." She sniffled again and picked up her son and hugged him close, "but that doesn't mean I need to torment you, does it?"
Reid merely continued to pat at his mother's cheeks, emerald eyes taking in her bloodshot eyes and puffy cheeks worriedly.
Chao sniffled and pat her son on the head, taking a deep breath as she disentangled herself from the couch. Her ten minutes of indulgent breakdown were done. "I'm going to go get us lunch, 'kay hun?" she said, ruffling Reid's hair.
Reid continued to frown in worry, ignoring even the ever present hair ruffle of evil as his mother walked out, heading towards the kitchen.
With a worried flicker of his wings he shuffled towards the end of the couch and peered over, about to hop down when the shadows began to stir, stopping in his tracks. That only happened when....
"Aiii?" he asked then slumped when Aido's companion and not his sister stepped out and flickered his gaze towards him, "Rae'" he stated, glaring at the shadow, "Aii ki?"
The shadow nodded and padded closer and Reid's gaze flicked to the Shadow's mouth, noting a bit of off white there among the flickering black. He held out his hands and Rael dropped the piece of paper in the Mishap's waiting hands.
-She'll be back,- he stated with confidence he didn't have, the words echoing in Reid's mind.
"Rae' sa?" he asked, catching onto the edge of worry.
-...one can't help but be worried in these kinds of situations. Give that to your mother,- and without further ado the Shadow padded back into the others and everything was just as it'd been a few minutes ago save for the letter in Reid's hands.
Chao returned mere seconds later, a tray in her hand. The teen placed it on the table and sat by Reid, looking quite a better than she had before. "What's this Reid?" she asked, taking the paper from an unresisting Reid. She unfolded in and gave a little gasp at the contents and Reid had to scoot closer to be able to see any of the printed words.The letter Dear Aemu, Uncle Rico, Fai and Reid, I hope this letter gets to you alright, Rael said he was worried about trying to transport it but if you're reading this you must've gotten it. I miss you all and I'm sorry if you've been worrying about me, I don't know how but I seem to have lost myself and I can't haven't been able to find a way home yet. I hope you're all safe, I'm doing alright. Please stay safe. I'm trying my hardest to think of a way to get home but every time I try something goes wrong and I end up here. I'll find a way around it, I just haven't thought of it yet. I'll be home soon, I promise so please don't worry. I'll bring home lots of new maps and things and then I promise I won't go anywhere for a really long time. I love you all, ~Aido
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Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2005 2:40 pm
[ Message temporarily off-line ]
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Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2005 2:54 pm
[Dark-Part II]
[Bones sinking like stones all that we fall for.]
Aido sat with her back to the wall, eyes tracing over the words lain in front of her on the yellow tinted paper, humming quietly to herself to keep the silence from getting to be too much. Not that she was unused to it at that point, but it was the principle of the thing. Admitting the silence couldn't get to her at this point would be admitting just how long she'd been trapped in this world.
Pulling her eyes away from the point of space they'd been tugged into she traced the lines of the island, placing her finger on the dot which represented the town.
"Reit..."
It didn't look too far to the next one, though that ran the risk of being someplace that had even less of a food source than she had right now. The other option was, if she was being truthful with herself, to wait until spring came around and then make the trip, either to another island or to the main continent, though she feared how long that would take or how long it would be until winter ended.
The possibility of even being here when Spring arrived was hard to swallow, but shadows didn't tire, couldn't ebb and never needed rest, so she had to consider it.
With a sigh she snapped the book closed and placed it in the satchel amongst several others as a shadow nearby shifted. Rael or a rat, either way it was company.
Standing she turned and suddenly stopped at the sight that greeted her.
"You're what's making the shadows move..." the creature didn't respond, merely pulled another inch or so of albino skin out from amongst the shadows. Scythe like appendages, made of flesh and something the Tale couldn't, and didn't want to, place, broke out from where hands would normally have been on the foremost arms. Said arms were followed shortly by a second, then a third, pair of seemingly more 'normal' pairs of arms, if you ignored the limp elbows and the fact that both the appendages themselves and the sharp nails were far too long.
The head, which rested on an extended neck bobbed and mauvered so that the eyes, not actually there, but rather painted to be shut and resting on the mask which covered the creature's face.
Nailed clicked on the wood of the flooring and Aido took a step back as the end of the creature fell from the shadows. Completely removed it made the Tale think of a serpent with legs, an insectoid serpent, a butcher....
"Illis..." the word fell from her lips and the muscles in her legs coiled.
The creature surged forward and Aido fled.
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Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2005 4:01 pm
[Dark Part-III]
[It's getting worse, against all the odds, it's getting worse.]
Scarf and coat tails flying Aido ran at full tilt, out of the library and into the maze of the hallways, faster and more driven than she'd ever run before. Adrenaline sang in her blood and across the bond she cried for Rael, but there was no answer. She was alone. No one to protect, or be protected by, but herself.
The Illis followed, only yards behind, keeping pace with its six limbs, alternating between them and its long, serpentine like body. Like a python it shot out, its arms shifting positions so that one pair of the fingered hands reached out, latching briefly into the Tale's arm as she turned a sharp corner. The arm itself was caught in the sudden edge and its hold yanked away, ripping cloth and flesh in the process.
The shadows cast by her clothing quickly gathered onto the cut, numbing it and preventing her from doing any more than wincing and throwing herself around the nearest corner, into the shadow of the wall.
A clawed hand shot after her, grabbing onto her collar and with a frighening amount of ease she was pulled back out of the shadows, a chocked cry wrenching itself from a partially blocked throat. Fingers grabbed at the shadows and tightened, forming the mass into something vaguely solid that dissipated as she was thrown against the opposite wall, her head snapping against the stone. For a moment she saw stars and was unable to prevent herself from falling forward slightly.
The Illis surged, tangling itself in coils around Aido's feet. But the Tale quickly stepped out and over before it could tighten, stumbling slightly over her own feet as she fled again, cringing at the scythe that caught at her side. She grabbed at the nearby shadows, gathering enough focus to form a crude ebony blade and struck out, the blade slipping through thr flesh and bone with ease.
The Illis was upon her again in moments, flesh matting up over its disfigured stump without so much as a second spared, but the Tale was still fighting back, slashing and slicing, gaining cuts and long slashes that were quickly blotted from sight by attentive shadows. All too soon the coils had tightened and her arms were pinned to her sides and did the creature never end?! It continued coiling until the Tale was completely shrowed in darkness and then squeezed, long abdomen muscles tensing, heedless of the p***k of her blade, as if it knew that the annoyance would be gone soon.
Aido gasped as the breath was forced from her, the blade dissipating once again as her arm was caught in a painful posistion. Bones shifted against bones, something within her chest seemed to crunch in on itself. On pure instinct she threw herself forward and passed through the barrier into shadow.
Gasping for breath she emerged in the water, falling to her knees with a loud splash that echoed about the halls. The shadows couldn't do anything about pain inside of her.
But that thing-Illis? It was called an Illis. How or why wasn't important, but knowing it's name was. Somehow, but she couldn't spare the thought needed to find out why.
Aido pushed herself to her feet and ran once again, heavy steps scattering the water, though her mind was a blur as to where she could even go. Her instincts screamed 'run! Run away!' so she ran, even though she didn't know where she was going. Had this been what had caused the exodus of this place?
It'd pulled her from the shadows, but could it follow her?
A clawed hand catching at her throat proved answer enough.
Gasping he was thrown against the wall again, feet scrapping against the wall as she fought for purchase, but to no avail. The Illis pressed against her, pinning her legs and lower torso against the wall with its own weight.
The painted smile and shut eyes seemed to survey her.
So....You are the one my mistress sent me for....
Aido attempted to recoil from the voice in her mind, but there was no place to recoil to, only the hard stone at her back.
A dark form slammed into the Illis and suddenly she was released. Golden eyes caught her own just before the Illis regained itself and grabbed at her Companion, throwing him as effortlessly as a rag doll down the tunnel.
Aido gaped, momentarily stunned by the display. Hands gripped the shadows and two blades were speedily formed, focus born from the need to protect her Companion.
With a snarl she surged forward, heaving one blade forward as if it were a lance, and indeed the shadow seemed to shift, its shape leaning more towards the shape of a lance to accomidate to its mistress' will. Still the Illis merely spun back, pinning her back against the wall and paying no heed to the blade imbedded in its back or the rivets of blood flowing down into the water below.
Claws tapped, withdrawing themselves from her skin then pricking back in, widening the small semi-circle of pinpricks of blood that were staining her shirts.
Foolish mancer. I have a message, the second pair of arms grabbed at Aido's flailing left, holding it still. My mistress will be quite displeased if I fail to deliver it.
The Illis made a small sound, one of immense pleasure and satisfaction and snapped the bone.
Aido blinked in sudden shock, experiencing a split second where the world itself seemed to pause as her eyes took in the form of her arm, bent in the wrong angle as the Illis continued to pull at it, as if content to pull the now damaged appendage off.
Aido screamed and her right arm whipped up, away from the crushing torso of the Illis and slammed into the creature's face. Blood spurted, the Illis let out a scream of rage. Rael's black form, bipedal for once, slammed into it, wrenching its grip away from Aido. Thrown back Aido's form didn't slam into the wall; instead she fell into her own Shadow.
The Shadows rose up quickly. Deaf from the Illis's scream, her arm and side joining their own cries of pain, Aido was nearly heedless of their tearing grip. Wrapped up in pain and panic and the need to flee she pushed back, heels digging into the terrain. The shadows clawed, her boots came loose, but she just kept pushing.
Something behind her snapped.
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Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2005 4:38 pm
[Dark-Part IV]
[Mirror melts, we're somewhere else, inside eternity.]
"You made it!"
Aido groaned and looked up, greeted by the warm, smiling face of the woman from her dream, so long ago. "Did I?"
"You did!" she surveyed Aido's form up and down, "though quite a bit worse for the wear I see, would you like a brief break?"
"A break?"
"Yes, a lapse, a few moments to breathe as it were? I can't promise it'll be the most restful of things, but it should keep you distracted for a few minutes."
Aido pursed her lips; she could feel something at the side of her consciousness, something crowing for her attention. Bi-colored eyes shifted back to the woman, "that sounds nice."
"Wonderful, it may sting now but it's all for the best in the long run," she presented Aido with her hand, "my name is Kibeth."
Aido took the hand and looked the older woman in the eye, "I think I knew that."
The woman, Kibeth, smiled, "you did, I'm just reminding you," she pulled Aido upwards and the world shifted.
--
A sigh puffed it's way past her lips and she tapped short fingers against the wood of the tree stump. It was getting late, too late, her parents would kill her if she was home after dark.
"Viiiiiiccccc..." Kibeth whined, beating the air with her bare feet and then sighing once again. She hopped off the tree stump and knelt down, fingering the shadows, "could you please tell Vic I had to go home?" Receiving a positive feeling in return she pushed herself up and off she went, heading away from the forest towards the town nearby.
--
She sniffled, pressing herself further against the wall, tear filled eyes peering up at the semicircle of children who had surrounded her, rocks and clumps of mud in thier hands.
"I don't understand...."
"Your kind ruined my daddies cart!" "It's your fault our crop failed!" "You're the cause of all our problems!" "Shade!" "Selfish slut!" "What do you do for those 'shadows' in return, huh?" "Bet she does all sorts of nasties!" "Whore!" "Shade!"
Another stone flew and struck her in the arm and tears slid down her cheeks.
--
The crowd around her rushed and she glared down at the man, recieving a glare in return.
"You're supposed to be one of us."
"So is the man you attacked," she replied evenly.
"It's his family that has caused all of this."
"Go get your facts right, the villagers and the Temple made their own choices, the royal family has been trying to forge peace treaties."
A snort was her only reply.
She sighed and turned, leaving him to the actual guards.
Dark green eyes tried to catch her's as the dressed up prince attempted to shrug off the mob of concerned subjects.
Without a word Kibeth slipped off and away, quietly hoping he hadn't gotten too good a look at her.
--
"Raelhem if you don't take this blindfold off soon I swear..."
"Come on Kibeth, you agreed to do this."
"Only because you wouldn't leave me alone, it's your fault I'm missing dinner."
"I'll give you a much better meal."
"I like the meals."
A snort, "you've been eating it for too long then."
"Raelhem just-" the calloused hands which had been covering her eyes suddenly withdrew and Kibeth was left staring up at the largest, oldest tree she'd ever seen. It's eight visible roots were as straight as arrows.
Raelhem grinned, "It's called the Crossroads."
"It's amazing," she murmured, enthralled by the large tree's presence she wandered closer, rubbing a hand against the ancient bark she paused as she felt something being thrown over her neck.
"What's this?" she asked, looking down the blue-violet fabric that was being tucked around her neck.
"I heard you were going off on a mission soon, someplace cold, this'll keep you warm and keep you from going off with some burly snowdriver."
Kibeth laughed quietly and brought the edge of scarf up to her nose to take in it's scent--
Aido jerked back, away from the Kibeth woman as hundreds of scents of home hit her like a wave.
Kibeth smiled warmly, "it's time to go back."
--
Behind her the shadows gave suddenly, thrown by her own momentum Aido fell back, away from them, in the general direction of home. Gasping she lost her footing and fell, unable to hold onto consciousness any longer. She could only hope the Shadows would take her where she wanted to go.
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Posted: Wed Nov 23, 2005 6:20 am
[November 21st, 2005]
[Dark- Part V]
[If we're strangers here, from the day we're born....]It was the ungodly hour of three in the morning, a time where most were sleeping; but within the Study the shadows on the wall squirmed and twitched, lengthening to allow a form to slowly slip through- an arm first, then a lolling head, the slowly the rest of the Tale's limp body followed.
The last thing holding her to the ceiling was her left arm, wrapped firmly in clinging shadows as the rest of her tilted towards the ground, gravity firmly taking hold. Moments passed, the shadows connecting her to the ceiling lengthened and stretched like string but soon they were too thin to compete against the downwards tugging force and snapped, leaving Aido to fall the remainder to the way to the ground, landing on her right side with a loud 'thump'.
Pain originating from her side shocked her back into consciousness. She curled inwards, forming the loose form of a ball, instinct demanding the fetal position be assumed.
Bi-colored eyes cracked open and her halo flickered once, briefly illuminating the area around her as she let out a tiny groan, the small snippet of sight too short to allow her to really orient herself, but it didn't look like anywhere in the world she'd been.
Haven, where was she now?Linneas had been up for a while as he had just finished feeding Paestri a midnight snack. Though he was tired, the teen couldn't get to sleep. And with the sudden 'thump' he heard coming from downstairs, Linneas was in no mood to sleep.
Was it burglars? Or maybe Huni had started to sleep walk? The teen didn't know, but he had to find out, his family might be in danger.
Quietly, he left his room and descended the stairs, dressed only in black cotton pants. He stopped by the closet where he kept his mop, who knows if he should need it. Peering in the darkness, his gold eyes saw nothing.
He was about to head back upstairs when the Study door creaked open, summoning him to enter. An uneasy feeling settled itself in the pit of Linneas' stomach as he tiptoed into the Study.
The solitary bulb flickered on, its meager light barely providing enough illumination to reveal the curled figure on the floor.
"Ai!?" Linneas gasped, dropping the mop with a clatter as he bent down to see if the female Tale was alright.The light of the bulb make the even the area behind her eyes turn red and Aido tried to curl further into a ball, unused to the false light.
The clatter something hitting the floor prompted a sudden surge of adreniline to be pumpted into her exhausted system, as her mind immediately assumed the worse. Muscles coiled, spine straightened, dispite the pain that was renewed in protest, and her good hand clenched the shadows. Bi-colored eyes snapped open and she looked up, ready to see the masked face and scythe arms bearing down on her down on her again.
Instead she was met with a very familar face, different than the last time she'd seen him, but, unmistakably, Linneas all the same. She blinked several times, as if he was a hallucination that would dissapear any second, "Linny?"Questions buzzed inside Linneas' head as he carefully picked Aido up into his arms, and though he wanted to ask, he refrained from doing so at the moment.
"Let's get you out of here." He told her softly, carrying her out of the Study and into the shop front, taking care not to trip on the discarded mop. He eased her onto one of the plush armchairs, and knelt beside her.
"I'll go wake up mom, she'll call Aunt Chao. Are you hurt?" he couldn't help but ask, he had to know if Ai needed medical attention, because no one in the house had such knowledge.Aido hissed sharply as he picked her up, unable to bite back the reaction. She blinked when tears rushed to her eyes as whatever had crunched earlier shifted and she attempted maneuvered her damaged arm closer to her chest rather than leave it dangling.
When the dangling appendage brushed against the arm of the armchair her bare toes curled and she pushed against Linneas' chest gently with her head, which was making its own protests, and began to noticeably shiver. Still, she kept the instinct to simply scream until the pain went away firmly down, and that in itself was something.
In the better light of the main stationary shop it was quite obvious that Aido was far from alright. Her shirt was slashed open and stained in numerous places. Fresh stains were blossoming into existence as the barely scabbed cuts were accidentally prodded open. Her left forearm seemed to be twisted at a very odd angle and she once again attempted to pull it closer to her chest, to hide it or protect it, she wasn't sure. The motion was met with pain shooting up the appendage and caused a few tears to roll down her cheeks.
Her clothing was obviously not her own. Too big around in the sleeves and probably once too long in the pants, but her scarf was where it always was, though it was as rumpled as the rest of the clothing.
Letting out a small shuddering breath Aido nodded slightly, an affirmative answer to the question. She kept her head down and her halo low, unable not to feel ashamed of being in such a state in someone else's presence.
Still, better it was Linny than someone else.
With that thought in mind she raised her head slightly, "it's good to see you Linny." Her voice was trembled in time with her shivers.It was a stupid question, Linneas knew it, and now he was torn between leaving Ai so that he could quickly call for help or stay with Ai to comfort her as much as he could. In the end, he decided on both.
"Everything's going to be alright, Ai," Linneas murmured gently before craning his neck away from the younger Tale's ear. "MOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!!!"
He didn't care if he woke up the rest of neighborhood.
She might not last that long...
"Don't talk if it hurts," Linneas instructed, "MOOOOOOOM!!!! I NEED HELP!!!" his heart was pounding in his chest, he wanted to know what happened to her, or who had done this. He could sense her pain, and would just as soon as rush her to the nearest hospital if he hadn't seen Aido hurting when he moved her.
I can be of help.
At this suggestion, Linneas paused, 'How?'
Close your eyes until I say you can open them.
The teen would normally hesitate about listening to the voice, but if the unknown whisperer in his head could do something to help Ai, he'd risk it. With one final call to Huni, Linneas stared at Ai intently before closing his eyes.
The golden eyes were still golden when they re-opened, only different. There was a hint of coldness in them that was totally alien to Linneas.
"Ai, this won't hurt you in the least." The teen who looked like Linneas promised as he pressed his palms against the younger Tale's cheeks. "No matter what happens, no matter what you hear, do not let go until I let go."
With that said, a gold aura surrounded the older Tale's hands and began to seemingly infuse itself with Ai. The glow would travel across Ai's injuries, it would lap up her blood and close the wounds. Bones that were once broken would mend and align themselves to their proper position.
They would. If Ai will not resist and allow the aura to wash over.Aido grimaced as Linneas seemed to get more frantic, she tried to tell him it was fine, that she didn't hurt that much, but the words clogged in her throat and she had to sniff and cough instead.
When she looked up her bi-colored eyes met Linneas' golden ones and she stiffened. The coldness, the stark difference, it caused the hairs on the back of her neck to rise as the not-quite Linneas took hold of her cheeks. She didn't want this, she didn't want whoever this was. She wanted her best friend.
"Bring back Linneas," the words were clear and the shadows on her arms snapped up, resisting the golden glow. Only a few of the cuts closed before the shadows began to push back. "I don't care about the hurt. I just want Linny," she wanted her best friend, her protector. Whoever this was wasn't him and at the moment she didn't want, or need, in her opinion, quick healing and sudden relief, she needed her friend and for things to be normal. She needed to be home."I will once I fix you up." the tone was gentle but firm. This young man's eyes shone with a grim determination, "Linny doesn't want you to hurt, which is why I'm here. He will be back but only if you stop fighting me." the air around him was certain, focused, here was someone who does not frighten easily if at all.
Elsewhere, Linneas held his eyes shut, unaware of what was happening, unaware of what his body was doing. He had to trust the voice, he had to. For Ai's sake.
Should he find out the voice lied to him, there will be hell to pay."If you heal me Linny'll somehow be hurt, won't he? Or are you hurting him now just by being here?" Aido glared and pushed back against the back cushion of the chair, trying to get the man to release her, "he may not want or like me being hurt but having him here now would be much more helpful than anything you can give me."
She was in no state to trust anyone but those she knew and hopefully the man who was wearing Linneas' face would realize that and just go away and not come back until she could think and make judgements properly.'Linneas' withdrew his hands and held them beside his head, "He is fine at the moment, that I assure you."
It was going to be difficult persuading Ai to let him heal her, but he had to do this. Linneas wouldn't trust him if he didn't patch Aido up the way he said he would. He didn't want to resort to this, but if it will get things done...
"And I guarantee that he will be harmed if you do not allow me to finish. I've given you our essence, and if I don't reclaim your excess essence, he risks fading away once I return him his body."
Meanwhile, Huni finally forced herself to get out of bed. In her current state, she had still thought Linneas was still a boy who had a nightmare, rather than the young man who desperately needed her to call for medical attention. Slowly, her slippered feet shuffled off to Linneas' room.Aido stared at the man wearing Linneas' face, outraged that he would risk Linneas in such a way.
The Shadows bent down from their hackled stance, but seemed to flicker towards 'Linneas', mirroring their Mistress' barely surpressed urge to attempt to extract this dominant presence from her friend herself.
"Fine," her tone was icy and her eyes sharp, quite different from her normal stance. She blinked and suddenly it was greyblue eyes with a tired gaze older than her own that were peering at 'Linneas.'
The woman sighed, "if you could leave some reminder of this incident I would appreciate it. Lessons in mortality and weakness are not learned easily after all." And then Aido blinked and bi-colored eyes were back to glaring."] The teen didn't so much as flinch at the Shadows, nor did he seem surprised at the other woman's appearance. He was, in a way, similar to her. At least he thought he was. But that thought didn't stay in his mind for long as he nodded his reponse.
Once again he pressed his palms against Ai's cheeks and the golden aura washed over her. True to his promise, the heaviest of the wounds remained, though they were healed somewhat. Blood would still seep out if Ai moved too suddenly or too quickly, but it was better than it originally had been. The smaller wounds closed but left a scar and the bones in her arm mended though it would be a while before she would regain full use of it.
The golden aura eventually changed into a sickly green hue as it exited Aido and returned to 'Linneas.'
"I'll be leaving now." He told her curtly, expecting no thanks for this task. And for good reason...
'You can open your eyes.'
Huni rubbed her eyes when she saw Linneas' bed was empty. Upon spotting the evolved Ning, the red head remembered that her little man had been a young man for quite some time now.
"I need better sleeping habits." She muttered to herself as she began to pad downstairs.
Linneas did as he was told and whether it was his imagination or not, to him Aido looked far better than she had a few moments ago. He wanted to ask her how she was feeling, but rather than having words come out, it was blood that poured from his mouth.Aido didn't stop glaring until Linny's shadow fully felt like him again. The shadows changed from hackles to waving wisps as if greeting the older boy and then stiffened as Aido did when blood instead of words came from the older boy's lips.
Lunging forward, ignoring the twinge of pain from still protesting injuries, she placed both hands on her friend's cheeks, a small parody of a few moments prior. Wiping at the blood with one hand, "does it hurt somewhere? What did that man do?!" she was frantic and outraged, the filfy liar! If she ever figured out a way to get her hands on him without somehow hurting Linneas, for it seemed they both exsisted in the same body, it would not be a pretty sight.Linneas coughed a bit, choking more on the existence of blood in his throat rather than from any real injury.
"I'm fine, Ai." He assured her, his lips forming a smile as if to prove he was alright. "Did he heal you like he said he would?" concern for himself was being overridden by his concern for his friend.
"Linny? You down here?" Huni sleepily called from the stairs."I'm fine. I was fine..." she shook her head and continued to check for injuries, patting her friend's chest incase any injury had been sustained in place of those that had been healed on herself.
"You shouldn't have given him control just to help me, I'd much rather be in pain and have you here than be fully healed and have whoever that was with me," she looked up, meeting his eyes and gave his hand a squeeze, fingers brushing the shadow cast by the curve in his palm, fearing that any second he would dissapear again."I'll keep that in mind next time," Linneas chuckled, as his arms gently hugged her, careful not to squeeze too hard. Upon hearing his mother's voice, he let go.
"I'm down here mom, could you call Aunt Chao?"
"What? Why? AI!?!" Huni gasped upon seeing the younger Tale, "What are you doing here?! How did you get here? Oh wait, don't answer just yet, I'll go call Chao." With that, she zipped back upstairs to phone Ai's guardian.
Though he wanted to ask Ai so many things, he didn't want to cause her any more stress. Apparently the voice in his head had given her more grief than relief. Little did he know he would be given grief as well.
Again he coughed, and more blood trickled down his mouth. This time he wiped it away as quickly as he could, hoping Ai didn't see it.Aido sighed and smiled slightly, pushing her good arm through her matted hair as Huni suddenly appeared. She was glad not to have to answer the questions just yet and having her Aemu know that she was here would ease both their minds, "thanks Aunt Huni. I hope Aemu hasn't been worrying too much..." how long had she been gone anyway? She'd need to look at a calender....
Her eyes flickered at the cough and the quick movement, her mouth quirked downwards in a worried frown."You hungry, Ai? You look like you need something to eat or at least drink." He asked, trying to draw her attention elsewhere. Linneas wasn't feeling very good, but he attributed this more to it being 3 something in the morning and having Aido hurt.Aido blinked, caught off balance by the, to her mind at least, off track question. "Erm..." she sat back in the arm chair and her legs groaned in relief, was she hungry? She really didn't know. Really she just felt quite... exhausted. The day's, or perhaps weeks', events finally seeming to catch up with her in one fell swoop. She blinked a few times and shifted into a slightly less comfortable posistion, using the still present aches of her body to keep herself awake and the thoughts of the past at bay.
"Something... warm to drink would be wonderful..." she replied after another moment of thought.Linneas nodded to Ai and quietly went to the kitchen to get her something to drink, maybe warm milk or some hot chicken soup. He set about to getting a bowl, a mug, and some other utensils to heat the milk.
And then there was pain.
Sharp, and piercing, it stabbed into Linneas' chest and caused him to send the things he was holding crashing to the floor.Aido snapped out of the half daze she'd fallen into and bolted out of her chair towards the crash, nearly skidding on the broken mug and merely shaking the broken fragments out of her skin without missing a beat. Before Linneas could fall she grabbed onto him, taking his full weight, "Linny?! What's wrong?" Linneas was hard pressed to force himself to smile, he drew his breath, biting back the pain as he got to his feet. He tried his best not to lean on Ai, but his legs wouldn't support him entirely.
"I'm fine, I slipped, that's all." he lied, involuntarily wincing at the burning sensation in his lungs.
Meanwhile upstairs, Huni had already dialed the number and was waiting for someone to answer. She thought she heard something from downstairs, but then someone answered the phone.
"Hello? Chao?"Aido gave the older Tale a look that showed just how little she believed him. "Come on," she said gently, adjusting her arms and quietly cursing her size. She gently nudged him into walking back towards the main of the stationary shop, ignoring the bloody footprints she was leaving in their wake.
"'Lo?"
"Reid? Honey what're you doing up? What time is it? Give Mu the phone," came a tired voice from somewhere behind the first, "hello? Chao speaking."
"Mu who is it? It is Ike?"
"Shh, Reid, I don't know yet."Linneas couldn't fault Ai for not believing him, he was horrible at lying. Absently he noted how Ning was going to throw a fit once she saw the footprints and the mess he made. Though he was more certain that Ning would freak at finding out he was hurt.
How, exactly, he had no idea. He knew that he hurt. A lot.
"Uh... Chao? It's Huni, hello?" Huni spoke, hearing the conversation between Reid and Chao. "Listen, Ai's here in the shop, I don't know how she got in or why she's here, but she's hurt."Aido slowly eased Linneas into the armchair she'd been using before, panting from the effort she haphazardly wiped off a thin film of sweat from her forehead and scanned Linneas' form, trying to look for something obvious that she might've missed before. "Where does it hurt?" she didn't know what she could do but she had to try.
"Huni-Ai-what?!" Chao suddenly sounded much more awake. "She's home? Hurt?! s**t-I-we'll be right down, make sure she doesn't get herself lost again," the phone clicked off as Chao rushed to go grab the car keys."I'm fine, really, I think I just need to catch my breath." Linneas answered, feeling the pain subside as he sat down. Though it still pinched at him, it wasn't as bad as when he was in the kitchen.
Huni didn't have time to answer as Chao put the phone down. With a tired sigh, she checked on the others in the household before padding downstairs to find the two Tales had changed places?
"What is going on here?" Huni demanded, three in the morning was not the best time for Huni to not understand things."You sure?" Aido asked, though she sat down on the corner of the armchair currently not occupied by Linny and dragged a few small shadows over her feet to block the blood and numb them slightly so she could focus better. The younger Tale looked up as Huni came back down, "Linny was-is, hurting."Linneas was about to answer Huni when Aido beat him to it, "It's nothing mom, I slipped on something, that's all."
"There's no such thing as nothing when it comes to hurting." Huni frowned, eyeing both Tales critically. It was obvious to the older woman that these two had seen better days, and the blood that led from the kitchen to the shop front was a rather ominous sign.
"I want both of you to rest, stay right here and don't even think about trying to get up. Ai, I'll go look for some clothes for you to change into and get something to clean your feet with." She sighed, not sure which item to get first. Eventually she decided on the latter as she padded off into the kitchen for a basin and some warm water.
"You really should rest, Ai." Linneas murmured softly as Huni walked away. The teen felt guilty that he got her hurt again, if he had only been a little more careful...Aido flicked a slight look at Linny but didn't contradict him.
At Huni's order she smiled softly, taking in the woman's slight mother henn-ing with a nod, it felt oddly nice to be ordered around like that by an adult, though she doubted the sentiment would last longer than her drowsiness and shell shockedness at being home, "thankyu Aunt Huni," she murmured and lent back, taking weight off her feet, though that made the arm of the armchair dig into her back. She wiggled slightly and ended up leaning back down onto her feet.
She blinked at Linneas and shrugged thoughtfully, "I have all the time in the world to rest, right now it's just so nice to be awake and home and know it's home and not a dream."
Aido tilted her head, "besides, Aunt Huni seems to have decreed getting up to be a bad thing, for both of us, and this arm chair is only so big," she couldn't have rested properly even if she'd wanted to, not in the corner of space she was currently taking up, "and you seem like you need the rest even more." Her anxiety over the source of Linneas' pain and whatever the other man had done to him while healing her was still present, simmering away, even if Linneas seemed to be a bit better now.To be continued....
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2005 12:46 pm
--reserved for...whatever's going to happen after homecoming @_@--
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