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 Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2007 10:30 pm
Entry Number :: 01
Title :: Hope Abandoned
Characters :: Rylerion
Time :: Early February, 2007
Place :: North and East of Ry's House
"Hope is the worst of evils, for it prolongs the torment of man."
Hope. A funny little word that so many take for granted. It is said hope is the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best.
But what happens what hope doesn't thrive? When man loses all inklings of a better life and knows only that pain and suffering and loneliness is his lot for all eternity? All that's left is a dark world, one of dispair, and one that's sooner left then continued in.
The frigid air seeped under Rylerion's mask, pricking his face like invisible, icy needles. Winter had finally come after many months of tepidity with a vengence, as though it were trying to squeeze as much cold weather out of the few remaining months before spring arrived. His feet disappeared beneath a blanket of snow with every step he took, the drift rising as the heavens continued to drop the white flakes upon Gaia.
The cold was a nice change from the inferno he'd just left so he didn't mind it as much as he would have otherwise. Well, that and he really didn't mind anything anymore. What was the use? Nothing really mattered anyway, so why bother with worrying?
This new philosophy on life was a fairly recent developement for Rylerion, formulated by a mind festering with guilt over a long, lonely year of solitude. For you see, almost exactly a year before this memorable walk was The Incident.
Scenes of things past flashed in his mind as they had many times before in the past year. No longer was it an entire story played out, more of snippets, highlights of the most painful moments he could remember. He stumbled, trying to press his palms to his eyes to stop the images in his head.
It was the memories, the guilt that had driven him to the point of insanity. For a time, he'd been able to stop them, think of other things and push them aside. But they always returned, in his sleep, or when his mind wandered a moment. He'd soon turned to 'chemical agents', which aided his mental escape but only for so long.
Drugs soon lost their effect, and became much too expensive, so he turned to alternative and more frightening methods. More then once he almost killed himself, but somehow managed to stay alive.
After ten months, he stopped taking care of himself entirely. His closest companions, Magician and Shadow, had to take it upon themselves to assure he simply wouldn't wither away into nothingness, but neither one was prepared to have to try to take care of a grown man who didn't have the will to lift a finger.
And then, two days before, they'd simply vanished. It'd taken Rylerion nearly that long to realize they were gone. And not only the two, but...everyone. He looked in the house, the stables, the surrounding glen, the river. Nothing, no one.
He'd been abandoned.
To Rylerion, this was a sign. It was time to be finished. He found an old can of lantern fluid. A box of matches. It all seemed to fall into place.
He pulled his palms from his face, the flashing images and scraps of sounds fading back. He glanced over his shoulder, still able to see the cloud of greyish smoke rising behind the falling snow. His task was half completed.
He pushed onward, though his legs threaten to give out at any moment. After all, he'd hardly used them for two months and now had been on his feet most the day. And the snow wasn't making it easier.
[tbc]
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Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 10:34 pm
Entry Number :: 02
Title :: The Dream
Characters :: Old Woman and Boy
Time :: Unknown
Place :: Unknown An old woman knelt in her English garden, her arthritis protesting every small move her hands made. And still she smiled.
It was a crisp spring morning, the kind that makes one think that the world is a wonderful place no matter what horrible things have happened in the past, the perfect kind to spend tending to the flowers in the garden.
Not ten feet from her, a boy of perhaps four or five was kicking a ball by himself. He was pretending, though, that he had a friend to play with, talking with his shadow and hitting the ball hard against the garden wall so it would bounce back to him.
The old woman was saddened by this sight, and called out to the boy to come over and help her. He did without a moment's hesitation, kneeling down beside her with his ball tucked under his arm.
"This," the old woman said with a heavy French accent as she touched a growing bud, "is a flower bud. Do you know what kind it is?"
The boy shook his head solemnly, looking up at the woman with his peircing green eyes not unlike her own.
"It's a rose," she said with a laugh, trying to get him to smile for her. "You can see the thorns, here. That's how you know it's a rose."
"Don't weeds have thorns too?" the boy asked, reaching out to touch one of the leaves.
"Yes, some," the old woman said, brushing her dirty hands on her skirt. "But there are none here in my garden. My garden is for good flowers only. That is why I come here every day, so that I can make sure the good flowers grow and the bad ones do not."
"Is it hard to grow roses?" the boy went on, his fingertip trailing down the leaf to the stem of the rose.
"With this one, yes," she said, smiling to herself at his apparent interest. "It is a very special and rare type of rose, my favorite. Your grandfather gave one to me many years ago, and I have grown them ever since. It is delicate, but if you care for it well, it is one of the most beautiful flowers that will every bloom. When it grows, you will see."
"Ow!" the boy yelped, snapping his hand back and sticking his newly pricked finger in his mouth.
"Ange!" the woman scolded in a stern voice, "I warned you of the thorns! Why did you grab it so?"
"I wanted to hold it," he said, tears in his voice.
The old woman couldn't stay angry with him. "Ah, Ange, delicate does not mean it can not hurt you."
"Grandmama, how soon will it grow?" he asked, rubbing his hurt finger against his pants and already trying to reach for the flower with his other hand.
The old woman gently stopped him before he could p***k himself again. "Soon, child, soon. In a few weeks time I will bring you out here and we will pick the prettiest of the roses for you to give to your mother. Would you like that?"
The boy nodded.
"Ange! Mother! Come inside," a distant, sweet voice rang out from the house.
"You go ahead so you're not scolded. I'll be in soon."
The boy nodded again, scrambling to his feet and, forgetting his ball, sprinting off to the figure in the doorway of their home.
The old woman chuckled as she watched her grandson, she could help but think of...him. Oh, how he reminded her so much of his grandfather, though she prayed he would grow to be a better man.
She looked once more at the rose bud, a hint of pink already showing between the green leaves. "Soon, my roses," she repeated, mostly to herself, as she struggled to get her sore legs up under her.
The old woman would not live to see her roses bloom.
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Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 10:38 pm
Entry Number :: 03
Title :: Hope Awakened
Characters :: Rylerion, Christine Bellarose, Shadow, Aurick
Time :: Early February, 2007
Place :: North and East of Ry's House, His House
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Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 11:05 pm
Entry Number :: 04
Title :: Into the Depths, Discovery
Characters :: Rylerion, Christine Bellarose, Morgan, LeFaye, Didagur
Time :: Mid March, 2007
Place :: Pond North of Ry's House [will fill in later]
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Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 11:22 pm
Entry Number :: 05
Title :: Long time No see Pt. 1
Characters :: Rylerion, Christine Bellarose, Kraken, Magi, Shadow, Syrie, Uisce, Ophician
Time :: March-April, 2007
Place :: Syrie's Sanctuary, Ry's House, space between the two
Time had passed quickly, almost unknowningly. Seasons changed, people changed, and lives moved on. It'd been so long since...then. 'The incident' as Rylerion called it, and it was suprising he even had a name for it as he refused to speak about it unless he absolutely had to. It had been a dark year for the man, and the loneliest he'd ever known. But someone had it in mind for all that to change for him...
A whisp of green, hardly noticable against the vast sky, wiggled it's way through the air on a mission...though it really couldn't remember what that mission was. Oh well. Kraken spun around a few times, trying to get a look at the letter tied to his back between his wings. Spin, spin, twist, spin, THAWP. Odd how trees always seemed to pop up in his way when he was trying to see the paper. The daydream righted himself, yawning...it was certainly too early in the morning to be out doing things. ...what was he doing out, anyway? Oh yes, mission. Shaking his black wings free of the winter snow that'd fallen on him when the tree hit him, he took to the sky again, his destination in sight. A large estate he only knew as 'The Sanctuary'.
Many things changed, but some remained the same...and some things slithered at the back of one's mind - like friends that you couldn't contact or find any more...be it from being busy or from being eaten by magical books or whatever. Syrie had gained much, but he had lost much too. Karma kept her balance.
Kraken's presence was known the moment he crossed the boundaries between the Sanctuary and Gaia - the guardians of the beautiful estate sensed the daydream, as did the dreams living there. Uisce hissed and clacked to himself before launching his thick body into the air so he could properly greet this...intruder. 'What this , who you worm thing? Come for what!?' The elder nightmare was not friendly, but he wasn't sending out any 'bad' vibes, he was calling to the other and flapping his great gunmetal wings as he cruised closer to Kraken.
Kraken stopped as the words hit him...other Dreams?! He'd only known one other, Rylerion's nightmare, and he wasn't a very kind fellow at that. This was something definately worth investigating...though...why was he here, anyway? Oh well, it would come to him later. Probably not as fast as he would hit the ground, for when he sensed the elder dream, he stopped everything, including flying.
Kraken was lucky enough to fall in a tree, a pain familiar to him and not as alarming as if he'd made it all the way to the ground. Hello! he projected at the dark figure, pushing himself up and taking to the sky. I'm Kraken. Are you a Dream too? You don't look like a daydream. You're too big. Why are you so big? I like your wings, your wings are very shiny. My wings... he said, before he realized there was something on his back. Did you put this thing on me? No...no...it's was...blue. The blue one did this to me! The kitsune! And with that, Kraken tries to breeze by Uisce, reminded of his mission...again...
Uisce flapped his wings and landed gracefully on a branch not far from where Kraken crash-landed; he cocked his dark head and eyed the other Dream. 'Uisce. Uisce nightmare - you small thing. What daydream? Why here? Blue? What blue? Kitsune? Fuzztail?' The nightmare hissed and his eyes glowed as he launched himself after Kraken, he wanted to see what the other Dream was doing, so he would tail it, yes!
Kraken flew around in circles a moment...it hadn't occured to him that he didn't very well know where he was going now that he was here. There seemed a lot of ground to cover, and he was suppose to find...some...something....Oh well, it was a pretty place to look at anyway. One window in particular piqued his interested as there seemed to be someone behind it, so he tucked his wings to his side, diving down straight towards it. Whhhheeeeeeee!!
The Elder shook his dark head and dived after the daydream, catching it with a whirl of wind that held the creature suspended just a hair away from slamming into the closed glass. The window lead into a rather spacious room where the kitsune was sitting with Veloren...while holding a small, lavendar hued child. Uisce tapped at the glass and the lykin boy opened it to allow both dreams in (Uisce 'brought' Kraken inside before releasing the magic holding him). 'Fuzztail, there thing her, this one - have for you!'.
"Hmm?" Syrie's silver eyes focused upon the unfamiliar daydream, but there was a familiar scent! "Where are you from, daydream?"
Kraken was immediately enamoured of this new swirling wind thing. He thought diving had been fun, but this! Oh, this took the cake, that was for sure. Mmm..cake...he was hungry. Maybe Ry made a cake! But...Ry wasn't here. No, there was someone else. A...pink...thing. And a purple thing. And a fox?
The daydream righted itself, slithering across the floor, the note that had once been carefully tied to it's back hardly hanging on by a thread and tattered badly. Do you have my cake?
"Cake?" Syrie shook his head and handed the small purple child to the lykin so that he could pick Kraken up, the note that was very nearly falling from the creature was removed gently and inspected for signs of intent or ownership. "Do you want some cake? I think we might have some down stairs... Ren, please put Ruka down to nap?" When the candypink lykin nodded the kitsune - dressed warmly in jeans and a sweater - made his way downstairs, Uisce following and Kraken in his hands.
The name on the note, though written very badly and hardly legible any more, looked to read 'SynIe', or something like that.
Kraken waggled his furred tail excitedly, unable to stay in Syrie's fingers long as he took to the air. Cake! he emoted, flapping around happily and nearly running into the walls with every turn he took. Cake, cake, oh I love cake! Is it good cake? I like the cake that's good. Hey, what you got there? he asked, spying the note Syrie had. Kraken huffed a bit. That...that note. It...Blue! Yes, the blue one gave it to me. It's for the kitsune, the one that makes the dreamer sad. What's a kitsune? Is it like cake! OH! Cake, are you getting me cake?
Syrie's big ears twitched and wiggled as he glanced at what was probably his name written in a very bad hand. Ah, Daydreams...such odd, crazy things. "Yes, it's good cake. This is from your Dreamer?" But no, wait...it didn't sound that way, it sounded like...it had been written by someone for the Daydream's Dreamer. Interesting.
Once in the kitchen, Syrie dug into the fridge to pull out a cake they'd made in celebration of Ruka's 'birth' - there were a few large pieces left, and he set one out on a plate and put it on the table for the creature, along with some water. Then he opened the letter to read it, keeping one eye on the strange Dreamborne , Cake loving Kraken.
...what's a Dreamer? Kraken asked, but soon forgot as he as he remembered the cake. Again. He flew right at it, and squealed happily upon impact. Ah yes, cake, so soft and squishy. Too bad he didn't remember he was suppose to eat it instead of play in it.
Indeed, it wasn't the dreamer of this flighty dream that had written the note or asked Kraken to deliver it. The name on the front was written in blue crayon, as were the words inside the note. "deer SY" it began, though those two words had been written in and scratched over a number of times, "u maee not nememben me butt i kame 2 uor howss a lonG lonG time aGo mye namee is MAGICIAN and i nememben u butt u maee not nememben me i want 2 no if u kan kom 4 T som time b kuse i think RY missss u thank u bye u kan kal me at thes numben" Well...at least he tried.
"Just enjoy your cake little one." Uisce landed on the table and nibbled at the cake that spattered away from Kraken while Syrie tried deciphering the child-like scrawl. It took him a moment, and he thought back - Magician? Yes...vauge recollection...but Ry? This crazy thing belonged to Rylerion? Oh, how interesting! He'd get to talk to his old friend...perhaps they could get past the uncomfortable events from the past? He was fine...but Ry...he'd taken that so hard.
"Daydream...can you take me to your home?"
Kraken flopped around happily, getting a taste from time to time of the cake but mostly being content to just...wallow it in. Syrie's words jolted him out of his happy state as he looked up, and then around at the room. ...home? he asked, pulling himself out of the majority of cake and shaking some off himself. Is this my home? It's very nice. And look, we have cake! I like cake, is this my cake? Oh, I do like living here. And with that, he was back in the cake again, though it seemed he remembered how to eat it this time. Who squished my cake?! Did you do it? he demanded, looking angrily at Uisce. Really, it was a wonder he made it to the Sanctuary at all.
But a glimpse of the letter helped jolt his memory. Is that your note? I've seen it before...Oh yes, the blue one with the stick! Oh no oh no, he said he's turn me into a rock if I didn't take it to the kitsune! he said as he slithered fowards and snatched the note from Syrie's fingers. Oh dear oh dear, the kitsune...I...I don't know where the kitsune is. Ry would know! Must find Ry, must find Ry. Shaking his wings out again, he took to the air, frantically looking for a way out of the room as he inadvertantly did as Syrie asked.
Uisce just clacked; Daydreams were crazy, it seemed. He would tell Etoile about this, yes. His mate would enjoy hearing about it...for the moment, he would eat the cake Kraken left behind. Jiji or perhaps Ophician could go with Syrie this time, he was resing.
As for Syrie...he really was wondering if this was how all Daydreams were? But since the creature was doing as he wanted, he wasn't going to complain. What he was going to do was follow Kraken to where Rylerion was - even if it was under odd pretenses, it was a good thing. Yes.
Kraken was in a panic. He wasn't sure how he ended up in this place, but it frightened him very much. There was that big, dark, scary nightmare, and then the weird guy with a tail and...cake! Ugh, he hated cake. He wanted out, fast. Beating his wings furiously, he spied a door and made a beeline for it, chirping triumphantly. Haha! They'll never catch me now. I've got the treasure map back, and there's nothing stopping me. Onwards! he said, clutching the note tightly in his beak and going on some kind of...adventure apparently. At the first sign of a window, he veered off and bolted out of it, dashing through the morning air back to his home base with his prize.
As quickly as the creature would run, Syrie would keep up - if he had to, he would shapeshift into his vulpine form to keep up. But Kraken would not make it home alone, that was one thing that was absolutely certain.
Ophician, a large mutant dream of the siamese colored variety kept pace with Kraken so it's Dreamer could keep up and follow all the way back home to Ry.
Kraken darted his way between trees, sensing someone on his tail. He pressed onwards, zigging and zagging and doing his damnedest to lose his persuers, but to no avail. It only twenty minutes he was out of breath and landed on the low branch of a tree, huffing loudly and glaring at both Ophician and Syrie. Why the hell are you following me?! he demanded, his fur sticking straight up with annoyance. Truth was, though...he'd simply forgotten where he was going.
Ophician fluffed a bit mid-flight and emitted calming, soothing vibes towards the daydream. "Rylerion! Your note!" The kitsune barked from the ground up at the daydream, reminding it of it's 'mission'. They needed to get to Ry, yes...but Syrie didn't know where he might find the man...this crazy little daydream was his only chance!
The daydream blinked once...then twice. He sat on his branch, glancing between Ophician and Syrie as though he were seeing them for the first time. Then he looked down his nose and saw the note he was still holding. What's this? he asked, trying to eye the paper but unable to focus that close. But, he did see blue crayon. Blue...blue...the blue one! Yes, yes and Ry and the note. I'm suppose to take this note to Rylerion, that was it! Eh...close enough. He took to the air again, chirping happily and confindent once more in his destination.
By the time that Kraken, Syrie and Ophician finally made it past the boundaries of the Sanctuary and back into civilization, the kitsune was in his mostly human form again, and spent a lot of time reminding himself that he could not throw Kraken into a bag and dump him somewhere.
Ophi was feeling much put upon itself, but still flapped its two sets of wings lazily, using magic more than wing power to keep itself aloft.
Kraken stopped...again...but had now at least become used to the company. Of course, now he thought they were on some great convoy heading toward's the king's castle, but that was just details, right? Hey, guys, he emoted, looking down at him from his newest spot on one of the lowest hanging branches of a tree, I was thinkin'...we're gonna need supplies if we're going to get this important message to the king, right? I got this friend, and he lives about...oh wait, there's Ry's house right there. I wonder if it's lunch time yet? Slipping off the branch and shaking the cold out of his rump, he darted into the clearing just north of Rylerion's home.
"Is that Ry's house?" Syrie hoped so...he was tired and just about ready to strangle him a Daydream. The kitsune made his way across the clearing slowly, his mutant Dream following alongside, multi-wings casting shadows on the ground before them. The door...well, what would he say? Would Ry want to see him after all this time? He'd just find out, now wouldn't he? Syrie straightened his clothes as Ophi settled on his shoulder, then he knocked. Twice.
Kraken laughed heartily as he decided to take the easy way in, aka one of the windows. He dropped the note he'd been grasping just outside, not caring about it now. It was past lunch time, afterall. What did he care about silly notes?
There was no responce to the first, but the second knock did at least get some kind of responce. An angry voice boomed out from inside what had once been a warehouse of some sorts. It looked as though it'd seen rough times recently. The side Syrie had approached was newly covered with rock, to make it look at least a little less industrial. The front, though, still had scaffolding built across it and was only partially finished. The signs of a fire, a recent fire, were visible yet. "Can't you bloody well read?" the voice asked, a voice that most definately belonged to Rylerion, though...it sounded a bit more hollow then it used to. Then a sound, much like fingers being banged on many piano keys at once followed.
Sure enough, a note was on the ground with a dirtied and now useless piece of tape attached. It read, very clearly, "Tea Time. Do Not Disturb." Then, underneath, it was added in pencil, "Especially Magician," followed by an unhappy face written in familiar blue crayon.
After the piano noise, Krake darted back out of the building through the second story window he'd entered. Man...he's more grumpy today then usual, he said idly as he went off to do...something. He couldn't really remember what.
Syrie frowned at the emotions coming from inside the warehouse, and at the daydream creeping out. Could he read? Yes. Did he plan on listening to what the note had to say? No. "Rylerion! Open up!" He knocked again, the tension and the worry he'd had previously gone due to his concern for another person.
Ophician bobbed it's head and trilled a little.
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Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2007 11:51 pm
Entry Number :: 06
Title :: Long time No see Pt. 2
Characters :: Rylerion, Christine Bellarose, Kraken, Magi, Shadow, Syrie, Uisce, Ophician
Time :: March-April, 2007
Place :: Syrie's Sanctuary, Ry's House, space between the two [will fill in later]
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