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Stratham rolled 1 100-sided dice:
16
Total: 16 (1-100)
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 Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 5:20 pm
A lone figure stood in the midst of the temple, neck craned at a painful angle. His gaze was pointed up, and up, and up into the heavens-- that was how far the vast, domed ceiling looked to a boil like Ouranos, anyway. Passing priestesses glared darkly at him from beneath their veils, Clansmen shaking their heads as they whisked by... yet, he did not budge, his face turned upwards attentively.
The temple was impressive by sight, but even more so in experience. Ouranos stood there as if in a trance, eyes flickering to and fro; from the grand, sweeping arches to the stone pillars, the shadowy priestesses to the rich musk of incense. His gaze fell upon two majestic statues, guarding either side of the entrance... somehow, their billowing robes and mysterious manner reminded him of a professor they knew all too well.
There was too much to take in, too much to absorb. But Ouranos was certainly trying.
Something seemed to nudge at his attention. The boil slowly lowered his head and looked around; he had felt a familiar presence enter. A professor? A classmate? Perhaps... a friend?
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chirigami rolled 1 100-sided dice:
12
Total: 12 (1-100)
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Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 8:09 pm
Ever since the first class, Olivia had been tempted to travel down to the temple to see it in its fullest; while not being herded about and sucked into a door with white and then death.
It was now that she was seeing all the clansmen and priestesses walking about, the space occupied and filled with bodies. The back of her mind was telling her this was how it was meant to be... it wasn't meant to be empty and cold - well, cold wasn't so bad really.
Upon nearing the grand temple, her eyes noticed the candles that were scattered around the room, illuminating everything with a soft glow. Her body immediately hitched, her arms pulled close on her chest as she slowed her pace. Look at something else, she told herself, and with a little effort she managed to pull her gaze away and to the large statues that stood sentient at the entrance.
They were beautiful, so large with grand wings. They reminded her of the Priestesses that moved past her in and out of the temple and the few she had encountered here and there upon the island. A soft smile spread across her face, gazing upon them.
But there was something - or someone really - else she noticed looking upon them, looking also a little uncomfortable with the way his neck was craned. Ouranos! Her eyes lit up and the smile upon her lips pulled wider. He was here as well?
They had already met so there was no hesitation when she moved towards him, even though it was still a little slow in pace. "He-hello!" She greeted, soft yet happily.
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Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 5:15 pm
He turned at the sound of his name, still standing absently in the same place. A flicker of recognition passed his eyes as the ghoul approached, and he smiled.
"Hello," Oura said. His gaze was inscrutable as always, but really, what was going on behind the scenes was a frantic whirring of brain cogs. Blue hair, blue skin, small stature... inaudible voice... faces flashed through Oura's cloudy brain, but none of them were a match. He knew the ghoul beside the lotuses, but not her name.
Ah, it had happened again. The boil's smile had become slightly sheepish. "Your name seems to have escaped me... though your essence is familiar. We have been introduced."
He looked upwards again, apparently fascinated by the enormous, intricate dome. "A prison that needs no locks... walls that cannot be climbed. ....And what brings you here?" he asked incongruously.
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Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 9:40 pm
Olivia tried not to let it get to her that the boil didn't remember her name. It happened enough at home, around the neighborhood but she had hoped in such close quarters that it wouldn't have happened. Logic rattled in her brain of how this could have occurred, easing it really from going into a depressed mode.
"Yes, we met at the Conquest Island," she reminded him, "my name is Olivia ... you told me about the lotus flowers." It was something she hadn't forgotten, one of her first pleasant memories on this trip.
The ghoul was unsure how to reply to his riddled statement about locks and prisons and unclimbable walls. Her eyes flicked to the architecture for a moment to find meaning in those words, but nothing came to mind. "I wanted to explore," she explained softly, "a lot of the places on this island are... intense for me... and I wanted to see the temple again."
She turned her eyes on Ouranus again, her hands fidgeting with one another, "how have you been .... faring?"
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Stratham rolled 1 100-sided dice:
76
Total: 76 (1-100)
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Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2012 7:36 pm
Olivia... yes, that was it. Ouranos stored the word carefully in the "name bank" of his mind. (Though unfortunately, it was almost certain that the next time he needed it, it would be gone...)
She seemed confused at his words, glancing from his face to the temple ceiling, then back. Ouranos was typically content with letting his musings slide past others, but this ghoul-- Olivia-- looked so geniunely concerned that he couldn't help but try to explain himself. It was a difficult feat for someone so abstruse (which was why he didn't do it often).
"Imagine the dome above us... upside down. A vast, smooth-sided bowl, wide as an ocean and just as deep... imagine one at its center. Futilely scrabbling at the walls, only to slide back down... a prison without locks..." he seemed to be talking to himself at this point, his manner thoughtful. "Fear, despair, desperation... suitable for nightmares. Perhaps it could be used."
He did not seem to expect comprehension, much less a reply. When Olivia spoke of wanting to explore, Oura began to move slowly, aimlessly traversing the temple grounds. Clans members passed them, one man robed entirely in black and carrying a glittering necklace. He was speaking beneath his breath nonstop, heading towards the central pyre. Listening to Olivia's question as they walked, the boil fell into a heavy silence. "Unsure," was the reply he finally gave, turning pale, lucid eyes towards her. "Medea shows things of neither past nor present, dream nor reality. I was-- and am-- unsure."
He seemed to be struggling to put his thoughts into words. "How did you feel... when you killed a human?"
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Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2012 8:52 pm
Olivia quietly observed his words, letting her eyes once again drifting to the dome above them, trying to imagine what he was explaining. He didn't get much of a response, as he rightfully expected, just a simple, "oh." It was not exactly demonstrating her understanding of the concept, which she kind of did now that that he spelled it out for her, but more of one that she comprehended.
The ghoul followed him without much else coming out of her mouth, just her hands one on top of the other and resting on the folds of her skirt. Finally, she caught sight of the many candles and unconsciously she moved closer to the pale boil. She passed the old man without much of a thought, only her attention on Ouranos.
"Unsure," she repeated under her breath. She could understand why, what they had gone through was puzzling and unclear to her. There was a lesson that she hoped she had figured out but 'unsure' was a good way to put it.
But how did she feel when she killed a human. Olivia had to think about that one for a moment, "I... wasn't thinking about it much when... it happened. Now, I feel a little sad... but when I had to, it was because... I had to or they would have killed me... like through the first door... and I don't wish to have to experience death... again...." Once was enough, the first actual time she had died. Though, the second time had been peaceful, waking up might not have been an option.
"Before... we went through the other door... a clanswoman asked us to learn about .. death, do you suppose that's what we were doing?"
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