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 Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 10:06 am
Back to the shrine, ready to be given another task by the goddess, it was somewhat surprising to Sheenah when she saw only two statues where once there were three. She approached with hesitation, as though cautious. Maybe one of those bad things had gotten in here and stolen the statue? Her thoughts, comparatively to most, was a practical whirlwind, always questioning, often worrying. There was something that tried to bubble up inside of her at the thought, something heated and raw, but it died off as quickly as it started, her emotions still too undeveloped to truly register.
A voice, the voice of the goddess made her turn, and though there was not much behind it, a smile tugged at her lips. A gift, for her? She took the bag, and unlocked it, peering inside of it with at least a minimal amount of expectation.
It was empty. Confused, she looked back to the goddess, holding out the empty bag. What did it mean? Was her gift not of solid form? Was this some kind of metaphor?
The goddess explained, and Sheenah just nodded in silence, accepting the scissors with only a cursory glance before turning to the room, the darkness, the rectangle of black, to do her bidding.
Faced suddenly with three doors, she stepped closer to inspect each. Each appeared with a different sigil, each with a strange...feeling to go with it, something as of yet foreign to Sheenah.
She stepped towards the second door, something about it enticing her, but then stepped back. It wasn't the right door for her, not this time, though she couldn't have explained just why.
She chose the third door.
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Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 8:39 am
Beyond the door there was only silence, a dead kind of silence that might have been uneasy if Sheenah knew to feel uneasy. Suddenly, however, that silence was broken by steady thuds in the distance, and a whisper, a whisper that she couldn't quite understand and that was what sent a shiver up her spine, because there was something about a whisper that she couldn't make out, one that's words were hidden, that she really didn't like. As she continued to listen, it began to sound like a name, but not one that she recognized.
She moved on, and the door clicked shut behind her, leaving her in darkness that she stumbled her way through, cursing lightly under her breath, words that actually weren't curse words at all but the way she muttered them would make one wonder if they could become one after this.
She didn't know the hallway was moving, only that she was moving. She moved until she was forced to an abrupt halt, colliding quite hard into something, her hip taking the brunt of the impact and spiking with pain. She put her hands up against whatever it was, felt the wood beneath her hands, and pushed.
It didn't move.
She felt to each side next, shuffling first one way, then the other, hands running over it's surface.
It was blocking her path completely.
All the while, the thuds continued on at their steady beat.
Feeling her way around the top, she realized it had a lid, and pushed on that, flipping it open until it clattered to the floor.
There was something inside, something that was poking out, that hadn't fit, that the lid was simply resting on top of, she guessed. An arm, she thought, as she got closer, swinging against the side. Sheenah reached out for it, fingers sliding around the flesh, gripping it tight.
Suddenly silence. The steady thumping has stopped...and she had no idea why.
Reaching around inside of the box, she could feel that there was definitely something in there, something that she pushed again, prodded, felt around, trying to discern just what it was.
The thumping began again, and this time, she knew just what it was meant to be. A heart, one that beat strong, one that she could practically see, that she felt like she could almost touch. It was so close to the surface, so close.....
She had scissors in her hand. She had an empty bag. She might have been a bit slow with her speech, but Shennah wasn't stupid. This crate had been left here in her path for a reason, and there was an object that she needed to retrieve. The goddess had said that she needed a heart, and whatever or whoever was in this crate, had a heart.
She wielded her scissors, their blades sharp, before she plunged them down, before she began sawing her way through flesh, cutting through muscle, and digging around bone. She felt the warmth that gushed over her hands. It was with the first plunge of the scissors blades that whatever it was in the crate began to flail, arms waving wildly, a hand pushing against Sheenah's face, a hand that was shaken off, ignored.
The scream from the being in the box was loud, a deafening shriek, wholly unpleasant and chilling. She didn't like that scream, that scream reminded her of...
"Shaaheeeeeeeen!" A voice cried, shrill, feminine. No, not just any voice, but the voice of Mardea. She was Shaheen's mother, a blonde, tanned woman, strong, proud, tall, fierce. A hard woman, and not a kind one, not even to her own daughter, not on any single occasion was she ever kind....Shaheen reached towards her.....
She gritted her teeth against this intruding memory. She ignored the wild movements of her victim. This woman deserved what she got, if this was indeed the woman that Sheenah had just visualized.
She continued to cut, to saw, to stab her way to what she needed, flesh becoming nothing more then pulp, until she was able to dig her hands in, cracking ribs, shoving the cavity wider. There was some pulling, some snips of the scissors, each one a loud shnck, shnck. Any resistance was met with more brutality from Sheenah and her gifted scissors, until her pulling was met with reward, a wet tearing noise, a warm gush, a sloshing noise......
She reached towards her, just wanting to be held, just craving a mothers touch, but the woman didn't reach back. She didn't then, and she never would. There would never be any love.....
.....A meaty thud as the heart was removed, slipping free from her hands as it gave just one last thumping beat. Reaching in, grabbing for the now silent heart, she shoved it into her empty bag.
It was done. With a baleful look towards the now massacred body in the crate, she turned to walk away.
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Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 9:30 am
Sheenah continued to walk, to move down a dark and empty hallway. She needed to get this heart back to the goddess, this gift, a sacrifice, her task complete. She didn't notice at first that the floor had become sticky, nor did she particularly care. It wasn't until it became more wet, water that began to rise up slowly around her feet, did she start to wonder a little at it, curious as to the why this was happening, especially when she needed to be getting back.
A slosh of water, and footsteps from behind has her coming to a stop. When she turned to find the source of that noise, turning to look, there was nothing to be seen. So, shrugging it off, she continued to walk, and the water continued to rise. Up legs, past knees, to her waist....
...... And then a voice whispered at her, a simple plea; A slosh of water, whispered words that she could barely hear, yet somehow the words were clear.
"Please give it back..."
Sheenah stopped, unable to help herself from looking again, a shiver running up her spine. She did not like being followed, and she especially didn't like that whoever it was remained unseen.
She kept going, slogging through water that began to rise up ever higher, it's cold chill beginning to seep in, deep, deeper, as deep as the water itself.
It was up her neck now, her feet barely touching bottom, tips of her toes grazing the floor with each step that became harder and harder. She would need to stop now, would need to turn back....
"Please give me back my-" The voice was back, closer now. In fact, it sounded a lot like it was directly behind he----
Hands had clamped down on her shoulders, cold hands that clenched down tight, like steely vice grips, before it pushed her down, the voice loud now, angry.
"Give me back my heart!"
She was getting pushed down further, and it hurt. She straggled against that grip, kicked with her legs to try and break free, but to no avail. She was held fast by her assailant.
She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, the figure was right there, right in front of her, staring back at her with dead, grey eyes, her cheeks sunken, her teeth bared...
.......Shaheen stood with a sword in her hand, her summoned weapon, faced with the woman she called her mother though mothering seemed to be the last thing ever on the other woman's mind. Mardea held a weapon of her own, a more intricate and slightly larger sword then her daughter wielded, and her teeth were bared.
Blood streaked her body, hard to make out against the dark tan of her skin, a product of the many times she had been struck by Shaheen's blade this battle. Shaheen in comparison, looked barely any better for wear, but it hardly mattered. What mattered is that she was winning, that she had but to finish it.
"Come on then!" Mardea hissed, "What are you waiting for?" Her voice was sharp, demanding, and Shaheen only hesitated for a moment before responding, leaping forward, wings adding speed and height as she dodged around her mother's blade, and struck home, her own blade driving forward, aimed straight for the heart.......
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Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 10:38 am
She was brought back to herself with a gasp that filled her lungs with water instead of air, and it hurt so bad she thought that this was the end of her. The burning in her chest was so absolute, and she stared into the eyes of her undoing, the lifeless grey eyes of Mardea.
But no, this could not, would not be the end. The end would come at her own hands, and not those of a dead woman! Raising a hand that still grasped a pair of scissors tight, she plunged them forward, stabbing them deep in the woman's chest.
Straight towards where her heart should have been, but now was not.
She disappeared. Dispersed into nothingness, and with her, so did the water, leaving her standing instead on solid ground once more. She coughed, and dark liquid gushed out of her mouth, exiting her burning lungs and splattering against the floor, the only visible evidence of her recent encounter. She reached up to wipe away the liquid that still dribbled down her chin, eyes shifting towards the light, a narrow opening, an exit.
She had done this for the goddesses blessing. She did it so that she might also become a goddess herself.
She turned to leave, but out of the corner of her eye saw something, a figure, one that held scissors in her hand.
Sheenah waved the bag with the heart at her, a smirk pulling up her lips. She had won. The goddess would hopefully be pleased.
She left.
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Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 2:36 pm
Day Two Task
She entered the shrine as she had before, expectant and willing to do whatever was asked. The goddess spoke, and she listened, accepting the dagger almost reverently, weighing it in her palm. There was something about it that made her stare with awe and desire, before her fingers curled slowly around it's hilt, and her eyes lifted back up to the goddess as she listened with rapt attention.
"Of course, my goddess." Sheenah agreed, giving her a small bow, eyes closing and reopening only to see that the blade had become rusted, falling to ruin, and she frowned slightly at it, the awe and reverence from before fading away, though she still held it tight, held it proud.
The goddess deemed her ready to journey onward, and she had to agree, giving a sharp nod of her head and venturing on towards the narrow opening and whatever might lay in store for her beyond.
--------------------
Her eyes fluttered open, staring up at a strange place that she did not know, then quickly squinted shut against the bright lights that seemed to stab into her skull. It was just so bright, painfully so, and so bare and white as well. Beneath her back was something hard and flat, uncomfortable, and she was cold. Why was she waking up here, when she couldn't even remember falling asleep? It was a mystery, and one that was hard to think about with the eerie humming that came from the lights, piercing through her ears, oddly painful in it's dissonance.
She sat up, and moved to the edge of the table, letting her legs stretch out until toe tips touched ground and letting the rest of her body follow as she glanced around. Four walls and and a door, not much to examine really. She made her way to the door, her legs actually shaking though she didn't know why. It was as though she were relearning how to actually walk again, a feeling that she didn't like, one that made her feel quite vulnerable. Reaching out for the handle when she made it to the door, she turned it to find it unlocked, and pushed her way through to the other side.
A few more unsteady steps were taken into a hallway that was just as bright and horrible as the one she had come from, and she was eager to find a way out when the slamming of a door behind her made her stop, whirling around to see what had happened, and seeing nothing at all. Just an open door left behind and an empty room beyond.
.....Odd.
She continued on her way, slowly, steadily, attempting to get her legs to work properly as she moved a long.
Thud.
She turned to look, but there was nothing there. No reason not to continue going then.
In the distance she could see it, an exit to this too bright and too clean place with it's awful humming.
Thud.
She cringed, turning around again.
Eyes. A shadowy figure as well but what struck her most were the eyes, wide and round, staring at her from where she had come from, from a room that was empty only seconds before. She felt her fingers twitch, felt her legs tremble slightly at the sight, at the sense of foreboding that emanated from that figure. Each footstep that thudded against the floor sent a reverbration down Sheenah's spine, making her feel more cold then before, and then with the sound of screeching, with the sight of those rusted scissors stained dark held tightly in the figures blackened hand, she shivered.
She did not even hesitate for a moment to turn and run away. There was an exit in the distance, she could see it, and rather then allow this figure to attempt to murder her she would find her escape. Her feet thudded on the ground, her head swam dizzily with every step she took, but she somehow made it to that door, hand reaching for the handle to wrench it open....
It didn't budge. Locked, and no amount of pulling was going to tear it open. There was a keypad, a place for her to enter in digits, but the idea of such seemed completely foreign to her, so she simply stared for a few moments, completely uncomprehending.....
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Seussi rolled 1 4-sided dice:
2
Total: 2 (1-4)
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Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 2:42 pm
She had no idea what to do, but that didn't mean she was about to just give up, to just roll over and die! She glanced around, hoping for some kind of clue as to what she needed to be doing, because surely the goddess would not have just abandoned her to this fate!
To her left there was a paper, stained with red, the color a stark contrast against the white of this place. She picked it up, looking at the letters on it, then back to the door.
The keypad there was all in numbers. What use was this to her?!?
Feet from Figure: 35
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Seussi rolled 1 4-sided dice:
4
Total: 4 (1-4)
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Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 2:47 pm
There must have been more to it then just this! She moved to the left in search of anything else of use, trying to ignore the thudding and screeching that became ever louder as the figure moved ever closer to her.
Her examination paid off, however. There was a second paper, and she quickly snatched it up, this time eyeing the numbers that went with the letters. Holding up the two papers together, she was quickly able to decipher what it meant.
Without even a glance over her shoulder to the figure, she went back to the door, and punched in the sequence, 0/2/4/5, and almost sighed in relief when the door slid open.
No hesitation now. She flew through that door like a bat out of hell.
Feet from Figure: 35
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Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 2:56 pm
The door led her outside, greeted with the sight of grey trees that she quickly moved towards, hiding herself behind them, her back pressed up against the rough bark as she took just a second to glance behind her now, finally.
"Shahhheeeenn" A whisper accompanied the sight she saw, the white, wide round eyes that stared in her direction, though it there was no way she could have possibly been seen.
It moved towards her, snipping it's scissors.
She needed to keep running.
Through the forest she went, breath coming out in quiet huffs as she continued her way through and to the end, the edge of the trees. The figure behind her continued as well, as she was still able to hear the snipping, and the voice that went with it.
"Your heart. I will take your hearrrrrt."
Each time the figure spoke, she shivered more, feeling more cold then before. But there was hope up ahead! A bridge, long and rickety, one that swayed dangerously, but was the only chance of escape she had.
She couldn't stop now. The figure was closing in.
She ran towards the bridge.
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Seussi rolled 1 4-sided dice:
2
Total: 2 (1-4)
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Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 2:59 pm
The bridge was high, rickety and dangerous. It was probably a bad idea to step on to it, but she had little choice! The figure continued to pursue her, continued to promise her pain and humiliation, continued to offer to cut out her own heart to replace the one she had taken. The voice was familiar, was high and grating, demanding, a voice she was sure that she had heard before.
The voice of somebody she did not want to have catch her.
Moving swiftly, she began crossing the bridge, her arms up for balance, careening from side to side and at risk of toppling off to her death at any moment. There was death coming from behind, death pushing her in every direction, and all she could do was continue to plunge forward.
CRACK!!
A board that she was stepping on broke, her foot plunging through, the splintered wood scraping up the sides of her leg. She hissed in pain, falling forward hard on her hands, but had little time to worry about what had happened. A sharp pull told her that she was stuck. Was this to be the end?
Her eyes landed on the dagger.
No.
She lifted it up.
Nonono.
She turned and used the rusted blade to hack at her ankle, attempting to sever it, to leave her foot behind so that she could continue going. It was a sacrifice to death, so that it might leave her alone, but that didn't keep her from crying out in pain, didn't stop the burning from behind her eyes, didn't quell the foggy tendrils that began to wisp out of the open wound.
She hacked on that limb until it came free, and forced herself up, forced herself to hobble her way across the rest of that damn bridge, her teeth bared not just in pain but also anger.
She was not going to give up that easily, the figure behind her be damned, and it was going to have to work a lot harder then that.
Feet from Figure: 30
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Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 3:19 pm
She continued to stumble along, the stub of her leg where her foot used to be beginning to heal and grow back, but the process slow and painful. She could still hear the figure behind her, snipping away, taunting, eager to see her fail, to falter so that it could close in and finish her off.
She did not intend on giving it that satisfaction.
She ran along what was like a pathway, perhaps even a paved street that led straight to a house, grey, isolated, and directly in her path with nowhere else to go. Was this where she was meant to be? Was this how she might find her escape.
A glance behind her showed that the figure still followed, and was indeed closing in, but something that glowed to her right in bright hues of red caught her attention instead, and she turned eyes to see a dagger that had now become a red beacon of light.
She knew what she needed to do now. It would be a fight to see if Sheenah could get out of here alive.
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Seussi rolled 1 4-sided dice:
3
Total: 3 (1-4)
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Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 3:20 pm
She faced that blackened figure with her dagger held, it's glowing red blade burning bright and strong. Sheenah's gaze narrowed, eyes full of malice as she faced down her pursuer, golden eyes locked on the dead white ones that stared back so openly.
Mardea's eyes were locked on Shaheen's, a true battle of wills if ever there had been one before. They had sat like this, glaring at each other for what felt like ages, Mardea with her back held straight, her posture posed, her head tilted up as though she could look down at her slightly taller daughter, and Shaheen leaning forward. slightly, eyes seeming to narrow just slightly more with each passing minute.
The vision jumped.
".....Does he mean to you?" Her mother's voice was as usual, as sharp as a crack of a whip. Shaheen herself, though inwardly taken aback by the question, kept her own features smooth and emotionless.
"I do not know what you mean, Mother. We are...rivals at best?" It wasn't a lie, it was a fact that Shaheen truly believed.
Another jump, the memory broken apart.
"Mother." Shaheen sounded slightly exasperated now. "He is nothing, his family is nothing. Less then nothing. Why the interrogation suddenly?" She was tired of this, and her muscles tensed as she readied herself to stand up and leave.
"No more."
Shaheen halted in her half rise from her seat, an eyebrow arching. "I'm sorry, I do not understand mother. No more what?"
"No more. You will not socialize with the likes of him anymore. I do not trust him, and I do not trust you. You will not disobey me in this, Shaheen." That voice cracked like a whip once more. Firm. Cold.
Deadly serious.
And for just a moment, something inside of Shaheen wilted. She didn't know why, or what it meant, but it happened all of the same. Her chest began to ache, her throat tightening. There was a cold hollowness at the pit of her stomach.
"Why?" The word came out more hushed then intended, no strength behind the word.
"I do not need to explain my decisions, Shaheen, you should know this by now." Her mom waved it off with a flip of her hand, sniffing, and rising from her own seat.
"Now, go back to your training."
Shaheen rose slowly herself, finally, and gave her mother a curt nod in response. "It will be as you wish, mother." There, that was better. He was just a man, after all, practically an animal, if she was being honest. There was nothing about him to really be missed.
Sheenah lunged forward at the same moment as the blackened figure, her fingers gripping her dagger tight. They collided, and Shaheen swung, plunging the dagger downwards, intent on impaling it.
Instead she found pain blossoming in the center of her chest, an impact of blades as they were embedded in her chest. Her eyes widened, she looked down.
No.
She fell.
When she awoke, she might as well have been dead for all the use her body was to her. Unable to move, unable to do anything but watch as the black figure hovered over her, scissors held back in hand.
Something was making a thumping noise. It was so familiar, so reminiscent of another time.....
"Don't worry," Came the voice, Mardea's voice, now that Sheenah could remember. "It only hurts once."
She realized it was her own heart making the noise, a heart that was now under serious peril as the figure bent down over her, holding the scissors blades close. She wanted to scream, wanted to tell her to get away, but she just couldn't.
In the end, when the first snip came, what she wanted instead was to laugh with hysteria, a sound to drown out the pain.
With the second snip, it was over, and she wanted to sob.
The pain ended, but her grief remained. She had failed what she was set out to do. She had failed.
What goddess would bless her for this?
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Posted: Fri Aug 16, 2013 6:39 pm
Day Three Task
Shaheen stared at this goddess with a fair amount of disbelief. Cookies? She really didn't want one, and politely declined, though if the goddess insisted she would find herself picking one from the tray and popping it into her mouth without any complaint.
Thankfully, the goddess didn't insist.
"L-love?" What was love? It was a familiar word, but she didn't really understand. The goddess seemed to think it was a good thing, though, so she gave a quick nod, though unsure, and feeling weird for agreeing to something when she wasn't sure what it even meant.
Okay no, she was just going to listen and figure out what this new task was to be, even if the goddesses exuberance was distracting.
Even after an explanation, Sheenah wasn't sure she understood, but she parted ways from the goddess regardless, ready to create emotions as was wished of her.
On the other side of the door was a true wonder to behold. The odd sound of music, soft, interspersed with bells and words. White flakes that fell from the sky, landing and blanketing the ground in it's odd texture that crunched lightly beneath foot. She shivered, though she wasn't sure why, or what might have caused her to give such a reaction, only that it felt like the thing to do.
The table was approached, and given thought before she reached out to take the blue jar, reading it's lable and gulping it all down without further thought.
Slight dizziness was the result, a feeling of dissatisfaction, and irritation as she tried to remember something just barely out of reach. It was there, something she wanted to know, something she wished she could see, and understand, but anytime she tried to grab ahold of it, it slipped away.
Her agitation grew, and the tabletop began to spin, until it was no longer bare but instead laid with chocolate and cupcakes and candies. She reached towards one of the cupcakes, eyeing the withering candies and the oddly smoking chocolate with trepidation, and took a quick bite, wiping at her mouth with the back of her arm afterwards.
The trepidation she felt only increased, her heart beginning to beat rapidly. She felt anxious, unhappy, everything she had put in her mouth so far providing a negative feeling.
She was thirsty.
In front of her, two cups of tea appeared as if by magic, one in a white cup, the other black.
She lifted the black cup, and took a quick sip......
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Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2013 8:59 am
 It was just another day, but one that ended in madness.
It would have been foolish to call it a day like any other. No, there hadn't been days like these within the four clans ever before, and it would be unlikely to happen ever again. Visitors, children, faces full of awe and wonder, faces determined to learn, to harness strength and power from what the horsemen had to teach them.
These were the days that followed Shaheen's new appointment, her rise to the station of chieftain that she had worked so hard for, that she had spent so much time training for. Newly risen, and full of pride, but flying too high could be dangerous. There were things up there that could harm her, that could tear her down or send her hurtling back towards the earth. She was warned of some of these things, of which desires to avoid, of which would make her weak, make her less.....
The sun was bright, and it was hot, humid. The childrens faces would all be leaving soon, some brighter then before, some darkened. They were to gather at the portals, they were to go back home. They were to go about their lives, and things here would go back to normal.
Nothing would ever be normal again.
An Explosion. Screams filled the air. Shouts. Warning cries. Feet pounded against the earth , and feathers filled the air. Dark shadows from above. Weapons flashed in hands.
The land, her land, her home, was being torn asunder.
Groaning tree's, the sounds of cracking and crashing, the palpable confusion and terror as the land began to shift, began to rapidly sink. Those that could, tried to flee, those that couldn't were the ones that were trapped, the ones that were pulled down with the island into the watery depths.
She watched it all, saw it all happen, and could do nothing to help. She could only watch as her home was destroyed. Destroyed by humans, by hunters. She watched, and felt like she needed to do something, but there was nothing she could do.
Helplessness. Something she had only really experienced in small doses before, but now be quite thoroughly acquainted with it.
The scene changed, and she was fighting. Fighting against the grey that rose out of the depths of where the islands had once been. Her dagger flashed, and flew through the air, over and over, striking at a phoenix made up of familiar faces, of friends, of family. A grey mass that whispered to her, that called to her, and threatened to swallow her whole, body and mind.
Next to her and nearby, her apprentice, her protege, was also fighting. fighting for her life, for their lives, for the lives of the students down below. The hunters were there too, but Shaheen had to ignore them, had to just not think about them, because this was bigger then whatever revenge or vendetta she already had in mind for them, for the filthy, disgusting bags of flesh in their white jackets. They would pay for what they had done, but just....not today.
Damage control. She needed to just focus on the damage control an---
A shriek from her left told her that something was wrong, and she paused with her dagger in hand to glance over towards the sound.
No. Nonononono she had gotten too close!
"Ayasha!" She yelled at her, voice sharp, commanding. "Get back!" But she could see it was pointless, she could see that the grey had gotten ahold of her, that she was getting sucked in.
Without a moments pause, Shaheen veered towards her, grabbing on to one of her arms. "Ayasha, fight it. Pull back." It was so loud here, as close to the phoenix that even while shouting, the cacophony of whispers, the insanity, was almost impossible to hear over.
And it was strong. Now that it had it's grips on her protege, it did not seem as though it was going to let her go. Shaheen fought it, she pulled, her wings beating furiously behind her. Ayasha pulled to, though wispy tendrils had wrapped around her, more and more, stronger and stronger.
They were getting sucked in, the both of them. This was a battle they couldn't win.
But Shaheen still didn't give up. She let go of Ayasha with one hand, summoned her dagger, and began to hack at the grey tendrils that had twined around her. She fought against it, until it began to crawl up her own arms as well, pulling her. She screamed her defiance in the face of all of that grey. She was not going to let go. The icy cold that was travelling up her arms wouldn't be enough. Not even as panic began to set in. Not even as Shaheen's eyes began to widen in fear.....
No, she had to let go. If she hadn't they would both be lost. It might have been too late already.
Helplessness, and despair.
"I'm so sorry." Shaheen whispered, her eyes closing, her body shaking.
She tore herself away, tore herself free of the woman...no, she had just been a girl, a girl, not a woman. Just as she did so, something lashed out, hitting her in the temple, a blow that sent her in a downward spiral, sent her collapsing in a heap to the ground below.
Unconscious.
She awoke, and it was over. She had missed the grand ending, had missed that the phoenix had been driven away and through a portal to the hunters home. She was helped up by somebody she didn't recognize, a death guardian, she thought by his way of dress, or perhaps just one of their soldiers.
He took one look at her face, and his eyes widened, his helping hand letting go of her as he backtracked away from her, his words for some reason incomprehensible, fuzzy, her mind still hazy and not yet fully alert. There was a ringing in her ears, a dizziness, and she felt sick, nauseous.
Why was he backing away from her?
Ayasha.
She felt more sick now, remembering what had happened, remembering that she had let go of the girl she had promised herself she would see safely through this. It was her own fault for not paying better attention....
Why was everybody staring at her?
A whisper caressed her mind.
No.
More whispers, barely out of hearing, their words a mystery.
No.
She gave her head a small shake, as though that would be enough to clear it, shoulder length curls swinging around her face, falling in front of her eyes.
A flash of grey.
She held up a hand, fingers grasping a wide streak of grey hair that had fallen into her vision. Grey hair where before there had been nothing but golden blonde.
No.
Insanity. She was infected with it, wasn't she? The very thing that had made up the phoenix, the thing that she had fought so hard against, the thing that had taken Ayasha, that she had thought to save her own self from by letting go.
The whispers seemed to taunt her, because she hadn't saved herself at all.
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Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2013 9:05 am
The memory ended as the cup grew empty, and Sheenah set it down hard on the table top, only to see that a teapot had now appeared with a small book attached. She read it's contents, the feeling of helplessness from her own blend still strongly coursing inside of her, giving her a jaded feeling, giving her realization. She looked down to the table to the other teapots, the thought of taking in more memories, even ones not her own, leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. But it was for the goddess, so it was time to get started.
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Posted: Sat Aug 17, 2013 1:08 pm
Tea Guest Log Colour of Tea Tasted: Dark blue. Description: Panic, loss, helplessness, despair. Your commentary on its flavour: Another tea that Shasa was not fond of, this particular blend was filled with such a horrifyingly overwhelming sense of helplessness. As the memory played out, Shasa was made quite aware that she was watching a home torn asunder, a loss of friends, family and perhaps saddest of all, self. She did not finish this particular cup of tea. It left her feeling saddened - and quite helpless herself - and Shasa wanted nothing more of it.
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