Where was he now? It was altogether too easy to get lost in the fog. Repoem shuffled uncertainly in the Goddess' presence, unresisting as she all but forced the box into his hands. Empty? Repoem turned the box upside-down and shook it, verifying it was indeed empty before the Goddess took his attention again.
Parts? Special labs? He could do that. Repoem held the scissors uncertainly, giving them a hesitant snip snip. Okay. He could do this. He could do this.
Dark. No, white. There were lines of white that danced across the ceiling, tinted with blues and greens and pinks and oranges. Something lifted his chin up. He was small. "------" the figure said. "You are ------. You shall now Serve me, for it is I who Rose you up from the Depths."
It didn't make sense. Rose from what? What did she call him?
"You have died. Your past life is no more. You shall Serve until you begin to Question."
What was he doing now?
"This is for your own safety." Her face was dark, hidden. Clothing covered her skin. It was only by voice alone that he could register her, his ------ as female. She was close, something jingling softly as she whispered, "Until you are used to this world..."
The memory faded. Repoem held the heart in his hands carefully, worried that it might break. He cradled it close to his chest, reaching up to feel for something that wasn't there.
Something akin to a waterdrop but deeper echoed around him. Repoem stood still, listening. He took a step, freezing as something made a sound. There wasn't anything behind him.
He continued on. The water made him feel uncomfortable. There was something about it, something that gave rise to an unfamiliar feeling --
"Please give it back."
Something grabbed him and held him down. Repoem tried to scream, helpless as only bubbles formed. When they cleared her could see her.
The necklace weighed him down. It was something to hold onto, to clutch as he tucked himself into the corner of the cavern. It was dark; he had his eyes squeeze shut.
"------," a gentle hand rested on his shoulder, making him look up. The hooded woman was there next to him. She tilted her head to one side, free hand lifting to push her cowl back. "Why are you hiding?"
He lowered his gaze, hand tightening on his necklace. The woman tapped the decorative lower jaw that rested on her collar bone, forming the collar of her robes. "I see. You were Scavenged, weren't you? I see it now. Your fins were taken."
In his shame he couldn't hold back the sob as he buried his face in his knees, back bare. He flinched when her gloved hands moved over his back, tracing the pitted and torn skin where his fins once were. "You are... ashamed, aren't you?"
He nodded, trying to hide his face deeper. He could hear the movement of her fabric as she stood. She left him.
Something cool dribbled down his back as something light and delicate was pressed against it. "There isn't anything to be shamed of. Sometimes you are Scavenged, sometimes you do the Scavenging." The water continued to run down his back as something light was pressed against his back a second time. "The important thing is that you came back here, even without means to swim. I may be able to give Rise, but I can only give Rise to you once. Do you understand? Come; let's see how well you swim with these new fins. I'll teach you to be more wary so you won't be Scavenged again."
He looked up at her in surprise, slowly lifting his hands to clasp her's as she pulled him to his feet.
That's right, Repoem realized as the woman shouted at him above the watery surface. She was his Leader.
Repoem began to struggle, hands up to his neck. She was his Leader. She was the one he swore fealty to, the one he owed his existence to. She was there to help him swim when he sank, to patch him up when torn. She was...
She wasn't there when he needed her.
Repoem kicked and struggled, reaching for something, for anything that could be used to -- there!
His hands fell upon the scissors the Goddess gave her. Repoem plunged the scissors into her, sinking as she disappeared. Was... was she holding him up while holding him down? Repoem struggled to surface, falling when he realized the water wasn't there.
He rolled to his feet, clutching her Heart tightly as he stumbled to the door.
The summons were a gentle pull that brought him out of the fog, the soft tug on his Heart leading his steps through the twisting Spire until he arrived at the Shrine. It was strange to see that two statues were missing, stranger still to see the fog rise and obscure all but his Goddess before him. His initial thrill upon seeing her fade to face made his core plummet into his chest, his grip tightening on his simple destruction. The soft rattling was muffled as he reached over with his other hand, trying to stop it from shaking.
The shaking stopped and Repoem looked down at his hands. They were empty. Where did his sword go? But there was the Goddess, offering him a knife. He accepted it from her, turning it uncertainly in his hand. He didn't like her tone of her voice. He didn't feel ready. He didn't want to --
But there she was looking at him expectantly. Repoem shifted his Heart back up to his eye. He had no choice.
THUD.
The cold crept into his back like dozens of tiny hooks. It was too bright; placing his hand over his eye and Heart did little to dim the room. Repoem slowly sat up, jumping as his shifting weight caused hollow thuds. He slid off the table. The shadow looked around worriedly, hugging himself awkwardly in such a way that he wouldn't cut himself with the Goddess' red knife.
The loud humming did little to alieviate his fears. Repoem cautiously approached the door in front of him, his shoulders slumping with relief as the door opened. The relief faded as he recoiled at the light, slamming the door shut again. He shook as his hand clutched at the doorknob, gathering what scraps of courage he could find before twisting and pushing the door open. The Goddess said he was ready. He could do this! He could, right?
THUD.
That wasn't him. Repoem turned, staring at the open door. He peered through it. Nothing. He shook his head, trying to dispell the quiver that shook his shoulders. He didn't have enough time for this. Repoem turned and began to hurry out. He could see it -- another door, an exit just down the hallway. He picked his speed up.
THUD.
It still wasn't him.
THUD.
He froze.
THUD. THUD. snip. THUD. THUD. screeech. snip.
He couldn't move. Repoem began to shake as the shadowy being slowly came forward, reaching towards him. It came closer and closer until its chilled claws reached for him, spurring him into action. Repoem took off, his feet slapping against the floor as he dashed for the exit.
Marushii rolled 1 4-sided dice:
2Total: 2 (1-4)
Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 6:40 am
His footsteps sounded lighter, weaker in comparison to the steady thud-thud of the following shadow. It didn't need to worry; it knew where Repoem was. It knew Repoem wasn't going anywhere.
Repoem ran into the door, bouncing off of it before he tried the handle. Locked. His shadowy claws scraped against it as the jingled the door knob, trying it again and agian and again. This had to be it, it had to work. It couldn't NOT work! The doorknob did nothing when he struggled agianst it, jingling the handle relentlessly.
A slip of paper to the left caught his attention. It was red; his core was red. Did his red Goddess put it there to aid him? It wasn't completely red. It was more like it was a painful white once with a large red stain on it. Repoem looked closer. A C E G. What did it mean? Repoem began to panic as the footfalls of his persuer grew.
The door knob remained stubborn as the shadow jingled it, attempting to force it open. Repoem slammed his shoulder against the door, pushing and clawing at the door. It remained shut.
"------! You should know better then that." The shadow seemed to chide, "You who believed you could take on those bigger than you. You, who believed you could swim faster. Look where it got you. Your arms will never be whole again. You are missing pieces of your former self, patched as they were with patches you scavenged from the leftovers of the others. Did you think I would not notice?"
The door continued to rattle beneath Repoem's hand, remaining shut.
"You tried. You always tried to do something you couldn't, ------. You tried to prove yourself, and each and every time you failed. And you tried to hide it. You were never honest with me, were you?"
Distance: 30 and closing.
Marushii rolled 1 4-sided dice:
2Total: 2 (1-4)
Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 6:45 am
Repoem looked at the note again. There had to be something about it. "AYE SEA EEE GEE!" Repoem shouted. "AYE SEE EEE GEE! AYE SEA EEE GEE! AYE SEE EEE GEE!"
That wasn't it. That wasn't it! Repoem snatched at the stained paper, turning it over in his hands. There had to be more, it had to mean something! It just had to!
Distance: 20 and closing.
Marushii rolled 1 4-sided dice:
4Total: 4 (1-4)
Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 7:08 am
The white he held wasn't the only white in the area. Repoem looked up, this time examining the wall to the right of the door. There was another piece of paper here, this one unblemished by red. He reached out and snatched the paper, comparing it to the previous. This was it; this HAD to be it! Repoem's hands shook as he punched the numbers 0-2-4-5 into the door. Before the door finished sliding all the way open Repoem was already shoving himself into it, trying to wiggle through.
As soon as he squeezed out the other side he took off running.
Repoem crossed his arms in front of his face as he leapt through the trees. Grey branches and twigs slapped at him as he pushed his way forward, trying to put distance between himself and his pursuer.
"You can't run forever ------!" He could still hear her voice, hauntingly chilling. It seemed to come from everywhere. "You can scavenge all you like, but my Heart will not restore what was lost from you! ------ give me your Heart and I will make you whole again. I'll be gentle. I promise."
Repoem ducked under a tree limb and continued running.
"Do you even know what you are doing, ------? Why do you run? Did the little small fry finally scavenge a spine?"
The shadow continued to run as he passed the treeline. He didn't slow as he saw the bridge; instead he put on a burst of speed to reach it.
Distance: 30m and closing
Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 5:30 pm
Quote:
gaia_starIf you roll a 1: The bridge is rickety, and the distance between you and the pursuer grows close. Treacherous winds begin to sway the bridge, and you make the mistake of looking down. The next thing you know you hear steady thumps on the bridge followed by loud snipping noises. You turn around, and they are right behind you. GAME OVER
Beneath his claws the bridge shook and swayed. He slowed down as his foot nearly slid through an open gap, threatening to capture him. Repoem reached out, clutching at the flimsy rails as he saw just how high the bridge was.
The last thing you see is a blackened, disfigured body near and a face stare at you, empty and silent. A pair of hands reach towards you, one of them holding onto your head. You can't move. You are paralyzed. You hear a strange thudding sound that increases and realizes it is your Heart.
"Don't worry," coos the voice, "It only hurts once."
There is a loud snip and then a second. You feel the sharp pain only once before that disappears too. The figure walks away, one hand holding your Heart, still beating, the other hand holding a pair of rusted scissors.
- If the your rolled prompt leads to a GAME OVER that is the end of this journey for you. Write your death solo reaction to the GAME OVER prompt in italics (a post where your character reacts to the given death prompt) as your last JOURNEY post for this prompt. Then go back to the Task 2 opening thread HERE and respond to the Result Prompt post in that thread.
A cool hand with neatly trimmed nails caressed his cheek gently. The hand moved up to brush hair out of his core-Heart-eye, the fingers twisting around his shadow-hair.
Repoem fell to his knees, looking up into the vacant hollow eyes of his pursuer.
She leaned close. "Don't worry," she whispered as she raised the scissors. "It only hurts once."
snip. snip.
Repoem remained kneeling after the scissors withdrew from his eye. The world began to blur as the shadow figure stepped back and turned her back to him, cooing softly over his Heart. "There, there, ------. It will be all right. It's okay, your Leader is here. Shh..."
Repoem took a cautionary step forward, flinching back as the odd white flakes began to fall on him. He reached out with a hand and snatched it back, mustering his courage before reaching out again to grab one. Upon opening his hand he tilted his head in confusion. Where did it go?
A step forward resulted in a muffled CRUNCH and jump backwards into more of the stuff. Repoem tried to lift his legs in haste to get away, only to wind up falling and tripping over himself. He scrambled to his feet and tried to retreat, only to now realize that the way back was gone. The imprints he left behind, however, remained.
The shadow stepped over the mess he made to approach the table, examining it and its contents. He reached out towards the blue jar and drank it.
Was that the right choice? Should he have done that? It didn't matter that this was a Goddess Task. Or maybe it did. Was he doing this correctly? Repoem began to chew on a shadowy talon, thinking. Maybe he shouldn't have done that. Or maybe-- he reached out to grab hold of the table as it began to spin, snatching his hand back as the spinning top slapped him away.
In all honestly he didn't kinow if it was supposed to do that. Or what to do next, considering the top now had various treats on it. Repoem reached out to take a piece of withered candy, seeing it as the least threatening of the offered assortment.
As the candy touched his tongue, Repoem eyed the cupcake and chocolate bar undertainly. He should have been more daring, more adventurous. The candy was just there. Maybe he should have asked for permission? From who? But now he was thirsty.
Repoem examined the cups before him. The mottled black and green was painful to look at, but it was closest. Repoem reached for it and drank it.
His shoulders began to shook as the memory rose from the depths of his consciousness.
Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 8:22 am
As the memory finished, Repoem stumbled backwards away from the table. He let himself fall to the ground, whereupon he curled up and began to shake. His face was pressed against his knees, hiding away as the weight of the memory settled in.
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