|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 7:59 pm
The first thing that struck Xiu was how calming it was here. Compared to the harsh atmosphere and constant adrenaline rush she had felt going through the atmosphere, this place seemed...quiet. Peaceful, even. Nothing was lunging out to attack her (yet) and from what she could see, there weren't any immediate dangers that she had to concern herself with either. On the contrary, she felt warm here, almost...comfortable.
She followed after the beckoning wisps, still cautious but a little less so than she had been during previous tasks. It seemed softer here, more welcoming, more...gentle? The soft, soothing music added to that sensation, though the baku couldn't help but feel a tiny bit uneasy at this. Just who--or what--was singing anyways?
She didn't focus on the matter for long, however, as she found herself wandering into a sea of trees. They were definitely something to behold, but it wasn't until she reached one in particular that she finally stopped, tilting her head to the side as her tapir-shaped ears perked up slightly. This tree...it felt like there was a steady pulse coming from within, but it was a weak one.
Was it sick?
Xiu jumped at the sudden voice, her hand--that had slowly been reaching to touch the bark--jerking backwards. Taking a deep breath, she tilted her head back to stare up at it, listening to it intently. So, it needed help?
After a moment of consideration, the ghoul nodded. Rarely one to turn down someone in need of assistance, she was more than happy to oblige.
Acorn Size: 11mm
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kaiyumi rolled 2 10-sided dice:
7, 4
Total: 11 (2-20)
|
Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 8:21 pm
Moving onwards, it wasn't long until she soon found herself at a lake. Her pink eyes grew wide as in took in its radiance, and she almost lifted a hand in an attempt to shield herself from the overwhelming brightness of the whole scene. It was just so...white, albeit incredibly beautiful to be sure. As she drew closer, she realized that she could hear singing. So was this the source of the music she had heard?
Crouching down by the lake, she took a deep breath before submerging her head into the water. She wasn't entirely sure what possessed her to do such a thing, but it seemed like the correct thing to do in this situation. Sure enough, she heard a voice calling to her, urging her to carry the water to the children.
Pulling her head out, the ghoul squeezed out her dripping hair and hummed thoughtfully. So it was asking her to water the trees with the lake water, right? She glanced around in search of a container or a bucket of some sort, but upon finding none, she simply cupped her hands and scooped the cool liquid up, following the helpful orbs until she was back at the tree. Kneeling down carefully, she let the water trickle from her hands and onto the tree.
She let out a surprised "oh" when an acorn suddenly sprouted, cupping her hands beneath it just as it dropped. Cradling it gingerly, she blinked at the tree and chirped a light "you're welcome" in response to the thanks. So, what now? Surely that wasn't enough, right?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 8:28 pm
Sure enough, the orbs were floating around her, clearly trying to get her to follow them again. Obediently pushing herself back up to her feet, she let them lead her back to the lake, whereupon she dropped back down to her knees beside it.
Feed them unique memories...just how was she supposed to do that? Xiu's brows had only begun to furrow in confusion when she noticed something forming in the water, tail lashing behind her as she leaned forward to get a better look. Bubbles? Or...no, memories. Her memories, if the fact that they had her face was of any indication! Yet, something about them was strange, as many of them seemed unfamiliar...
Deciding she had nothing to lose, she reached out and drew them towards herself, one at a time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kaiyumi rolled 1 10-sided dice:
8
Total: 8 (1-10)
|
Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 8:29 pm
It was Friday, and therefore Xiu felt a little less guilty than usual for letting her homework sit for a day. The moment she got home, she mumbled a quick greeting to her parents before rushing up the stairs, her backpack--weighed down by a number of textbooks--tossed haphazardly onto her floor as she made her way into her room. She had finally gotten through another tiring week of classes, and she wanted nothing more than to relax for an hour. Or two.
Or eight.
It was very easy, she had noticed, for her to lose track of time when she played MMOs. Her latest obsession--This is Halloween--had proven to be about a hundred times more addictive than any other online game that she had played in the past. She wasn't sure if it was the extremely detailed factions, the sheer amount of classes, or the ridiculously customizable characters--she was hooked. Like, really, really hooked.
...Like level 50 from grinding solo in low-level places for a week hooked.
However, like any good MMO player, she soon realized the impracticalities of playing alone. Sure, bakus were fun to play, but they weren't exactly meant to be at the very forefront of battle. She needed a tank and a healer if she wanted to explore the tougher places, but befriending random strangers in the game (who, she had noticed, tended to be very judgmental over her playing style) wasn't the most appealing idea.
After some consideration, she grabbed her phone and proceeded the spam her whole contact list. If she couldn't find someone to join her in-game, then she'd just rope her friends into playing with her.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kaiyumi rolled 1 10-sided dice:
10
Total: 10 (1-10)
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 8:30 pm
This was supposed to be a happy day, but Xiu only felt shock, which soon settled into anxiety. She had heard plenty of stories growing up about a group of heroes who would eventually band together to save the world from evil and some cheesy, cliche stuff like that, but she had never even considered the possibility that something like that could be true. However, even when she had been young, Xiu had to admit that she had never seen anyone with a zodiac summon. There were plenty of people with cats, various birds, lizards, and so on...but never any of the proposed creatures that the twelve heroes had possessed.
Until now.
Of course, it wasn't as if she had received the most physically impressive creature of the zodiac wheel--it was not elegant like the dragon, nor was it fearsome like the tiger. On the contrary, it was just...small and harmless looking, with oddly shaped ears, white fur, and bright, pink eyes.
A description that fit Xiu as much as it fit the rabbit sitting in front of her.
But it wasn't harmless. The fact that it was sitting here now, that she had summoned it, meant something. So, if the old stories were true, then this was it. She had no choice but to accept her fate.
It was time to make a contract and become a magical girl.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kaiyumi rolled 1 10-sided dice:
1
Total: 1 (1-10)
|
Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 8:31 pm
It was getting harder and harder to sneak around lately. Although the Horsemen were not quite as aggressive upon seeing a Halloween citizen compared to a Hunter, it was clear that they were not welcome. Of course, Xiu couldn't say that she was surprised--the Resistance did frequently take it upon themselves to mess with the Four Clans' plans, after all.
She found it rather ironic how they--Halloween--were actively trying to help and protect the very people who had once tried to harm them. Although one could hardly consider the two factions to be friends, they had banded together to form a temporary alliance in order to take down their mutual opponent. The Hunters had now become the hunted, and the threat of less humans around meant that the Halloween citizens would soon run out of their already stuttering and dwindling supply of FEAR. For the sake of the survival of both groups, they had had to put their differences aside for the time being.
Having just successfully crashed one of the Horsemen's missions, the baku was now leading a small group of hunter prisoners back to their hideout, the sound of battle fading behind her as she drew farther and farther away from the allies who had stayed behind to buy them some time to get away. She couldn't help but pray for their safety--unlike the Horsemen, who were especially vast in numbers and rotated their shifts, those of the Resistance were all exhausted from fighting day in and day out. Xiu herself couldn't remember the last time she slept for more than an hour, her eyes heavily shadowed with fatigue.
And then there were the Hunters, who were sometimes in even worse shape than them, especially if they had just been rescued. Glancing over her shoulder, the baku cast the group behind her a sympathetic look, staring at their gaunt, starved faces. One of them was walking could only move with the support of another, as one of their legs had clearly been broken and not properly reset before healing. Another was missing an eye, and a crude, dirty bandage had been haphazardly wrapped around his head in an attempt to staunch the bleeding a little.
Turning back as she led them underground, the baku sighed. Although she refused to give up and simply surrender, as she wanted to have faith in their ability to succeed, she had the sinking feeling that it would be a long, long time before anything started to look up again...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 8:32 pm
Getting the most important thing out of the way first: Swimmer Xiu had amazing abs, because that was apparently a requirement of being on the Iwatobi Amityville swim team. In essence, she had the abs of a titan killer.
The second more important thing was the fact that she was presently readying herself for an intense competition against a rival school. Now, this wasn't just any rival swim team, mind you--it was a rival swim team that was made up of the following people:
1. Her old, childhood friend-slash-rival who she hadn't seen in years
2. Her twin sister who has an inferiority complex and wanted to join the other school to prove that she was better
3. A tsundere love interest who would only come to respect her skills once she defeated him in battle
4. A girl she ran into the other day and befriended, only to now discover that they're opponents
5. Someone she has always looked up to, admired, and envied
6. The token shota/loli
Basically, losing was definitely not an option, because she was the heroine in this story that involved pretty much every possible competition/rival trope in every manga/anime ever.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 8:33 pm
It was her first year at Pigfarts, and Xiu was genuinely pretty nervous about the sorting process. Ever since she was a little girl, she had heard plenty of stories about each house. There was Leo, the house that welcomed the brave and the one that she liked best, Capricorns, where the most clever of children were welcoming into, Pegasi, the loyal and dedicated workers, and...
Serpentarius. She shuddered. She had heard plenty of bad things about that house, including (or especially) about the house head, Caelius. It was rumoured to be full of arrogant people of high breeding, and that one of the requirements to get in--a rule enforced upon the sorting hat by Caelius, she had heard--was that everyone who wanted to join had to have a tip-top haircare regiment.
Because yes, Serpentarius students always had amazing hair, just as their house head did. That was just how it went, unfortunately. However, there was a good thing to all of this, at least, a way to ensure that she wouldn't get into that house...
On the day before she had to leave for Pigfarts, Xiu grabbed a pair of scissors and haphazardly hacked off her long, pretty locks of hair. Hopefully that would keep her out of Serpentarius, if not by the sorting hat's judgment, then by Caelius'.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 9:56 pm
One by one, Xiu offered each of the memories to the acorn, watching as it first sprouted into a sapling, and then grew increasingly larger with each gift. However, the whisper alerted her to the fact that it was still not enough, and so she made her way back to the lake.
Was that...a castle? The ghoul stared with round eyes, tearing her gaze away only when the voice spoke up again to give her some instructions. "Take some of this water", it had told her...but wait, what water did she take? Upon closer inspection, she realized that there were a number of different pools, and that they were all slightly different.
In the end, she went for the light pool, crouching down to scoop up some water. "I hope that this will help you grow," She murmured anxiously as she poured it over the tree. Then she stood back with bated breath and waited.
Amazing. She beamed up at it in awe, and at the question, she gave an enthusiastic nod of her head. "Yes, I am! And I hope that you're pleased as well."
Xiu enjoyed the feeling of having taken care of something, vaguely aware that she felt slightly more complete than she had previously. It was strange but...she felt proud. Moving up towards the tree, she gave it an affectionate pat, hoping that it would be okay now.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
