|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2016 10:16 pm
After her visit with Jeremiah and contrary to his advice on seeking out Heliodora, instead, Asiya made her way to the beach. Rumor had it that a strange witch - Sunny - liked to hang out there when she wasn't...doing whatever she did. The artist made no attempt to try and figure out just what exactly Sunny did. She would just accept her for what she was and did. There wasn't much aside from that she could do, anyway.
Asiya's feet sunk down into the sand as she made her way on to the beach. Even with her high-topped boots, somehow, sand still managed to get into them. This made the artist grimace, as the feeling of sand was never comfortable, no matter where it was. She always hated the coarseness of it, and it was probably one of her least favorite sensations. She would power through it, though, if it meant finding and speaking with Sunny. She wanted to talk to her, and to share all that she had learned so far, about the strange symbol.
And maybe, just maybe, she could get some answers, too.
But she doubted that.
When did Sunny ever give straight answers to anything?
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2016 10:21 pm
Sunny was on the beach today, wiggling her toes deeper into the wet sand. Temperatures were low today, but it didn't seem to matter to her; she had on a pair of shorts so tiny as to be illegal and her legs were bare beyond that. Her purple hoodie dangled from her shoulders like a cloak, and beneath that she had layered several tanktops of varying tightness. To put it bluntly, she looked like a hobo. Anyway, she didn't look up at Asiya's approach, only stretched her fingers out towards the sea.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2016 10:29 pm
If there was anyone that looked like complete opposites, it would be Sunny and Asiya. The artist stared at the other girl, and just looking at her caused her to shiver. How could she wear so little and not be cold? Then, after she thought about it for a moment, she realized why. It was because Sunny was from Other Ashdown. The real world and it's properties probably didn't work on her like it would everyone else, hence her ability to be out and about in such little clothing.
"I'd ask if you're cold," she started off by saying, walking closer to her, but pausing so her shoes didn't get wet by the ocean water. If anything was as bad as sand, it was wet socks. Asiya did not want wet socks. Boy, would that suck. "But you're probably not, given where you're from?"
Her eyes then drifted out toward the see, in the direction Sunny's fingers were pointed. Even in a place as cold as Ashdown was at the moment, the sea was still pretty. It had a lonely beauty on this particular day, and she couldn't help but feel a bit sad when she looked out at it. Perhaps she'd paint an ocean picture when she got home?
"I searched for the meanings of the sword, crown, and stars in that strange symbol. Thought you might be interested..." she then trailed off into silence, entranced by the movement of the waves as they hit the beach.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2016 10:44 pm
"Hi," said Sunny. She flicked a glance up at Asiya, and then back out to the ocean. "Sure. What's up?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 8:50 pm
"Well, crowns are the headgear worn by a monarch or deity was symbolic of many things. It represented power, legitimacy, victory, triumph, honor and glory. It also could represent immortality, righteousness, and resurrection. Within her own belief system, crowns could also represent knowledge and power. " She then paused and frowned for a moment, unsure of if she should continue. Her descriptions were lengthy, and Sunny might get winded from all of them. That wouldn't be good.
Instead of listing off the other meanings of the stars and the sword, Asiya just pulled out her notebook. She then opened them to the appropriate page, and handed it over to the witch. In there she would find the descriptions of both the other symbols in the glyph plastered around other Ashdown.
"I thought it might be related to some...I dunno. Powerful thing. But that's just a guess and all. I really have no idea what the symbol all over Other Ashdown is related to." Basically, Asiya was grasping at straws.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 9:03 pm
Sunny rolled her eyes. "Boring," she said, peering at the notebook pages. "Boring and wrong." She tossed the book over her shoulder. "The sword bisects a circle of eight stars. Aren't you an artist? What do circles do in painting?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 9:21 pm
Asiya frowned, her eyes glinting in the light at the fact that Sunny rolled her eyes. She then expelled a heavy sigh and then shrugged her shoulders some. "It depends on the type of art. Circles can be halos. Geometrically, circles are in so many things, and as a result are in architecture and what have you." Another sigh escaped her, and Asiya crossed her arms over her chest.
This was frustrating. She wasn't here to try and rehash things she learned in art school. She was just looking for answers. Why couldn't Sunny just be straightforward?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 9:57 pm
Sunny took a deep breath. "I'm not gonna frickin' walk you through it," she said.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 10:10 pm
Asiya shook her head and slipped her hands into the pockets of her sweater.
"Then I guess we're at an impasse because, quite frankly, you confuse the hell out of me. Nothing's ever straight forward with you and it's just....just...It's really annoying, okay?"
Wow. Sunny was starting to get her worked up.
No one had really done that since, well, her parents.
Talk about a strange feeling.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 10:15 pm
"Why should I be straightforward," snapped Sunny. "I've been in a psych ward once and I never want to be there again!" She looked away and bit her lip. "You want to ******** know s**t? Look into it yourself. Draw your own conclusions and act on 'em, don't just come to me with every half-assed thought you get without thinking about it! What do you think the sigil means? What does the context tell you? You're an artist so critique it, examine it, what do you know and what does it make you think?" Sunny huffed out a breath. "I'm not gonna just tell you because if I do, it's not gonna mean s**t. You'll take me for granted until I stop telling you things and then you'll put me away like a toy!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 10:30 pm
The comment about the psych ward took Asiya back. It had caught her off guard, and there was no way she could have expected to hear such a thing from Sunny's mouth. Mental health issues were difficult to deal with. Millions of people dealt with them in their lives every day, and Asiya herself couldn't even begin to imagine what that was like. "I-...I'm sorry," she found herself stammering. She hadn't meant to make Sunny think about such events again. Clearly, they were quite traumatic. "I didn't mean to bring back bad memories for you...nor did I want you to feel taken for granted."
There was a sincerity in her voice, and any annoyance that Asiya was feeling had been washed away almost instantaneously after hearing Sunny. She then paused and looked out toward the ocean, only to sit down in the sand. She had thought things about the sigil before - what it might mean, and her thoughts on it. But those were just her own thoughts, and they couldn't possibly be right. Her insecurities were holding her back from voicing her thoughts, but they shouldn't.
Sunny told her to say what she felt.
"When I first put everything together...all the symbols and looked at it as a whole, I thought it was pointing to some sort of...I don't know -- deity or higher power. That's what the symbol meant to me. But I didn't want to suggest that, only for someone like you to tell me it's wrong." Toward the end of what she said, there was a twinge of sadness in her voice. She then murmured a hushed, "...No one likes to be told their wrong."
And that was that.
Those were her thoughts on what it could possibly mean, though whether it was enough for Sunny had yet to be seen.
"And for what it's worth, which probably isn't much, but...I have no intention of putting you away. You're a person, not a toy. "
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 10:35 pm
"You're not wrong," said Sunny. "That painting you gave me. The affirmation of faith." She hunched in on herself, forehead on her knees. "It means that there's something you believe in, right? You drew that so that there would be something concrete to prove you're still there and you're still waiting?" She shrugged. "It's better to be wrong a hundred times than to risk never being right."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 10:47 pm
Sunny was very wise for an other-worldly being, even if it wasn't always apparent. She knew a lot about Other Ashdown, and apparently she gave good life advice as well.
"You're right," she admitted, waving a hand at her. "If we're never wrong then we never learn..."
Who knew that she would actually learn a thing or two aside from what she really wanted to know?
"I need to take more chances and just put myself out there more."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2016 11:23 pm
"The sigil is affirmation," said Sunny. "It means the cage is still closed."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2016 6:14 am
An elegant brow raised up when Asiya heard what Sunny said, and she nodded in understanding. If it was an affirmation that the cage was closed, then that also meant that it could be opened. And if it was opened, well...that could be a both a good and bad thing, the artist reckoned. One could never be sure when it came to Other Ashdown, so she reasoned it was both, rather than just one or the other."Thank you, Sunny," Asiya told her. "I'm sorry I didn't get that meaning myself. I didn't mean to frustrate you." The artist then stepped back from the ocean and started heading back up the beach.
She could have asked more questions, and she could have stayed longer, but frankly she was tired. The earlier parts of the conversation had left her frustrated, and then later she felt surprised by Sunny's talk of psych wards. In short, it had been a bit of an emotional roller coaster, and she didn't want to subject Sunny to that anymore. It was probably just as trying for her as it had been for Asiya."I'll take my leave then. It's been an interesting conversation. Also - let me know if you'd like anymore kreteks. I can pick some up for you - no rhyme or reason necessary. Just cause."
Sunny had managed to put up with Asiya and her cluelessness, so it was the least she could do. If it meant making Sunny happier, then she was more than happy to get her favorite cigarettes for her as a small gift.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
