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 Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2023 10:17 pm
takes place directly after thisThere was a listlessness to her movements as the cellphone that had fallen out of her pocket on her collapse was eventually grasped for and brought closer to the young woman that now sat staring at the device that she held. Her eyes were still raw from the force of her tears but the number that registered on the call display were enough to have a few extra tears slip down her cheek unnoticed before she hiccuped. Even that sound startled her into looking up and taking in her surroundings. Where had she ended up? She was definitely in no condition to even attempt retracing her steps even if she could get her phone to show her the way back. Everything in her brain was simply screaming at her to lie back down and recover from the exertion placed upon it.
Upon touching the screen of her phone Arianna entered in the password to unlock her device before scrolling to the recent calls log before dropping the phone into her lap. Apparently wherever she was, it was further away than she realized. There'd been at least three missed calls from the same number and Arianna swallowed painfully before working up the courage to call the number in return. Would Rhona understand why she hadn't answered the phone in the first place? Her sister, in all of the meaning except blood, would have to understand what was going on. Wouldn't she?
For what seemed like ages, but was only a few rings was the line on the other end picked up and Arianna breathed a sigh of relief before inquiring softly of whom might have answered the phone, "Rhona?"
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Posted: Sun Jun 25, 2023 1:40 pm
Rhona didn't clock Arianna's tone right away. She was busy pulled a blueberry pie out of her oven with her phone pinched between her cheek and her shoulder to notice, so instead she launched into her invitation. "Hey, Ari, sweetie. Sorry to spam you with calls, but I have like seven blueberry pies and about two dozen jars of preserves because the harvest from my realm was way larger than I anticipated." Which was totally on her, she planted a regular row of bushes along the perimeter, operating on normal expectations of growth and harvesting. It wasn't until she'd crushed a green crystal over the plants that she realized her mistake. "I should have called you earlier. It took Misha and I hours to get all of the buckets off the realm and into the outerworld." Hours and a lot of complaining from her brother. She would owe him big time for that. "I can sell the preserves in the market, but I wanted you to have first dibs on those and a pie if you wanted..." A moment later, however, she realized what she was hearing. Arianna's voice wasn't... well it wasn't right. It made her kick the oven door shut and toss her oven mitts away so that she could more firmly grasp her phone as she asked, "Arianna? You don't sound so well, love." Panic began to shoot through her. "Are you alright? Are you hurt? Where are you?"
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Posted: Sun Jun 25, 2023 2:21 pm
Oh, blueberry cooking. Pies and preserves. Was that what Rhona had called her various times for? This was the thought that had gone through Arianna's mind as she could hear Rhona bustling around on the other side of the open line and she tried to muster enough energy to even reply before she pressed the button on her end of the line to activate the speakerphone option. It took less energy to simply speak, rather than speak and hold something up to her face at the same time before she glanced around at her surroundings.
It was only when Rhona's tone sharpened to one of concern that Arianna finally found something deep down inside in order to respond. Heck if she hadn't responded it would only cause more worry. But she couldn't lie to Rhona, not even if she wanted to. At least not about this. Her voice, still a bit empty-sounding, choked on her first attempt at replying before she bit back a frustrated cry. Attempting to start over worked a little better in her favor and she tried to keep her voice even this time, "Sorry. Should have known it couldn't have been real. But it sounded exactly like her,"
If Arianna had listened to herself at that moment she would have said that even she sounded insane. As it was though she was still fighting off whatever hollow sensation she had felt at the conclusion of the music. She had to push through though in getting responses out to Rhona, "Not exactly alright no. Not hurt, just tired," and even as she looked around at her surroundings did she feel just a little bit of apprehension, "totally not sure where I am. Can't see anything resembling Destiny City landmarks from current vantage point. Think I'm way passed Meadowview though. Things are kinda foggy."
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Posted: Sat Jul 15, 2023 11:11 pm
It was a good thing that Rhona knew her kitchen better than she knew herself. She could focus less on shutting off the oven, unplugging the canner, and tossing rags into the hamper and focus more on how far away Arianna sounded. "Alright, baby, you're alright, okay?" Totally not sure where I am.
Things are kinda foggy.
Should have known it couldn't have been real.And Rhona knew that Destiny City was as treacherous as it was magical. Wily on it's best days and downright cruel at it's worst. This time of year, however, things seemed to be at their apex. One of the energetic high points of the year, like Halloween and Christmas. Adrianna could have seen or heard... or experienced anything. Like that one terrible Christmas when she saw herself in the funeral parlor or that horrible Halloween fighting a lion in a basement. "I'm putting you on speaker, okay Ari? So that I can pull up your snap location and find you. I'll be there as soon as possible, but stay on the line with me, okay?" She was already in her car, trying to stamp down on terrible, choking panic when she asked, "can you tell me what you say, baby? What you heard that wasn't real?"
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2023 1:49 am
Arianna had sort of zoned out momentarily as she tried to figure out if there were any visible landmarks through the multitude of trees that surrounded her. It wouldn't do Rhona any good if she just continued to drive around. Her mind didn't even make the connection of Rhona saying that she was going to use her phone's snapchat location to find her. But what she did manage to follow was keeping her phone in front of her and powered on like she'd been requested to do so. As she heard various signs on her sister's end that she was readying herself to go out the door did Arianna sigh softly.
Why had she thought it was real? It seemed that even with that one time when she was still a white moon senshi and she'd encountered that ice-covered building and received a vision and the accompanying sense of loneliness she still hadn't learned a lesson that nothing was ever as it appeared in Destiny City.
Upon hearing Rhona's voice again did Ari sit up a little straighter before pulling her phone into her lap. Her voice was a little stronger as she tried to compose an articulate sentence about what she'd witnessed.
"I had been tending to my hives when I first started hearing a what seemed to be a faint song. There was something familiar about it, like I'd heard it before," Arianna paused here before taking a deep breath. The anguish about not being able to locate the source of the song was still weighing down on her. But she pushed forward, "so naturally I followed it out and away from The Farmer's Daughter. By the time I got to downtown I could recognize the song as one that my grandmother always used to sing to me. No one else would have known it so it had to have been her singing."
A tear or two trickled down from each eye before she gave up trying to be strong and she choked off a sob before dabbing at her now leaking eyes, "I followed the direction the music seemed to be coming from before it finally stopped. After that ... I realized you'd been trying to call."
Of course Arianna left out the part where she'd wept over the loss of what could have been a rosier future ... but Rhona could have probably deduced what had happened from the sobs that were quietly wracking her body once more. They weren't as violent as before, but there was still some leftover heartache that was lingering just a little.
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Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2023 10:05 am
With Arianna speaking to her on speaker, Rhona broke several laws and probably the sound barrier to get to her. she was certain that if she got pulled over, they would understand. Her family was lost, disoriented, in pain, and needed her. She'd pay any ticket to get there and help her. And so, she spend towards Arianna's location, cursing this stupid ******** city the entire way. She didn't even bother turning her car off as she slammed it into park and flung herself out of the vehicle. She ignored the sting in her knees as she skidded onto them when she finally reached ehr cousin. "Alright, girlie," she breathed gently, gathering the other woman up in her arms. "It's okay, I've got you. I'm here now." Though she wasn't sure if she was soothing the sobbing woman in her arms or herself. She was still shaking from the panic that had coursed through her as she drove towards Arianna. all manner of terrible outcomes flashed behind her eyes. A cruel Negaverse trick. Some kind of monster. An even crueler White Moon trick, meant to bring her back to their side. They couldn't have her. Arianna belonged to Rhona, and the very idea of her being taken from her tightened her grip on the other woman. "It's alright, love," her voice was shaky, but she tried to ignore it. "The city has gotten to all of us now and again."
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Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2023 1:58 pm
Arianna's audible gulp when Rhona stormed into the clearing in which she sat was transformed into a small indiscernible sound at being gathered into her cousin's arms before feeling herself relax albeit only by a small amount. Rhona had found her. She could push onwards. Survive just a moment longer. To try and push down the heartache that had enveloped her. She listened soothingly as Rhona's words reached her brain and she made a conscious effort to adopt a manner of calm ... hoping that she could still the maelstrom of emotions whirling around inside.
There was anger, melancholy, heartache, joy ... it was all very confusing. Instead Arianna focused on the tactile sensations of being gathered up in an embrace of someone who cared for her enough to allow her into her family before she sighed. She was still hurting inside. Her voice, a little bit raw after all was said and done murmured to Rhona, "Why does the city do this though? What's the point? I've been heartsick enough with all the crap that I've been through,"
Anger started to bleed through her words as she thought about everything she'd encountered as she continued, "ever since being brought into this powered war I've been feeling besieged by things that I've seen."
Arianna paused for a moment because Rhona probably knew most of what she was referring to as she had told her cousin of all the things that she'd experienced before. She hiccuped before putting her head down, "I almost feel like the only good thing that this s**t has done is put me into your orbit cuz. Why can't the city just leave me alone? I don't want reminders of the past that I can't have anymore."
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Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2023 3:37 pm
Rhona held her cousin as she worked through her panic, simply being a solid anchor for her to hold on to. When Ari asked her the question, however, Rhona had no answer. She only sighed and shook her head. "I think," she began tentatively. "it's almost like Destiny City is alive. Like... a living being trying to maintain stasis. And we're all just like... bacteria. Both chaos and order alike. Everything that happens to us is just like... some kind of ******** up magical immune response." She shrugged as she finished speaking, knowing full well how ridiculous she sounded. "It's strange that no where else seems to know or care how weird things are here. You'd think that with all the monsters and attacks, this place would be crawling with reporters from all over. Misha says that the outside world is just... totally normal. No senshi to speak of." Speaking of... "Do you want to hear about the time Destiny City showed me something ******** up?"
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Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2023 5:10 am
Ari sniffed softly before looking up towards the starry patches of sky that were slightly visible through the canopy of leaves before once more finding herself longing to be wrapped in another pair of arms. She'd loved her grandma and it seemed as if Destiny City were trying to really mess with her. Ages ago she had sworn that she had physically encountered her grandmother but that had all been the illusion of a massive plant ... and now the song being sung had yet been another trick played on her.
Stiffening perceptively Arianna turned sideways before closing her eyes tightly to hide the anguish in her expression before blinking and looking into Rhona's face, "is it worse than the time you lived through your own funeral again?"
Rhona had once told her that story when she had needed her as Izobel, and not Arianna but she still remembered the tale. She was beginning to calm down a little but the young woman still felt vulnerable. At times she almost wished that she could teach Destiny City that it messed with the wrong senshi. But it was impossible to do anything. Instead Ari sighed before leaning into Rhona's embrace, "tell the story cuz, even if it is that moment again. Maybe it'll take my mind off things."
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