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 Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2024 8:28 pm
It still took far more energy than it should have to get himself, his husband and son up to his Wonder, but honestly, Whisler was just glad that he had gotten them up there.
The warmth from the hotspring, the overall comfort of being home…it felt good. And the fact that he was back on his wonder made the sick, shaky feeling he was having ebb almost at once.
“Okay. So the Code didn’t lie. I…”
He reached up and rubbed the back of his head. “I have to admit, I’m…I’m never really happy with the Code? The last time that I helped it…the only thing I wanted to do was corrupt, and sure that was a mixture of a lot of things at the time but…it was an outside force pulling me there…not just my own stupidity…”
Drawing in a breath, he glanced around, wrinkling his nose slightly. “...Have either of you ever found your Code pieces? Do you know where I should start looking? Or…I mean. I think I’ve pretty much found everything in this room, at least…I thought I had…but…”
He shrugged and looked to the other two. “I’m not really sure where to start? My gut says try the hot spring but…that could just be me wanting to…you know. Try the hot spring.”
But then again…the spring had been important. It was because of fixing it that he had transcended and…
He couldn’t imagine the Code piece just living underwater though…that seemed…undignified…
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Posted: Wed Apr 10, 2024 8:10 am
Both Starlight and Newgrange looked at Whisler when they arrived, each assessing for any damage or weakness he might be trying to hide. Starlight stood at his side expectantly, and Newgrange placed a light hand at the small of his back to support him.
"I know where mine is," Newgrange answered softly, but it wasn't like they often spoke of Wonders. There was a ghost on his world, so if Newgrange ever had any questions he could just hope the spirit of his Ancestor was in the mood to humor company. For as stoic as he was, they had developed something of a friendly bond.
Newgrange wouldn't call them friends, but at least there was less animosity.
"I haven't," Starlight answered apologetically. "Why did the Code try to corrupt you?"
"It was sick," Newgrange explained. It was also a story for another time. Or, at least, for after they decided where to start. He rubbed Whisler's back lightly. "If your gut is telling you to try the hot springs, maybe that's where we should start. You should probably take it easy and relax, some. Maybe if you do, you'll get some clues about where it is." Or a memory, if he was lucky.
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Posted: Wed Apr 10, 2024 2:28 pm
Whisler drew in a slow, deep breath, the last of his fatigue beginning to drift away and though he took a moment to rest against Newgrange’s hand slightly, enjoying the feeling of his husband rubbing his back, he let his eyes wander around the room for a moment, hoping that the Code piece would be in this common room. It made sense. This would have been…or at least, he thought it was, and would have been the most well used room in the place, it was the best preserved, and even if Whisler had cleared some of the rubble out of the hallway, most of what was there were smaller rooms…rentable rooms, he was sure.
This…
He hummed softly and his eyes roamed the walls again, before stopping at the fire. It was always so…interesting that the fire never went out, though right now, it seemed to be struggling, and the warmth that was normally radiating from the lit flame was…weak. The gas that ran through the building…the people of the past had worked it all out so well, and he had never really…questioned anything.
This was simply…another home. A part of him.
There was a symbol of Polaris over the fireplace though, and it caught his attention for some reason. It was…wrong, somehow. Twisted? Crooked. Whisler thought for a moment, and after leaning over to kiss Newgrange on the cheek, and then Starlight as well, he made his way over, pulling the step stool that he had brought up on one of his trips and opening it to reach up for the symbol. “You know how sometimes you just…get a feeling?”
Whisler pressed the palm of his hand against the symbol and it was warm…which, made sense as it was above the fire, but a moment later, a door opened, once hidden so completely in the stone that he hadn’t even suspected, but now it was easy to see…and there were strange scorch marks all around the pulsing orb that sat inside.
It wasn’t…as bright as he thought it should be, and Whisler looked back at Newgrange and Starlight, frowning. “...Well, finding it wasn’t as hard as I had thought…but…”
Something was wrong, just like the Code had said…and though he had found his piece…he wasn’t really sure how to help...not really.
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Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2024 11:55 am
When Whisler found the hidden passage, Newgrange seemed content and Starlight’s expression shifted into excitement. They were both visibly interested, even when they spotted the scorch marks.
Thankfully, it didn’t seem like there was too much damage, and if either of them had been worried about what they might find on their own Wonders, this helped abate the concerns somewhat.
“To resonate with it…” Starlight’s voice trailed off. He pressed his lips together in thought and looked around a bit more. “Maybe you should just sit with it for a bit? If you clear your mind and focus, isn’t that what the Code said?”
“It wouldn’t hurt for you to get comfortable,” Newgrange suggested. “You’ve been under a lot of stress.” Especially with his Transcendence and being unable to visit his Wonder. “Are there blankets around here, or pillows? We can bring you some.”
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Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2024 7:31 pm
“I hope that I can…resonate with it from like…not on eye level…I don’t really want to pick it up or anything…and I’m not sure if I should, even if I can.” The idea of relaxing while he tried to…get this done…was a nice one. He was tired. And after a moment's thought he made his way over to the bed and chewed his cheek for a second before plucking one of the pillows and a blanket. “You two rest too. We’ve all had a busy day, and we’ll have to go to your Wonders after this.”
He propped the pillow against the handle of the step ladder and then sat on the bottom step, relaxing back against it. “There’s the food outside, please help yourselves…I’m going to…see what I can do about this.”
Whisler would have liked to have Newgrange next to him. Would have liked to do this with him but. Having the both of them nearby was enough to absolutely settle him.
His eyes closed as he tried to just…feel the Code…and after a few moments, he did feel…something. A strange warmth, a strange light behind his eyes, pulsing with each heartbeat.
As he relaxed, the light behind his eyes seemed to brighten, and though he had no passing of time, a strange, familiar? Almost familiar. Somewhat…familiar vision came to him as he sat there.
A woman, with long dark hair, the previous Knight of Whisler, holding a small purple wrapped bundle. She looked so pleased with everything and held the bundle out to another figure who was in the room. It was…hard to see who it was, but they seemed to be wearing white, and as Whisler reached up to kiss the figure, he felt a warmth spreading through his chest. This…
Interesting. He knew that this had been a brothel in the past, but it seemed that Whisler had found someone that she wished to bring a child into the world with. It…
Brought a smile to his face, and as he finally opened his eyes, when all was said and done.
He was smiling. And his face was wet with tears.
But the Code piece. The Code piece was glowing brightly once again, and all traces of scorch marks were gone.
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Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2024 8:37 am
Though Newgrange and Starlight both would have been happier to stay with Whisler, they respected that this was his Wonder and if he thought it would be easier to tune into the Code piece alone, they were happy enough to give him the time to do that.
They were quiet, keen to give him the opportunity to focus.
Whisler had suggested they rest, or get something to eat, but neither had much of an appetite and they were too preoccupied to sleep. So, they sat quietly and spoke amongst each other.
Starlight seemed more comfortable here, maybe because he had been more often or because he was just more in tune with Polaris, but Newgrange was still at peace with everything. Worried about Whisler, of course, but glad he was here and had the opportunity to fix things. His was undoubtedly the most sensitive case of all of them, but if he’d been able to find his Code piece so quickly, he hoped the same could be said for Starlight.
For a long while, everything felt the same as when they arrived–and then suddenly, it felt warmer. Safer. More at peace.
Both glanced in the direction of Whisler–and his Code–and waited for his update.
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Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2024 5:45 pm
“I think…I think that it worked. I…don’t know how long that took, but I saw her. The old Whisler, and she had a baby.” He glanced at Newgrange, frowning a little. “I thought that your ancestor said that she…that this…”
He flushed slightly and shrugged. “It looked as though she liked someone well enough. I couldn’t see details, but…she was happy. I know that much. I wonder…”
Whislers eyes strayed to the still messy exit to this room. To the other rooms of the building.
“One of these days. I’m going to explore more. But…let’s get your Wonders situated first! Where to next? Starlight? Since we’re already on Polaris?”
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Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2024 7:58 pm
Newgrange tilted his head just slightly, a bit in surprise and more in curiosity. He didn’t understand all of what Whisler was saying but he understood enough. It was something to think about. Maybe his Wonder would bless him with more answers if he kept coming back, if he explored more.
“We can go to Starlight. But I don’t know what condition it’ll be in,” Starlight said apologetically. “The last two times I visited it was storming so badly that I couldn’t see outside. It was too dark. And very cold.”
And if the Code was having issues, too, he wasn’t sure if they’d have any better luck this trip.
Starlight wasn’t going to be deterred, though; he stood up straight and smiled despite the nerves he felt churning in his stomach. “But if you’re ready, I can take you there.”
He was ready, Newgrange probably was, too. He just wanted to make sure Whisler was okay and ready to leave.
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Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2024 8:05 pm
“No matter what the state of Starlight is, we’re going to be there for you, and if this finding and helping the Code doesn’t fix anything, then we’ll do our best after we get this all solved.”
He took hold of Newgrange’s hand, kissing the back of it before taking hold of Starlight’s as well, leaning to peck his forehead. “Lead the way, son. We’re right here with you. Always.”
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