The Creature in the Well (9) : While Destiny City has a modern water system, it’s not uncommon to see decorative wells around the city. Often in parks or around gardens, they grant a peaceful, countryside flair to the otherwise busy metropolis. Most days, they blend into the background. Not today. Maybe you heard a powerful, fierce splash, like something smacking violently against the water, or maybe it was the unnerving croak that echoed from deep below, but something has clearly gotten trapped in the well. Sometimes, there’s the distinct sound of something clawing, scratching, climbing–desperate to get out. The noise its making is deep enough to vibrate through the ground. If you go to investigate, you’ll see nothing but a pair of golden, snakelike eyes staring back up at you. Whatever it is, its body is completely submerged under the water, but just looking into its eyes is enough to petrify someone. There’s something hypnotic about it, something that seems like it’s drawing you into the well. And why shouldn’t you climb in? What’s stopping you? Danger is forgotten; the creature in the well has made a target of you. Hopefully you have someone to pull you out of the trance–or, maybe if you’re strong enough, you can do it yourself. If you lose the battle with the creature, you will fall unconscious just as you hit the water in the well; you will feel the sensation of something coiling around you, crushing you, and then–blackness. You will wake up in a hospital with a day lost and no memory of what happened in the well, or how you were pulled out. You only have bumps and bruises, and when you close your eyes you’re haunted by the chilling golden eyes in the well. If you return to it, you’ll find nothing but a strange, croaking echo.
There was nothing to indicate that this night was going to be any different from the many that Irenaea had had before. Sure, the two instances of finding dice just innocently lying around had shaken the young woman's belief that Halloween around Destiny City was just another holiday. She had never encountered such things before so maybe the dice were just one-offs and not something that would repeat again. At least that was her hope.
For the moment there were other powered signatures around which led to the conclusion that things seemed normal for the most part. That didn't mean though that it would stay the same. The dark mirror senshi fished out her mirror shard in order to send out her wraith and found a small bench to sit down on while the creature went about its work. Her senses were on alert for if her presence would draw anyone of Order to her. If that were to happen well, she would be able to defend herself. For now though she was alone. In the distance Irenaea's gaze picked out the familiar sight of a decorative well and she shrugged. There was no interest in checking anything out while her wraith was loose.
Thinking back on the dice and that weird dimension the black-clad senshi shuddered. Hopefully there would be no three-peat scenario. Two times was two times too many.
xits_ p a o
here is a start.
Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2024 9:05 pm
It was still…weird. In that familiar but still new kind of way.
Not good. Not bad. Just…weird.
He’d debated all day whether he would go out. Between classes, practice, and homework, it was hard to justify going out for extra-curriculars, so to speak–especially on a school night–but his sense of duty won out in the end. Deciding on a short patrol around a familiar park, he powered up and took to the streets as Urda, Senshi of Blackthorn.
Losing the “chibi” portion of his title was also still weird, but it was easier to get used to than the idea of being powered again and all the hoopla that came with that. Thankfully Abby was around and he had someone he could talk to about all of this.
“With how much I owe her, she’s probably gonna be stuck with me for life,” he chuckled, glancing curiously at a decorative well to his left. It was pretty, he thought, and was about to pass it without a second thought when he heard a low croak echo up its walls. It sent a chill down his spine, and he glanced toward it first, and then around, particularly in the direction of an unfamiliar aura.
The woman it belonged to looked like she was properly dressed for the Halloween season. For a moment, he actually wondered if he might have been seeing some type of ghost, but considering the aura that just didn’t seem likely. Squashing his imagination before it ran wild, he raised a hand in greeting and called out.
There was a brief moment of alarm when Irenaea picked up on the arrival of an order signature but even as the owner of the aura strolled into sight she merely hoped that her wraith would stay away long enough not to arouse too much suspicion on the fact that she was gathering energy. 'Order senshi: basic level. Same level of power of me. If it comes to a battle I might have the advantage but I have no idea if he even wants to fight.'
Rising from the bench she had sat down on Irenaea moved closer to the well and the strange senshi before tearing off her veil to see better. In truth there had been no sound of croaking that she had heard but it was true that she hadn't really been paying much attention to the noises around her. When she out to gather energy Irenaea tended to block out most outside noises in order to try and gather her thoughts.
"No I don't think I did. But I tend to zone out at times. Did you hear a croak? Do you think something's trapped down there?"
There was no way that she would turn her back on a potential confrontation but it did not seem as if this senshi wanted to exactly fight. Whatever the reason it looked like his attention was more focused on whether or not he had heard something. Irenaea was contemplating just dusting herself off and exiting the area but even as she turned away from the well another loud croak echoed around them, breaking the awkward silence.
"But I did hear that one," Irenaea admitted before turning back around.
its_ p a o
Posted: Sat Oct 19, 2024 12:42 am
Her denial of the sound made him hesitate. He very well could have just imagined it. That wasn’t out of the realm of possibility given this was Destiny City. Not that he was able to participate in a whole lot as a kid, he remembered the weird things being reported on in the news back then. Since getting back he was quick to realize that that aspect of the city hadn’t changed in the slightest.
Urda’s expression became doubtful as he looked between the well and the other senshi, only then registering that she had a Chaos aura. She didn’t seem hostile so he left it there, quietly deciding that it’d probably be a good idea if he didn’t turn his back to her for the rest of the evening. Not that she’d given him reason to, but he didn’t know if she was the sort to push him in or what. So.
Better safe than sorry.
“May–” he started to say when a loud croak cut him off. Again, he looked to the well, then to her as she spoke.
“Guess so,” he adjusted the answer he’d been about to give just a second ago. “No way a regular frog would make that loud of a sound.” He held out a closed fist, not threatening in any way but rather almost as though he was about to offer her something.
“Rock, paper, scissors to see who goes to check what it is?”
tefla
itspao_
Witty Punching Bag
Offline
tefla generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
1!
Irenaea's gaze traversed back to the well before she took in the stance of the one that stood before her ready to play a game to decide who would check out the disturbance that was seemingly resided in the well's interior. Her hand came out in the traditional way that one would position if they were going to go ahead and roshambo. At the last minute though Irenaea merely dropped her hand back her side before she gestured to the well.
"If you want to go check it out I won't contest your desire to do so. If you still want to play rock, paper, scissors, well I'll grant the request."
Bringing her left hand back up Irenaea counted off the traditional rhythm before closing her hand into a fist to represent her choice of rock. Well, only paper could beat her and if this senshi did choose paper, well then she'd honour the request to be the one to peek into the well.
its_ p a o
itspao_ generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
2!
Posted: Sun Oct 20, 2024 2:01 pm
Urda was about to give up on rock, paper, scissors when Irenaea started counting off. He followed along and set an open hand before her closed fist, representing paper as his choice. The feeling of victory quickly washed over him, and being a good sport he let it pass without comment and simply gave the other a smile.
“I’ll stick close behind you just in case,” he said, as though he was expecting something to spring out of the well and try to pull in whoever stuck their head over the opening to grab a peek inside.
“I won’t let you get pulled inside or fall in, so don’t worry about that.”
Irenaea stared at the flat open palm of the order senshi. Drat. Of all the choices that he had to make, he chose the one that would beat her rock. Although somewhat bemused by the loss there was nothing to really do but accept the result and face the music, so to speak. Her gaze slid sideways to observe the senshi before she turned her attention to the well. Obviously well-tended as it seemed to be in pristine condition, but still, was that the sound of something scrabbling at the interior within?
The dark mirror senshi gave the softest noise of irritation before she moved closer to the well. She had lost to a member of order. That in itself was embarrassing but she wasn't about to renege on the deal. Taking one more step closer to the well did Irenaea move to glance over her shoulder one more time before hastily speaking, "don't get any cute ideas about shoving me over the edge kid. You don't want to get me angry."
Was it a true threat? Not really but it was better to act like she would be liable to strike out if someone were to try something like that. Her back to the other now Irenaea leaned over the edge of the well and peered down into the darkness below. There had been the thought that maybe some abnormally large frog or toad had become stuck down below but Irenaea didn't see anything. The sounds were still there and whatever could be stuck in the well itself was causing the ground to vibrate enough with the force of the struggle to get out. Visually though, there seemed to be nothing but empty space at the level where the water stopped. "I don't understand. It's basically em-"
Irenaea's words faltered. They just cut off right in the middle of the word empty. Something was down there. Golden eyes flashed open from just beneath the surface of the water and Irenaea was entranced. Her hands pressed down hard on the side of the well as she continued to simply take in the sight of the strange, yet, wonderful vision. Whatever owned those lovely gold eyes wanted her to climb down and join it in the well. I'm coming, hold on. Wait...
Forgetting about the order senshi behind her, and really, everything else did Irenaea make the slowest move in order to sit on the ledge in order to push off the top so that she could make the leap into the interior of the well. All that mattered was getting closer to the golden spheres that had ensnared her
its_ p a o
Posted: Tue Oct 22, 2024 12:37 am
The Senshi laughed lightly at the threat and kept a healthy distance behind her to show that he had zero intentions of pulling any funny business. Far as he was concerned, funny business was Chaos territory, but he wasn’t about to share that thought with her. He was just relieved that she wasn’t backing out of their little deal.
Urda did inch a bit closer as she turned to look into the well, though, blinking curiously at her figure as she peered down into its depths. The sound continued to echo up and out of the well, and he was about to ask if she saw anything when she started to answer…
And then she stopped, and…started moving to sit on the ledge?
“Uhh…” The amount of unease that gripped him was beyond uncomfortable, so he closed the gap between them in just a few huge strides and gently took hold of the Senshi by her shoulders. “There wasn’t anything in the deal about jumping down there,” he said, hoping to distract her enough that he could pull her off the ledge and back onto solid ground. “I’m curious but not that curious.”
Irenaea's hand almost shot out on reflex to push Urda away from her. She wanted to jump into the well. That thing that was down there wanted her. Who was she to deny the creature what it wanted? There was the strongest desire to loose her magic on the force that was trying to keep her away from getting what she wanted. Somewhere though in the back of her mind there was a small clarion sound of warning. What would the senshi think of her actions if she set out to attack him? The words to her magic was residing on her lips, ready to loose it before something registered in her mind.
Blinking slowly, almost as if waking up, did Irenaea turn her gaze away from the well's interior. Was there a reason that this senshi was shaking her and trying to pull her away?
"What? I thought I was supposed to check out what was in the well?"
Irenaea paused as realization set in and she almost found herself almost slipping off the ledge that she was seated on. Her hand shot out in an effort to either catch at the senshi or to find a grip on the wall so that she wouldn't fall in.
its_ p a o
Posted: Wed Oct 23, 2024 9:33 pm
Even if she attacked him, Urda would have still done his best to pull her off the edge of the well and back onto the safety of solid ground. If she managed to fall in, it wouldn’t be without considerable effort on her part–he was sure of that much.
“Just looking is plenty,” he said, “and honestly seems like there is something down there with how you’re acting, and that’s good enough for me.”
Thankfully after the brief exchange something seemed to click into place for the other senshi, and relief was just about to wash over him when she suddenly reached out. It processed quickly in his mind but looked to be happening in slow motion, and again his reflexes kicked in and he caught her hand just in time.
The senshi let out a sigh at that, his heartbeat pounding in his ears as he moved to help her down from where she sat. “Probably a good idea to stop tempting fate.”
The jolt of almost falling was enough to shake whatever lingering sensation had overcome her. Irenaea swallowed before clearing her throat before she moved to put her feet back on solid ground. The other senshi was right. It was enough that she had looked, but what exactly had she seen?
"There were golden eyes that seemed to be just under the water. I didn't see anything else but that," even remembering now what she had seen did Irenaea feel as if she almost wanted to return to sit on the ledge and tempt fate. But it was easier to ignore the compulsion to do so now that she was talking with the Order senshi.
"Not sure what it was, but I suggest you are right and we stop tempting fate. I know I'm not looking again. Thank you by the way ... I sort of got caught off guard with trying to turn around," Irenaea trailed off, a bit of embarrassment pinking her cheeks, "probably not everyday that you save a possible enemy."
its_ p a o
Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2024 8:26 pm
Golden eyes just under the water…just her description alone made it tempting to look for himself. He was able to quickly squash that feeling, of course, because he wasn’t up for tempting fate and risking a fall into a wall. Whether or not this senshi would return the favor, he couldn’t possibly know, and he didn’t trust that she would.
“No problem. You’re my enemy maybe by default, but we weren’t exactly fighting so,” he shrugged, “far as I’m concerned, I was just helping someone out.” Now that she seemed to have gotten her head on straight again, Urda let her go and nodded toward the direction he’d been going in before the well caught his attention.
“If you’re good, I’m gonna head off before I hear anything else.”
Irenaea thought about the words that had been said to her before she frowned. Yes, they technically were enemies. And it was true that they hadn't fought so maybe it was alright. Even as the Order senshi moved out of the vicinity of the well did she catch his words to her.
"It's fine. I'm fine. Don't let me hold you up," even as Irenaea spoke the words did her attention swing back to the well. The urge to look again had returned but for the moment the dark-clad senshi simply remained still. The order signature of a basic senshi was moving further away and for that Irenaea was grateful. Re-summoning her wraith to come back out to play did the Widow Spider senshi return to the well's edge in order to peer down it once more.
There didn't seem to be any visible sign now that something had been there. But she wasn't fooled. There was a plan brewing in her mind to come back to this location with her magnet fishing gear. Then she'd possibly get some answers.
