|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 10:58 am
Quote: The Least Traveled Path (12) : In addition to the beautiful seasonal displays, the local botanical garden has set up a beautiful winter maze. Dense, lopsided fir trees that couldn’t be sold for holiday decor have been utilized to create the walls. The ability to disappear in the maze is impressive; the trees are so dense that it’s impossible to see through them, and if you try to push through them you’ll only wind up scratching or cutting yourself. You’re never really too far from the entrance or exit, and you can hear the voices of other people exploring the maze, or the celebrations at the festively decorated pavilion, but the deeper you get, the further away from all of those things you feel. For a moment, it feels like you’ve wandered into some alternate universe; the voices disappear and you feel alone. You can’t hear anyone–and they can’t hear you. You can’t see anything over the tall maze walls, and no matter where you go, you can’t seem to find your way out. Everything starts to feel cold and distant–and then suddenly all color, all smells, all sounds return. You still feel a little out of place but it’s nothing you can’t shake off. If you could just find your way out of here, first. As far as Andy was concerned, there wasn't a maze that existed that he couldn't logic his way out of. The Azure Valley senior had been doing maze puzzles since he was a tyke, and constantly left his hippie parents disappointed at the annual corn maze expedition, solving each maze with ease and bounding gleefully out the exit. Logic was his meat and milk; and he wielded it like a sword. He was a natural at puzzles like this. It was a proven fact, demonstrated time and time again. But this maze, made of unsellable fir trees packed more densely than any forest, was proving to be a bit problematic. The deeper he went into it, the darker it seemed, more claustrophobic, more convoluted and isolating. The sounds of the botanical garden and the other people traversing the maze sounded increasingly distant. It was just a little creepy. Andy nevertheless trudged on, his brow furrowed beneath his orange-red emo fringe, hands brushing the tree branches. He wasn't worried – he felt confident that he'd be able to solve this pine-scented labyrinth, despite the tiny little doubts creeping into his brain. Surely there was a logical, normal explanation for why this was so difficult to solve. And for the strange effect it was apparently having on him. It was inexplicable to him that this maze had been constructed so cleverly that even he, an expert at mazes, couldn't solve it as rapidly as he was accustomed to. He'd solve it, oh yes definitely – the maze didn't exist that couldn't be defeated by him. This one was just taking longer for some reason.
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 1:01 pm
"Perhaps this was not my best idea," Illyria muttered softly to herself as she padded along through the maze. So far there was no real sign that she was even heading in the right direction. As a cat though it did give her the ability to at least put her climbing skills to the test. The tip of her tail had been essentially glued to the wall that she was traversing along in the best approximation of using the right-hand rule for maze solving. Except, there seemed to be something, some other sense, that made it seem like currently the best place for her to be was deep inside of this structure. How odd was that? She had not exactly imagined that she would be padding around in a botanical garden either but she had needed time and space to clear her mind.
So without much preamble the Mauvian had snuck herself into the maze entrance when no one had been looking. It had been an easy enough feat but now as she continued to wander around a corner into what seemed like a dead end did she promptly park her rear on the ground before eyeing the trees that made up the maze walls. A human would have found the task of climbing or pushing through these barriers but Illyria wasn't human, well, at least right now she wasn't. Her claws unsheathed as she kneaded at the ground before she made an impressive leap into the nearest tree in order to put her plan into motion. Her claws made for an excellent grip on the trunk as she shimmied up the length of the tree but when it came to the part of simply sitting at the topmost part of the tree to get a better vantage point did it dawn on the feline why it probably would have been wiser to stay on the ground.
As she scrambled at the top of the fir to at least get a glimpse of her approximate location Illyria felt the tree's tip do a dangerous dipping motion and she yowled as her motions to maintain her grip caused the tip to sway even more. With a dawning realization did Illyria simply let go of her hold of the tree before she dropped. The good news was that it wasn't that big of a drop. The bad news was that she found her claws sinking into the winter coat of some poor civilian in order to catch herself from hitting the ground.
Oh dear.
Illyria's violet orbs took in the human's appearance before she gave an uncertain sound of distress before squirming to try and extricate her claws from his clothing.
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 1:54 pm
Andy was thoroughly lost in concentration, focusing all of his brain power on the task at hand. He was going to solve this maze if it was the last thing he did! Walking purposefully forward through the maze, he didn't detect the faint rustling of one of the treetops nearby. Suddenly a feline yowl filled the air – before he could react, he found himself with a faceful of frightened cat whose claws were digging into the coat and scarf he was wearing against the cold. "AAAAH!" he yelped loudly as he staggered back to counterbalance against the surprise drop-cat. "No kitty no kitty don't ruin the scarf no kitty!" Frantically he tried to remove the cat's claws from his prized hand-knit Fourth Doctor scarf without snagging it or pulling a stitch loose. That would be tragic! The cat, a cute little siamese-looking creature barely larger than a kitten, seemed to want its claws freed as much as he did; between the two of them it was detangled from his clothing without too much damage (and without snagging his scarf). So he was still lost in the maze, only now he was holding a random falling cat. "Where did you come from?" He held the small feline out in front of him, hands under its arms and around its little body. There was some odd decorative bits on the cat, something in gold filigree on its head and a bow around its neck. Clearly it belonged to someone. "Are you lost, little kitty?" he asked, schooling his voice into something soothing. "I bet your owner is frantic to have you back. We'll get you home after I get out of this stupid maze."
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 3:31 pm
There was a moment of disconnect between Illyria's brain and her mouth and for a moment it almost appeared as if she was going to reply to the words being directed at her before reality set in. Her mouth snapped shut abruptly before she issued the sweetest little trilling sound before she snuggled closer to the young man's chest. Her paws gently kneaded whatever surface they found beneath her before she canted her head to the side.
Stay a cat, act like a cat. You can't reply to him no matter how soothing the voice is.
Illyria had this mantra running through her head even as she glanced around to stare at the new location that she had literally fallen into. Her tail twitched for a moment even as she blinked owlishly at the stranger's words.
There was a sense of unease that travelled through her as it seemed that a lot of the noise that had been filtering into the maze was diminishing. Her ears flicked back and forth to try and determine in which direction the noises had been coming from before she had fallen from her tree. There seemed to be nothing that she could pick up on anymore.
No, that wasn't necessarily true. There was a familiar tugging sensation emanating from deep within this civilian and Illyria instead turned her violet orbs to stare at the young man. Is this just wishing thinking? No, this feels similar to Mabella and Fragaria, except he is definitely not a child. Do I risk it?
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 5:33 pm
Smiling as the little cat snuggled into him, Andy wrapped it in his arms protectively. Somehow it was good, reassuring even, to have another living thing with him when he couldn't hear another soul around him in this weird maze. "Don't worry," he murmured to her (he'd already decided in his mind, based on the filigree decoration and the bow, that the cat was a girl), "I won't let anything happen to you. We'll get out of here safely." He gave a small sigh and began navigating the maze again, the darkness and deadness of the air around him and his feline companion increasing almost with every step he took. If he didn't know better, and he was the biggest Doubting Thomas at Azure Valley Academy, he would have been really creeped out by it. But it was just darkness, and that plus the stillness and lack of sound could be dismissed as merely a result of the fir trees being so closely packed together to form the walls. He'd have to have a word with the botanical garden staff about it – it was fun, largely because it was such a challenging maze to him, but it could easily spook people who weren't as fact- and science-oriented as he was. "You okay, little girl?" he cooed to the cat in his arms, then began to hum an indistinct little tune as he walked. The tune evolved into one of his electro-swing favorites, which caused him to start dancing gently. He bobbed his arms and the little cat in time with the song and dance number and added his own words to the impromptu singalong. "Don't be scared, don't be frightened, we'll get out of here just fine…"
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 12:21 pm
Okay, at least Illyria could admit to herself that being paired up with a civilian was much better than trying to navigate the maze alone. Initially the small cat had been content to simply go with the flow as it was as the civilian had been sweet enough to put her safety above his own. As she was held though, protectively, in the young man's arms though Illyria finally confirmed that she was, indeed, in the presence of another senshi that had not been awakened yet. Dare she leave the civilian to be found by another cat, chaos or otherwise?
Trying to ignore the fact wasn't going to make it go away and Illyria had been resigned to what needed to be done. This was not going to be an easy conversation to have. Illyria had all but made up her mind to introduce herself when the young man suddenly began to dance around while humming a tune. Okay, that wouldn't have been a bad thing but his dancing also involved bobbing his arms and Illyria tried to grip tighter onto the arms in order to prevent herself from possibly shifting enough to fall down. The question that had been posed of her before the dancing had started came back to her and even as the youth sang some words at her did Illyria's ears flatten on top of her head, "please stop bobbing me."
That was her initial comment to the youth? Well, Illyria's paws grasped even tighter at the arms that encircled her as she awaited the reaction that was going to follow.
This civilian was going to be a senshi so she could talk to him but it was always hard to judge just how someone would react to a talking cat.
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 1:47 pm
"Oh, I'm sor-" Andy started to respond reflexively, then stopped dead in his tracks. With a slow blink, he looked down at the cat in his arms. Had this animal just spoken to him??? There was no one else around, or if there was, he couldn't hear them due to the weird sound-damping effect of the fir tree maze. He hadn't imagined someone saying such a thing, either – and "please stop bobbing me" was a very specific request. The teen simply stared at the cat for what felt like an eternity. Finally a low chuckle burbled up from his chest, growing louder and louder until he was throwing his head back and laughing hysterically. "Okay, whoever's playing this prank on me can come out of hiding," he called into the trees. "I know somebody's there throwing their voice to make me think I'm holding a talking cat." He waited, a smug smirk on his face, for the perpetrator to emerge from their cover and confess. And waited. And waited. His smirk turned into a frown as he realized he and the cat were indeed alone. "No… no no no. Cats can't talk. It's impossible." Andy looked back down at the little feline, shaking his head. There was no logical way she could have spoken to him, no empirical proof that she had. "That's it, I'm clearly becoming delirious. All this oppressive darkness and quiet must be getting to me," he nodded. It made him even more determined to get out of there. …But what if she had said something to him? How would that even be possible? He just couldn't wrap his mind around that possibility. Unless... "Did... did you just say something to me?" he asked the cat, feeling like a complete fool and glad there was no one around to witness this.
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 2:04 pm
It's true that normal cats couldn't talk but even as Illyria wanted to point out right away, she wasn't a normal cat. First things first though. Illyria's gaze widened just a little as it seemed as if disbelief was the initial reaction from her soon-to-be charge. Even as the young man called out for a hidden prankster to reveal their presence did Illyria choose to wait out the allotted time with quiet patience. A soft purring did start from deep within her chest as she waited as an early attempt to stave off the panic that might have been induced by her initial words. The almost hysterical laughter had not been expected though and the Mauvian grimaced as a result.
When the laughter stopped and the youth really looked at her and posed the question of whether or not she had said something to him Illyria's purring stopped before it resumed.
"If I hadn't said something you might have regretted my silence."
Squirming now a little to shift her position did the small feline peer more cautiously around the portion of the maze they were in before turning her attention back to him, "you are right when you stated cat's can't talk ... but I'm not your average cat. And you, are not the average human."
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 2:44 pm
Andy blinked again and his eyes widened as the cat spoke clear as day with the most gently snarky retort he could have imagined. If another person had said that, he would have grinned and clapped them on the shoulder appreciatively for such a clever response. But a cat… At least she was purring – he could feel it through his coat and in his hands where they touched her furry little body. That was a good sign, right? The cat squirmed a bit in his arms and seemed to cautiously look around. When she looked at him again and said more things, Andy paid attention. It wasn't every day one met a real talking cat. "I, um… I can tell you're not an average cat. And I know I'm not an average human – I'm smarter than most of them, for one thing. And for another, not every guy can say they're a ballet dancer." He couldn't help but brag on himself a little, not even to a cat; he was an exceptional student and a damn talented dancer. But he got the distinct feeling the little feline meant something else in her assessment of him. He gave her a curious look. "What do you mean exactly, not the average human?" he asked, brows furrowed.
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 7:30 pm
So far so good. Illyria's voice dropped to a lower pitch before she took due care to speak softly, "impressive. But not exactly what I meant. I say you aren't average because nestled deep inside is power just waiting to be unlocked. I can help to unlock that power and give you pointers on how to wield it for the purpose of good. But I guess I have to warn you, once I set your true power free things are going to probably get a little more complicated than this maze currently is."
Illyria would allow the youth to think on this offer before she considered her next move. Given this young man's age there was a good chance he could reason out that he would now have a target on his back whether she helped him or not. Her tail twitched for a moment before her ears swerved to try and catch any sounds that would determine if anyone was trying to listen into this conversation, but as it had been for the past while, it didn't appear at all like anyone else was around. It was a mixed blessing for sure.
"It won't hurt if that is a comfort," Illyria would hate to lose a potential new friend but she would respect whatever decision came forth from this youth.
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 7:51 pm
Andy's face was impassive as he listened to the cat explain what she had meant when she referred to him as "not your average human." Power? Like what kind of power? He didn't believe in magic or supernatural phenomena; he was a natural-born skeptic who needed irrefutable evidence before he'd accept anything as reality. Was this like superhero powers or something? Like out of the comic books that his dorm roommate Ted read all the time? That wasn't real, that was fiction. Just like the crazy Japanese cartoons that some of his friends kept trying to convince him to watch, with people running around saving the world with their incredible magical powers. Not at all real. And yet…. Here he stood in the middle of a maze that was displaying unsettling phenomena that he has zero explanation for, listening to a talking cat who was telling him that he had powers that she could help him unlock and use for good. He didn't know what was real anymore. A smile, not quite a skeptical smirk but close, crossed his face. "Sure, okay, why not?" he answered, keeping his voice low to match the cat's tone. He still didn't quite believe what was going on, but if there was one way to get the irrefutable proof that he wanted, it was to allow her to do her thing. Whatever that was. At least it wouldn't hurt….
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 24, 2024 2:23 am
At least he seemed amenable to the idea. Illyria had been slowly extricating herself from the arms that had held onto her much more loosely after she had begun to speak. To free herself entirely to leap gently onto the ground all Illyria needed to do now was give one last little tug. While she had been pressed against Andy's chest she had gotten a good sense of the young man's hidden identity and even as her paws hit the ground did Illyria move just a few meters away from the soon to be awoken senshi before hearing the acquiescence in the reply that she had been waiting for.
There was no need for theatrics but Illyria decided to show off a little and it was with a small twisting leap in the air that she called forth what Luyten would need to survive and thrive in his new role as a senshi of Destiny City. To Andy it would have appeared like Illyria had simply pressed her paws together in order to call forth two items from thin air.
When she landed the items were at her feet and she stepped forward before picking up the most important tool of the senshi trade and dropped it at Andy's feet.
"This pen will allow you to unlock your powered self every time you hold it and say "Luyten Power, make up." It doesn't have to be spoken loudly, if at all, it's the power of the thought behind the phrase that will activate your transformation. In this new form you will be Sailor Luyten," and here Illyria paused before she closed her eyes to seemingly concentrate on something, "you are the Senshi of Paradox."
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 24, 2024 8:14 pm
"Senshi of Paradox, sure, okay," Andy nodded, the near-smirk still on his face. "Luyten?" He seemed to recall learning about an astronomer named Luyten who lived back in the olden times… The things the cat had said didn't really seem to make much sense to him, and he still felt like he was simply doing this to humor her. And where did those items come from? A pen-looking sort of thing, which the feline picked up and placed at his feet, and what looked like a phone. Transformation? She'd said something about transformation. Transformation into what? To his logic-oriented mind, the kinds of things she was talking about seemed impossible, not real or even plausible at all. Only one way to find out if what the cat was saying was true. Bending down, he picked up the pen and studied it as best he could in the dim light. It was the most garish thing he'd ever seen, all neon lime green and blinding purple. Sure didn't feel like a conduit of power, let alone look like one. With a shrug, he glanced around just to make super-sure that there was no one to see how stupid he was going to end up looking, then looked at the cat. "Okay, I just say the words while I'm holding the pen, right? Okay." He closed his eyes, certain this wasn't going to do anything. "Luyten Power, make up." At first nothing happened, and he felt a derisive chuckle rising in his chest. As he started to laugh, however, the world around him distorted and he felt himself begin to twist impossibly – though not painfully, as the cat had promised. Purple and green numbers and symbols appeared and swirled around him as his body literally seemed to turn itself inside out but not inside out, rather like a Klein bottle. Eyes wide behind his glasses, he opened his mouth to scream – – And just as quickly as it had started, it was over. He didn't feel any different… yet he felt very different at the same time. The newly-awakened Senshi of Paradox looked down at himself, hands running over his body to make sure he was still in one piece and right-side out. Everything was where it should be, except his clothes, which had been replaced by a close-fitting outfit in the same garish purple and lime green as the pen. Squatting to test the movement in this new get-up, he discovered that it was just as stretchy as some of the things he wore for ballet, if not moreso. Nice boots, too. Luyten went to push his glasses up his nose, only to find them gone. Yet he could see just fine. He didn't feel the winter chill either, despite being bare-armed and dressed only in this apparently magical leotard. The confusion on his face was evident as he looked down at the little cat. He really didn't want to believe what had just happened was real, but he couldn't deny the irrefutable proof of his own body. "What…" was all he could manage to say. tefla sorry for the double quote XD
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Dec 27, 2024 11:29 am
The small delay in the start of Luyten's transformation had caught Illyria a little off guard. However, as things inevitably did, the transformation took hold and, shortly thereafter, a new senshi was standing before her. Illyria felt a small thrill well up inside before she tamped it down. This was a lot more of a different situation than Fragaria or Mabella had been and there was time to simply lay down the basic facts that Luyten would need to know.
"I must say, "what?" is probably the most important question you could ask right about now," here Illyria reached up with her front paws to place them on Luyten's thigh before she gave a small trilling sound. She was pleased with herself that she had managed to find another senshi but he would need to be instructed and that's what she wanted to do right now. Backing up she moved into a more comfortable sitting position and gazed right into Luyten's eyes. It was important that he learn and retain most of what she was going to tell him.
"Welcome Luyten, I am Illyria. I'm what they call a Mauvian. My primary objective is to locate sleeping senshi like yourself and awaken them. I am also able to detect when a senshi is ready to grow into a new stage of power. In this form, you have access to the powers that is aligned with your sphere of Paradox. It's only one type of attack at the moment but as you grow, you will unlock more powerful magic to use during battle," here Illyria paused before she took a deep breath," the next part needed to be explained.
"As much as I hate to admit it, there will be battles. There are forces of chaos that seek to eliminate those of Order, like yourself, from existence. It's a constant struggle for power and more than likely its best to find allies amongst your fellow senshi ... and knights. You have the innate ability to sense members of chaos, unfortunately they can sense us too. It is only when you are powered up though that this ability comes into play. In order to drop your powered self, all you have to do is go back to thinking of your civilian self."
Blinking slowly Illyria sighed, "probably the most important thing you can do to stay safe is to make sure you keep your powered identity a secret. I'm sorry that I have to dump all this information on you right away, but its urgent that you are aware of everything that is going on."
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jan 01, 2025 6:11 pm
If there was one thing Andy (or Luyten, or whatever) was good at besides solving math puzzles and ballet dancing, it was listening. Eyes locked on those of this amazing talking cat, whose name apparently was Illyria, the newly-awakened Senshi paid close attention to everything she said to him, ensuring that he would remember it all. Not that he was very likely to forget such an eventful day as this, but there was always the risk of chalking it up to a dream or a hallucination of some kind. He had to make sure to quell the lurking skeptic in his mind; this time, for once, he had gotten the proof he demanded. When Illyria was done speaking, Luyten was left with a million questions that he simply couldn't find words for. But he had to start somewhere. "So… okay, battles. Do we know why the forces of Chaos want to destroy us? Or is this one of those things like in mythology where there's no real reason, they just do? And this magic I guess I have now – how do I learn how to use it? Or even what it is? Do I practice with it, or what?" Paradox was his magical sphere then, huh? That could mean just about anything… maybe this could be fun! Sighing, he shook his head. "Sorry for the questions, I just want to make sure I understand everything. This is… kinda weird for me," he shrugged. "And damn right I'm going to keep this a secret. The guys at school… I don't even know what they'd do if they found out. Probably tell the entire city."
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|