|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2007 6:31 am
In the darkness one can see light if one looks hard enough...
Khia blearily blinked his eyes open; at first confused at the red haze that filled his field of vision. He started, limbs moving to wipe at his eyes to clear them of blood...only, there was no blood.
The shapeshifting Tall Tale was in a large, slowly rotating red crystal - it's facets glimmered darkly before him, giving the illusion that each surface formed from a constantly moving liquid. Hell, for all Khia knew, that's what it was. He snorted a little, the sound hollow in the odd encapsulated space he found himself tucked into.
Silky-furred dark hands reached out to touch the glimmering 'wall' - there was something behind it? He frowned (as much as a lupine creature can frown with a muzzle to get in the way) and peered further. He coulde see Tales - some he knew and others he didn't - yet their names came to him upon sight. More importantly, he could see Jiro, unconscious, and his ears twitched as he murmured the red-head's name.
The images of his brethern flickered before him; they were rousing...but Khia felt strange and he looked down. His tail, his feet - they were slowly fading! The effect was spreading too, moving like a flesh-eating disease only without pain. He knew this would be his only chance to speak to them all like that, so he would make it quick - they needed to know what was going on - at least, in as much as he himself knew.
"Jiro, Tiwaz, Kea, Elena, Armel, Sylvester, Tybalt, Diae, Ameretat..." The Likely Story growled out each of their names in turn - if the others were there, he couldn't see them; perhaps they would get the message too? He didn't have time to worry about it too much; so he just focused on spitting the information out quickly.
"I don't know if you can hear me or not - but just listen. The twins took some of our life force - that's why you've been feeling wierd. This wizard and his assistant got stuck on Gaia as the Study and Tome, and now they're trying to take our energy to get free."
He panted a little; it was getting harder to breath and over half of his dark body was no longer visible in it's crystalline prison. "Dad and Huni can help..." Khia's following words were tinny sounding; sharp and probably a little hard to make out. "Not sure what's going on, but unless you want to fade away, don't trust the --"
Whatever he'd been going to say, they'd never know because he was gone like smoke vapours on a sunny day.
His prison, the almost-liquid looking crystal began to swell and change colors, going deeper and deeper red and stretching the edges of...something until it burst into whorls of that odd fibrous liquid; each forming a pool that the previously named Tales would 'awaken' in.
Around them, an illusion springs; each one seeing the other children and yet not seeing the same scenery. Tybalt might find himself on a pirate ship...Armel underground. But they will all see each other - in groups, there is hope.
You will be here until we're finished, so get used to it! Nothing will harm you unless you want it to. Probably. A grumpy, terse voice grated the words out; the illusion they found themselves in was to keep them occupied until the ritual was done. If they wanted to talk amongst themselves, they could, nothing would stop them.
Probably.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 1:14 pm
Diae whimpered upon hearing his name uttered by a foreign voice. Old instincts that a child should not possess kicked in allowing for the boy’s eyes to shoot open despite the bleary fog that clouded his mind. His limbs felt like lead as he attempted to lift his arm to rub the sleep from his eyes.
The voice continued speaking, urgency and panic? Was something happening to the man? Diae looked towards the source of the voice. Definitely not a man. Diae regarded the anthro being but he was unable to make out the urgent message. Instead he contemplated the being himself. Was he like Aiai, Chai and him?
This is when the shock sets in. Where was Aiai?! As far as he could remember the girl had been getting a drink and then he felt sleepy. Diae didn’t have time to contemplate his memories for the man-beast is fading and a spray of color is flowing over them all. All? There were others, were they like him? They all were in various stages of sleep and awakening.
He shut his eyes against the fear and pain that was rearing up inside of him. When cool blue eyes opened he was surrounded by a wood. The earth around him was cold and wet, completely covered in deep snow.
Around him were the others, none of which he recognized. He searched the small crowed of faces with urgency.
“Aiai?” He choked out as he groped the ground around him. Icy snow clenched in his quickly cooling hands as his eyes filled with tears.
A small hand rested upon the frozen cloth of the familiar rag doll.
“Eain!” He cried out and clenched the doll close to his body, goggles and beaded eyes colliding with a small click. With a final glance around the tale gave up his search. He did the only logical thing to him at the point. With no Aido to comfort him, nor any Chailyn to play with until his fears fled him, the boy clutched his doll and sobbed into the tiny body.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 7:13 pm
He heard his name first. His name said softly.. with a sense of worry.. a familiar voice. And it was that which made him rouse from his.. whatever induced sleep. Wincing as his eyes struggled to open, he shakily forced one open. Oh holy hell! What happened?! His head was throbbing in the spot where he had slammed into the ground at his home.. but wherever he was, this was not home. and that voice... Khia's voice... where was Khia?! But then he heard his voice again. Heard the panic, the worry, the urgency. That made his headwings twitch. The utter urgency in that voice. What did he mean? Don't trust who?! "Khia?? Khia!"
The twins? Who were they again...? hmph, being a hermit meant he wasn't all that knowledgeable when it came to the other Tales. He wasn't even overly familiar with most of the names, except perhaps two. Though his facial expressions didn't change, panic rose deep in his heart when Khia's voice faded away. No... something happened to him. And he had no idea where he was in order to help! Damn it all! "Khia..." Don't trust anyone? Pfft, that was easy. He didn't trust anyone anyway... but why was he back here for?
He remembered this place... the same duel sided forest he had once had a nightmare about. Pushing himself to his feet finally and dusting himself off, he gave his head a rough shake, his loose hair flowing around him. Gah damn it.. he had to shift that up. But... what was going on? Someone else was there... someone, he definately didn't know.. and that made him feel really edgy indeed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 4:03 am
Though he was still deep, deep under the control of whatever had him in its grip, Ameretat's wings flexed as Khia called his name, and the little bird tried to roll over in the midst of his sleep. Even unconscious, when he found he couldn't, he began to kick and struggle, movements blunted by the constricting sea of energy around him. "Fah--ha--fath--" The whimpers escaping him were barely coherent and got no more so when the restrictions abruptly dissolved, dropping him on his back with his wings pinned uncomfortably beneath him.
That woke him up all at once; he bolted upright with a whistle of dismay, fanning his wings out behind him and turning in place to see where the voice had come from. No such luck; Khia had vanished, and the other creature speaking didn't seem to be visible, off there in the dark. The feathers on the back of Ame's neck slicked down, and he gave a quiet whistle of uneasiness.
Not that there was anything to engender unease in his surroundings. The dock was at the end of the Sky that was permanently stained violet and dusk-blue with eternal twilight, but the barges riding at anchor and the quiet order of the place served as some small reassurance to the phoenix. Then there was a flash of color out of the corner of one eye--he turned to follow it, only to find himself facing another child, no older than he was, sobbing his eyes out. Ame's face contorted in a moue of dismay; he didn't need any disembodied voices or elder Tales to explain that to him.
Wordlessly, he crossed the dock, claws tick-ticking against the wooden planks, and seated himself beside Diae to wrap a wing around the other young Tale. "Is alrrright," he added by way of consolation, tucking in close. "Is going to be alrrright. OK?" Under the circumstances, it was the best he felt he could do.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2007 9:37 pm
The voices did nothing to wake Elena, who lay there in the pool of illusion substance, completely still except for the shallow rise and fall of her chest. Words and warnings went by unheeded as the girl slept on. This was not a natural sleep; Elena had not only fallen into the same coma as the other Tales, she had suffered a head injury as well.
Illusion spun out around her regardless, placing the other Tales in a elegantly styled courtyard; the landscaping was natural in a planned way, with trees forming arches over the paths leading to and from and stone benches nestled in alcoves partially hidden by bushes and flowering plants.
Elena lay at the foot of a wide set of marble stairs, head resting gently on the edge of the bottom one. Her dress was arranged neatly around her, hands folded in her lap, looking for all the world as though she had merely decided to lay down and take a nap in this serene setting.
There were indications, of course, that this was not the case; her extreme stillness, the small red smear on the white marble of the staircase, and the fact that Diae's crying didn't wake her. Normally a very light sleeper, the fact that Elena didn't wake at any noise would be very worrying to any who knew her well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 7:47 pm
It was the scent that caught his attention. Strong.. hypnotic. One he was all too familiar with. His demonic headwing twitched before he turned to look towards where it was coming from. Pushing himself to his feet, and ignoring the wailing from the younger Tale, he moved towards the out cold girl., his hair dragging behind him. Nasty. he'd get leaves in it for sure this time. But his eyes were focused on its target. Something about this one...
Whispers of a deep voice floated through his mind and he snorted. Ah, he had seen this one before. Heard of her name but knew nothing of her personally. But that was easily said about all Tales other than probably four. Elena, neh? Kneeling down besides her, he placed the back of his fingers against her cheek. Cold skin. Still body and blood under her head. Head injury, no doubt about such a thing. He didn't know this Tale, no, but he wasn't going to simply sit there while she bled. Shifting up the sleeve of his kimono and revealing the white, long sleeved shirt he wore underneath, he worked on tearing them into long white strips. Maybe a bit of healing could help.. he didn't know how much use it would be, but he could at least bring her to conciousness... maybe.
He had never healed anyone other than Khia before... when'd he get soft again? Roughly shaking his head, he carefully lifted her head up and used a strip of cloth to bind it carefully about her head. If it worked.. she'd wake up with a hell of a headache. This was more.. a precaution. Next he lifte dup the pendant he always wore about his neck. It was imbued with powers from his parents and some of his own, he supposed. His eye colors flickered a bit as he worked on casting the only healing spell he knew. If it didn't work... then he had no idea what to do.. other than watch over her...
When did he become a softie.. again? Sigh...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 6:18 pm
Sleeping... It felt like he had been sleeping for so very long. The Tale's memory could barely recall what had happened before falling into his lengthy slumber. Or maybe he didn't wish to remember what had happened. However, the time for resting had passed. Ayden's consciousness slowly grew like a tiny ember spreading into a small fire. Though it seemed like someone's words had stirred him. An urgent and terrified voice had referred to he and his sister, and the young boy wanted to speak out to find out more. As he tried to speak, the words failed to escape from his mouth. That is when the fear began to creep inside him as well. Ayden tried to cry out with all his might, but all he could feel was choking air force its way through, like his throat was being held tight.
Finally the small fire erupted in a sudden blaze as his consciousness snapped awake with a violent jolt through his body. "HELP!!" his voice rang out so clearly now in the suffocating emptiness that surrounded him. The boy was awake now, he was sure of it. Though his open eyes could only see darkness and his ears could only hear silence. The air was so thin and stifling around him as he tried to move about, but he was trapped. The young Tale's panic grew more intense as he struggled in his confinement and pleaded for help. "ELANA, NINA, ANYONE! HELP ME!!"
Thud after thud of his balled up fists pound against the invisible wall in front of him until something finally gave. With a loud crack and creak, a doorway seemed to have been jarred open by his efforts. Giving one last shove forward, the sky opened up in front of him as the lid that had trapped him fell to one side. Cool fresh air washed over his form as he quickly sat up to find himself in a dense forest. Ayden could only sit there in wonder for the moment, trying to figure out exactly where he was and how he had gotten there. Finally pulling himself out of his temporary prison, he sits at its edge to find he was encased in an old pine coffin this whole time.
"Elana!" he calls out once more, still too scared and in shock to move from where he woke. "Nina!" he shouts out once more into the silent wood that refused to answer back. Letting his gaze fall to the dusty ground, the dark Tale swallows to the knot that had found its home in the back of his throat. "I'm all alone again..." he mutters lightly on his breath. "...what did I do this time?" While he didn't notice it right away, the young tail wasn't as alone as he thought. Others began to stir in the near distance, and any hopes for being reunited with his family lay with them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2007 5:48 pm
The comforting presence was welcome and the tale immediately hushed his cries at the contact. He could only bring himself to turn and burrow into the feathery substance encompassing him. He sniffed rather loudly before finally taking a short survey of his surroundings. The ice beneath him glittered and reflected a solar wind but it was not cold, and the familiar person comforting him did not have a threatening air. The only thing discomforting about the situation was the lack of Aido.
Diae brought small fingers up to stroke the feathers by his face before finally pulling out to take in the helpful stranger. What he was to find was a surprise.
"Ohs!" He blurted as he fumbled back from the other Tale? BirdChild? "Mmmm."
Small minds think in sections and it was obvious that Diae had moved pass the fret stage of losing Aido and had now moved on to take the beaked and winged person before him. He looked over to the spot on the ice to where he left Eain, conveniently located next to the other Tale.
"Fankyo for making me feel better...Wha's your name?" He asked remembering what older brother and mother had beat into him about being polite even if the person you were speaking to looked scary enough that he could eat you. And this train of thought made the Tale cringe before taking on another question.
"You no eet Diae's 'n Eains do you?" Murmured quickly but loud enough for Ameretat to hear. Diae's over sized sleeves slid down his chubby forearms as his tiny hands shot up to grip at his goggles. His current attitude was that of an oblivious ADD child as he searched for where other shouts were coming from, noises he surely should explore later if the other decided not to eat him. But for now he was occupied and the other Tale did have mighty pretty feathers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 3:48 pm
Around the young Tales, the world would shimmer briefly - whatever world their hearts and minds had conjured up would move as though it were naught but a drop-cloth...and something gliding behind it, disturbing the stillness.
It might have been nothing...or it might have been everything.
On a secondary note, here in this place, one's mind governed all; Jiro's healing would be effective on the downed Elena - his will was strong and he wished for it to work.
Ayden's terror would cause more ripples -- he and his twin affected this place more than the others, just as Khia and Linneas would have had they been there--
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 10:34 am
Sylvester had been awake for a while - a couple of minutes at least - but he had only moved enough to sit up and curl his arms around his legs after Kiarhu's unfamiliar voice had faded. He was in Lisa's castle, in Guaxa, in a dark room that he had only moments before come to recognize as Raquel's. It hadn't helped that he'd only ever seen the thinnest sliver of the girl's room, usually seconds before her door was slammed in his face, but this was definitely the place. It was bigger than he would have guessed.
There were faint voices coming from the other side of the wall, and even though several sounded familiar, Sylvester didn't make any move toward them. Despite the chatter it was too quiet. Where were the servants and sentries and pages bustling about in the halls? Where was Raquel herself, for that matter? The door was open. She wouldn't have left it open if she wasn't nearby. But... she wasn't. Creepy.
When the walls rippled and writhed and Sylvester saw that thing swimming past, the Tale jerked backward and scrambled to his feet. He shuffled to the side, cowering like a bullied kid expecting a punch, and stopped breathing as the room shifted with him, leaving him at the center of it regardless of where he moved. He inched toward the loudest voices, stopping suddenly when the room brightened and Ameretat and Diae partially phased through the wall in front of him. He recognized Ame, even though the bird seemed awfully small for some reason, but couldn't bring himself to say anything until the other Tale was completely in the room. Sylvester moved just enough for the kids to clear the wall then whispered, "Did you see that?" before taking a seat on the floor near the two. He was close, but not close enough to be considered a pansy... or at least he hoped not.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 12:33 pm
Elena didn't respond at first to Jiro's healing, but after a moment, the girl began to stir, her breathing becoming more natural. A finger twitched and her eyes were half open, not quite truly awake.
"She's fallen again," came a voice that only the prone girl would hear, cold and distant and vaguely annoyed. "Get her to her room," it continued as Elena vaguely struggled to sit up and show the speaker that she was fine. A disorienting sensation of being lifted up followed and with a gasp, Elena's eyes opened fully as she sat up suddenly, leaving a few hairs stuck in the blood pooled on the stair.
"Ow!" she exclaimed sharply, putting a hand behind her head and slumping back as a headache attacked her. Pulling her hand back into view, she stared at it in some horror before looking for something to wipe the blood off on. "What happened?" she demanded of the world at large, looking around. "Where are we?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2007 10:31 am
He was silent as he watched the girl begin to stir on her own, placing the pendant back underneath his kimono and settling back to watch her get up. There was nothing he could do about the headache. If they were friends beforehand, or he knew her better, he might have been able to do more, but he was a hermit so he hadn't. But that was good enough. Least she woke up finally. Lifting up his hands to let her know he meant her no harm, he gave a shrug as he looked around the area.
Ripples, or what he could call them as such, had appeared in the forest, almost like someone with very large hands were running them along a thin sheet or curtain, causing it to ripple and sway. He didn't like the feeling it gave as it watched it happen. The others, well some of them from what he could see, had noticed it as well. But it was highly off to watch a forest flip up and sway like a picture, yet still attempt to look sturdy and solid.
His gold eyes shifted back towards Elena when he saw her moving around again and he offered a bit of cloth for her to wipe her hand off with. "Not sure... wherever this place is, we aren't here because we want to be." He then pushed himself to his feet, shoving his hair out of his face. Khia had said to be careful... and the caution in his voice was too clear for him to mistake. The feeling of his rapidly beating heart, he could not mistake. A look of worry flickered across his eyes as he looked down at the black onyx and ruby ring on his middle finger, twisting it with a hesitant touch. He couldn't feel him anymore after that strange message...
No matter how many times he tried, he couldn't feel anything from Khia. Not his breathing or his heartbeat. How long had it been since he had not been attached to anyone? And his brother of sorts, Angelus. What became of him? "Least we're not truly alone, I suppose..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 7:46 pm
The sea of doubt resting atop the dark Tale's shoulders wasn't given the chance to last for very long. As his pupils quickly shrunk, a shudder ran up Ayden's spine and drags his attention back to his surroundings. However, he couldn't put words to the unexplainable feeling that had rocked his form. It was like he wasn't alone anymore, but it also wasn't comforting at all. Almost as if someone was watching him from a hiding place that he couldn't see with his own eyes.
The woods around the white haired boy seemed to shift a bit as he became more aware of his surroundings. The forest simply seemed frightening in his mind, so upon taking a closer look, it was just an ordinary thicket with the moon hanging overhead. Swallowing to his dry throat, Ayden begins to think, "I promised I wouldn't be such a frady cat anymore. What if Elana's in trouble right now?" That was about all it took for him to find a flicker of courage and drag him up to his feet.
"Sitting alone here won't help. I have to find Elana and get us home again." After the last word, the dark Tale extends his leathery wings out glides off in one direction. His sense of his fellow Tales' energies told him there were some nearby. None of them felt like Elana, but they might have been in contact with her recently. Any little bit of information would help.
Finally there in the distance, Ayden thought he could see someone and the very edge of the forest surrounding him, but the closer he drew, the farther the woods seemed to stretch. It was like someone was playing a cruel game with him, teasing the youth with something just out of his grasp. But this Tale wasn't in the mood for games, and wafted his wings harder against the wind to send him flying forward even faster.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2007 6:38 pm
Diae jumped at the new presence that seemed to have glided down a an ice laden hill and onto the mirror like surface of the lake. Now, he may be little more than an infant with no regard to the laws of physics, but people, no matter how special, shouldn't move like that.
Diae found himself inching closer to the bird like tale upon the sight of the giraffe like tale. Instantly he pondered; were all other tales besides Ai ai and himself animal looking? He let the dull blue sleeves fall over his hands once more and reached out to his doll one within range. Upon placing the security object down the neck of his shirt, he lifted leather goggles onto his eyes, turning the world even more blue tinted than it was before.
"Feathers?" Diae whimpered while efficiently giving Ameretat a nickname, "Why is the snow all watery? Are we in the shim pool?"
He watched as the spotted tale sat down next to he and Ameretat listening closely to what he had to say.
"See what? Is Aiai here? Is there a fish?" Diae asked looking around quickly, watching the world ripple around him. Was that supposed to happen? The small tale shuddered before ending up right next to the phoenix tale, snuggling into the yellow feathers attempting to seek a small amount of comfort
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 12:35 pm
Tiwaz had been less than thrilled to find herself in this strange place that so resembled the view of an ever shifting kaleidoscopic voertex. The fact that one of the first things she'd heard had been that the twins were responsible for this had not helped her mood any.
With her brother not part of this and able to see only other Tales Tiwaz walked cautiously towards them , sidestepping and hopping occasionally to avoid. Well she wasn't suer what was going on in the walls, and ground but it wasn't right that much she was sure of.
" Ame what's going on, and Sylvester why are you always around when things go wrong.?" Tiwaz called out to the two familiar tales as she got closer to them. they were with a third she didn't know but Ame was a good judge of character as far as she was concerned so he couldn't be too bad.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
