Alive? [Jan-27-311]He woke next to a slow flowing river, his body enveloped by soft, skin pricking grass. Dew still hung to the emerald blades, slipping down the stalks of grass as they became too ample. The day was still fresh, and clouds had been painted pink. Merica would lay in the grass, turn his head from left-to-right, and then finally sit up. Palms pressed firmly into the bed of green, and then he realized that he was alive. But what had he been, dead? He did not even know the word nor the feeling of it. There had been a moment of complete darkness, nothingness--a lot like space if Merica thought about it, although in space there had at least been a feeling for...
For what?
Those coal black eyes would twinkle in the depths of their beds; he was beginning once more to connect with the world around him, and the haze that surrounded his mind began to dissipate. He had died--whatever that was--and somehow lived again! A second chance, one may say. The corners of his lips twitched and curled upward, the rays of the rising sun reflecting off the ivory of his teeth. Destroyed, he thought by something called magic. A gnarled hand would be raised and examined by the beast, his eyes squinted in an inquisitive manner. How is it that my entire being had been engulfed in flames, and now here I sit.
Laughter exploded from his lips!
Elongated digits clamped over one another to cover his mouth, What was that? Had that sound really come from his lips? The laugh was obnoxious, coming out in short, loud bursts. A laugh, he thought as he leaned forward and pondered the word. That was my laugh, ownership. This is my body, his arms would wrap themselves around his being. The peaceful river before the man rippled and sung its song, an always changing tune with each new addition adding to its melody. Can this be mine? Questioned the demonoid, his lust for the river rising.
Stephen woke, which was strange he thought because he couldn't remember falling asleep. He certainly didn't remember falling asleep outside...
Oh, that's right. I'm dead.
He was still getting used to that. He was getting used to a lot of things. With a stretch and sigh he languidly got to his feet and popped his back, tugging at his hair tail absentmindedly. He'd come to the river for a bath and fallen asleep listening to it's burbling. Ah well, not like anyone was waiting up for him now.
"And the days grow shorter and the trail longer as we walk ever on and on, as we walk ever on." Singing quietly to himself he started unlacing his boots and pondered a bit muzzily if he could use the laces to tie up his hair tail and keep it dry.
Edited by: Quezacoatle at: 6/22/07 12:10 am
Re: Alive?Demons have been blessed with sharp hearing, and being so Merica had no trouble picking up the sound of a tuneful voice at the river's edge. The symphonic syrup of the vocalist made the monster's eyelids heavy, dulling his senses to the world. What being sings, thought the beast as he scanned the bank of the river. Finally the sun broke over the distant mountains, shining its bright rays in his eyes as they came upon the figure of Stephen. The singer was but a silhouette against the intense light of the sun, but Merica cared not what the man looked like, he wanted Stephen's voice.
Broad lips peeled back, showing large ivory teeth that shone. "Voice!" he called out, throwing his right hand open palmed into the air. "Come to me, Voice." He winced at the sound of his own vocals, they were obtrusive and broke the beautiful melody that rose from gypsy. You burned once for interrupting art, at the thought and took a step back, death was an experience he did not wish to endure again.Edited by: Juggling Jester at: 6/21/07 9:53 am
Re: Alive?
Stephen blinked. That was probably the most unusual greeting he'd ever encountered, outside of a very enthusiastic rent boy who grabbed his butt for curing a mild case of genital warts.
With a shrug he finished pulling off his boots, stuffed the socks in them and slung the lot over his shoulder, still humming a bit. Mother taught it was rude to shout.
Shading his eyes from the sun's brightness he headed towards the hail. "The wheel keeps turning, the fire keeps burning, and we keep walking ever on, ever on and on. Hello!"
Those lyrics forced Merica's gorge to rise, fire. Warmth spread over his being, for it had been the element of fire that consumed his living entity. But what was he now? Alive. What seemed like a lifetime would pass for the beast as he stood before Stephen, dazed. How could such a beautiful voice make him feel dead? It wasn't the Voice, it was the word. The word. A single word made this beast forget about the Voice... but only for a moment. Soon after the song had been sung, Stephen had greeted the demon with a simple "Hello." A face, which a moment before would have looked stunned, broke out into a gleeful grin. "Hello indeed, Voice!"
Merica walked to Stephen and extended his clawed, grotesquely large hand--how he knew this gesture or the introduction that was about to proceed did not worry the monster. "My name is Merica Dind," that is my name, "and you have a beautiful voice..."
Re: Alive?
"Thank you. It's nice to meet you Merica, I'm Stephen Hart." He took the proffered hand and gave a good shake, not too hard but not limp wristed either. He had to tilt his head back a bit in order to make eye contact, the man was tall. And well... maybe not a man but Stephen wasn't sure what Merica was so man would have to suffice. He smiled warmly and asked, "You like singing?"
The gypsy knew a lot of tunes, having grown up in a culture where history was passed through song and at one point having to play guitar to scrimp by on the streets. He didn't have the guitar but he wasn't a half bad vocalist in his own opinion.
Edited by: Crystal Dinaia at: 6/21/07 9:58 pm
Re: Alive?As the flesh of the two beings connected the demonoid felt a chill down his spine. This was the first time that he had ever touched another, and the sensation was exotic. Flesh wrapping around flesh, digits passing over one another, followed by a firm handshake. What was this feeling? It was more than a feeling, it was a lust. The lust was not sexual--nothing like the lust he had felt for the dancing woman he saw before his death--it was more of a connection. Stephen, the Voice's name, had a profound affect over the monster... He felt... He felt as if he had found part of what he was looking for.
What is this? questioned the demon as the pores of his body opened--blanketing his entity in a sheet of sweat. Companionship, the word came to Merica's mind in a flash. This Voice--Stephen--could possibly be a friend. Unlike the other being that had destroyed him, this songbird possibly had the ability to build him. Calm passed over his body, and his face bloomed into a friendly visage.
"Yes Stephen, I do enjoy singing." What was that in those coal black eyes, a sparkle? If one could change the heart of a demon through a handshake, what other abilities did they hold...
Re: Alive?
Stephen's smile widened to a grin, humor shining in his brown eyes. "Great, I was looking for a friend, music's always better shared." He set down his boots and tugged at his hair tail, gesturing with a tilt of his head to the river bank.
"Want to sit a spell? I haven't been here very long but I always take the chance to cool my heels when I can."
He waited for Merica to let go of the handshake first, using the moment of contact to reach out and feel for injury with his gift, a mostly unconscious reaction to physical proximity.
Re: Alive?No Merica had no physical injuries, internal or external. The only injury was something missing. That void felt somewhat filled now, but there was a greater calling. Out there was more, more to fill the darkness of a monster's being. Was it possible? Could it be that friendship could cleanse an entity destined to destruction? One would have to wait, but as for now it would seem so. The moment was perfect; the river laughed; the birds sung… the birds sung. Merica's lips parted and he let out a laugh that consumed the rolling hills surrounding the area in an echoing manner.
"I would love to sit my Friend and speak with you," he slipped his hand away from Stephen's, elongated claws traversing softly across the gypsy's palm. This is a memory, thought the demon as he basked in the emotion of pleasure. A memory in a world where I exist once more... a memory that will last a lifetime. A lifetime indeed, but what did Merica know of lifetime?
Re: Alive?
With the loss of contact came a brief reaching sensation as Stephen's gift turned off. Truthfully it was probably possible for him to heal at a minor distance but he'd never really tried.
"Great!" With a quick neck pop Stephen meandered over to the waters edge and flopped down, pulling of his shirt and knife sheath. Tossing the shirt at his boots and socks he set the bowie within easy reach and started rolling up his jeans.
"Been meaning to take a bath but it can wait a while." With his hands free he started coiling the tail into a makeshift bun on top of his head. It probably looked stupid but he wanted to keep the strands clean for at least another day or so.
"Anything you wanna really talk about Merica?" And it just struck Stephen how close that sounded to America. Huh. What a coincidence.
Edited by: Quezacoatle at: 6/25/07 3:01 pm
Re: Alive?To talk about something that was on his mind was something that the demon had never done. Speaking questions that were his own, was it possible for someone to answer them? Yes, in fact it was. After a moment of standing beside Stephen, Merica sat and looked at his smaller companion. Those coal eyes looked lost, empty of emotion, yet consumed by fear. "Are we dead?" it was a simple question that he had been constantly running through his head.
Were these two in fact dead, or caught in some sort of limbo? Merica wanted to know if there were others, people out there who had died and came to be in this place. Stephen with that question had brought up thoughts deep within the monster.
"Yup. Well, not really. See Merica, we died, so we're 'dead' where we came from. But we're here, and we're alive here. As far as I can tell, we can die here to, so that makes the question of deadness a bit complicated. Now, I haven't been here all that long, but I've seen people hurting and sick and dieing, so that tells me we're some definition of alive. We just had to die to get here."
He finished with his hair and met black eyes with solemnity. "'Desvonya telviera tovarish.' Means, 'Live alive, Friend.' The thought is, if you feel you are alive, you are, and likewise, if you don't. Me, I feel alive."
Stephen scratched at his scalp and chuckled. "Sorry, I guess I'm not too good at answering a straight question. I'll work on it."
Demonoid
A beautiful creature
with a taste for music
and a desire for life.
"I am not a heathen,
I am a man of prestige."
Posts: 11
(6/26/07 8:20 pm)
Re: Alive?"...if you feel you are alive, you are, and likewise, if you don't..."you're dead thought the questioner. His right index finger ran along the great spiral of his horn and rested on the tipped end, where he would begin to rotate his flesh into the point. Merica had just gained his philospher's pose, how wonderful. It was in this state that the demon thought, the sounds surrounding him melding into his ears to become one. Peace. Calm washed over his body, and his head turned in a lethargic manner toward Stephen, his jaw slack; stupid as he looked, he was thinking.
"Stephen," he began, "we got a second chance. What will we do with it? What can we do with it... And where are the other people? I must meet them." His greed surged, he must gain more... He need more.
Re: Alive?
Stephen pointed back towards the way he'd come from. "Through those trees and down a ways there's a city. As for second chances..." Stephen sighed and flopped backwards, resting on the muddy ground with ease, feet twitching a beat through the water gently.
"I'm doing what I've always done. Seemed to work last time, minus the inconclusive ending. I eat when I'm hungry, sleep when I'm tired, sing when the mood strikes me an heal as many people as I can while my heart holds out. Then we'll see." Stephen wasn't much of a heavy thinker. Truth be told, he tried not to venture into philosophical thought because it either depressed him or made his head hurt.
Demonoid
A beautiful creature
with a taste for music
and a desire for life.
"I am not a heathen,
I am a man of prestige."
Posts: 12
(6/27/07 1:57 pm)
Re: Alive?They had lived once and now lived again, and the monster was curious, had Stephen lived a full life before coming to this spirit realm. Merica's eyes bore into Stephen, "How did you live before this, Stephen?" This beast did not know anything about life, for he had been alone for his entire lifetime; a subject to his own prison. Had he been with humans and learned what he was truly to be, this encounter would have been much different. This demon had no idea that his kind destroyed and consumed for happiness, unlike his need to build and retain. There was something odd about this demonoid, but only because he was not influenced by the hateful nature of man... Yes, he had been murdered, but he did not know that. The only thing that he knew was that he was consumed, his flesh eaten by flames and turned to ash, only to rejoin in another realm.
And "the wheel that turns", would it keep turning? Merica wondered what would happen if that fiery realm were to envelope him again if he would reappear in another realm--for some reason he highly doubted it.Edited by: Crystal Dinaia at: 6/27/07 3:33 pm
Re: Alive?
"I was a healer. I did then exactly what I'm doing now, lived each day as it came. Managed to get myself killed in a very stupid way for possibly no real reason except... I was trying to do what I felt was right." Stephen shook his head, feeling the mud squelch a bit and knowing he'd ruined any chances of keeping his hair clean.
"I made mistakes, I learned, I laughed, I loved... I guess I lived a full life cause I don't regret anything but then I'm not the kind of guy to carry regrets. I'll miss people there, but I'll make new friends and move on and keep doing what I'm good at. Happiness is all about attitude. Learning to let things go that hurt and embracing the good and all that Hallmark jazz. Zen. In the end all is Zen.." he sang out the last lines, fingers joining his feet in a rhythmic tattoo. Warm honey brown eyes lazily tracked the few clouds in the sky before he graced his companion with a contented smile.
Demonoid
A beautiful creature
with a taste for music
and a desire for life.
"I am not a heathen,
I am a man of prestige."
Posts: 15
(7/8/07 11:13 pm)
Re: Alive?Zen, not only did the word catch his mind because of the way Stephen spoke of it, but because of the way he spoke it. Leech-like lips pulled back over those comically large ivory teeth. Merica's head rocked to the last spoken word of Stephen, and he let out a sigh of contentment. "Stephen," his voice rose as he stared at the man beside him. "Let us befriend one another and begin anew in this world, for do we know if we will ever get another chance?" He remembered the flames once more consuming his body, and shivered. Those people out there in Genil, Hell he did not know the name of the city, were awaiting him. He wanted them, wanted their food, their friendship... their love.
So Merica sat beside his first encounter, enjoying the scene. Had the healer healed the heart? A demon is supposed to be dark, full of hate and gluttony--gluttony was part of Merica's being, but he was not hateful.
Re: Alive?
"Sure. I need a shower now, mud in hair is unpleasant, especially for sheets." Stephen grinned a little wider at Merica's smile, not the least bit perturbed by the sight. "Besides, I could use some food and I'm sure you haven't had breakfast yet."
Stretching out a bit, Stephen braced his palms in the mud next to his head and back flipped up, glad to find he was still flexible and strong enough to twist that way. Though his wrists didn't appreciate the way the mud squelched and tried to throw his balance.
Shaking his head and letting the tail tumble like a mud soaked rat's, he held out his hand for Merica. "Wanna get some grub and see the sights?"
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at: 6/22/07 12:10 am
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