An Unforseen AwakeningMarch 6, 311. Mid-afternoon (around 4:00)
Maya...
The voice echoed faintly in her head as a blurry vision of blue and white came into view. As she slowly awakened, Maya became aware of a cool sensation flowing across her entire body.
Maya. Are you awake?
The voice came more clearly this time, her own and yet someone else's. A few moments more, and Maya's eyes focused on the picture before her: a distorted, rippling view of a nearly clear blue sky, with the sun's light shining from behind one of the sparse clouds that littered the sky. She found herself underwater, being carried by a river's current as she sucked its waters in through her nose and mouth and it flowed through a path leading through the gills in the back of her neck.
Y-yes... she responded as her thoughts began to clear. ...but where are we? The last thing I remember was...was...
Maya couldn't bring herself to finish that sentence, but it wasn't necessary. Although Naomi was in control of their body at the time, they both had felt the sharp pain as that dagger pierced them, and that memory was one that would likely haunt them for quite some time. Maya moved her left hand to where the dagger had pierced through, fingers probing for the hole that it had left and finding nothing, not even a tear in the fabric of her clothing.
...yes. We should be dead, but instead here we are, half-floating down a river located who knows where. As for a how or a why I have no idea, but I think that we should get moving soon. Whatever may have happened, if he knows we're alive, he'll be likely to come for us again.
'He', of course, would be the man that had tried to kill them: a young man whose name Maya was never allowed to know, but instead she was forced to refer to him as 'Young Master'. He was the son of the man who had bought them; a disgusting, morally devoid middle-aged merchant with a cowardly son who matched his attitude and lifestyle. Maya shook the thought of that young man from her mind, refusing to associate the word 'master' with either of them now. Instead, she merely focused on staring through the water and toward the sky.
It's a beautiful day, isn't it Naomi?
Yeah.
It reminds me of the day I left home...before you were around. It was a beautiful day then, too, just like this.
Maya's words drifted off for a moment as she began to reminisce about the home that she had left those years ago. Life had been good until she left, and she longed for nothing more than to return there once again. Unfortunately, it didn't help things to remain in a perpetual state of being lost ever since she had first been taken in by humans.
Maya, I don't know if you'll be able to return home...but the best we can do is to look at what lies ahead. Somewhere, we will find a home, even if it's not the home you wish to return to. We will, hopefully, get by and survive.
Maya sighed, and stayed silent as she continued to stare toward the sky. Her body was relaxed as it drifted weightlessly down the gently flowing river. She did have plenty to worry about, but for now all she wanted was to forget her worries and stare at that beautiful sky. After a few moments, Naomi would break the silence again.
Maya...we should go.
Please, just a few moments longer?
...Okay, she conceded, for although Maya had said nothing of her thoughts, it was unnecessary when Naomi lived within her own head in a position where she could have free access to them.
Thank you, Maya replied, staring into the sky as they continued to drift, dropping her worries for just a while longer.
Jesus Saves.
The rest of you take damage.
When the jazz man's testifyin', a faithless man believes.
He can sing you into paradise, or bring you to your knees.
Months had passed, and Morrigan watched the river, staring past it into the woods with one eye in hopes that she would see something she could rip into. Her body was tired from her sleepless nights, the fact that her eye socket still burned, causing her to hiss at the gods for their malcontented ways in the middle of the night. She was greatful, though, that she breathed... the scars on her back, four on the right side of her spine sliding inward and one on the left, were a testament to her luck... No, not luck... Crystal. I came to save her--and who needed saving truly in the end? Was she not in danger at all, I wonder? Morrigan had not found the courage to ask, for she had been too ashamed to even look at the elder. She had woken many times in her week-long recovery, but never opened her eyes... she always could hear it--those soft, labored breaths that said someone was watching her, waiting for her to open her eyes... and Morrigan had been cruel, perhaps.. but she could not look into those blue eyes, not when she had failed so miserably. Even when her stomach won out--when she could no longer keep the charade going, and no wounds were yet left, she waited for Crystal--Crystal who was sick, perhaps with worry, or perhaps with something... much worse...--to fall asleep, and then rolled from the bed. The redhead had kept to her sleep, the disquiet of her thoguhts written bold upon her pale features... and Morrigan could not even reach out to touch her. Such was her shame, she crawled from the window instead of taking the proper outlets from the kind household they both rested in, and took wing to leave. She would not face the other elder--not in such shape. Morrigan Aensland was once again looking at her family, staring through the ripples of a hazy door placed between herself and them, saying "I'm sorry... look what I did to you..."
Seren had given her a patch for her eye, and Lukavai had been worried sick about her. So many were those who cared, it was heartsickening. Sadness colored her every step as her feet touched the grass, bare toes sinking into the wettened mud near the river's coarse rocks. She was barely herself at all at this moment, the dew gathered upon the hem of her gown, making it stick to her calves where her feet skipped out in front a bit further than the skirt flew with the gusts of pleasant wind. White--a color that was foreign on her body in such a pure, undaunting dress. Her body was covered, the supple curves hidden, for Morrigan wanted nothing more than to be someone else for the moment. The mist from the river blew across her hair, sweeping up her bangs and pulling strands free from the loose-kept bun. Each step she took across the cold grass was a reminder of the hot coals she had to bear upon her back with the shadowed fangs of the beast sinking in, spreading their hatred into her waiting veins. The calm of her exterior was a facade, the true turmoil raging beneath, wanting jealously to rip the creature from the world--that menace who had taken her eye had loved Crystal... she was not blind. No devil could have stayed its bloodlust for someone who did not mean something for him. Had Morrigan not asked for it, then? By interfering.... had she not wanted death to find her body and mind. What had been taken from her was her decisive thoughts. She no longer possessed the confidence of the Aensland heart.. she was burdened with human fears. Things that would not have found her... not in the life before.. not before Crystal... regret. That was not a thing for anyone immortal. It was something that would destroy the soul... and it was.
Morrigan bore no wings this hour, preferring instead to look as she felt--vulnerable and indecisive. She stepped along the grass until she reached the edge of the water, feeling the mud give way to rocks beneath her bare toes and caring not for the sharp jabs they threatened her with. Gracefully, she placed herself upon a rock and let her toes rinse in the water, watching the ripples distort her image of them as the river rushed on, wishing wholeheartedly for a place to rest, she imagined... The sunlight was just over the top of its arch, readying its steady climb toward the banks of the horizon.. and the sound of souls whispered in her ears as they always did. The sound of life and death, that was so much louder here in this afterlife than the previous world, sang out in unison its praises for being well and love for its life again. That soft, releived smile found its way across her soft pink lips, ignoring her stress. The world was, perhaps, just beautiful. Yes, beautiful. And the sound of a heartbeat played the drum in the soft song, drawing her lashes closed for the moment, only to open again over the emerald green of her eye as the water lept up and light danced in a circle beneath the water. The gates had been open--someone had found a new home here, and the river had decided it was their love. Morrigan watched the waters carefully as the world sang its greeting, but nobody rose from the currents. Perhaps a fish had died and come here--she wondered then if fish had afterlives? The soft current dragged the hem of her skirt along it. Morrigan watched the sparkles of the sun reflect off the water, the clouds passing in a mirror image across it that was not as painful on the eyes.
There she was. A young girl--she must have been sixteen in image?--floated beneath the river, soft bubbles rising up from behind her head. Morrigan's eye opened a little wider, watching her dress flow around her legs and observing the subtle blue of her skin... She was a water creature, but no fish. Morrigan nearly laughed at the idea that a fish might have possibly had an afterlife, but caught herself in sacrilage. Instead she merely watched the girl, the black belted patch covering her right eye. She looked somewhat of a greek goddess, sitting upon that rock so still and watching the girl as she drifted. The white dress hung about Morrigan's frame in waves like a toga, and her white skin sparkled through the water in the dazzling sunlight. She lifted her toe and brushed it across the back of the girl's hand as she passed, waiting patiently for her attention to come this way. The soft notion passed through her head, I wonder.. if she knows she's dead... Very few people were at ease with their religious and spiritual thoughts so much that they accepted it at first, but there were those few that need not be told. Morrigan Aensland had known from the get go that this was Hell...
... and perhaps it was; but more than that, it was home.
Re: An Unforseen Awakening
For the moment, the world was nothing but a clear sky and this river, carrying the young Undine away from her worries. So lost was she in her peaceful lassitude that she had hardly noticed the flash of fair flesh and green hair as it passed by the edge of her vision. However, she did take notice as something brushed lightly by her hand, and the limb would draw back reflexively at the touch as those aquatic eyes shifted sideways to better see the source of the touch. Naomi would be the first to state the obvious: We are not alone.
The hue of the woman's hair and eye caught Maya's attention first, almost getting her hopes up until she realized that her fair skin didn't hold that tint of blue. Her face, as well, carried not a hint of familiarity. No, she was not an Undine, though with slightly different skin color she could pass as one. This was the first time she had seen such colors on what seemed to be a human.
Time to get up, I guess Maya commented as she begrudgingly tilted her feet downward, wondering as she did so just how deep the river actually was. Her answer would come quickly as she felt a sudden resistance and her feet seemed to begin to sink slightly through a semi-solid substance before coming to rest on the more steady rocks beneath the initial layers of mud, her feet protected from their subtle edges by the boots that covered them. Her upper body broke over the surface of the water as her feet planted themselves on the river's bottom, and though the current threatened to throw her off balance, an extra backwards step would allow her to steady herself. She would pause a moment to allow the last of the water to flow past her gills, now running down her back at the end of its path. Both hands moved hair from her face as parts shifted positions in the back of her throat, closing off the path to the gills while simultaneously opening one to her lungs.
Now standing waist-deep in the flowing water, Maya took in her first breath of air in this new world as she took a moment to examine the woman before her. There she sat serenely on a rock by the riverside, dressed simply yet elegantly in white and bearing a soft smile. The one disconcerting thing about her appearance was that eyepatch. It stuck out on her, a telltale sign of a past trauma the depths of which Maya could only begin to guess at. Using her index finger, she pushed her spectacles slightly up the bridge of her nose, looking through them at that patch. The area was alight with a steady glow that showed no signs of fading, and Maya wondered whether the eye was injured or missing.
Be careful, Naomi warned. We don't know who this woman is, or what she wants.
You worry too much, Naomi.
And you're too trusting.
You've been wrong before, haven't you? Besides, maybe she can help us.
...I suppose. Just keep your eyes open, and don't make me pull us out of another tight spot.
I know.
Maya, now realizing that her gaze had rested on that eyepatch for a little too long, shifted her eyes toward the healthy one. She stood still, steadying herself against the river's current, neither advancing toward nor moving away from the woman by the river as her lips curled into her best friendly smile. "Hello."
Jesus Saves.
The rest of you take damage.
When the jazz man's testifyin', a faithless man believes.
He can sing you into paradise, or bring you to your knees.
Re: An Unforseen Awakening
The rise of the river about the girl showed its love for her body and presence, the very mist that ran down the pale blue of her skin seeming to offer its desire to protect her with the soft sigh of its descent. Morrigan's eye watched the descent, lost in it. This new world was accepting, even welcoming, to the newcomers who found it from their life beyond. While the other woman paid her focus to her eye, she, in turn, paid her focus to the girl's feet. The wind dragged her bangs across her forehead, caressing her in a way a lover might, and she raised her chin again. Her hands rested upon her knees, and the waves of the white dress danced over her skin as she sat there in her reverie. She watched the younger girl as any elder might have--Morrigan, for the first time in her life, felt like she was old. In her mid twenties, her body was, but her mind.. meant to span centuries, felt as if it had drawn her emotionally thin. So much that she might snap at any moment, burst upon the rock and slide down the current of the river. "It's gone. Recently removed, so I've not gotten quite used to it. It's a bit... different, isn't it?" Morrigan referred to her eye, venturing to guess what was going through the girls head as she stared, "I lost it.. in a fight." I lost... The words echoed through her, shattering her confidence inside but showing naught on the out. Inside, her heart shuddered and threatened to stop under the heavy burden of her guilt and shame, but it didn't show on her face.. did not even surface in her eyes, dull and lifeless beyond the bright green that colored them. Her body shifted, the waves of white dancing around her comely legs as they unfolded and settled themselves into the sand. She seemed to flow to her feet, like a breath of wind over the mountainside. She stood one and a half feet taller than the girl, but only due to higher ground, her hand slowly moved out, extending to help the girl to the grass.
"My name is Morrigan Aensland--and welcome to Genil...." Her other hand swept forward, gesturing toward the ruins of the white city, though in the light it still glowed with hope and desire to be alive. The sunlight and moonlight were always so forgiving to the ruins of their home. It was not a quarter of a mile off from where they stood, and the light bent around Genil, tossing a rainbow over the broken pieces. "We have suffered a war recently, but the city... she'll rebuild herself." There was a silence that pervaded the fears of the world. How to tell someone the truth that was really this world. Morrigan was not Crystal; how did she deliver such news to someone. You're dead... It seemed so callous. So without heart.
She waited, and with or without the hand, whether she was refused or not, stepped her feet from the cool waters of the Genil River. Clean and clear, Genil's River was every bit as pure as it should have been. Morrigan's feet crushed the green grass beneath them, the mud welling up beneath her feet again, and she bit her lip with her back toward the other girl, free fingers tangling in the white linen of her snow white dress. "This place... it's another chance... You're... in the afterlife." The trees rustled across the horizon, the wind dragging from him the loose leaves that had just begun to grow with the coming spring.
This is the end.. no longer alone.. I'll keep walking on this winding road.. Mine is a life that is already gone, but I'll move on. Move along.
Re: An Unforseen Awakening""It's gone. Recently removed, so I've not gotten quite used to it. It's a bit... different, isn't it?" "I lost it.. in a fight."
Those words told Maya that the woman had noticed her stare, and though her curiosity was answered, she berated herself for her rudeness in staring and having been noticed. At once she found herself wishing that she could ease the woman's pain, but to restore a missing part was beyond her ability.
It must have been painful.
That's exactly the sort of thing I try to avoid happening to us.
I wish that I could help her.
Help yourself first. You need to think of ourselves more.
And you need to think of others more.
The conversation went as they watched the woman stand smoothly to her feet. A hand was extended, and though Maya was reluctant for a moment, in the end she accepted it with her own, greatful for the assistance as her own feet tried to push their way onto the bank of the river. The woman then spoke again, answering two questions before Maya could ask them:
"My name is Morrigan Aensland--and welcome to Genil...."
Maya's gaze followed her gesture toward the ruins that lay in the distance. The city looked like it had been beautiful once, and now even in ruin it held a certain beauty as if in defiance of whatever had destroyed it. She stared on at the city even as Morrigan continued to speak of a war. Her words contained hope...no, it was not hope, more a statement of fact, as if there was no room to doubt that the city would be restored to what it once was. War was such a senseless thing, and though Maya would never understand it, she found it at least encouraging to hear of the silver lining to this cloud.
"This place... it's another chance... You're... in the afterlife."
Maya hadn't realized how much she had lost herself in looking at that fallen city, but when Morrigan spoke again, she listened. However, when she heard what she had to say, Maya almost wished that she hadn't. The afterlife? It couldn't be true, could it? After all, Maya didn't feel dead. Everything was intact, including both her and Naomi's separate minds and their shared body...but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that it must be the truth. The fact that she felt fine now didn't change that last memory that they shared before having awakened here. That dagger had pierced her, and she should be dead. The only other explanation she could think of for her intact and functional body was that someone had healed her, and if that had been the case, who would heal a person only to discard them in a river? That explanation made even less sense than awakening to an afterlife.
"I see. So we are dead," she said quietly, her heart sinking as she realized what this meant: she would never return home again. Her greatest goal, the one thing that she had strived for through all the painful times, was now assuredly and painfully out of reach. Her arms crossed themselves across her stomach, and her eyes wandered groundward as she spoke again, tones of sadness clear in her voice: "I...I wish that I could say that I don't believe you...that it's a lie, and that somewhere out there my home awaited my return, but that's not the case, is it?"
Maya... Naomi could feel Maya's pain, though there was little she could offer as consolation. She was not normally the optimistic type, but there was at least one advantage to this situation that she could see. ...if this is true, that means that we've also lost anyone who wants to hurt us.
I...I suppose you're right.
With that, Maya allowed her eyes to wander back toward the ruined city, noticing as if for the first time the rainbow arcing over it. The city that shall rebuild itself...that is what she should be like. It hurt that she may never get to see home again, and it may never stop hurting.
"But...we will find a home, even if it's not the home I wish to return to," she said, mimicking Naomi's earlier words. Her eyes shifted once more toward Morrigan. "You said that this place is another chance...then perhaps, like your city, I should rebuild my life anew and turn defeat to victory."
A smile crossed her face at that thought, though it remained a sad smile.
Jesus Saves.
The rest of you take damage.
When the jazz man's testifyin', a faithless man believes.
He can sing you into paradise, or bring you to your knees.
Re: An Unforseen Awakening
The other woman seemed lost in her thoughts, and Morrigan did not blame her. Quite the opposite, she was greatful that the response was not a burst into tears or a holler at her. She could not have handled it right now--not inside. Might she have died if a voice had been raised...? No... perhaps not, but it would have left a dent inside her shell. Another to add to the myriad of stained glass pieces that was Morrigan Aensland. Lost in her reverie, Morrigan stood for a time. A few moments that for her stretched on like hours as the city rebuilt its walls before her. People will dance the streets; women and children will not fear to come out anymore.. and we... no, the elders.. of whom I am not truly one... will return to their positions... and they will no longer need to worship the darkness of hatred that they find their sanity in now. She caught her lower lip betwixt her teeth again and chewed at it absently, "Whatever happened before..." The soft smile of that man danced before her glittering eyes. The castle would be overtaken. She had sold her family for love--a love that was returned with naught but hatred and calculated betrayal... She choked on her words, the pain in her gut where the blade still rested beneath her ribs not equaled by the pain in her heart.... 'But... why..?', "Here... it's but a memory. Home can be remade, for it is where you find family. It seems like nonsense now, but a little girl told me that when I first got here..."
Fear in her eyes as she stared upward. A new place. A new world--those people. The eleven talking in front of her--they must have some idea where this place is! She'd catch one of them alone, con the intelligence she needed from him, and use him for sustenance... then she'd take wing back to her home when she knew which way it was. Her sisters would surely need her. She had been spared, no doubt, as the fates willed for her to rescue them.... For now.. she'd just rest beside this tree and wait... but she was so tired.... so very tired....
Morrigan released her lip from her teeth again, that smile spreading on her face an equally sad one, but there was something behind it. She had found faith in people--in the people here. The beauty that they held, the lives that they strove for. It was something unlike her world, "It's dangerous here, though. Just like anywhere. You're not in Heaven... believe me." She raised her eyebrows, bringing attention to the belt across her head again and then took in a great gasp for air, seeming to refresh for that brief moment, like the weight of the world had lifted for a second in a lifetime, "But I'm not good at this! You should definitely seek Crystal.. or perhaps Kentaro! I am not... a person..." She drifted off, leaving the sentence unfinished and hanging in the air. She was nobody. she was a creature, not a human, and she pushed the insisting fears that screamed she had no right to greet newcomers to this world, arguing with them that she was merely more experienced, and it did not take a medal to help someone.. not a badge, or a certificate of acheivement. No degree.... it was merely... a fact of life.
"Hey! Hey, you." Her eyes opened quickly, Morrigan's bright greeens coming in contact with blues that were huge and glittering. The girl was no older than 12--she couldn't have been any older than that. "Are you alright? I found you. Were you hiding?" Some fiery bug flitted past her head and started Morrigan to standing up from her seated position. She stared at the young girl with distaste.. A child? Of all the eleven, the child found her?
"No. I was not hiding. Go away."
"But you're all alone here... why would you want me to leave... My name is Nuki..."
"Shoo. I hate children..."
"I think you're lying. You're lonely. And scared..."
"I'm not scared, you little brat! I scare of nothing..!" Nuki's eyes were huge and tears were gathering at the corners as Morrigan shook her by her shoulders. Something in that look--in those eyes--she saw Lilith. She was scared... she was alone... But she couldn't admit it...
"You're dead, you know... You should come down with me... I'll be your friend."
Friend? What did that mean?
Back then, Morrigan had been so confident that she needed no one. She had been so alone, and perhaps that had not been a bad thing. She had desired that company, and had found herself hating that part of her she saw as weak. But now, she saw, that it was not weak at all to rely on others. Not weak to be relied upon. It was much harder than being alone ever would be. "I cannot take you inside, but when you go... Look for her. For Crystal Dinaia. You'll know her by her bright red hair. Make friends who are not she, but she can tell you how to find your way... She knows.. she watches... She's... strong.." The words died into the softest whisper. Morrigan was so lost, trying so hard to be this person that was lost under her skin...
She suddenly twirled. She had been doing so much pacing, looking away, looking back, turning, dancing across the grass as if when she stood still she was being targetted. Her eyes lit on the other girls, and Morrigan let out a breathy sigh of distaste with herself, "But I've not asked! Your name, Young Miss?"
Re: An Unforseen Awakening
Memories. That was all that she had to keep her going through the years; memories of home, and hope of returning. Now, that hope was gone, but the memories remained as constant reminders that things had been better once. A simple, happy life had been left behind involuntarily for one full of pain and uncertainty. Now, that life was no longer a hope or a goal, but just a distant memory, never to happen again. As for family, all that remained was Naomi. In that, at least, she could be greatful that she still had that one companion, one single image of familiarity in a tapestry of the unknown. Meanwhile, the sight of one such as Morrigan, who seemed, if nothing else, to be a kind soul to welcome her into this world, also held some reassurance.
Maya would continue to listen, and as she did so she would find herself wondering how long she had spent in this world...and furthermore, the events behind her own death. However, much like her own end, Maya guessed that her own death-tale couldn't be a pleasant memory, and was perhaps not the most appropriate question to ask. She spoke of danger in this world, which was illustrated by that missing right eye, still aglow with a steady pain that Maya only wished she could relieve. She gave names...unfamiliar names, though Maya had the feeling that they would become familiar before long. And finally, she turned, and asked her name.
"My name is Maya Marinos," she said, feeling just a little foolish for having not told her before. She decided now, as she had before, not to introduce Naomi just yet; it was an awkward introduction without having met the other mind, and in fact Naomi preferred it that way. Maya's eyes wandered again toward the broken city. "Crystal Dinaia..." she repeated the name to herself. "Is she their leader?"
Jesus Saves.
The rest of you take damage.
When the jazz man's testifyin', a faithless man believes.
He can sing you into paradise, or bring you to your knees.
Re: An Unforseen Awakening
Morrigan smiled at the question. She stored the name away in her mind, creating it there so that she could not ever forget. Her arms crossed her chest, hooking beneath each elbow as she stood, tall, without a slump in her posture to imply her sad situation of the moment. "Crystal is one of the leaders--of twel--eleven. But many were scattered in the war, so you cannot ask for them. Crystal is the kindest--the most thoughtful--and the truest. She will not lead you astray, and will do her best for you... she's a friend and a leader, though she is frightened right now... everyone is." That green eye stared off into the distance at nothing, it seemed, merely lost in a world of her own. Her fingers moved up to caress the curve of her collarbone as a nervous habit, and moments later, she snapped back to where she was abruptly with a soft sigh of her breath.
"I shall show you to the city ere I leave you--if anyone passes and says anything foul, ignore them... The people have mixed feelings about me." She smiled again, that sad, passing smile, as she moved toward the ruined white city. Each step belied a grace and power that she did not have the conscience to wield anymore. Her hips swayed with each movement of their own accord, completely unbeknownst to the body they were attached to. Each step sensual, each footfall silent. Her hands gripped the soft linen of the dress as she walked, her teeth carefully chewing upon her lower lip again. She wondered if it was appropriate--marring the newcomers name by walking beside her, but she disliked the drama of not being able to explain away leaving her on her own.
"You may, of course, walk without me if you so choose..." Morrigan spoke over her shoulder, breathy voice coming over the quiet world between them, "You may not want to be seen with me--it might make things... difficult."
Re: An Unforseen Awakening
Maya's full attention was fixed to Morrigan now, nodding quietly along as she spoke. As she would begin to step gracefully toward the city, Maya would follow. She was glad for the offer of the personal escort toward the city, as she would feel awkward and lost making the trip alone. The things she said had caught her attention, though...about her no longer being welcome, of the potential for unkind words from the populace. Maya's right hand, still wet and dripping from the river, wandered thoughtfully toward her chin as she took a moment to consider - and discuss - the matter.
What do you think?
It would seem from her words that she is unwelcome in her own city.
Yes. But I wonder why? She seemed to speak with fondness of the place, and especially of this Crystal person.
It's probably related to that war she's been going on about.
War...it is a terrible thing that humans do to each other.
Indeed. Putting that aside though, what do you intend to do about this one?
...if she truly is out here not by her own will, but forced out by the city's people then that must be an awfully lonely existance. I wish I knew why...
Then why don't you ask her? Confirm whether your guess is true while you're at it.
I don't know. Should I? I don't want to bring back painful memories.
Maya, look at that city. It was destroyed in a war, and it remains destroyed. If enough time hasn't yet passed for the city to be rebuilt, then I doubt that enough time has passed to erase painful memories related to that war either.
I guess you're right.
Just do yourself a favor.
What's that?
Realize and accept that there may be little or nothing that you can do for her.
...
I know you, Maya. You want to worry for her, that she may be lonely or hurt. That's all well and good, but we are newcomers to this world. We know next to nothing about this person, that city, or the war that destroyed it.
I see what you mean. I'll keep that in mind.
Good.
Maya's hand lowered itself from her chin and both moved slowly to rest at her sides. "Before I answer that, I would like to ask you something," she said before taking two small, somewhat uneasy steps toward the one-eyed woman. "That city - Genil, was it?" her question sidetracked as she searched her recent memory for the name that she had mentioned. "You seem to speak of it with such fondness. Why is it, then, that you would be unwelcome there?"
Jesus Saves.
The rest of you take damage.
When the jazz man's testifyin', a faithless man believes.
He can sing you into paradise, or bring you to your knees.Edited by: Smileyhat at: 6/25/07 2:39 am
Re: An Unforseen Awakening
Morrigan's eyes closed and she stopped abruptly in her walk, the skirt swaying forward around her legs with the sudden lack of motion. Her hands dropped and swung behind her back to clasp at the curve of her bottom where one group of fingers took hold of the other hand's wrist and stayed there. "You want a story?" She tilted her head, looking over her shoulder, and smiled with those soft lips, "There are few who venture so boldly into the unknown to ask someone like me for such a thing. You are brave... if not a bit foolish... but I like that. Perhaps... Perhaps I was hoping you'd ask." Morrigan tilted her head to the side, contemplating the run of her own thoughts. It would be nice, perhaps, to be accepted by someone now that she had cut her ties even to Crystal. Her failure had fallen like a ten-foot-thick wall between them, and Morrigan had learned that she needed... friends. There was something left in being accepted that yet collared and choked her, pulling her back toward that social necessity. She worked her toes into the mud, easing the sense of nervousness she felt with its cool caress.
"Well.. there once was a group of people... the first people to come here. Of them, there were twelve... eleven creatures of the light, and one creature of the night." Her eyes faded, the light seeming to leave them as she drew back to those times--those days.
She had liked them as much as they liked her. Morrigan Aensland was someone to be feared and loved, not the youngest to be scoffed at--why, the child had more say than she did. They began to work upon a city, a white city that would keep the creatures at bay. People put it together, drew up the plans, and ignored her own. She said gargoyles, they said angelic statues. She said gray stone, they said white marble. The only one that listened was the child, and she was only a bit more respected that Morrigan--their opinions didn't really matter in the great scheme of things. What was supposed to happen would happen...
"The white city, it grew like this..." She looked over her shoulder again, seeing the curiosity in Maya's eyes and shaking her head, the question most imperative laying between them, "I'm not a human, though I may look it... It's a facade, a charade... perhaps a necessity to pretend I belong to the family I've made. Despite our differences, we did grow here--300 years we have grown inside these walls as the Council of Elders with Crystal at the head of our marble," she scoffed at the material, a slight smile spreading across her face at the irony of how attached she had become to white stone, "table."
We fought like rats in cages. The entire time, we screamed at each other, but we cared--most of us--for everyone there. It took me two centuries to realize it... to fit in. They didn't hate me for what I was, they ignored me because I tried to stand outside the crowd--to thwart everything they said. I was a part of them, listened to when my points were valid and not fueled by my hatred for them. Even the people respected me. Until...
"Despite our best intentions, not everyone just wants to live in harmony. People were banned from our city. Tossed out, and they created cities of their own. Filled now with demons and humans alike, all monsters in their own right, they hated us. Those old enough to remember hate us for personal reasons--those too young hate us for what we stand for. When Crystal..." She did not disappear. Morrigan corrected the first words that would have slipped from her mouth, painting Crystal a traitor when she wasn't, "... went hunting a creature that was terrorizing our city, the Council fell into dismay. We could not concede a single person to be the top..."
"What right do you have to tell us what to do?! You are no more equipped for the position than any of us!" The squabbling had lead Genil to her ruin. They had screamed across the table like a pack of wolves fighting for the position that Crystal had left behind as the alpha male. When one had an idea, two would shoot it down. For control--they struggled for it, to drink it in like it would give them some sort of supernatural power to save the city they saw standing ready to be lead to the slaughter. They were all frightened, she knew that now--had they taken a moment to think and discuss, they might have.... No, there was nothing they could do now. It was pointless, blaming oneself for the past.
"They came.. and many scattered themselves to the winds. Without an army, Genil held its power only in willpower. Without a leader, Genil broke underneath the twelve, believing in each Elder in his or her own right to create a safe haven for them. I asked for no followers--I was an individualist. I protected my home, and what was precious to me inside of it.."
They approached her in droves--everyone sought the Council Palace and what was in it. Unable to go through because the windows were barred with black metal sheets that would not give, they sought the front door. In front of it, Morrigan stood. Alack for wings to fly, she had only her headwings and a blade at her side. They knew what protected it--other Succubi knew that the wings could not be broken through until Morrigan was too weak to strengthen them--the ones that came from her home knew that the task was practically impossible. The top of her game--she was the woman that everyone feared. Germany lay down its head before her, and all the world knew her name. Aensland. It was glory--to fight and never be beaten... only betrayal. Let them in--they'll kill you. Don't buy it...
"Won't you switch sides? You belong with us. You're one of us..."
"My breed is of little import--my family is here."
The fighting went on and on--she dared not sleep. She fueled herself on the souls of those who died at the edge of her fingertips, replacing food and sleep with the souls of the dark. But it couldn't last forever--exhaustion sets in, some souls were too hollow to fuel her healing to its maximum... Most were empty, and she could not feed on the people she protected. She failed for the second time in protecting her family--and before her vision wavered, she had screamed like she never had before as an integral piece of her was removed from atop her head. The pain had been... immeasurable.
"When I woke, after I had lost, the Palace had fallen. What I protected was gone. The creatures of the night had mostly left, wanting nothing more to do with our city, and those that did not--we drove out." her hand reached out, spanning the horizon as if she might point long-since-gone creatures back in the way they belonged... "But I was the last of twelve, and the accusations began... First it was small; that we had run, that we had not prepared them. Then, when they looked around and noticed I was the last one left--they screamed traitor. Those who didn't run must have been slain by me in my betrayal. I only pretended. I let them in." Her teeth gritted around the sentences, grinding them between her ivory anger as they slipped forward. Morrigan drew up her hand, and the white dress tore and wrapped itself around her, changing from linen to leather in the course of a second. Upon her feet became boots that rose up her thighs, from there, to her bodice, which gartered itself in belts, crawling over her skin. The back lay almost completely open except the strings that arched over her buttocks to clasp at the sides. Down her arms were leather gloves, and last, the fabric caught to her skin, forming her wings in pale white, all but one--the left, which was merely a stub... and then the white faded out, like a dream, leaving the black and purple that her colors truly were....
Re: An Unforseen Awakening
Maya's hands clasped together, hanging low in her front as she listened to Morrigan's story. She speaks of bravery? No...it was more of a concerned curiosity that had driven her to ask the question. It came as some surprise when the woman revealed that she wasn't human, but especially as a non-human herself Maya would not be so shallow as to let such a fact bother her. The words that followed, however, sparked further curiosity: three hundred years? She looked so young, it didn't make sense...unless that was an aspect of her race, just as it is for Maya's own?
As Morrigan's tale wound on, telling of those who would be forced from the city, it became increasingly evident just how ever-present strife and discord remained even here in this life after death. That fact was a disappointment in itself; from a first observation, it would seem that this afterlife holds little difference from the former, only that the locations and people have changed. Finally the story would come to a close, and it became evident who the truly brave one was. Left as the only remaining Elder, she had tried to defend the city herself...only to be branded a traitor as her reward.
That's terrible...
It seems humans are no different in this afterlife than they were in our lifetime.
Maya could find no answer for that. Instead, she watched as Morrigan's dress shifted and faded its white into patterns of purple and black, changing a full white dress into revealing leather and bat-like wings...one of which seemed to be mostly missing. In addition to the missing wing, Maya could see on her exposed back the five scars which sloped toward her spine. She nearly gasped at the sight as one hand went almost reflexively to cover her mouth - it would seem that she had suffered greatly in her time here. A look through the glasses, though, revealed that neither of these other areas was still in pain, leading her to guess that these wounds were older. However, she would not allow herself to stare, and as she lowered her hand her eyes went back to Morrigan's face with a smile.
"I would prefer that you didn't hide it. You shouldn't have to hide who or what you are to find acceptance."
Maya paused a moment at those words, remembering that time spent on the run where she and Naomi were forced to hide their own identities. It wasn't something she would wish on others, to be sure.
"It is a terrible thing that they would call you 'traitor' - and after you defended them! I can only hope that they will come to see their error, sooner rather than later." With a soft sigh, Maya glanced toward the ruined city once again, her smile fading for the moment. "I think...I will speak to this Crystal you speak of, as you have suggested. However, I do not know if I would be comfortable living in such a place." Her gaze would flow once again back toward Morrigan, returning to an intentionally friendly sort of smile. "I would be happy to have you show me the way, if you would still choose to."
Jesus Saves.
The rest of you take damage.
When the jazz man's testifyin', a faithless man believes.
He can sing you into paradise, or bring you to your knees.
Morrigan's body swayed as she walked, now much more the intimidating woman that she was born to be. She slowed for a moment to look over her shoulder as the other woman spoke, and her smile seemed to almost reach her eyes at that moment. Her face was young, her eyes ancient, and her smile that of a sixteen year old soon-to-be woman who was out to play. "YOu're kind." The appreciation coated her smile and her body as she turned to walk backwards and pay full attention to the woman with whom she was speaking. Maya had a tinted color to her skin--and Morrigan had already well determined that she was of the water. Perhaps Maya would prefer Atlantis--it was off the ocean somewhere, but Genil--it was Morrigan's home, and she loved it dearly.
To have someone like you may start the healing... The healing we all need. But she couldn't say it aloud. Morrigan was not an honest speaker often. She left out the part where she was absent for almost months at a time from her meetings--her irresponsibility had also lead to the downfall of Genil. She remembered walking into the room after the people were failing so miserably to keep up with the taxes... she and Crystal had circled the table, fighting, arguing with one another as if they were the enemies. It had been three days before Crystal disappeared, and Morrigan had thought at first that it was her fault the red-headed elder had disappeared. We each thought it was our fault, I think...
"Genil is a home rebuilding itself. With new people, the old hatred that festers is treated. If it's not a place for you because of where it resides, then by all means, find some place comfortable... I can show you the ocean--it's a beautiful ocean... If you come to the river where you saw me and scream my name, I'll come to you. Without a doubt, I'll find you. I hear it.... when I'm called...." Her mind drifted with her softening voice. How many times had Crystal called out to her in the darkness these last few months? How many times had she heard her name screamed? She... was a foul person for ignoring it. But she couldn't... I can't see you. I've no right... not right now. Not now, Crystal... please, just... forgive me...
"But if it's the culture and unaccepting attitude that you fear, then fear not, for it cleans itself from their hearts every day. Person by person, slowly, the love far outweighs the hatred. She'll stand again under Crystal's hand someday." Without realizing it, Morrigan had crossed so much space that she felt the cool chill of passing glares on her wings as they hung around her like a skirt. She felt their anger and smiled despite. Before them were the houses--the rebuilt and the not--that made up Genil. Some feelings of pity accompanied her glares; companionship was not out of reach, but she couldn't have it like that. She'd find it.. earn it.. somehow... Her hand raised up and her body pivoted to the side. The mountaintop city had one fixture that stood above all the rest, at its tallest tower the sign of peace that truly echoed through Genil's heart, could she wade through the fear to find it. "The tower, do you see it? Go there... Crystal Dinaia is a beautiful redhead, and she will show there eventually. Haunt it for now and ask the people as they pass. They will help, though they may spit her name...."
Re: An Unforseen Awakening
Maya nodded, walking along with Morrigan as she moved backwards and spoke. The change in her smile was notable, in a way that the blue woman found to be reassuring. It was remarkable...this woman, as far as she knew, had every right to be bitter toward the people of this city, and still spoke of them with love. She only hoped that the obviously more experienced woman would be correct in her observations and predictions. As they neared the city, Maya glanced toward the hateful glares of the few people that they had already begun to pass. It made her uneasy to see such looks directed at this purveyor of such kindness as she directed the newcomer to what may or may not become her new home.
The woman had stopped when she realized that they had arrived, and turned to point toward the tower which stuck out from high above the city like a beacon of white. Her instruction was taken to heart, though Maya would have to pull her attention away from angry glares to listen to it. She would take a few steps more, not stopping until she would stand just beside Morrigan, her gaze following that hand toward the tower.
Her own hands remaining clasped in front of her, Maya would turn toward the kind semi-stranger. "Thank you for your help. You are very kind, and whether this is to become my home or not I hope that you will be able to return and be accepted here again. Farewell."
With those parting words, Maya turned toward the city once more, choosing not to look at the people who had stopped to stare as she made her way.
Jesus Saves.
The rest of you take damage.
When the jazz man's testifyin', a faithless man believes.
He can sing you into paradise, or bring you to your knees.
Disclaimer: This is an entirely member created site and information belongs to its respective owners. Over all, everything else belongs to Second Chances, so don't steal! >.<
Email This To a Friend
Topic Commands
Click to receive email notification of replies
Click to stop receiving email notification of replies