tenebraecious | (no subject)

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You wake up— No, you have always been in a white, airy space. The floor is hard and cold, swirled marble, but there is also soil and plant life crunching underneath your feet. Columns raise impossibly high, they are tall enough to hurt your small neck as you crane up to look at them.

After all, you are quite small, hardly a handful of years to your name, and the world is so very large, very big. You do not recall much, not yet, but you are certain of love, warmth, and destiny. You have a purpose.

Among the flowers, herbs, and long, long grass, there are two women seated in chairs with very high backs. You feel the urge to run to them, rest your cheek upon their laps, but you can sense that you should not. The air, no, spirits says you ought not to. Still, they both smile warmly at you.

The one in white and blue speaks, "Hello, my dear. Let us speak."

The one in black speaks, "Little one, what do you seek?"

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Uuuhm... I seek ta know where I am...?

"This is a dream of Tenebrae. A place within Lunafreya's heart."

The woman in black nods her heard, agreeing.

Tenebrae like the same one that floats or whatever? With the garden...

"The home of the Lady Lunafreya, yes. With that knowledge, what does this explorer now desire?"

Did she have two moms?

Sylva blinks, glancing at Gentiana, before lightly laughing. She gestures Pink closer.

"In a sense, she did. Gentiana is a Messenger, an envoy sent by the Gods, to watch over Lunafreya. She is a blessed child."

There is a tiredness that comes through on the last line, but Sylva remains smiling. If Pink glances at Gentiana, her eyes are open, watching the scene, but she also has two dogs seated on either side of her chair. One black and gray, the other pure white.

[Do hate being blessed.]

Oh hey, it's those guys... [Or at least the darker one looks familiar.] They're guide dogs?

"They are Messengers as well. While you are here, they will be your companions."

The darker one, Umbra, gives on short bark, apparently agreeing. Or is he maybe warning Pink not to cause any trouble on his watch? Hmm...

Light 'n dark pairs... Is that how things gotta be? I guess if I'm gonna be given messengers, I oughta try 'n send a message somewhere...

[Who would cause trouble? Leans to study the white dog, wondering if that name will come to him too.]

Edited 2021-07-26 08:42 (UTC)

"Pryna. And they are not vessels for your will. They are for the Six to speak to whom they please. However, you may attempt anything you like."

Sylva glances at Gentiana with a watchful eye, grinning at some unspoken jest.

"They will mind you if they see fit to, my dear," says Sylva.

Can I just let Glacies-san know I'm here 'n find someplace ta chill?

Pryna and Umbra yap in unison. Get to work, scrub! You are nothing to Glacies.

[DESTINY IS BUNK AND OBLIGATION IS THE WORST]

Jeez, where'd ya wanna go then?

Pryna and Umbra glance at each other, a silent conversation, before Pryna yips and starts to lead the way. Umbra stays still, tail looped around himself as he watches Pink.

So, which will he choose?

[He'll glance at the two women in case they have anything else they want to impart on him, but otherwise he's ready to go if there's the option to go. The gentle maternal energy and yoke of solemn purpose are both things that sit uncomfortable on his shoulders, and he holds tight to that feeling more than anything else, stubborn about his sense of self. He's not sure there's any way to shrug off the weight here, but at least he'll move and observe, following after Pryna.]

Edited 2021-07-27 06:38 (UTC)

Pryna calmly leads the way, glancing back to check on him as she goes. After a stretch, she will circle Pink, ducking her head under his hand. If he follows the urge to pet, he will feel the push of duty and attachment to a mother pull back. It does not belong, that's fine. Whether he pets or not, Pryna still considers him for a beat, thoughtful, before going forward.

As soon as he comes on the scene, it's easy to tell why Pryna hesitated. Sunset is speaking happily to Cobalt before being suddenly run through, a forward reaching hand dropping before it catches on anything. She is shocked by the turn of events, and it shows. Sunset is devastated by the trick. Less surprising is Cobalt suddenly turning into Ardyn, chuckling to himself.

But Sunset is still alive . . . She is holding onto life, wheezing and failing to find strength. You cannot speak, touch, or communicate with her, but you can watch over everything. You can see every stuttered blink and slight twitch of her hand.

Umbra stays far away, unable to interact with anything. Pryna, though, remains seated at Sunset's side, carefully licking at her face.

[He does pat Pryna, probably a bit cursorily at first, then a bit more warmly despite himself.]

[He'll lurch, startled, when the scene begins to unfold, disoriented by the players--]

--Set-chan

[--lunges over, dropping down, only coming back to himself when he's unable to touch her, even kneeling next to her. At that he yanks himself back, looking over the whole scene before reluctantly glancing back at Sunset's prone form, and back at Pryna--]

No--who was it?

Pryna pauses from licking Sunset's face, watching Pink, but she does nothing else.

"Come, come, it is your time to dance."

The Ardyn's voice hits differently now. Sunset is dead, what else is there for her? With a wave of his hand, Ardyn seems to drop something upon her form. It morphs and mutates, oozing and creating spikes with no sense to them, and it is now you can hear her voice.

"Please . . . "

It isn't hard to intuit as she finds her way to her feet what she is pleading for. She is half alive corpse; you could feel her, she was in your grasp for a moment!! But parasites keep her alive and shambling forward, ready to attack anyone who before her.

You can hear the echoes of voices vibrating off the walls. Cobalt's there . . .

[Winces, feeling a bit sick, but this is something that happened to Glacies, he thinks--or he's not quite sure, that feeling of Sunset being kept from his grasp lingering. Cobalt can't encounter Sunset like this; he doesn't know if he can just reach through her and pull her out. This was intuitive when he as a ghost in that one monster-themed game, but... well, what else is he here to do?]

He can reach for her, but he cannot stop her progression. As he gets closer, he can feel pain and anguish, every part of her feels like it is being burned alive, but he can also sense her revulsion. She hates this, she wants to stop, she doesn't want to keep moving under the power of something else.

Cobalt arrives with Gladio and Thorn, and you can tell immediately that they are familiar with the situation. They are all horrified, and they know this is not what she wanted, how she should ever be. However, they do not know how to save her, either.

. . . Death seems the best option, and so they strike her down . . .

As she lays dying, gasping her last choked breaths, you can see her soul before you, just as she was in life, before everything went wrong. Pryna stands close to her, Sunset's hand resting on her head. She has a question for Pink, What will you do? Someone he loves has been wronged terribly, and their soul is not at rest. What is to be done?

[Gathering himself]

I dunno how ta resolve her regret...

...

I want...

...my mom.

Sylva easily opens her arms to him.

"I am not your mother, but I am a mother. Come."

[Is this allowed? He feels like he shouldn't. It's hard to tell which of these feelings are his and what might belong to someone else.]

[...But then, she said it's okay, and he trusts her to know best. Hesitantly, he gives in to his desires and wanders closer, seeking comfort.]

...Are you Glacies' mom?

You look like her.

She carefully pats his head before cupping his cheeks, running a thumb against one.

"I am, indeed. Sylva Via Fleuret, our star's former oracle. Though, you may call me Sylva. She grew up lovely, didn't she? It has been good to see her and Ravus grow."

Gentiana has her eyes open, watching Cobalt. If he looks in her direction, she will smile cryptically at him.

[He indeed glances at Gentiana before looking back to Sylva.]

Are they here too?

"In a sense, she is. Ravus is as well. Did you wish to see them?"

Carefully, she gathers him up to sit on her lap. It feels nice and warm. Her touch is comforting, easing any fear. The sense of warning fades away. You trust her, you want to listen and follow her guidance.

[He leans into it, starving for the embrace of a mother's warmth. He holds her, small fingers curling into the fabric of her clothes.]

Yeah...

Sylva holds her in a loose embrace, cheek resting on the top of his head.

"Good. I would like you to see them as well. You should explore and discover. There is much good for you to do, my dear."

Gentiana has one of her hands resting on the head of a dog, Umbra. (Where did they come from...?) Pryna watches on as well. You can sense some disquiet from the white canine.

"You will not be able to return once you leave. All this will be cast away, traveler," says Gentiana.

[His fingers curl a little tighter.]

I can't come back? But why? I just got here.

"Traveler, you are aware why you cannot. What has been said of the oracle, Sylva? What of Tenebrae? Soon, all will become ash."

Sylva strokes Cobalt's hair, hoping to soothe, but she does not interject. Time is truly short.

"Do not fear. You know what you must do. Your path will bless our star and release all from suffering. Cherish these moments, they will carry you," says Sylva.

[That sounds like such a tall order for such a small person]

What am I supposed to do?

"You will discover until you are content. No more, no less."

Umbra gives a short snort, hurry along now. Gentiana removes his hand from him.

[CLING]

What if I want to stay here?

"You cannot remain, I am afraid. My precious child, you know there is so much more before you."

Her words strike your core. You cannot stay. Time is short, and you must go. Your heart aches at the thought, but you feel yourself thrust onward.

Do I have to go alone? I don't even know where I am...!

"They will go with you. As servants to your cause, they will guide you."

With that, Umbra comes over, circling Sylva's chair and nosing at Cobalt. Pryna sits primly in front of Sylva, observing Umbra.

"Do not focus on where you are. Focus upon your duty, my dear," says Sylva.

[He doesn't understand what his duty even is. But two cute, strong dogs as companions does make him feel a little buoyed, so eventually he pulls himself together a big and slides off Sylva's lap.]

[Still holding onto the fabric of her shirt, he looks back at them.]

Will I see you again?

"You will. If not here, then in your memories. You will hold onto me, won't you?"

She carefully stroke his hair, lingering over every pass. You are filled with the sense of love and care and devotion.

Don't blink, but Gentiana has disappeared leaving a chair sitting empty. There is an ache that comes from it. Meanwhile, Umbra gives a short wuffle while nosing at Cobalt.

Okay...

[He rubs his eye. Leaving is so hard. Even though this is someone he just met, he can feel the bond of love, and that's hard to want to stray from when he's been aching for it for so long.]

...Okay. I'll... I'll go.

[It takes some effort, but he forces himself to detach from Sylva's clothes. Instead, he reaches out to sink his palm into Umbra's soft fur, as if to say "lead the way."]

Sylva folds her hands together, smiling happily. She is pleased that he has found the strength to carry on.

"Farewell, dearest."

Umbra snaps his head, starting to guide the way. Keep up! Pryna waits to follow until Cobalt begins moving, carefully padding between him and Sylva.

[He stumbles along after Umbra, trying to keep up.]

[He's never actually been a very strong boy. He's never been very good at goodbyes. And he misses his mother so very badly, this brief experience just didn't seem like enough.]

[He sniffs and scrubs at the tears on his cheeks, not looking back, still stumbling forward after Umbra.]

As he follow Umbra into the field, the smell arrives first. Something is burning. Foliage, minerals . . . Flesh. Umbra barks, leaping forward while Pryna holds back, pacing.

If Cobalt follows Umbra, the scene further unfolds. Everything is ablaze; nothing is left untouched from flame. All becomes ash, just as Gentiana said.

Throwing herself before Pink, Slyva is run through by a blade. She goes up in a hail of smoke and fumes. Pink watches in stunned awe, hatred beginning to rise in his chest. You love him; you always have. You have been together for so long!

Thorn— Thorn? Yes, Thorn is carried away by a caring figure, a father or mother, and he reaches out to you. He is confused, pleading for your safety. However, you can hear the clank of metal, the creak of joints. You remember the blade held at your neck at every second, DO NOT MISSTEP, and you fear for Thorn. He does not know. DO NOT MOVE. What do you do? Your beloved balm, Sylva, is gone, and Pink screams in agony, Thorn is crying... YOUR DUTY, FULFILL YOUR DUTY.

And, then, all at once, the chaos pauses. All are held in stasis where you can hear the last exhales of their breath, catching in their throats.

While time is frozen, the two dogs move, uninhibited. Umbra barks repeatedly, leaping between the direction of Thorn or Pink. He wishes to act, to move! . . . But Pryna . . . She remains behind. She paces nervously between Sylva and you. You cannot sense what she desires; it is so difficult to place.

Where do you go? What do you wish to do?

[Oh Six]

[Leaving Sylva was a mistake.]

[This is beyond horrifying, so much a shock to his system that he isn't sure whether to scream or cry or throw up so instead he locks in place, frozen and overwhelmed, mouth hanging open as if to call out for someone, but the words choke in his throat.]

[The scene freezes with him and in the quiet, he breaks out of his paralysis and stumbles toward the scene in mindless panic. Thorn is being taken already -- Good, that's good! We have to run! Run, Pink!]

[Cobalt feels--remembers?--"DO NOT MOVE" and the sensation of blades at his throat, but why? When was that? Why is this happening? What is his duty??]

[He doesn't know!! All he knows is sheer, blind terror, lunging forward to try to grab Pink's hand to pull him in the direction Thorn's parent(?) is heading.]

Pink's hand is warm, feverish, in Cobalt's grasp. Slowly, he begins to move as time inches forward, not yet beginning but ready to. He could catch up to Thorn! There is still enough time!

Umbra gives a short huff, affirmative, while Pryna finds her way to his free hand, nosing at it before stroking under it then sitting. She looks up with blue, clear eyes.

Are you certain? Do you remember what your duty was? What did Sylva say?

[What is his duty? To "discover until he's satisfied"? Or was it something else? He can't quite remember. But whatever it was, surely it can't be more important than what's happening around him right now. Surely it must somewhere higher up the pyramid of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs than running the fuck away from whatever the heck is happening here!]

[He continues running in slow motion, trying to press through the time dilation and drag Pink along behind him, if he must.]

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