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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2014 13:33:16 GMT -5
It felt like drowning in a sea of tar. Now matter how much she clawed and twisted, though, the tar would not release it's engulfing grip on the girl. She would suffocate in this dark place, not a trace to be left. Alone, just like she had truly been her whole life. It wasn't even really the suffocating and darkness that she minded. The alone part was what was shattering her heart. But if it was meant to be, at least it would be over soon. She quit struggling and just floated in the darkness. Eventually, she felt her back come to rest on a cold surface, the darkness finally drifting off of her body and allowing her to breathe. She reveled in the oxygen refilling her lungs, but kept her eyes closed, scared at what she might find when she opened them. Somehow, though, the cold surface below her filled her with a warmth at the same time. Sertera finally rolled onto her stomach and opened her eyes. From what she could tell, the floor she was on was made out of a stained glass material. "Odd..." the girl muttered to herself, before sitting up and scanning the rest of her surroundings.
She was on a circular platform in the middle of a sea of darkness. The large stained glass oasis depicted a person she had never seen before, but the feature that drew her attention the most was that it had a huge crack in it. There were also three pedestals sunken into the ground at even points. They looked like they were supposed to hold something, but each was empty. A singular breeze flowed through the area, brushing her hair and bringing what Sertera thought was a message. "Not yet..." "Not... yet...?" The girl slowly stood up and clutched her bracelet tighter. A door appeared right in front of her, a pristine white door with a warm glowing light emitting from it. She felt that as soon as she went through this door, she wouldn't be back here for a long while, but it didn't bother her. If the voice on the wind was anything to go by, she wasn't ready for this place at any rate. Steeling her nerves, she opened the door and stepped through without a second thought.
And for a second time that day, she was somewhere completely new and completely disoriented. Bright lights blinded her vision and uneven paving made her stumble about immediately upon arriving at this new place. She ended up shoulder first into a wall, pain exploding up her arm and back, but at least she was able to grab onto the wall and hold herself steady against it. Eventually, her heart rate slowed and she found her footing, the vision in her eyes slowly returning to her like a camera coming into focus. The place she was in was starkly different from both of her previous locations. One a small village town and the other an odd holy feeling place. The paving and dark colors of all the brickwork, the bright glaring lights strung up everywhere, and the cold feeling in the air did little to welcome the young girl to Traverse Town. She scanned the people, either hustling off to important business or milling about with pained expressions on their faces. When her eyes fell on what she thought was a familiar figure, she froze up and just stared. But, when he turned around, she de-confirmed his identity and let out a breath.
Eventually, she figured she was rested enough to start heading out. Where to, she had no idea, but she figured anything was better than loafing about. So she pushed herself off the wall and started to wander around. Her whereabouts didn't actually seem as frightening as she had first expected. It was starting to create a cozy feeling in her stomach as she became more familiar with the locations of different shops and buildings. She was so enthralled in looking at everything that she didn't notice the large figure she was approaching until she collided into him and was thrown back, sprawling onto the ground. A soft clinking was heard as her bracelet flew from her hands and started rolling toward the figure, eventually rolling in smaller and smaller circles until it rested on the ground. She rubbed her head as the figure bent down and picked up the bracelet with grubby fingers and began laughing, a deep hearty laugh. The two other men with him began chuckling too as they walked up to the girl and surrounded her, leering at her.
"Oy, Mac, Bill! Che'out this li'l mousie what run into me," the man in the lead spouted, his breath reeking of various foul smelling foods that caused tears to climb to the corners of Sertera's eyes, though the pain both physically and emotionally of this situation helped bring those up as well. "A lass like you ought ta watch 'erself inna big city. Who knows what might 'appen to 'er if she bumps inno the wrong person." He spun the bracelet around his finger and his friends snickered. "I'm... I'm... she muttered, trying to get the courage to say the words. "'Ook, girlie, just 'pologize and we'll be on our way." "S... sorry." She exhaled a long sigh as they began walking away from her, but then she remembered her bracelet, still twirling around the man's finger. "H... hey!" The man stopped in his tracks and looked over his shoulder at her with a bored expression. "Oh?" "My... my bracelet?" The girl stood up slowly and pointed to it. "Oh, this?" He held it out behind him toward her.
As she stepped forward to grab it, he pulled it out of her reach and burst into laughter. "You bumping inno me really did a number on me back... I'm afraid I'm taking this to make up for it, sweetheart." His posse joined in his laughter as they continued walking away. Sertera froze up as the distance between them increased steadily before she slid to the ground. She was defeated. Hunched over, arms holding her up, head straight down, she was the picture of loss as tears fell into a small rain below her head. Was she to lose everything she cared about? Nothing had gone her way ever, she realized that her life so far had been a steady decay into this. She felt weak, worthless, and many other negative adjectives. Meanwhile, the three fat men continued to slowly tread away. If someone were to confront them, they would surely have not put up much of a fight, being lazy and fat. But the girl had been too driven by despair to think of fighting.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2014 14:32:37 GMT -5
Strolling through Traverse Town, Ríona still found herself without anything of worth other than her clothes. Her previous encounter rewarded her nothing in the way of knowledge, and when she tried to ask some of the inhabitants of this world, they shied away at her appearance, fearing some sort of attack. Nonetheless though, she was feeling optimistic! The bright lights of Traverse kept her in a constant state of admiration and awe, having seen nothing of the like before. Not only that, but her friend was now awake and with her. Running her fingers along a wall, she attempted to ask him for something to do.
"Hey, Taranis~?" she said. Feeling a stirring of energy from within her, the large slumbering essence that was the Thunder God awoke to her call.
"Mmm... yes, swift one?" his voice boomed in her mind.
"What should I do?" she asked. "I've been wandering around her for a while, but nobody seems to want to help- huh...?"
As she rounded the corner, she spotted a young girl on the ground, surrounded by three imposing figures. At this distance, she couldn't really hear what was being said, but their actions spoke for them. Stealing from somebody? Despite being in a new world, Ríona wasn't going to let that stand. Unfortunately for the three thieves, they were walking away... in her direction. Slipping her gloves out from her cloak pocket, she bowed her head while she put them on, slowly but surely getting closer. These men didn't look like much but just to be sure, Ríona poked her energies towards Taranis, lingering before the barrier to his soul. Lifting her head, she was now directly in front of the trio. "Hey!" she called out, "Isn't the saying... pick on someone your own size? Thieving isn't nice, you know. You should give that back." Widening her stance and placing her fist in her palm, she waited.
"Eh...?" one of the three grunted. "Wha' have we 'ere then? Anotha "hero" wanna pick a fight, oi? I think we should put ya in yer place, lass." Stepping close to her, one of the men swung a punch, sneering as he connected with... nothing? "Huh...?" he managed to say, taking his fist out of what seemed to be ethereal lightning, before Ríona's kick connected from behind, sending him flying into the ground. The bracelet clinked on the ground, sliding far out of reach of anyone. Turning to the other two, she gave them a feral grin. Her eyes gleamed with power and small sparks crackled around her feet, signifying her link with Taranis. Enraged over the beating of their comrade, the duo that was left threw caution to the winds and charged her with a roar. Twisting to the right, she lightly jabbed one in the side, her lightning passing through his tattered clothes and jolting him. Then, grabbing him by the shoulder in one fluid movement, threw him in the direction of the other. Their heads collided with a sickening crack, scattering them upon the ground like bowling pins.
Before she could say anything else, they picked themselves off the ground and fled, picking up their other friend from the ground. It seemed that their courage didn't hold up for long. Taking a deep breath, Ríona distanced herself from Taranis and her fluctuating energy faded. Picking up the bracelet, she trotted over to the girl. "Hey, are you okay?" Ríona asked, a little concerned. "Here, this is yours, right?" Giving the girl a beaming smile, she handed the bracelet to her.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2014 23:59:59 GMT -5
Amidst her staring at the ground and her quiet sobbing, Sertera thought she heard some commotion from the direction those men had traveled. She slowly looked up and caught the end to the fight in front of her, between a previously unseen dark haired assailant and the rowdy trio from earlier. It was a one-sided fight to be sure, and it was over fairly shortly after she began to watch, wondering just what was the motive behind the lightning-quick fighter. As soon as she picked up the bracelet, Sertera's heart dropped a bit. (*She just wanted the bracelet, didn't she?*) Fearing more heartbreak, Sertera quickly got up and spun around, beginning to slowly walk away. She didn't want to see anyone else fight for the bracelet, fearing it would fill her not only with more sadness, but also guilt at being the cause of the conflict. She was pressing the thoughts out of her mind, trying to forget about it, when she heard the footsteps behind her.
A voice called out to her, asking if she was okay. Sertera stopped in her tracks, wondering if she had imagined the voice or if the girl had actually walked up to her and was genuinely concerned. Sertera very slowly turned her head until she saw the bracelet held out to her and a warm smile directed outward. The girl went back to staring at the jewelry hanging between them for a solid ten seconds before reaching a tentative hand towards it. She slowly closed her fingers around the keepsake and clutched it to her chest once again. With her other hand, she dried the tears she had flowing, feeling embarrassed to be seen in a state like that by a person she had never met. The girl offered a small smile back, just to show she meant no ill will, even though the last thing she wanted to do was smile at that moment. She didn't really feel much like talking at the moment, either, but it would have been rude not to thank the bully bruiser in front of her.
"Thanks. It's just been... one of those days." She sniffed, then shifted her weight from foot to foot as she scanned her helper from head to toe. She was certainly taller than Sertera's minuscule frame, and her skin and hair were definitive signs that she wasn't originally from this world. Although, a lot of the people on this world that Sertera had seen were pretty different, almost like most of them weren't from the same place. It could have been that this person was indeed a native and everyone else was from elsewhere. The most shocking feature was the pair of bright, BRIGHT blue eyes this person had. After she had taken her fill of information, the girl pointed a thumb at herself. "Sera," she said, figuring introductions were due. She waited patiently for the other to introduce herself, making sure to remember a name if it was spoken.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2014 12:48:27 GMT -5
"Oh, don't worry! We all have those kinda days," Ríona said, stuffing her hands into her pockets and smiling. The girl had dried her tears, but Ríona could still see the streaks on her face. Feeling a stirring of compassion rise from within her, Ríona resolved to make sure that this girl was alright before sending her on her way. Now that she was in front of the girl, she had the chance to study her. Ríona towered over her in height. There wasn't much else she could determine, after all, she wasn't native to this world and had no idea how the natives dressed and looked physically. Hearing the girl introduce herself as Sera, Ríona replied in kind.
"Oh, I'm Ríona! Nice to meet 'cha," she chimed, sticking out her hand in an almost subconscious need to shake Sera's hand. Whether or not the shake was reciprocated or not, Ríona rambled on. "Actually, I hope I'm not being too blunt, but are you from this world? Ya'see, I'm not actually from here and I have no idea where anything is. I've been walking around for a while, but I'm getting a bit tired and... well, I was hoping you might have an idea of where I could go to get some rest."
Taking a short breath, Ríona tried to quell the giddiness that threaten to burst from within her. Talking to another person after this long... it was great! The best she could do to stop was bounce on the balls of her feet, which probably made her look a bit silly, but she didn't mind!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2014 14:47:13 GMT -5
Sertera's mystery hero finally had a name to identify her, as well as a hand extended for a handshake. Sertera switched the hand holding her bracelet and completed the handshake with her dry hand, not squeezing tightly but not completely hanging limp at the same time. It then came to light that Riona was not a native herself, and she wondered if Sera was, to which the young girl only shook her head. "I was actually wondering if you were from here too. In fact, I only just got here myself..." She then remembered how tired and aching her body was after her struggle with those weird shadow creatures moments before. As if sensing her thoughts, Sertera spied an odd shadowy shape on a distant rooftop behind Riona. The figure turned it's head toward Sertera, staring directly at her with piercing yellow eyes before disappearing off into the distance.
"Here too?" she muttered under her breath before returning her attention to Riona. "I'm sorry... I can't really help you at all." She looked at the ground and sighed. "And after you've done so much for me already..." The pavement on the ground seemed to stare back at her with disappointment, as if each stone was judging her. It forced her to tear her eyes away from the ground and begin looking at the buildings around them. The signs on the were confusing to her, because the neon was a foreign concept to the girl. "Maybe... one of these buildings..." Sertera wondered if her idea had any merit. Each of the villages on her homeworld had inns that would bed travelers, for a price. Of course, Father would just conjure money out of the air before going in, threatening punishment if she told anyone about it. The girl held out her empty hand and stared at it really hard, trying to do what she had seen Father do time and time again, but to no avail.
She only ended up giving herself a headache after trying for too long, at which time she dropped her hand and bowed her head, getting a view at the disappointed brickwork again. "If you have money, you could probably find a place to stay. But, I wouldn't know what to look for..." She felt so useless. No money, no friends, no idea what to do. But this person was nice. Who knows, maybe she might let her tag along for a while. "I..." The girl suddenly began to have second and third thoughts. What if she said no? What if she scolded her? She began playing with her bracelet, spinning it around in her hand as she mulled out these thoughts, growing weary of the constant conflict in her mind. Looking up again, where she spotted that shadowy figure earlier she could see it again, but this time it had a friend. They both stared at her before reenacting the first's disappearance from earlier in tandem. "What are they... doing?" she said under her breath. She refocused back to Riona
Sertera couldn't see that behind her a couple heartless were doing the exact same thing as those she could see, only staring at Riona instead. "If you can think of anything that I can do, though, I'd be happy to... if you... want me to... at least..." She looked at the ground again and continued to fiddle with her band. She had never put it on before, just carried with her since she grabbed it. She even made a special little loop to put it onto when she wasn't carrying it, which she didn't use at this moment to avoid not having something to mess with in her hands. Her mind recalled the last part of the fight she had witnessed, and she began wondering about the girl in front of her. She was obviously a fighter, but carried no weapon. Even Sertera herself had a wooden blade strapped to her back, a better weapon than a broom or stick. "So, what are you going to do?" She looked back up to meet those blue eyes with the green ones of her own, colorful magic flashing around her pupils briefly.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2014 14:48:36 GMT -5
Reaching her hand up to flick her hair out of her eyes, she listened intently to Sera. It just so happened that the one person Riona actually had the chance to talk to wasn't from this world either. To be honest, she had been half expecting it and so she wasn't too put off. Shrugging her shoulders, Riona wanted to reassure Sera it wasn't her fault ; she'd been put through enough already!
"Hey, don't you worry about it! That just means we're both in the same boat, yeah?" she said, grinning all the while.
While Sera reached out her hand and seemed to be trying something, Riona had a quick glance around. Maybe one of these buildings would have something that could help the both of them out, as Sera had said? Looking back at Sera, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye, just over her new companion's shoulder. A bright glowing yellow eye. Raising herself up a little on her toes, she got a better look. A number of black creatures with yellow eyes lingered behind Sera, watching her. At that moment, an eerie sense of familiarity hit Riona, hidden behind a vague memory.
The flash of a claw, a scream... the jittery motion of glowing yellow in the darkness, a host of memories found their way to the front of Riona's mind. Jolted by the sudden realization, she looked down at Sera. Her companion needed to be protected from these things, she was sure of it. Stepping forward, she placed a hand on Sera's shoulder and stepped a little behind her.
"Hey... do you know what these creatures are? I'm almost sure they attacked me before I found my way here..." she asked, watching the creatures for any sudden movements. Either way, an ill feeling crept up upon her.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2014 16:43:00 GMT -5
This girl that Sertera had met did a wonderful job of dissuading any tension she might have been feeling. For some reason, Riona's disposition and behavior made the young girl feel at ease, calmer, and a little less self-conscious. Sera chuckled softly when Riona, grinning, described their situations as the same. If this person let her tag along, she felt things wouldn't be as bad as she had first come to figure upon arriving at this world. Riona's attention was drawn by something behind the girl. She put a protective hand on Sera and stepped behind her, causing Sera to whirl around as well to see what she was looking at before she posed the question. There were a couple more shadowy figures on the rooftops behind her that she had not noticed, staring at the two of them. "You... you've seen those creatures too?" Sertera wondered at what experiences Riona had had with those creatures. Had she seen whole villages ruined too? "I've taken to calling them Shades... though I don't think that's what they're really called. In small groups they usually don't pose much a threat... I didn't think they'd be here though, I just thought they only popped up where I was from..." The entire group disappeared, leaving nary a trace. "I should probably be thanking them, to be honest... without them I would've never learned certain... unsavory truths to my past." Sertera shivered as her mind recalled the contents of the wagon.
"I don't think they have the knowledge to understand gratitude, though." She sighed. "They seem to be mindless beasts, capable only of destruction. I sadly know little about them, aside from their capacity for destruction." Taking a second look around, the streets felt suddenly completely empty, save for the glaring lights and the two youths. A cold wind carried with it an air of dread, an omen that things were about to go wrong. Trying to shake off the feeling, Sertera shivered a little before taking a step down the street. She turned around to say something to Riona before seeing a shadowy figure leap toward her friend, yellow eyes fiercely aglow with it's intent to kill. Without a second thought, she stepped between the two to intercept the attack. The creature connected with it's claws, causing Sertera to begin to fall before completely disappearing, as if she never existed to begin with. In reality, she was standing where she originally was again, creating a magical double to take the blow at the last second. She then brought her wooden blade down onto the aggressive creature, striking it with a heavy whack before kicking it away with her boot. It disappeared back into the shadows, and the immediate threat was gone for the moment.
"We should... probably make ourselves scarce." She returned her bokken to her back and scat a little closer to Riona. "Something doesn't... feel right. Would you mind if I... tagged along with you for the time being though? I'm not scared... it's... just..." Sertera looked at the ground and shifted her feet around waiting for a response.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2014 17:20:36 GMT -5
Ríona kept a sharp eye on the creatures as Sera talked. Not only did these creatures destroy her home, but from what her companion had said... they had attacked other places too. However, they seemed to have some semblance of thought, as the disappeared into the void. Perhaps the two were more trouble than they were worth? Whatever the case, Ríona turned to Sera, dead set on persuading the other girl to tag along and find a way out of this place. Before she could open her mouth, however, her friend suddenly whipped past her. An enemy?
Filled with an eerie sense of dread, Ríona turned around, her arms in a defensive position as she locked eyes with one of the creatures. It was already in flight, claws outstretched. With Ríona too slow to react, Sera intercepted the creature. Crying out in alarm, she watched as her friend took the blow, and felt a brief surge of shock through her body. Except... there was something off. Sure enough, her friend appeared once again and struck true, sending the "Shade" as it was back into darkness.
"Woah, that was cool! How'd you do that?" Ríona asked, a look of surprise on her face. "I thought you were a goner for sure!" What Sera did was kinda similar to the dodging maneuver she had used against the three drunkards earlier... but cooler! "Of course you can tag along! You seem like you know a few tricks yourself, hmm?" she said.
The two started to walk away as her friend suggested to, it was probably best to get out of here if there were more creatures about. With a little semblance of direction, she picked the opposite side of the area and started to walk. Before long, the two appeared before a similar huge set of doors, that led to the Third District. Having just come from the Third District from another encounter, Ríona knew where she was going. The doors creaked with a sickening sound, spreading wide enough for the both of them to fit through.
"Alright, come on then Sera!" she encouraged, stepping briskly past the door into the district.
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