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Post by KayKay on Jun 13, 2018 11:09:59 GMT
In the early hours of the morning, before the sun had risen, a black shape soared across the dark sky above the island of Lall. Human eyes could not see it; its form blended into the darkness around it. Human ears could not hear it; it flew in near-silence save only for the wind rushing beneath its black wings.
Through the eyes of the Phantom, Vesyka saw the world in hues of silver and grey – the innate aethereal and nethereal forces perforating the natural world. The trees and ferns and grass of Lall's jungles were alive and vibrant. They shimmered a strong hue of silver that seemed to pulse and glow with life, painting the landscape in a dazzling array of shades. The beautiful image was etched into the back of Vesyka's mind, and she promised herself that later, when she had found the time, she would create a painting worthy of the splendor of the jungle's aethereal beauty.
Flitting about the silvery trees were tiny moving forms that shone even brighter, blindingly white among their darker background. These were the animals of Lall, the birds, the insects, the reptiles, and even the occasional monkey. Yet no shape she saw matched the figure from hours earlier; the tall, lanky humanoid with wings of shadow.
With this in mind, Vesyka was also searching not only for the dazzling white of living aethereal animals, but the blackness of pure nether. If the farfadet was not an aethereal organism, like the Phantom itself, it would stand out in stark contrast to the environment around it.
But as the sun began to rise, and the form of the Phantom became visible to the naked eye, it became clear to Vesyka that the farfadet was no longer in Lall. She had searched every corner of the island, and only the Lexians still stranded on the beach came close to matching the distinctly humanoid shape she was searching for. She directed the Phantom into the shade beneath the canopy, where the light of early morning had not yet reached, and commanded a breach into the black void of kurnugia.
In mere moments Vesyka emerged under the canopy of a new island; the neighboring Hyul, known for its deep marshes. The Phantom was gone – and while she would miss its swiftness she knew better than to draw attention to herself in what would soon be broad daylight. The last thing she wanted was to frighten away the farfadet.
"Hello?" Vesyka called out. Her small voice did not carry far, and the swamps did not answer back.
Observing the marsh around her and glancing down at her thin, low-cut shoes with apprehension, Vesyka began to take her first tentative steps further inland.
–
It was the middle of the afternoon by the time Vesyka stumbled onto the bank of an island of dry land. Her clothes were soaked up to her shoulders, and in the sticky heat they pressed uncomfortably tight to her skin. Her arms and legs were smeared in mud, algae, and other things she didn't want to think about. One of her shoes was missing, swallowed up by the thick mud of the bog, though Vesyka was too exhausted to mourn its loss.
She found herself a bed of soft grass in a patch of sunlight, and all but collapsed onto her back. Her chest heaved from the excursion, and her limbs felt stuff and sore. Vesyka closed her eyes as she rested. She longed for a hot bath filled to the brim with soapy bubbles, to cleans her and sooth her aching muscles. Her mind wandered, and she thought of how good a rejuvenating massage would feel. She imagined Kyra working her stiff shoulders and thighs with her strong hands, and for once Vesyka was too weary to scold herself for having such thoughts.
Before long, her thoughts transformed into the blissful dreams of sleep.
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Post by Stage on Jun 13, 2018 23:45:42 GMT
A few moments after the tiny, silver-haired girl fell asleep, there was finally movement from the marsh. A nearby knot of trees shivered. The tangled trunks began to tug and unwind from each other, their fibrous creaking like thunder in the silence beneath the swampy canopy. Four long limbs attached to a disproportionately small body and head stumbled out as the trees snapped back to their normal position, splayed out from each other like the petals of a tall, woody flower.
The gangly creature- the farfadet, as Vesyka had dubbed it- looked down on the sleeping girl, unsure if it had awoken her or not. She had surprised it emerging from the marsh. The dense, swampy forest smothered sound quickly, so it had not heard her coming until she was nearly upon it. Or rather, until she had been upon its camp. This was one of the few dry spots on the island, so it was where it spend the days waiting for the cover of night. In its hurry to hide itself, the creature had bound itself too tightly in the trees, leaving no room for its long arms and legs. That was why it had not waited longer to emerge.
Though its legs were tensed, ready to send it springing away at a moment's notice, its black eyes softened as it observed the girl. It was reminded of the people it left behind by her appearance. Her tiny frame and large eyes reminded it of its first friend, and its silver hair reminded it of its most precious friend. Unconsciously, the being relaxed looking at her, the potent tension draining from its legs. It was reminded of what it tried to forget: that it missed its home.
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Post by KayKay on Jun 14, 2018 0:36:23 GMT
The girl's body shifted suddenly, and her head rolled on its side as she unconsciously sought a more comfortable position. The stickiness of her muddy legs woke her up, though, and she gave a small sigh of exhaustion. Her eyelids felt too heavy to open, and her mind was filled with a dense fog that clouded her thinking. She began to drift back into her deep sleep, but a tiny prickling sensation on the back of her neck kept her mind aware.
Something was not right.
The fog that had clouded Vesyka's mind was blown away by the heavy pit that dropped into her stomach, and her eyes snapped open. She dare not move.
She was being watched.
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Post by Stage on Jun 14, 2018 0:58:20 GMT
Silver eyes met black, and several things happened in rapid succession. First, the lanky creature drew back in surprise, the stiff lines of its mouth and brows angled down in shock. It was attempting to leap away.
Second, it realized that it could not. From the relaxed stance it had sunk into, it would not get nearly the distance it needed, so it tried to correct its posture is midair. Third, one of its heels caught the bend of a tree root. In the span of a few seconds, all these things combined resulted in the mysterious, sinister observer flailing backwards and falling flat on its back with a gentle whumph. |
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Post by KayKay on Jun 14, 2018 1:43:13 GMT
Vesyka recognized the lanky creature immediately. It was the farfadet, and it seemed she had surprised it.
<"Don't be afraid!"> Her soft pleas came out in French, as she hurriedly pushed her torso up and sat cross-legged on the grass. <"I won't hurt you.">
Realizing there was a good chance that this creature wouldn't understand her native language, she added in English: "Oh, please do not be afraid. I only wish to talk to you."
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Post by Stage on Jun 14, 2018 2:08:05 GMT
The long legs of the farfadet swung up, rolling it to its feet. It sat crouched at the edge of the marsh, seemingly ready to flee.
Yet it did not.
Something stopped the creature from retreating outright, instead settling on the mere threat of retreat. Now with the light of day aiding her silver eyes, Vesyka could see the features of the strange figure more clearly. Despite its inhuman proportions, lightless eyes, and strange, insect-like skin, it was was not incredibly unlike her. For one, it appeared to be female. Its face- or rather, her face- loped gently into a narrow, weak chin, resembling a heart. Her hair too was strangely familiar. It was not the whipping tail it had appeared to be as it flew about in wings of darkness, but silky and braided, falling across its shoulders like half of a scarf. She looked young too, perhaps even younger than herself.
Not everything beneath the surface was so comforting though. Upon closer inspection, not all of her dark shell was skin. She wore some sort of sleek, black outfit covered in thin plates of plastic or ceramic. It was unlike anything Vesyka had seen, but the closest comparison she could make was to the combat gear of S.E.E.D. and Saberdex soldier. Between this and many of her actions, it seemed this woman, this girl, knew battle.
The stranger tilted her head. She did not seem to understand either language. She slowly dropped her to knees though. It seemed Vesyka's tone had convinced her to stay.
The dark, thin lips of the stranger parted.
"To liqoaresna Nivos Lengoua?"
Her voice was deep and hoarse, only recognizable as feminine because of her face. The language she spoke was not anything Vesyka had ever heard, but it sounded like a Romance language, particularly Italian.
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Post by KayKay on Jun 14, 2018 2:31:51 GMT
"Oh." Now it was Vesyka's turn to tilt her head. It was apparent this creature didn't speak English or French.
Still, despite its fearsome appearance, Vesyka was not afraid. Something in its dark eyes seemed both curious and nervous, and she was reminded of herself the day she had first met Kyra. She had to be like Kyra now; she had to be strong and gentle and show this creature – this girl – that she could trust her.
As she worked out how to overcome their language barrier in her head, Vesyka pressed a hand against her chest, just beneath her collar bone. "Vesyka," she told the girl, and she patted herself on the same spot to drive home what she was trying to say.
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Post by Stage on Jun 14, 2018 3:28:55 GMT
The girl's glossy hand rose slowly to her own chest. "A... Adra."
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Post by KayKay on Jun 14, 2018 7:16:35 GMT
"It is very nice to meet you, Adra." Vesyka smiled gently, she hoped at least that gesture would share a common meaning between them.
She began to crawl towards the bank, and with her finger she began to draw shapes in the wet dirt. Vesyka was a skilled artist, and although the dirt made for a poor canvas, her depiction of the night before, when Adra had saved the young boy, was clear enough.
"I wanted to thank you," she told Adra, and she drew a heart into the dirt.
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Post by Stage on Jun 14, 2018 7:50:33 GMT
The girl- no, Adra nodded hesitantly. Even through her dark skin a blush seemed to surface, discoloring her cheeks. She reached out with a long arm and prodded the wet earth where Vesyka had drawn. She circled the boy before gesturing at her own dour face. Then, cheeks changing color more intensely, she used her fingertips to force her small, drooping mouth into a smile. When she removed her fingers, it snapped prompt back into a frown.
The strange girl wrapped her arms around her knees and sat in silence, seemingly waiting for a response, but a realization visibly struck her. Reaching out again, she drew two crude faces before Vesyka: one well and happy, the other scuffed and sad.
Adra quickly traced a few circle above the drawings, urging Vesyka to chose one. Her face had assumed an odd, purplish color from all the blood flushing to her cheeks in embarrassment.
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Post by KayKay on Jun 14, 2018 8:16:19 GMT
Smiling broadly now, Vesyka reached over and circled the happy face. The boy was safe.
Next she drew the best representation of Kyra she could muster – she hoped that the bandana would give it away – and the boy next to her. Next she drew a house, and an arrow showing that Kyra was taking the boy back home.
She turned her attention away from the drawing to look up at the girl. She pointed at her, then at the home she had drawn in the sand, and tilted her head in confusion.
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Post by Stage on Jun 14, 2018 9:24:53 GMT
Adra's mouth curled down- or rather, its existing curl became more exaggerated. Slowly, she began to draw something once more: a lopsided circle with some strange splotches in its middle. As she continued to scratch out lines, it became apparent it was a crude world map of Mundus, the splotches being Lemuria and its islands. When she finished, she promptly began working on second map. Many of its continents resembled, but did not quite match, those she knew from Earth. It was not though. The entirety of Oceania was missing.
When the second globe was finished, Adra tapped its outline. "Arken."
Her finger moved to the western portion of the center most continent. "Loum."
Finally, she traced a line to the eastern boarder of this region. "Souhold. Galmore Acedimy."
The strange, alien girl then drew a huge, impassable line between Mundus and the world she called Arken.
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Post by KayKay on Jun 14, 2018 10:00:03 GMT
Now it was Vesyka's turn to draw a globe of her own, on the opposite side of Mundus. She traced the seven continents, naming it "Earth" for Adra, then hesitated as her eyes flicked between Antarctica and Europe. Eventually, she made a hole with her finger in the area she named: "France", and as Adra had done before, drew a long line between Earth and Mundus.
She sat back, folding her knees up to her chest as she thought about how to ask her next question. Why did she live in this swamp alone?
But she already suspected the answer.
Vesyka drew in the dirt again, this time starting with the face that was fearful, and then a single pair of eyes. She pointed at Adra again, and tilted her head. Had people been afraid of her?
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Post by Stage on Jun 14, 2018 10:12:59 GMT
The girl nodded. Her expression was wistful, but her movement held no hesitation, as if it was something she had accepted by now. She drew a V above both Mundus and Arken, and their used seemed to approximate that of a check mark.
On the edge of their now crowded drawing board, Adra scratched out two humanoid figure. One was huge, gangly, and had four arms. Most of it was simplified, but she was sure to draw attention to its evil smirk. The other was small and human, with a lovingly crafted heart-shaped face and a braid like hers. She connected them with a line, then traced down from it, forming a sort of T.
Below the T, she drew figure with features from both drawings: her.
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Post by KayKay on Jun 14, 2018 10:42:39 GMT
Vesyka nodded silently. Adra was half-human, or at least something very close to a human. She stared at the image of the huge, four armed creature, and took in its malicious glare. She was reminded suddenly of the story Kyra had told her about her parents, and she wondered if this was a similar situation. She hoped desperately that it was not.
She pointed to the drawing she had made earlier of the fearful face and the pair of eyes. This time, however, Vesyka pointed to herself.
Then she held out her hand, laying it palm-up against the ground. She closed her eyes as she concentrated, and her palm began to shimmer with a silvery-white energy that glowed beneath her skin.
"Aether," she told Adra. She moved her hand over the blades of grass she had flattened while resting, and placed her palm lightly against them. In an instant they regained their vitality, springing up green and strong.
Vesyka focused again, more carefully this time. The silver in her hand died down, and an infectious black shadow replaced it. The grass beneath her palm turned brown and dry, and fell limp and lifeless against the dirt.
"Nether," she said. This time her tone was tinged with a mixture of mild disgust. She pointed to the fearful face again, then pointed to herself.
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Post by Stage on Jun 14, 2018 22:12:04 GMT
Adra cocked her head curiously, her frown twisting further into a grimace, though one that seemed to be of confusion rather than disgust or pain. Shuffling forward, the strange girl reached past Vesyka. Her lanky arm brushed the older woman's wrist, and Vesyka could feel that, while it was indeed as smooth as it looked, it was not soft. Instead, it was chitinous, hardened and with little give. It was also rather cool, not warm with the heat of life. It nearly felt like armor.
Adra placed a hand over the dead grass, just as Vesyka had, and closed her eyes. Her grimace lessened, and a green glow trickled out from beneath her cupped hand. When she withdrew, the grass was as green and crisp as when it had first sprouted.
She then stood up, her impressive height on now full display. Were Vesyka to stand alongside her, she would only reach the girl's chest. Dark eyes sweeping the marsh behind them, Adra found a dying tree, already slumped and threatening to plunge into the bog, and extended a flattened hand towards it, fingers curled up and palm facing it. She took a deep breath, surprisingly broad shoulders rising up like an ocean swell.
BOOM!
The tree exploded into splinters and water vapor. A bolt of lightning, twisting and curling like a strand of pale blue silk, had arced from Adra's hand and blown it to bits. Its jagged stump smouldered, it burned, smoke and flames licked off of its sharp edges.
Releasing the breath, as the lightning strike had happened in the split second still between inhalation and exhalation, Adra turned back to Vesyka. Her frown was not gone, but it had lessened, and her stiff brows twitched. It seemed to be her attempt at a reassuring smile.
"Mugeu," she declared simply in her husky, unemotive voice.
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Post by KayKay on Jun 20, 2018 10:26:51 GMT
The sudden explosion of lightning had caused Vesyka to jump in shock, and she nearly fell backwards into the grass. Her eyes were wider than ever before, and her mouth hung slightly open. For a moment it looked as though Vesyka would turn turn tail and flee any second. Then, slowly, her expression softened, and pale lips pulled back into a small smile.
"Mugeu," she repeated, sampling the word. She climbed to her feet to join Adra – though she didn't even reach the taller girl's shoulders – and clasped her hand together nervously. "Is that why you live here all alone?" she asked, before remembering that Adra didn't understand English. She quickly dropped down to her knees and found a new patch of dirt to draw out her question.
She also drew a second question: A simple pair of figures, one tall and lanky, representing Adra; the other quite short and a clear representation of Vesyka. She drew a third woman, one with a bandana carefully etched onto her forehead. Would she be willing to meet Kyra?
Vesyka made sure to draw a smiley face and a heart next to Kyra to demonstrate that she was friendly. Then she glanced back up at Adra expectantly, silver eyes meeting black.
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Post by Stage on Jun 20, 2018 22:42:06 GMT
Adra seemed nervous, legs folding against her chest and long arms entrapping them, but she eventually nodded.
"B... Bini," she crooned, apparently in agreement.
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Post by KayKay on Jun 23, 2018 6:41:25 GMT
Vesyka smiled. "She will be very kind to you. Oh, and perhaps I could cook you a very large meal. I do not think that there is much to eat around here."
Looking at the big around them, Vesyka tilted her head in question again and drew first a fish, then a frog, and pointed to her mouth. She hoped that was not what Adra had to resort to!
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Post by Stage on Jun 23, 2018 6:51:09 GMT
The ebon girl shook her head. Besides Vesyka's impressively accurate sketch, she drew, much more crudely, berries, nuts, and other types of edible mast. After a pause, she added an additional image: a bipedal creature with antlers. Her long finger then traced a line from the food, to the creature, and finally to the nearest drawing of her.
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