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Post by Stage on Aug 11, 2018 5:05:33 GMT
It had been several hours since Anzhela and Lorina set out to sea. Progress had been infuriating slow however. Thanks to keeping track of the stars, they were still more or less on course, but they were wrestling a sudden and strong wind determined to push them towards the unexplored expanses of the Sapphire Abyss. They were not yet even halfway to the mainland despite their efforts. Anzhela was beginning to grow both flustered and tired from the unending struggle.
Far ahead though, her narrowed, stormy blue eyes spied something rising slightly above the waves.
"There is... pischeneye utmil. Sand island ahead. We should stop. Rest and wait for wind to stop."
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Post by Executus Gira on Aug 11, 2018 5:52:56 GMT
Despite how long and turmoiled the trip had been, the necromancer showed no signs of exhaustion or wear, outside of a brief pained sigh that came from her.
"A sand island?" She muttered, before speaking louder, "Yes, let's stop there and rest. It won't be much but... it's better than nothing."
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Post by Stage on Aug 11, 2018 7:14:50 GMT
Although the sandbar was by then in seeing distance, the wind picked up once more and it took the two women an additional half hour to reach the long crescent of sand. Anzhela, now thoroughly exhausted, staggered off the raft and trembled with relief over not having to row for a time. Though all she wanted to do was sink onto her belly and soak her sore, rashy hands in the cool seawater, the sable knew they had to pull the raft ashore. She was not going to risk losing their way back to the mainland for a reason so silly.
"P... Pull it on shore," she panted to Lorina. "So not... n- not... puplevuk. Swim away."
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Post by Executus Gira on Aug 11, 2018 7:50:45 GMT
Lorina gave a nod, then twitches her hand. The dark mist that spread from her flowed down the water and into the sand beneath the waves. Slowly, the infected sand rose, and began to push the raft and the necromancer up the beach and out of the surf. Only once it was reasonably out of the water did she twitch her hand again, and the spell ended.
"Now, to hope this sand bar isn't washed away... like so many things I've seen and known..." Lorina slid off the raft, and moved next to the sable.
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Post by Stage on Aug 11, 2018 8:09:16 GMT
It was clear the woman was referring to some tragic event from her past, but Anzhela was too tired to care. In fact, she was rather annoyed that she did not look any the worse for wear.
"Y... You are not tire," the redheaded Lexian said. It was more an accusation than a question in tone.
As if doing so had taken all her energy, the sable flopped onto her bottom and laid out across the sand, relishing in the fact that she no longer had to battle the sky and sea themselves.
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Post by Executus Gira on Aug 11, 2018 8:40:12 GMT
Lorina looked down at the Lexian with a look that was both confusion and ignorance. "This body may be human, but my soul, my inner essence, is not. While I am no stronger than a normal person, I do not tire out. I was doing my all to help steer the raft and get us here, believe me."
That last part was said after a momentary pause, and for a split second, her eyes darted back out to the sea. Though... the Lexian's annoyed tone was almost endearing to the necromancer, in a strange way. "My apologies if it seemed I was not doing my best."
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Post by Stage on Aug 11, 2018 8:58:50 GMT
Rather than comment on the strangeness of the tall, ghoulish woman's explanation, Anzhela waved an arm at her dismissively. "Jirande. No sense. Tire come from body. If body human, should be tire. You cheat. No cheat. Or tell me how cheat too."
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Post by Executus Gira on Aug 11, 2018 9:07:47 GMT
Lorina shook her head. "This soul within me, my true nature... it is a curse I wish not on anyone. Yes, I never have to rest... but the horrors it brings far outweigh the positives. At the same time, I cannot just... make myself tired. I can replicate it, but... I'll never really be exhausted by doing human things. Again, I am sorry but... that is just I am."
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Post by Stage on Aug 11, 2018 9:23:32 GMT
In response, Anzhela stretched an arm towards Lorin and curled all her fingers but her thumb into a fist, instead tucking it between her index and middle fingers so that it jutted from her balled hand.
It seemed to be an obscene gesture of some kind.
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Post by Executus Gira on Aug 13, 2018 4:00:35 GMT
All Lorina could give back was a shake of her head. The intention of the gesture was not lost to her, but what could she do about it?
She shifted her gaze back off to the distance. Was this... was this what Lewis and Carroll would have done in this situation? Or... those heroes of the past? Just take the upset nature and venom of this woman in stride? Mumbling through her memories and thoughts, she struggled to find an answer...
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Post by Stage on Aug 14, 2018 6:27:55 GMT
Tilting her head away from Lorina- she was tired of looking at her frustratingly unexhausted form- Anzhela instead locked her eyes on the waves. She never wanted to see the sea again after this, so she may as well enjoy the sight of it now. She had to admit, the blue-green, moonlit ripples of the nighttime ocean was rather beautiful, even if it was hell to paddle through.
The redheaded Lexian sat up suddenly. They were also farther away.
Head snapping forward, Anzhela confirmed, eyes giddy and mouth curling into a grin, what she suspected: the sandbar was longer now than it had been when they landed.
And the newly exposed portion ahead of them stabbed straight towards the mainland.
Jumping to her feet with a triumphant laugh, the sable pulled off her dark breastplate and began to rip the blouse underneath, exposing her pale, slender belly to the world.
"Take cloths off too," she commanded Lorina as she began tying long strips of her torn shirt together to form a makeshift rope.
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Post by Executus Gira on Aug 14, 2018 8:16:52 GMT
Lorina, startled by the sudden laughter and request, raised an eyebrow. What exactly did she have planned that would warrant her removing her clothes?
Still, it was better than anything Lorina could come up with that didn't involve someone dying. With her right hand she grabbed her shredded cloak and ripped it Off, revealing her unnaturally pale and surprisingly voluptuous frame. A particularly large scar ran across her chest from the base of her neck to below her naval, and ancient burn marks covered parts of her back and legs. If it wasn't for those features and the dark shroud of miasma around her, she would have possibly passed for a swim model.
"What do you have planned?" She asked...
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Post by Stage on Aug 14, 2018 8:41:39 GMT
After a quick, jealous glance at Lorina's figure, Anzhela snatched the patchy cloak from her hand and ripped it into long strips as well. When her impromptu rope was finished, she tied one end of it around her belt, then fastened the other to the raft.
"Water still... snozhinoyi. Going down," the sable explained, pushing the raft back into the water with overflowing energy she did not possess only moments before. "So walk. Wind can not push feet. Pull raft behind. Good plan, yes?"
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Post by Executus Gira on Aug 14, 2018 21:04:33 GMT
Lorina closed her eyes. That made sense to her. With the receeding ride, it would be much easier to move the raft.
Some humans were more crafty than others.
"Yes, that definitely works." She finally said, opening her eyes. There was a brief violet flash in her eyes, and she moved over to help move the raft along.
Of course, if this backfired... she had a special form of insurance still out there...
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Post by Stage on Aug 14, 2018 22:03:47 GMT
With the raft now afloat, Anzhela took a few experimental steps forward. The resistance was greater than she expected, so the tugging on her waist caused her to stumble, but taking a wider stance and bracing against it proved sufficient corrections.
"Come," the redheaded woman told Lorina as she began trudging forward, raft bobbing alongside her.
With luck, perhaps they could walk all the way to the mainland. At the very least, they would pass much of the rougher waters and enter shallower waters where the wind would only push them along the coast, not out to sea.
Anzhela would prefer to oversee the transport of the raft than do it herself of course, especially considering that her partner apparently never tired, but she had her reasons. If the witch were to try something, she would severe the rope with the knife tucked deep in her boot and strand her on this temporary land, letting hungry sea beasts take posthumous revenge for her. She had pushed the raft back into the water in the direction of the wind with a purpose even though it made her work harder.
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Post by Executus Gira on Aug 14, 2018 23:12:59 GMT
Lorina was quick to catch up to the sable. For her to try and do this all on her own, even if she herself never tired because of her true soul... she didn't trust her, for one reason or another.
No, that wasn't right. If she didn't trust her, there had to be a reason for it. Was it the dark power she used... or their initial meeting, which had not been entirely under her decision.
A sharp pain returned to the right side of her face, and she grapsed at it. It was worse than before, a far shaprer pain which wracked her skull. She gritted her teeth to endure it, and in a few moments, it faded away...
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Post by Stage on Aug 14, 2018 23:30:10 GMT
Hearing irregularities in her partner's footsteps, Anzhela slowed and looked over her shoulder. "Pain again?"
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Post by Executus Gira on Aug 15, 2018 6:20:46 GMT
Lorina nodded. "Don't... Don't mind me. I'm fine..." She lied.
In her mind, she heard it, the voice that had haunted her existence since her birth, the voice of her inner conscious, her true nature whispering in her ear, "Why hold back? Why restrain yourself? Let her lead you to the main land... and then consume and devour to your heart's content. Kill everything that is not you, that is not of your design, of your allegiance. Turn this new world into your monument of carnage, woman." It was a voice as sweet as honey, yet Lorina knew it dripped with nothing but venom and death. It was the voice she had struggled so hard to resist, yet never quite could...
Not this time. She couldn't do it this time. She wouldn't let it!
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Post by Stage on Aug 15, 2018 6:39:31 GMT
"If say," Anzhela shrugged.
Resuming her quick pace, the red-haired Lexian watched the water as she walked, raft bobbing besides her. Occasionally, a pale, pearl-like crab would scuttle into the water, or she would spot the silver flash of a fish's side in the shallows. Once, she even saw the translucent, pulsing form of a jellyfish, pumping like a crystal heart.
The woman could not help but smile. Perhaps the ocean was not so bad after all.
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Post by Executus Gira on Aug 15, 2018 6:44:19 GMT
Lorina's eyes darted out across the sea, at the sights and flashing colors that shown just beneath the waves. It was... shockingly pure and beautiful, and the woman managed to overcome the pain in her head just enough to appreciate what she saw.
This kind of beauty... this wasn't possible in the kind of world her inner voice wanted, a world robbed of creation and Aether. This splendor, it was only possible in a world with Aether, a world formed by the caring hand of a creator, she felt, no, she knew...
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