[ You’re standing on an enormous stone slab. Pale, shimmering light pools in the etchings of ancient wards, marking out the boundaries of this safe place. This Haven. ]
[ You can only tell where the edges of the Haven are because it's where the runes terminate. Beyond that is a void. The darkness feels heavy and alive, like the open maw of a monster waiting to eat you whole the second you step off this stone circle. ]
[ But here within the bounds of the Haven, you are safe. ]
[ You are alone, and the Haven itself is completely bare but for a single lantern. It sits on the ground in front of you, like it’s been guarding you this whole time. Its small flame is bright and warm, casting a circle of light over the stone around you. ]
[ The instant your hand touches the lantern, the small flame blooms into a something huge and bright like an unfolding star, light flooding the Haven as well as your mind.
In that moment, the world disappears into that flash of light and it feels like the time you hugged someone and realized, for the first time you could remember, that you found comfort in it too, and you could start to see why people liked this, and you wanted to do it again, and more, and more genuinely, and before you knew it your arm was wrapped around the small shoulders huddling up against your side as together you feasted on a pile of conbini snacks and watched a black and white romance movie, and it felt so natural and so comfortable and so warm that you wonder if this is what having a little sister is like;
it feels like someone there to hold your pieces together when you really just need to break, and you soak their clothes with your tears but they don't even mind, they just pet your hair and hold you without judgement until you're calm, and it's easier to be calm because it's them that's holding you, it's them that's helping carry you through this, and you feel safe in their small arms;
it feels like flowers and charms in your antlers, and long pink locks in your clumsy fingers as you fumble your way through learning to braid, like nails painted like cherry blossoms that make you feel awesome even when you're pumping irons at the gym, because you remember who put them there and something in your chest blooms big and warm and full of pride whenever you rediscover your own hands;
it feels like love.
Your eyes adjust to the light and the Haven resolves back into place, right where you left it. The newly brightened lantern illuminates an even greater radius than before.]
[She's not ready for any of that and it hits her so hard all she can do is breathe through it, and she has tears in her eyes by the time everything - well, stabilizes again, she supposes, and she gazes at the lantern with something very close to wonder, something very close to shock. She doesn't know what she did to deserve that, any of that, and not just because all she did was pick up a lantern, but her grasp tightens about it all the same. This is her lantern and she will defend it with everything she has.
[She takes a cautious step forward, raising it. Is it any easier to see now?]
[ In this larger, brighter, expanded circle of light, you can see more of the immediate surroundings beyond the edge of the Haven. You see the skeletons of bushes. What once was lush grass is now crisp, dry tufts, crinkled over bare dirt. The naked trunks of what used to be conifers extend overhead and vanish into darkness. ]
[ One side of the platform-shaped Haven slopes gently down to the ground. From there, a dirt path winds off into the trees. ]
[She calls it again, just checking, not really expecting to get much of a response but hey, never hurts to be sure.
[Then, slowly, carefully, holding the lamp high, Wednesday takes a step forward and then another, cautiously following the path. Much as she might want to just stay put here, where it feels safe, that isn't going to get her (them?) anywhere.
[ You follow the path through a forest long dead. ]
[ Out here, the air tastes bitter and caustic. The unnatural silence is occasionally punctuated by sounds: a distant, echoing crash of something crisp and wooden getting broken. A lonely groan from an inhuman throat. The intermittent scrape of dry leaves, disturbed by feet that skitter away before your circle of light can touch them. ]
[ As you walk, the path starts to climb up a slope, leading you through several switchbacks. The trees thin out, and the sky seems to lighten a few shades, like something up ahead is illuminating the very air. ]
[ You can see light glinting off boulders and tree trunks, guiding you forward like a beacon. ]
[ You have to scrabble over some rocks, picking your way upward. Then you look over a ridge and there it is:
—The ugliest city you’ve ever seen in your life. ]
[ The city is on the far side of a huge expanse of cobblestone — which, now that you’re looking at it, appears to be a parking lot. ]
[ After all that climbing, you have a better vantage point of where you just came from. Behind you is a steep drop into a vast canyon. You climbed out of there somehow, but from here it looks like a huge cleft in the earth that someone poured an ocean of heavy, dark fog into. ]
[ The instant your hand touches the lantern, the small flame blooms into a something huge and bright like an unfolding star, light flooding the Haven as well as your mind.
In that moment, the world disappears into that flash of light and it feels like the satisfaction of a full stomach when you have once known hunger, and having enough to make sure the plates of your loved ones are full as well;
it feels like a soft, warm bed when you've once known exhaustion, and knowing your loved ones are safely asleep and having good dreams;
it feels like sun on your face on a crisp, spring day, like the color of new leaves and a budding feeling of potential, like the humanitarian solidarity behind the words "my heart is with you";
it feels a little bit like love.
Your eyes adjust to the light and the Haven resolves back into place, right where you left it. The newly brightened lantern illuminates an even greater radius than before.]
[ In this larger, brighter, expanded circle of light, you can see more of the immediate surroundings beyond the edge of the Haven. You see the skeletons of bushes. What once was lush grass is now crisp, dry tufts, crinkled over bare dirt. The naked trunks of what used to be conifers extend overhead and vanish into darkness. ]
[ One side of the platform-shaped Haven slopes gently down to the ground. From there, a dirt path winds off into the trees. ]
[ You follow the path through a forest long dead. ]
[ Out here, the air tastes bitter and caustic. The unnatural silence is occasionally punctuated by sounds: a distant, echoing crash of something crisp and wooden getting broken. A lonely groan from an inhuman throat. The intermittent scrape of dry leaves, disturbed by feet that skitter away before your circle of light can touch them. ]
[ As you walk, the path starts to climb up a slope, leading you through several switchbacks. The trees thin out, and the sky seems to lighten a few shades, like something up ahead is illuminating the very air. ]
[ You can see light glinting off boulders and tree trunks, guiding you forward like a beacon. ]
[ You have to scrabble over some rocks, picking your way upward. Then you look over a ridge and there it is:
—The ugliest city you’ve ever seen in your life. ]
[ The city is on the far side of a huge expanse of cobblestone — which, now that you’re looking at it, appears to be a parking lot. ]
[ After all that climbing, you have a better vantage point of where you just came from. Behind you is a steep drop into a vast canyon. You climbed out of there somehow, but from here it looks like a huge cleft in the earth that someone poured an ocean of heavy, dark fog into. ]
[ Ah... he doesn't like the feeling of that darkness out there. First thing first, he'll reach for his lantern if able, and hold it up into the air to see if there is anyone or anything else out here that he can see better. ]
[ The instant your hand touches the lantern, the small flame blooms into a something huge and bright like an unfolding star, light flooding the Haven as well as your mind.
In that moment, the world disappears into that flash of light and it feels like the clap of landing back-first on a gym mat as your favorite pupil uses your own move against you, how surprised and delighted and above all proud you are of how strong he's become and how fast he's learned, how fun it is to get such a run for your money at this thing you started on a whim but turned into a ritual;
it feels like having someone beside you during the worst week you can remember, when people you loved died and died and died and how much it meant to you to have that steady presence to keep you going, to keep the ground under your feet and helped you put your friends back together, someone who helped you shoulder the weight so it was only heavy and not crushing, and how much you really needed that;
it feels like a team of idiots taking selfies while running from a bear and this should have been frightening but every time you remember it, you hold your face in your hands and laugh helplessly, and you hung all the selfies on the wall so you never forget;
it feels like fingers in your fur and the prickle of healing wounds, like the starched fabric of fancy dance clothes and a too-fast peck on the lips, like the presence of someone passionate as a bonfire but reliable as the earth;
it feels like love.
Your eyes adjust to the light and the Haven resolves back into place, right where you left it. The newly brightened lantern illuminates an even greater radius than before.]
[ Oh. He recognizes all of it. The connection, the relationship, and friendship. He's felt all of it before. Hasn't he...?]
Hello...?
[ Just in case there is a voice out there that will respond back to him. He reaches down to touch the shimmering patterns on the ground. Do they do anything at all? If not... he'll move forward, just a bit, to see what else he might be able to find in the darkness. ]
[There's no reply. It's quiet out here. Your words don't even echo.]
[The runes don't do anything in response except light up your fingertips a little when you touch them. They're warm. Gentle. Keeping you safe from anything that might try to hurt you. ]
[ In this larger, brighter, expanded circle of light, you can see more of the immediate surroundings beyond the edge of the Haven. You see the skeletons of bushes. What once was lush grass is now crisp, dry tufts, crinkled over bare dirt. The naked trunks of what used to be conifers extend overhead and vanish into darkness. ]
[ One side of the platform-shaped Haven slopes gently down to the ground. From there, a dirt path winds off into the trees. ]
[ The ruins really are a good thing, then. He glances at his fingers, before looking around.
None of that looks good. Not a sight anyone wants to see. Nothing burned to the ground is ever good. He'd held down the slope, and walk along the dirt path that leads into the trees though, looking carefully for anything or anyone. ]
[ You follow the path through a forest long dead. ]
[ Out here, the air tastes bitter and caustic. The unnatural silence is occasionally punctuated by sounds: a distant, echoing crash of something crisp and wooden getting broken. A lonely groan from an inhuman throat. The intermittent scrape of dry leaves, disturbed by feet that skitter away before your circle of light can touch them. ]
[ As you walk, the path starts to climb up a slope, leading you through several switchbacks. The trees thin out, and the sky seems to lighten a few shades, like something up ahead is illuminating the very air. ]
[ You can see light glinting off boulders and tree trunks, guiding you forward like a beacon. ]
[ You have to scrabble over some rocks, picking your way upward. Then you look over a ridge and there it is:
—The ugliest city you’ve ever seen in your life. ]
[ The city is on the far side of a huge expanse of cobblestone — which, now that you’re looking at it, appears to be a parking lot. ]
[ After all that climbing, you have a better vantage point of where you just came from. Behind you is a steep drop into a vast canyon. You climbed out of there somehow, but from here it looks like a huge cleft in the earth that someone poured an ocean of heavy, dark fog into. ]
[ The instant your hand touches the lantern, the small flame blooms into a something huge and bright like an unfolding star, light flooding the Haven as well as your mind.
In that moment, the world disappears into that flash of light and it feels like an embrace, when you gather those slight shoulders up against your chest and wrap them tight in the warmth of your arms, holding them there like shields to keep out whatever might hurt them or make them sad;
it feels like the sting of teeth in your skin and the heat of a fresh wound, but you don't mind, and you aren't bothered, you give it willingly and joyfully because it's worth it, they're worth it, and if giving parts of yourself means helping make them more whole then you'd gladly do it every day and be grateful for the opportunity;
it feels like the smell of tea made so perfectly that you're spoiled every day, like decorated cookies and a tender kiss on the forehead;
it feels like love.
Your eyes adjust to the light and the Haven resolves back into place, right where you left it. The newly brightened lantern illuminates an even greater radius than before.]
[Oh. That... that's so familiar it makes a lump rise into her throat almost instantly. She presses her free hand to her chest. She wants to protect this feeling, to keep herself from losing it.
[ In this larger, brighter, expanded circle of light, you can see more of the immediate surroundings beyond the edge of the Haven. You see the skeletons of bushes. What once was lush grass is now crisp, dry tufts, crinkled over bare dirt. The naked trunks of what used to be conifers extend overhead and vanish into darkness. ]
[ One side of the platform-shaped Haven slopes gently down to the ground. From there, a dirt path winds off into the trees. ]
[ You follow the path through a forest long dead. ]
[ Out here, the air tastes bitter and caustic. The unnatural silence is occasionally punctuated by sounds: a distant, echoing crash of something crisp and wooden getting broken. A lonely groan from an inhuman throat. The intermittent scrape of dry leaves, disturbed by feet that skitter away before your circle of light can touch them. ]
[ As you walk, the path starts to climb up a slope, leading you through several switchbacks. The trees thin out, and the sky seems to lighten a few shades, like something up ahead is illuminating the very air. ]
[ You can see light glinting off boulders and tree trunks, guiding you forward like a beacon. ]
[ You have to scrabble over some rocks, picking your way upward. Then you look over a ridge and there it is:
—The ugliest city you’ve ever seen in your life. ]
[ The city is on the far side of a huge expanse of cobblestone — which, now that you’re looking at it, appears to be a parking lot. ]
[ After all that climbing, you have a better vantage point of where you just came from. Behind you is a steep drop into a vast canyon. You climbed out of there somehow, but from here it looks like a huge cleft in the earth that someone poured an ocean of heavy, dark fog into. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Haven
[ You open your eyes. ]
[ You’re standing on an enormous stone slab. Pale, shimmering light pools in the etchings of ancient wards, marking out the boundaries of this safe place. This Haven. ]
[ You can only tell where the edges of the Haven are because it's where the runes terminate. Beyond that is a void. The darkness feels heavy and alive, like the open maw of a monster waiting to eat you whole the second you step off this stone circle. ]
[ But here within the bounds of the Haven, you are safe. ]
[ You are alone, and the Haven itself is completely bare but for a single lantern. It sits on the ground in front of you, like it’s been guarding you this whole time. Its small flame is bright and warm, casting a circle of light over the stone around you. ]
Re: Haven
Hello...?
[Wednesday is Not Good With Monsters.]
Re: Haven
In that moment, the world disappears into that flash of light and it feels like the time you hugged someone and realized, for the first time you could remember, that you found comfort in it too, and you could start to see why people liked this, and you wanted to do it again, and more, and more genuinely, and before you knew it your arm was wrapped around the small shoulders huddling up against your side as together you feasted on a pile of conbini snacks and watched a black and white romance movie, and it felt so natural and so comfortable and so warm that you wonder if this is what having a little sister is like;
it feels like someone there to hold your pieces together when you really just need to break, and you soak their clothes with your tears but they don't even mind, they just pet your hair and hold you without judgement until you're calm, and it's easier to be calm because it's them that's holding you, it's them that's helping carry you through this, and you feel safe in their small arms;
it feels like flowers and charms in your antlers, and long pink locks in your clumsy fingers as you fumble your way through learning to braid, like nails painted like cherry blossoms that make you feel awesome even when you're pumping irons at the gym, because you remember who put them there and something in your chest blooms big and warm and full of pride whenever you rediscover your own hands;
it feels like love.
Your eyes adjust to the light and the Haven resolves back into place, right where you left it. The newly brightened lantern illuminates an even greater radius than before.]
Re: Haven
[oh.
[She's not ready for any of that and it hits her so hard all she can do is breathe through it, and she has tears in her eyes by the time everything - well, stabilizes again, she supposes, and she gazes at the lantern with something very close to wonder, something very close to shock. She doesn't know what she did to deserve that, any of that, and not just because all she did was pick up a lantern, but her grasp tightens about it all the same. This is her lantern and she will defend it with everything she has.
[She takes a cautious step forward, raising it. Is it any easier to see now?]
Re: Haven
[ One side of the platform-shaped Haven slopes gently down to the ground. From there, a dirt path winds off into the trees. ]
Re: Haven
[She calls it again, just checking, not really expecting to get much of a response but hey, never hurts to be sure.
[Then, slowly, carefully, holding the lamp high, Wednesday takes a step forward and then another, cautiously following the path. Much as she might want to just stay put here, where it feels safe, that isn't going to get her (them?) anywhere.
[Monsters can be fought, right?
[Maybe someone in here has an axe.]
Re: Haven
[ You follow the path through a forest long dead. ]
[ Out here, the air tastes bitter and caustic. The unnatural silence is occasionally punctuated by sounds: a distant, echoing crash of something crisp and wooden getting broken. A lonely groan from an inhuman throat. The intermittent scrape of dry leaves, disturbed by feet that skitter away before your circle of light can touch them. ]
[ As you walk, the path starts to climb up a slope, leading you through several switchbacks. The trees thin out, and the sky seems to lighten a few shades, like something up ahead is illuminating the very air. ]
[ You can see light glinting off boulders and tree trunks, guiding you forward like a beacon. ]
[ You have to scrabble over some rocks, picking your way upward. Then you look over a ridge and there it is:
—The ugliest city you’ve ever seen in your life. ]
[ The city is on the far side of a huge expanse of cobblestone — which, now that you’re looking at it, appears to be a parking lot. ]
[ After all that climbing, you have a better vantage point of where you just came from. Behind you is a steep drop into a vast canyon. You climbed out of there somehow, but from here it looks like a huge cleft in the earth that someone poured an ocean of heavy, dark fog into. ]
Re: Haven
Re: Haven
Re: Haven
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Re: Haven
and then at the area around her.]
Re: Haven
In that moment, the world disappears into that flash of light and it feels like the satisfaction of a full stomach when you have once known hunger, and having enough to make sure the plates of your loved ones are full as well;
it feels like a soft, warm bed when you've once known exhaustion, and knowing your loved ones are safely asleep and having good dreams;
it feels like sun on your face on a crisp, spring day, like the color of new leaves and a budding feeling of potential, like the humanitarian solidarity behind the words "my heart is with you";
it feels a little bit like love.
Your eyes adjust to the light and the Haven resolves back into place, right where you left it. The newly brightened lantern illuminates an even greater radius than before.]
Re: Haven
that's. that's a lot.
but now this is her newest treasure, gotta take it somewhere safe.
but she'll start by moving forward?]
Re: Haven
[ One side of the platform-shaped Haven slopes gently down to the ground. From there, a dirt path winds off into the trees. ]
Re: Haven
Re: Haven
[ Out here, the air tastes bitter and caustic. The unnatural silence is occasionally punctuated by sounds: a distant, echoing crash of something crisp and wooden getting broken. A lonely groan from an inhuman throat. The intermittent scrape of dry leaves, disturbed by feet that skitter away before your circle of light can touch them. ]
[ As you walk, the path starts to climb up a slope, leading you through several switchbacks. The trees thin out, and the sky seems to lighten a few shades, like something up ahead is illuminating the very air. ]
[ You can see light glinting off boulders and tree trunks, guiding you forward like a beacon. ]
[ You have to scrabble over some rocks, picking your way upward. Then you look over a ridge and there it is:
—The ugliest city you’ve ever seen in your life. ]
[ The city is on the far side of a huge expanse of cobblestone — which, now that you’re looking at it, appears to be a parking lot. ]
[ After all that climbing, you have a better vantage point of where you just came from. Behind you is a steep drop into a vast canyon. You climbed out of there somehow, but from here it looks like a huge cleft in the earth that someone poured an ocean of heavy, dark fog into. ]
Re: Haven
Re: Haven
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Re: Haven
In that moment, the world disappears into that flash of light and it feels like the clap of landing back-first on a gym mat as your favorite pupil uses your own move against you, how surprised and delighted and above all proud you are of how strong he's become and how fast he's learned, how fun it is to get such a run for your money at this thing you started on a whim but turned into a ritual;
it feels like having someone beside you during the worst week you can remember, when people you loved died and died and died and how much it meant to you to have that steady presence to keep you going, to keep the ground under your feet and helped you put your friends back together, someone who helped you shoulder the weight so it was only heavy and not crushing, and how much you really needed that;
it feels like a team of idiots taking selfies while running from a bear and this should have been frightening but every time you remember it, you hold your face in your hands and laugh helplessly, and you hung all the selfies on the wall so you never forget;
it feels like fingers in your fur and the prickle of healing wounds, like the starched fabric of fancy dance clothes and a too-fast peck on the lips, like the presence of someone passionate as a bonfire but reliable as the earth;
it feels like love.
Your eyes adjust to the light and the Haven resolves back into place, right where you left it. The newly brightened lantern illuminates an even greater radius than before.]
Re: Haven
Hello...?
[ Just in case there is a voice out there that will respond back to him. He reaches down to touch the shimmering patterns on the ground. Do they do anything at all? If not... he'll move forward, just a bit, to see what else he might be able to find in the darkness. ]
Re: Haven
[The runes don't do anything in response except light up your fingertips a little when you touch them. They're warm. Gentle. Keeping you safe from anything that might try to hurt you. ]
[ In this larger, brighter, expanded circle of light, you can see more of the immediate surroundings beyond the edge of the Haven. You see the skeletons of bushes. What once was lush grass is now crisp, dry tufts, crinkled over bare dirt. The naked trunks of what used to be conifers extend overhead and vanish into darkness. ]
[ One side of the platform-shaped Haven slopes gently down to the ground. From there, a dirt path winds off into the trees. ]
Re: Haven
None of that looks good. Not a sight anyone wants to see. Nothing burned to the ground is ever good. He'd held down the slope, and walk along the dirt path that leads into the trees though, looking carefully for anything or anyone. ]
Re: Haven
[ Out here, the air tastes bitter and caustic. The unnatural silence is occasionally punctuated by sounds: a distant, echoing crash of something crisp and wooden getting broken. A lonely groan from an inhuman throat. The intermittent scrape of dry leaves, disturbed by feet that skitter away before your circle of light can touch them. ]
[ As you walk, the path starts to climb up a slope, leading you through several switchbacks. The trees thin out, and the sky seems to lighten a few shades, like something up ahead is illuminating the very air. ]
[ You can see light glinting off boulders and tree trunks, guiding you forward like a beacon. ]
[ You have to scrabble over some rocks, picking your way upward. Then you look over a ridge and there it is:
—The ugliest city you’ve ever seen in your life. ]
[ The city is on the far side of a huge expanse of cobblestone — which, now that you’re looking at it, appears to be a parking lot. ]
[ After all that climbing, you have a better vantage point of where you just came from. Behind you is a steep drop into a vast canyon. You climbed out of there somehow, but from here it looks like a huge cleft in the earth that someone poured an ocean of heavy, dark fog into. ]
Re: Haven
Re: Haven
Re: Haven
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Re: Haven
I need to find others...
[Hm. If she leaves, what might be out there? She had to take the risk, so grabs a lantern and sets out towards the darkness and away from the Haven.]
Re: Haven
In that moment, the world disappears into that flash of light and it feels like an embrace, when you gather those slight shoulders up against your chest and wrap them tight in the warmth of your arms, holding them there like shields to keep out whatever might hurt them or make them sad;
it feels like the sting of teeth in your skin and the heat of a fresh wound, but you don't mind, and you aren't bothered, you give it willingly and joyfully because it's worth it, they're worth it, and if giving parts of yourself means helping make them more whole then you'd gladly do it every day and be grateful for the opportunity;
it feels like the smell of tea made so perfectly that you're spoiled every day, like decorated cookies and a tender kiss on the forehead;
it feels like love.
Your eyes adjust to the light and the Haven resolves back into place, right where you left it. The newly brightened lantern illuminates an even greater radius than before.]
Re: Haven
She moves forward.]
Re: Haven
[ One side of the platform-shaped Haven slopes gently down to the ground. From there, a dirt path winds off into the trees. ]
Re: Haven
Hello...?
[If she walks further down the path, maybe she'll find someone?]
Re: Haven
[ Out here, the air tastes bitter and caustic. The unnatural silence is occasionally punctuated by sounds: a distant, echoing crash of something crisp and wooden getting broken. A lonely groan from an inhuman throat. The intermittent scrape of dry leaves, disturbed by feet that skitter away before your circle of light can touch them. ]
[ As you walk, the path starts to climb up a slope, leading you through several switchbacks. The trees thin out, and the sky seems to lighten a few shades, like something up ahead is illuminating the very air. ]
[ You can see light glinting off boulders and tree trunks, guiding you forward like a beacon. ]
[ You have to scrabble over some rocks, picking your way upward. Then you look over a ridge and there it is:
—The ugliest city you’ve ever seen in your life. ]
[ The city is on the far side of a huge expanse of cobblestone — which, now that you’re looking at it, appears to be a parking lot. ]
[ After all that climbing, you have a better vantage point of where you just came from. Behind you is a steep drop into a vast canyon. You climbed out of there somehow, but from here it looks like a huge cleft in the earth that someone poured an ocean of heavy, dark fog into. ]
Re: Haven
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Re: Haven