Tradesfolk
IS OFFLINE
13
Renown
Crescent Isles
25 solars in the void
573 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Rena Brighteyes on Jun 26, 2024 0:10:19 GMT -5
Rena blinks, those eye lights briefly flaring a cold, angry white before she’s slipping into the cuddle pile and softly squeezing her girlfriend in her arms as she lets out a soft, soothing trill. She doesn’t speak, doesn’t say anything…there’s nothing she can say to make this better. Stars know that meeting with the Hag in person was enough to leave her catatonic for days both times she’d braved that nameless ruin…no, the lich chooses to hold her beloved close, softly nibbling at Beak’s jaw in an effort to distract her from the that primal, lingering terror…when Rena does speak, it’s soft and gentle, “...ye don’ have t’ tell us if’n ye don’t want to, love…just…all we need t’ know is whether ye took it, ‘n what it cost ye if’n ye did,” that’s the obvious concern; the Hag’s deals have always been meticulously designed to create the most suffering they could…just look at Rena, at Nev, at the countless husks shambling through this frozen hellscape…
Bell and Nev slowly stir, chirping softly and gently nuzzling and nibbling at their bondmate and datemate, the sleepy spirits not yet registering what Beak and Rena are talking about…
…the children, on the other hand, press close and let out worried trills…they’ve heard their parents stories, if in a…rather sanitized format, so they know enough to understand that the Hag visiting their not-yet-parent in the night is far from the best case scenario…
...the babies let out sleepy little peeps, stirring a little within Beak's ribcage and nestling together as they slowly drift back into slumber...they'll need feeding again soon, but...not yet. not quite yet...
...Rena is worried, for several different reasons; Beak being offered a deal is bad - mine mine mine - but workable regardless of whether she took it...depending on what was exchanged. but the Hag watching them? knowing that they're here? that's terrifyingly close to a nightmare scenario - she still remembers that decrepit fae tugging at the strings that had been hooked into her, the skull-splitting agony that came with resisting the sudden impulses - but still workable...as long as the Hag still hasn't figured out how to break the wards keeping her trapped within the ruins she'd operated out of...the lich just prays that she'll never have to see those fractal eyes anywhere other than her nightmares ever again...
|
|
Adventurer
IS OFFLINE
5
Renown
Female
Crescent Isles
Act with love and sincerity.
168 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Beak on Jun 26, 2024 0:46:10 GMT -5
Beak shakes her head... it takes her a few moments to regain enough composure even to speak mentally, but she can at least start with that. In truth, a part of her was expecting to be in at least a little more trouble for this, for even the thought of dealing with the Hag, even if she didn't. She didn't take the deal. But she's still ashamed of just how close she came... so ashamed that she projected that, expected everyone else to hate her as much as she hates herself right now.
Stars above, what did she do to deserve such an understanding and loving family?
There's... still time for the shouting, though, once she tells them what the Hag was after... tells them about the hole in her metaphorical heart that's been there since long before they even went on this accursed excursion. She'd never had the courage before, but... this is important. If the Hag is using this as a card to play against them, now... then the air needs to be cleared now, before she can exploit any of them any further.
"I... didn't, no. I refused, but... Gods. I am so, so sorry. Thank you for not prying, but... no, you need to know this. I should have told you a long time ago...."
While she's working up the nerve, thinking up... how to say it, trying to find the words, she just holds Rena... holds all of them closely and tightly. The children, Bell and Nev as they awaken enough to realize what's going on....
"I... I died fighting for my people. Which is a glorified, euphemistic way to say I lost. I lost, and my people lost, and I... I see all of you... your children can fight as well as I can. I want nothing more to be.. to be good enough, to... you once told me to stay back, unless I thought I could keep up with all of you. I took that bet, I followed... and I've been wondering ever since if it was the right thing to do... stars and scales, I love you so, so much, but I don't... I don't want to hold you back...."
The connection is starting to get... strained. If her physical body were capable of producing tears, it would be right about now.
"The Hag... knew. She saw that... Gods, how did she know?? She offered... offered to make me useful, To make me someone you can depend on... and then, when that didn't work, she... changed tactics."
"She offered to end... all of this. She offered the entire Valley. No more Frostbitten, no more of this eternal storm... no more Fimbulwinter. She could snap her fingers and everything we've been struggling with this entire trip would be over. And all she wanted... was me. She wanted me to sacrifice myself... not just my body, but the memory that I was ever here... she wanted me to accept the fate that Nev was stuck in for so long, only it'd be willingly, by my own agreement. Because... as she put it... because I wasn't keeping up with you, because you'd hardly notice if I was gone anyway, right? At least... even if you never remembered me, at least I'd have given up my position knowing I did something truly useful, that I saved you all, the entire Valley...."
She shakes her head. "She just wanted the ashkeepers as a symbol of the deal, and it'd be done... Hum's and Chime's because they wouldn't be needing them anymore in a world where you never knew me, mine because the book would have no pages for me anymore. Just give her those, she said, and it'd all be over... no one would write songs about me, but I'd still know that I... that I was useful."
She sighs... here comes the part that she's truly dreading. "I said no... but... I was only thinking strategically. I said no because I knew she couldn't be trusted, because she twists her deals... there's nothing she could ever offer any of us that she'll actually give us without some horrible trick involved. I knew if I wished to be more useful, she'd just curse the rest of you with weakness such that you had to rely on me. I figured if I wished to end this eternal snowstorm, she'd probably... I don't know... give us a scorching desert, instead. For all I know, the Fimbulwinter itself could have been someone's attempt to end a drought or a heat wave."
"But... I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry... that... that was the only reason I refused. I think... if I could have trusted the deal to be fair... I might... I might have...."
Her shame then recedes... not entirely, but at least a little, now that the confession is finally out. But it's not that she's relieved to have that off her chest... it's more that, now that that's out, there's... more. The shame gives way to fear, to the same primal terror that she'd been dealing with when she first awoke.
"She told me... I think... I think this was just a threat, not a prophecy. She sounded like she knew, but... I think... I hope... stars, I hope she was just trying to intimidate me. She said... she said, since I didn't take the deal... that all of you... Hum and Chimes, all the children... Rena, Bell, Nev... that every single one of you will die, and that it will be my fault... because I had the chance to stop this, and I didn't... because I was so selfish that I wanted to be a hero in your eyes more than I wanted to actually take the chance to truly protect you, to give you the entire Valley back, when the deal was right there...."
"I... did... did I do the right thing...? I'm so... I don't know... I'm sorry if I didn't... I'm so sorry... I'm sorry if my selfishness cost us all... everything...."
|
|
Tradesfolk
IS OFFLINE
13
Renown
Crescent Isles
25 solars in the void
573 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Rena Brighteyes on Jun 26, 2024 1:42:04 GMT -5
Rena trills softly, her eye lights burning cold and caustic as she shuts her eyelids and holds her girlfriend close, “...you did wonderfully, love. There’s nothing the Hag can offer that’s ever worth the price. You might have, but you didn’t, and that’s more than Bell an’ I can say…” she pauses as Beak speaks of the Hag’s threat, taking a slow, calming breath as she gently squeezes Beak a little tighter, “...it doesn’t matter if it’s prophecy or not. Doesn’t matter if she’s got the Stars hung from puppet strings. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve spat in the face of what’s meant to be, and I doubt it’ll be the last…” the lich shudders a little, letting out a soft sigh, “...but we can’t face her. I can’t face her. Not without losing myself in those twisting eyes again…” she still remembers the fractal sea she’d been lost in for weeks after her heart had been traded out for the icy thing that now rests within her chest…she shudders again, trilling softly and hugging Beak a little tighter…
…Bell and Nev seem to have registered what’s going on, given the soft trills they emit as they press close and softly nibble at Beak’s jaw…
The fledglings press close, softly nuzzling and nibbling at Beak's cloak as they nestle around their parents and not-yet-parent...
...and then Rena speaks again, her voice soft and gentle, "...even if you had taken that second deal, I would've dragged you back out of the darkness after a few weeks...even if I hadn't let N'hil in..." the void-touched lich smiles wanly, "...you can't exactly feed someone to That Which is Not without having some of that hungry dark in your head..."
|
|
Adventurer
IS OFFLINE
5
Renown
Female
Crescent Isles
Act with love and sincerity.
168 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Beak on Jun 26, 2024 2:15:37 GMT -5
Beak shakes her head at Rena's encouragement. "T-thank you, but... that's not more than you and Bell can say. I didn't do better than either of you. I just was lucky enough to go second, is all. If I'd have been her first victim, you all would have had my tragic example to learn from to avoid making the same mistakes I did, rather than I yours." In the meantime, she just holds her family close. Her family. Hers. The warmth of their love, the warmth that she almost willingly gave up just because she wanted to feel useful... or is wanting to feel useful why she didn't take the deal? The Hag called her selfish for choosing to remain a part of the Blackfeathers' lives rather than disappear if it meant ending all their suffering... or would it have been selfish to make that decision for them, instead? If Rena wouldn't sacrifice Beak to get the Valley back, then did Beak have any right to sacrifice herself without so much as asking? It's all so confusing. All she ever wanted to do was to do right by the people she loves, but that's the true power of the Hag: not her formidable strength or magical power, not her ruthlessness or her armies--and those are all ver bad, do not for a second get her wrong on this--but in her ability to make people so uncertain about what the right thing to do even is. To devastate someone emotionally so much that they're left tearfully apologizing for almost taking the deal and for not taking it, in the same breath, because they're left that uncertain. That shaken. Which brings her to her next greatest fear. "If she's watching us, and she knows we're here, and she... she even knows our sorrows... stars, she knew right where to aim when offering me that deal... I'm afraid she might target any of you next. Rena, Bell, Nev, even the little ones... she's looking for a weak link. She's looking for someone in this family who will take themselves off the board if they believe her lies when she says it's the only way to save the rest of us...." She shakes her head. "To me, I... this could be foolishly optimistic of me, but I want to believe that means she sees us as a threat. She's not just toying with us for the sheer fun of it... if we were beneath her, then she wouldn't have tried so hard to get me. There's something she's hiding... something she fears will happen if we all stay together and hold strong. Something she fears enough to want to divide us just to prevent." "Am I implying we're about to go personally defeat her in single combat, right now, on this very trip? Stars above, no. She... ah... that... that encounter, if anything, proved how horrifically not ready to face her I am. But I'm saying we need to clear our hearts, address anything troubling us we're carrying that she could use against us, and...." " Someday. When Hum and Chimes grow up, perhaps, or... I don't know when. But I truly believe that this family will someday be the key to... something, and that's why she wants so desperately to split it up. Don't... don't any of you let her, all right? No matter what she promises...." She squeezes even tighter with that hug while speaking those words, as if trying to prove the point about their closeness physically. She also steals a glance at little Wind, giving her the sort of warm and playful smile-equivalent one would catch being exchanged between co-conspirators plotting someone's surprise birthday party... yes, she knows. That's part of it, too. And that's coming.As for the person Rena fed to N'hil... that simply does not register in her mind at all, such is the extent of how completely said person's story was erased. She assumes Rena must be talking about someone else from some other adventure the Blackfeathers had, long before she met them in that chance encounter, that day they just happened to be... was it just random exploring, like she was? No one had sent any of them there, so... in that same clearing she was, and they changed her life forever.
|
|
Tradesfolk
IS OFFLINE
13
Renown
Crescent Isles
25 solars in the void
573 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Rena Brighteyes on Jun 26, 2024 3:12:51 GMT -5
Wind giggles softly, chirping happily and nestling close to her not yet parent, rose gold eye lights dancing with glee and softly nibbling at Beak’s robes as she lets out a contented trill…
Rena sighs softly, “...that’s the problem with dealing with the Hag. every little thing, every fear, every wish, every regret…” she can still see those fractal eyes when she closes her own, can still feel those invisible spiders scuttling about within her skull…stars, if she sees that wretch again, she’s going to - no, no…not the time. The lich lets out a soft trill, gently nibbling at her girlfriend’s snout, “...still a few hours to morning, I think…do we want to get moving now, or do we just want to…stay like this for a little while?”
The children make their vote clear as they nestle a little more firmly into the nest and against their parents, already drooping a little as the adrenaline flushes from their systems…
…Nev and Bell seem similarly minded, nuzzling into Beak’s and Rena’s shoulders, fully determined to eke out as much relaxation as they can get in this frozen wasteland…
…and around the edges of the clearing, the Hunters gaze sightlessly at the tents, the dully shining orbs of ice in their sockets fixed on nothing in particular as they slowly, slowly retreat back into the darkness…
|
|
Adventurer
IS OFFLINE
5
Renown
Female
Crescent Isles
Act with love and sincerity.
168 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Beak on Jun 26, 2024 3:49:21 GMT -5
Oh, the group will move on, all right. But not until after they've snuggled away the rest of the night. It's... too comfortable in here, too much warmth in this tent compared to how cold it is out there, emotionally as well as physically. But it's also more than that.
The Hag targeted the pain in her soul. The Hag knew what Beak was distraught over, what she wanted, what she felt was missing... and she played Beak like a damned lyre using those insecurities. She imagines that Rena and the Hag would, if asked, have very different opinions on how Beak's been holding up as a part of this group... if she's ever been useful... if anyone would miss her if she were to just... disappear.
But that's how the Hag operates. She finds the darkest corners of her victims' own minds and hearts and lets them defeat themselves... lets their own doubts hurt them more than the Hag herself ever could, until the Hag's offer seems like the only reasonable solution to make that pain stop....
No. This cuddling is more than just selfish indulgence. The morale of the entire group is an essential need, as essential as their food and water reserves. Perhaps more; not everyone in the family eats or drinks, but anyone's doubts or sadness could become the Hag's next bargaining chip, the next weakness she targets the next time she tries to tear this family apart.
So instead, they pull closer together. Beak basks in the love, and loves in return, snuggling and being snuggled until the sun has risen.
Her family.
Hers.
... All right. Now they can move out.
|
|
Tradesfolk
IS OFFLINE
13
Renown
Crescent Isles
25 solars in the void
573 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Rena Brighteyes on Jun 26, 2024 4:45:41 GMT -5
They reluctantly pull apart, filing out of the tent and into the cold, pulling their coats tight and shivering a little as the lich in their midst conjures another pair of abyssal silhouettes to help with packing up the tents…the tents are surrounded by large, avian footprints, the campfire is scattered across the clearing, and the surrounding trees are marked by ragged cuts and scratches, seeming to have rapidly rotted around the wounds…
Rena sighs softly, cracking her neck and glancing around for a long moment before nodding softly, “...we should be able to get to the Archives by tonight, if I’m remembering right…” the lich sighs softly, those silver eye lights hard and resolute as the family sets off, Nev taking point and guiding the group through the forest, cobalt eyes gazing straight ahead…
The children chirp happily, Whistle and Wind nibbling on strips of spider jerky as they walk alongside the others, shivering a little in the cold and softly trilling…Loci and Wind, meanwhile, trade soft chirps and trills as they scan their surroundings, eyeing every little bit of movement with suspicion…
…the Frostbitten searching for the intruders continue to shamble and jerk and lurch through the snow, sightless eyes scanning and broken beaks clicking as they stumble about, blind to the trail of trampled snow left by the family…
|
|
Adventurer
IS OFFLINE
5
Renown
Female
Crescent Isles
Act with love and sincerity.
168 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Beak on Jun 26, 2024 5:02:14 GMT -5
Beak nods... that's some welcome news, for a land like this. "The sooner, the better. I... rather mistrust whatever left these marks in the trees... more ground we can cover before nightfall, the better. ... I think. Wait, do the day and night cycles affect... what we're up against..?"
Well, no matter; either they'll run into more Frostbitten or... worse... along the way, or they won't. If they will, then they'll dispatch them as quickly as possible and move on. Otherwise... no sense dwelling on the "otherwise." Beak meant what she said about morale being important if low spirits become something the Hag can use against the group at this point, and the extra hours spent snuggling this morning have done wonders for hers. Compared to the sorry state she was in just hours ago, she's feeling fantastic at present, and she'd like to make as much progress as possible before something inevitably attempts to ruin that.
... In fact, perhaps Whistle and Wind have the right of it. The happy chirps almost make them seem like, well, children enjoying a lovely walk through a cold yet scenic wintry nature hike, even if Beak knows all too well that they're every bit as deadly and serious as anyone in the family should the others spot anything. It occurs to her that she hasn't spent quite as much time with the Blackfeathers' living children as with the skeletal ones or the parents, and their infectiously good mood is exactly what she needs right now, so she adjusts her walking speed to keep pace with those two, specifically.
"... I don't know if you can feel Hum and Chimes' heating stones through my cloak," she offers honestly, "but... ah... if you can, then you're welcome to stay close and keep warm."
|
|
Tradesfolk
IS OFFLINE
13
Renown
Crescent Isles
25 solars in the void
573 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Rena Brighteyes on Jun 26, 2024 22:50:29 GMT -5
Wind and Whistle chirp happily, pressing close on either side of the skeleton and happily soaking up the excess heat as they softly trill, though Wind’s golden eyes dance with mischief just before he speaks in a conspiratorial murmur, just loud enough for Beak to hear, “...so…when’re ye plannin’ on poppin’ the question?” Whistle chokes on her jerky, ruby eyes wide as she reaches around Beak to lightly punch her little brother on the shoulder and hisses, “are ye tryin’ t’ spook her?! It’ll happen when it happens, ye wee bloody goblin!”
Wind just cackles, utterly unrepentant as he dodges the blow, golden eyes shimmering with mirth and tailfeathers wagging happily as an avian grin ruffles the feathers around his beak, “oh, please, she’s been dancin’ around our parents for months now! If’n she was gonna get scared off, it’d’ve happened already!”
And then he takes a snowball to the face, squawking in indignation and sputtering before scrambling back to his feet and lunging for Wind, his cackling twin darting behind Loci, who rolls his eye lights with an amused trill and idly sticks out his foot to trip his younger brother as he scrambles after the rosy eyed skeleton…
Rena trills in amusement as she helps her son up, the lich smiling softly as her shining silver eye lights dance with mirth…
…they’re getting closer…
|
|
Adventurer
IS OFFLINE
5
Renown
Female
Crescent Isles
Act with love and sincerity.
168 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Beak on Jun 26, 2024 23:12:18 GMT -5
It's probably fortunate that Beak's eyes can't get any wider than the already fully exposed sockets of her skull, because catching her off guard with a question like that likely would have done it. "I-I... ah...."
Well, at least her being a flushed, stammering mess isn't anything new to any of the clan, even the children. If anything, the elder skeleton has developed something of a reputation among her family for being an easily startled dork at this point. She means well, though. Probably the product of her upbringing compared to the others'; as a tribal warrior who died in battle facing invaders who wiped out her entire clan, then had to wander the Marsh Flats alone and scorned for decades before the corvids found her, she's nowhere near as naive in the ways of the world as, say, Marion... but she's still softer than anyone in this family save--arguably--the peepers currently nested inside her chest, and she is thus very easy to fluster when the others are just... being themselves.
It's all in good fun, though, and she has as good a laugh at anyone as the snowballs and the chasing start to happen. For an instant, she considers joining in, but... no, that would be a bad idea. If she threw a snowball at the kids, they'd throw snowballs back, and she doesn't want Hum and Chimes caught in the crossfire.
Still, it's a downright gleeful scene compared to the somber mood of last night and this morning, and she'll gladly take every second of this that she's able to.
|
|
Tradesfolk
IS OFFLINE
13
Renown
Crescent Isles
25 solars in the void
573 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Rena Brighteyes on Jun 27, 2024 0:53:00 GMT -5
Almost as though awakened by the thought, a soft peeping begins to sound from within Beak’s cloak, Hum and Chimes beginning to squirm within their little heated nest, their tiny talons grasping at each other, at the fuzzy cloth and cushions they’re nestled within, at the bones they’re surrounded by…their mother tilts her head as she steps back to listen to the flurry of peeping, a soft smile ruffling the feathers around her beak as she gently trills to the hatchlings, a hand reaching into her satchel and pulling out a pair of maracas, the rattling sound causing the hatchlings to quiet for a moment before letting out a flurry of excited peeping…Rena chirps softly back at them, smiling as she slips the maracas into her girlfriend’s ribcage…
…as the rattling and peeping continues from within Beak’s ribcage, Rena trills softly and gently takes the skeleton’s hand, silver eye lights gently shimmering as she walks, one massive wing mantling around her girlfriend’s shoulders as though trying to shield her from the cold…
…and as they walk, Nev’s cobalt eyes fix on the approaching ruins of their former home. The Archive is there, if you know what to look for…the raven’s eyes widen as they catch sight of the massive trees on either side of the village gates…tall and broad enough to be seen even from all this distance away, the pair of Everblossom trees are leafless and dead, growths of jagged ice jutting from their bark in a mockery of their former leaves and blossoms…
|
|
Adventurer
IS OFFLINE
5
Renown
Female
Crescent Isles
Act with love and sincerity.
168 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Beak on Jun 27, 2024 1:56:58 GMT -5
Beak glances down quizzically at the display. She's... a little unused to parenting, such that she'd actually forgotten that there were reasons for the sudden peeping fits besides being hungry. Well... in Chimes' case, anyway. As such, she was expecting a feeding, but instead the chicks now have toys... little rattles that they can shake around, make noise with, and bonk playfully and curiously against the walls, while they're still inside her and the "walls" are her own ribs.
Yes. Perfect. Thank you.
Giving a soft chuckle, she looks over at Rena with amusement, happy to take her girlfriend's hand in her own. The touch isn't quite as intimate as it could be because Beak is still wearing her gloves, but... well... she needs those gloves, should someone or something make a rude attempt to interrupt this cute and joyful scene.
Instead, fortune seems with them--at least so far--and they approach the ruined town without issue. The trees... those concern her, though. Beak has never seen a dead Everblossom tree before. They're called Everblossoms because they blossom... uh... Ever. They thrive in even the harshest winters, they're seemingly in bloom every day of every season the entire year. They don't die; that's the exact property that the Ibekki revered so much when choosing their leaves to send their newborn's names and dedications to the book-beyond-the-stars.
This... this is foul magic, whatever did this. ... Well. "Whatever did this," she says, as if it weren't plainly and immediately obvious that it was one of the Hag's monsters. Possibly a Hunter, but who knows.
The more she walks through this land... especially after Beak's own encounter with her... the more the skeleton understands just how much has been lost, how much has been defiled by the Hag's reign....
|
|
Tradesfolk
IS OFFLINE
13
Renown
Crescent Isles
25 solars in the void
573 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Rena Brighteyes on Jun 27, 2024 15:27:58 GMT -5
…they reach the village unimpeded, no sign of Frostbitten nor any other denizens of this frozen hellscape…the gates can be found scattered, having been blown back into the settlement they were meant to safeguard a long time ago…there’s no movement within, nothing more than falling snow…
…Nev takes a slow, calming breath…and cautiously steps into their ruined birthplace, cobalt eyes scanning the collapsed buildings, the scattered lumps under the snow where they remember their people falling…
…they move deeper, navigating the streets with the ease of a lifetime’s familiarity…and then they stop, those cobalt eyes turning to focus on the haft of some kind of weapon sticking at an angle from a lump in the snow. the wraith approaches, brushing away the snow…and gazing down at their own body. it’s nearly unrecognizable, the skull still occupied by the hammer that crushed it…but they remember that hammer, they remember this street, their new form of ink and starlight is still adorned with the jewelry that this body bears…those cobalt eyes drift down to the pair of objects nestles in the corpse’s grasp, the brown-spotted blue almost utterly concealed by the frost that coats them…
…there is no saving this pair, the wraith already knows. not when simple examination is enough to see that these eggs had been long since reduced to hollow shells…scavengers, hopefully. They don’t want to imagine their eggs somehow surviving to Fimbulwinter…
…the wraith scoops the frozen eggs from the corpse’s arms anyway. They may be past saving, may be inert and empty at best…but it wouldn’t be right to leave them here. They deserve to feel some margin of warmth again…
|
|
Adventurer
IS OFFLINE
5
Renown
Female
Crescent Isles
Act with love and sincerity.
168 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Beak on Jun 27, 2024 23:31:53 GMT -5
.... Oh.
Oh, no.
Nev....
Beak gives a solemn look at the ruined eggshells Nev has now taken. She... she should say something, but what..? The Ibekki would say the great book remembers these nameless chicks now, but... they were never inducted and added, were they? The great book remembers Hum and Chimes, now, and she's glad for that, but she hasn't learned or uncovered how to learn the rite to induct the rest of her family, yet, let alone....
"... I'm so sorry," is all she can offer.
She wants to offer to at least... bury Nev's body? It's at least something. But gestures like that are usually meant to honor the dead's passing, and in this case, the dead hasn't exactly passed. It'd be a bit weird to imagine Nev in a better place when Nev is standing in the same place the rest of them are.
But she can't just...
Wait.
Okay. Idea. Colossaly stupid idea, perhaps, but at least enough of an idea that she'd regret it later if she didn't at least ask.
"... Rena? This... ah... I'm sorry if this comes across as... strange, even crass in any way... no disrespect is meant at all... but...."
Right. Just... just say it; deal with the strange looks if the offer backfires later.
"... Your bag... you have an Bag of the Infinite, yes? Could it fit... ah... Nev? Nev's... you know... Nev's remains... if we put them in one bone at a time, perhaps..."
Okay she's not making this sound not-weird at all but hear her out here
"I feel like they should be... I hesitate to say "put to rest" because Nev's not resting; they're right here. But... if we just leave the body here, then it could be used to make Frostbitten... I don't think any of us want to see that. And I don't think we have time to do a proper burial or sanctification or anything here, so... maybe we can do something for them when we get back home, perhaps."
|
|
Tradesfolk
IS OFFLINE
13
Renown
Crescent Isles
25 solars in the void
573 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Rena Brighteyes on Jun 29, 2024 5:00:08 GMT -5
Rena tilts her head slightly, then glances toward Nev with questioning silver eyelights, beak parting as though to speak before the inky wraith cuts her off, “...we had a tradition, for our dead…” Nev glances toward their silver eyed bondmate, “...we should have the egg clusters to start up our own silk production back home…”
Rena bobs her head, seemingly unbothered by the implication as she slips one of her shorter bayonets from her sleeve and sets about…taking apart the body, her movements smooth and precise and…somehow reverent, silver eyes sharply focused as she begins to hum a low, mournful tune…she pries the hammer from Nev’s skull, meticulously cleaning it…of…that…that’s Bell’s handiwork, the same crest present on the side of the head as on the gloves he’d gifted Beak…
…the spectral smith takes the hammer, tilting his head and testing the weight of it, his amber eyes filled with shame as he examines the weapon, “...some of my finest work at the time…if only I’d known how much it would cost me…” he lets out a low, almost angry hiss, the embers embedded into his hands shining brighter…brighter…and then the metal haft of the hammer begins to glow, a cherry red light slowly spreading along the metal from his hands, gradually brightening to orange…and the whole thing droops under its own weight, the metal turning soft in its creator’s hands, drops of molten metal falling off and sizzling against the snow until…until there’s nothing left in his hands, the last rivulets of liquid steel running from his talons as he glares down at his hands as though they’d killed his bondmate…and in a way, perhaps they had…
|
|