broken bottles form a star
#1
[html]

321 → I think I'll date this for the 17th or something. To Amhersttt.

The world outside of Salsola was a strange place indeed. Before her visit to Ichika and her rendezvous with the strange foreigner in Drifter Bay, she hadn't considered the possibility that everyone wasn't like them, covert and sneaky. Now she was beginning to think that they were the odd ones out, the strangest folk in the North. Aside from Inferni, she mentally corrected herself. They were a bit weird, and her mother disliked them for some reason unknown to her. Eris was a fickle woman, except where her children were concerned. She had an abundance of love for them.

Since hearing of the human construction to the north of her homeland, Salsola's heartland, she'd been eager to go see what wonders lay within it, but hadn't yet plucked the courage to go. Seeing the man in the mask, what he called his μάσκα, had begun to turn the cogs in her mind. Returning home had been a depressing venture, back to the bleakness of her own life where Larkspur was dead, where her mother was grieving, where life continued on despite it all. Using a scrap of cloth and some of the mid-grade whale oil from the stores as well as a large stick, she'd shimmied together a torch and lit it before stumbling off into the dawn toward where she thought the Grecian might be. If he hadn't moved from his location, she was making a beeline for him, but if he had, it was likely she'd miss her mark.

Passing the firelight over the path in front of her only when the safety of home was gone, she found the field, but could only make out vague shapes in the dark. That, and the fire knocked out her nighttime vision. After fumbling around in the dark for some time, the Eternity youth nearly gave up. Thanos, She hissed his name into the dark with the hope that he was awake.

<style>
.heraldictxt-2 {font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; letter-spacing:0px; word-spacing:2px; text-align: left; margin:0px 25px; padding:10px; background-image:url(http://i.imgur.com/7Vx6P.png); background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position: top left;}
.heraldictxt-2 p.ooc {font-style:italic; font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12px; text-align:justify; text-indent:0px; padding:0px 5px;}
.heraldictxt-2 p.ooc + p {padding:0px 5px;}
.heraldictxt-2 .wc {text-transform: uppercase; font-weight:bold;}
.heraldictxt-2 p {text-indent: 25px; margin:0px; padding:10px 5px; text-align:justify;}
.heraldictxt-2 b {letter-spacing:.05em;}
</style>
[/html]
#2
[html]
|| THROUGH THE TRIALS ||

Surprisingly, Athanasios hadn't traveled away from the lone tree in the field when he found it. Rather, he had stayed there, which was probably a good idea. Thanos wasn't aware of the local conflict and staying by the tree gave him some place to hide out. He had actually climbed the tree, sitting in the place where the branches converged into the trunk. He sat and meditated for some time, a day or two from what he could remember. He sat in his pensive state, thoughts of the girl he met and wherever she came from. She seemed young and her home couldn't have been far, unless she was more of a curious troublemaker than he had imagined. It didn't matter — she was still a person of interest to him.

Nighttime had settled over the field and Thanos was still meditating, although on the verge of sleeping. He wasn't paying much attention to whatever went on out of his tree, he was busy with his daily rituals. The light crackle of fire and smells of burning fuel roused him though, bringing him out of the meditative spell and into a curious mode. Who was out here at this time of night? A whisper of his name told him exactly who and Thanos took care to grab his staff and peer below him. There was Artemisia, holding the torch that glowed onto the tree and caused his mask to gleam. "Artemisia?" he replied, using a branch as a stable point to jump from the tree, swinging away from the trunk. "What brings you out here at such a time?" His calm voice had a hint of fatigue to it, as he had been up for the better part of the day. He leaned on his staff like a third leg, peering at the strange girl through the depths of his mask.

|| OUR TONGUES ARE TIED ||


<style>
.circle .title { font-size:11px; text-shadow: 0.0em 0.1em 0.2em #000; letter-spacing:12px; color:#000; text-align: center; }
.circle .title2 { font-size:11px; text-shadow: 0.0em 0.1em 0.2em #000; letter-spacing:11px; color:#000; text-align: center; }
.circle p {padding:3px 0px; margin:0px; text-indent:25px; }
.circle b {color:#000; letter-spacing:-.1px; }
.circle .wc {text-shadow: 0.0em 0.1em 0.2em #000; letter-spacing:-.1px; }
.circle {font-family: arial, serif; font-size:12px; letter-spacing:.4px; word-spacing:.3px; line-height:16px; width:500px; text-align:justify; padding:60px 0px 10px 0px; }
.circle-border {width:500px; margin:0 auto;}
</style>[/html]
#3
[html]

304 →

She hadn't thought to look up for him, but when her name came falling from a tree next to her, the girl's vivid orange gaze swept upward to him, and found herself surprised. This was an unexpected development for her; the only thing she ever boasted about to others was her capability to remember things, and when that wasn't interesting, that she very rarely missed something. Nonetheless, she smiled into the eves and beams of the old tree and nodded to the monk. Sia, She murmured once he'd dropped down to meet her here, on earth. Call me Sia, per favore. The girl clarified, though it was a nickname she'd realized existed only recently. Everyone called her Arte, which was brutish. Sia sounded nicer.

The light from her torch danced across his mask like a spectral being, unintentionally giving him an ominous look. Shifting it to her right hand, Artemisia held it aloft so that she could see him better without having to peer through the harsh light. I'm going to Amherst... To find a mask like yours, because she couldn't just ask for his, could she? Somehow she thought it might be cheating. Plus, he needed it more than she did. It was part of his... His ritual, like her adulthood ceremony. His seemed to be taking much longer than hers, though, since he was obviously older. The walking stick had some wear and tear, weathered by time and travel alike. Would you come with me? I could tell you about my home, if you want, She'd promised to tell him about the Cueponi ritual, but wasn't entirely sure she was allowed to do that yet. For now, maybe she could tell him about the pack of respect, privacy, and secrecy. They were also, amongst themselves, a pack of backstabbers, thieves, and liars.

<style>
.heraldictxt-2 {font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; letter-spacing:0px; word-spacing:2px; text-align: left; margin:0px 25px; padding:10px; background-image:url(http://i.imgur.com/7Vx6P.png); background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position: top left;}
.heraldictxt-2 p.ooc {font-style:italic; font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12px; text-align:justify; text-indent:0px; padding:0px 5px;}
.heraldictxt-2 p.ooc + p {padding:0px 5px;}
.heraldictxt-2 .wc {text-transform: uppercase; font-weight:bold;}
.heraldictxt-2 p {text-indent: 25px; margin:0px; padding:10px 5px; text-align:justify;}
.heraldictxt-2 b {letter-spacing:.05em;}
</style>
[/html]
#4
[html]
|| THROUGH THE TRIALS ||

"Sia," he corrected himself, as she wished. She called him by his shortened nickname, he could call her by hers if she so wished. It was much shorter as well, not to mention it made everything feel more casual and calm. Just how Thanos liked it. He was a little glad she wasn't part of the Brotherhood, saving them both the time of stumbling over each others' names during conversation. He wouldn't have been getting anywhere with his pilgrimage anyway, if he had found Brothers here, of all places. This area was supposedly unvisited by Brothers other than himself, making him the first to make contact.

Thanos hadn't paid too much attention to what was in the surrounding area while staying in his tree. "Amherst? Πόσο ενδιαφέρον, how interesting. Is there where the other wolves are?" He couldn't help but ask. If she named it by its name but not as "home" it probably wasn't where she lived, per se. "Oh, ναί -- yes, I would love to join you and hear about your wonderful home." He smiled and motioned a hand that showed her she could lead the way, he would follow no problem. "It is probably best to travel with a friend at nighttime, is it not?" Surely. He wouldn't feel very responsible if he allowed her to go out on her own anyway, if he could help it. Things often went bump in the night and it never hurt to adhere to the buddy system. The torch light made them obvious but gave a sense of warmth and comfort -- at least to Thanos. "Why is it you must travel to this place? What will we find there?" The monk sounded like a child eager for a trip, but he was always so curious when it came to the unknown.

|| OUR TONGUES ARE TIED ||


<style>
.circle .title { font-size:11px; text-shadow: 0.0em 0.1em 0.2em #000; letter-spacing:12px; color:#000; text-align: center; }
.circle .title2 { font-size:11px; text-shadow: 0.0em 0.1em 0.2em #000; letter-spacing:11px; color:#000; text-align: center; }
.circle p {padding:3px 0px; margin:0px; text-indent:25px; }
.circle b {color:#000; letter-spacing:-.1px; }
.circle .wc {text-shadow: 0.0em 0.1em 0.2em #000; letter-spacing:-.1px; }
.circle {font-family: arial, serif; font-size:12px; letter-spacing:.4px; word-spacing:.3px; line-height:16px; width:500px; text-align:justify; padding:60px 0px 10px 0px; }
.circle-border {width:500px; margin:0 auto;}
</style>[/html]
#5
[html]

541 → For my lateness, you get some insane rambling. Big Grin

Calmness touched her, like an easy breeze; she didn't have to be so formal with him, didn't feel the pressing need to constantly be wondering about his motives (despite his mask, which still put her off slightly despite being the answer to her riddle), and wondered vaguely if her mother would approve of such a man joining Salsola's ranks. Their hierarchy was strict, however, and many things were expected of everyone.

Then there was her, daughter of the Auxiliary, which immediately meant that she was held to a higher standard than most. Artemisia hadn't crumbled under the pressure thus far, but felt a daunting sort of feeling at being the largest and strongest of her litter, yet she was the last to complete her adulthood ceremony. Strange too, she thought, that despite her physical strength, she had never put it to any real use. Nor did she intend to. Becoming the pack's first true scholar, a teacher perhaps, was her truer desire. Until then, she would strive to become the sapienza; it would allow her to leave for long periods of time while gathering important information, but also to learn about herself away from the constraints of her home.

A quick smile was flung Thanos' way as he questioned whether Amherst was where, as he put it, the other wolves were. Assuming he meant her family, her home, she shook her head and settled her gaze in the direction they would be heading. No, it's a place further north, She gestured then, toward it, quickly followed by a quizzical look. He thought it was nighttime, still? It'll be morning, soon, But for now it was still dark, hence the torch. That, and there were still the invaders lurking about somewhere. She didn't want to be caught off guard again without something to defend herself. Everyone feared fire, to a certain extent, and if need be she could use it as a weapon. She hadn't thought that it could lure danger toward them, and didn't think of it now. A friend? She questioned his use of the word, but then waved her own words away. No, no. You're right.

Setting off toward their destination—it would take a while to get there on foot, she'd been told—she considered his final question for a couple minutes, watching their path carefully and sending her bright, jack-o-lantern gaze out into the darkness. Sometimes she despised the compulsion to look everywhere for danger. I... Don't really know. I've never been there, but some of my family have. It was built a long time ago, by the humans, and still has lots of things left over, even now. So far as she knew they were all dead, at least according to Sirius, who put up with her questions so long as it suited him. I'm looking for a mask, a μάσκα like yours. It's what I need to complete my... Quest, my trial. He would understand that, she thought. Wasn't he on one of his own, after all? The Αδελφόι, the Brothers had sent him on one all the way up here for a reason she did not yet know. There was a goal to her quest, but what if he didn't know what he was looking for?

<style>
.heraldictxt-2 {font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; letter-spacing:0px; word-spacing:2px; text-align: left; margin:0px 25px; padding:10px; background-image:url(http://i.imgur.com/7Vx6P.png); background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position: top left;}
.heraldictxt-2 p.ooc {font-style:italic; font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12px; text-align:justify; text-indent:0px; padding:0px 5px;}
.heraldictxt-2 p.ooc + p {padding:0px 5px;}
.heraldictxt-2 .wc {text-transform: uppercase; font-weight:bold;}
.heraldictxt-2 p {text-indent: 25px; margin:0px; padding:10px 5px; text-align:justify;}
.heraldictxt-2 b {letter-spacing:.05em;}
</style>
[/html]
#6
[html]
|| THROUGH THE TRIALS ||

Thanos was never given a set standard beyond what everyone else was given, so he had no kind or worry in the world when it came to who or what he was to be. It would come in due time, he was told as a child, no need to rush to be something you don't know. Athanasios always liked this, letting him live a more laid back and calm life in Greece.

So they wouldn't find any wolves there. Oh well, still an adventure nonetheless, which the monk liked anyway. However, the time was how he saw it. When it was dark, it was night, when it was light, it was morning. There was no "afternoon" or "early morning" to him, as he lived a bit more simply, but he didn't correct her at all. She perceived the time a different way, and he wouldn't blame her for that. "I see," he said simply, peering out into the distance. She paused when he referred to her as a friend, but retracted her statement. Thanos' definition of friend was quite broad, broader than most. He wouldn't blame her for having to deliberate on her view of him in her mind. He was quite glad she agreed, since the monk didn't have a habit of overstepping his boundaries.

Artemisia continued to explain that she had never personally been there, but knew people who had. The most interesting part of the whole idea, was that she had to find, or make, a mask like his for her Quest, a trial of sorts as she had said. This piqued his interest and made him turn to face her once more. "I used to live in a place that was built by people who previously occupied my home, the humans, as you say. It wasn't built by the more recent ones though, it was far older than that," he told her. "But what of this... 'quest'? Were you told specifically what you had to find?"

|| OUR TONGUES ARE TIED ||


<style>
.circle .title { font-size:11px; text-shadow: 0.0em 0.1em 0.2em #000; letter-spacing:12px; color:#000; text-align: center; }
.circle .title2 { font-size:11px; text-shadow: 0.0em 0.1em 0.2em #000; letter-spacing:11px; color:#000; text-align: center; }
.circle p {padding:3px 0px; margin:0px; text-indent:25px; }
.circle b {color:#000; letter-spacing:-.1px; }
.circle .wc {text-shadow: 0.0em 0.1em 0.2em #000; letter-spacing:-.1px; }
.circle {font-family: arial, serif; font-size:12px; letter-spacing:.4px; word-spacing:.3px; line-height:16px; width:500px; text-align:justify; padding:60px 0px 10px 0px; }
.circle-border {width:500px; margin:0 auto;}
</style>[/html]


Forum Jump: