07-11-2008, 03:10 PM
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Oftentimes, the loneliness of the forest seemed overbearing. Lack of contact made everything seem less tangible, more questionable. When your own senses couldn't be trusted and there was no one around to confirm or deny anything, the lack of confidence was maddening. Those were the days filled with the most uncertainty, and sometimes, it felt as if he would ever see anyone again, no matter how far he roamed, as if the concept of "others" had only ever been a concept, and the memories he had were nothing more than wild hallucinations and dreams. To be the last person on earth was a miserable thing, but it rendered him mute more than anything else. When there was no one to hear your voice, was your voice really there at all? The quiet in the woods extended to his head where the voices seemed to have faded and died. It was an unearthly silence.
Occasionally though, the crushing sense of loss and isolation led to a vague belief that said this truly was an ideal situation. There was no one left for him to hurt, and no one left to hurt him. The scars didn't exist if he didn't look at them; he didn't exist -- just the rest of the world. A floating consciousness in an empty landscape was at peace. It was a strange kind of enlightenment and though it could still be associated with illusions and fakery, the feelings it encouraged were not the same. Sometimes, he felt like he had been forced to evolve beyond misery. Beyond it, there was nothing, and nothing was acceptable. Peaceful. Serene. Maybe it was enlightenment in a way. Maybe this was what a religion was. He didn't know if he really believed in it though, but he didn't know if believing in it was really necessary either.
They shared the forest, but the forest was large, and thus had not seen each other in many weeks already. Ahren stood behind him, and Laruku turned to face him. Maybe his slim coyote face showed his near-acceptance of the world; maybe it showed nothing. He didn't look at himself anymore and didn't know what he looked like anymore. The other looked tired. The hybrid found that he didn't know how to say hello anymore.
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Oftentimes, the loneliness of the forest seemed overbearing. Lack of contact made everything seem less tangible, more questionable. When your own senses couldn't be trusted and there was no one around to confirm or deny anything, the lack of confidence was maddening. Those were the days filled with the most uncertainty, and sometimes, it felt as if he would ever see anyone again, no matter how far he roamed, as if the concept of "others" had only ever been a concept, and the memories he had were nothing more than wild hallucinations and dreams. To be the last person on earth was a miserable thing, but it rendered him mute more than anything else. When there was no one to hear your voice, was your voice really there at all? The quiet in the woods extended to his head where the voices seemed to have faded and died. It was an unearthly silence.
Occasionally though, the crushing sense of loss and isolation led to a vague belief that said this truly was an ideal situation. There was no one left for him to hurt, and no one left to hurt him. The scars didn't exist if he didn't look at them; he didn't exist -- just the rest of the world. A floating consciousness in an empty landscape was at peace. It was a strange kind of enlightenment and though it could still be associated with illusions and fakery, the feelings it encouraged were not the same. Sometimes, he felt like he had been forced to evolve beyond misery. Beyond it, there was nothing, and nothing was acceptable. Peaceful. Serene. Maybe it was enlightenment in a way. Maybe this was what a religion was. He didn't know if he really believed in it though, but he didn't know if believing in it was really necessary either.
They shared the forest, but the forest was large, and thus had not seen each other in many weeks already. Ahren stood behind him, and Laruku turned to face him. Maybe his slim coyote face showed his near-acceptance of the world; maybe it showed nothing. He didn't look at himself anymore and didn't know what he looked like anymore. The other looked tired. The hybrid found that he didn't know how to say hello anymore.