LAUGHING 'TIL OUR RIBS GET TOUGH | celestialrobbery

[dovedeparture]

[align=center][div style=" background-color: transparent; border: 0px solid black; width: 70%; min-height: 9px; font-family:; line-height: 110%; text-align: justify; padding: 20px"]❥ This place was vastly different than her former home. It seemed she had traded plush for grit, but she had also traded steely-coldness for soft warmth. She tried to tell herself to forget what once was, but how could she? Dovedeparture was determined to return to where she came from. A horrible homesickness clawed at her soul, and she doubted she would ever grow used to feeling emotions and other things as the mortals did. Besides those things, there was that little voice in her head that constantly whispered, 'You don't quite belong here.'

In the wake of her swirling thoughts, she found herself focusing on Celestialrobbery. As guardian, she always had to keep a watchful eye on her friend... especially because Celeste could be quite the wildcard. From time to time, she attempted to remind herself that their relationship was based solely on Dove's oath toward the other, but she knew it was more than a job. Celeste brought a sense of belonging and friendship with her, and it was something Dove would be eternally grateful for.

But closeness, in any capacity, was like playing with fire. So she held back, stayed rooted in place, and tried to ignore the way her wings seemed to burn.

[celestialrobbery]

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crash and burn

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didn't mother warn you?

Although not quite a branch from the same tree, Celestialrobbery had her own feelings of doubt. Of misplacement. She was not one to settle down in a definite place, but safety in numbers was a tempting offer. Combined with the pull of the relic leading her feet forward, Celeste couldn't possibly say no.

Because that was what it boiled down to, huh? Just a search for the relics, a near-hopeless endeavor that Celeste had no other option but to pursue. A search for a circlet, a lamp, a spear, and a sword. A search for choice, for knowledge, for creation, and destruction. A search for powerful items bestowed upon this world by the Gods themselves, and most importantly a search Celeste had no other option but to take up.

For the first time in a while, the mutated feline thought deeply about the task at hand. The daunting journey. The relics and her search with no answers. For the first time in a while, but definitely not for the first time, Celeste questioned her journey.

Her eyes shifted red, fur began to glow, tears budding as she huffed loudly. Angrily.

And then she stormed right out of the camp.

now she's gonna mourn you!

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[dovedeparture]

[align=center][div style=" background-color: transparent; border: 0px solid black; width: 70%; min-height: 9px; font-family:; line-height: 110%; text-align: justify; padding: 20px"]❥ At once, her thoughts were but a secondhand notion. The thrum of a quickened heartbeat reached her ears; the telltale sign of an increase in emotions. From the consistent pace, she could tell whomever it belonged to was under high stress. Her ears perked and swiveled, using her heightened senses to try to locate the source of the sound. A resigned huff reached her, and she recognized the noise as belonging to Celeste. Without waiting or wondering, Dovedeparture pushed herself up and moved in the direction of her friend at a quickened pace.

It took only moments to locate the feline, and when she did, the corners of her lips turned downward. She saw how crimson had obliterated the soft lilac of the fallen star's eyes but did not miss the tears that pooled in them. Celeste's fur mimicked the intense glow of a fire, and the guardian angel looked over the living inferno in concern. It was not the scarlet of her eyes or the white-hot illumination of her friend that worried her, no, it was those tears.

She tried to guess at what was bothering her friend but came up short. She didn't think it was their new environment, for Celestialrobbery seemed to be enjoying herself. Hm... Seemed. The lynx's wings shifted as she realized she was failing in her job. She was supposed to know her guarded star's feelings in order to help her work through them. She wasn't sure if it was the heat the feline radiated in this state, but her wings felt too warm.

"Hey, supernova," she began, gently, "talk to me. What's going on?"

[celestialrobbery]

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crash and burn

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didn't mother warn you?

Celeste heard the footsteps before she saw just who was approaching, and without hesitation snarled violently. She whipped around at the first syllable, her harsh expression softening almost immediately as she realized who it was. She remained silent and tossed her gaze to the ground, breathing in heavily and closing her eyes upon release. When they opened once more, they had returned to their former lilac hues.

"Sorry, feathers. I didn't realize it was you." Celeste said, sighing as she quite literally shook the light from her fur. "I'm just-- It's--" She could trust Dee with this. Gods knew that the other probably knew about the relics somehow. Whether it be through celestial knowledge like Celeste herself or some other force, she genuinely couldn't guess, but she was willing to bet on this belief.

"I'm... blessed with a task from the Gods, but... well... the Gods themselves didn't directly give it to me, but they gave me the knowledge and a choice. To sum it up briefly, I'm.. searching for something. A few somethings-- four of them, to be exact." She paused, breaking eye contact once again. "Have you ever heard of the four Ancient Relics?"

now she's gonna mourn you!

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[dovedeparture]

[align=center][div style=" background-color: transparent; border: 0px solid black; width: 70%; min-height: 9px; font-family:; line-height: 110%; text-align: justify; padding: 20px"]❥ Dovedeparture didn't react to the snarl; she wasn't fazed by much, especially not instances like this. She didn't fear being attacked. She was immortal, and besides that, this was Celeste. Celeste would never harm her. That much was proven as the violent paint across her friend's face chipped away. There was a blink - violets grew despite the fire in Celestialrobbery's eyes, and the gentle flowers replaced the embers easily.

"You know you don't have to apologize," Dove explained, "but next time, you'll be sorry-!" Her speech tapered off at the end, turning upwards in a laugh. Her giggling faded away as she took full notice of the war that brewed inside of the fallen star's head. The lynx cleared her throat in a sort of apology before falling silent to listen.

At the mention of a task given by higher powers, she tilted her head. This was the first she was hearing of this since meeting Celestialrobbery. Her wings ruffled themselves slightly at that, but she smoothed them as her best friend continued. The four Ancient Relics? Her fictional brows furrowed in thought. "It sounds... familiar, like that knowledge is - what's the saying? - on the tip of my tongue?" No, that wasn't quite right, but whatever. That wasn't what mattered. She was more concerned with the swell of emotions and thoughts Celeste dealt with.

"It feels like - like I'm not supposed to know about it all. My head feels fuzzy when try to remember. Educate me, sunshine." It was like when she had first fallen; so many of her memories had been jumbled up and strung back together lazily. She thought she had sorted everything out, but it appeared she had more work to do. She could've screamed at that. This vessel was so incapable sometimes. Instead, she just frowned minutely. "It sounds like some find of myth? And you're supposed to find them?"

[celestialrobbery]

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crash and burn

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didn't mother warn you?

"Was that... was that a threat?" Celeste asked, cocking her head with squinted eyes. She seemed incredibly casual despite the question she just asked-- one which, when viewed at face value, made it seem the mutated feline thought she was under attack. Perhaps it was because she believed she could win between the two, or because she knew Dee wouldn't actually attack her, but she remained calm, and admittedly a bit confused, through her words.

Pausing, she shook her head, dismissing the faux-threat as she realized it was a joke. She mumbled out a small "I got it now," before she moved on to the more pressing topic at hand: the stupid relics. "Yeah, that's the saying. And it makes sense that it feels fuzzy. The knowledge isn't really supposed to be widespread, so I'm assuming there's some sort of magic guarding it." She shrugged. "Either that, or your memory just sucks." The grin returned to her face despite her eyes still being somewhat teary.

With a deep breath -- both to steady herself and to prepare for the massive amount of information she was about to launch on Dovedeparture -- she continued on. "I'll keep it brief because the whole thing is a long elaborate story, but it's based on the belief system of the Brother Gods, the God of Light and the God of Darkness. They created humanity with four ideals in mind. Choice between Creation and Destruction, and the Knowledge to support that Choice." She paused, making sure the other was still following before continuing on.

"Humanity turned against the Gods, trying to usurp their thrones and the power that came with it. But of course, the Gods are mighty, and were able to easily defeat those that turned against them. So they abandoned the world, leaving behind four Ancient Relics which held the ideals that they created humanity with: Choice, Knowledge, Creation, and Destruction." Gods, this was such an elaborate story. Celeste could only hope that Dee was still listening, and actually cared about it too. "If all four of the Ancient Relics are gathered, a judgement day will occur in which the Gods will determine if the world is harmonized enough to live, or divided too much and must be destroyed.

"After learning of this, I knew I couldn't let the relics fall into the wrong hands because, well, the world would end. So now I've been searching for them, but I feel like every time I feel the pull of a relic somewhere, I come up empty handed in the end. And it's frustrating, because I'm trying so hard to protect this world, but it's... so difficult." She sighed, closing her eyes and steadying herself for what felt like the thousandth time that day. "I never wanted this, but I don't have any other choice."

// chate writes too much dot jpeg

now she's gonna mourn you!

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[dovedeparture]

[align=center][div style=" background-color: transparent; border: 0px solid black; width: 70%; min-height: 9px; font-family:; line-height: 110%; text-align: justify; padding: 20px"]❥ [give me all the content babey!]

Dove's eyes clouded ever so slightly when she realized Celestialrobbery hadn't caught the jest from the beginning - another mistake on the angel's part. The eerie calm that radiated from her friend was chilling in an indescribable way, but besides the shred of emotion that glazed her eyes, a look of amusement still colored her face. 'These mortal emotions are so peculiar', she thought, offering a chuckle as Celeste realized the game.

"Uh, hey!" the wildcat exclaimed, lips curled in a smile as Celeste joked about her memory. Since falling and merging into this vessel, she had tried her best to work out the mess in her head, which was much easier said than done. "It's not my fault. I'm still getting used to this form. It's so... weak." It was as if her brain could not process what she knew to be true as well as what she had experienced. She knew it would take time to sort out names and faces and the places she roamed as a child, but it was tiresome work. And truth be told, it pained her to try. "You know, you're probably right."

The tears that lingered in the other's eyes invited an odd spark to shoot through Dove. A part of her wished to reach out and embrace her friend while dispelling her fears. But she thought better of it. Her wings burned. Instead of moving, she listened.

Choice. Creation. Destruction. Knowledge. It was interesting. As details of the story began to unfold, things were becoming clearer in her mind. If the myth proved true, the four ideals were present in life today as far as she could see... perhaps that was a sign that the relics did exist. She gave a small nod of her head for Celestialrobbery to continue.

A confused look popped up on her ivory features as Celeste explained how mortals has risen up to defy their gods. She couldn't understand that. No, not she, not the girl who had been trying so desperately to prove herself worthy to those above her. Rebellion did not taint her bones. She could not wrap her head around the reasons why they should do such a thing to those who had lovingly crafted them and gifted them with so much... But Dovedeparture assumed everyone had a choice in the matter of their lives.

Usually not one for taking things seriously, she found herself ensnared in this conversation. "If you find them all, what happens then?" she asked, voice tiny, somber for perhaps the first time since living on the ground. "Do you keep them separate, or would you bring them together?" She needed to better understand her best friend's intentions. She knew Celeste would do everything in her power to keep this world safe, but how? It seemed she was working against fate, against destiny.

Deep green eyes watched the fallen star sigh deeply and shut her eyes. The feline's next words caused what she guessed to be a form of sadness to flow through her spirit. "Hey," she said, voice as steady and calm and gentle as ever, "from what I've heard, it sounds like there is always a choice." She nudged her friend. "But if this is your calling, I think it's very good and noble of you. I don't think you should do this alone, however. And as your guardian and only friend-" a teasing smile, "I think you should let me help you. Two heads are better than one, and this is too big of a burden to shoulder on your own."

[celestialrobbery]

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crash and burn

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didn't mother warn you?

"I could always help out, y'know." Celeste offered, turning her head slightly. "I've been a mortal longer than you -- at least, I'm pretty sure I have. Nonetheless, I've definitely got a better grasp on it, no offense, and I'm willing to help out in any way I can." Maybe Dovedeparture was the guardian angel here, but that didn't mean Celestialrobbery was just going to leave her in the dark if she needed help. That's not the kind of person Cel was, and she sure as hell wasn't going to change that now.

Still, she moved forward. Followed the conversation as it flowed. She spoke about the relics as their banter drew to a close, and it seemed like Dove was listening dutifully. And thank the Gods for that. Cel thought to herself, finding herself, once again, grateful to have such a companion by her side. A part of Celeste worried that Dee was only so nice because Dee was her guardian angel, but she decided not to focus on that. That was a topic best addressed later, she reasoned to herself.

"If I find them all, then I'm going to watch over them. Activating the judgement day is an action one has to take, not one that occurs due to proximity of the relics to one another. As long as I, nor anyone else, activates the relics, then we'll be fine." Still, that wasn't all. "Each relic also has a specific action it can do. I don't know the exact details of all of them yet, but I do know one of them. The Relic of Knowledge can answer any question posed to it, but can only do so three times per hundred years. I'd make sure those were used responsibly, if at all, too."

"Ideally, I'll find trustworthy people in faraway locations, so we can keep the relics safe but apart from each other. That way if the relic holder is endangered, the assailant won't have immediate access to all of the relics." Celeste wasn't naive, she knew there would be people, bad people, out there searching for the relics. This whole search was essentially putting a whole target on her back.

And that, most of all, terrified her.
Because if Dovedeparture helped out, like she seemed to want to, that target would be spread right to Dee's back.

"I... I dunno, Dee." Celeste sighed, breaking eye contact as she shifted her lilac gaze to the dirt beneath them. "I'm scared, yeah, but I'm gonna do this anyways. Another issue, though, is that I don't want you to be endangered because of it." She was always a blunt one, after all, so she figured she might as well just come out and say it. "I know you're my guardian angel, but there's a difference between guiding someone along the right path, and getting needlessly hurt trying to help them, y'know?" She sighed softly before looking back up at Dee. "Help out if you want, I can't stop you. That's your choice. But know that when the time comes to brawl, that this is my fight."

now she's gonna mourn you!

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[dovedeparture]

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A smile as soft as morning sunlight bloomed on Dovedeparture's lips at Celeste's offer. Dove was often so used to running and doing for others that she rarely - if ever - accepted the aid of others. She was meant to figure things out on her own, to do for herself, for that had always been the way... but here? The ground was so much different. Her soul had been squeezed into mortal form, and tight corners and sharp edges were painful. She knew it would likely just take some getting used to, but her impatience often yelled the loudest. Still, she was thankful. "I might like that, sunshine," the fallen angel answered and then nodded, as if to reaffirm her statement.

"Ohhh," the wildcat murmured, word drawing out. Having to activate the relics made more sense than them all starting up taking off when close together. She inwardly chided herself for her ignorance. She wondered how the activation of the relics worked, but thought better than to ask. The answer most likely was staring her in the face. She just needed time to sift through the choices before selecting the correct method.

At the mention of a relic that could tell the user any bit of knowledge so desired, her ears perked. "That's quite convenient." For a moment, her mind traversed a dangerous path. Should she find the relic, she could inquire about how to regain favor, about how to return home. But... no. No, she couldn't do that. That was wrong on a number of levels. If anything, the dark thought only proved she was not yet ready to return. "Maybe we should search for that relic first... If you found it, you could ask where all the other relics are located. I feel as though it would lessen your burden some, Celeste." She didn't doubt Celestialrobbery had already thought of this plan, but maybe hearing it aloud would solidify it.

She nodded at the mention of finding others to safeguard the relics. Once distributed across the world, it would be difficult to detect. And if guarded by others, it would be more difficult to take. That idea seemed to solve the problems the relics currently faced by simply being scattered; the poor objects had no protection in the wilds - all the more reason to locate them quickly. "I think that's brilliant. Very well thought out," she commented.

Before Celeste could begin, Dovedeparture had already guessed at the danger this posed anyone involved. If dangerous parties were after the rare items, the journey ahead would likely be perilous.

The ivory creature shifted her posture, trying to catch Celestialrobbery's eyes. "And what about me not wanting you to get hurt?" she asked, shaking her head. She smiled sadly, adding, "These things just come with the job description. I'll be okay, and so will you." She had to believe that. This entire quest's success was riding on the fact that Celeste would be okay, so Dove's words had to be true. "But I'm not just doing this to act as your guide or guardian. I'm doing this because I care about you, Celeste. I want to be there for you when things get tough, and I want to celebrate with you when things are good.

"Making sure you follow the path you're destined to tread is what I'm here for, and if I get hurt, I get hurt." She outstretched her wings, moving them as if to fly, but never moving. "They've already got my wings. What more have I to lose?" There was a comedic styling to her words, but she knew there was always more to be taken. Much more.

She shook her head again, somber. "Listen, I really do want to help you with this. I am fully aware of all the risk involved, but as your friend, I cannot allow you to do this alone." At the mention of a possible fight, a chill worked its way through her system. "I'll be with you, even then, step for step."

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