09-12-2019, 08:27 PM
[font=trebuchet ms]/tw: flashbacks in italicized portion
To give pieces of one's soul freely to others was something she kind of understood, actually.
Well, maybe more in a metaphorical sense than literal. Allowing people into her life, letting them see parts of her she would never show the world at large, taking the time to understand them and help them... in its own way, she had given them each a small part of her soul, until most of her soul was owned not by herself but by others. When they had left her life, they took the pieces with them. Why wouldn't they? They'd done enough for her, the least she could do was let them keep a piece of her. It was all she could give, really.
If she had the ability to view her own soul, she had no idea what she would see. Would anything be left? Then again, if she had that power, her own conscious would be the least concerning thing she saw. There was no reason to observe the rest of the souls she'd left scattered in her wake for any longer than she needed to, lest she go mad from the gravity of it all. They would have their vengeance, they would have peace, but she could not let them consume her before that happened.
Laughter- someone was behind her, someone laughing at her plight, laughing at what she was doing. A god, for certain. Her claws instantly unsheathed and she scrambled to her feet, the wave of nausea washing over her temporarily ignored. She still hadn't replaced her arrows. Would that be the error that killed her, of all things?
She whipped around to face her attacker, eyes wide, teeth bared, but at the same moment her eyes took in the form before her, the words reached her ears.
A confrontation, ever so brief. The thunder of heavy footsteps, charging head-on, jaws opened to snap down on scarf-wrapped neck. A leap moments before, claws extended, scoring across scarred back.
Cat versus polar bear- but this wasn't a polar bear, this was another feline. Her eyes were soft, her voice light, her expression a lopsided smile. This was not the grotesque impostor that had attacked earlier. The Maiden could take many things, but she could not take everything.
Rin swallowed heavily, unsteadily stepping back and leaning against the wall, the dizziness returning in full force. How was this possible? Was it possible? It wasn't a dream, if it were a dream she wouldn't still be feeling the aftereffects of her power usage. A different impostor, perhaps, but none of the other gods that she knew of would settle for impersonating a dead person.
The only logical possibility was that this really was Suiteheart, but... why would she come back?
Actually, Rin knew why. It was easy for her to forget that theoretical (and apparently, actual) observers from the afterlife couldn't see the inner thoughts or memories of those who they observed. Suite probably didn't know about her first home, or her role in its fate. It was probably time to correct that, then.
...correcting that would mean letting more and more of the past catch up to her, but she would survive. Even if she wouldn't, keeping Suite in the dark was wrong.
Rin sheathed her claws and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," she murmured, "I thought I was being ambushed, for a moment." She might have granted Suite a "hi, I missed you," but it seemed inappropriate considering what she needed to do. Turning her gaze back to the wall for a moment, she forced a low scoff. "I'm getting to it. I'm putting the names of those I didn't know well first, so I don't forget."
The snark rung hollow, and she knew it full well. While she didn't look at herself in the mirror often, she knew the feeling of having a weighted expression that no amount of "putting on the brave face" would get rid of. Plus, this was Suite; she was the kind of person who could tell instantly if a friend was lying.
Sitting down, she lowered her head. "Listen, I'm... not who you think I am," she said, her ears flattening against her skull. "The destruction that follows me... the Ascendants wasn't the first to fall because of it, and for all I know it won't be the last."
To give pieces of one's soul freely to others was something she kind of understood, actually.
Well, maybe more in a metaphorical sense than literal. Allowing people into her life, letting them see parts of her she would never show the world at large, taking the time to understand them and help them... in its own way, she had given them each a small part of her soul, until most of her soul was owned not by herself but by others. When they had left her life, they took the pieces with them. Why wouldn't they? They'd done enough for her, the least she could do was let them keep a piece of her. It was all she could give, really.
If she had the ability to view her own soul, she had no idea what she would see. Would anything be left? Then again, if she had that power, her own conscious would be the least concerning thing she saw. There was no reason to observe the rest of the souls she'd left scattered in her wake for any longer than she needed to, lest she go mad from the gravity of it all. They would have their vengeance, they would have peace, but she could not let them consume her before that happened.
Laughter- someone was behind her, someone laughing at her plight, laughing at what she was doing. A god, for certain. Her claws instantly unsheathed and she scrambled to her feet, the wave of nausea washing over her temporarily ignored. She still hadn't replaced her arrows. Would that be the error that killed her, of all things?
She whipped around to face her attacker, eyes wide, teeth bared, but at the same moment her eyes took in the form before her, the words reached her ears.
A confrontation, ever so brief. The thunder of heavy footsteps, charging head-on, jaws opened to snap down on scarf-wrapped neck. A leap moments before, claws extended, scoring across scarred back.
Cat versus polar bear- but this wasn't a polar bear, this was another feline. Her eyes were soft, her voice light, her expression a lopsided smile. This was not the grotesque impostor that had attacked earlier. The Maiden could take many things, but she could not take everything.
Rin swallowed heavily, unsteadily stepping back and leaning against the wall, the dizziness returning in full force. How was this possible? Was it possible? It wasn't a dream, if it were a dream she wouldn't still be feeling the aftereffects of her power usage. A different impostor, perhaps, but none of the other gods that she knew of would settle for impersonating a dead person.
The only logical possibility was that this really was Suiteheart, but... why would she come back?
Actually, Rin knew why. It was easy for her to forget that theoretical (and apparently, actual) observers from the afterlife couldn't see the inner thoughts or memories of those who they observed. Suite probably didn't know about her first home, or her role in its fate. It was probably time to correct that, then.
...correcting that would mean letting more and more of the past catch up to her, but she would survive. Even if she wouldn't, keeping Suite in the dark was wrong.
Rin sheathed her claws and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," she murmured, "I thought I was being ambushed, for a moment." She might have granted Suite a "hi, I missed you," but it seemed inappropriate considering what she needed to do. Turning her gaze back to the wall for a moment, she forced a low scoff. "I'm getting to it. I'm putting the names of those I didn't know well first, so I don't forget."
The snark rung hollow, and she knew it full well. While she didn't look at herself in the mirror often, she knew the feeling of having a weighted expression that no amount of "putting on the brave face" would get rid of. Plus, this was Suite; she was the kind of person who could tell instantly if a friend was lying.
Sitting down, she lowered her head. "Listen, I'm... not who you think I am," she said, her ears flattening against her skull. "The destruction that follows me... the Ascendants wasn't the first to fall because of it, and for all I know it won't be the last."
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