» every broken promise

otem You'll remember me when the west wind moves upon the fields of barley You can tell the sun in his jealous sky when we walked in fields of gold If Isopia's words had been spoken to her in a vacuum, perhaps they would have brought comfort and solace to the girl's rapidly beating and shrinking heart. Born with the ability to understand the sentiments and emotions of others even if she couldn't always feel them, Otem found herself precariously balanced on the edge of a precipice, with only Isopia's presence holding her aloft. Her mother, brought back from the dead to speak to her one more time, turns her attention away too soon. In the wake of Isopia's brief goodbye Otem is left cold and numb, forced to hear words meant for others. Forced to hear her mother ask Zero to follow her into the dark. Zero, and only Zero. Petulant screams of am I not good enough for you? dry up on Otem's tongue even as chaos and fury continue to whirl around her like flirtatious lovers. The earthen child's shoulders begin to shake and her knees suddenly feel weak. She wants to scream prophetic words at her mother, poetic phrases that will bite into Isopia's heart and make her feel something, the way that the demigoddess' words have made Otem feel. But nothing comes to mind. She is an empty and disappointing shell, capable of nothing and inspiring meaning to know one. Before her Volterra roars and shifts into his most impressive form, but still Otem stands numb. Pain seems to be something imaginary, like the ghosts you think are in the darkness, and so the girl can hardly be bothered to even flinch as the spectral unicorn comes hurtling her way. Either she will die or be maimed, or her father will protect her. Either options seems likely and acceptable.  What's the point of living anyways? What's the point in any of it? Castiella is suddenly at her side, asking if she's okay. Blankly she turns to her pink comrade, bi-coloured eyes nearly uncomprehending. Why do you care? She wants to ask. We aren't friends ... we... but the thought is blown away by the screams of someone near by. Still, Otem can't shake the feeling that it's bizarre that Castiella takes the time to ask about Otem's state. She is blanketed by thoughts of worthlessness brought on by Isopia's emotionlessness, and can't comprehend the girls' concern for her.  She isn't worth caring about, after all. Annoyed by her bonded's suddenly lapse into such a pathetic state, Pandora hoots and nips hard against Otem's shoulder tryin to provoke a response of any kind that isn't saturated by self-pity. "Ow!" Otem bleets, just in time to see a phantom shape charge in her direction. Scrambling to the side Otem is shoved unceremoniously to the ground. A wound opens on her shoulder as she strikes a rock near the water. Swallowing a scream the tribrid scurries back from the water's surface, not wanting to disappear into its depths the way that Kisamoa and the others had.  Looking around Otem is brought horrifically back to the present. Wraiths and ghouls and ghosts of every sort trample through the quiet. Many try to flew and are merely chased down. Isopia has become nothing but a hardened statue and Kaos is still no where to be found. "KISAMOA!" Otems screams, her red and gold eyes peering into the water, as if enough concentration and force of will could make the deity appear again. The word leaves the child breathless for a long moment. Blood pumps in her ears as her heart thuds hollowly in her chest. She did not call out for her mother...she did not even call out for her father. She called out for Kisamoa, he of the Rift. He of the future. Hope and need flare brightly in her small body, and her eyes shine with expectation. Perhaps she was not quite as set on death as she had thought.

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