this new air feels hard to breathe, is this how it's supposed to be? if sweet dreams are made of these then why can't I be sure?
{BLAHHHHH SRRY FOR BEING AWAYYYY}
If Otem had ever had a friend before, it was probably Iskra. And he, like everyone else in her life, had disappeared shortly after coming to the Rift. So to call Aurelia Otem's friend was perhaps a bit of a stretch, because for Otem, to be a friend was to leave. And although the golden mare had quite literally left Otem once, she had come back. And that was something no one had ever done before.
"But that's just the thing-" Otem spluttered, ram-horned head shaking slightly. "They were groups, you even said so yourself. They didn't become herds until they took over the lands - and those lands always had gods." The autumn-splattered child wasn't exactly sure where this argumentative streak was coming from. On the one hand, she did think that her logic was more or less correct. But more likely it was simply because she was afraid. If a herd just was a group of them, then maybe she could start her own herd.
Could in the literal sense, but should she?
It was only when Aurelia mentioned that a herd might serve the Rift as a whole that the majority of Otem's arguments died on her lips. Healing the Rift; that's what it was all about, wasn't it?
She's right you know - turning to see Raein, who, Otem realized in a front-of-mind sort of way, didn't have wings. Strike one against Otem being a ruler. What sort of idiot picks a spot whose location is clearly geared towards those with wings?
For a moment Otem thought that perhaps it was she who Raein was saying was right, but quickly his words suggested otherwise. But Otem's face did not crumple: Like Isopia, Otem had a penchant for learning, and despite the fact that she was quite sure she wasn't up for this task, knowing all the things she was ignorant of, somehow made her feel better.
"I-" Otem began, her lips moving faster than her brain. The girl's large bi-coloured eyes blinked like a light-blinded doe's for a moment before her intellect had a chance to catch up. Once it did, her eyes returned to a size more fitting for her face, and her lips no longer made a distressed O shape. "At a minimum we need a meeting place. If we are to heal this place we shouldn't be duplicating each other's efforts. Besides, when the Helovian's first entered through the Portal, everyone just spread out and then seemed to vanish. There was no way to relay information, no way to know who was safe, or where anyone was." Otem's winged shoulders rose and fell once. "And so far-" Otem began with a wry smile as she thought of the massive creatures that had attacked her beneath the tree, and the Magnus Metus who she had to antagonize twice, as well as Tamlin who had attacked her for her blood. "-I have been able to protect myself. That being said, at least if we gather we can make a roster of who is about, and who might want to offer their aid and protection, or other skills."
Another pegasus begins to descend from the skies, and although Otem still feels rather foolish for picking a place so inhospitable to the wingless, she can't help but feel slightly validated by another of her winged-kin coming to roost. It doesn't occur to her that perhaps this is only the case because all the wingless who heard her call decided to decline her proposed trek up a mountain.
Still the youngest by far, Otem was still inwardly relieved to see someone closer to her age, and the lack of parental-condescension in his voice makes the girl's muscles relax. However Kiada's approach made Otem stiffen slightly as the opportunity to address the rather rogish Walker was taken from her. For some reason she assumed that because Kiada was older and from Helovia, that she was somehow here to usurp Otem (even though Otem didn't want this responsibility), but the mare quickly revealed herself as an idea-ally, and the ram-horned mare bobbed her head in response, glancing towards Walker as if to reinforce that this was indeed what they were talking about.
"Hello again Rixen," Otem said to the orb-followed unicorn, who had halted at the outset of their little assembled group. Although it was not necessarily in Otem's nature to be overly welcoming, given the context of this gathering she thought it especially prudent.
Aurelia is next to speak, and not for the first time, the golden mare offers a bushel of questions that were especially apt and hit right at the heart of their issue. When would they meet? Who could call a meeting? Were they all in, or was there anyone who wanted to abstain? Unlike when Raein appeared, Otem did not rush to answer her golden friend, but took a moment to actually think. As she did so, her gold and burgandy gaze swept those assembled. She couldn't help but feel a small swell of pride at seeing (what Otem considered) so many in attendance. She was a nobody - someone most of them had met only once, or in Walker's case, not really at all. And yet they had come.
Maybe this all wouldn't be so hard after all. Briefly Otem considered asking the pendant around her neck for advice. If it spoke with the voice of her mother, Otem was sure it would have good advice. However, the young girl didn't want to take the chance and be badly embarrassed if it answered in that other voice, and so she instead decided to try to work out the logistics on her own.
After smiling toward Roscorro, the mammoth tribrid who Otem had been sure was going to eat her when she had first met him, she began: "If you're going to live somewhere, presumably you want to live in the best-sort of place you can. Right now the Rift isn't the best, but based on what Kisamoa has told us about healing it-" Briefly Otem's eyes glanced to the orbs humming brightly near all of them. "-it can be better. So regardless of what your thoughts are about joining a herd, we should have a meeting place if for no other reason than the passing and sharing of information." Otem paused to think, swallowed, then continued. "As for actually calling a meeting, in Helovia, everyone just seemed to know-" (somewhere, the 4th wall begins to crack). "Maybe we could use magic, or our -" She was about to say companions, but realized that only she and Kiada actually possessed them. And after speaking with Aurelia, she knew that the subject was definitely a sensitive one. "-other skills." Otem concluded. "Does anyone have any magic that can help? I can only do this-" Plants began to creep towards the girl. Thistles and mosses that surrounded the peak were drawn towards her like a magnet. "-and this-" At her side, a creature that seemed to be composed of wood and dirt appeared. It opened its mouth to emit a silent shriek, and instead of sound, a cloud of black smoke appeared. And this. These last words were spoken telepathically, Otem's youthful voice resonating towards the minds of those assembled.
"Does anyone else have magic?" Otem looked towards Kiada, noting both the fiery animals upon her spine as well as the dripping teal goo on her chest. "For example, if I left a bunch of moss here, and we built some sort of fire pit, Kiada could put fire in it - and if someone needed to call a meeting, they could put the moss into the fire and make smoke. And that could be how we all know to return?"
You've barely landed and voiced your question when it is answered—“They’re explaining the possibility of having herds without a god to rule them,” says the interestingly gold-and-black-and-white mare. You suppose coming the land route had some advantages, like hearing the conversation before you dropped in on it like a bomb, but as the hot and heavy heat settles against your sweaty body like a blanket, you decide it wouldn't be worth giving up your wings for. You already miss the cooling touch of the higher altitudes.
"Oh," you simply state in response, not quite blurting it out, but almost; it's evident by the way your gaze spaces out that you're thinking, digesting. Not because it is a startling concept, but because it shows that other side of the coin again. Someone, somewhere in this gathering, believed you needed gods to back up your herd—what? You come from a godless land, where deities were nothing but myths and stories travelers brought with them. You worshiped the wind and the rain and the thunder, but you did not believe them to be sentient beings. Your kin ruled by the grace of their wisdom and experience, just like your warriors won their battles by their prowess and skill. The divine has nothing to do with ruling, and this is what you're mulling over—the idea that a land exists where things are not like that.
Kiada, the victim of your snowball, introduces herself, followed by the mare you'd been watching. Aurelia. And the gray unicorn having trudged up the path is introduced, by the massive mare, as Rixen. You figure it's your turn. "I'm Waker," you state, your mind still going too fast. Gods? Like, real gods? You've seen Kisamoa, but he's not a god, is he? .. is he? You shudder slightly as you remember the way his body kept on shifting, as if it couldn't settle for a single shape to hold. Powerful, yes, but a god?
But the conversation isn't going to wait for you, so, you snap to, noticing another of the massive inhabitants lurking on the edges. You offer the dragon-like creature a quick smile before settling in to listen. It seems the theological debate about whether or not to call yourselves a herd has been dropped in favor of the logistics.
And you learn of a place called Helovia, where Otem presumably came from.
"I think," you begin, gently inserting yourself into the conversation after Otem has finished suggesting you keep some sort of constant fire around, "we have two options. Either we decide a set interval of days between our meetings, or we do what Otem suggested, or something similar. It's just, this place is so vast.. would you see the smoke from the other side?" You tilt your head to the side. You barely notice that you've jumped head-first into this. It's just a problem that needs solving.
as the sun set on another, you fell through dying dreams
I watch the girl flail inwardly with a bemused expression. Her uncertainty is clear, and maybe in this situation I could be considered a bully. I care little for that definition, though, so I refuse to accept it. I meant not to place Otem in a position where she looked inept, but I did wish to push her into a fully thorough examination of her goals. After all, if her idea was to bring everyone together to sing songs and be merry, she would be disappointed. I wanted to tell her to count me out of her roster, but still, I think I have much left to observe here, even if I have no intention of joining this strange little group.
Strangers rarely agree on anything, much less enough things to get along without conflict.
I do not notice the approach of the black pegasus until another individual addresses him. My misleadingly delicate face turns to view the newcomers with a bored expression, noticing how the stallion stands with a forced sort of confidence. The mare, however, is painted with vibrant patterns in a natural palette, decorated by flames and a strange teal ooze on her chest. Frankly, I hope she stays the hell away from me.
A large bird - a vulture, perhaps - comes to rest on her back from the sky, which causes a brow to raise on my face and my permanent frown to deepen. She introduces herself as Kiada, and I make a mental note of it but otherwise don't acknowledge her much. Aurelia, the golden mare who arrived before me, offers up a name, followed by the nervous dark stallion, Waker.
She praises the idea of Otem to form a meeting place, and I resist the urge to roll my eyes. Praise for nothing more than doing what these morons should have done from the start. Well, at least it's a step in the right direction. Before the loudmouthed golden girl speaks again, another stallion shows up but remains quiet near the edge of our gathering. He is clearly listening and waiting for the opportunity to interject something of value - an asset so far lacking from many of the comments made by the gathering thus far. Otem introduces him as Rixen, and I look around for a moment before realizing I would be rude not to at least offer my name.
"Raein," I say, my gaze scanning the group for a moment.
Though she is opinionated, Aurelia at least asks the right questions instead of falling back into empty praise. My teal eyes slowly hover back toward Otem, awaiting her response.
The young woman, true to her think-later-act-now personality, jumps into a demonstration of how magic can help.
If I've said it once, I've said it a million times. Magic was a bedtime story in my old home; something you used to quiet children and force dreams upon them of better and greater things. Now, I've seen magic plenty of times since my arrival, but the quick little demonstration of Otem's still unnerves me quite a bit. I cock an ear back as she builds a... creature from the earth. Then, her voice interjects, unwelcome, into my mind. I resist the urge to snort and settle for simply looking displeased.
Does anyone else have magic?
I shake my head no, for I do not. Aside from the ball of hope following me like a lost puppy and the scars on my back, I am for all intents and purposes a regular horse. I have no fantasic coloring, no flames sprouting from my back, no ability to shape creatures from the earth, and no unnatural glimmering in the sunlight. Ordinary, normal.
Thankfully, Waker interjects with a more reasonable suggestion and clears my mind. He notes that the fire would have to be fairly large to see from far away. A set number of days sounds much better to me. The boy still speaks gently, as if he's not sure of himself completely. "That sounds more likely to work," I say, offering support to his suggestion. "Whether it's every quarter moon or some other period of time. Fancy pyres risk wildfires and attracting unwanted attention."
""
As Otem spoke, I realized that my assumption on the group’s topic of discussion was correct. They were talking about a herd. Well, a “meeting place,” for now, but a herd was what was on everyone’s mind, including my own. I didn’t know about everyone else, but I had not come into the Rift in search of a herd. I hadn’t even intended to come here at all. But now that I was here...
Otem was right. We would need to first establish some sort of meeting place. We needed to put our collective skills together if we were going to restore the Rift and make it our home, which I presumed was the common goal among us all. This was no longer about individuals but about cooperating as a group to achieve success for all of us. To some extent it was true that we all defined success differently, but if together we could do something to make sure that everyone safe and happy, then there was no doubt that was the definition of success. Connection undoubtedly made everyone stronger. I, for one, much preferred having some sort of social network to being completely alone. We were no herd. But coming together was a good beginning. And maybe if we worked together, something even better would come of it. Though I didn’t know for sure how all of the other horses felt, I thought that we should maintain this connection with each other, be it through smoke signals or designated meeting days or something else.
With a nod of my antlered head in response to Otem’s warm greeting, I advanced toward the circle of horses. As I came closer, my green gaze bounced from horse to horse, listening to what each of them had to say with my ears were pricked attentively forward. Still not wanting to interrupt the flow of their conversation, I waited patiently for an opportunity to interject and speak my mind.
Did the sphere of hope count as magic? It was certainly the product of some supernatural force. Other than the glowing orb floating at my shoulder, I had no experience with it. Nor was there anything magical about me. Magic amazed me, but I did not possess it. Unlike Otem, I could not command small forest critters or make plants grow or speak directly into others’ minds. Such things were the stuff of legends in the land where I was born. "Unfortunately I have no magic to offer you." Stepping in beside Kiada and the blue-accented stallion who was called Waker, I spoke up for the first time since arriving at the meeting, my voice emerging steadily from my velvety lips, resonating with purpose. "However, what I can offer to you are the skills that I already have. Even if they are not nearly as powerful as your magic and cannot exactly be used to connect us all, surely they will be useful to our purpose at some point or another." Even without magic, I was determined to contribute in other ways. The last thing I wanted to be was useless.
Another gold stallion who I had never seen before introduced himself as Raein. Like me, he did not have any magic to contribute. Up until now, he had looked kind of bored and had not said much. When Raein finished speaking, I picked up the discussion where he left off. "I think Waker raises a good point. Raein, too. I’m not sure that a horse somewhere far away, say from the Unwaritace, would be able to see a smoke signal, even if said signal was very strong. And a fire is a hazard. Maybe there is some other way to use magic to suit our needs." I paused momentarily, as if I had lost all of my thoughts and had to recollect them again before continuing. "If not, it would be a good idea to establish certain days to meet on. Maybe once per moon-phase? That way we won’t have to travel here too often, because I know some of us must cross the entire Rift to get here depending where they’ve been living, and there won’t be too much time passing by inbetween meetings." I suggested thoughtfully.
"Talk."
they heard me singing and they told me to stop
quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock
01-08-2018, 03:38 PM (This post was last modified: 01-08-2018, 07:33 PM by Otem.)
this new air feels hard to breathe, is this how it's supposed to be? if sweet dreams are made of these then why can't I be sure?
If Otem ever did have the chance to lead a herd, she would quickly learn two things which were becoming increasingly apparent here. The first was that she did not know everything and would have to rely on the wisdom and council of others. The second was that it was always easier for others to cut down your ideas, rather than to offer any of their own.
Unlike her mother, Otem was not the emotional robot that Isopia had been. Perhaps inflated by her age, Otem felt the urge to hide her face, feeling embarrassed by the fact that her ideas were not met with warm acceptance. She did not do this of course, but the childish feelings of something like rage and the strong desire to prove herself made the girl mute for a moment. Luckily there was enough of a crowd gathered now with their own thoughts and opinions that the girl's silent temper-tantrum would likely go unnoticed.
Waker mentions something about the other side, and dumbly, Otem turns to look towards the Pinnacle. The other side was a place she had not been yet; what was even over there? Her wonder took a bit of a bite out of Waker's pseudo-criticism, and she found herself merely nodding in agreement.
It was Raein who spoke next, and perhaps it was because his words didn't bring with them the suggestion of new-territory to discover (or perhaps it was because Otem had developed a rather bizarre desire to not look like an idiot in his eyes), that she felt the need to defend her fire idea.
"Coming at a specific interval is good for updates, but what about for other needs? If one of us stumbles upon something which simply can't wait, or if they are in trouble and need assistance?" Otem tried to sound reasonable, but there was a chance it might have come across as pleading. We do tend to grow terribly fond of our own ideas, don't we?
"It is a problem I admit - there's both an issue of distance and fire safety. But when fire burns something quite green-" Using her magic, Otem pulled bits of moss towards herself to demonstrate her point, "-it doesn't burn so much as it smokes. When you see the white smoke, you would know to come back to this point." Nodding towards Rixen to show she had heard him, her slender shoulders rose and fell slightly. "And hope that someone is near enough to lend aid."
She stayed quiet as the conversation moved like the tide between them all. Thoughts brought up, pushed back, brought up again, and the circle continued. She sighed quietly to herself, listening as questions were directed to the girl and she responded. Kiada felt bad for Otem for a few moments as she got bombarded by questions, but yet said nothing until the girl mentioned her magic. Surprise laced her features as Otem spoke through her mind, but she quickly shielded her mask back on her face. She hadn’t been aware that her fiery animals had appeared on her back, but she didn’t seem to mind. The flames dancing with gryphons made of their licking tendrils. She nodded to Otem with the idea, but felt her inky head shift toward Raein as he shot down the fire ideas.
“I do have control over the flames.” She mentioned, summoning a singular tornado made of spiraling fire that danced in the same spot, on an ever churning rotation, only singing the earth directly underneath it. However, after she summoned them, she dismissed them as easily as she could, the flames dying into a small smoking mess beside her. Rixen began to speak of skills and she nodded to that as well. “But, skills can be better than magic, definitely useful.” She offered the antlered man a smile even if he agreed the fire might be a hazard before turning toward the group again.
Otem spoke next of the possibility of urgency, and Kiada nodded quietly. “Perhaps someone could stay at the meeting place and be relieved, that way someone’s always here for information? And in turn, perhaps someone stays in a designated spot in the West? That way the East and West creatures can meet to gather the information that might be important before the next meeting?” She mentioned thoughtfully, pondering the idea of a mere watching shift. “And might I suggest perhaps the meeting place be at Halyven? It’s the place a bit south from here. It’s basically the wrecked castle over there.” She added, a small laugh leaving her lips. “It’s close to the portal so we might be able to find stragglers, and a bit easier to get to than this.” She offered, her eyes glancing over to Otem with a small smile.
01-09-2018, 05:10 PM (This post was last modified: 01-09-2018, 05:15 PM by Otem.)
this new air feels hard to breathe, is this how it's supposed to be? if sweet dreams are made of these then why can't I be sure?
Otem didn't want to feel sorry for herself. The only time she'd really allowed her mind to wallow in its own self-pity was just after Isopia had died, and her twin and father had vanished. It had seemed appropriate then to play the abandoned child, but now, standing in front of so many who had come just because she had called, it seemed absurd and stupid.
Even worse, it seemed childish.
And yet in many ways Otem was still a child. She couldn't bear to hear her ideas shot down, despite how rational the reasons had been. She'd picked a mountain because she thought it would be visible to everyone. Alright, sure, that made sense, but didn't they also need to make allocations for those who would have a hard time reaching its summit? And didn't having scheduled meetings make more sense, so that everyone could appropriately plan for them, rather than having to drop everything at the sign of smoke?
It all made sense, but even so, something inside of Otem began to twist tightly, making her want to burry her head and just cry about it. But she didn't. Despite the overwhelming pull of her emotions, at least Otem knew she was being stupid, and so she banned all traces of disappointment and bitterness from surfacing across her face, and forced herself to nod enthusiastically (perhaps a little too enthusiastically) to Kiada's suggestion.
"There are plenty of mountains, but only one destroyed castle. It's a much easier place to describe." Otem added with a smile. "Every half moon then? Often enough to share information, but not so often that we can't continue to explore?"
What Otem wanted to say, was that they should think up a name ... or have some sort of symbol that could identify them. The autumn-mare had lost so much when she had come to the Rift, that she clung to talismans and titles as if they had the power to keep everyone together. Still, she felt silly and small suggesting such an idea, and so she remained silent.
Even if heh ad any ideas, he would be unable to share them. As mute as he was and all. Though Otem knew this, others did not. So he remained on the outskirts of the group, listening as they discussed the matter. He nodded at the points made by Reain and others about the fire. Flames could grow quickly out of control, especially during the dry season. But wasn't that its beauty. Its unbridled chaos as it devoured and destroyed?
He blinked, surprised by the thoughts that whispered in his mind. No. That was not at all what made fire beautiful! He mental throttled the thought, disturbed by how naturally it slipped into his mind. How right it felt. He stepped closer to his piece of hope, letting its light fill him. As quickly as that darkness came, it vanished, chased away by the light. But that did not erase the memory of it from his mind. Someone was speaking again and he had to refocus on what was going on before him. Right. Meeting places and signals. So this was not a herd, but a support group? He did like the idea of coming together and pooling their efforts. Even having a place to go to ask for help. But what he had wanted most, what he craved, was a herd. Though it did not seem like the world was ready for one just yet. He would need to be a bit more patient. No matter. This was still a good cause that he could get behind.
His head cocked at the mention of shifts being implemented to ensure that someone was at the meeting place at all times. it wasn't a bad idea. Her certainly would not mind pitching in on that regard, but did they had enough horse power? There were so few here that having one to the East and another to the West might be a bit much at the moment. But what did he know about organizing such things? He lived in a cave for six years and found the most common things new and fascinating. Like ants, and clouds. His head swiveled towards Kiada as she spoke and he found himself nodding. Yes. The castle would certainly be an easier landmark to point to. And easier to access for the wingless. He looked to Otem again as she piped up once more. Every half moon. That did sound plausible. So he gave a nod in agreement and understanding. Though he doubted anyone would really be paying attention to him.
01-10-2018, 03:19 AM (This post was last modified: 01-10-2018, 03:27 AM by Rixen.)
R I X E N
I didn't really know what a good solution was, but perhaps like everyone else, I was reluctant to admit it. Everyone, myself included, was sort of throwing ideas against an invisible wall and hoping that one or two would stick. The group continued to debate about where and when it was best to meet. After contributing my initial thoughts, I fell back to silence for some time, listening to what everyone else had to say and trying to think of a solution.
Otem appeared to be processing what everyone else had to say, weighing the merit of each point. She would nod her head as each horse took his or her turn to speak. Though many of our opinions differed from her own, she seemed to be handling everyone's criticisms of her proposal well. The burgundy mare said nothing in the way of outright disagreement with others’ ideas with the exception of Raein’s words, after which she quickly defended her fire idea. While I found gaps in her thinking, Otem made good points overall. Updates every so often were not enough. We would need some sort of system for emergencies or urgent messages, in case something were to happen. No one, not even myself, had given that problem much consideration thus far. Her fire idea was good, and it was true that smoke was not nearly as hazardous as fire was. But an awful lot of smoke would need to be produced for someone to see it from far away. And there was always the chance that on a particularly gusty day, wind could interfere with a smoke signal. Though I refrained from mentioning it, as everyone had already begun discussing other aspects of said meetings, I didn’t think it was safe to just hope that someone else would be nearby in the event of an emergency. Something more reliable would be safer. Someplace more accessible too, in terms of location. The more I thought about it, the more complex everything became.
As soon as Otem finished speaking, Kiada began. Demonstrating her own control of the flames, she summoned a fire-tornado that gyrated around an invisible vertical axis, its tail touching down lightly on the earth’s surface. After enough time had passed for everyone in the circle to get a good look at the dancing funnel of bright light, heat, and smoke, Kiada extinguished it with apparent ease. On the ground before the spotted unicorn, there was a little blackened patch where the flames had charred the earth. More than skill alone was required to manipulate fire like that. To me, magic held an immense power that no amount of skill could make up for. Unlike mere skills, magic seemed to have no limitations to what it could do. Magic could appear in any shape or form, and I was certain there was magic that could do anything imaginable, and even things that I couldn't possibly fathom.
I leaned into the circle slightly, focusing my attention on Kiada as she continued to speak. Her words also held merit. One of Kiada's suggestions was that different horses should play the roles of messengers, staying in the east and west to relay information. Interesting. This could also be useful, but how we would go about implementing such a complex plan? It was probably best if we discussed it when everyone could agree on the simpler things. My response to the curve-horned mare was but a few soft-spoken words. "I couldn't have thought of that myself." Aside from that, I offered no more on the subject. I did not want to tackle a problem without having any idea how to go about solving it. However, the polite thing to do was to at least offer some type of acknowledgement, and so that was what I did.
Next, Kiada suggested we meet at Halyven rather than here. Given my fondness of the place, I was glad to hear Kiada’s idea to hold our meetings there. Of all the places I had seen and explored in the Rift, it was by far the most fascinating, a ruined city distinguished by its many pointed spires. The ruins were as beautiful in death as they must have been in life. If anything, traveling there for meetings would give me an excuse to visit the ruins more often. Bobbing my head approvingly alongside Otem and Roscorro, I hastened to expressed my approval in both speech and action. "Right."
Following several looks of approval, Otem took up the reins of conversation again. As she spoke, Otem collected everyone’s thoughts together and presented them in a more organized and clear manner. Halyven. Every half-moon. The idea was agreeable enough. "That sounds fair." I said at last with a hint of a smile showing on my lips. Then, turning to face Otem, I addressed her directly before posing my question to the whole group. "Otem, earlier you mentioned the possibility of a serious, unexpected, or dangerous situation arising that would require immediate action. What are we to do in the event of an emergency?"
"Talk."
they heard me singing and they told me to stop
quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock
this new air feels hard to breathe, is this how it's supposed to be? if sweet dreams are made of these then why can't I be sure?
Remember to post 3 times if you haven't already to get the RF, yo! Also feel free to keep replies short if that's easier!
Perhaps it was simply because of his silence, or perhaps it was because deep down Otem still thought that perhaps Roscorro might eat her, the sap and soil coloured girl caught his nod of approval at both Kiada's suggestion of meeting in the broken city, as well as the idea of meeting every half moon. No one else seemed to have much to say, and so Otem let out a small sigh of relief, thinking that perhaps this self-started trial of gathering everyone together had finally come to an end. Who would have known public speaking could be so exhausting?
Just as she was about to say something in closing, Rixen spoke up.
Otem, earlier you mentioned the possibility of a serious, unexpected, or dangerous situation arising that would require immediate action. What are we to do in the event of an emergency?
Otem's inner monologue in that moment was something like this, Can't one of the adults answer? Wait. Not that. I don't want to be thought of as a child...so maybe just an adult who has been an adult longer than me? Otem's eyes scanned those assembled, but no one seemed to be offering any suggestions.
So Otem decided to do something which she might instantly regret.
She decided to ask her necklace.
"Any ideas?" The girl mumbled to the oak-charm hanging around her neck, closing her lips on the word mom that wanted to settle itself at the end of her question. Silently Otem prayed that the screechy voice would not be the one that answered, but instead the rational voice of her mother.
But her wish was not granted.
"Maybe you should leave trails of BREADCRUMBS TO FOLLOW." The necklace screeched in a voice that sounded like laughter and nails on a chalkboard. Otem winced, but knew there was nothing she could do to stop the voice now that it had started. "or MAYBE you could cry WEEE WEEEE WEEEEEE all the way home like the little blundering PIGGIES you are." Regretfully, Otem looked around the group wanting to apologize. But before she could, the academic and sterile voice of Isopia suddenly replaced the obnoxious voice which had been previously grating on their ears. "This question underscores the importance of having a formalized system in place. Although beginning a herd might seem merely an exercise in nomenclature, it is not. A herd is an agreement to uphold certain responsibilities - responsibilities precisely like being accountable in a time of need. As you are now, no one here has committed to such an agreement, and, despite being present here, is under no obligation to aid any one else in a time of crisis."
The voice fell silent, and Otem waited for it to continue, wanting the voice of her mother to follow up with a, so here is what you need to do suggestion, but it did not. Swallowing, Otem turned her burgundy and gold stare to the group.
"So .. I guess even if we aren't a herd yet, it would be good if we at least committed to helping each other out, if we see each other in need?" Otem tried to sound confident and sure of herself, like the voice of her mother had been, but found her gaze wavering slightly as she looked to those assembled.
It would be all too easy for them just to say no and walk away at this point. But something about this felt important in some hard to specify way. Or perhaps it was just that Otem didn't want to be alone again.
"We aren't a herd yet, I know that. We don't have ranks, or roles, or jobs or anything ... But can we all at least agree to help out if someone is in need? For now anyways, until we have more information?"
The Pinnacle
