golden child, lion girl, tell me what it's like to conquer —
The trek to the meeting place was long, albeit exciting nonetheless. Both Kiada and Rixen had been successful in sharing hope with the Forest Walkers, and the competitive part of her was excited to see the Matron’s reaction to spreading hope to such a dangerous creature. Pleased, Kiada practically beamed the whole time. It was almost as if the orb had smacked her in the face as well, the amount she seemed to glow from her happiness. Khairi, too, was happy – crooning to her and Rixen when there was a lull in the conversation, even if Kiada was the only one that could understand. The pair was pleased and excited to see how it turned out.
When they finally reached the shore, she caught the tail end of what the Matron was saying – spreading hope to a few cities. She heard the name Halyven and listened as Otem mentioned that they’d go there. Easily, Kiada stepped up into the group leaving room to her side for Rixen as she glanced toward the antlered stallion. “Where do you want to go?” She asked him with a tilt of her head, allowing him to choose the next adventure as he had chosen the Rainforest Cliffs. After a few moments, her gaze turned to the Matron and the large aquatic beast in the water, seemingly watching them all. “We restored Hope to the Forest Walkers.” She announced to the Matron, that same beaming smile glued to her pale snipped lips.
With my heart full of hope, perhaps like that which we were spreading around, I journeyed with Kiada to the place where the Matron would assign to us our next task. We did not have to travel a long distance, for the Matron awaited us just beyond the rainforest. As I wove between the trees, I thought about who we would deliver hope to next. What creatures would we find? Surely they were not all as grotesque as the forest walkers.
My high spirits were visible in my strides, which were especially springy and my toes flicked out more and more with each step. I beamed alongside the appaloosa mare as we made our way toward the edge of the forest. The grove of trees at last fell away to reveal a steep cliffside. When we finally emerged from the green foliage and reached the open land I could get a clearer view of the shore. I could see that a small group of horses had gathered before the Matron. Just the sight of it made me all the more eager to reach them.
The path to the beach was steep and rocky, not to mention slippery, probably because it had rained here earlier in the day. And so, whether I liked it or not, I was forced to take my time in navigating it. Hooves were not the best for scaling steep cliffsides, I decided, especially when it was wet. When I made it far enough down that the ground was even, I broke into a steady, rhythmic trot toward the Matron.
Upon reaching the group, I remained beside Kiada, offering a respectful nod in the Matron's direction. From what I'd overheard, she was assigning us new locations to spread our hope. Otem, Roscorro, Waker, and Varuna decided to go to Halyven. Next the Matron's gentle gaze fell upon us, awaiting an answer. Without thinking too much on it, my lips began to move. "Unwaritace?" I suggested with a grin, casting a glance in Kiada's direction to make sure that she was in agreement.
"Talk."
they heard me singing and they told me to stop
quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock
A colt you've not seen before has joined you lot on the beach. And, surprising yourself, you just feel hostile and frustrated at the sight of him. The matron addresses him, trying to include him, and he just parrots, "Hope?" in a way that makes very snarky and rude things boil up the back of your mouth. Scowling, you march up to the colt, abandoning Night Sky's side and somewhat ignoring the rest of the matron's instructions.
Instead, you glare down at the yearling. Next to your head, your Piece of Hope—a ball of warm, pleasant light—hovers. A similar ball follows all the equines gathered on the beach; the unlucky colt is the only one without one, but not for long, as your ball splits into two equal parts, both miraculously the same size as the original. "Hope," you growl savagely at him, before turning on your heel and marching away, leaving him with his own ball of world-saving light.
Otem seized onto whatever the matron had been saying while you had been too busy listening to your own blood boil, volunteering them all to go to Halyven; frankly, you don't care where you go. You just want this nightmare day to end, so you can sleep for a good, long while, then wake up and apologize to everyone for your behavior. You're about to just sigh and come along, when Otem extends the offer of the herd to the child, and Dragon Man approaches you. "Where is Halyven?" you hear the newly hope'd young say, and with a voice befitting your stormy looks, you shout "If you come along, you'll find out, duh!" at him.
Then Dragon Man's nose, so deceptively soft if you consider the horns littering his forehead, touches your shoulder. There's concern in his eyes, just like Night Sky keeps watching you the same way, and suddenly you feel like snapping at both of them.
But you don't. It's one thing to yell at kids (he's now asking the matron who she is, and you decide this is a legitimate question), it's quite another to brush off two adults who are actually trying to give a damn about you.
Also, is this guy mute, or what? You've never heard him speak.
"I'll be fine," you mutter, suddenly embarrassed about everything you've said and done in the past few minutes—you want nothing but to get away from this beach, especially as Kiada and Rixen come bouncing in, beaming with pride. Ball of hope or not, you scowl, and start to trudge away to the east, heading for Halyven.
Waker is tired and rude and shares his Piece of Hope with @Varuna, then goes to Halyven. xP
It had seemed like a good idea at the time. Step out of the shadows, share the burgeoning ball of light, declare something grand about saving his dying home (and throw in an apology for good measure), and then.. what, exactly? Kick back and watch them solve his problems? Did they even know what to do?
Because, let's be real: beyond sharing the hope with them, Kisamoa had no idea what to do.
He'd been at a loss when he'd recoiled back into the shadows, yet as always, unwilling to show it. Apologize for simply putting his land deeper in the shit, fine—he could do that. He wasn't beyond knowing when something he had done wasn't working. But stepping out in front of them all and declaring that he had absolutely no idea how to get them out of the mess he'd helped put them in?
Not happening.
The cervine, bleeding creature had returned to the layers between the worlds, once again considering simply ceasing to exist—waiting for that inevitable death—yet the stubborn presence of Hope kept him sullenly alive, one eye trained on his crew of horses. Thus, he wasn't far away when the Rift creatures congregated on the beach. And what happened next was .. interesting. He felt the Hope flare back to life deep within the Siren's lake, like a shudder reverberating up from the ground and into his bones.
Turns out the matron had had more of an idea of how to go about this than he had. They spread, to three of the more reclusive beasts of the Rift, and then convened on the beach again, hope alight in the hungry souls of predators and the stoic heart of the Protector.
It wasn't going to patch up the bleeding holes left in the land, but it was working, because something was happening. It was enough to catch his curiosity, and as the sullen Waker departed towards Halyven, Kisamoa pulled the shadows from himself and strode down to where the others had gathered.
As usual, black blood dripped down his legs from the spine fused to his back, and his mouth, full of too-many, mismatched teeth, bled the same thick, dark liquid. Each time his jaws parted, a green glow shone from within, and he was once again followed by the shadowy demon wielding a sword made from bone.
Blinking his dark eyes, the subtly shifting deity dipped his head in greeting to those gathered, before demanding—for such a creature cannot do anything but demand, rough of voice as it is—of no one in particular: "What is going on?"
Waker, who at one point had struck Otem as the brooding intellectual type, now seemed like the sulking passive-aggressive type. The autumn-coloured mare held no real love for Varuna, or for anyone else really, but she was at least clever enough to know that in these early days of ... of whatever all of this was, making enemies likely wasn't the best way to go. "It isn't far." She added after Waker's oh-so-helpful description. "It's close to where the portal is."
Before much more could be said, he arrived.
Looking like a creature from some literal black lagoon, Otem was caught between glances at Waker's receding form, and Kisamoa's approaching one. Her competitive nature wanted to send her swiftly after the dark stallion so that he wouldn't reach Halyven before her (He'd already given Varuna part of his hope. Why hadn't she thought of that first?!), but of course she wanted to hear what Kisamoa had to say about all of this. Was he here to offer words of encouragement? To tell them how to better spread their hope?
"We're spreading hope to the next set of locations.." Otem answered, trying to sound both casual and knowledgeable. Her bi-coloured eyes glanced towards the sword floating ominously at the god-man's side. Her mother had been the last one to possess that sword, and seeing it next to the sludge-covered god filled her with a sense of forboding.
otem
I'm a cold day in august, I'm a stream too shallow.
I'm a heart-shaped box with no letter inside.
As they worked to decide where the first group that appeared would go, the Matron watched as tension seemed to bubble between those gathered. Concern creased the corners of her eyes as she watched but before she could say anything, another group appeared – the ones that had faced the Forest Walkers. She offered a wave of her trunk in greeting to these creatures as well with a small tight smile. Yet, before she could say anything, there was another presence that seemed more demanding of her attention. It seemed as though he appeared through the folds of the shadows, and when he stepped out to question them in that booming voice he always had, the Matron laughed in greeting.
"Kisamoa, a pleasure as always." She chirped, dipping her head to him all while the baleano observed silently from the waves. While Otem explained what they were doing, the Matron bobbed her large head. "This group," She began, "will be heading to restore hope to Halyven. And this second group will be heading toward Uwaritace if I heard correctly." She smiled warmly toward Rixen and Kiada. "We are awaiting the third and final group to head to Akvo City. You are welcome to join any one of our groups in their hunt should you like to observe the good they’re doing." Her voice was gentle, and perhaps a small amount of pride blossomed there as she looked to those gathered.
"You have all done well thus far. I’m positive you will be able to continue these efforts in spreading hope." She answered, her old eyes surveying Kisamoa.
Group 1 (Metus group) is heading toward Halyven! Group 2 (Forest Walkers group) is heading toward Uwaritace, which leaves the third group (Protector group) to head toward Akvo City! Who knows, perhaps Kisamoa might tag along with one of the groups ;) As always, if you are new and haven’t participated in the SWP thus far, feel free to post here and join up with one of the groups or meet them at their locations for the next part!
* Each round is 48 hours (give or take), and has no posting order. If you miss a round, don't worry - just post when you have a chance to! The round is open until Rift Presence posts again.
* New characters are always welcome to join the plot
* If you find the pace too high, let us know, and we'll slow down!
* Posts are encouraged to be 400 words or less.
golden child, lion girl, tell me what it's like to conquer —
The gilded woman was rather unaware of the tension between the first group. Both she and Rixen had made a wonderful team when it came to sharing the Hope with the Forest Walkers. And so she ignored them as Rixen spoke up, suggesting that they go to Uwaritace. She nodded to him with a brilliant smile. “Sounds great to me.” She offered him, his own grin reflecting on her maw.
But it wasn’t long before that familiar presence creeped up on them – it seemed to even surprise the Matron as the long unique body of Kisamoa appeared. His voice ever so booming, yet Kiada felt a fondness to the way he couldn’t not seem to yell at them. She cast a glance to Rixen and pointed her head toward Kisamoa where Otem was recalling what they were doing and the Matron offered an explanation of the groups. Curious, her ears perked forward and she moved from her place beside Rixen to stand before Kisamoa. “The orbs you gave us have come in handy.” She offered the god with a small roguish grin, dipping her head to him in a way of greeting before roaming her eyes across him as a gleam of worry slipped through her gaze. Had he simply vanished to not deal with him? Or had he been hurt from giving them the hope? She didn't know the reasons he had, but she worried for the god either way.
Then, she eyed the glowing green mouth of the fangs and the striped pelt that danced across his hide – remembering that third eye that appeared between his own that had stared at her unnervingly and glanced across Kisamoa’s face to see if it perhaps would make an appearance. After a few moments, she turned from Kis to stand beside Rixen once more, leaning in close to the antlered man. “He is the god of the land, now.” She offered him, a small explanation from what she tried to say in the Green Labyrinth. This was the god that she had fallen into the river to save, this was the god she had worked for before the Rift even made an appearance, and he was the god that ripped everything she loved from her to the point she screamed at him and yet he seemed to understand. Maybe, not truly understand, but perhaps there was a small amount of pity in the results of what happened to bring the Helovians here.
02-03-2018, 08:23 PM (This post was last modified: 02-03-2018, 08:24 PM by Rixen.)
R I X E N
Kiada nodded, and with a genuine smile agreed to spread hope to Unwaritace next. My gaze shifted back to the Matron to see if she had any more to say before we were on our way again. Instead of meeting mine, however, the Matron's eyes moved over my shoulder, focused on something - someone else.
Turning my antlered head to see what the subject of her fixation was, a strange creature approaching where we stood came into view. His hide was sleek and ebon-hued. Gleaming from the sockets in his skull were eyes as black as night shadows on deep waters. Black was an underestimated color - it was the absence of color - but at the same time it held unimaginable secrets. The fear of the unknown was the bane of existence. That unknown was hidden within black, hence the shivers that ran down my spine at the sight of the demonic creature. Was he a horse? He was not like any horse that I had seen before. How silly I was, when the thought crossed my mind, to think that that by now I had seen it all. How wrong I was. He opened his mouth to speak, revealing rows and rows of blades jutting in every direction that were teeth made especially visible by a bright green glow. Dripping from between the teeth, out of the corners of his mouth, was a thick black liquid. The same dark substance, which resembled blood, trickled from the bony lesion in his back, pulled by gravity down his legs, pooling on the ground beneath him like bottomless pools of midnight. He was Kisamoa. And he demanded to know what was going on.
Now flicking my ears in uncertainty, I did not know whether I should be frightened or horrified or excited at the idea of meeting a god or all three at once. Fortunately, the other horse's reactions to the creature offered me at least some type of reassurance. The Matron laughed pleasantly upon sight of Kisamoa, followed by giving a detailed answer to his question. Kisamoa had been the first to give us the hope, after all. Perhaps, if I could look beyond his appearance, he was not all that bad. I stood my ground, watching as Kiada stepped forward to greet him. Though initially worried about what might happen next, relief washed over me when nothing did and the spotted mare smiled at the god. I said nothing, mostly because I didn't know how to address a god to begin with. Regardless, my manners were not forgotten and I gave him a polite nod. He was the god of the land, after all.
"Talk."
they heard me singing and they told me to stop
quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock
Truly, it wasn't her intention to disappear for so many months. It simply happened, as her lust for exploration overruled her desire to stay amidst the familiarity of those who had come through the Rift with her. She found herself wandering further and further away from the small segment of Rift that she knew, until finally she was lost amidst the chaos of this corrupted, dastardly place. Even Ker's usually unerring sense of direction had let her down, leaving both Oizys and her eagle companion to meander without purpose and with a growing sense of where the fuck are we?
Finally, after a stroke of luck lead them back to a patch of oddness that they recognised, they've returned. The trip hasn't been entirely fruitless, as Oizys seized the opportunity to gather some blood for her vials from a variety of weird and wonderful creatures that she can hardly wait to transform into, but her idle wanderings also came at a cost. Her limbs are coated in a frost that burns with such an intensity that it brings tears of pain to her eyes, and each stride sends a frisson of pain through her cursed legs. She has no idea what can cure this unfortunate complaint, although her mind is driving her towards two separate deeds...whether she submits to these commands remains to be seen.
Quite by chance, she stumbles upon a gathering of her kind, creating a welcome distraction from the pain in her legs. Something is going on, but the scarred gargoyle has no idea what. Ker lands heavily on her shoulder and quivers fearfully at so many unknown faces, whilst Oizys clears her rusty, unused throat and ambles awkwardly forwards. "Uhhh...." It's her way of announcing her presence, a far cry from her usual bolshy, sassy attitude. Months of wandering with nobody but Ker for company means she's somewhat forgotten how to horse, and the complex social etiquette of their species will take some time to come back to her, so for now she settles on standing rather gormlessly with her ears rammed forwards and her scarred face twisted into an expression of puzzlement.
02-06-2018, 06:54 PM (This post was last modified: 02-06-2018, 06:55 PM by Kisamoa.)
He would be lying if he said he hadn't enjoyed being feared—oh, there had been something sweet in commanding them to attend him, in watching the fear and loathing spark to life in their eyes.. a kind of thrill, knowing that he had done that. That he held such power, such influence.
Now, he was greeted with respect, admiration, companionship, even the Matron's laughter. His ears waved uncertainly atop his head for a moment, before he snorted and curled his long tail around a hock. Fear and loathing was more removed, distanced; this was so.. personal.
It was almost as if he was just like everybody else.
(Not tempting.)
It was almost as if he had.. friends.
(Tempting.)
"How nice," he simply responded to Otem, unsure of what to say; his voice was bland, despite its intensity, but his gaze landed on her for a second or two. She hadn't offered much of substance, but the Matron was more than willing to fill him in. ".. You are welcome to join any one of our groups in their hunt should you like to observe the good they’re doing." Again, that thing—that he could be just like the others, for better or for worse. That he could.. help fix his home. He narrowed his eyes at the Loricatrunc.
Had she counted on him being unable to refuse such a thing? Kiada approached, with a nod and a smile and some words of.. thanks, he supposed. "I'm glad..?" he responded, tone rising at the end. Was he glad? If this was helping his home, then, yeah, he should be glad, but Kisamoa, Doer of Good Deeds? Kisamoa, not the deceiver and destroyer of worlds?
The gray stallion accompanying her hung back, and a gray mare, one of the Helovians, stumbled upon the group. She voiced what he had felt earlier, and a rough snort tore its way from Kisamoa's chest. Elegant, Oizys.
"I will await the third group," he declared, an unspoken dismissal of those gathered. Since the third group hadn't yet arrived, it was possible they would need help, while the others seemed to be doing alright.
Group 3 (I know some of you are absent/busy but: @Taivas @Aurelia @Ruwin @Pixel (oops)) has the offer of a Kisamoa! Basically, since he counts for one, there need be only one other character to go with him to Akvo City! It doesn't have to be anyone already in the group, it could be someone else too. :)
Rainforest Cliffs
