"It is my home, no longer." Mjrn headed into the foliage as though she knew where she was going, though there was no notable pathway in this area. It didn't matter; she knew what was ahead.
"I am Mjrn. I do not recall your name, or if I gave mine...." But, there it was. She quickened her pace a little, and suddenly she was in a wide clearing. It was easier to tell that it was dusk, as the change in light was very little.
Mjrn darted ahead, becoming -at least in mind- the little girl that she once had been. She giggled and ran around, trying to snatch a firefly out of the few that roamed the area. Though she kept missing them, the young Viera didn't seem to mind. Half the fun was in the chase.
At one point, Mjrn clapped her hands together, and opened them slightly, enough to see a glow. She eeped in delight. "Fran! Jote! I caught one!" And she turned to run towards two older though still not mature Viera, settled comfortably in an area of the clearing. Jote was busy weaving flowers into Fran's hair, but she looked up and smiled with a gentleness that might have shocked anyone who knew Jote of the present day.
"I'm Tidus, but I don't know-" Too late. Mjrn was off like a shot, and Tidus looked after her briefly in confusion before taking off himself, pushing through the leaves and branches with more difficult than the viera. Wherever they were, she was obviously more familiar with it than he was.
He arrived at the clearing a little behind her, and just stopped in his tracks as he saw her jumping around - and giggling. Why was she giggling? She didn't seem that giddy... "Mjrn? Hey, Mjrn, what's going on?" He followed her as she crossed the open space, speaking to thin air - was she caught like he'd been? Whatever this was, it was weird.
"Let her fly free, Mjrn. Then we may all enjoy her light." At Fran's suggestion, Mjrn peered at the firefly for a moment longer, then released it. She smiled, watching it go. It was the chase she enjoyed, more than possessing the light itself.
Then she yawned, unable to stop herself. It didn't go unnoticed. Jote paused in her handiwork. "Mjrn, come. It is time to rest."
Mjrn's eyes grew large and pleading. She clasped her hands together. "Please, Jote? A few more moments, it is all I ask." Of course 'a few more moments' could likely stretch out for more than that with a child's manipulation at work, but Mjrn did her best to look innocent.
Fran, knowing what was at work, smiled a bit but didn't give her away. Jote suspected anyway, but she was in a rather mellow mood that night. There was a brief nod. "But when I say we are to leave, you will come."
"Yes, Jote! Thank you!" Mjrn smiled, then raced to catch another firefly.
Faris lingered to the back, several steps behind Tidus. That gap became even larger when Mjrn had leapt forward into whatever madness possessed her. Slowly, She came up beside the sputtering youth, though eyes were half-trained on the Viera.
"...This whole place is wrong, isn't it?" Faris offered, by way of explanation or consolation. Not that she knew any more about this place than they did. "What sort of place changes an' dissolves in seconds, and plays with the minds of those innit?"
For a moment, she was reminded of a time when spirits had tempted her and her companions with visions of their loved ones. A siren of sorts. The pirate's expression became grim.
"Could be some demon bewitching her; could be the same thing that got you."
"...A place that doesn't exist. A place made of memories." He actually had full experience with something like this, though it hadn't been this immersive - when Seymour had showed them the sphere recorded from the memories of the dead in the Farplane, he could've sworn he'd gone home at last, even as he knew, standing next to the rest of his companions, that them being there made it a complete and total lie. Tidus watched Mjrn cavort some more, speaking to another as he'd done - a friend, a relative? some kind of caregiver - a slight frown moving over his face and growing deeper the longer it did. "Spheres can't keep you trapped like that, though - so what's doing this? It's gotta be something from Gaia... maybe." Considering how much was crossing over from every world, maybe it was something from another world that didn't like whatever Gaia had done to it, and so they got screwed.
"I don't know - I can't tell anything with it throwing us around like that. Maybe we'll never figure it out."
Just as Mjrn ran back to her sisters to show a new firefly, the vision faded. She nearly stumbled, but managed to catch herself in time. It took her a moment to snap out of the memory and when she turned to them, it was with a certain amount of wistfulness. To be parted from such a content time was not easy.
"To witness again what once was...how is this possible?" She paused, a little uneasy. "Did you see what happened?" Though she held nothing against them, the thought of anyone doing so was a bit intrusive. Still, they had not been able to witness whatever Tidus had earlier.
"Only thing I saw," piped Faris, "was you prancin' around gigglin' your silly head off, and talking to yourself."
Actually, it wasn't too much different from how Tidus had been behaving. Minus the giggling of course. Faris' brows drew together. "Witness what once was, ye say? You mean like, relivin' the past?"
Taking a step toward Mjrn, Faris was about to get the answer to that question in a way she hadn't imagined. The forest around them shifted, lurched even, as the ground became deck, the 'world' turning, and tugging to the side. The ship was caught on the edge of a whirlpool, and those around them were struggling to hold the vessel strong against the pull of the strange tide.
"What's this?" said Faris, marching to the edge of the ship's desk. One hand reaching out, grasping a rope, as she climbed up onto the edge of the wall.
"Aye, get down from there lad, we got 'nough problems without worryin' bout you fallin' overboard!" cried the first mate.
But Faris just stared down into the swirling pool. "There's somethin' down there! And I'm gonna find out what!"
And before anyone could convince her otherwise, she dove off the side, arms outstretched, straight into the eye of the whirlpool.
At least one of them knew how to behave on a boat, though if they remembered that his own memory had taken place on a boat, that wouldn't be surprising. Tidus gave a "whoa!" in exclamation, grabbing for the railing and automatically shifting his weight to roll with the swell, getting his sea legs back really quickly.
He'd still prefer this to the trees.
And another exclamation as Faris climbed up - an action that normally wouldn't bother him at all, but in the whirlpool and the rocking, and without her being a blitz player or having any sort of breathing gear, was not really a good thing to do. "Hey, come on, get down! You're gonna-"
Too late. "Damnit!" And forgetting briefly that this was a memory, that Mjrn was even there, Tidus went into full water-rescue mode - running across the deck himself and taking a practiced, easy dive over the rail himself, following Faris and determined to yank her back up to the surface before she drowned.
Mjrn, on the other hand, didn't have sea legs. She lost her footing and quickly tumbled onto the deck, grateful that everyone was too busy to notice her undignified slip. Unsteadily, she reached for and clung to the railing, thoroughly disliking this experience already. She needed firm earth underneath her feet, not this.
She turned her attention to Faris just in time to hear her exclamation and dive into the water. That was startling enough, but when Tidus jumped into it also, Mjrn involuntarily cried out. She could not follow, not when her swimming skills were near-nonexistent.
For a moment, Faris could no longer hear the voices of her pirate comrades, or the sound of the ship creaking as it lurched about in the waves. All that filled her ears was the harsh rushing of water as she kicked her legs and pulled with her arms.
And then, there it was. That thing she'd seen the shadow of from the deck of the ship. A giant serpent, colored in purple, or blue, or was it green? it was hard to see, and the scales were so iridescent, they changed with every little movement. Lungs burning for air, Faris swam with all her might to the massive creature, entranced, daring --
And then she put her arms around it's neck, and heard the echoes of it's call through the water. She laughed, the bubbles escaping her mouth, precious air gone in an instant.
It mattered little, however. Moments later, both of them were breaking the surface. She gulped the air, sweet and clear. Only now did she really notice that the whirlpool had slowed, the waves easing back into a normal pattern.
That whole thing, was caused by this magnificent creature.
Tidus had hit the water not seconds after Faris, but she was almost as strong a swimmer as him and she apparently had a goal. He grabbed for the long hair and missed by inches, determined to get her back up to the surface before she could come to any harm - and then realized, way too late, that this was another memory as she grabbed on to something he couldn't see.
I've done dumber things, but not many...
And then the ...whatever it was was gone, Faris with it as she shot for the surface. Tidus gaped for a moment, then shot down, ricocheting off the sea floor and speeding to the surface again as fast as he could. He broke the surface not too far away from either the ship or Faris, easily treading water in the now-calming sea. What was this place?
"I am Mjrn. I do not recall your name, or if I gave mine...." But, there it was. She quickened her pace a little, and suddenly she was in a wide clearing. It was easier to tell that it was dusk, as the change in light was very little.
Mjrn darted ahead, becoming -at least in mind- the little girl that she once had been. She giggled and ran around, trying to snatch a firefly out of the few that roamed the area. Though she kept missing them, the young Viera didn't seem to mind. Half the fun was in the chase.
At one point, Mjrn clapped her hands together, and opened them slightly, enough to see a glow. She eeped in delight. "Fran! Jote! I caught one!" And she turned to run towards two older though still not mature Viera, settled comfortably in an area of the clearing. Jote was busy weaving flowers into Fran's hair, but she looked up and smiled with a gentleness that might have shocked anyone who knew Jote of the present day.
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He arrived at the clearing a little behind her, and just stopped in his tracks as he saw her jumping around - and giggling. Why was she giggling? She didn't seem that giddy... "Mjrn? Hey, Mjrn, what's going on?" He followed her as she crossed the open space, speaking to thin air - was she caught like he'd been? Whatever this was, it was weird.
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Then she yawned, unable to stop herself. It didn't go unnoticed. Jote paused in her handiwork. "Mjrn, come. It is time to rest."
Mjrn's eyes grew large and pleading. She clasped her hands together. "Please, Jote? A few more moments, it is all I ask." Of course 'a few more moments' could likely stretch out for more than that with a child's manipulation at work, but Mjrn did her best to look innocent.
Fran, knowing what was at work, smiled a bit but didn't give her away. Jote suspected anyway, but she was in a rather mellow mood that night. There was a brief nod. "But when I say we are to leave, you will come."
"Yes, Jote! Thank you!" Mjrn smiled, then raced to catch another firefly.
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"...This whole place is wrong, isn't it?" Faris offered, by way of explanation or consolation. Not that she knew any more about this place than they did. "What sort of place changes an' dissolves in seconds, and plays with the minds of those innit?"
For a moment, she was reminded of a time when spirits had tempted her and her companions with visions of their loved ones. A siren of sorts. The pirate's expression became grim.
"Could be some demon bewitching her; could be the same thing that got you."
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"I don't know - I can't tell anything with it throwing us around like that. Maybe we'll never figure it out."
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"To witness again what once was...how is this possible?" She paused, a little uneasy. "Did you see what happened?" Though she held nothing against them, the thought of anyone doing so was a bit intrusive. Still, they had not been able to witness whatever Tidus had earlier.
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Actually, it wasn't too much different from how Tidus had been behaving. Minus the giggling of course. Faris' brows drew together. "Witness what once was, ye say? You mean like, relivin' the past?"
Taking a step toward Mjrn, Faris was about to get the answer to that question in a way she hadn't imagined. The forest around them shifted, lurched even, as the ground became deck, the 'world' turning, and tugging to the side. The ship was caught on the edge of a whirlpool, and those around them were struggling to hold the vessel strong against the pull of the strange tide.
"What's this?" said Faris, marching to the edge of the ship's desk. One hand reaching out, grasping a rope, as she climbed up onto the edge of the wall.
"Aye, get down from there lad, we got 'nough problems without worryin' bout you fallin' overboard!" cried the first mate.
But Faris just stared down into the swirling pool. "There's somethin' down there! And I'm gonna find out what!"
And before anyone could convince her otherwise, she dove off the side, arms outstretched, straight into the eye of the whirlpool.
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He'd still prefer this to the trees.
And another exclamation as Faris climbed up - an action that normally wouldn't bother him at all, but in the whirlpool and the rocking, and without her being a blitz player or having any sort of breathing gear, was not really a good thing to do. "Hey, come on, get down! You're gonna-"
Too late. "Damnit!" And forgetting briefly that this was a memory, that Mjrn was even there, Tidus went into full water-rescue mode - running across the deck himself and taking a practiced, easy dive over the rail himself, following Faris and determined to yank her back up to the surface before she drowned.
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She turned her attention to Faris just in time to hear her exclamation and dive into the water. That was startling enough, but when Tidus jumped into it also, Mjrn involuntarily cried out. She could not follow, not when her swimming skills were near-nonexistent.
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And then, there it was. That thing she'd seen the shadow of from the deck of the ship. A giant serpent, colored in purple, or blue, or was it green? it was hard to see, and the scales were so iridescent, they changed with every little movement. Lungs burning for air, Faris swam with all her might to the massive creature, entranced, daring --
And then she put her arms around it's neck, and heard the echoes of it's call through the water. She laughed, the bubbles escaping her mouth, precious air gone in an instant.
It mattered little, however. Moments later, both of them were breaking the surface. She gulped the air, sweet and clear. Only now did she really notice that the whirlpool had slowed, the waves easing back into a normal pattern.
That whole thing, was caused by this magnificent creature.
Reply
I've done dumber things, but not many...
And then the ...whatever it was was gone, Faris with it as she shot for the surface. Tidus gaped for a moment, then shot down, ricocheting off the sea floor and speeding to the surface again as fast as he could. He broke the surface not too far away from either the ship or Faris, easily treading water in the now-calming sea. What was this place?
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