Because I'd been meaning to do this - TRAUMA
[[In the course of his daily wanderings, Siegfried has accomplished many things, chief among them being the collection of all the fat blueberries in the bucket he's carrying in one hand. He swings the bucket a little as he walks, making his way home at a sort of marching pace and looking almost cloyingly happy as per usual.
Then something catches his attention: one of those 'strange' houses, the door wide open and funny patterns of light playing over what little he could see of the interior. Remembering what Lohengrin and Fakir had told him about the mysterious houses and their hidden dangers, he approached it with utmost caution and peers inside. He blinks his big amber eyes at the long, narrow hallway that extends before him, the action somehow reflected in the hundreds of mirrors that lined it.
After a moment's consideration (that is all but entirely overwhelmed by his destructive curiosity) he sets his pail down outside the door and steps into the hallway. He takes a few cautious steps inside, then freezes as the hundreds of reflected images of himself disappear.
The light pouring in from outside vanishes. He turns, and the door has disappeared behind him. The hallway stretches out behind him, impossibly long. His skin breaks out in gooseflesh, the feeling of tugging curiosity replaced with chilling dread.
And then, light. Red, orange, yellow, flickering light. He startles, his gaze fixed on one of the nearest mirrors as flames lick against the glass as if viewed through a window.
He is transfixed.
The fire slowly fades away, revealing a scene of horrible destruction. A city, his city, in flames as citizens fled the Raven's minions under driving red rain. It has gone on this way for days, he knows that. Gone on for days because he had not been allowed outside. The mirror shows the scene as from Siegfried's own eyes, bobbing and weaving as his past self speeds through the streets, carried on a horse he'd sneaked away from the stables, to meet the Raven outside the city wall. He sees one of the beaked monsters lurch toward a staggering man and draws his sword too late to deter it. The man is caught, the monster plunges its blade-sharp beak into his chest, and Siegfried's horse speeds on. All around him, many of his people meet the same fate.
Siegfried can only watch, silent and wide-eyed, his knees slowly losing strength.]]
((OOC : Oh, God, I really went into the madness place with this post. It gets longer still, but that will only happen once someone replies. First come, first served for bringing him home. Once they're out of the house, anyone can intercept them and ask why Siegfried is a gibbering mess.))
Then something catches his attention: one of those 'strange' houses, the door wide open and funny patterns of light playing over what little he could see of the interior. Remembering what Lohengrin and Fakir had told him about the mysterious houses and their hidden dangers, he approached it with utmost caution and peers inside. He blinks his big amber eyes at the long, narrow hallway that extends before him, the action somehow reflected in the hundreds of mirrors that lined it.
After a moment's consideration (that is all but entirely overwhelmed by his destructive curiosity) he sets his pail down outside the door and steps into the hallway. He takes a few cautious steps inside, then freezes as the hundreds of reflected images of himself disappear.
The light pouring in from outside vanishes. He turns, and the door has disappeared behind him. The hallway stretches out behind him, impossibly long. His skin breaks out in gooseflesh, the feeling of tugging curiosity replaced with chilling dread.
And then, light. Red, orange, yellow, flickering light. He startles, his gaze fixed on one of the nearest mirrors as flames lick against the glass as if viewed through a window.
He is transfixed.
The fire slowly fades away, revealing a scene of horrible destruction. A city, his city, in flames as citizens fled the Raven's minions under driving red rain. It has gone on this way for days, he knows that. Gone on for days because he had not been allowed outside. The mirror shows the scene as from Siegfried's own eyes, bobbing and weaving as his past self speeds through the streets, carried on a horse he'd sneaked away from the stables, to meet the Raven outside the city wall. He sees one of the beaked monsters lurch toward a staggering man and draws his sword too late to deter it. The man is caught, the monster plunges its blade-sharp beak into his chest, and Siegfried's horse speeds on. All around him, many of his people meet the same fate.
Siegfried can only watch, silent and wide-eyed, his knees slowly losing strength.]]
((OOC : Oh, God, I really went into the madness place with this post. It gets longer still, but that will only happen once someone replies. First come, first served for bringing him home. Once they're out of the house, anyone can intercept them and ask why Siegfried is a gibbering mess.))