IX. audio [dated to sunrise]

[aslandish]

[ And so it is, that at dawn on the 21st of December, a familiar Song rings out, breaking the stillness with a resonant light. It dips and soars, an earthy sound that speaks of towering mountains and rolling hills, of leafy columns and golden shores, of beginnings and so much else

Comments

[madeinoblivion]

[His heart skips for a moment, and then- Dare he? Pure elation?]

Aslan!

You're alive! I knew you couldn't be gone, that you'd come back!

[audio]

[aslandish]

[ Though the other cannot see it, Aslan smiles at the greeting. ]

There are many who have died, Joe Fieldman. [ Somehow, his voice seems deeper and richer than ever before. ] Myself included.

[ And yet- ]

Where light and hope remain, there I shall be also.

[audio]

[madeinoblivion]

But you came back! I told Terra you couldn't stay gone. That you're too strong for the darkness.

[audio]

[aslandish]

My purpose is not yet ended.

The darkness will not always stay.

reaction (1/2) (Sorta accidental prayer)

[makes_asteroids]

[His first thought, his very first thought, is "Oh thank you. For Lucifer's sake, thank you," because there was very little that would ever dull that afternoon in his mind, and how much Lucifer had been hurting.]

Voice (2/2)

[makes_asteroids]

Welcome back, as much as this place is welcome.

Voice

[aslandish]

It is a place like any other.

[ Though this world may seem bleak to many, Aslan sees the good along with all the bad. ]

I am not saddened to return.

Re: Voice

[makes_asteroids]

[It's not bleak, it's a prison.]

I am glad for that then.

permavideo

[doeswhathewants]

[He can feel this creature in a way that frightens and fascinates him. It's not the overt warlike nature of the Allfather, at least.]

What...who...

permaaudio

[aslandish]

[ His presence is like sunlight, a beacon shining forth that will never truly dim. ]

My name is Aslan.

permavideo

[doeswhathewants]

[Light always draws darkness. And Loki was darkness. Evil. Chaos and destruction. He's afraid of that light even in his want to be near it. Afraid of the want to be in it, around it, afraid of being rejected by it.]

Aslan. [An undercurrent of wonderment to pronunciation of that name.] What are you? [It's a feeble question when he already has an idea.]

[aslandish]

[ Though light is mostly his providence, he well understands the meaning of balance. It was his Voice in the Beginning, after all, that first separated light and dark. ]

I am a Maker.

[ Simply, and without embellishment, to be interpreted as the other wishes. ]

action;

[kingofrooks]

[ He sees the video, but he doesn't reply. It's always a shame to speak to Aslan over these things; it's impossible to feel his presence, his warmth, and his strength.

But Bruce knows he's here, he's back, and he moves. He goes to Sector Seven, leaning against the gates and looking out at the lush green in front of him, the forests with their clean, crisp air, the bite of winter's chill visible on the edge of the grasses, on the tips of the leaves.

He doesn't say a word. He doesn't catch Aslan's attention. He knows that Aslan will come to him when He wishes, and he'll know that Bruce is waiting. He will come, and that knowledge, that reassurance- is all that Bruce needs. ]

action;

[aslandish]

[ He does know, and he comes in his own time. His pace unhurried, his steps all but silent despite those terrible paws, eventually he appears, a great golden shape padding across the field. Though he is unchanged, he seems brighter somehow, as though death itself only served to make him more vibrant.

He looks at Bruce, and there is an invitation in those fathomless eyes, unspoken but undeniably there. ]

action;

[kingofrooks]

[ He looks up at the sight, and the feeling of relief and light that floods him is too great is too great to be denied. Though he is less of a fool nowadays, and he does not try to. He only stands up, rocking back and forth on his heels before he moves forward, closer to Aslan.

It makes him feel like a child to do this, but he reaches out nonetheless, falling to his knees. His arms wrapping around the great head, burying his face into his mane. He breathes out shakily, and when he inhales it is like breathing in light itself, chasing the corners of darkness that still remain- that has multiplied since yesterday night.

His voice almost shakes. ]

You have been missed.

[ Perhaps it's a way of stating the obvious, but Bruce has never been particularly good at stating what he wants. This is easier. ]

action;

[aslandish]

[ He watches and says nothing, solemn and knowing as the other gasps his mane, holding tight as though he expects him to disappear. He won't, of course -- not here, not now or for the foreseeable future -- but it reminds him of the grief his absence causes, the concerns he expressed to Didi when she came to take him away.

The city has not been kind.

Nuzzling him a little, he leaves a whiskery lion kiss on Bruce's cheek. ]

I know.

[ voice ]

[underachieves]

[He normally avoids Aslan. All the concepts surrounding the lion are unsettling and deeply frustrating, being for some reason far more difficult to understand than Death - who Shikamaru recognized and accepted immediately. But because Aslan apparently died preventing an event that might have destroyed everyone, Shikamaru feels he should say... something.

Which, awkwardly, ends up being:]

Good.

[ voice ]

[aslandish]

[ A sound not unlike waves breaking over the seashore is audible in the background.

Though he does not answer, the feed continues -- expectant.

He is listening. ]

[ voice ]

[underachieves]

[Yeah, that was so stupid he may as well have not bothered turning his NV on. He takes a breath and huffs out:]

I mean... Glad you came back.

They missed you.

[ voice ]

[aslandish]

[ A pause before he speaks. Then, with quiet warmth- ]

As I missed them.