Post by Lone Dancer on Jun 1, 2022 1:35:11 GMT
[Characters belong to Tali, Aet'Null exists in neutral state]
Bean prowled through the forest, each step carefully thought out to make nary a sound among the foliage. In her sights was her prey, a peacefully grazing doe. Sunlight drifting down from the canopy, she stuck to the shadows, despite her pale complexion rendering it an almost moot point.
Limbs lengthening, Bean prepared to strike, muscles ready. As she was about to snap forward, the deer peacefully trotted off, leaving Bean to awkwardly catch herself among the leaves and moss that dotted the forest floor. Stomach growling, she gritted her teeth and sneaked after the deer.
The doe arrived somewhat swiftly to its destination. It was a small grove, a ring of pinkish-grey trees that towered above the others. The foliage was particularly thick here, and Bean found it hard to even find her feet.
She couldn’t help but take note of the sweet scent in the air. It was disarming, which only made her wary. Niha’s odd obsession with potion crafting, especially of that which altered the mind, had the side effect of a rather potent resistance to charm effects. Because despite all that, she had a faux-feeling of safety in this grove.
Pulled from her thoughts, Bean realized she couldn’t see the deer anymore. Which only drove up her concern. Glancing all over, she didn’t spot anything through the thicket. The sudden silence didn’t help with her unease either.
“Greetings, little changeling. Welcome to my Grove.” A voice that embodied creaking branches and rustling leaves spoke from a direction Bean couldn’t pinpoint. Swiveling her head around, she stumbled back a bit once she found herself face to face with… something.
A long snaking branch, with a humanoid at the end of it. Green bark composed its “skin” and it had glowing lichen for eyes and a smile that looked like a child drew it. The more Bean stared, the more vaguely it began to look like her.
Composing herself from earlier startle, she cleared her throat. “Uh, hello there?” This was quite outside her comfort zone, and all her instincts screamed danger at her. And something, or rather someone found themselves riling back to conscious inside Bean’s mind.
“I apologize if I startled you, changeling.” It sighed, leaning closer to Bean, its body suspended off the ground. It tilted its head as if in consideration.
“What brings you here? This is not a safe place. No, not at all.” The latter half seemed more of musings to itself rather than conversation directed at Bean.
She carefully began to edge away, but stopped when the entity focused on her.
“Leaving so soon? Please, I must request that stay a bit, entertain me with some proper conversation. It’s been far too long since the last…” Bean realized she didn’t have a choice as there was distinctly no exits from Grove now, every previous opening clambered with thick flora. Even the canopy appeared thicker. The main source of light was now from glowing lichen that speckled like suns and stars.
A fantastical location, if Bean didn’t feel like she was trapped in the maw of some massive beast. Something rustled, and Bean noticed the almost corpselike individuals ‘resting’ in the grasses, nearby the base of the many trees. Almost utterly still, and wraithly thin, only the faintest breathing the barest sign of life.
The roots that crawled in through the ears and nostrils of these sorry folk made Bean feel quite uncomfortable. The entity wanted her to see this, and the message was crystal clear. Entertain it, or join them.
“Aren’t my Dreamers pretty?” It mumbled in its rustling voice. Bean nodded, letting out a strained “yes”.
“Say, we haven’t had proper introduction. Let us fix that. I am Aet’Null. Can I have your name?”
The specific phrasing of that latter sentence sent off a different sent of alarm bells for Bean. As a changeling, she was familiar with magic, or at least some of it. And that latter sentence was bogged down with extremely potent and wild magic.
“I’m sorry Aet’Null, I cannot give you my name. But I can tell you it is Bean.” Crisis averted. Hopefully.
The glowing lichen that made up Aet’Null’s smile dipped into a frown, but shot back up to smiling once again.
“Clever changeling. I see you know the elder rules. Very good. It might even mean you can survive the deeper parts of this forest.”
“Deeper parts?” Bean was willing to latch onto anything. She was rather horrendous at casual conversation. If you wanted to call this casual- but such chatter was more… Niha’s thing. Unpleasant feelings arrived at the mention of her name.
“Ah, new to here, aren’t you. Well, this is the Deep Forest, or at least how it is known in Common. I’m not going to bog you down with details or we’ll be here for hours, which I don’t mind, but I think you would. But in simplest terms, the Deep Forest can be stumbled upon if you find a Node or a Gate. Such as here.” Bean could just hear the capitalization on Node and Gate. The emphasis on those words were strange.
“This Grove, is a Gate?”
“Yes, and I’m its Gatekeeper.”
“So there is others like you?”
“With the role of Gatekeeper, yes. As for I specifically, I’m rather unique. Or we, if we want to get technical, but normal minds aren’t suited to consider such things well.”
Bean was silent, but she only had so long. She had to think of something. Anything.
Gods damn it just let me take the reigns.
The clarity of Niha’s voice was alarming, and so was the searing sensation that burned at Bean’s limbs. Aet’Null swiftly noticed something was off.
“Are you okay, changeling?”
“No-”
“In fact I’m doing out-Standing!” Niha belted out, with a bow. Already she was in perfomative mode.
“Niha, at your service.” She reached out a human colored hand, instead of the just awful pale white Bean had. Aet’Null took the invitation and chuckled.
“You amuse me. Because of that I will spare you your verbal slip-up.”
“Oh, how generous you are, Aet’Null.”
“I consider not turning you into my living puppet a tad more than generous.” With those words, Niha was reminded what she was facing off with. A creature of the forest, where words held power. Mentally she bashed herself, but outwardly she merely gritted her teeth and continued on.
“Yes, my mistake. I was wrong to not recognize that.”
Aet’Null nodded with a creak.
“Anywho~, I am curious, who are they?” Niha pointed to the sleeping individuals, so withered away no feature was identifiable. Aet’Null slithered over to them, now hovering over the various bodies instead of Niha.
“Ah, these are my Dreamers. Special folk who spend their final moments entertaining me, and in return I offer the most wonderful dreams, tailored just for them.” Aet’Null began to point to each.
“She desired wealth and power, so now she dreams of being the Golden Queen. He desired to see the world, now he explores the most mystical and fantastic of realms. He wished to become a great mage, now he dreams of being greater than the Archmages of these lands. He… we don’t talk about his dreams in civilized areas. She wanted to be a florist,-” and so Aet’Null prattled on.
After a long winded bout, describing the many dreams and wants of its victims, Aet’Null turned to Niha once more.
“Say, what is your dream?”
Normally Niha would excitedly bash on about her desire to be world famous, to be loved by all. However she didn’t quite want it fulfilled with Aet’Null’s… methods. So she used a simpler answer instead.
“I do not want to be forgotten.”
Aet’Null paused, creaking over Niha. More than ever, they looked like her, only with no legs, and made from green bark. Even the eye shape and grin were eerily similar. It was like looking at a woodlands edition of a fun house mirror.
“A curious dream. But one I understand. Move along little human, perhaps you and I are not so different. I give you a gift then. Do not worry, Niha. I will not forget you.”
She found her eyes itchy until it was unbearable to not blink, so she did. When she opened them again, she was distinctly outside the Grove. She was now near the edge of the woods. She pat herself all over to make sure everything was intact and there was no roots inside her ears or nose.
She swiftly noticed the wooden bracelet around her wrist. It was snug, and Niha had the feeling she would not be able to take it off. She didn’t know how to feel about Aet’Null’s last words. Whether it was a positive or negative thing that it would not forget her.
“I thank you for your gift” she spoke out into the wind. It only felt proper. Besides, no need to anger the magic tree thing with the brain roots. Perhaps she imagined it, but the trees rustled approvingly.
Well, that was quite the encounter, but it wasn’t going to stop Niha from achieving her dreams. As she ambled along the road, following a random path, she couldn’t help but wonder, why her answer of not being forgotten felt true.
Bean prowled through the forest, each step carefully thought out to make nary a sound among the foliage. In her sights was her prey, a peacefully grazing doe. Sunlight drifting down from the canopy, she stuck to the shadows, despite her pale complexion rendering it an almost moot point.
Limbs lengthening, Bean prepared to strike, muscles ready. As she was about to snap forward, the deer peacefully trotted off, leaving Bean to awkwardly catch herself among the leaves and moss that dotted the forest floor. Stomach growling, she gritted her teeth and sneaked after the deer.
The doe arrived somewhat swiftly to its destination. It was a small grove, a ring of pinkish-grey trees that towered above the others. The foliage was particularly thick here, and Bean found it hard to even find her feet.
She couldn’t help but take note of the sweet scent in the air. It was disarming, which only made her wary. Niha’s odd obsession with potion crafting, especially of that which altered the mind, had the side effect of a rather potent resistance to charm effects. Because despite all that, she had a faux-feeling of safety in this grove.
Pulled from her thoughts, Bean realized she couldn’t see the deer anymore. Which only drove up her concern. Glancing all over, she didn’t spot anything through the thicket. The sudden silence didn’t help with her unease either.
“Greetings, little changeling. Welcome to my Grove.” A voice that embodied creaking branches and rustling leaves spoke from a direction Bean couldn’t pinpoint. Swiveling her head around, she stumbled back a bit once she found herself face to face with… something.
A long snaking branch, with a humanoid at the end of it. Green bark composed its “skin” and it had glowing lichen for eyes and a smile that looked like a child drew it. The more Bean stared, the more vaguely it began to look like her.
Composing herself from earlier startle, she cleared her throat. “Uh, hello there?” This was quite outside her comfort zone, and all her instincts screamed danger at her. And something, or rather someone found themselves riling back to conscious inside Bean’s mind.
“I apologize if I startled you, changeling.” It sighed, leaning closer to Bean, its body suspended off the ground. It tilted its head as if in consideration.
“What brings you here? This is not a safe place. No, not at all.” The latter half seemed more of musings to itself rather than conversation directed at Bean.
She carefully began to edge away, but stopped when the entity focused on her.
“Leaving so soon? Please, I must request that stay a bit, entertain me with some proper conversation. It’s been far too long since the last…” Bean realized she didn’t have a choice as there was distinctly no exits from Grove now, every previous opening clambered with thick flora. Even the canopy appeared thicker. The main source of light was now from glowing lichen that speckled like suns and stars.
A fantastical location, if Bean didn’t feel like she was trapped in the maw of some massive beast. Something rustled, and Bean noticed the almost corpselike individuals ‘resting’ in the grasses, nearby the base of the many trees. Almost utterly still, and wraithly thin, only the faintest breathing the barest sign of life.
The roots that crawled in through the ears and nostrils of these sorry folk made Bean feel quite uncomfortable. The entity wanted her to see this, and the message was crystal clear. Entertain it, or join them.
“Aren’t my Dreamers pretty?” It mumbled in its rustling voice. Bean nodded, letting out a strained “yes”.
“Say, we haven’t had proper introduction. Let us fix that. I am Aet’Null. Can I have your name?”
The specific phrasing of that latter sentence sent off a different sent of alarm bells for Bean. As a changeling, she was familiar with magic, or at least some of it. And that latter sentence was bogged down with extremely potent and wild magic.
“I’m sorry Aet’Null, I cannot give you my name. But I can tell you it is Bean.” Crisis averted. Hopefully.
The glowing lichen that made up Aet’Null’s smile dipped into a frown, but shot back up to smiling once again.
“Clever changeling. I see you know the elder rules. Very good. It might even mean you can survive the deeper parts of this forest.”
“Deeper parts?” Bean was willing to latch onto anything. She was rather horrendous at casual conversation. If you wanted to call this casual- but such chatter was more… Niha’s thing. Unpleasant feelings arrived at the mention of her name.
“Ah, new to here, aren’t you. Well, this is the Deep Forest, or at least how it is known in Common. I’m not going to bog you down with details or we’ll be here for hours, which I don’t mind, but I think you would. But in simplest terms, the Deep Forest can be stumbled upon if you find a Node or a Gate. Such as here.” Bean could just hear the capitalization on Node and Gate. The emphasis on those words were strange.
“This Grove, is a Gate?”
“Yes, and I’m its Gatekeeper.”
“So there is others like you?”
“With the role of Gatekeeper, yes. As for I specifically, I’m rather unique. Or we, if we want to get technical, but normal minds aren’t suited to consider such things well.”
Bean was silent, but she only had so long. She had to think of something. Anything.
Gods damn it just let me take the reigns.
The clarity of Niha’s voice was alarming, and so was the searing sensation that burned at Bean’s limbs. Aet’Null swiftly noticed something was off.
“Are you okay, changeling?”
“No-”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“In fact I’m doing out-Standing!” Niha belted out, with a bow. Already she was in perfomative mode.
“Niha, at your service.” She reached out a human colored hand, instead of the just awful pale white Bean had. Aet’Null took the invitation and chuckled.
“You amuse me. Because of that I will spare you your verbal slip-up.”
“Oh, how generous you are, Aet’Null.”
“I consider not turning you into my living puppet a tad more than generous.” With those words, Niha was reminded what she was facing off with. A creature of the forest, where words held power. Mentally she bashed herself, but outwardly she merely gritted her teeth and continued on.
“Yes, my mistake. I was wrong to not recognize that.”
Aet’Null nodded with a creak.
“Anywho~, I am curious, who are they?” Niha pointed to the sleeping individuals, so withered away no feature was identifiable. Aet’Null slithered over to them, now hovering over the various bodies instead of Niha.
“Ah, these are my Dreamers. Special folk who spend their final moments entertaining me, and in return I offer the most wonderful dreams, tailored just for them.” Aet’Null began to point to each.
“She desired wealth and power, so now she dreams of being the Golden Queen. He desired to see the world, now he explores the most mystical and fantastic of realms. He wished to become a great mage, now he dreams of being greater than the Archmages of these lands. He… we don’t talk about his dreams in civilized areas. She wanted to be a florist,-” and so Aet’Null prattled on.
After a long winded bout, describing the many dreams and wants of its victims, Aet’Null turned to Niha once more.
“Say, what is your dream?”
Normally Niha would excitedly bash on about her desire to be world famous, to be loved by all. However she didn’t quite want it fulfilled with Aet’Null’s… methods. So she used a simpler answer instead.
“I do not want to be forgotten.”
Aet’Null paused, creaking over Niha. More than ever, they looked like her, only with no legs, and made from green bark. Even the eye shape and grin were eerily similar. It was like looking at a woodlands edition of a fun house mirror.
“A curious dream. But one I understand. Move along little human, perhaps you and I are not so different. I give you a gift then. Do not worry, Niha. I will not forget you.”
She found her eyes itchy until it was unbearable to not blink, so she did. When she opened them again, she was distinctly outside the Grove. She was now near the edge of the woods. She pat herself all over to make sure everything was intact and there was no roots inside her ears or nose.
She swiftly noticed the wooden bracelet around her wrist. It was snug, and Niha had the feeling she would not be able to take it off. She didn’t know how to feel about Aet’Null’s last words. Whether it was a positive or negative thing that it would not forget her.
“I thank you for your gift” she spoke out into the wind. It only felt proper. Besides, no need to anger the magic tree thing with the brain roots. Perhaps she imagined it, but the trees rustled approvingly.
Well, that was quite the encounter, but it wasn’t going to stop Niha from achieving her dreams. As she ambled along the road, following a random path, she couldn’t help but wonder, why her answer of not being forgotten felt true.