the Rift


[PRIVATE] The Tree Knows, Too [ISOPIA]

Random Event Posts: 1,286
Helovian Ancient
Stallion :: Equine :: ::
#1


The dry leaves sing an eerie staccato as the Orangemoon wind tousles them.  The grove of white oaks, which are tall and old, even by a tree’s standards, encircle a weathered, handsome tree. While it is more slender, and certainly not as proudly tall as its comrades, this elegant tree certainly stands out.  Perhaps it is that its leaves have not yet become fully crimson and gold, and are still tinged with the bright emerald of summer, and the lemony greens of spring, or just that it is smaller than the others…

Or, perhaps, it is just because the tree truly is unlike the rest.

Encircled about its base are weary flowers, their soft crowns drooping almost morosely into the minimal and sun baked grass below.  All about the tree is a ringed clearing, some three meters, and not a bloom remains but those about the reaching roots of the oak.  Its trunk is bent in such a graceful way that it is as if it was frozen mid-dance, or as if some unseen hand had gently pushed it over.  From its branches, an occasional leaf dances down to the forest floor.

When approached, the tree seems to rattle and move without wind.  Two gnarled knots pop open and reveal eyes, and a hollow in the middle of the trunk unleashes a long, weary yawn.  Blinking sleep away, having not awoken in many, many years, the tree reaches her branches up and about in a flurry of sound, leaves more readily flooding down from above.  She has a task to do, and, with the cold coming so soon, she’d rather get it over with, and go back to sleep.

"Isopia," the living tree calls, the rattle of her branches and leaves forming the sound of the daughter of the Earth’s name.  The magic of the tree carries that sound down to her roots, into the roots of neighboring trees, entwined among her own.  Through those roots to the next the summons travels, searching all across Helovia for the demi-Goddess.  Wherever Isopia is when the magic finds her, the trees begin to dance and sing her name, gently directing her towards the living tree in the grove of oaks with their enchanting dance.

[The trees about Isopia begin to move without wind, the sound of their branches seeming to call her name.  Will she follow their gestures to the clearing of the magic tree?

This thread is for Isopia, and those she invites, only!
]



Isopia the Mountain That Knows Posts: 780
Dragon's Throat Apostle atk: 6.5 | def: 10 | dam: 8.0
Mare :: Tribrid :: 18hh :: 3 - is now aging slowly HP: 90 | Buff: NUMB
Hubris :: Royal Bronze Dragon :: Shock Breath & Frost Breath & Babel :: Royal Gold Dragon :: Fire Breath Odd
#2

@Zekle can join! :D and omg that was such a beautifully written post ;-;

The demi-goddess had stayed rather close to her small friend in the days since she found him, still partially wounded in the woods. She told herself that it was simply because she wanted to ensure his safety and to make sure that no further harm came to him - but deep down, it was really because she wanted a friend. Needed a friend. Anyone else with even an ounce more emotional intelligence than she possessed would likely have just articulated this reason. What else were friends for, if not to say, can you just stay with me a while? But of course, such phrases were not in Isopia's vocabulary, no matter how obvious they were to her subconscious mind and secretive heart.

Today the pair were wandering and wondering about the world. Zero's seemingly endless string of questions was like a symphony to Isopia's ears. She listened happily, answering when she could, and philosophizing with him about the hows and the whys of the world.

Were there skywhales? The theory of probability said that anything which was possible would necessarily happen, on a long enough timeline. And certainly in a world bursting with magic, skywhales seemed possible. The real question was whether or not the pair would find them. Isopia had found her name with the help of a whale, with Zero in tow once. Perhaps fate would intervene again and they would meet a skywhale.

What about a starwhale? Maybe that too.

Isopia..

Suddenly the demi-goddess came to an abrupt halt, the smile that was previously on her lips faltering slightly. Had she been with anyone else, she would have cringed at having her name said out loud, but as it was, Zero was the only one who was allowed to call her by her real name, her thoughts were focused instead on who or what it was which was calling to her.

Her golden eyes turned towards the trees, whose leaves and branches seemed to be whispering her name. "Did you-" hear that, she was going to say, but the look on his face answered the question before she had even finished it.

Driven by curiosity, the two friends set off deeper into the Rotunda, following the whispered path that the trees had left for them. Isopia wondered if this wasn't her Father, pulling her away to give her more instructions or clarity surrounding her recent promotion to Falls Czarina. But why the cloak and dagger stuff, why not merely make his presence known to her? The Mountain stopped abruptly again, just inside of the ring of dancing trees encircling the tree which was now seemingly coming to life. Isopia's face was its usual mask of clerical academic interest, but inside, a wellspring of intrigue and curiosity had erupted. Her golden gaze watched as the tree seemed to yawn amidst its dancing brethren.

Hubris, ever the optimist and more polite of the pair, flew forward. His bronzey body landed near the base of the tree, and his bright blue stare rose up to try and peer into the dark sockets that appeared to be the eyes of the tree itself. He trilled a bright hello, waving one small clawed hand.

"Was it you who called to me?" The demi-goddess asked, her tone reserved but uncharacteristically coated in eagerness and delight.

Isopia
Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.
Image Credits

Abandon all hope, ye who enter here

Zèklè Posts: 166
Outcast atk: 8.0 | def: 10 | dam: 3.5
Colt :: Pegasus :: 14.1 :: Three HP: 67 | Buff: NOVICE
charks
#3
You're a queen and I'm a lion-heart
"Whadda'bout whales that live inside the earth? Maybe they move around sometimes, an' that's what causes earthquakes."

At this point you pretty much use whale as an easy sub-in for something large, mysterious, powerful, and all around awesome. Iso doesn't seem to mind. She never seems to mind your endless stream of questions about the world, and you in turn never mind her answers, as inconclusive as they may sometimes be. Once upon a time you would have been bothered by this - why can't we know for sure? It either is that way, or it isn't! - but now it doesn't perturb you as much, and you're able to accept the grey areas of uncertainty with minimal distress. This could be due to the influence of Isopia and Sjal, or perhaps it's a result of your recent brushes with death.

Or maybe you're just growing up. But let's be honest, that's probably the least likely answer.

You're happy to keep your friend company - more than happy, in fact. The demigoddes is not the only one who is haunted by a need for companionship, and you follow in her wake like a cheerful, chattering shadow. (So nothing like a shadow, really. But you get the general gist.) Something's wrong with her - something's been wrong for a while, and so you distract yourself from your own darkness by trying to chase off hers. You're a hero, after all, a knight in shining armor - Zero the Badass, lover of princesses, slayer of beasts!

(Except when they try to slay you, and almost do, and everything is dark and everything is pain and you're drowning, drowning, drowning, as a monster grins through a mouthful of blood-)

NO! You've fallen behind now, lost in your flashback. It infuriates you when this happens, but there seems to be little you can do, so you swallow tightly and blink the shadows from your face, before hurrying to catch up with your friend. Your voice is bright as you call toward the mare, though your eyes stay trained on the surrounding trees.

"Hey, after this d'ya wanna go to the beach Iso-"

'-pia'.

That wasn't your voice.

You skirt around your mountainous friend, ears raised high, face turned to the forest - but it's wonder that fills it now, and curiosity, not fear. Sunbeam eyes meet molten gold, and you don't have to speak. Of course you're going to investigate the talking trees. Was there ever another option? Really?

You follow the voices into the woods, not stopping until you come to a great ring of dancing trees. Dancing. Trees. For a second you can only stare, flummoxed and amazed, your mouth hanging open and amazement in your eyes. You've never heard of anything like this before! Wait until you tell Ma and Sparky and the girls! Desperately you try to soak it all in, your head spinning (literally) as your gaze darts from dancing tree to dancing tree. "Wow!" you exhale, for once at an utter loss for words.  "Wow!"

You follow Isopia into the grove, your bouncy, limpy gait a ridiculous contrast to her stately stride. You stare at the tree through sunbeam eyes, trying and failing to understand what on earth is actually going on - but you're okay with that. You're okay with this, and you're more than okay with the way Iso's voice lights up and grows soft as she addresses the tree, a rare edge of emotion in it that a stranger may have taken for granted, or thought to be quite normal given the circumstances, but to you...

Well, frankly, hearing Isopia so happy is beautiful.

This is not an adjective you've applied to your (strong, brave, smart, loyal, thoughtful, empathetic, adventurous, enabling) friend before, and for a second it takes you aback. Your cheeks flush, but you don't know why - and quickly, before she can see you (oh gods don't let her look) you turn back to the tree, and babble the first thing that comes to your mind.

"You can talk! Can all trees talk? I bet you've got a lot of really interestin' stuff to say. What's your name?"

Word vomit, everywhere. Great recovery. Real smooth, kid.
image credits

Random Event Posts: 1,286
Helovian Ancient
Stallion :: Equine :: ::
#4


The Daughter of the Earth comes, but not alone; beneath their hooves as they rush to follow the beckoning branches and whisper of the wind, the roots send word of Zèklè’s presence. The tree, having been alone for many years, finds she does not mind the additional company, even if he was more boisterous than most.

Even when they boy leaps into her clearing and blurts out with vivacious delight at the sight of her, the tree finds she can only smile. The disturbance of the clearing’s usual, and almost perfect, silence is welcome; as the sound of the tree guides still, the oak’s branches begin to gently sway in greeting. Strangely silent, even with the faint kiss of a breeze whispering through the woods, the other trees about the living oak are still as towering sculptures.

The dragon’s descent is trailed by one of the tree’s branches, his small, waving palm gently brushed by a single sunbeam rimmed leaf. The eyes of the oak, however, are warm, and held on Isopia, though Zèklè’s incoming barrage of well intentioned questions certainly add an air of mirth to what little expression a tree’s face can make.

"Yes," answers the tree through the sound of her branches, the surrounding trees aiding, a gentle essence of laughter rolling beneath the strangely formed words, "to your dear friend’s questions, as well. You may call me what you wish."

Her true name could only be spoken by wind and branch, by the Earth itself. Though Isopia was the daughter of the living oak’s creator, she was ultimately mortal, as well. What either of them named her was of little importance, because the living tree knows that, eventually, she will be the only one to remember they had ever named her at all.

"You look as He does," she remarks of the Earth’s daughter, the tree seeing in her painted figure the lines and strength of the God she loves most of all. But that is no matter… "How fares your kingdom, Czarina?"



@Isopia @Zekle

Isopia the Mountain That Knows Posts: 780
Dragon's Throat Apostle atk: 6.5 | def: 10 | dam: 8.0
Mare :: Tribrid :: 18hh :: 3 - is now aging slowly HP: 90 | Buff: NUMB
Hubris :: Royal Bronze Dragon :: Shock Breath & Frost Breath & Babel :: Royal Gold Dragon :: Fire Breath Odd
#5

Despite the fact that Isopia was trying to focus on the tree currently addressing her, she couldn't help the way the corners of her mouth tugged outwards as a smile tried to force itself onto her face. Zero was always so full of curiosity, and despite all that life had thrown his way, he wasn't afraid to give a voice to the rising plume of questions that always seemed to be churning inside of him. And, for all of Isopia's self-proclaimed emotionlessness, she loved that about him.

The demi-goddess's golden stare roamed over the tree with gentle awe. The fibres of the earth continued to race up her legs, covering her long limbs in mosses and grasses. Despite this earthen magic, Isopia would never appear as the tree did - so wholly rooted into the world. Even if she remained perfectly still, she would still be flesh and bone coated in dirt and grass. She would never be of it though.

You look as He does- This observation caught the Mountain off guard, and for a moment the docile look on her face tightened as tension and misunderstanding raced through her eyes. Other than her incredible height, she hadn't thought she had inherited anything from her Father. Though, upon further reflection, perhaps it was something inside that the tree was referring to? After all, it wouldn't surprise her in the least to know that the tree was privy to more than just what her eyes could tell her. She was connected to the earth after all.

My Kingdom, Isopia mused silently to herself. And what was that? Was she not here to bring balance to all of Helovia? But, her ever academic mind supplied the answer: had the tree not just addressed her as Czarina? Surely that limited the scope to her immediate (and new) responsibility to the Hidden Falls. "As He said-" Isopia didn't bother to introduce who the He was. Of course the tree would know that it was her Father. "- we need to move and grow. So it shall be. Much in the same way a forest might grow stronger and more healthy after an inferno knocks away that which is dry and already dead, so too we look to remove what has become stagnant in favour of that which is green and more supple." Her quad-horned skull bowed slightly, and she wondered if this tree hadn't merely called her here for a status report. Was this her Father's way of distancing himself from her? To prove that nepotism wasn't the root of her promotion?

She cast a golden eye almost nervously towards Zero. He didn't know of what she had become - they were merely friends, and though she would tell Zero anything if he asked, telling him that she had become a czarina seemed so ... inappropriate for their relationship.

"The herd needs to learn how to act as a whole. I have an idea for how to accomplish it." A small smile appeared on her lips now, for despite her lack of experience with leading a herd, she did think they would find her plan to their liking. But time would tell - and so the demigoddess spread her wings with her feathers spread apart, to display this conclusion.

Isopia
Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.
Image Credits

Abandon all hope, ye who enter here

Zèklè Posts: 166
Outcast atk: 8.0 | def: 10 | dam: 3.5
Colt :: Pegasus :: 14.1 :: Three HP: 67 | Buff: NOVICE
charks
#6
You're a queen and I'm a lion-heart
The tree laughs, and smiles. Kind of. If you turn your head and squint real hard you can see the mirth in those old, weathered lines, although to be completely fair you may well be projecting - it is, after all, a tree. Still, you find this encouraging. The forest giant does not chastise you for your curiosity, nor grow angry with your boisterous youth (though to be fair, few things really do, and those that have generally had a previous reason for being pissed off that had nothing to do with you and your actions). It offers an answer, even, though perhaps not a very satisfying one. If all trees can talk, why don't they talk more often? Your Ma once said trees were the oldest things alive in the world. They must have seen an awful lot. You cannot fathom living that long, without managing to find many, many things to say.

And how on earth are you supposed to name a tree, especially one you've only just met?

But before you can voice this new train of questions, the tree is speaking again, directly to Isopia (which, to be fair, it pretty much always was - you just hadn't really noticed before now). You turn affectionate eyes to your friend, only the slightest remnant of that unfortunate blush at the corner of your neck, ears raised eagerly to catch whatever the tree might have to say. You're ready for anything - praise, a story, a gift, a riddle. Whatever. You're ready.

Then the tree names her Czarina, and you are not ready for that.

It isn't that you're surprised she's the queen of the Falls now. You don't see her differently because of it - you've had, like, four Sultanas, and your Da has been Sultan for as long as you can remember. You grew up viewing royalty as normal people with more stress and obligations. No, it's not that she is Czarina that stops you short - it's that she, your best friend, didn't tell you about it. Why? Why would she keep that for you, when it was so important and exciting? Why did she feel like she had to hide it from you?

Come to think of it, there's a lot of things Isopia doesn't tell you. You don't know what they are (obviously), but you know they exist, and over time it's begun to bother you. Oh, you know Iso is secretive - she doesn't even tell most people her name. But that's not you. That's other people. You certainly tell her everything (though in her defense you tell everyone everything, idiot). Does she not trust you?

Are you even friends?

It's a stupid train of thought, and part of you knows that. If it hadn't been for all the things that happened to you recently you wouldn't even think it. But those things did happen, and now as you watch Isopia talk to the tree you're a little uncertain, a little insecure. What else is she not telling you? What happened when you went off hunting for your Ma? Did she get hurt? Or just make new friends? Bigger, stronger friends?

A boyfriend?

You're not what bothers you more: the idea that something bad happened to Isopia, the idea that you weren't there to support her through it, or the idea that maybe someone else did.

You bite your lip and contemplate, uncharacteristically introspective, as your best friend continues her conversation with a tree.
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Random Event Posts: 1,286
Helovian Ancient
Stallion :: Equine :: ::
#7


It surprises the tree to realize that Isopia had been keeping secrets from her best of friends as much as it does Zero; from his sudden, uncharacteristic silence, to the almost apologetic glance from Isopia, the oak has been around long enough to know the signs of mortal closeness that, in truth, was as distant as she was from the Sun’s filling light. So was the way of mortals, she had learned, each their own separate seed. No matter where they went, or from what sort of being they’d fallen, they remained encased in hard shells that made them irreparably lonesome individuals.

Seeds, like mortals, care little for aspirations to grow roots and become one with those around them. The only difference, as the oak had learned, was that the seeds never claimed to be concerned with growing at all, and that, interestingly, mortals seemed to fret over what sort of tree they might become, almost as much as they did where to plant themselves.

Though the Earth’s girl was slowly becoming encased in blooms and mosses, her temporary permanence in the clearing was still just a step away from ending; something about the illusion, however, was enchanting, especially now that the tree was looking upon it with her own eyes, and not spying through her roots. While Isopia wasn’t eternal like the mountains or trees, and was certainly lonesome within her mortal bindings, the oak would have it no other way. The distance between each of the God’s wandering creations paired with their constant search for the best place to root is what made them interesting. What made Isopia interesting, aside from her lineage and her seed’s nature, was that she, in particular, seemed to be more alone than most within an impossibly thick shell.

Even her answers are guarded, with only a single sentence derived from her own heart, the rest borrowed from the wisdom of her sire. The imagery, however, is something the living tree understands. Warmth rises in her spirit as she thinks of her friends, tall and proud about her, and how, once, they had been new and small, rising from the ashes of their ancestors. She hopes Isopia, too, can be the mother of a proud clearing, as much like a clearing, anyway, as meandering mortals could be.

"Why doesn’t Zèklè know of these plans?" is the next question the tree procures; the oak’s age has lent her a certain bluntness that sends her crashing through the polite dances of conversation. Besides, she can feel the world growing colder around the roots of the northern pines, a distant lullaby of a sensation that urges her to sleep. "He would help you, as would your other friends. Secrecy only serves its keeper."

Or is it that boy? The one with the white face and the burning gaze, and his earthen magic? The tree does not understand love, at least not in the romantic sense. Her partners surround her by the thousands, and she chooses no single one over the other. She’d not loved a single one more than she loved any other living thing, and her children stood watch over acres across miles; yet, because of love, Isopia’s only bloom was nestled among the nurturing roots of the forests of Helovia. Perhaps her ability to trust others had been buried with her own shattering of its rigid, golden promises that day…

These are mortal concepts, a seed’s thoughts, which the tree cannot understand, even though she tries.



@Isopia @Zekle

Isopia the Mountain That Knows Posts: 780
Dragon's Throat Apostle atk: 6.5 | def: 10 | dam: 8.0
Mare :: Tribrid :: 18hh :: 3 - is now aging slowly HP: 90 | Buff: NUMB
Hubris :: Royal Bronze Dragon :: Shock Breath & Frost Breath & Babel :: Royal Gold Dragon :: Fire Breath Odd
#8

Isopia, wracked by indecision, was stunned into silence.

"I-"

Competing thoughts of, I don't have any friends, and I've never asked for help rose to the surface of her mind and lingered there.

Isopia's long dark eyelashes fluttered over her stunned golden gaze, as she continued to remain silent.

She felt some hidden part of herself - the part capable of feeling complex emotions - stir and wince at the trees first question. Why hadn't she told Zero? Well ... it had never really come up, now had it? It wasn't that she wasn't going to tell him, she had just ... never mentioned it. But that wasn't the whole truth. The whole truth was more along the lines of not wanting to alienate the only person she actually liked. She was riddled with magic and power, and he was always playing catching up, both metaphorically and literally. But she loved him, in the truest sense of the word, but because the concept of love, for Isopia, was so fractured and badly twisted, she mistook it for something so precious that it was fragile. Real love was durable, but Isopia had never experienced that before, and so she tried to diminish anything that might come between them. Certainly becoming a queen of sorts would do that, wouldn't it? Surely he would no longer see her as the girl who had frolicked in the woods with him? Who had discovered whales? Who he could run to and hug anytime he liked? She wanted to be that for him - she just wanted to be his friend.

Yet despite all those thoughts of love and friendship and needing him, it had never occurred to the mountaneous mare to ask for his help. Had she ever asked for anyones help before? Isopia did a cursory search of her memory, but couldn't really come up with an instance where she had. She simply did not have the resources (aka friends), to call upon. And those that she did? Well ... she wouldn't burden them with her needs. Isopia was a solitary and as the tree had deduced, lonely creature. The facade of strength and single-minded focus was in large part a pretense, to hide the shattered being she had become. To ask for help was to invite rejection.

And we we've all seen, Isopia doesn't handle rejection well.

"He doesn't live in the Hidden Falls." Isopia said finally, her voice as clinical as ever. Of course she wished that he did. The days where he snuck into her world of waterfalls and hidden pathways, suddenly appearing in her clearing, were some of the most cherished of all her memories. "Why talk of politics when we can talk about starwhales." She concluded, almost apologetically as her golden eyes tried to find the sunlight stare of her best friend. Why talk about who I am supposed to be, when I can just be myself with you.



THE TREE, ASKING THE HARD HITTING QUESTIONS.

Isopia
Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.
Image Credits

Abandon all hope, ye who enter here

Zèklè Posts: 166
Outcast atk: 8.0 | def: 10 | dam: 3.5
Colt :: Pegasus :: 14.1 :: Three HP: 67 | Buff: NOVICE
charks
#9
You're a queen and I'm a lion-heart
Apparently your buoyant personality has left quite an impression on the tree, because it picks up on the message behind your silence, even though it doesn't know you at all (or does it? Maybe it knows you entirely - maybe trees have hive minds, and all trees know everything all other trees see (feel? smell?). Maybe trees have been watching you all your life. Maybe the tree knows what exactly happened that night. It's an interesting thought. You'll have to ask some other tree sometime.) You continue to chew your lip, staring pointedly at the network of roots at the great tree's base.

The tree's remark inspires no small amount of anxiety in your breast: you hadn't really planned on confronting Isopia about any of this. Sure, it bugs you, but you're not really the confrontational type. You're too eager to please, too cowardly- you need Isopia to love you, especially now, and ever since Ma left you've desperately afraid that by putting a toe out of place, you'll drive your dearest friends away. It already happened with Mesec - you're sure you did something to upset him, too; you have a deep sense of something bad having happened, even if you can't quite remember what. You don't think about that not remembering too hard. Your mind is not ready to connect those particular dots.

Once again. Coward.

Of course, you have no inkling that Isopia is just as afraid of your rejection as you are of hers. In your inherent selfishness, you don't even consider this a possibility, because you cannot fathom the possibility of leaving her. You assume, therefore, that she is distancing you for some other reason, some fault of your own- your weakness, your stupidity, your childishness. You've always known you're childish compared to her: she grew up much faster (literally), she's a demigod, she's a Czarina. And you? You're a one-winged gimp who can't go a year without being nearly killed and still jabbers on about starwhales.

"Why talk of politics when we can talk of starwhales?"

"Because starwhales aren't important." The ground continues to hold your gaze; your face is a mask of confusion and confliction, and it's clearly a struggle for you to choose your words. But you do choose them, really choose, speaking slowly and carefully, your eyes trained on the system of roots. "I mean, starwhales are great, but they're.... they're fun. They're not real. An' friends... friends talk about fun stuff, yeah, but they also tell each other the important stuff. Like this."

Your head rises now, slightly, but you still don't meet Isopia's eyes. You've made yourself small and careful, your fear of rejection fighting the good fight against your need to make Isopia understand. Because sometimes you think she doesn't understand, doesn't understand that you need her to need you, that by hiding important things she makes you feel small. Insignificant.

Rejected.

"You don't tell me important stuff. An', I mean.... that's ok, I guess, if you don't wanna, I know I'm just a kid an' I don't know anythin' 'bout runnin' a herd or whatever, but...." And now you look up, sunbeam eyes searching for her golden ones, earnestness and pain and vulnerability and love bundled up within them and offered on a plate. "But I care about you, Iso, an' I want you to be happy. An' if something's not makin' you happy you should tell someone, 'cus you don't gotta keep it all to yourself. Or even if something is makin' you happy. Even if you don't wanna tell me. 'Cus I'm just a kid. An' I'm sure you got grown up friends to talk to about that stuff." But none who love you as much as me, your expression seems to add.

"But I want you to tell me important stuff. 'Cus the stuff that matters to you, it matters to be, too. An' I wanna help you, just like the tree said. Because.... yeah," you finish lamely, no longer looking at Isopia's face - too afraid to see the rejection you're sure must be there. Maybe if you stare at the ground you'll sink into it and disappear. Or maybe the tree will smite you and you'll be transported somewhere you can hide forever.

Or maybe you'll wake up, and realize this was all just a very confusing dream. You can hope, right?

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Random Event Posts: 1,286
Helovian Ancient
Stallion :: Equine :: ::
#10


The tree’s rustling, ethereal laughter ripples about the clearing as the Earth’s daughter at last says more than a quickly stammered, defensive syllable. That the girl so quickly tries to redirect the conversation to something as inane as starwhales (what they even are, the oak hasn’t the slightest clue), says more about the reasons she hadn’t told Zèklè about the path she’d begun to walk than her lame excuse.

So you’re a tree now, too? She thinks to ask. Forever rooted in one place, unable to venture or embrace the world beyond the same clearing? Even she was not that trapped, able to see far lands through a distant eye; her roots tangled tightly around those of her children and kin, whose roots further tangled with those beyond her sight. How else could she have known Isopia’s name, or her role in the world? How else would she have called the girl here? As long as they could embrace one another in the dark serenity of the Earth’s arms, seeing and feeling through one another, no tree was ever truly confined to their clearing at all.

Regardless, no tree ever feared change. What a useless worry, tirelessly wearing on the heart, because everything was always changing.

Before she can say anything of the like, however, the mechanical boy’s voice rising in the wake of the tree’s leafy laughter. Hushing the other trees about her, the strange stillness takes over each twig and yellowing leaf as Zèklè, bold, sweet Zèklè, teaches Isopia of friendship.

A branch trails outwards from the tree, gently pressing beneath the boy’s downcast chin, as if to draw his eyes upwards.

"Because you are truly her friend," she finishes, "and a good one, too, whether you are just a kid, or not."

Ascending upwards, the branch that touched Zekle’s chin reappears some moments later, a necklace dangling from its length.

"Trust, Isopia. The Earth would be barren if not for the Sun’s light, and the wind’s careful placement of each seed," she explains, as the trinket descends towards the painted Mountain, "only Time can reveal what will take root. Will you grow to be an ensnaring briar, harming all who come near you, or a tree, sheltering them instead?"

It’s a simple looking thing, when the necklace comes into clear view; it’s seemingly unremarkable, except that the tree has obviously owned it for some time. The aquamarine, water droplet shaped stone itself, and plant fiber strand that holds it, are both smeared with dust and tree sap, and the oak offers it to Isopia.

"I think you are meant to be a tree, after all," smiles the oak, "but this should certainly help you along the way."

[ Isopia is given an aquamarine pendant by the tree:
:: [Item | Magical Compass | Glows white when ones actions work towards the moral “good.” ]
U | Glows black when ones actions aren’t morally “good.”

The tree will happily keep talking with Isopia and Zèklè as long as they’d like! ]


@Isopia @Zekle

Isopia the Mountain That Knows Posts: 780
Dragon's Throat Apostle atk: 6.5 | def: 10 | dam: 8.0
Mare :: Tribrid :: 18hh :: 3 - is now aging slowly HP: 90 | Buff: NUMB
Hubris :: Royal Bronze Dragon :: Shock Breath & Frost Breath & Babel :: Royal Gold Dragon :: Fire Breath Odd
#11


Isopia had thought, incorrectly as it turned out, that she could steer her friend towards the topics that his mind seemed to naturally flow towards. Or had seemed to flow towards. But he had grown up, and child-like intrigue did not so readily colour his vision. Or perhaps it was just that he was better able to reign in his technicolour dreams and focus on important things. Grown up things. Things like secrets between friends.

..I'm just a kid..
..whether you are just a kid, or not..

"He isn't." Isopia immediately interrupted, her glazed expression suddenly snapping back to life. Her voice was a little more harsh than she had meant it, and so her next few words were noticeably softer. "You aren't." She finished, now addressing Zero. Her eyes wanted to find his, but the tenderness with which the tree reached out to raise his chin, made her turn away.

An' I'm sure you got grown up friends to talk to about that stuff.. His words sliced against her, and she tried her best to not let it show. You are my one and only one, part of her wanted to tell him. That was probably the part of her that Zero most wanted to see, most wanted to know existed. But how could she let herself be that vulnerable? How, when the totality of Isopia's life experience advised against it?

But then the tree was talking again, and even though Isopia was likely supposed to think that becoming a briar patch, untouchable and outwardly thorny, was not something to aspire towards, the idea appealed to her. Couldn't she just be left alone? Fully give herself to the isolation she constantly felt, never having to deal with disappointing one-winged friends who wanted more from her than she could give?

With a faint shimmer of anxiety and desperation in her golden gaze, Isopia looked back towards Zero, wavering on the edge. On the edge of what, you might ask? It was hard to say, hard to even think about, really. For you and me, telling Zero her secrets, while daunting, might not seem impossible. What are friends for, after all? And as we've all noticed, this secret has been driving Isopia a little crazy. Getting it off of her chest probably would help, and who better to tell, than Zero? Zero her oldest (and only) friend. Zero whose loyalty would (probably) never waver. But to Isopia, the edge of do I tell him? felt like a monolith, one which would leave her tumbling down infinitely if she should fall from it. 

The demigoddess extended a wing, mutely and almost as if she were moving underwater, towards where the tree was offering the small aquamarine stone. She couldn't articulate a thank-you, for her eyes were pulled to the stone and the implications of the magic imbued in it. Should I tell him? She thought, and watched as the stone pulsed a muted white colour. But, won't that mean- before she could finish, the soft white light had disappeared, replaced with a murky black shadow. 

Ah. So that's that, then. 

What finally allowed her emotions, rather than her thorny mind to guide her decision, was not her new magic compass, but Zero's almost dejected sounding final few words to her. ..because..yeah... It didn't quite sound hurt to Isopia, but it sounded like it was something nearly as deep and painful. And she felt a puncture in her heart so similar to that she felt when she found out she had been used by Volterra, that the words came tumbling out of her mouth before she even had a chance to think of the consequences.

Her cheeks burned as she spoke, her eyes furtively skirting back and forth, only managing to meet his sunbeam eyes for a few seconds before returning to observe her hooves. 

"Do you remember the day you came to visit me? When it was so cold that we went into my hut to stay warm? There was snow on the ground, and.." She could picture it so clearly. The snow on the ground, the way her heart threatened to explode out of her chest in panic at the thought of someone entering her clearing after what she had just done. She remembered Zero hugging her, asking why everything had to suck. She remembered the way her eyes had latched onto the grave she had dug herself as Zero said these words, and how he had asked her if there was anything wrong. That time too she had tried to distract him, citing her shiny new magic. It had worked then. "I told you I had made a mistake, but that I had taken care of it. The mistake was..was-" a baby. Say it you coward. A dark, insidious voice hissed in the back of her mind. You did this, murderer. Now fess up. "It was...a baby. I was pregnant-" (there was something almost incestuous about talking about pregnancy with Zero. She felt like mentioning sex in the context of her body around him was inappropriate. But that dark part of her, the part that spoke with a voice like a snake, wanted to know if it made him jealous. (If he's old enough to bear your secrets, what else is he old enough for, eh?)). Her quad-horned skull shook. "Creating that life was the mistake. He-" You mean the father? that voice whispered again, and Isopia faltered. How much was she supposed to tell? She didn't know how to tell this secret, how much to include. "He used me, and life ... I couldn't make a life like that."

She swallowed, feeling as though she was sweating through her cape, as if her body had grown an entire shade darker. Whether or not that was true, was impossible to know. She had lost all control on her outer appearance. She might have been crying for all she knew. Everything was a blur.

And she hadn't even gotten to the really bad part yet.

"So I killed it. Or rather .. I didn't let it live. It was so young, I don't even think it's proper to call it alive-" stop making excuses. "-I got into a fight. He stabbed me in the belly..." Isopia could still clearly recall the smile that pushed through her lips, despite the agony of Ashamin's attack. "I thought I was saving it from this world.." Her voice did hitch for a second, and Isopia could feel a tingling in the back of her throat that felt like a scream.

"Not long after you left two fillies and their companions came into the clearing...they dug up the body." Little did she know it was Zero's two baby sisters who had done this. Did that matter? Probably not. "So now it's gone. He's gone, and nothing has been right since."

Her massive shoulders shuttered for a moment, as a racking sigh escaped her lips, her body on the verge of breaking down entirely it seemed. "I thought I was doing the best thing for him...I thought life should be more precious, more intentional."

say it. say it you coward.

"-and I couldn't take the chance the foal would look like him. I don't know that I could have cared for it, if it wore his face."

Or was it that she couldn't have stopped herself from forgiving Volterra, if the child had lived?

How did one signal that they were done bearing their soul? What was supposed to happen now? Was that it? Part of her felt as though she had just ruined something even more precious that the life of the child she had just admitted to murdering. Her relationship with Zero had been so sweet, precious, and innocent. They had been children together, and for a while it seemed that the only thing that would ever change between them were their heights. But now? Now the purity of their friendship was marred in a way that could never come clean: sex, lies, and murder tended to leave a stain.

Slowly her eyes rose, seeking out Zero, and half expecting him to actually look different to her, to match the way his impression in her mind felt different. How would he see her? The thought of him thinking about her in that way with someone else made her want to squirm, but she kept her hooves rooted firmly in the ground (ground which had now climbed up to almost her shoulder).

How could Zero, perfect, curious Zero, love her now?



holy shit sorry.




Isopia
Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.
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Abandon all hope, ye who enter here

Zèklè Posts: 166
Outcast atk: 8.0 | def: 10 | dam: 3.5
Colt :: Pegasus :: 14.1 :: Three HP: 67 | Buff: NOVICE
charks
#12
You're a queen and I'm a lion-heart
Story of your life so far: you feel very prepared for things, and then the things happen, and it turns out you are miserably, desperately, thoroughly out of your depth - but you do your best, and that's what matters, right?

You nod, remembering that night. You were distraught in the wake of you mother's disappearance, convinced you'd reached your pinnacle of unhappiness and suffering (HA), and so you sought her out, your friend, your Isopia. She hadn't told you what was wrong then, and you'd let her get away with it, but you knew. You were just too selfish, too busy, too caught up in your own experiences to ask about it. If you had, well... that doesn't matter now, does it?

"It was a baby. I was pregnant."

What. What?! You stare, momentarily dumbfounded, your mouth hanging open and your sunbeam eyes wide. Iso, pregnant?! How? Who? You've never heard Iso talk about having another guy in her life, and for a moment that hot spike of jealousy spears you again. Is he bigger than you? Stronger? Well-spoken and flawless, handsome, a fighter? Is he... tall? You move past this train of thought quickly, though, because there are more important things- namely, this baby. The idea of Isopia as a mother is flabbergasting. One the one hand, you're both still children, barely more than newly born yourselves. On the other hand...

You think Iso would be a great Ma.

So what happened? you want to ask, but you hold your tongue, waiting for the entirety of Isopia's sordid tale to make its way into the open. As she talks about the father ("She hates him", a terrible part of your mind is happy to conclude, but you quickly bite it back and push it down, far too sad at this point to let petty things like jealousy get in the way) and a fight and... and... killing it, you realize you're already way out of your depth. You have no words, no joke or remark or even smile, nothing that will save your friend from this. It's only when she remarks on two fillies digging up the bones that you have any amount of physical response, your eyes widening even further and your body flinching as deep suspicion bites at your toes. You're fairly familiar with a pair of fillies who like to dig up bones, after all.

FUCK.

She finally stops, and you feel like time is crawling, seconds making their lazy way across the world like ants. You can feel every beat of your thundering heart, every firing of your overacting neurons. You have a million feelings and a thousand questions. How could she? Why? When? Who? Why didn't she tell you before, when maybe you could've helped?

Did she love him? (Which him?)

How could she?

How could she, Isopia, your knowledgeable and curious friend, have done this? You always believed in her wisdom, her strange yet steadfast understanding of the world. How could she have made a mistake so monumental?

But you've made mistakes too, haven't you, Zèklè?

Slowly, so slowly, your silver eyes rise to meet her gold ones. She's covered in earth, her protective barriers of the world sturdy and tall. She's more earth than mare, now, shielded by the world her father created, and yet to you she has never been more vulnerable, more alive. Part of you, still dreadfully scandalized, wants to condemn her. To be moralistic and mighty, to cast what you would have done upon her like a stone, to make her understand - but it's you who doesn't understand, you who needs placating, not her. What does she need, Zero, and are you strong enough to provide it?

You don't know. But you're brave enough to try.

You step forward, one, two, closing the gap between you and throwing yourself against her. Your wing comes up to wrap across her withers, your head presses against her neck - "I'm so sorry, Iso," you whisper fiercely against her neck, because you are sorry, sorry that things have been so hard for both of you, sorry you couldn't save each other, sorry for even the moments of judgment and condemnation you'd felt, sorry for being selfish, sorry she ever felt she had to go through this alone.

Sorry because you know you cannot heal her pain, only offer to carry some of it for a while.

"I love you," you tell her, because you do- you love her fiercely, powerfully, with every fiber of your being and every string of your heart. You love her with the love of a child, a love untainted by sex and lust and greed - you love her because she is part of you, a piece of your soul, and no matter what she says or does, that can never change.

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latest reply ever I'm so sorry

Isopia the Mountain That Knows Posts: 780
Dragon's Throat Apostle atk: 6.5 | def: 10 | dam: 8.0
Mare :: Tribrid :: 18hh :: 3 - is now aging slowly HP: 90 | Buff: NUMB
Hubris :: Royal Bronze Dragon :: Shock Breath & Frost Breath & Babel :: Royal Gold Dragon :: Fire Breath Odd
#13


Isopia's heart thundered, moving steadily from her chest cavity to the back of her throat while she waited for Zero to say something. To say anything. Never before had she felt more vulnerable, or felt the risk and ramifications of her past actions quite as strongly. If she could have envisioned this moment when she had first met Volterra, she would have shied away. She would easily give up the sensations he revealed within herself, the moments of pleasure and painful longing. All that new information, she would have discarded only so that she wouldn't have to endure this moment.

Slowly, Zero's eyes raise and Isopia expected to see some species of hate there, of disappointment. Did he regret her actions as strongly as she did? Did he want to scream at her, to tell her that she ruined everything? That yes, she ruined her relationship with Volterra, that she ruined a life, but more importantly she ruined their friendship? Did he-

- he was moving towards her. Would he walk right by? Would he-

- his wings drew up around her neck and his face buried itself against her coat. For a moment, she was helpless to do anything. Her golden eyes were wide, sure that if she moved the moment would break, and he would tell her that he was done with her. He would walk away forever and-

-I'm so sorry Iso.

Likely Zero would have felt her throat bulge as she swallowed down her heart which felt as though it had risen into the back of her throat. Tears, actual tears formed in her golden eyes, pressing outwards with painful stinging bites before sliding down her deathly-marked cheeks. Her lips opened to say something, but of course there was no air in her lungs, so nothing but a strangled sort of sob left her lips, followed by a racking and unsteady inhale.

I love you

And then, as if the spell was broken by this unspoken promise, Isopia's wings folded around Zero's shoulders, and her skull lowered to return his hug. She breathed in his scent, his forgiveness and his love as if it was him, and not the oxygen around her, that was sustaining her.

And in this moment, in a way, that was true.

"I love you too." She whispered, almost soundlessly onto his left shoulder. Her tears fell from her eyes, currently scrunched shut against the world, onto the place where titanium met skin on his body. There was more she wanted to say, but she would hold, and be held as long as the moment would last.



Isopia
Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.
Image Credits



Fin?

Abandon all hope, ye who enter here


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