Mari 1 Posted 17 hours ago #1 Share Posted 17 hours ago How many days… How many weeks…months… Years…. – – – – Mari had tried, she had tried so hard. Irrevocably, really, truly, wanted nothing more than to help each and every player still trapped within the confines of Aincrad to wake up. She pushed through the pain, the glares, the spiteful comments - because they were all justified. The fear and hatred from others that had been relentlessly aimed at her... It was all warranted. Mari could explain, and justify her actions till she was blue in the face - but it didn’t make up for it. Nothing she did had. Rather, those reactions were far easier to overcome than those that stemmed from genuine care, and kindness. The people who were willing to give her a chance. The people who slowly began to rely on her. Who looked up to her, a murderer, for guidance. Those who were lost and crying, and clung to her as though they were her own child. Those people, those reactions, hit Mari the hardest. Because it allowed her respite. It gave her hope. And to her, hope was more venomous than the most deadly of snakes. Slowly, but surely, she began to make friends again - Baldur…Shield…Beat…Oikawa, Macradon. She even somehow had children in her care. She wanted to remember their names, but she could not. There were people she began to trust, and grow close to slowly but surely. And others- she had helped. She hadn’t been alone in those moments, in some of them - she had almost been…happy. And every time she felt herself feel those moments of joy, they were tinged with guilt. Should she be allowed to feel that way? To walk around? It had taken many late night talks - hard truths from Shield. From Baldur. To remind her that it had been okay. She was human. And yet - she had thrown it all away. And for what? To try and find a few people who did not want to be found. Oikawa, who dragged her to his home, offered her the keys to it. A warm reprise. A tiny spot of serenity carved from comfort and familiarity.. Well, that's what it was supposed to be. It felt foreign to Mari. And without Oikawa there. It didn’t feel like home. It felt like a bitter reminder of her failures. Of the places in her heart where those closest to her had ripped small holes into. It was one thing - when she had thought Alkor was dead…and another - to have those people willingly disappear. And try as hard as she might - she could not find them. Battered, bruised. Defeated. — And now? She had been locked away. In a dungeon, deep underground maybe? It smelt like it was. Mari knew little of where she was - beyond the fact it was a maximum security prison. Designed to keep people like her from escaping, in any and all senses of the word. Mari had no one to blame but herself really, the APD had been tracking her for a long time - And she was tired. Oh so tired. Tired of running. Tired of people coming to her for help, advice…tired of being a frontliner. Of being a pillar. Raidou, curiously enough - had been the one to find her, out of everyone. A stoic man who Mari barely considered an acquaintance, let alone a friend. When she told him she was going to turn herself in he tried to convince her otherwise. It was the same story, the same tune that others had told her. You can leave anytime you want, but stay as long as you need to. They were all right, of course - and Mari, being ever the stubborn woman. Had allowed herself to be turned in. She wanted to get away from it all, from everyone. She had hit her limits. But. Only after agreeing to let Raidou visit her - to be the one to turn her in. He’d be allowed visitation. Funny that… How the two bartered her own imprisonment, as though it were some enforceable contract. As though either party held any weight over the other. Mari let Raidou turn her in, so he could visit her, and in turn - he promised not to tell anyone where she was - nor what happened to her. With the exception of the very two people she had tried to find. Beat and Oikawa. Mari knew her decision would make people mad. Especially someone like Macradon, maybe even Baldur. But, she needed to. And that was why she sat where she was now. In the corner of a prison cell. A thin shaft of artificial lit penetrated her small confine through a vent above her - day? Night? She never knew. It was always the same. Food - twice a week. Bread and Water. One didn’t need to eat in Aincrad, but the pains, and need of consumption remained. Enough to sate sanity, not enough to enjoy. Light, enough to flicker away the ebb of madness that total darkness would bring, but not enough to prickle your skin with warmth. Mari’s only solace? Her weekly visitor. Each time he was gone it felt like he missed a few weeks. Maybe Raidou too, had grown tired of her. Every week he had come - and sat on a stool outside her prison. He’d begin, and end each story with a single question. “Is it time to go?” And each and every time, she had ignored him. So…it was only natural that he too, would have grown tired of her. So there she sat. Tucked away in the corner, food untouched. A spot of fiery orange amidst the dank dark. Her legs held tight up against her chest, and her head pressed firmly in her knees. Attempting some semblance of sleep. No matter how much she slept…she was always so tired. Mari | HP: 860/860 | EN: 104/104 | DMG: 1 Spoiler Name: Mari True Tier: 9 Level: 34 Paragon Level: 49 HP: 860/860 EN: 104/104 Stats: Damage: 1 Equipped Gear: Weapon/Armor/Trinket: Armor/Trinket: - Shield/Armor/Trinket: Combat Mastery: Combat Shift: Familiar Skill: Custom Skill: Skills: Extra Skills: Inactive Extra Skills: Addons: Mods: Inactive Mods: Battle Ready Inventory: - Housing Buffs: Guild Hall Buffs: Scents of the Wild Totem: Wedding Ring: Crafting Profession: Alchemist[exp] R1 Gathering Profession: Link to post Share on other sites
Raidou 1 Posted 15 hours ago #2 Share Posted 15 hours ago The dark and narrow corridors of dimly lit stone walls continued unending. Temperatures dropped into almost winter levels as the mans breath would start to become visible. A set of goblins here, a ghoul or two there. Wave after wave as he passed cell after cell. Black metal bars of iron long forgotten, stood unmoving and empty with that that they trapped inside. A rat cuts across the room, as the nomad's foot finds a puddle formed from droplets that rhythmically tap in from cracks above. The strike of a match would see a sconce on the wall spring to life, offering a warm glow that felt almost alien to these halls. Just above the city roared with life and yet down here, it was: silent. cold empty His footsteps echoed as he'd continue after plucking that torch from its sheathe. Fight after Fight, conflict after conflict just to get to the first set of stairs. A long and arduous process. But there were three more sets to go. Eventually he would find his way deep enough, not quite as low as it could be but low enough that it was completely improbable to find anything specific. With the locks set in place, Raidou knew that he couldn't locate Mari by tracking her directly. The span of this floor was just as massive as the ones above it, like a labyrinth of identical corridors that would easily get one trapped and lost. Using his <<Tracking>> skill not on the girl but the tiny little light source he'd left adjacent to her cell. A simple glowstone, made specially to have a different name and ID. Deeper and Deeper to the dungeons outer most rim, on B4 where even the monsters started to become scarce. It was likely that just above, the very edge of the city would reside. "Good morning Mari." he'd respond to the trapped woman in that utterly mundane cell, a carbon copy of those that surround it. A small nearly rotted stool picked up from the one adjacent and moved to be in front of the bars. Placing his torch in the nearby fixture, he'd slide a simple linen bag through a slot in the bars. "I know its not much but..." he'd set it on the rough hewn stone floor and take out a single morsel for himself, before taking a seat and crossing his legs. Into his pocket he'd pull out a small book, one with a red shaded cover. On it the scrawled title in an embossed gold filigree: The Cask of Amontillado Sliding it open as he'd fold his legs, he'd wait not for her response for she hardly paid him any. But he was ok with that, because frankly he didn't want or need her approval. Instead he'd stubbornly trek on, because under all that barricade and blockades she threw up the girl probably enjoyed it. Or she didn't but its probably better to at least hear something down in this dark dank crevice. The thoughts played through his head quickly, as he'd begin to read the book out loud. Unperturbed nor focused on the flame headed woman stirring around in that box. Page after page, line after line his voice was the only thing carrying on those walls in a reverberating amphitheater. Offered to Mari -> Field Rations x 7 (Feel free to ignore, its legit just narrative shit) Active: CS: Ill Omen in Red CSA: [x1] Grand Mass Parry *Unless there are any objections.* Consumed: Field Rations (Filled) Raidou | HP: 1276/1276 | EN: 148/148 | DMG: 11 | MIT:117 | ACC:2 | TAUNT | F-SPIRIT | EVA:4 | BH:70 | VAMP-D: 140 | VAMP-O: 211 | REC: 8 | BLI: 32/-20 | LD:6 Spoiler Name: Raidou, The Red Wanderer True Tier: 14 Level: 34 Paragon Level: 105 HP: 1276/1276 EN: 148/148 Stats: Damage: 11 Mitigation: 117 Accuracy: 2 Evasion: 4 Battle Healing: 70 Loot Die: 6 TAUNT VAMP-D: 140 VAMP-O: 211 REC: 8 BLI: 32/-20 Equipped Gear: Weapon/Armor/Trinket: - Ebon Star - Vanguard Revenant [T4/Demonic/Straight Sword]: V.O 2, Taunt, Blight 1 Armor/Trinket: - Red Wanderer's Resolve - Sympathy [T1/Demonic/Cloth] 2 Evasion, 2 Vampiric Defensive Shield/Armor/Trinket: - Vision of Wisdom - Whisper [T4/Demonic/Trinket] Evasion 1, Recovery 2, Accuracy 1 Combat Mastery: - Combat Mastery: Mitigation R3 Combat Shift: - TECH Shift Familiar Skill: - Custom Skill: - Ill Omen in Red Skills: - Battle Healing R5 - Charge - Cloth Armor R5 - Energist - Fighting Spirit - Howl - Quick Change - Searching R5 - Straight Sword R5 Extra Skills: - Survival - Parry - Forgotten King's Authority - Concentration - - - Inactive Extra Skills: PhotosynthesizeBrawlerFrozen Hide Addons: - Ferocity - Focused Howl - Nimble - Precision - Reveal - Stamina Mods: - Athletics - Detect - Justified Riposte - Tracking - Vengeful Riposte Inactive Mods: Battle Ready Inventory: - Auric Sunlight - Finality of Faith [T4/Demonic/2HSS] +3 Damage, AA x1 - Crippling Composition - Lullaby [Tierless/Rare/Debuff/Instant] Hypnosis 2 | [224055] x1 - Random Dungeon Map | [226637b] x5 - Teleport Crystal x5 - Vocal Augmentation - Resonation [Tierless/Perfect/Support/Instant] +15% HP [160898][161641][161642][162018][162529] x1 Housing Buffs: - Basic Kitchen: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. This can exceed normal Cook enhancement caps. Ex: A perfect T2 MIT food gives 35 MIT instead of 30. - Storage Closet: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot - Living Room: Increases out of combatHP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts. - Attic (Storage): +5% bonus col from monster kills and treasure chests - Basement: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll - Guest Room: Players can have one «Amenity» in a «Guest Room» and the «Amenity» cannot be recovered. Players are allowed to change which «Amenity» is in the «Guest Room». Multiple instances of the same «Amenity» do not stack. This buff affects the player and their choice of up to two party members. - Master Bedroom: -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat - Master Bathroom: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down) - Extended Workshop: +2 Crafting EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day - Greenhouse: +2 Gathering EXP per Attempt and additional +1 LD & CD to gathering attempts. - Dining Hall: Turn 3 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Feast. A Feast contains 6 portions of the food items sacrificed. Feasts created this way cannot be used outside of the thread they are created. Limit 1 item created per thread. - Mega Slime Farm: +10% EXP to a thread. Limit one use per month. Must be used on a player's first post in a thread. Cooldown begins counting down when used in a post. Guild Hall Buffs: - Trading Hall: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (10+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters and Rank 4 merchants/performers receive +1 crafting/identification attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters and Rank 5 merchants/performers receive +2 crafting/identification attempts per day. - Treasury: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests. Scents of the Wild Totem: - Tanos Wedding Ring: Crafting Profession: Gathering Profession: Link to post Share on other sites
Mari 1 Posted 15 hours ago Author #3 Share Posted 15 hours ago Click Click Click Click The monotonous steps echoed in a soft rhythm, closer and closer they descended. Mari drew in a long breath and held it. Somehow, those simple monotonous sounds…gave her a sense of relief. She wasn’t forgotten. He wasn’t dead. Time moved forward. Mari didn’t have to lift her head to know who it was. Raidou. Perhaps the only person in the entirety of Aincrad that knew where she was. That is. If he kept his word. And if those she had once sought, so long ago, were still lost. She exhaled as the final, gentle sound of his footfalls left the stairs. A smal game she played with herself - how long could she hold her breath as he descended? Not that she technically needed to breath. But the sensation all the same, reminded her that she was human. Her head remained buried in her knees as she heard the scrape of wood against stone. The smell of burning, and the soft scent of XXX. Mari wondered if the man even knew that’s what he smelt like. Raidou moved as expected, Mari could pick his actions, even with her eyes closed. The offering of food though the bars. Shifting himself closer to her…the rustle of cloth as he pulled out yet another book to gently read to her. The creak of an open book. The rustle of a turned page, then the soft droll sound of his voice as he read - Mari hadn’t paid much attention to the words he spoke. Rather… it was the cadence, the way he spoke them. By now, Mari could tell if he genuinely enjoyed a book or not. When he enjoyed it; he’d read slowly as if with great thought - and every so often he’d pause - taking in a scene or a moment. This, was not one of those books - there was little break between his words. He read on, and on, as though he were going through the motions. And, in a way, he was. Each of his moments when he was down here were made with practised precision. “Hey.” A single word, simple, small, and spoken so quietly that any one else could have missed it. But not Raidou. There was a hitch in his voice. The shuffle of material, and the clatter of a book to the floor. Mari couldn’t help but release a hidden smile into her knees. Of course…when was the last time she had said anything to him? Weeks. Months? Years? “Raidou.” Her tone hushed at first, but grew in volume with every word till she was talking normally. “I think…I’d… like to feel the sun again.” A near hushed tone of flickering hope, of change. She had sat here long enough. She had her time. Maybe, she was finally ready. Mari lifted her head, then slowly, pushed herself up off the floor. One tentative step pushed her closer to him. Then another, and another. Till all that separated them was the metal bars. A freckled hand reached out to grasp a single metal bar. Her tired blue eyes looked down at him. Even after all this time, he still looked like Raidou. Adorned in crimson; a mess of brown hair. His mouth barely open, agape in a small and quiet shock. “Where are your glasses?” She asked quietly. Link to post Share on other sites
Raidou 1 Posted 14 hours ago #4 Share Posted 14 hours ago A shock like static through the system that caused him to pause, the book whisked so carelessly to the cobbled stone beneath him bouncing off its spine. A thought races through his head, causing him to lift a finger but no sound comes out. Then another with a metaphorical lightbulb flickering to life in his mind causing his finger to become rigged once more, but nothing twice that causes it to become flaccid. The swordsman clears his throat, struggling on the notion that a question he'd asked every visit was finally actually considered. Her decision, her choice. Finally feeling like she'd paid her penance. But he wasn't entirely sure he believed it. Maybe he misheard, maybe... He'd look to the wall just behind him on the right with a lean over his shoulder, the tiny little stone that hung offering a pale almost white light. The man turns and stands up from his seat, partially tripping over it and having to wiggle a foot to get it free. A black gloved hand would pluck it from the wall, turning it over before offering it to her through the bars. Surely this was what she meant. Right? "I uh, here?" he spoke with a dryness in his throat, scratching the back his dark brown head with a twist of confusion and the urge to oblige. The stool he was on off kilter and on its side, the book lay flat and open with the pages on the floor. An aura of serenity sliding over this ill fitting background. Days to months to years, all torn apart by such a simple phrase. "The...glasses?" at first spoken in a bit of a stupor before it clicks into place. "Right, my glasses. I only wear them when walking around. Otherwise..." He points with a wiggle of a his finger back and forth between the two of them, very much in a 'come here' style motion. "They just get in the way." A truth no better spoken in the most poorly executed relay. Mari didn't need him to be smart, to decipher the mysteries of the universe or tell her the exact composition of formaldehyde which he could. Instead she needed to see eye to eye with someone, which was a lot harder given how short she was. A set of unshielded eyes that understood her plight yet offered no pity, no expectations in a stone cold stoic reciprocation. A contrast of orange to her blue, no tricks and no defenses. Link to post Share on other sites
Mari 1 Posted 14 hours ago Author #5 Share Posted 14 hours ago It took one minute, then two, then three till Raidou finally moved again. He clambered back, almost comically so out of his seat - as though whatever paused in his mind had started moving again. Mari watched with a quizzical look as he glanced over his shoulder at a glowstone. Did he ... .there was no way he thought she meant that did he? Mari very specifically told him she wanted to feel the sun on her skin. Not the dim cold light of some magicked stone. Surely he… Nope. Mari watched as he tripped, grabbed the stone then shoved it unceremoniously through the bars in her direction. Blue eyes stared down in bewilderment at the offering. “Raidou.” She said softly. Releasing her hold upon the iron bar and instead wrapping her hand around his own fingers, forcing them closed around the little glowing rock. “That’s…She shook her head slowly. Before she could answer him properly with his free hand he gestured her to move closer within his line of sight- still with her hand wrapped around his - Mari took a single step to the side to peer up into his questioning golden gaze. “Ah. Right.” Even before her imprisonment words were difficult between the two. Not quite friends, not quite enemies either. The small woman finally let go of his hand. She missed the warmth. Not of the stone, but of another person. She didn’t realize just how much she had missed any form of human contact. “Raidou.” Mari began as she pushed strands of amber hair away from her eyes. She straightened her back. Her dirtied cheeks huffed then deflated as she matched his gaze. “Thats. Not the sun.” Would she have to spell it out for him? Surely not, right? Then again… A sigh came and went, and the words the man had been waiting to her came with it. “I…think I am ready to leave.” Link to post Share on other sites
Raidou 1 Posted 13 hours ago #6 Share Posted 13 hours ago *side note: had to use an image because the board hates mirrored text Listening to her voice it felt almost unreal, another induced day dream between them that always bordered a nightmare. Not quite comfortable but not quite painful either. "Uh, Of course." he'd toss the thing over his right shoulder, allowing it to clatter to the wall and flop pathetically to the ground like a wet napkin. Clapping his open hand against his forehead with an audible slap. "I was just messing with you." He'd offer a smile to dismiss his own stupidity and embarrassment. Mainly to just scratch some of that real Mari out into the open. "I really just can't believe it." That smile of his holding fast, projecting that despite his outward appearance there was some growth under it. "Took you long enough, give me a minute." He'd slide open his screen and start dragging things around. There was a touch of excitement to the motion, like a conductor sliding around to dictate an orchestra. Yet despite it all, his hand doesn't leave hers subconsciously clinging to it. Probably doing him about as much benefit as it was hers, akin to pinching yourself during a dream it helped confirm this was actually happening. When she released it, he'd stop for a second as his mind almost lost its direction. Glancing at the screen, he'd turn it. His contacts, some through the guild and others from happenstance. "Should I contact some of your friends?" The question came off strong, and simple. This had been their little secret, one kept through necessity and other through trust. "They don't have to know where you've been, but I bet your tiny fuzzy head that they missed you." The screen remained open, a transparent window that he'd stare at her through. The names clear as day in reverse: If she could actually read it through the back end of the window. Left ajar as he'd look down for a white cloth from his pocket, as well as a pair of crystals saved so readily for this very moment as his glasses come bouncing out and fall through the bars. "Its your choice, I support whatever you decide to do." Link to post Share on other sites
Mari 1 Posted 13 hours ago Author #7 Share Posted 13 hours ago “Just messing with me?” Came Mari’s incredulous reply, she placed her free hand on her hip, raising her eyebrows at him. Her tone was almost accusatory, as if to say ‘I know you weren’t, dumbass but instead of saying that - she simply took a step back, shrugging her shoulders. “Of course you were.” She made sure her tone was as deadpan as possible, speaking with a robotic cadence. “You. Were. Just. Messing. With. Me.” This…felt nice. The casual banter between them. The more Mari spoke to him, the more she realzied she just…missed this. Missed everything. She missed moving about, talking. Joking. She missed getting angry, the sun, the sky, the ocean…she missed feeling lonely… but most of all… She missed all those she had grown to care about Even if it had been months, years. She hoped they’d be okay with her returning - and if not - then - Mari would have to continue to forge a different path. Away from the pillars, and the frontlines, maybe she could hide away in a forest and become a gatherer? "Took you long enough, give me a minute." Mari didn’t respond, not straight away. She watched, patiently, quietly, reserved, as he tore through the screens of his menu - like a kid in a candy store. Mari hadn’t opened her menu, not even once, since she had been imprisoned here. She almost forgot it existed. That they were still all trapped in a game. “How long has it been?” He responded to her question, initially, with one of his own - "Should I contact some of your friends?" This…made Mari hesitate. Friends. Two names she could read, even backwards. Two of the people she was probably closest to in all of Aincrad. Macradon, and Baldur. “Ah…” She felt her chest tighten. So..they were alive at least, but it had been so long… “I’m…not so sure-” Mari began. The anxious thoughts already drumming through her head, what if they were angry with her? What if they forgot? Was the guild still active? Did they hate her for leaving? Should she even return at all? Wouldn’t it better for everyone if she just stayed here? “Mari?” Raidou’s voice snapped her from her spiral. She blinked. Right. No. There was no reason to run away anymore. “Yes.” She said, clearly uncertain. “You can contact them…you can…tell them where I was.” She added, a little more quietly. Mari would take responsibility for her actions, and from now on, she’d be acting more for herself, than for others. Giving too much of herself was what caused her to break down in the first place. Mari had to take this. One cautious step at a time. Link to post Share on other sites
Raidou 1 Posted 13 hours ago #8 Share Posted 13 hours ago That smile of his doesn't fade as she begins completely poking holes in that flip around. "Alright alright, you got me. I was so flipped upside down I thought you wanted the rock, ok?" He'd hand her the rag and the teleport crystal, after tapping it and predesignating its coordinates. He'd give her the opportunity to wipe her face, straighten her hair a little if she was so inclined. "Mari?" The mental freeze finally clearing, she'd start to move and accept in a way that actually would strike Raidou with a mild shock. There was some growth after all. That was not the answer he'd been expecting. he'd begin typing out the message to her friends. "Oh no, your not going to pawn this off on me. You want to tell them, that's on you. You want me to pick sticks and spider webs out of that hair of yours like a monkey, sure." That tone of his, the standard of speaking did not match who he used to be. He had a lot of conversations with a lot of different people, a lot of lessons to learn that had changed him. He'd pause and glance at her with that simple and minute smile. "I'll be here if you need me, but don't expect me to tell you what to do or how to feel Mari. You've had just about enough of that." Sliding the teleport crystal through the bars, he'd pull it back toward himself. "AND NO CLIFFS. that I will tell you what to do." his hand extends again. Quote To: @Baldur| @Macradon From: Raidou Hi guys, this may seem a little random. Probably because it is, anyway Mari is finally done with her vacation and it looks like she wants to tell you all about it! I'm sending her to your estate Baldur, given how much of a pain in the ass it is for her to get around with the orange marker and all. Have Takumi make some sandwiches or something, she looks like she's been through hell. The message fires away, as his menu vanishes. A final smile as he'd look at her one last time, before picking up his book and starting to walk away down the corridors of black iron you can hear his words echo off the walls. "Good Luck, Mari. and Take a shower! All those mice you were cuddling with made you smell awful." Link to post Share on other sites
Mari 1 Posted 12 hours ago Author #9 Share Posted 12 hours ago (edited) Mari accepted the damp rag in one hand, and the crystal in the other. “Do…I really look that bad?” She asked. And…of course she had. She had been cooped up for so long that time had lost all meaning. She sighed as she roughly wiped it over her face, mildly surprised that it had been warm. Raidou was oddly…thoughtful. She guessed he had been preparing for this moment for a very, very, long time. She grimaced when she looked down at the grime, a simple wipe of her face wouldn’t be enough. She’d need to actually shower. "AND NO CLIFFS. that I will tell you what to do." “Depends..." Mari mused as she knelt to pick up the bag of rations he had placed on the floor. "If you read me any more of those terrible stories - I might need to...” She shoved the rations back into his chest, and stilled when she heard a small CRONCH. That...was probably nothing right? Most definitely not a pair of glasses. She chose to ignore it, seeing Raidou had yet to notice. "Seriously though...Thanks." Mari dropped the rag unceremoniously to the floor and it shattered in a plume of crystalline data. Now - she was alone, just like she had been the past days, months, years. But something was different this time. Mari turned and leaned her back against the prison. Was it really that easy? She turned the teleportation crystal round and round in her hands, its glimmering surface beckoning her to use it. To be whisked away from her self imposed imprisonment. A part of her had wanted to yell at him, for the rude comments about her messy appearance - and how she probably smelt, but, he was right. Mari slid to the floor, a soft groan falling from her lips. This…was harder than it should have been. Mari took in a final deep breath, and with shaking hands- activated the crystal. —- The first thing Mari noticed was the sudden chill in the air - it was cold, the wind…the wind. She drew in a sharp breath and stumbled forward a few steps before falling to her hands and knees. When was the last time she felt the wind. Mari lowered her head. She really did look like a mess. Her hair was disheveled, dirty, and all manner of dirt and twigs were stuck in it. Her eyes were sunken, hollow - and the dark bags under them told of sleepless and restless nights. Her nails, usually the one thing that was always pristine, were misshapen and covered in dirt. “H…hHh.ahah…” A tired laugh fell from her cracked lips. She missed this. She missed the air. Mari took in a gulp, then another, and another - as though she hadn’t breathed for a long time. It smelt clean, loamy, inviting. Before her was a sight she had seen before - so foreign yet so familiar. A trail lined with lanterns and trees - leading to the larger part of Baldur’s estate. Mari should get up, she should move forward. To see them. Her friends but her body refused to listen to her will. She hadn’t eaten…despite Raidou offering her food, she barely ate - only out of pure necessity. Another self imposed punishment. Mari’s eyes burned, as she blinked away tears. They streaked through the dirt and grime on her face and soundlessly fell to the leaf lined ground below. She was free. She was back. She was so terrified, and yet so relieved… “I’m…I’m back.” Edited 12 hours ago by Mari Link to post Share on other sites
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