#divineshadows 01

[necroticrose]

@divineshadows​

“This tree... does it have some significance?” Her hand is surprisingly gentle as she touches the trunk of the great tree, gazing up at its leaves.

In her exploration of the Cotes, she was surprised to see such a tree actually in the city. It’s something she had considered for the world she wanted to build so long ago-- nature fusing with the cities themselves.

...though she knows now a world like that is an impossibility.

“Surprising how it thrives with so many people around frolicking beneath its branches... where I’m from, people have no such respect for the natural world. Such parasites would have surely killed a tree like this.”

[apexquartz]

She awakes to an immediate feeling that something is wrong. It’s already wrong that she woke up, as if she’d been sleeping, but there is so much else to focus on that she barely thinks about it. Her body is stiff, cold—the sun has passed overhead, and she now rests in the shade. A pain is gnawing away from somewhere deep inside. And her response? The stinging feeling of tears welling up in her eyes.

How mortifying.

It takes some time to force this new body to stand, and she realizes she has no idea where she is. Somewhere with trees, and grass underfoot... that really narrows it down. She steps out into the waning sunlight, in search of a path.

And she stumbles, falling face-first on the fortunately soft ground.

“Ugh...”

@divineshadows​

[darkenforcer]

@divineshadows

gotta admit, the accommodations in archimedes aren't too bad. yuri's definitely lodged in worse. now he's exploring the rest of his residential district, perking up as a blonde kid exits a nearby condo. by itself, it isn't really notable, no -- what's really important is the tasty aroma wafting through the door behind him.

"that your cooking in there?" he gets right to the point, not bothering with any formalities, "smells friggin' amazing." familiar, too, like a recipe he's made before (no way the wonder chef's here, is he?).

oh man, now this has him craving one meal in particular. "say... you happen to know a thing or two about mabo curry?"

[compassionatefade]

@divineshadows​

“Two as one and one as two,” Cole calls, quiet but carrying, his toes dangling down into the air from the branch he’s perched on. Up high is better, most days, and though he hates the fright often sparked by a voice from nowhere (it isn’t nowhere, but up is a place so many people forget about), but they’ll usually be frightened no matter what he does. If he’s farther away, they tend to feel - not better, but less bad.

This will be - difficult. It isn’t their-his fault - it’s Cole’s, or, it isn’t - because that’s the problem it’s all wrapped around, and the problem of this problem especially. It’s not the same, obviously. But it’s bad enough, how tangled he gets when it isn’t too close to muddle him. He needs to be better about keeping it separate, needs to find someone to help, or to practice.

He hasn’t found anyone for that, yet, or a good way to keep what’s separate straight. It would be... better, if he had before, or if he could wait - if he-they were talking it through, if someone else was helping heal. But it’s all been pushed aside again, and - well, he’s here. So, ham-handed half-help it will be, for now.

“Is it hard, only one speaking to anyone but each other? When you have words, but pushing through means pushing past, so if you can speak sounds you’ve just swapped silences. I can hear you both, if you want.” Or if they don’t want. But it would be nice if it was helping.

[eternalrecurrxnce]

“.. Emil.”

“You were harder to find than I expected.” Once, he would have greeted the boy with warmth; with an extended hand to help guide the both of them through this strange, new world that they’d found themselves in. But Richter offered no such pleasantries to Emil as he stood before him; arms crossed loosely over one another while his fingers dug deep into the sleeves of his coat.

It took everything in the half-elf to remain as composed as he was, though he was sure that Emil could see the fire coursing through his eyes; threatening to consume his very soul the more the pair stood staring at one another. Even if they had parted ways before their final battle could take place, that hardly seemed to break the tension between them; those horrendous feelings he’d been holding onto, combined with the pure shock of finding Aster again contorting the expression on his face into one that was hardly readable. 

There was no denying that Richter was furious. He should have been relishing in the chance to live alongside his friend again, but instead, he was once more plagued with Ratatosk’s selfishness; hiding behind a false sense of hope, of promises to keep Aster in the dark.. it was the last thing that he’d ever deserved, after losing his life by the summon spirit’s hand. And if Emil thought for one moment that he’d have a chance to pursue Aster further, Richter would be putting those desires to bed before they could ever surface.

“Tell me.. when exactly were you planning on telling Aster the truth? Or if not for my appearance, would you have continued to uphold that damn lie to the face of the person Ratatosk murdered?”

                                                                               –   ☼☽;   ( @divineshadows​​ )

[firstclassrookie]

@divineshadows​​​ | something seems ice-fishy

“Hey kid, do you really think there’s some kind of murder fish down there?” Leon leans over the hole in the ice, gazing into the freezing water below. He’d heard a few rumors about this event, and though he’s never done much fishing himself, he knows a thing or two about monster fish.

“I mean, we’d be able to see it, right? With all of these people dropping bait in, it definitely would have showed up by now.”

...well, hopefully. The last fish he’d dealt with only responded when a person fell in the water, and Leon isn’t about to take one for the team.

[rudebustxr]

                                                        (  ✴ @divineshadows​​​​ ! )

“...... you gonna stop staring at me any time soon?” he hadn’t said anything to her, but Susie could feel the kid’s eyes on her the moment she came into view, and it was already getting old. Kris was the only human she knew, but it wasn’t like they were completely out of the ordinary.. so what was this one’s problem? Hadn’t he ever seen a monster before? 

Deciding to test the waters, Susie’s placid expression suddenly turned somewhat dark; stepping closer to the boy before forcibly shoving her arm against the wall behind him, keeping him from being able to escape. Her mouth slowly turned into a grin, opening slightly to show off her yellow teeth in an attempt to scare the crap out of him.

“C’mon.. I’ll only bite if you piss me off.”

[spiderstaff]

@divineshadows​​

“Hey, you’re Emil, right...?” They’d met in passing, and she’d heard his name from some of her friends, too. It sounds like maybe things are complicated with him and the others right now, but she doesn’t know him very well at all. And her dads say it’s never nice to judge others until you meet them yourself. Luckily for him, she’s got the perfect bonding activity in mind!

“Are you busy?” She gives him her most innocent smile and pleading eyes. “I need to do a little shopping, and since we’re here...” she’s already pulling him by the hand toward the grocery store-- hopefully that’s where he was headed anyway. “Would you mind going with me? I have trouble reaching the high shelves, and the employees get suspicious of a kid running around by herself...”

[gleamknight]

@divineshadows​

“You should take a picture, kid, it might last longer.”  While not in Zelos’s immediate vicinity, he could feel eyes on him, full of glower and an almost familiar contempt.  Though, the reason for contempt was beyond him, he certainly bore a face Zelos had never seen around here before.  There was an off chance they were from the same world...Which, then the contempt would be a bit more justified.  Zelos was every bachelor’s worst nightmare, back home.  Maybe he stole the heart of this guy’s lover.

The thought was amusing.

“It’s not nice to stare, y’know.”