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Inertia
Dec 31, 2023 8:12:09 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Dec 31, 2023 8:12:09 GMT -6
The frigid air stung the inside of their nose, but it was also filled with the unfiltered scent of the trees. It was a smell that embodied the winter atmosphere they were surrounded by. The dry air itself also had a smell, though one that was much more difficult to pin down. Whatever it was, they found it calming, even if it did nip at their skin any chance it got.
Kuii rubbed his head on Silver’s side, then pressed his body against them as he walked past. He stopped when he was standing just ahead of them, his tails wrapping around their back. They rested their hand on his shoulders, idly scratching while they looked around.
The soft sound of a tinkling bell drifted through the air, making Silver’s ears twitch. “Do you hear it?” they asked. Kuii looked up at them, but he didn’t seem to have noticed anything out of the ordinary.
6 [155.45, 11.2]
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Inertia
Dec 31, 2023 8:12:29 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Dec 31, 2023 8:12:29 GMT -6
“I think if we keep going, we will find where it came from,” they said aloud. It was more to gather their thoughts than anything. They seemed oblivious to the fact that they might scare whatever ‘it’ is away with the sound of their voice.
Silver closed their eyes and focused their attention on their ears to see if they could pinpoint the sound. It was definitely coming from within the trees, as opposed to coming from where they just where. Which made sense, considering they could only hear it once they stepped into the tree line. Exactly where it was, however, was difficult to figure out.
It was as if the sound bounced around a lot, first appearing to come from their left, but as soon as they turned, it echoed behind them. They figured that if they headed deeper into the little pine forest, that would be their best bet of finding the source.
7 [155.5, 11.4]
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Inertia
Dec 31, 2023 8:12:48 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Dec 31, 2023 8:12:48 GMT -6
Kuii looked up at Silver, wondering what they were doing. They kept turning their head, and they looked confused, but not upset. He didn’t want to bother them, so he simply rubbed his head against their hip and waited for them to figure out whatever it was they were trying to figure out. He didn’t mind waiting. Where else would he even go?
“Do you hear the chimes, Kuii?” Silver asked. He looked up at them and blinked a few times, which Silver took to mean that he didn’t notice. If he did notice, he probably wouldn’t even know why it was significant. Every single sound in this place would be new to him.
“Which way?” Kuii turned his head to scratch his shoulder, which was as much of an answer as they thought they could get. “Perfect,” they said, heading off in that direction. Every few paces, they stopped to listen again. The chimes were faint and difficult to identify with the sounds of walking interrupting them.
8 [155.55, 11.6]
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Inertia
Dec 31, 2023 8:14:27 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Dec 31, 2023 8:14:27 GMT -6
A few more steps, and… silence. Silver stopped in place, turning their head this way and that, but the chiming was simply gone. They sighed softly, thinking that they would never have a satisfying conclusion to that mystery. Sometimes things worked out like that, especially around the mansion.
It was Kuii who picked up on something strange while Silver was busy thinking about their own unsated curiosity. He crouched low, then pounced suddenly. His paws were wrapped around a strange object he found. His claws extended automatically, reinforcing his grip.
This snapped Silver back into reality, and they looked over to see what he had. “Did you catch something?” they asked. Kuii slowly peeled a few toes away so he could take a look at what he caught. Silver leaned in to look as well, immediately forgetting about the chimes to be curious about this instead. They sincerely hoped that whatever it was hadn't been alive before this.
9 [155.6, 11.8]
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Inertia
Dec 31, 2023 8:14:56 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Dec 31, 2023 8:14:56 GMT -6
Whatever he had wasn’t visible by simply picking up a few toes, so he removed a whole paw. It wasn’t moving, as far as he could tell, so he felt safe to do that. With a whole paw removed, he could finally figure out what it was he caught. It appeared to be extremely thin glass, shattered into tiny pieces from his pounce. He huffed in annoyance and plonked down onto the ground.
“Oh, it’s…” Silver didn’t know what it was, but they certainly thought it was interesting. It was like an ornament or something, smashed up into little bits. They were curious enough to pick up a piece for further inspection. They held it up to their face, but by the time it got there, it had melted.
“It’s ice,” they said, shaking off the little drops of water from their hands. Silver began to laugh quietly. Of course it was ice. What else would it be?
10 [155.65, 12]
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Inertia
Jan 6, 2024 11:59:11 GMT -6
Post by Fiera Ferella on Jan 6, 2024 11:59:11 GMT -6
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Inertia
Jan 31, 2024 23:50:21 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jan 31, 2024 23:50:21 GMT -6
The passing of time was never as obvious as it was at the beginning of a new year. It would seem that everyone was thinking about it at the same time, collectively sharing hopes and dreams, reflections and regrets. Even the mansion celebrated in its own odd way, using its powerful magic to twist and play with the concept of time until it ceased to make sense. Even the gardens defied logic with crystalline plants that looked like they would shatter at a mere touch. Somehow they were flexible to the touch, reminding Silver of a monstera with their waxy texture. It was like stepping into another world. Though this place often evoked such a feeling. Even at its most mundane, the mansion always left them with a lingering feeling that whatever they experienced was not entirely real. Perhaps that’s what continued to draw them back, season after season, as time crept slowly but unwaveringly forward. 1[156.1, 0.2]
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Inertia
Jan 31, 2024 23:50:46 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jan 31, 2024 23:50:46 GMT -6
Sometimes, Silver had a sense of humor when it came to their choice of companion. Often it was a practical matter, such as bringing an aquatic creature during the high tides, but other times it was merely an aesthetic choice. Few creatures embodied the time of the stars better than Vulpe. His dark fur glittered like distant stars nestled in a blanket of endless midnight sky. Where his fur was longer on his tail and mane, the color blended seamlessly into stardust, resembling a galaxy as it swayed with movement.
They knew that Repointe got more magical as they aged, and they were interested in seeing what he grew into. At this age, Vulple was a bit awkward on his hooves with a sturdy body mounted on spindly legs. If he was anything like Maggie, his scales would continue to spread and his horns would grow to many times their current size. Unlike Maggie, however, he had shorter fur and an overall leaner frame. It made them wonder if that meant he might look a bit different from her.
2 [156.2, 0.4]
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Inertia
Jan 31, 2024 23:51:18 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jan 31, 2024 23:51:18 GMT -6
While Silver didn’t have much particular experience with Repointe, they knew enough about creatures in general to see some trends. Now and then the ‘magical’ part of the labs threw them for a loop, but it turned out that most things were more similar than they were different. Even magic seemed to follow… some kind of rules, though they hadn’t quite figured them all out yet. They weren’t so sure they ever would.
“Stay close, Vulpe,” Silver said. They always liked to keep a close eye on their creatures while exploring, and even though he didn’t understand, it made them feel better to say it aloud. They’d gotten so used to talking to themselves that they didn’t even really notice it anymore.
The glitter in the glass gardens felt almost too familiar. The celebrations touched by light always resonated with them, for obvious reasons. It was subtle at first, but as they came to terms with their identity as an elemental, the harmony with other sources of light became stronger.
3 [156.3, 0.6]
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Inertia
Jan 31, 2024 23:51:42 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jan 31, 2024 23:51:42 GMT -6
Vulpe was skittish walking into the unusual garden. A translucent flower caught his attention, so he leaned down to sniff it. He immediately sneezed, sending up a puff of shimmering pollen. He took a step back and looked offended at the flower for daring to assault him. Silver giggled and shook their head. Vulpe squinted at them for a second, then walked over to press his nose into their side.
“Gotta be careful where you stick your nose,” they said. They rubbed some of the leftover pollen off his snout and scratched his chin, both actions coming almost automatically to them.
While idly rubbing their fingers through Vulpe’s fur, Silver’s eyes floated slowly upwards at the constantly fluctuating sky. Though it was daytime when they arrived, the sky inside the gates was filled with a blanket of black velvet dotted with stars. Silver didn’t know that much about stars, but they did know that these ones were unfamiliar. It was like a painting of what someone expected the stars to look like more than the ones that actually existed.
4 [156.4, 0.8]
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Inertia
Jan 31, 2024 23:52:02 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jan 31, 2024 23:52:02 GMT -6
Silver had heard tales from travelers that if you go far enough, the sky itself changes. The stars are different, in a completely different arrangement. They had been to a lot of places in their life, and one of the few things that always seemed the same was the stars. They could only imagine how far they would have to go for even that to change.
One thing they did notice was that, far outside the city the stars were more abundant. Within the walls of the city, the stars were just dots in the sky, but far enough away from it, they were more like a blanket. Vulpe’s fur reminded them of that feeling of looking up into a cloud of stars on a cold, clear night.
A flash of color caught their eye as a glowing object shot out through the unusual leaves of the garden and hurtled toward a patch of tree-like spires.
5 [156.5, 1]
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Inertia
Jan 31, 2024 23:52:22 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jan 31, 2024 23:52:22 GMT -6
Vulpe’s hunting instincts kicked in, and he immediately ran after it in a full sprint. Silver froze for a second before processing the situation and taking off after him.
“Ah, I said… stay close,” they stuttered while panting. One thing that they did know about Repointe was that they were fast. Even worse than an Equillion, they thought. The only way they would be able to catch him was for him to give up the chase, which they did expect him to do. Most creatures (outside of people and puppies) did not sprint for entertainment. They tended to only exert energy when it was necessary (or they were really, really bored).
As predicted, Vulpe stopped deep into the crystal forest when he lost track of the glowing thing. He sniffed the air and walked around a jagged spire of glass. Whatever that was, it seemed that neither of them would get the chance to figure it out.
6 [156.6, 1.2]
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Inertia
Jan 31, 2024 23:52:39 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jan 31, 2024 23:52:39 GMT -6
“There you are,” they grumbled, slowing to a jog and finally coming to a stop. Thankfully he hadn’t gotten too far before losing track of his prey. This place made it easy to get lost under even the best circumstances. It also made running in a straight line exceptionally difficult. In this case, the two sort of balanced each other out.
“Woah, what do you think this is?” they said, placing a gloved hand on a delicate curl jutting out of the crystal-like structure. It almost looked like a tree in the dead of winter, but also more randomly assorted. Trees tended to grow in a somewhat predictable way with branches on top and a trunk at the bottom, but this thing had both straight and curled offshoots coming from seemingly every direction.
“Do you think those flowers grow into this?” they asked. They got the feeling the two were related somehow, even though flowers didn’t usually grow into trees.
7 [156.7, 1.4]
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Inertia
Jan 31, 2024 23:52:55 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jan 31, 2024 23:52:55 GMT -6
Nothing about this place made much sense, and it never did, but sometimes they just got a weird hunch about something that often turned out to be right. Perhaps it wasn’t totally random, but they just weren’t around long enough to see all of the patterns yet. After all, who would believe some of the things that they took for granted in their life? Like a caterpillar growing into a butterfly or a plant with the teeth of a predator. Those things weren’t even close to as weird as most of the stuff cooked up by the labs, either.
They always wondered if the mansion and the labs were connected. Well, nowadays they wondered how they were connected. It was clear that they were, at least in some way. The mansion even had a whole celebration for the labs, transforming it into a fever dream version of the facility itself. Were they created by the same person, perhaps? Like the world’s weirdest version of a job and a vacation home. They could see that.
8 [156.8, 1.6]
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Inertia
Jan 31, 2024 23:57:05 GMT -6
Post by Silver on Jan 31, 2024 23:57:05 GMT -6
Vulpe snorted forcefully, causing Silver to jump and bump their head on the branch overhead. They sharply exclaimed and cupped their head, though it didn’t really hurt. More than anything, they were just surprised by what happened.
A Repointe’s footfalls were completely silent, even when they were running, which made it easy for them to sneak up on their prey. It also made them very good at sneaking up on their spacey owner, of course. Silver frowned, feeling a bit silly for being startled so easily.
“You worry me sometimes,” they said. This was true of most of their creatures, though. Vulpe wasn’t really special in that regard, though he was the most recent offender.
The moon began to move in the sky, positioning itself just right so that it shined through the glass spire in front of them. Silver squinted through the sudden brightness to see an array of colors dancing on the forest floor.
9 [156.9, 1.8]
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