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Post by Vanitypirate on Nov 25, 2018 19:01:59 GMT -8
"How do I... slay it? And cook it, and drink it?" Florence pondered at the stars, making to sit and settle at the top of the open hatch, with her legs bent and resting on the stair.
She curled her arms around herself, as though to brace against the light breeze..
"...Is it able to be slain?"
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Post by Bloodtrailkiller on Nov 25, 2018 19:20:09 GMT -8
/[Florence]/
[the Red One]
"It consumes... anything. Poison it, dry it, cleave it asunder."
It impressed some small wisdom upon her, though it didn't seem entirely sure itself,
"... Cook it over... a fire. Brew it with... water. Heat it, in small portions. A droplet."
There was a small throb to her eardrums, the rest of the world seemed distant as it spoke to her,
"It has been slain before. We will make it so, forevermore."
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Post by Vanitypirate on Nov 25, 2018 19:31:37 GMT -8
Florence sighed and leaned her head against her hand; she suspected she might faint again as the rest of waned so slightly. Shifting, so that if that happened to be the case, she might not topple haplessly down the stairs, and rather harmlessly instead to the side of the unfinished floorworks of the home-to-be.
"By whom was it slain? And what means?" She probed further, at risk to her own health, she knew...
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Post by Bloodtrailkiller on Nov 25, 2018 19:43:09 GMT -8
/[Florence]/
[the Red One]
"Me."
There was a pause, an awkward shifting of waters as it tried to keep its flow true and steady,
"... As... one may interpret it."
"The Speechless Deep once spoke to many and all beneath the blueshift waves. I drew it forth with ripe souls and blood where its shapelessness became simple, and the Darkslayer bathed it in oils to catch it aflame. The heat and distance from the blue made it evermore tangible, real... and weak. Thus, it was clove asunder."
There was bitter growl as the water which wreathed Florence's mind spun in a spiteful dance of nausea,
"The Darkslayer cast it to the flames, and there, to the Heart; and so it lingers there..."
The star in the sky flared at its mention.
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Post by Vanitypirate on Nov 25, 2018 20:06:09 GMT -8
There was a real fear that she might be sick, and so Florence bent her head and leaned into the crook of her arm; restoring bloodflow to the brain, thereby reducing dizziness and nausea... and the chance that she might faint.
She focused on the cool air on her face. The breeze...
"What is the Darkslayer? ...And the Heart?" She queried on, for once not out of a burning desire or curiosity, but as a solemn duty to see this through to the end, no matter the cost.
"It is fire that weakens this creature?"
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Post by Bloodtrailkiller on Nov 25, 2018 20:25:28 GMT -8
/[Florence]/
[the Red One]
"The Darkslayer was Man. And..."
There was a pause, a pondering as the nausea faded as well as the dizziness; water finally settling in a stirred cup,
"... Terrifiying to behold. His inexorable fury had slain many in the name of the Heart..."
Another pause, this time, of some worry. A dull throbbing in the back of her mind began to pick up,
"... The Heart rests deep within this world. Buried and hiding... Gestating. It is my greatest desire. Perhaps, someday, thou shalt bring me unto it."
"Fire did weaken it... But the Speechless Deep reigns in the deep blue... Water. It is weakened by any means which dries it."
The Red One hummed and sighed tiredly,
"Fire will only send it to the Heart, where it will be reborn."
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Post by Vanitypirate on Nov 25, 2018 20:40:49 GMT -8
"Is that Man still living?" Florence lifted her head from her arms to squint at the sky once more, as though to deign more efficient information from its stars.
She was grateful that the nausea had abated, but ever-wary that it would return. Or worse.
"I am uncertain as to how to hunt a creature that lives in the water. Or to bring it forth and desiccate it."
She rubbed her forehead with a slight wince.
"Why do you desire the Heart? How do you get to something deep in the world? How..." It was overwhelming. She stopped herself, paused, and continued with something more pertinent:
"Is it just this... Heart's, and the Speechless Deep's, souls that you wish to collect?"
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Post by Bloodtrailkiller on Nov 25, 2018 20:57:25 GMT -8
/[Florence]/
[the Red One]
A pulse, a heartbeat, not like Florence's own thrummed over her mind like a chord of a cello plucked by one's fingers. It was... unnervingly soothing. An expulsion of dopamine wrought forth with intent, rather than reflex.
"The Darkslayer never dies, yet he will never live. He only slays. It is... a sad existence."
"Use... Blood, and soul, to draw it forth from the blueshift. It is... not. Smart."
There was a confidence that exuded itself over Florence, a second mind that thought for her,
"The Heart is a great soul... The Ancestor of this Estate dug deep to reach unspoken secrets."
The words did not sting as whatever influence The Red One had over her seemed to throttle itself as it grew accustomed to her mind.
There was a sudden stroke of amusement in Florence, at the prospect of such collection of souls. It was a pitying laugh.
"Seek the Speechless Deep first. I will tell thee of a second when thou art ready."
"Perhaps, some day, thy path will be set to the Heart... it would please me."
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Post by Vanitypirate on Nov 25, 2018 21:11:32 GMT -8
Humors churned and mixed and changed faster than Florence could register: elation, then nausea, then... amusement, at what she could not decipher.
She furrowed her brows, unkempt and rather stark against her pallid face.
"That's not a fair trade..." She countered unhappily, cocking her head to one should as though to squint at this invisible entity.
"One of the souls for which I am asking is an unborn child. Its mother is sickly, frail, and unstable. These are nonequivalent to a monstrous, invincible soul."
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Post by Bloodtrailkiller on Nov 25, 2018 21:19:59 GMT -8
/[Florence]/
[the Red One]
"Its mother was strong, and has slain many great souls."
The Red one slithered about in her mind and seemed to try and stand before her impertinent squint with dignity; but there was nothing but empty air.
"Slay the Speechless Deep."
There was swift, evaporating presence from her pores and openings of her corpus, as the Red One rescinded its influence...
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Post by Vanitypirate on Nov 26, 2018 20:24:37 GMT -8
Florence stewed in the ensuing silence and the chill on her face and hands, under the night sky and the stars.
It was... oddly peaceful, and soothing. She did not recall the last instance in which she had admired her surroundings. Typically, her nose was in her books and she thought nothing of its aesthetics.
Perhaps it was difficult to enjoy it with half of her senses masked, behind a beak and lens.
She tucked her legs underneath her and sat on that half-built floor, watching the stars. And then she spoke into the nothingness.
"I wish you would come back. I would like to bargain with you, and I have more questions."
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Post by Vanitypirate on Dec 3, 2018 0:30:13 GMT -8
/Lekalis/ "Will do, my Love; likewise, try not to bleed from the face while I'm gone." He teased lightly with a wink that held more trepidation than a jest 'ought. The prospect of Tilly suddenly and spontaneously suffering from some malady of the curse was all too real... The measure of spontaniety nagged at him. There had to be a pattern... With a quick cough, he cleared his mind and gave Tilly a quick nod before he started down into the abyssal dark of the cellar; the candle seemed to still be out so he rather assumed Florence was still asleep. So he hoped, at least. In his gut, knowing this realm's matter of madness, he let a hand drift to the hilt of his falchion as he steel'd his nerves and descended, gingerly calling out Florence's name... \Lekalis departs to Misc. Buildings\ Florence was waiting rather patiently and neatly on the ground in the center of the basement room, legs folded criss-cross beneath her and her ungloved fingers laced together. She was unmasked: her greasy hair hung down about her rather grim-looking face. Her belongings were, for the most part, all packed up, save for a sheet of parchment, an inkwell, and a quill. She seemed to be waiting for him. "Hello, Lekalis." She answered stiffly into the dark, "I was waiting for you." |
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Post by Bloodtrailkiller on Dec 3, 2018 0:34:20 GMT -8
/Lekalis/
"O-oh!" He was startled by Florence's appearance, despite his search; she looked... curious. Lekalis had never rightly stumbled upon Florence so unmasked besides the moment within the bathhouse of the Abbey, where she'd been in counsel with Adeney... The thought still brought a shameful and frustrated flush to his cheeks and he felt his hands slightly curl into fists as he stepped towards Florence and her curiously set self.
"Apologies; the chowder took some time to brew... But it is warm." He assured her as he approached and took to a knee beside her, setting down the bowl and looking to the parchment, inkwell, and quill.
Lekalis noted her packed gear and felt some worry brew up; was she to depart somewhere? The last time she had, she returned with an apparent assistant and lover in tow. The thought didn't sit well with him.
"I'd thought you sleeping; what's all this then? Are we to take notes?" he queried, motioning to the parchment...
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Post by Vanitypirate on Dec 3, 2018 0:43:15 GMT -8
"I spoke with the Red One and he agreed to free you and your family's souls in exchange for other souls. In particular, the souls of the Estate's terrors. He has shown me the first that I must obtain, at the center of a series of docks that extend into the Cove."
Florence steepled her hands beneath her chin and watched Lekalis.
"As with all expeditions, it is not unlikely that I may die on this pursuit, but I believe firmly that this is the most certain method to return your souls. Before I leave, in the event that I do perish, there is information I would like you to know that may help you."
She pointed to the parchment in front of her.
"I shall write it down, so you do not forget."
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Post by Bloodtrailkiller on Dec 3, 2018 0:49:25 GMT -8
/Lekalis/
His brows furrowed more at the mention of her plausible death than the communion with the Red One. Lekalis had long since had a feeling some deal or exchange would need to be struck for the matter of souls to be solved within a feasible timespan. Still, he nodded agreeably... Florence either risked her Life for expediency or risked her Life for ethicality.
"I see..." Lekalis muttered with some despair as he thumbed the impercievable scar at his throat.
"... I will listen and read. And not forget." He agreed and sat down on the opposite end of the paper to Florence.
"Where will we begin?"
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