Garden -- Xavier Estate -- 9th Floor -- Tower of Illusion -- Niflheim
Taken from the minds of those present who spent time in the Xavier
Estate, this botanical garden is simply stunning. The most beautiful flora
from around the globe have been collected and cultivated here, and the winding
paths and tall bush walls eliminate all trace of civilization from this
location. The further down you go from the mansion, the more pronounced the
effect.
Beyond the edge of this garden lies a small Zen rock-garden. A sea of
little, red pebbles have been swept in elegant and peaceful patterns around
two boulders of differing sizes. The effect is one of total tranquility. A
strange place of peace in this world of unrest. There is a doorwary present,
already showing itself, not attempting to hide. This is obviously a "go-
between" room, not meant for more then a moments rest. And perhaps a snack. Is
that an apple tree?
Paige is unconscious. Zzzz.
And next to Paige, is Jono, also unconscious. Although he is jacketless,
having draped his over Paige's form. He's fine, curled into a ball, the
tatters of his turtleneck doing little to hide the chamber of energy swirling
calmly.
Jubilee is, of course, still awake. For someone who stubbornly refuses to
sleep any time other then when her body forces her, she does seem awefully
awake and alert when she /is/ conscious. She's just finishing up an apple,
leaning against one of the tree's and quietly watching the group.
Terry is curlled up in the apple tree, starting an apple. Red looks only a
little less tired.
Gwen Namura is blissfully curled up asleep. Yawn. Zzzz.
The doorway that has been standing open the entire day they've been
resting here - which they deserved surely, after all they've been through -
begins to change slightly. It morphs like computer animation in a particually
good movie and turns from a normal every day door frame, into a shinning
silver arch, leading into a layer of pure white. Can't see what's in the next
room, but then rarely have you ever been able to before you actually took the
first steps. The change though, notes a sense that they'd better get moving.
Or at least some of them had better.
Rahne lifts her head from the lazy wolf nap she'd been taking. Yes, she'd been
sleeping in wolf form. It's just easier to feel safe like that when the senses
are most alive. She moves to her feet (all four of them) and stretches belly
low to the ground before opening her jaws in a yawn and snapping them shut
again.
Paige is curled safely within Jono's embrace. She's dead to the world,
however, and sleeping out of sheer exhaustion, not becaues she wants to catch
up on rest.
And the psi sleeps to try to recharge his psionic reserves, trying to draw
from this unnatural place, to protect Paige, and his compatriots.
Jubilee perks up her head as the archway forms, and a brow soon follows. Hm..
Jubilee pulls herself up to her feet, ignoring the aching muslces and the way
her mind begs for a few more minutes of slumber. Wolvie taught her how to move
beyond it, and she's milking those lessons now for all they're worth. Of
course, when this is all over, she'll sleep for a month and refuse to move for
a few after that.. She approches the glowing archway and furrows her brow..
"Looks like it's time to move on."
Terry lands lightly as she falls out of the tree, "Wake up all.." She gives a
short scream to those who slumber, low enough not to be to disturbing but
strong enough to give them a slight jostle.
Gwen Namura says, "Gyah!" She flips to her feet out of a sound sleep, then
rolls to the side. Then looks around... "Oh, next level time?"
The doorway glistens slightly as it waits. It doesn't seem to be rushing
anyone. It isn't gonna give a scare like the phonebooth going off right before
you all got out of it. It's just waiting. Or at least... that's what it seems
to be doing. There is something changing about the room though. As if as an
insentive to move forward. The plants, the trees... everything... seems to be
dying. Like watching a plant wilt in timelapse photography. Yes, Gwen, next
level time.
Rahne contitues to pad forward into the that bright light, though there is a
low whine from her throat. There aren't many left who's turns haven't gone
yet. She'd just as soon go home if it were all the same. She's probably
missing classes after all. How long -have- they been here? But all the same,
in she goes.
Grrrooooooannn. Paige cracks one one eye open, and then sighs softly. "Get up,
Jono." She murmurs softly, her voice conveying the aching tiredness. Yeah, she
had lessons she learned from Emplate about... staying awake. But those husks
have taken alot out of her, and she's *tired*... So very *tired*... But
regardless, she's also determined. She's bled for Ev, walked through fire for
Ev, so you think she can plug on a few more levels. After all, they're more
then half way through, ain't they?
A mental groan pierces everyone's mind, a groan of resistance as Jono is
prodded away, H(~~..we `ome yet?~~) he mumbles telepathically, the energies in
his chest twisting and swirling to life as he stirs. (~~...g'mme m'jacket,
luv..~~) he says to Paige, reachoing for the leather, to try to cover himself
up.
Jubilee glances around quick as she notices all the live stuff dying.. and,
just incase, Jube dashes back over to an apple tree and plucks off a few which
have yet to start to rot, stuffing pockets. Should they too start to rot,
however, she'll simply toss them away. A glance is cast towards Paige and Jono
before Jube turns to the archway. "C'mon, hurry up, you can rub your eyes
later. We gotta move." With that, Jube follows Rahne through the archway.
Terry joins Rahne and Jubilee through the archway, her movements only a little
stiff. You'd be feeling stiff too if you'd managed to sleep in that tree.
Gwen Namura tilts her head, and follows Jubilee's lead, both in apple picking,
and in heading for the arch.
The apple tree, is different. Since it wasn't an illusion from the
beginning, it doesn't really rot. But everything else did, so the apples are
still good. And they will be, for as long as real apples are good. Lishka went
through the trouble and conjuring up a real apple tree just for you all. And
it's unlikely she'll be getting a thank you. Not that anyone could blame the
group for not giving a thanks.
Rahne's Room -- Tower of Illusion -- Niflheim
A cavernous space that plays at contrasts. It is hard to pin down a
single thing here. There is in a corner a doll house, a child's dream of a
perfect world and loving family. But the house is at the same time like an
Escher painting, at once huge and claustrophobic. Oppressive shadows are cast
from the arch of a cathedral and from trees, ancient secrets. They seem almost
at war, the primal call of nature with the strict structures of church.
Opposite the doll's house is a wedding gown stained crimson, the ends of the
skirt tattered and torn. And in the very center of the room a bonfire, the
flames licking upwards and beginning to expand as if they could come to
swallow everything. Its border is marked by items: To the east, a bible; to
the south a wolf sitting on its haunches; to the west a sketch of the ocean
and a mermaid at play; and to the north a garland of flowers that seem almost
ritualistic. In the deepest folds of her mind, there are too many
uncertainties and she still has much to learn of who she is.
Rahne shifts upon entering the area, wincing slightly. She's never really
-had- a home that suited her, a place she ever settled into enough to think of
it as her permanent home. It seems Lishka just took a little bit of everything
from the rather mucked up psyche that hides itself behind being one of the
saner ones.
Paige stalks in behind the rest, tiredness showing in her every movement.
"What the hell...?" She murmurs as she looks around, at the bizarre imagrey
that displays itself. "It's lahke walkin' into a paintin' with a theme on
Paganism vs. Christiany... an' then some." She notes idly to her.
Jono echoes Paige's statement (~~..wot t'ell...?~~) as he gets a glimpse at
this twisted little piece of work. He zips the jacket up completely, dulling
the light he gives off.
Jubilee glances all around the room and arches a brow in curiousity, looking
over everything, walking around slowly.. Finally, her head turns and eyes find
the wolf-girl, a light frown of sympathy coming to her lips. "I get the
feeling this is your little corner of hell, Rahne.." The Bible tipped her off.
She sighs lightly and lifts up a hand, brushing back her hair. Yeah, they're
all gunna have to go through it.. poor Rahne.
Terry shivers with fear, "I dinna believe this."
Gwen Namura looks around. "I kinda dig it. It's like a sand painting or
sumpin. This has got to mean somethin to someone here, cause it's not anywhere
specifically real." She pauses. "Maybe we have to solve it fore the fire burns
up everything?"
The fire in the center - more fire? You all are probably sick of fire
after the last real room - continues to burn, making it's presense known. The
heat isn't half as bad as the heat of the previous fire of course. And it
isn't growing as fast as it could be. This room has to be around long enough
for Rahne to face it after all. The room sits here at first. Not doing
anything why everyone can look at each of the elements involved in the room.
Then something begins. On the east border. The bible opens up by itself and
the pages start to flip. The pages are pale white, with bright gold lettering
instead of black. It continues to turn until it gets to around the middle -
somewhere in the Book of Mark for some reason - and the golden letters shimmer
for a minute. They move up, over the book and form... well... a hologram. A 3
dimensional one. It seems to be a hologram of... Reverand Craig?
Rahne closes her eyes for a moment, fingers curling against her palm as she
sees the figure. It's a hologram, not even an illusion. Deep breaths fill her
lungs and she steps as far from the fire as she can get. Somewhere in her mind
the litany of the bible goes up against the litany that this is only illusion.
And mind you it's in a pagan underworld! Some things are not right.
Paige looks ... and blinks. She knows almost next to nothing about Rahne's
past, and so.. she dosen't know Reverend Craig from a hill of beans. How
lovely.
Jono is looking around, trying to make heads or tails of this, hoping he gets
to shoot Lishka again.
Jubilee too knows nothing of Reverend Craig except having heard his name a few
times, so she's assumed he's kind of Rahne's father or some such.. maybe to
Rahne what Wolvie is to Jube? If only Jube knew how far off the mark that is..
She frowns as Rahne starts to back up, and thats enough for this girl to get
the idea that she needs a little support from her friends. And since no one
else is providing it, Jube steps forward to Rahne and puts a hand on the girls
shoulder, squeezing, looking conserned. "He ain't real, Rahne. It's just
Lishka screwing with your mind."
Terry chews her bottom lip she goes to stand with Rahne, a girl who is
practically a sister thanks to Sean and Moira, "Rahne y' ken make it
through.."
Gwen Namura moves over to Rahne. "Trust yourself. We trust you."
Jubilee, Lishka doesn't -need- to screw with Rahne's mind, anymore then
she needed to screw with the rest of yours. She's merely showing what some of
you are afraid to see. The hologram continues to move, something else joining
it. Another person. This one is extremely vague. All that's clear about this
shape is that it is female. Her and the... Reverand look at each other for a
long moment, then they shimer and get sucked back into the letters of the
bible. A few more pages turn. This time the letters are black. A deep, black,
almost piercing in contrast the the glowing white pages. When they jump up to
form a picture, they again become Reverend Craig, but beside him is the form
of a little girl. Niether have color, or any light spots. The whole image
almost carries a feeling of isolation and despair. As if to help accent that,
the air in the area seems to be growing stale.
Rahne continues forcing the breaths, but the growling begins deep in her
throat at the vague image of a woman. She almost goes forward then as she
feels the pull of a cavernous emptiness. Moira's made a family of sorts, but
it has been one separated by an ocean since she met her adoptive mother.
Crescent moons shape themselves in the palm of her hand as she gulps a breath
of the heavy air. That man... the one who raised her, and more. Why does she
have to see him again? "How do we get on from here?"
"I don't know, darlin'." Paige voices, as she sniffes the air. Stinks of
suffocation to Paige, and she's not fond of it. "What does this... mean t'
ya?"
The psi just watches, confused to the extreme.
Jubilee frowns softly at Rahne and takes her hand, giving it a squeeze. "You
gotta face this, Rahne. That's how. You gotta face whatever this means ta ya,
just like Terry and Sam and Paige did. It's in your past, whatever it is, and
it can't hurt you anymore." Brave words for the girl who's scared out of her
mind about what she may have to face later on..
"Believe me Rahne, y' ha' t' face it, iffen y' y' dinna... we'll ne'er get out
o' here.." Terry looks worried, she tilts her head keeping her hands on Rahne.
Gwen Namura just sits down. "You know you can do it, bosslady. No problem."
Heh. And almost as soon as Jubilee says that the Bible closes with a
loud -THUMP- and the holograms are squished. Squished by the Bible of all
things. Kind of ironic. The area seems to... change a little. The east end of
the room settling down, as if turning off. It's done, here. Now the south wall
seems to activate. The wolf sitting there rears it's head back and howls
loudly. A genuine wolf howling at the moon. In fact, now there's a moon in the
room. Above the bonfire, stained blood red. Something about the wolf is
just... well... It doesn't look... nice. It looks completely real, and almost
-more- the real. The howl continues to draw out for a moment, and the air
shifts smells again, this time smelling like smoke. But the smell is only an
illusion. No one is going to die of breathing it.
Rahne lowers, crouching down, though she still looks towards the east at
times. The crouch is almost feral, hands between her knees as she stares at
the wolf. Green eyes glint towards yellow before she straightens and moves
around the circle towards the wolf, avoiding the fire and being to close to
it. It brings her past the bible, fingers trailing over the book and leaving a
single claw mark.
Paige just watches Rahne quietly, staying close to Jonothon in the quiet
strangeness. She knows the howl of the hunter - she's worn the form, in one
way or another, of a predator, and her eyes simply remain trained on Rahne,
waitinh.
Jono stays close to Paige, to protect her.
Jubilee too just stands back for this one.. Illusion wolf or no, an attack
would be painfull. And this is all Rahne's to deal with. The best any of them
can do is be here for her to support her if she needs it.
Terry crouches down as she watches. Her eyes clearly on Rahne, "C'mon Rahne..
y' ken d' this.."
Gwen Namura just sits and watches Rahne.
The wolf lowers it's muzzle from the howl and gets up onto all fours,
looking at Rahne with golden eyes glowing with a dark nature. Golden eyes.
Eyes that seem intelligent, yet... beast-like at the same time. Eyes that
shimmer in the light cast by the flames. It lowers down closer to the ground,
getting into a position like a wolf about to leap, all the while growling,
lips pulled up to reveal sharp teeth, ears tucked against it's head. Something
about it, perhaps the sleekness of it's form, makes it seem female. It's fur
is dark, highlighted with silver and red. But that could be the way the light
is falling on it right now.
Rahne crouches down and holds out her hand, palm up and cupped. Her eyes are
down, the gesture of one who is not a threat. She learned the ways of the
creatures of the wild, her cousins, not so long ago. "We've made our peace, I
thought," Her voice is low, hints of the growl in it.
Paige just stands back, watching.
Jubilee looks a little confused by Rahne and the wolfs actions, but still she
doesn't do anything besides stand back and watch this all unfold.. maybe this
won't be /too/ bad for Rahne..?
Terry reaches out to touch Jubilee's shoulder with a reasurring grin, she then
turns back to watch Rahne and her confronter.
Gwen Namura sits and watches, and doesn't open her big fat yapping mouth at
all.
The wolf continues to growl loudly, almost louder then a normal wolf's
growl. But then this isn't the real world. A wolf's growl could be made louder
then anything else if Lishka wanted. But right now it just overshadows all
other sounds in the room. The room continues to smell like smoke, but it
doesn't make anyone cough because it just smells like it, it isn't preventing
the amount of oxygen getting to the brain or anything. Then the wolf... seems
to understand the gesture, and settle down slightly. Or at least it doesn't
look like it's about to leap anymore. On the other hand, it still seems ready
for any sudden movements or anything that even appears to be a threat.
Rahne remains still near the wolf for a long moment. She doesn't turn her back
on the flames, wary of them. The red head finally lifts her throat, submission
and defiance as once as she slowly gets to her feet and howls aloud. After
all, there are still some fond memories of the norse. Asgard was a good trip
the first time.
Gwen Namura just sits and listens, jumping slightly when Rahne howls.
Terry watches Rahne with some sort of confusion, she just mutters, "C'mon
Rahne."
The wolf watches silently as Rahne howls. It's golden colored eyes seem
to flicker with a small amount of understanding, which quickly dies away into
nothing but hatred. Before the beast at least showed signs of humanity and
intelligence, but now all that is gone. It's lips pull back to bare it's teeth
and it starts to walk forward slowly, it's growl oddly low and quiet this
time. It's moving toward Rahne... And at the same time, on the opposite end of
the room. The north end. The one with the garlend of flowers, is suddenly
desturbed. Why Lishka chooses moments like these to let people drop out of the
sky is -anyone's- guess. But someone who was sound asleep when everyone moved
on, and just recently woke up, is now being thrown into the mix. Namely, Mr.
Sam Guthrie. Why she decided to drop him from 10 feet up in the air is
anyone's guess. Maybe she just enjoys letting the mortals know she can do
whatever she pleases with them. Another thing, the damn ceilings in these
rooms are so far up. Of course this one doesn't even -have- a ceiling. It just
has a moon stained red.
And down Mr. Guthrie comes, still plagued with his sleepy state and unable to
react in time and avoid the inevitable. *THUMP* The southern boy lands in the
patch of flowers with a groan. Well, it definitely woke him up. Now on his
back, Sam perks his head up and peers around, spotting his teammates and the
wolf that is now approaching Rahne. "Guys? Rahney, what's goin' on?" Unsure if
the wolf approaching Rahne is a threat, he gets to his feet with a grunt and
calmly begins approaching the young Scottish girl. Once close enough, Sam gets
that gut instinct that this wolf is bad news, explaining why he takes a quick
move towards Rahne, putting a hand on her shoulder area. "Ah don't lahke this
thing...s'he need ta be takin' out?" He'll let Rahne decide wether to attack,
she is the one that would know best, afterall.
Gwen Namura sits and watches. She shifts a bit to watch Sam and Rahne's back.
The phrase jumping out of your skin is usually figurative. But between Rahne
and Paige, it's got to be disconcertingly accurate. The touch when her systems
are attuned startles her, body skipping a beat and shifting suddenly into full
lupine form once more, except slightly larger than usual. Teeth bare as she
holds her ground in front of the other wolf. Her pack. HERS. Noone else gets
to plaly with them. There've been enough new faces to distract her friends,
even another shapeshifter! But another wolf? Nuh uh. No way.
"Sam.. y' ha' t' let Rahne d' this. We canna face wah she needs t'!" Terry
calls from where she keeps back her eyes watching Rahne and the wolf.
The wolf continues to move forward slowly, takeing each step gracefully,
and effortlessly, but somehow tense at the same time. All it's muscles are
pulled together in a fluidity of motion, and the silver and red highlights on
it's fur continue to shift under the strange lighting of the area. The smoke
smell continues to grow. The growl deep in it's throat turns into a couple
load barks of warning. It's eyes... what do they seem to be like in some ways?
Besides the wild eyes of a wolf who's been driven mad by anger and isolation.
This certainly isn't a pack wolf. It lacks the social graces. But... the eyes.
Lishka's eyes are golden. And as isolated and lonely as these eyes are. But
Lishka usually clouds her anger with ice, and apathy, but that doesn't mean it
isn't there. The wolf continues this for another moment or two, but... then
suddenly it seems to fade. As if it walked past the barrier it was allowed to
go through. It seems to go intangable, and slightly transparent, then it
vanishes completely.
Sam glances at Terry as she speaks, giving a nod and stepping away from Rahne.
He soon relises that this is /her/ fear room, the room that she has to beat on
her own. Although it strains him to do so, he hangs back near the doll house,
letting the situation progress. His hands clench into fists as he watches the
wolf continue to advance on Rahne, despising the lingering thought of knowing
he can't do a thing to help out. Then...it's gone. Sam heaves a sigh of
relief, clenched body seeming to mellow out. "Rahne....ya alraght?" His tone
is calm and soft. Is that it? That seemed rather...easy?
Rahne takes a moment to remain in wolf form before she shifts back to human
and runs her hands back through her hair. May as well move on and try to see
what else she has to do. "'m fine," she murmurs, back slightly curled as she
moves to the picture and touches her fingertips gently to it and then the
flowers on turn. She turns her back on the fire and moves towards the doll
house and its figures, to the image of home from a plastic world she always
had, distorted by her lack of anything close to normalacy at any time in her
existence.
Terry glances over Rahne, "Y'sure?"
The smokey smell in the air vanishes as soon as that scene is finished,
and turns... misty. Like air thick with moisture. Can ya'll take a wild guess
witch wall is next to the list? The west wall, the sketch of the ocean, begins
to come alive. Like animation except it still looks like a charcoal sketch. A
rather peaceful feel to the area, instead of the other two, which didn't
really have as much peace. It almost seems... out of place. Perhaps this room
is hitting Rahne with all her things at the same time. Fears and desires.
Sam stays where he is, keeping to cautious eyes upon Rahne and making sure she
stays calm and rational. Hey, he flipped on some of the past rooms, what's
stopping Rahne from snapping in this room? He folds his arms across his chest,
regarding the ocean wall as the mist rolls in. Is the room going to fill up
with water again? He hopes not. "Any ideah what this one's 'bout, Rahney?"
Referring to the ocean wall and mist, of course.
Rahne isn't entirely sure, though she walks into the mist. The room didn't let
her confront Craig, so she seeks a confrontation or at least some hint of
knowledge from what's left. "I dinnae rightly ken," she says, lower lip
trembling. Maybe she does know. The one key to a normal life, or partly normal
maybe. A world outside of superheroes that makes her happy.
Terry folds her arms across her waist, she watches Rahne certainly more than a
little concerned. She chews her bottom lip.
Confrontion? Well, it's no where near over yet, Rahne. Still so many
elements left in the room. And not talking about the four elements either. And
right now it seems to be focased on merely showing. Odd, how the smell of
water in the air can be so refreashing with a huge bonfire nearby. The fire
continues to burn, unheeded by the moisture in the air. The water shifts tides
tranquilly, nothing drastic or desturbing. Totally peaceful. The charcoal
mermaid glances over at the others, for a moment her eyes looking greenish
instead of black and white, then she does a twist and vanishes into the
charcoal waves, swimming away, her tail flicking out of the water every so
often until she vanishes completely.
Sam walks up near Rahne, into the mist and watching the mermaid flicker out
into the depths of the charcoal water. Not a word is said, he just stands
closely behind the Scottish girl and waits for this room to be over. What else
can he do? This is Rahne's room and Rahne's fight, he can just try and help
out where possible. Blue eyes dart over to his teammates, giving them a 'stay
close' look.
Rahne flinches slightly at the disappearance of the mermaid and reaches after
her, hand disappearing into the murky dark charcoal, or at the least trying
to. She pulls it out suddenly, maybe as if stung. The hardest part is that
even Rahne is unsure how to fight it, what the right answer is. Hands begin to
shake as she wipes the sooty smudges over her fingers.
Terry follows Sam's lead moving closer to Rahne, her eyes on the shifting
scene before them. She murmurs, "Its alright Rahne, tis na' real."
The wall stops moving again, appearing to grow solid, the waves stuck in
their dance and the mermaid gone under the tides, forever. The air shifts
again. Smell seems to be extremely important in this room. Perhaps because
senses are one of Rahne's strengths -and- weaknesses at the same time. Anyway,
the smell shifts to a flower scent. The smell of lilacs, and lilys. The smell
of irises and daises and sunflowers. The smell of spring and warmth and
rebirth. Obviously the garland of flowers to the north - the same one that Sam
dropped on - is the new area to explore. The flower pedals begin to dance, as
if picked up in a breeze, though nothing else in the area sturs. The flowers
shift into... shapes. Odd how flower pedals can make interesting shapes. The
colors of the pedals help accent who's being show. One appears to be a young
man, with a dandilion for his hair. Can we say Sam? Another seems to be a tall
girl, with long dark hair formed out of irises.
Rahne holds the dusky hand in front of her face as her gaze slowly lifts,
nostrils flaring at the floral scent and the vision of what seems to be Jo and
Sam. How often has she seen her friends pair off? Arms fold around herself as
she takes a half step back and ducks her head. After a moment she lets her
arms flex and gaze lift, jaw set and gaze defiant.
The flower-forms move into a silent dance, swishing lightly, the
pedals twirling and catching the wind. Every so often one flies off of the
form and heads in the general direction of the blaze in the middle. Once they
get close enough the pedals... melt. A third figure appears out of nowhere,
formed out of red flower pedals - roses and other such flowers. This form
looks more... drastic in shape then the others, each detail accented by darker
lines along the pedals. The shape... indicated Rahne herself, in her werewolf
form. The other two figures continue dancing around silently, every so often
causing a slight swishing sound as their pedals rub against each other. The
flower-Rahne does something along the lines of a growl, but no sound comes
out. The only sound in the room is the fire and the sounds of swishing pedals
and the sounds the own team makes.
Rahne watches, a shallow pain echoing deeper within herself at the dance,
though she is silent as opposed to her counterpart. It is somewhere in the
watching, though, that the shift in her mind takes part. Illusion... fear...
the fire is the only true deep physical fear. She shifts to her own warrior
form and strides towards it, eyes closing as she feels illusory heat on her
face.
Well, the flowers continue their dance, but since the person their dance
is focased towards isn't paying attention, they don't continue forward in
their plans. Instead, Lishka decides to go ahead and skip to the big finale.
The fire was the source after all. The ice witch - ironically - always liked
fire. It's a passionate, destructive element. Unlike ice, which is cold and
heartless. Lacking passion and life. The bonfire in the center continues to
burn as Rahne gets closer, but once close enough, it seems to... part. Like
the Red Sea parted for Moses. And in the middle of the flames... is a ...
manhole? Like that goes into a sewer. The fire, despite the fact that it seems
illusionary, and everyone knows that, is still very hot. It still feels like
fire. Touch is just another sense. Lishka's illusions trick the senses into
believing things that are not there...
And here's another reason, perhaps, that Rahne is so prudish. Heightened
senses applies to touch too. Just as it might make pleasure almost painful,
the blistering heat of the fire is horrific to her. She moves away again and
gathers first the dress and then the dollhouse, throwing each into the flames,
or trying to.
The house is picked up easily and thrown into the fire, burning like
paper, even supplying that paper-burning smell. Despite the fact that it burns
like paper, it felt like nice solid wood when Rahne threw it in. The dress,
burns like fabric, but the extremely flamable fabric which almost seems to
melt while it burns. The flower shapes break apart now, and begin to fly in a
slightly whirl wind towards the center where the flame is. All the while, the
blaze seems to be doing the opposite of what a fed fire does. Instead of
growing in size, it seems to be shrinking.
Rahne crosses her arms in front of the fire and stares at the lessening flames
before striding in and standing over the manhole. She shifts then into her
human form, long read hair glorious near the firelight. Arms spread along with
fingers as if to welcome the flame and the elements of herself surrounding
her. There is good in the word of God, even if it is sometimes held by people
like Creed, and a wisdom in the savage part of herself. And there is hope for
her future in her art, and perhaps someday, a marriage of the pagan wolf to
the Scottish christian within her. But it must be made in the center, a
blending of all things.
The fire seems to react to the open arms and raises up surrounding the
red head, so that her friends would have to walk through fire - again - to get
to her. The flames roar up, about twenty feet high, but they stay outside a 5
foot diameter circle which is holding Rahne. The flames are still close enough
to hurt, but the pain will pass soon. If they've learned nothing else here,
they've learned that the illusions, while they hurt, the pain and any wounds
caused by them vanishes as soon as the room is complete. Now wounds caused by
yourself, or one of your companions... those, do not vanish. They are as real
as any other. This is just the final test before she will be allowed to lift
the manhole and continue onward. As if to accent her faith... there almost
seems to be a pillar of gold light surrounding the area around Rahne, almost
as if it is protecting her. Lishka's a little weird sometimes. Why the heck
she's doing this is anyone's guess. Maybe she just thinks it's dramatic and
pretty. Lishka likes drama if she likes nothing else.
Rahne opens her eyes finally, staring at the flames and actually ... smiling?
A good Christian would be martyr to be burned at the stake, how deliciously
appropriate. It was her fate at one point, a fate she escaped. But this time
there is safety in the danger. The Reverend and his minions can't hurt her
now, the past is at bay. She turns towards where her senses place the true
Sam, unable to see him through the flame, but to know he is there. That piece
settles into place as well. Lishka is managing to do some therapy down here
too. She furs her hands but nothing else as she reaches down and picks up the
manhole cover, or tries to.
Well, it's that darn use of the H rune in her name. Hagalaz, the rune of
hail. The rune of destruction or change. And it's placement in her name means
that everything she meets, she will either destroy, or change. That is her
purpose, and that is her destiny. This time, change is better then
destruction. She isn't here to kill them. She's hear to make them face their
fears and either over come them, or not. The fires last for a few more
moments, then slowly inch down until their low enough to see over. Once the
fire is down all the way, the manhole cover opens easily.
Morlock Alley -- 10th Floor -- Tower of Illusion -- Niflheim
Wait a minute. You all just headed down, and there's a thing in front of
you, grafitee apparently, that says in sharp red letters "Welcome to the 10th
Floor." Yes. This place is strange. But even more strange, that isn't spray
paint. It's blood. And these aren't a regular sewer. It's the Morlock Tunnels.
You happen to stand in a tunnel near the alley. A few steps and you'll be in
it.
The northern expance of the 'Alley' extends 50 feet upward and is
equally as wide. The lighting is intermittent and shadows overtake and seem to
loom. At the base of the tube, a small river flows of fresh water which is
used for bathing and cleaning of things such as clothing and dishes. Many
tunnels can be found that shoot off from this main one and the 'Alley'
continues southward. The real strange thing about this, is the fact that there
is -no one- around. Not in sight at least. But screams can be heard
everywhere. This whole place smells like a sewer, but even worse, it smells
like a battleground. Death, blood, decay. A tunnel across the way has a real
looking door on it. Like one someone would find on the front of a house.
(
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geocities.com/duchessxdeath)