Re: Alexandra's Ranch (Termite)
The pull of her body was strong, the instinct to survive so ingrained into her soul that Alex had to force her foot to rise, but that first step was all it took. The beat of that lone heart simply washed over and through her, each pulse an overpowering wave that drowned out the frantic cries of her flesh, and soon enough those cries simply died.
Alex soon followed. In what felt like mere instants her body aged, decades slipping through her fingers as her hand took hold of Charon, and moments later her body simply gave in. She aged, she decayed, she grew decrepit and confused, her memories slipping through her mind simply to vanish into the ether as if her head just couldn't keep hold of them. Why she was here, why she was being led to that slab, who that lovely young girl helping her forward had been, all of it paled in the struggle to remember who the hell she was. But that girl was nice. She was patient to a fault, helping this bag of old scales and bone prop herself onto that bed, and though it was hard the beat beat beat of that heart felt so relaxing and pure. It comforted the ancient dragoness, her own heart beat beat beating in kind, and it made her glad that her last moments were beside someone who cared enough to treat her kindly.
Her halt faltered, the struggle to pump far too much for it to handle, and soon enough everything simply went black. She couldn't see, she couldn't feel, all she could do was listen to the heart that was not her own, and once she realized that was all she knew there was no escaping the truth. Death had claimed her.
For a few seconds Alex didn't know what to do with herself. She had nothing left, nothing but her own sense of self, but despite the death of everything she still somehow felt alive. She existed. And it was frightening. There was nothing to see. Nothing to touch. A complete and utter plane of sheer oblivion, and were it not for the beating of that otherworldly heart Alex felt she may have gone mad. But she wasn't alone. That had to be someone's heart, someone's pulse that called out to her. She had to find it. She had to find this person. She needed to find someone, otherwise she felt she would simply go insane.
But... where would she look? How could she look? Her eyes were dead. Her ears were shut. She couldn't even feel herself moving one way or the other. Was she even moving? Could she move? How could she even tell what she was doing? Why was... Dammit, why was everything so empty?! She tried to leap. She tried to yell. She tried to reach, to simply feel something that would at least give her some sense of direction, but all she had was the pulse of that heart that beat everywhere and nowhere.
In that moment Alex felt helpless. Impotent. Utterly pathetic. She couldn't even tell if she was angrily buzzing around like some pissed off bee or simply shivering pathetically like some lost little girl. It was frustrating and frightening in ways she never even thought possible, and in that moment Alex was sure she was going to lose what little of her mind remained. But something broke through the utter nothingness that threatened to crush her. A beacon sprang to life, a light that both scared and soothed her, and as it simply waved back and forth Alex finally felt herself move. She could actually follow it. She could reach something, and even as it beckoned and led her to some unknown fate there was something... strange... Her dead heart felt something well within it, something that made that light feel somehow familiar, and though she could feel a wave of comfort that was definitely not her own it didn't feel... hm... malicious...
Yes...? Yes, that was it. There was no malice. It was the simple soothing comfort of one friend welcoming another, and though it was unsettling to feel it resonate so deeply within her Alex felt that even if it wasn't quite her own feeling it was still the truth. A friend had come, someone who could lead her out of this darkness, and as the dragon followed she heard that heart growing louder. It brought a sense of ease to the disembodied soul. She was being led where she wanted to go. Where she needed to go. Who else but a true friend would find her in death and help her from being lost? All she needed to do was follow, and after a bit Alex felt something give. She felt herself peeling away from some solid mass, some decayed prison that had kept her held and only fooled her into believing she'd been free, and as she felt herself emerging into a new world it all looked oddly familiar.
The shore she'd seen in life was before her once more, one of the few memories she had that now felt somehow stronger as she could finally see again with her own two eyes. But the world had changed. Where there was once solid stone, where things had once been solid and unchangeable she now saw color. Strings. Everything looked as if it were made of thread, a rainbow of light and magic that came together and created something far more beautiful that anything she'd ever seen in life, and a moment later she understood. She was part of this. She looked at herself and found her own threads dangling in the wind, and even though bits of herself were peeling away to simply dissolve into the world around her there was no fear. She wouldn't unravel anytime soon. Hell, she felt like she could pull those threads back into herself. Making herself strong and whole. Maybe even make herself stronger. All she had to do was reach out. The threads of the world simply sat there waiting for someone to claim them, and for a moment Alex felt like she could use them to make her own little world...
The light flashed before her. Alex found her friend shining as if she understood everything the dragoness had realized, and in that moment it reached for her. The stray magic that Alex had seen peeling away was taken by her friend, and after a moment the light started weaving their threads together. She was mesmerized by this, the first time she'd seen anything actually being created in this world, and once it was done her friend held it up for the dead woman to see. A pair of spheres were held together, a green ball made of Alex's own threads and a white one made from her friend, and the bridge that joined them was a rainbow of strings that felt like it could never be shattered. It was a bridge of pure emotion, something that could never be undone, and as the gift was handed to Alex she immediately understood what it meant. This was their bond. This was the connection she shared with her friend, something that transcended the mere bonds of flesh, and no matter what happened from this moment on their two souls would forever be connected.
It was an amazing feeling, one that had Alex soon orbiting around her friend with happiness and gratitude, but that feeling had to pass. A pulse of regret came from her friend, and Alex slowed with a sense of concern that was soon answered by comfort from her friend. Without even saying a word Alex understood that they had to part. There simply wasn't time. The heart was calling, and as it beat she could feel it starting to pull her into its mass. She was being pulled from her friend, and for a moment Alex struggled against it. She'd just come to know how to truly connect with another soul. It didn't feel right to simply tear them apart so soon! But even then destiny would not be denied, and as much as she herself regretted it Alex knew their time was at an end. But this wouldn't be the last. The gift they shared would always keep them connected, and Alex made sure she stored it in her deepest core so it would never fall from her grasp. She would treasure it and keep it within her heart until they could meet once again, and once they did they would never have to part.
Besides, the heart itself was a beacon of warmth. Even if it was pulling her from her friend there was a promise of something more. Something even better. There were countless others to meet, others that her friend knew would be just as kind as warm, and as Alex found herself letting go her friend told her of one more. The one that heart belonged to. The one that would never turn anyone away, the one that comforted any and everyone that entered her realm, her paradise.
~~~~~~~~~~~
The moment Alex entered that heart she was overwhelmed. Countless emotions washed over her, the unheard voices of millions of souls all crying out in a jumbled chorus that assaulted and filled her all at once. She felt as if she was losing herself to that chaos, as if her mind itself was simply dissolving into an ocean of personality, and she wrapped herself around her gift in an effort to close out those voices before she drowned.
Little by little her consciousness began to focus. The chaos ebbed and allowed her to unravel, to once more let her strings stretch out and connect with the world she found herself in, and as her arms stretched out and her legs uncoiled she found herself surrounded by red. It was a landscape painted in vermillion, differing shades allowing her to see the tower where she stood and the countless others in the distance that seemed to stretch into a crimson eternity.
For a moment she was confused, her hand coming up to scratch behind her head, but as she felt her nails comforting her aching head she nearly jumped out of her skin. Her body was back? How? It was dead. Wasn't it? She remembered pulling free of it... And yet here it was. Or... No... This wasn't her body... It looked like it. Felt like it. Even moved like it. But after staring at it for a moment Alex realized that it was nothing more than a shell. A construct. Something that allowed her soul to stand and walk and feel the world that surrounded her. It was the medium she could use to interact with everything, the form that felt the most comfortable and natural, and considering all the other souls she'd heard it was probably the safest. She needed something to help define herself, and all the others must be doing the same...
It was then that Alex realized one of those others was with her in that room. She turned toward the girl that stood near, the girl who wore a look of sadness and regret yet stood strong enough to not give in to the utter loneliness she felt. She was as red and as dark as the world that surrounded her, a world that seemed to hold everything and nothing, and as Alex wondered why this woman felt so alone her body instinctively snapped back. Despite how small and frail this girl seemed when Alex took a careful look she found something enormous. Something far beyond anything she'd ever felt let alone seen. Not even the strongest of her kin could hope to measure up to the sheer enormity of the soul that stood before her, and as Alex stood before her completely ignored she finally understood. Despite how her body may tower over this girl the dragoness was nothing more than a mote in comparison. It would take a monumental effort for such a being to notice her, and as Alex looked on she felt that same wave of comfort washing over her that she'd felt on the shore. A moment later she heard the faint pulse, the beat of probably the grandest of hearts, and that was when she knew.
This girl is Death.
Despite the frailty and unease, despite the sense of emptiness and loneliness this girl was the master of this world. She could see it now, the way her essence seemed to flow through everything, and though she'd somehow missed it before the massive scythe the girl held was the very instrument of her control. There was no telling how the thing worked, whether the nightmare of a weapon and the passivity of the girl were two separate entities brought together or whether they were merely differing sides of the same coin, but either way there was no ignoring the sense of control that thing held over the world it governed.
Alex wasn't sure what to do at this point. In life she towered over most others, but now she felt completely overshadowed by the being who couldn't even seem to sense her. Some residual sense of survival told her to let the god be, but the rest of her self simply rejected that thought outright. This domain belonged to Death, and she welcomed everyone that was brought to her. Alex felt that call from outside, could still feel it now that she was in, and if this god truly wished to be left alone then she wouldn't wear that expression of ultimate loneliness. So Alex had to introduce herself. It was only proper manners.
Okay... then how?
That... was a rather good question. How does one speak to a being who makes you feel like nothing more than the barest speck of dust? Whose presence alone seemed to stretch beyond the eternity of the realm she herself made? Hell, Alex wouldn't be surprised if this entire world was actually Death herself, and this form was nothing more than the construct she used to interact with it. But if that were true then that meant she wanted someone to interact with, right? Maybe she just had trouble seeing others? Maybe her attention was so focused on the billions of voices out there that it was hard for her to focus on a lone soul? So maybe Alex had to simply make herself stand out. She already did. Kind of. This was a world of red, a reflection of the being that stood before her. As small as Alex was she was a being of green. Her friend had shown her that. So she stood in direct contrast to the world around her. She just needed to make herself pop out a little more, that's all.
So how would she do that? That was another good question, but after a bit Alex simply followed whatever instinct her soul held. It started by stretching out. Her loose threads unraveled and found some purchase with what she saw, and as they pulled back in the brought in the faintest traces of magic from the world surrounding her. A moment later she started weaving the two together, the process a little slow since she was nowhere near as experienced as her white friend, but after a bit she held her creating in her hand. A bit later she let go, and her little construct burst into a shower of light and emotion. Alex had put her feelings into it, her sense of curiosity and apprehension mixing with the power she borrowed from the world of Death, and after a bit of molding she fashioned it into a small firecracker that burst and announced her presence. And with that small flash her own voice would ring out, a small sound that didn't truly come from her mouth and yet felt as natural as her old voice as it offered the total sum of what she'd just created.
Hello?