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Post by MP on Apr 6, 2020 22:24:22 GMT -6
"Well it takes more than bending a bookcase," Sohl said with a conspiratorial grin at Edge. A brief flash of teeth, gone in another moment as he remembered himself. Sohl covered his mouth while he spoke, two absent fingers over his lips. But his tone remained lighthearted compared to Edge's troubled look.
"Little damage happens all the time, with things slipping in or out," he said. "It's like skin - little scuffs and scrapes. But it all heals. It's only when things keep pushing through at the same place that you have problems, or if they're bringing in a lot of foreign material with them. And I can tell you don't do either of those."
Sohl tipped his head, more in thought than anything. He was gradually relaxing, beginning to forget his constant watch.
"Worlds are a lot more organic than people give them credit for. They're living things - they're tough. Only the most serious events can really hurt them. You're definitely fine."
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Post by NightshadeVII on Jun 6, 2020 2:11:02 GMT -6
Worlds are living things. Only the most serious events can hurt them. Hearing those words, a chill ran down Edge’s spine. He wondered how close his home had gotten to that, how close they had all been to witness the death of their world. He wondered if the issues there had been resolved, if they got by, if his home had the time to heal, or another conflict had arisen. But, as much as he hated to admit it, there wasn’t much he could do about it here, there wasn’t anything he could do in fact. Though, learning that he wasn’t doing any harm by being here in this world, made it a little easier. He couldn’t stand the thought of being in another hurting world, and the idea that he could hurt this world, however briefly it had lasted, was enough to leave a sour taste in his mouth.
“Oh thank Eda” Edge breathed a small sigh of relief and sent the blonde sitting across from him a thankful smile, that reached his eyes. Now he did manage to chuckle a little, feeling more at ease with Sohl’s lighthearted demeanor. Though he had noticed how quickly Sohl had moved to cover his own mouth as he had smiled, Edge decided not to pry, especially not a place like this.
“I’m glad to hear that.” He finally said, relaxing a little in his chair, “If I’m not hurting this place, then the others who came with me should be fine as well.”
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Post by MP on Jun 8, 2020 20:33:52 GMT -6
"Others?"
If he'd had the ears of his natural shape, they would have pricked with interest. It was a complicated process to slip between worlds, especially in larger numbers. Maybe they were some kind of immigrants. Refugees? He hadn't known the WDSA handled that. Sohl tipped his head.
"Did a lot of your people cross over? What are your people? If - if I could ask," he amended, looking a little sheepish at his own curiosity.
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Post by NightshadeVII on Jun 13, 2020 3:50:05 GMT -6
It didn’t escape Edge how Sohl practically lit up with interrest at the mention of others. The blonde’s eyes lit up and he seemed to change how he sat in his chair. The Darai chuckled a little at the other’s excitement, a soft, calm sound. It was amazing to see how curious and open minded Sohl was about this whole thing. Even though he had spent some time in wathais at this point, he was still getting used to people being so... casual, about his existence as a Darai.
There was a hint of sadness that touched Edge’s eyes when Sohl asked if others of his kind moved over. He didn’t know, and a part of him genuinely hoped that he was the only one, because despite how well he was doing in this place, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was missing something, and he knew what.
“My people are called the Darai, but as far as I know, no else of my kind crossed over with me. I haven’t been able to find any all the time I’ve been here...”, he said, half musing. He rarely spoke about this. “But other creatures, from my world, animals I guess you could call them, Myé, Ajin and the like, they crossed over as well.”
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Post by MP on Jul 15, 2020 23:37:56 GMT -6
"Oh," said Sohl.
He nodded a little, acknowledging this information, but he hadn't missed the note of sadness in Edge's voice. How could he, when it was such a constant companion? And not just to him. He saw it in Father, in Marchelute, in Sjira. Even Koji had that far away gaze at times.
"I'm sorry. It must get lonely without any others around."
Beasts were always a comfort. But it wasn't the same as home, and it wasn't the same as having your own kind around you.
"What is it like? Your world." He wasn't as sensitive to world signatures as Father, and not half so experienced. But something in Edge's being made him think it must be a very rich world. There was a certain fullness about him. "And the people. Who are the Darai?"
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Post by NightshadeVII on Nov 9, 2020 17:49:14 GMT -6
Sohl hit the nail right on the head. Even if he wasn’t... alone in Wathais, even if he had friends here- friends he had come to care about quite a lot, and a boyfriend who was just amazing- it was still strangely lonely to be the only one of his kind on this entire planet. He was so used to being surrounded by his own kind, but now cut off from his people, his world and it’s pulse. It got lonely, in a strange, indescribable way. A soft, appreciative smile touched Edge’s lips, as if to thank Sohl for his sympathy. Sohl really seemed like a kind soul, warm, in some way. It was nice just talking to him like this
Then, when the blonde asked about his world, Edge raised an eyebrow. Where could he even begin? No words could even come close to explaining how it was, no metaphor or comparison could really do it justice.
“My world?”, the Darai echoed, “Oh it was amazing really, Massively deep forests and huge open stretches of nature, moutains, deserts, all the good stuff you know? We had two moons, so it was quite the shock seeing there was only one here”, he chuckled briefly, “the night sky was full of stars, and something similar to what’s called northern lights here if you were lucky.” He sighed softly as he spoke, seemed like he was more homesick than he thought. “And there was so many hidden wonders a well, places you’d have to get lost to find and sights that could take your breath away”, he could still see it all so clearly when he spoke about it, the deep emerald forests around Healen, the coasts of E’shen with its gentle waves and white sands, the mountains, glistening in the sunlight, the cities, so few and far inbetween, connected by train tracks spanning across the land like metal veins. The moons in the night sky and the many festivals associated with them, the auroras. He wished he could see it just one more time. “It was all just... so alive. If you found the right spot, you could hear the pulse of the world around you, how everything breathed and lived. And everyone, everything in that world carried a little sliver of that pulse with them. It was peaceful... at least that’s how I remember it.”
Truth was, he didn’t know how things had turned out, right before he had been torn out of his world, the conflict between the Darai and those A’dashé had escalated horribly. Were the people he alright? We’re they still alive and fighting? Had the conflict been resolved? Perhaps they had presumed him dead during it all. He didn’t know, and probably wouldn’t find out. It didn’t seem like he was going back any time soon. But by Eda, he hoped his kind had found peace, that they were alright, that they hopefully had had a chance to begin rebuilding. They deserved that, after everything that had been lost. The thought of all that, the home which he remembered, the people he cared about, the thought of all that just being gone, and that he hadn’t had a chance to help prevent it, was too much to bear.
“And the Darai, my kind? We... we tried to take care of it all to the best of our abilities”, his words were accompanied with a little shrug, “I don’t know if we succeeded, but we sure as hell tried. I suppose we were kind of like caretakers of it all, in a way? We could hear the pulse of the world, hear when it was hurting or when it was at peace. By comparison, this world is silent.” Those last words were spoken softly, but seriously. It was something Edge had never gotten used to, how quiet this world was to him. It felt less alive in comparison, and at times it was quite unsettling. But when he saw how this world was being treated, he wasn’t surprised it was quiet.
“Anyway. Not all of my kind can manipulate space like me, that’s actually quite rare”, he smiled again as he spoke, “we all had what we called an attunement, which decides our abilities. They all relate to the world around us in some way. A good friend of mine was attuned to ice, so when he got mad, he’d practically cause a blizzard.” Hopefully Luca had gotten that temper slightly more under control. How ironic that he was such a hot head. Still, he hoped that his explanations had made sense in some way, and that Sohl wasn’t bored out of his mind by it, after all, what was interresting about a world you couldn’t visit?
“Sorry for the ramble there”, he finally said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, “guess I got carried away. I hope I didn’t bore you half to death.”
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Post by MP on Nov 10, 2020 14:54:24 GMT -6
"No, no."
Sohl's eyes were all but gleaming with delight as he listened.
"I love hearing about other worlds. My guardian used to tell me all about the ones she'd visited. People take so much of it for granted, but it's really rare to have a world as lush as yours. It sounds like the kind of place we always dreamed of seeing - and stories are the next best thing."
He shook his head wonderingly, and not a little envious. He wondered if his own home had been like that in its prime. What he would have given to have known it the way Edge had.
"You're lucky. It sounds like an amazing place."
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Post by NightshadeVII on Nov 10, 2020 17:08:19 GMT -6
Seeing how interested Sohl was in his world, Edge almost got a little self conscious. He really felt like he couldn’t do it justice with words alone, perhaps that was a struggle for his species, with their connection to the world and how they experienced it, but words just seemed to fall short. His world it was something to see and to feel and to hear, something to experience. At least he hoped it still was that way.
“Hey, who knows, maybe one of your kind did come across our world once?”, he suggested with a chuckle, “we never considered travel between worlds to be a thing, so we probably wouldn’t realize that was what it was.” It was a strange thought, but from what Sohl had described, it didn’t seem to be impossible. It was a strange thought however, as the only other creatures ever to come to their world from somwhere else had been... downright poisonous really, like a spreading sickness. And worlds were fragile, in their own, unnoticeable way, they existed in such a delicate balance. A balance that was sadly easy to disturb. Still, the idea that some people could travel between worlds without upsetting that balance was a nice one. “And yeah, I suppose lush is a good way to describe it all, it’s a good story to tell about it”, he mused, “but no words would do it justice, it would be much better if you could see it for yourself. Honestly, it almost looked better from the air. But just almost. Then again, things usually look different when up high, right?”
He laughed softly as he had said that, knowing how weird a suggestion like that might sound to Sohl, but then again, he didn’t know what the blonde could do. For all he knew, Sohl could fly and knew exactly what Edge talked about with things looking different when up in the air. It was something traveling with a plane couldn’t quite capture. Still, he wondered about what Sohl had said. “Also, Lush worlds are rare?”, he echoed raising an eyebrow, “huh... didn’t expect that.”
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Post by MP on Nov 11, 2020 18:16:08 GMT -6
"They really do," Sohl said wistfully.
There was nothing like seeing the world from the air, moving through it as free as the wind and watching the stories play out beneath you. He hadn't been born to it, but he could never let it go. It was good to meet someone who... The possibility Edge's words struck him belatedly. Sohl froze, his pupils teetering with excitement.
"Wait. Can you - can you fly?" he blurted, a low hiss of a whisper.
His words overlapped Edge's, and he missed what was said completely. Sohl put a hand over his mouth, contrite.
"Oh. Sorry. I got too excited. What were you saying?"
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Post by NightshadeVII on Nov 12, 2020 10:22:22 GMT -6
“Wait, what?” Edge did a double take, eyebrows raised in surprise. He... well he hadn’t exactly expected Sohl to know about flying, to put it simply. But he supposed that was on him for assuming. Sohl obviously wasn’t human, so it had been stupid to rule out the possibility that he was capable of flight. It was just so long since he had mentioned it to someone, and let alone heard the sentiment returned, so to say that he was caught off guard was quite the understatement. But the excitement in the other’s eyes, the wide pupils were unmistakable, he knew what Edge was talking about through and through.
“You... you know what I’m talking about...”, the Darai echoed, hoping no one heard their exchange, “you fly?” A kind of melancholic joy came over him at that realization. He was glad that others could enjoy it. There really was nothing like it, the wind on his skin, the world below passing by, so vivid yet so far away. He remembered that he had loved flying in forests, either just slowly and leisurely, or weaving in and out of the trees with carefree precision. It had been wonderful. Wathais didn’t quite have a good area for that, or perhaps he just hadn’t found it yet. Then he managed to process Sohl’s full question, the one he had echoed without even realizing it. How was he supposed to answer that?
He shifted in the chair briefly, rolling his shoulders slightly. “Er, I mean... I did, years ago? Fly that is” He said, trying to think of a way to properly explain it, “I haven’t really... done it in a long time. Haven’t had the chance, Y’know?” That had to be the best answer to that question, at the moment at least. It was a long, and probably boring story, and definitely something that shouldn’t be delved too far into, when humans could overhear it. Noticing how Sohl had covered his mouth, apologizing for his excitement and not hearing some of what Edge had said, the Darai chuckled, waving a hand as if dimissing the notion that Sohl even had to apologize.
“No worries, it happens”, he said, once again more laid back in his demeanor, “I was just surprised to hear that lush worlds were rare. When you come from a place that is a specific way, it’s easier to imagine that other places are the same way after all.”
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Post by MP on Nov 14, 2020 2:35:22 GMT -6
"Oh. Well..."
Sohl hesitated. He hadn't forgotten the mention of flight, or the possibility of someone new to share it with. But if Edge veered away from the topic, he'd let it drop.
"Worlds that border each other usually are pretty similar. They're relatives, so you only see little differences. But the further out you go, the more things change, until the world is totally alien. Overall though," he shrugged. "The paradise clusters are pretty rare - like an oasis. With the way it all works, it's hard for the worlds at large to stay stable enough to reach that point."
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Post by NightshadeVII on Nov 15, 2020 18:02:46 GMT -6
On some level, the Darai appreciated that Sohl hadn’t questioned his awkward reply in response to flying. It was always hard to explain himself in that regard, he never really knew what to properly say when he was asked. He did long for a nice, long flight through the air though, to feel the wind below him. Maybe he should try to find a good spot soon.
“Paradise clusters, huh? Fitting” Edge chuckled, appreciating the name. Paradise might be a good descriptor in some regards, perhaps even most, but it wasn’t all there was to it. There had been a darkness there for years. Something that didn’t belong. The shadow of paradise. He hoped that that was no longer applicable, that his world had returned to the healthy, lush paradise it was, the wonderful place he remembered it as. “Strange”, he muttered, “wouldn’t have considered it rare, but you learn something new every day.”
He paused for a moment. He couldn’t deny he was curious about Sohl, and where he came from, what his world was like. He was so knowledgeable about things Edge would never have considered possible before now, it was enthralling to say the least. He never would have expected there was so much more to his library friend than what he thought, but now, he found that he was delighted to be surprised.
“If... you don’t mind my asking”, Edge began slowly, carefully, so as not to offend Sohl, “what is your world like? It’s alright if you don’t wanna talk about it, of course.”
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Post by MP on Nov 20, 2020 15:12:04 GMT -6
"I guess I don't really know." Sohl tapped a pen absently on the pages of his notebook, smudging the sketches there. "I was raised in a kind of...preserve. So I never really saw it. Just the little piece I grew up in."
He flipped to a fresh page, scribbling idly. It wasn't as clean as his diagrams, or as elegant. But Sohl was a passable artist between Az and Isaac's lessons, and the grassy plains and swirling clouds reflected at least a little of what he remembered.
"The old stories call it a land where the sun never sets, and no one ever grows old." Sohl's mouth quirked. "But that's more of a joke, really. My kind had a...grim sense of humor. It was...vast and old and...ageless feeling. Like everything about it, the song in the forests, the wind on the hills, had been there since the beginning of the world. Like they always would be."
That hadn't been true. Of course it hadn't. But the more Sohl studied, the more the details stood out to him. The planet had been designed - almost suspiciously so - to resist change. He wondered if it might have continued that way forever, if things had worked out differently.
"Our sun is fixed in the sky," he continued. "With eternal day at its center and eternal night at the edges of the world. The storms go nightward to sunward, and all the life in the world moves around them. They bring cycles of growth, but they also make the deserts and bring the droughts. We call that Dust Month, and everyone honors it. When the Dust Month comes, no one turns a wanderer away."
Sohl looked a little wistful.
"But the skies were the best thing," he added. "They're empty here. No real storms or clouds or color. But at home, even in the little piece I knew, it's like the whole sky was singing. So much life in the air, and scents. It was like...the way the seas are here. Alive."
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Post by NightshadeVII on Dec 11, 2020 16:53:26 GMT -6
The Darai tilted his head in quiet fascination as Sohl brought out his notebook, and he let out a small sound as the blonde began drawing. As all Darai, he had an appreciation for craftsmanship and art. Even the most complicated mathematical equation in the world wouldn’t impress him as much as say a drawing, or a wood carving or anything like that. Art and craftsmanship always carried a little piece of the person’s soul with it. A reflection of their mind and spirit. No science in the world could compare to that. Watching as Sohl drew, constructing landscapes and skies, Edge couldn’t help but smile. In a settlement, Darai would have been all over that in an instant. Just as they had been, and hopefully still were with Luca and his landscapes and portraits. Accompanied by Sohl’s explanations, the world became alive to Edge, at once both dynamic and unchanging. A sun fixed in the sky, with no cycle between day and night. Majestic and frightening. It was so, so different from what Edge knew, his own world constantly changing and fluctuating, rising with moons and sun, the ebb and flow of life, the pulse of it all so endlessly clear.
The Darai could barely wrap his head about the concept of an endless day. After all, it would mean no moon festivals, wouldn’t it? No eclipse or full moon festivals, no celebrations of meteor showers or auroras dancing in the sky.
“Ra’sshé... It sounds both beautiful and terrifying when you describe it like that”, Edge mused, looking up from Sohls drawing, awe shining in his eyes, “and so different I can barely wrap my head around it, even if I can see it so clearly from what you described.” However, there was one thing he recognized, at least to some extent. “Your sky sounds beautiful. My world had songs too, like your sky”, Edge smiled, melancholic, “the earth and the trees sang quietly, gently but everpresent, the mountains sang in a low, quiet rumble. There was song no matter where you looked. It’s comforting, in a way. At least I think so. This world here is... strange in comparison, isn’t it?”
The blonde’s wistful look did not go unnoticed by the Darai however. Homesick perhaps? Or maybe just missing specific things from his world. It must have been quite the change, coming from such an ancient place to a planet like this one. It was so young, in so many ways.
“What was, or well, is your kind like?”, Edge finally asked, more relaxed with asking questions now, “did you have festivals where you lived?” He chuckled a bit at the last question, knowing how much his Darai was showing with that.
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Post by MP on Dec 11, 2020 20:47:32 GMT -6
"They were predators." Sohl shrugged. "Nomadic pack hunters. Not the largest, but the swiftest and the most successful. They called themselves 'Icarim,' the worthy hunters. They valued strength, cunning, and the glory of great deeds."
The vague outline of jaws took form in Sohl's notebook. Cruelly hooked talons. Muscle as sleek and streamlined as a dolphin's. Sohl was accustomed to zoological illustrations, but it was harder to draw his species compared to wildlife, with so few examples to look at. Most of the sketch lines were faint and feathery, the barest strokes over paper. But the predatory features, the natural weaponry, were bold and confident. The fierce, bird-like eyes - his father's eyes - stared out at from the page with a cold, impassive light.
"But they weren't indiscriminate." Sohl said. "Glory was measured by what it brought to the pack, A strong enemy, even prey, was afforded respect, and mercy just as often. They valued a worthy adversary more than they valued the kill. The greatest mark of respect was to have a name - not like humans have, not given at birth, but earned by deeds and reputation from allies or enemies. A hunter kept them all, all their names and all the names of their foes, and added them to their legend. Everything was passed down through oral tradition, so they sang of the great hunters from sun to dark, down all the generations."
Sohl's tone was very factual, academic. He was proud of his people, proud of their stories of course. But in many ways, he was as much a stranger to it as Edge.
"But mostly Icarim were stewards. If a species became too invasive or destructive, they culled its numbers. When a kind of prey grew scarce, they left it alone and preyed on its competition. At their height, Icarim were masters of genetics and ecology. We kept the land stable - even by breathing. Our lungs filter air for flight and vent the waste as oxygen. Wherever packs lingered, greenery followed, keeping the deserts back."
Sohl tapped his pencil, his mind finally circling back to Edge's question.
"But I don't know what they did for festivals. We don't have thumbs for crafting or decorating. And they didn't track time by days or years, so I don't think a great event would be commemorated after it happened. Maybe after a long drought or a good kill they did something. I don't know."
Maybe father would. Sohl wondered if he should ask him later. He smiled at Edge, a little apologetically. It must sound very grim and warlike to a humanoid. They weren't shaped to kill, and Icarim lacked the luxury and dexterity for the kind of customs that colored humanoid cultures.
"I guess your people had a lot of festivals? Rituals and things? What did you celebrate?"
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