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 Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 2:22 am
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Through the fog walked a lone figure, barely old enough to be considered a teenager the hilt of her new sword gripped tightly in her hands in an attempt to steady the shaking that took over. The sword was almost double the length of her bokken, maybe longer. It was the only gift that Tekkemom left the young troll before taking off and leaving Akkira for this hellish trial. Akkira knew there was a likelihood she might not survive this and so she'd done her best to say goodbye to what friends she had. But none of it eased her anxieties in any way, perhaps it had even aided in it. occasionally, Akkira swung her sword in order to tap a tree, rocks or the sopping ground she walked on.
Slowly the sounds, smells and sensation of the swamp began to change with the ever approaching sun. Part of Akkira wished that she had someone to quip with. Guo came to mind, he was the easiest to banter with and could be absolutely ridiculous, If he were here, she could probably get through this just a little bit easier. But the fact is, he wasn't. Neither was Eyzaak, Rianon, Buffel or any of her other friends. She took a steadying breath.
"It's okay, you've got this... deep breath and keep your hearing open..." Akkira whispered to herself. She turned her head ever so slightly to hear even the faintest movement. She could probably outrun any gator or fight most anything that came for her. What she worried about was day walkers. She heard that they came in hoards and if she were to be surrounded, she might not be able to get out of that alive. But that was a worst case scenario. How likely was it to happen before she found some sort of shelter? |
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Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2017 7:35 pm
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The swamp, which was cool and damp most nights, was beginning to turn muggy with the approaching sunrise. Water dripped down off the thick covering of tree branches like fat raindrops. The sounds of frogs and amphibians were beginning to be replaced with those of buzzing insects. Luckily for Akkira, the spread of noises in the surrounding atmosphere sounded small.
"L̛͑̊ǐ̊̌̀̋tͦ̓̓tl̛̿̋̀e͆̐ͤ̿̋͡ ͐ͭ̂͐O͠n̊̐͌eͩ͑̇̓͏!͂̊̅̍̿̊͋"
A voice cut through the air of the swamp. It had no discernable source, and seemed to reverberate off of walls that had no relation to the current surroundings.
ͦ̂ͦ̊ͤͬ
"̀̐̆͊͌ͩ̎҉İ̒t́'̾̋̌̌̐s ̅͒͑ͣ͗͑͂͡a̅ͤ̿̀͗̏̀ ̒͑ͣ́l͒įͬ͂ͧ͋ͩ̚t͒̃͢ṫͦ̄ͤ͆̔̎͜l̑ȅ̋͋̿ͦ̾̀͜ ̴͋ͦͬ̈ͦ͌̂oͭͪ̊͋̆̚nͭ͡e̢͊ͧ̍.̃ͥͩͥͭ͝"
Just as the first voice seemed to fall silent, another one cut in. It spoke at a lower register, but maintained an identical cadence, or lack thereof. It spoke words as though reading off a list of numbers. Quick, with even spacing between syllables.
͑͊̿̊ͦͪͧ̕
"̛͂̈́͊Sͤo̧ͨ̾͛̇̑̾ ͨͦͭ̇̊ͦ̀sͬ̀̆͠m͝a͊̐̉ĺ͛̽l͊ͤ͋̾̒̑. ̈́̔͊͊̚S̑̀o̴̾̈ͯ̈́ ̄ͥ̃̋͗͐fͣ̍͞r̀̓̄̈́es̕h̊̏̊̿ͣ̉̓.̸̿͑͋"
"ͫ̅͗͏F̃̌͛͌a̒r͞ ̨̄̈ͪ̏͆ͭf͑̇͌ͨͯr̾ͧ̒̆o̒̋̒̔͌̋̚m̧͒ ̀́h͑͐͋͌̏͢o̷m̶ͮ̆̄̄̒ͬé.̓͟"
ͫ̋ͥ̇"͌͌̈̉ͭ-̧̍ͭ̄̏ͨ̚F̶r̷͌͌͋̅͐̇ȏͪͣm̿̂ ͊͑ͥ̚͢h̓͊̃ỏ͒̐ͧͩͫm̛͊̈́̀͂ͮé̇̀͏.̑ͥͥ͆ͧ̄"
"͒ͨ͐ͣ͐̏I ͯ̀ͨw͑̏̍̓̔ͬ͌͘à̄ň̉ͭͪ͋ͯţ̓̒̍̚ ̡ͧt͆̈ͧ̈͌̄o͆̄͐̉̌͢ ̡͐͆̅̍ġ͗̇o̊̇̚ ͆h̆̆ͤ̚o͑͒͆̈́meͨͤͦ.̄̒̆̓ͨ͆ͨ ̨ͣW͂̀a̛ͣ̎̓͒ñͬ̔t̍ t̡oͫͮ̊̋ ̂ͤ͊g͂̀̿̓̏̓̔ó̓̏ͫͮ ̽hőm̓̓ͩͧ̇̑̚e͐ͯ҉.ͣͧ̔̀̚ ̛̉̽ͭ̚Ẁ͂҉a͑̿ͬͫ̽̋ͤnͭ̾ͮ̋̽ţ̃ͪ ͯ̌ͭ̓̂̾ͥt͐ͨ̋͂̽ͦ҉o͋͑̓͐̐ ͂ͫg̢̅ͦͨ̈̒̆̚o ̧̏ͩ͆h̴ͬͥ̈̇͐̋o̍ͬ҉m̊͋ͮ͂́eͩ̍̎ͨ.͑̅͋̉̓̆͋"
As though emboldened by each others' presences, multiple voices began to chime in. They layered over each other in their staccatoed speech until they all formed a single tone. And then, as quickly as they'd begun, the voices stopped. The water continued to drop from the trees and the insects flittered about. A bird chattered somewhere overhead. The only remaining change in the environment was a noticeable drop in temperature, left in an odd trail through the water at Akkira's feet.
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Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2017 5:30 am
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The mugginess was something Akkira wasn't used to, it was uncomfortable but since nothing happened the young redblood felt like she could relax a little bit. But that was short lived as the voice... or sound, whatever it was reverberated around her. Little one? Did they mean her? FresH?!! were they looking to eat her too? Ankle deep in the murk water Akkira felt as though fear gripped her entire body right at that moment. She couldn't determine the direction of the voice, or voices? There were many of them and her head began to run with possible ideas as to what that was. What had she heard about that would have been in large quantities?
But just as soon as they were there, the voices were gone. She wanted to shout back at the voices wanting to go home, but she felt like her voice had been sucked right from her. Akkira could feel the drop in temperature at her feet. She let out a very dry cackle, it was probably nothing. Right? Of course it wasn't nothing but there was the likelihood that those voices were other trolls, nothing else spoke besides her lusus. She couldn't risk it, being stupid could get her killed but so could just running around aimlessly. She took some steps away from the trail of cold water and readied herself to strike.
"Who's there?!" she finally called out to the voice after so much deliberation. "I can hear you, if you want to go home so much then just go already! Some of us have more important things to do! than to hear you talking about whatever is fresh around here!"
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Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2017 6:40 pm
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At first it seemed as though Akkira was shouting to empty air. The wildlife rustled, but continued about its business. There was a slight echo of the redblood's shouting between the still trees.
Then, as if in retaliation, a piercing noise ricocheted off the water. It was the sound of a thousand voices whispering, or perhaps insects, all clamoring at once. It was a gentle tone at a deafening volume. In a rush, the sound moved on. Then, like the tide, the voices swelled again, slower and with more distinction.
"I̡͜t ͏͝h̨͜͝e̕a̵̢̡r̢͢s̵̶̕!̵ ̨͢I͞t̶͢ ̡́h̷e̛͜ars!͝"
͏̴
"͟I͢t̡ ͢͠h͝e͜͡a̛r҉̸̴d̸̴̨ ̧͟͠m̵̀e̡͟͞!͜"
̨͟
"I͟͝t̵͏ ͝͠͠he͟͏a̕͟͠r͢͠s͢͟͡ u͜ś͞!"
"̸̵H̀͟͠e̛͠l̴̨͞ĺ͢o̡!"
"H̀ę́͘l̕l̵o͜!̢ ͞͠H́e͏͡l̢͏͟lo҉̶͝!̵͜͡ ͠H̶̡ell̶̴o͢͡!͜H͏e̷̕͜l҉l̵o̢͠͡!͠H̷̷͜͠è͝l͠͝l̶̀ò̴̵̀͜H̷̸̀e̢͠l̸̵l̶͘͘͟ǫ̕͝͞͠H̨ͅe̵͍͆̂̿̑̏l̸̙̜̠͚͆l̳̳̦̘̭͓̥͐́͋̿̐́̔͠o͕͈̓̂̂̓͛͛͟Ḫ̤̱̗̔͑e͙̣̮͉̼͓͂ͩ̂͞l̅̓͋ͭ̑̋ͪ̀l̖̟͍͉̩̪̆̐͐o̷̠͕̝̰̚H͍̩̖̑̍ͅe̢̙̙̓̽l̈ͫ͂̄̇̇ͥ́l̦͓͈̲̲̓̓̎̑͑ͦ̊o̷͉͊ͣ̅͂̃ͣ̔H̪͎̠̠͔̜͖e͙̮̩̥̰̳͛̈́ͣ̈́ͭͅl̦̯̥̔ͧ͊ͭl͒o̘͝H̢͒̈́ͨ́ͣͤ͗̔͏͈̮̦͔ẽ̌̿ͥ͏̫̪̱̭l͍̣̬͔ͤͬ̑̾̋͢l̥̹͎̥̬̭̰ͮ̓̈ͣͫ̀o̬͚͖̖͚͉̼͗͑̓͆͡H̴̠̹͈̩͖̙̣̎ͣ̈̎̓̊e̜̜͛̕͡l̵̠͕͙̗̙̠͆ͯ̌ͅľ҉͏̨̗̱̜ơ̷̗͇̭̓̾͌̉͟H̶͙̝̝͚ͪ̐̆̒͟ẻ̗̞͖̥͔̫̫̅͋ͩ͞͠l͚̱̞͕̼͖ͩ͐̍̑̀̕l̻̥̮͙ͮ̽̍ͥ͝o̶͚̞͙̝̅ͦ͝H̊̃̓̈́̓͏̵͕̣̺̹̲͔̩̰̥ë͊ͯͤ̂̀̓͋ͣ̀͘͜͏͚̞͇͚̥̣̦͓̼̠̻͉̯̻̘ͅl̵͖̝̠̳̣̝͉̩ͤ͑͊̂ͫͣͨ̔͘͢͟l̻͍̰͔͎̜ͥ͗́͋̄ͣ̊͒͜͡ͅôͣͧ͌̕҉̸͔̺̬̼͓̱̗̘͔Ḧ̍ͩ͐ͬ̊͒ͨ͌̍͒̋͂̂̇̉͏̰̺̲͉̮͕̦̪̰̞̝̼̗͢ͅe̷̡̛̝̤̬̮̲̦͙͔̼͖̩̖̘͒̄̄̿̈̐͐̆̾̀ͅl̸̢̠̱̲̞̟̱̬̰̱̝̮̪̰̩̪͇͑́̐̓̕͟͢l̨̖̬͍̪͙͙̼͔ͩ͛͛̐̍ͭ͌ͨͪ͒̓̾͂̓̇ͨ̚͟͞͡ͅͅo̷̗̩̥̭̪͔̅͐̏̈́̓̀̏̆̍͑͛̀̅̀͗̀̚͝͞"
The voices crescendoed once more into excitable static. Again, they quieted into nothingness. All the while, the cool sensation in the atmosphere began to seep back into Akkira's orbit. It oozed around her ankles like a curious animal.
"H̻̳͉͍̭͉͕͊̑̉͑ ̦̭̒͋͌̿̉͡ E͐͐̀̂̿͏̣̗͉̙ ̷̦̰͛͋̓ͤL͕̯̤ ͥ͂͋L̠ͥͣ͂ͧ̏ ̴ͮ̓̆͐̇̍O̺̠ͭ̊ͯͣ ̤̜̲͖̌̌͛̇̈͂̅͠"
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Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2017 7:54 pm
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The echoes and silence where probably more ominous than those voices ever were, anything could happen. She had to be aware, observant and-- she gripped her sword tightly as the voices began again. Out of surprise and less out of that sense of dread. The voices seemed... friendly enough, even excited. She let out a laugh. "You startled me!"
"HI," she finally replied. "it's a bit difficult to understand you with you all talking together like that, but yeah, I can hear you more or less" A wave of concern washed over her as the cold came closer to her and she readied her sword as best she could with one hand for a sudden attack. This wasn't easy with the heavy and long sword. "I have a name you know,It's Akkira,"
Still poised to defend, she reached out with her free hand to try and touch the cold atmosphere. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2017 3:56 pm
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Akkira was about to ask when the sounds and stench washed over her. The smell of plant life and whatever was rancid. It was like smelling Tekkemom's breath, the smell of death and rot, only this was100x worse, bad enough that it made the young troll actually recoil and take several steps back, though she didn't remove her hand from the hilt of her sword. What on earth could move around and smell so much like rot and death. No living thing that was for sure.
It struck her like a lightning bolt, there was a daywalker. Of course she'd end up facing up against daywalkers, but Mairen said that was her...them? "That's you?! you're a daywalker?" the voice that came out of Akkira was almost unrecognizable to her, more like a shriek loaded with terror."But how can you talk to me if you--," more and more sloshing and movement.
She knew there was no time to dwell on it, she had to get out of there! But she was transfixed momentarily as her mind raced for an explanation on what had just happened. There had to be one, there just had to be one. Was she really talking with daywalkers? The sloshing and rustling got closer to her as each daywalker came out of the water and she peeled out of there as fast as her little legs could carry her. The quiet swamp now alive with the frantic splashing sound as she ran as fast as her little legs could carry her. Akkira knew she could probably take on one but not more than that and she wasn't stupid enough to try.
Akkira just couldn't believe it, nobody was dumb enough to set up a prank like this, nobody really knew about the trial besides Guo and daywalkers were mindless zombies so they couldn't be talking, but they were?... did that mean she might have been speaking with something else? What could she possibly have been talking to?
She had to hide, somewhere. ANYWHERE, she was going to survive this. She knew that there were trees with gaps in them that she could hide in if only she could find one of those. |
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Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2017 4:08 pm
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The voices continued to shudder and weep in the background, completely at odds with the unnatural silence of the figures around Akkira. The one closest to Akkira twitched responsively as the only living soul recoiled from the scene.
"A̷k͏̡k͢i͘͡r̢͞ą! Ak̡k̡ira͟!" The voices chanted, Mairen's most prominent of all, "R͏U̵N!"
A dozen more figures pulled themselves from the water. The crowd varied wildly in apparent age, both in terms of body size and state of decay. Several distinct voices prickled in coherence, as though recognizing the pairs of horns breaking through the muck.
Akkira's running broke the discordant serenity of the scene. Alerted to the presence of a living troll, the daywalkers lurched. Stumbling, they pulled themselves out of the deeper water and onto the embankment. Algae dripped from their forms, leaving foul green footprints and revealing places where amorphous stretches of fungi had replaced rotted-out musculature.
The voices grew smaller and further as Akkira put distance between herself and the overpowering stench of death. It wasn't nearly enough to evade them, however. With each passing second the daywalkers seemed to recover their bearings. Crawling turned to shambling, shambling turned to walking. At least one was already beginning to lope awkwardly after the wet sounds of Akkira's footsteps. The crowd would trip and clamber over obstacles with uncannily little delay in their forward movement--unfazed by the potential for pain or drowning in the mud.
"Ak̨k̶i͏ŕa!" Mairen's voice called, "H҉įg̀h̷! Go̡! ͝Ǵo̷ hi͢ģh!"
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Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2017 12:15 pm
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Akkira wasn't sure when her feet had hit land, but they had. She continued running, her mind racing as she heard the daywalkers slowly gain on her. in her panic, she forgot to pay attention to where she was going and smashed headlong into a very broad tree. Red blood dripped from her nose as Mairen's voice reached her. The idea to climb the trees had never occurred to Akkira, but it was the best shot she had. It sounded like the day walkers were just a little ways behind her, her head raced and told her to keep running but they were tireless unlike her.
She held up her sword and swung it just a bit, until she found a branch low enough for her to jump to. as soon as she found a low branch she could jump too, Akkira threw her sword, it would just slow her down if she held onto it. With two sharp kicks she kicked off her sandals and backed up a bit. The daywalkers were closer and she could hear them, it took every ounce of her being to keep from losing her cool. She ran at full speed towards the tree and used the momentum to help her climb the tree until she could reach the lowest branch. She hoisted herself up the branch with a grunt and reached for another close branch and then another and another until she couldn't climb any higher, a sob of frustration broke from the redblood and she clung to the branches around her. She was safe up there, wasn't she? She was up in a tree at the highest point as far as she could tell.
But, Mairen what about Mairen? Akkira's mind raced with merciless fervor. If Mairen was dead, then what was she talking to? She thought back to the times she had full conversations with trolls who weren't there, according to anyone else but her. Ghosts. This entire time they had been ghosts. the realization hit her with astounding force, she had been communicating with dead trolls like Mairen this entire time. She didn't believe it before, but the daywalker had proven that her skepticism was misplaced. At first she was panicked, but soon small sense of calm washed over Akkira in that moment. Ghosts explained a lot of events that happened in her childhood and the knowledge that even if she died here, it wasn't the end.
She had no reason to be afraid of dying, the realization lit a fire in Akkira. A fire of confidence and realization sated her mind. Mairen had inadvertently taught her quite a bit in that moment and she hoped that perhaps, she could meet Mairen again to thank them and the other ghosts that spoke to her that day. But that would not be for a long time, after this she planned on ditching the swamp and get away from her lusus who planned this entire messed up event. For now though, she'd remain silent, still and hidden until she felt safe to leave. |
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Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2017 6:50 pm
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The mess of daywalkers trampled the underbrush as they wandered the forest beneath Akkira. It wasn't long until they approached the base of the tree that Akkira had climbed. They seemed vaguely aware of her presence, though not nearly as keyed in as they had been during the earlier chase. Marked differences between undead trolls became more apparent as they were left to their own devices. The more in-tact figures kept close to Akkira's hiding place. Some went as far as to make attempts to claw their way up the bark, but lacked the coordination to make much headway. The older bodies appeared far more fungal than flesh-based, as the former grew in equal proportion to the latter's decay. They stirred only at the occasional sound of a nearby animal, but seemed otherwise content to quietly mill about in the sunbeams that speckled the forest floor.
The warmth of daylight clashed uncomfortably with the ethereal chill that surrounded the daywalkers. The effect was fever-like, unhelped by the continuous telepathic chatter of the spirits tethered to their former bodies.
"͜I ͟wan̶t̡ ͝t̶o̢ ͝g̵o ho̢m̡e̸.̸ I̶ wan̡t ̸to͞ ̡g̡o ̕h͟o͟me. I ̀want̷ t̴ò go͢ ̷h͡o͝me."
͞"̀D̴o̶n'҉ţ let҉ them ́he҉a͡r̨ ̶you.̴"
̕"͞Wh̛er͏e ͞ar̢e ́yo͘u? Wh̷ęŕe̛ ̡ar͞e y̶ou͟? ͟M̵o͜t͜h͢ęr?́"
"I̢ c̸an't fe̢e҉l̶ ͝my àrm̴s.̢"
"I͡'͟m͡ so͏ ̷tired́."
"̢Ònl͏y a̴ l͠i̵t̨tle̕ ҉fa͝rther̵."
The scratching of nail and bone on wood continued incessantly throughout the day. The length of which could be monitored by the regular shuffling of the weaker daywalkers as they followed their patches of sunlight across the ground. The stench of death only magnified with the rising of the sun, culminating in an afternoon that seemed to drag on forever.
"I'm̡ s̨o̸r͞ry.͢"
Eventually, though, the sun began to set. The forest cooled rapidly and the behavior of the daywalker swarm changed accordingly. Those that could still walk consistently began to move away from the trees. They wandered drunkenly to the west--following the sunset. The daywalkers that couldn't keep up appeared to lose power with each passing minute. One by one, rotted trolls fell to the ground with wet, unceremonious slaps. The foul smell remained, but for a brief moment the swamp was silent. The sound of creaking, slopping limbs were replaced by the nightly music of crickets and frogs.
The chill of the daywalkers persisted like an afterimage, but was fading quickly as the various bodies left and fell into torpor. One tangible heat sink sat not far from the trunk of the tree Akkira had climbed.
"A͠kki̷ra̸," Mairen's voice said, "Go҉.͟ ͏Go ho͡m̸e.̡"
The voice was softer than before, but less distorted. Beneath the source of the voice was a prone figure, small for a troll, but otherwise nearly indeterminate in shape. The smell was enough of a warning to stay back, but Mairen's words, too, were forceful. "G͢o. ͜South."
saihen Feel free to quote the mule for either another interaction or once you feel you've concluded the growth.
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Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2017 7:46 pm
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Hivestuck I think that's a wrap actually.
Akkira remained as motionless as she could muster until the splashing and writhing below her dissipated. Even then she remained somewhat motionless until Miaren's voice hit her ears and she slowly began to stretch her limbs. "Thanks Mai," Akkira said, her voice a lot quieter than she intended. "But I failed, if I go home, my lusus would.... probably rip me apart," she rolled her shoulders then grabbed for branches to hold onto. "I have to get out of here...." was all she said before she climbed down the tree.
Carefully Akkira used her foot to ensure she was climbing onto a branch as she circled around the tree to avoid the smell that signaled that a day walker was still present. She stopped once she was on the final group of branches, between her and the ground. She had to figure out where south was before she risked leaping off the tree. "I'm leaving the swamp, but I'll come back and thank you properly when I'm stronger, we'll talk more then, okay? "
Once she figured out which way she was going using her voice and echoes, Akkira dropped from the tree, into the water and shot off without skipping a beat. She'd trust that Mairen knew what she was talking about since she'd been so helpful during the fiasco with the daywalkers and ran due south without stopping to get her sword and sandals back, her feet were going to be a bit messed up but who knew what else might come and get her if she didn't take this time to escape. All she had to do was make her way towards busthind, salamire wasn't far from there and after a reprieve she'd leave the swamp. |
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