Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

The guardians seem to disappear, before Iris' thorns explode around her and root her to the ground.

"What are you doing here?" One of the guardians asks. While she can't see it, Iris has a feeling there's an arrow aimed straight for her.

 

“Well, I got my answer. If guardians were biased with those marked by a karmic seed...”
Iris looks down slightly.
“If you want me to change, it’s best you give me a true chance.”

The crystal projects a crimson barrier, Iris seeming unfazed by the thorns.

 

"What karmic seed?" The guardian asks, slightly confused.

Spores seem to around Iris like a low mist, various dangerous-looking mushrooms suddenly sprouting around her.

 

I decide to get up and try guiding him to the water.

“Hm.”
Pause.
“Well, I was just checking in. Good to know you’re up.”

 

“Hmm... no, you claim to just be hostile? I seek Gaia’s favor, albeit briefly. Such a consequence involves aiding guardians while Gaia saps my strength, which makes me hesitant to do so.” She says, paying little mind to the spores. “I suppose I could just go elsewhere, but things are quite dull back at home with all the refugees pouring in here.”

________________________________

He follows you intently, though seems to lose interest once you get near the fountain.


“While you have my attention, what antics have you been up to?”

 

"What are you talking about? Gaia would never help a destructive demon like you." The forest guardian says, annoyed.

 

Iris rolls her eyes.
“Wonderful. What’re you going to try to do with me, then?” She asks. “And on that note, she’s already helped me more than I anticipated.”

 

I check if the other dogs are still at the fountain.

"I've been tinkering, a lot. Makin' whatever comes to mind. I recently collected a debt, then went shopping, picked up some souvenirs."

 

Iris feels an arrow bury itself in her neck, seeming to burrow into it as it releases a large amount of a highly concentrated sedative, forcing her to pass out.

When Iris awakens, she finds herself surrounded by garbage.

 

“Should’ve just tossed this stupid body...” She grumbles, scanning her surroundings for souls.

They left already.


“Is the person you collected from still in one piece?”

 

I look to Buddy to see where he's going.


"Of course he is. If he wasn't, he wouldn't be able to pay me again."

 

There seems to be humans all around her, Iris left in a city dumpster. The smell is overpoweringly terrible, and the alley seems to be home to either drunkards or homeless from the stench of urine along the walls.

 

He just went to lay down behind you.


“So... you’re using them as a debt slave?”

An overpowering burst of floral aroma emanates from Iris’ staff, lulling most who inhale it to sleep as she uses a bright light to clean herself off and warp out of the dump.

 

I sit down with him and pet him more.


"No. They're getting exactly what they signed up for. Slaves don't get to sign up for anything."

 

He rolls over slightly to turn his belly towards you.


“And how bad were the alternatives you gave them?”

 

I scratch his belly and the side of his face.


“Like, when we made the agreement, or just a bit ago when I came to collect?”

 

The air is immediately pleasant, if only in comparison to the foul stench of the alley. The thorns from Iris' seed seem to have retracted into tight vines. The pressure hurts, but it's not as bad without the thorns.

 

I'll grab her around the waist.

"Here you go!"
I'll aim at one of the nearby roofs that isn't too high up.

 

You wind up throwing her into a gutter, dead leaves raining down on you as she scrambles onto the rooftop.
"So glad those were already dried up... Okay, I'll be back in a minute." Anne says, walking off out of sight.

"Well, I assume checking on Abigail's out of the question, with Chroma as of late if not just because I'm me..." She mumbles, glancing around as she wanders the alleyway.

His eyes narrow as he stretches out, content.


"Both."

 

Iris finds herself on a busy street, cars packed along the road honking at each other as people walk around with fast food and cheap drinks. Whatever this town is, Iris doesn't seem to be in the nice part of it.