Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

"I-I'm not a thief! I serve L-Lady Gaia!" The guardian says, scared and offended.


Abigail walks beside Katie casually, seeming as careless as she usually is. The pair head onto Aquira's ship, a sense of dread coming from it.

 

Idhaenna takes another step closer.
"I've spoken with Lady Gaia and some of her other children. None of them seemed afraid of their own name. If you aren't a thief, and you don't have the sense of direction to go in a literal straight line to get to your destination, what and who are you?" She asks, scanning the guardian's soul.


Apocalypse smirks, hoping to sense spilled blood from the ship.

 

"I-I got lost! H-How do I know you're not just one of those shadows making yourself appear normal so you can trick me!?" The guardian accuses, still scared.

The guardian's soul seems to be perfectly normal, partially linked to Gaia's even.


No blood is spilt for a while, though shortly after boarding, Katie leaves with her father, seeming quite happy. The pair share a hug once on the sand, and head over to the coconut tree with the forest guardians relaxing around it.

Apocalypse senses a bit of blood in the captain's quarters shortly afterward.

 

Idhaenna stops, nodding.
"Fair enough. Let's see..." She says, eyeing her cores as she takes a few steps back.
"I mean for one, my eyes aren't red; two, I electrocuted like eight of them on my way here; and three, my blood's green. I'd show you the third, but the last time I did the ground gained sentience, so I'm not doing that here."


Apocalypse waits for Abigail to come off the ship... or for more blood to be spilled.

 

The guardian just backs up, not seeming to believe Idhaenna and seeming even more unnerved.


More blood is spilt over time, and eventually Aquira ends up leaving the ship. Her fists and clothing look bloody until she drags up ocean water to remove the blood. Strangely, she bears an expression of guilt rather than her usual stern one, or even one of satisfaction.

Aquira heads over to Katie and Sidus, seeming to say something to Katie that causes her to sprint back to the ship. Aquira hugs Sidus tight, looking like she's sobbing.

 

“Honestly, whatever. If you think I’m a shadow, riddle me this; why aren’t you dead? We both know your guard’s down.”


Apocalypse watches the scene, straight-faced.

 

"I-I don't know, you larger types scare off the lesser Shadows, and you're just toying with me!" The guardian says, before turning and running deeper into the forest. A small group of wooden sentinels grow in his wake, brandishing wooden swords and bows.


Aquira seems to recover rather quickly, expression returning to it's normal stern look. She kicks the coconut tree, catching the coconut that falls from it and slicing it open with frozen seawater. Sidus just turns his attention back to the ship.

A little while longer, Katie helps Abigail off of the ship. She looks beaten, bloody and bruised, though she doesn't appear to be bleeding anymore. She glares at Aquira as she passes on the way to the caves leading out of the beach, who simply draws a line across her neck in response.

 

Idhaenna brandishes a rifle, shooting the sentinels not with bullets but with muted repulsing waves that knock them largely unharmed and out of her way as she gives chase at supersonic speeds.
“Could you please not? You running is going to attract actual shadows!” She calls, annoyed.


Apocalypse grins at Abigail with guillotine blade hanging over her shoulder, returning to a passive stance once Aquira looks back at her.

 

"Y-You are an actual shadow!" The guardian shouts, bending the trees in front of Idhaenna to try and trip her.


Neither seem to notice, though Abigail leaves a trail of disturbed sand as she drags herself along with the assistance of Katie.

 

Idhaenna phases through the trees via the spectral plane, continuing her pursuit.
“I said I was a ghost, not a shadow!”


Apocalypse glances over at Aquira before sitting back down on the dock.

 

A few Shadows seem to join the pursuit, though keep their distance from Idhaenna to avoid being shocked. The guardian weaves through the trees, jumping up into them to try and lose Idhaenna.


Aquira seems to be heading back to her ship with one of the forest guardians, her emotions hard to read.

 

I turn to the left.
“This way.”
I lie smoothly as I go to investigate what’s with Xlentia.

 

Idhaenna blasts the shadows with her repulsive rifle, slowly drawing closer to the guardian.
“Alright, fine, what if I am a shadow? How many feral shadows out here are fluent in common tongue?” She asks. “Besides, wouldn’t that mean I might be willing to escort you to the capital if you just stopped running?”


Apocalypse sighs, seeming a bit disappointed before gazing back into the ocean mindlessly.

Scurn follows.
“What’s with the noise? Does Xlentia have some giant beast caged up here?” He asks.

The mass of draconians projecting barriers and shields into Xlentia’s chamber doors suggest Xlentia isn’t doing too well as she repeatedly throws her weight into the doors.

 

The guardian pauses for a moment, before quickly encasing themselves in a thick wooden shell.

"H-How do I know you'll really take me there!?" The guardian asks from inside their wooden shell.


Not much else happens, other than Aquira's crew heading out to resupply and work on the ship and palace. A cool breeze floats in from the ocean, waves crashing on the shore and bringing with them seaweed and a few pieces of smooth glass.

 

“Well, considering you ran away from me, you don’t know because now I don’t trust you either. Or, I could be a goddess of space and warp you there anyways... or anywhere, depending on how annoyed I was feeling.” She says, poking her head through the shell as if it wasn’t there.

 

The guardian backs up against the inner wall of their shell, terrified.

"M-Make it quick, please!" The guardian utters, looking away with their hands up.

 

Idhaenna sighs.
“No. I’m not taking a nervous wreck to the capital.”

 

"Y-You're not going to kill me?" The guardian asks, still scared.

 

“No, that’d piss off Lady Gaia and I just finished up a tour with her through the Realm of Light.” Idhaenna sighs.

 

The guardian seems skeptical, but removes their wooden shell and doesn't run.

"T-Tiril." The guardian says.