Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

Mary turns around and promptly falls right back asleep.

 

Mary wakes up to a peaceful morning in the village, though with a noticeable difference. Flowers seem to have overtaken the village, vines snaking up the sides of huts, and moss and lichen more plentiful than before.

A lot of it seems to be coming from the hut of one of the deceased tribe members; likely where Artemis spent the night.

 

Mary looks around, hoping that the quiet and overgrowth doesn't mean "the visitors killed off the tribe."

 

She immediately sees some more familiar tribe members enjoying the overgrowth, and there's no signs of blood or panic. She overhears them pondering if Artemis did this deliberately, though another says she saw her heading toward the beach. Another tribe member confirms this, mentioning how he saw her staring out into the ocean with the dark figure beside her.

 

Mary heads out to the shoreline, being careful with her ruin as she looks around for the duo.

 

Artemis and I are visible not too far from the direct route to the beach, Artemis sitting with the waves washing over her bare feet as she looks out to sea. My arm rests around Artemis' shoulders as she leans on me, unmoving.

A few gulls squawk overhead as the morning sun illuminates the vast expanse of water surrounding the landmass, a few walking by the water in the hopes of snatching up some unlucky washed-up sea critters for breakfast. The sand on the beach is fresh, tainted only by a single pair of footprints leading over to Artemis and I.

 

"I'm sorry, you were right." Mary calls in a somewhat hushed tone.

 

The sound of the waves seem to override Mary's voice, and Artemis and I don't seem to hear.

 

Mary pauses before opting to give you two space - realizing her presence likely isn’t welcome.

 

As Mary does so, her foot catches something hard in the sand. However, instead of being a rock or a sea shell, it's reflective property in the morning light marks it as a gold coin; likely dropped and buried partially by a pirate.

 

She winds up tripping on it, exploding into a pool of ruin with a splash rather than taking the fall as she reforms a few paces away. She looks something between irritated and embarrassed.

 

It's a difficult thing to stumble over, which seems to attract the attention of one of the tribe members heading down to the shore. They appear to be carrying a wooden bowl containing fruit.

"Are you alright, Mary?" The tribe member asks.

 

“Yeah... I’m fine.” She grumbles, still grimacing slightly.

 

"You're not looking too good," The tribe member says, looking Mary over, "Do you need to be healed?"

 

"Gaia couldn't heal me. The others here can't." She sighs, grumbling slightly in pain.

 

"Are you some form of undead? You seem fairly alive to me." The tribe member asks, confused.

 

"Just cursed." Mary shrugs.

 

"Is there a way to break it?" The tribe member asks, concerned.

 

"There are a few crystals that have been used to break the curses on my siblings, but they're incredibly rare. They're certainly not on Earth, and I've never seen one myself."

 

"Can they be created?" The tribe member asks, hopeful.