Of Holes in the Sky and What Comes From Them
- Thread starter notbirdofprey
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The vote is now closed! A 1 means you ask about the monster, a two means you ask about the girl
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Answers and Questions
An additional vote for two questions and a dice roll broke the tie.
Silva shuffled his taloned feet along the headboard he favored as his perch. Green, glistening vines grew out from where he stood, winding along the fake wood, berries and flowers bursting along their length. He exhaled abruptly in a single long "whoosh" and the vines vanished, leaving behind faint glowing traces.
"The first question is probably the most important. I'm glad you asked. I will keep you as safe as I can, and do anything in my power to keep you alive and happy, this is my answer, and this is my promise."
He lets out a soft, cawwing laugh, cutting off any complaint Faridah could make. "But that's not enough. What you need to know is that all I want is to heal this world, save as many lives as possible, and make this world a better place."
His eyes met Faridah's, grey and weary with age."And so I, and my compatriots, seek those with the ability to look up and see, and the desire to change what they see. We offer them what aid we can."
He subsides, ducking his head under a wing and pecking at something. When he raises his head again, it's end glistens a little in the dim bedroom light.
"There's more you need to know, of course. Who your allies are, who your enemies are, how things have gotten to the point where the Old Spirits are reduced to seeking aid from children."
He jumps down from his perch to nest on Faridah's pillow. "The most important thing, I think, is for you to know how you can become better at magic. That's easy. Trust your friends, work with them, and seek the knowledge in your hopes and dreams."
His eyes fluttered closed as he nestled his head under his wing, but Faridah needed to know more.
Gently, carefully, she shook him awake.
"I'm sorry to bother you when you need your rest, but who was that girl? I think she tried to kill me!"
Her voice took on a panicked tinge as she recalled the fury in that girl's voice, the way her hands had trembled. The stabbing accusation, blaming her, Faridah, for hurting people...she inhaled sharply. She knew she hurt people all the time, without even meaning to do so, but she did not go out of her way to make others suffer. She hated the very idea, and yet that girl seemed so certain...
"The girl is someone like you. Older, more experienced, more skilled perhaps, but she is suffering. But you need not fear her. As long as I am alive, I will keep you hidden from her."
He raised his head and pecked lightly at her. "Don't take her words to heart. She was not speaking to you, but whatever demon haunts her. And if you see her again, it shall be in a better place."
With that reassurance, he grew laid his head down again and was fast asleep. Gently, Faridah picked up the pillow and laid it on the ground, close enough to her window it would receive some morning sun, just like Silva liked.
She balled up her blanket and put it under her head. It wasn't quite as comfortable, but she quickly fell asleep anyway.
She dreamed of a vast palace-city, green and growing, thick with life. The walls were made of living trees, each one hosting scuttling insects and singing birds. Streams of water gushed down the halls, playing host to vast conglomerations of fish and frogs. Ferns and bushes grew in a great profusion, and amongst it all were scattered peoples, peoples in every appearance describable, people with backs unbent by age and hands unmarred by labor and eyes undimmed by suffering.
She did not watch them from some high throne, she did not sit in condescending judgement. She was among them, around them, and near them, all at once. Gentle silver light bathed them and caressed them, healing wounds and soothing hurts, and she was that light.
She awoke in the middle of the night and wept, certain she would never see such wonder again. And then she closed her eyes, and found herself proven wrong.
Her sleep was still restless, and she awoke early, before the sun had even begun to rise. Somehow, she felt perfectly well rested, and with a smile she tiptoed from her bed and looked out her window.
She saw the stars, glowing brightly, even as the mysterious servants of the Hole in the Sky flitted back and forth, obscuring them. Even as the bright lights of the city and the smoke of its vast factories dimmed them.
One day, she vowed, all the stars would shine brightly.
Then she cursed, realized she had forgotten to do her homework, and scrambled for her backpack.
Bring the stars to the city would have to wait, she could not let her grades get any worse!
What unusual event interrupts Faridah's life next?
[] Silva keeps staring at the tiny garden on the corner, where the creepy old man sits, and murmuring things. And the creepy old man has only gotten creepier...
[] Ms. Zhang is back at school, but she's pale and quiet and nowhere near as cheerful as usual. Obviously, Faridah can't let her favorite teacher stay miserable!
[] They are going on a field trip to a hospital to see how amazing the City's new medical systems are, but a strange sickness is beginning to spread within the halls of healing itself!
The vote is open, before I forget.
SleepyCaterpilar
Just a Rapariga
[X] Silva keeps staring at the tiny garden on the corner, where the creepy old man sits, and murmuring things. And the creepy old man has only gotten creepier...
[X] Ms. Zhang is back at school, but she's pale and quiet and nowhere near as cheerful as usual. Obviously, Faridah can't let her favorite teacher stay miserable!
always_confused
Perpetually unwanted
- Location
- SEA
[X] They are going on a field trip to a hospital to see how amazing the City's new medical systems are, but a strange sickness is beginning to spread within the halls of healing itself!
Solarstream
It's all in the cards
- Location
- Zombie World
- Pronouns
- He/Him
threadmark's missing btw
[X] Ms. Zhang is back at school, but she's pale and quiet and nowhere near as cheerful as usual. Obviously, Faridah can't let her favorite teacher stay miserable!
[X] Ms. Zhang is back at school, but she's pale and quiet and nowhere near as cheerful as usual. Obviously, Faridah can't let her favorite teacher stay miserable!
Happy 4/20! I am definitely not high!
Vote closed
We have a tie.
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[X] Ms. Zhang is back at school, but she's pale and quiet and nowhere near as cheerful as usual. Obviously, Faridah can't let her favorite teacher stay miserable!
always_confused
Perpetually unwanted
- Location
- SEA
I guess that breaks the tie. I figured since we went with healing maybe a trip to the hospital could kick start things but then again, healing doesn't have to be physical. Maybe there's something we can do for the clearly mentally (and physically) fatigued Ms. Zhang?
Yeah, vote is closed now, I am working on the update.
Teacher Trouble Part 1
The next few days of Faridah's life were almost shockingly mundane. If her gaze hadn't occasionally strayed to the all-consuming emptiness that hovered above the world, if her sleep hadn't been disturbed by dreams so sweet they made her weep, she might have thought every scrap of insanity of these past few days was a strange hallucination, the sort mindmilk was supposed to give you if you dared seek some out.
Silva had spent most of his time sleeping, and she left him to his rest. Although she kept a sharp eye out for monsters and for strangeness, nothing happened. The unfamiliar upperclassman who had joined her and her friends in Community Club had apparently gotten sick with some new, nasty disease and was staying home, which meant Faridah could enjoy planning their project with her friends without having to worry about the mystery girl's strange hostility.
They had gotten in touch with a couple small preschools and after-school programs to try and find where they could help and begun sketching out ideas. Some of Faridah's friends were excited by the project and wanted to organize their own unique program, while others only wanted to do what they were strictly required and simply help assist an existing organization.
Faridah found herself remaining silent during those arguments. Instead, she was thinking about another odd absence, that of Ms. Zhang. The teacher was apparently placed on administrative leave. Their new substitute was a young man with slicked-back hair who wore a tie every single day, each one a different color. He was only there a week before Ms. Zhang returned, and Faridah and her friends planned a small celebration for their favorite teacher.
Leah had bought a small cake, although they couldn't get any candies for it, and Johnny had brought along his ukulele and played a very badly written song. Faridah and Cara had made a car and passed it around to everyone they could talk into signing it.
Ms. Zhang gave them a wan smile and started talking in a soft voice. She delivered a few scattered announcements, passed out a worksheet, and then she sat down.
And as Faridah scribbled the answers, she frowned and kept sneaking glances at her teacher. She wished Silva was here. He might have answers for her. And she found herself reaching for the bangle on her wrist, drawing strength from the feel of the cool silver metal.
As class ended, Faridah lingered behind. "Ms. Zhang, are you feeling alright?" she asked tentatively.
The teacher gave her another small smile and coughed into her hand. "Yes, sweetheart, I am doing fine. You have nothing to worry about."
Her voice was perfectly flat, and Faridah noticed something strange about her mouth. She asked a few more questions, probing about the police and the investigation, and received deflections and non-answers. Her stomach began to churn, and the more she spoke the more she thought something was wrong.
So Faridah beat a hasty retreat and found herself clutching the rim of a sink, staring at a mirror.
She saw what she had somehow missed during that dreadful conversation:
Ms. Zhang's teeth were melted together into one giant blob of bleached white, and there was an empty eye on the tip of her tongue.
Faridah bent over the sink and retched, her dark hair falling from her hairband and flopping down by her face.
Suddenly, a gentle hand was rubbing her back and pulling her hair back as she vomited.
"It's OK."
Streams of filthy bile poured from her mouth.
"You'll be fine."
She sobbed as she vomited.
"Everything will be alright."
The acrid taste coated her tongue.
"Maybe we can even be friends someday."
Faridah thought it would never fade.
"I'd like that."
The tide of vomit halted.
"But I'll have to stop your boss first."
Faridah raised her head and saw the upperclassman, the girl who's name she didn't even know, vanishing out of the bathroom door.
She stood there. Confused. Shocked. Lost. Faridah stood alone. She needed to do something.
[] Transform. Now. There's a monster. It's taken over Ms. Zhang. She will end it.
[] Catch her! The girl knows something! Faridah needs to know what!
[] Follow the monster. Faridah needs more information. She needs answers.
[] Find Silva. Faridah needs to talk to someone. She doesn't want to be alone. Not now, not after seeing that.
Silva had spent most of his time sleeping, and she left him to his rest. Although she kept a sharp eye out for monsters and for strangeness, nothing happened. The unfamiliar upperclassman who had joined her and her friends in Community Club had apparently gotten sick with some new, nasty disease and was staying home, which meant Faridah could enjoy planning their project with her friends without having to worry about the mystery girl's strange hostility.
They had gotten in touch with a couple small preschools and after-school programs to try and find where they could help and begun sketching out ideas. Some of Faridah's friends were excited by the project and wanted to organize their own unique program, while others only wanted to do what they were strictly required and simply help assist an existing organization.
Faridah found herself remaining silent during those arguments. Instead, she was thinking about another odd absence, that of Ms. Zhang. The teacher was apparently placed on administrative leave. Their new substitute was a young man with slicked-back hair who wore a tie every single day, each one a different color. He was only there a week before Ms. Zhang returned, and Faridah and her friends planned a small celebration for their favorite teacher.
Leah had bought a small cake, although they couldn't get any candies for it, and Johnny had brought along his ukulele and played a very badly written song. Faridah and Cara had made a car and passed it around to everyone they could talk into signing it.
Ms. Zhang gave them a wan smile and started talking in a soft voice. She delivered a few scattered announcements, passed out a worksheet, and then she sat down.
And as Faridah scribbled the answers, she frowned and kept sneaking glances at her teacher. She wished Silva was here. He might have answers for her. And she found herself reaching for the bangle on her wrist, drawing strength from the feel of the cool silver metal.
As class ended, Faridah lingered behind. "Ms. Zhang, are you feeling alright?" she asked tentatively.
The teacher gave her another small smile and coughed into her hand. "Yes, sweetheart, I am doing fine. You have nothing to worry about."
Her voice was perfectly flat, and Faridah noticed something strange about her mouth. She asked a few more questions, probing about the police and the investigation, and received deflections and non-answers. Her stomach began to churn, and the more she spoke the more she thought something was wrong.
So Faridah beat a hasty retreat and found herself clutching the rim of a sink, staring at a mirror.
She saw what she had somehow missed during that dreadful conversation:
Ms. Zhang's teeth were melted together into one giant blob of bleached white, and there was an empty eye on the tip of her tongue.
Faridah bent over the sink and retched, her dark hair falling from her hairband and flopping down by her face.
Suddenly, a gentle hand was rubbing her back and pulling her hair back as she vomited.
"It's OK."
Streams of filthy bile poured from her mouth.
"You'll be fine."
She sobbed as she vomited.
"Everything will be alright."
The acrid taste coated her tongue.
"Maybe we can even be friends someday."
Faridah thought it would never fade.
"I'd like that."
The tide of vomit halted.
"But I'll have to stop your boss first."
Faridah raised her head and saw the upperclassman, the girl who's name she didn't even know, vanishing out of the bathroom door.
She stood there. Confused. Shocked. Lost. Faridah stood alone. She needed to do something.
[] Transform. Now. There's a monster. It's taken over Ms. Zhang. She will end it.
[] Catch her! The girl knows something! Faridah needs to know what!
[] Follow the monster. Faridah needs more information. She needs answers.
[] Find Silva. Faridah needs to talk to someone. She doesn't want to be alone. Not now, not after seeing that.
[X] Catch her! The girl knows something! Faridah needs to know what!
always_confused
Perpetually unwanted
- Location
- SEA
Tough choice. I want to find Silva, but at the same time we can't always be running off to find our mentor-ish figure everytime something bad happens. So that means taking the initiative...to follow the monster or catch the girl. What do, What do...
Solarstream
It's all in the cards
- Location
- Zombie World
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Transform. Now. There's a monster. It's taken over Ms. Zhang. She will end it.
Vote closed
Teacher Trouble Part 2
Faridah wants to run, to flee, to find somewhere to hide. For a moment, she gathers her courage and starts to leave the bathroom with her head held high. Then Ms. Zhang - then the monster is standing in front of her.
She's paralyzed. Terrified. She's a rabbit in front of a hawk, a fly trapped by a sundew, a stray asteroid caught in the orbit of a black hole. The monster's tongue slithers from its mouth, drool leaking from its lips. "Is something wrong?" it squeals in a tone of unnerving innocence, and Faridah turns on her heel.
She runs. There's no other word for it. Her feet crack against the tiled floor, the lockers blur past her. Her heart pounds in her chest, in her throat, her gorge rising again, but she pushes it back down. Ms. Zhang is depending on her, and she doesn't even want to think about what the monster might do while it's here. In her school. With her friends.
Faridah wants to break down sobbing and vomiting and collapse into a puddle on the floor. She wants to find her mother and curl up against her. She wants to talk to Silva and be promised that everything will be alright.
But she is not just Faridah, a scared child. She is Starlight Healer, wielder of mighty powers. And though she knows she has magic, magic that's strong and inexplicable. But what she needs the most now is information.
And the person who seems most likely to give it to her is that strange girl.
She closes her eyes and concentrates. She grasps at her magic, trying to pull into a shape that will do what she needs. "Find her! Find her! Find her!" she chants again and again.
Nothing happens. Faridah tries everything she can think of, but the magic inside her remains dormant.
Until with a note of desperation she whispers "Stars above grant me strength."
Faridah is enveloped in silver, and when the light vanishes, she stands as Starlight Healer. And she opens her eyes wide.
Magic is everywhere, even if it is being sucked away into that all-consuming maw. It glows in the ground and the air and in the souls of her classmates. It curdles in the heart of the monster that took Ms. Zhang, and in countless others far away. She can sense Silva, the taste of his magic as familiar as her own. And she can sense a beacon that blazes as brightly as hers, but with a wrath so intense it makes her shiver.
And then she is off. She does not go unnoticed. She moves in a flash of flowing silver, and nothing can stop her. Not the alarmed cries of students, not the furious roars of truancy wardens, not the panicked squeals of pedestrians. She leaps from the sidewalk to the roof of a nearby building, magic propelling every movement.
And after mere minutes, Starlight Healer has found her prey. The girl is in a district unfamiliar to Starlight Healer, one that's distinctly run down. The officers of the law patrol in pairs, their hands never far from guns or batons. The streets are more patch and pothole than asphalt. Noxious leaks pump vile chemicals into the air.
The idea that people might live here stabs into Starlight Helaer's soul. Instinctively, she reaches out with her magic, seeking ways to undo the harm, to heal that man's scarred lungs and that woman's bruised limbs and that child's poisoned liver. To soothe the bodies and souls of all who suffer.
But she cannot, not now, and so she makes a promise to herself, and to her other half.
And then she finds the girl crouched in an alley, fists clenched. One hand rises into the air, and the
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Yellow light the color of dying grass rises from the ground. Out of the air comes blackness so dark it hurts.
Light and dark weave together, changing the shape of the girl, making her unrecognizable, coating her in spells of strength and protection, but most of all in spells of fury.
Starlight Healer must act. She needs answers, both to who this stranger is and to how she can help Starlight Healer kill the monster.
How does she approach this problem?
[] Go loud. The stranger approached you with violence. Give her a brief demonstration of power, then ask the necessary questions.
[] Approach as an equal. There has been conflict, but nothing truly serious. Meet her on the ground. Then offer promises of peace and explain what is needed.
[] Beg for help. The situation is desperate, and pride is nothing before answers and assistance.
[] Watch and wait. This girl would not transform if she was not expecting to use her magic for something. Wait for a chance to assist and then broach the topic.
And the vote is open.
Solarstream
It's all in the cards
- Location
- Zombie World
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Approach as an equal. There has been conflict, but nothing truly serious. Meet her on the ground. Then offer promises of peace and explain what is needed.