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 Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 4:17 am
"I'm frightened by what I see
But somehow I know that there's much more to come
Immobilized by my fear
And soon to be blinded by tears
I can stop the pain if I will it all away
If I will it all away
Don't turn away
The spirits of the fallen sing(Don't give in to the pain)
Don't try to hide
The spirits of the fallen sing(Though they're screaming your name)
Don't close your eyes
The spirits of the fallen sing(God knows what lies behind them)
Don't turn out the light
The spirits of the fallen sing(Never sleep, never die)
Eris's body began to sway on the cliff as she continued to stare down at the eyes that looked back up at her. Her mind was a blur now, all she felt was the overwelming emotions that poured from a place she didn't know she had kept them.
Fallen angels at my feet
Whispered voices at my ear
Death before my eyes
Lying next to me I fear
She beckons me, shall I give in
Upon my end shall I begin
Forsaking all I've fallen for
I rise to meet the end
Right as she finished the line, Eris's went rigid and her eyes dialated. In her mind, Eris slowly went forward and fell forward into the abyss. The fall was so slow, she could see every passing rock as she approached the void. Entering it, she didn't hit a rocky bottom but kept falling. Images swirled around her. A light brown cougar with blue eyes tried to scramble up the inky void's side. A black and white kitten sat on nothing and cried out for her mother as she looked up towards the top of the cliffs. She past many more spirits in her fall. Some where trying to escape, others were crying out for help. All these spirits, all these forgotten souls, watched as Eris fell past them. Each had their own story and somehow, Eris seemed to know each one.
Finally, she hit something. Looking down, it was a large chain spread across the darkness. Underneth her, a small opening was shining with a bright light. A hand reached out to Eris from the opening, beconing her closer. The hand.......seemed familiar, and yet unknown all the same. Eris tried to reach for it, but the chains held her back and she was soon tangled in them. She wasn't strong but her need to reach that hand was so powerful. She thrashed about, clawing at the metal that bound her. Everything time she struck the chain, a voice would insult her or try and discourage her. But she ignored them, desperate to reach that hand. She screamed loudly before she used all her strength to pull at the chains. In a loud snap the chains suddenly broke and Eris fell swifty down towards the hand. She reached out, ready to grab it when she met it, then......as she touched it....a flash of light and she was back on top of the cliff.
There were no more eyes, the cougar at her side was gone, and Eris was shaking badly. In a moment, her eyes closed and she colapsed dangerously close to the edge she had been looking over. Her body was limp and occationally twitched and something overwelming swam through her.
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Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 5:07 pm
Jei watched with a horrible feeling of dread. Her sister was still.. so still.. Too still. She pushed herself to her feet, rising to her full (though still rather small) height and darting to her. Jei didn't dare touch her, though. Spirits only knew what would happen..
Well. She didn't know how right she was.
"E-Eris.." she stuttered, letting out a loud, shakey cry as her sister started trembling. When the other kitten's eyes slammed shut and she tumbled foreward, Jei threw herself towards her, skidding until her head was falling off the edge.
But Eris was okay.
Eris was okay..
That was all that mattered. Again stumbling to rise to her feet, she carefully reached down, laying hands on Eris' twitching shoulders. "E-Eris..?" Oh, please let her be okay. Jei had promised to protect her, but.. But..
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Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 5:24 pm
At first, Eris didn't move except for the odd twitch. Finally her eyes slowly began to open. She blinked a few times, her eyes were still slightly dialated from whatever had happened. She sat up and looked around, almost.....in desperation. But the cougar was gone. Maybe Jei had accidentally scared her off. She would come back later and try to find her again. Red eyes....different from what Jei was use to....turned to look at her sister.
"You...have blood on you..."
Even her voiced sounded a little different. Scratchy and raw, like she had been screaming instead of singing. In her mind she had been. Did whatever she saw have a physical effect on her. Eris was quickly losing her focus on Jei again, slipping in and out of quiet still moments, then acting in her normal way for awhile.
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Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 5:30 pm
Jei felt like she was going to.. to.. to cry or something just as weak. Her sister was sick - that must be it. Something was horribly off, and she had.. she had fainted, didn't she? "I do." she said quietly, staying quiet for a moment. Shifting slowly, she wrapped her arms around her sister, using the energy she had left after the fight and lifting her up, stumbling again.
Careful. She had to be careful. She couldn't let herself fall. "Don't move too much." she said softly, tone entirely different from the harsh voice she used when she was around others. "You need rest and.. relaxation. We're going to go find a place to wait until you feel better."
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Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 5:35 pm
Eris just wrapped her weak arms around her sister's neck and stayed REALL still. Almost limp in the other's arms. She still had the overly dazed and distant look in her eyes. But it wasn't how she use to look. Something had changed. Something was different. And only Eris knew what it was. Or at least she thougth she knew what it was. Even she still wasn't sure.
She would need to think about what she saw. What the chains ment. Who's hand was that? Where did the caped cougar go? What did all this mean? Her head swam with questions that only made her feel dizzier. She rested her head on Jei's chest and closed her eyes to block out the world and rest her mind.
".......jei........"
Her voice was soft, but it was what she usually said just before she fell asleep at night, or just wanted to know the comfort of her sister was there.
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Posted: Wed Aug 23, 2006 3:48 pm
Jei knew she shouldn't feel that bad, but she did. Shifting a bit and rubbing her eyes on her shoulder, she mumbled out a few comforting words ('Relax. I'm here, I'll be here, don't hurt yourself Eris, I'm here..'). The cliffs were getting to be hell on her feet, but.. Soon she was making her way down a known path, sliding slightly, running halfway, hoping that her sister didn't get too shaken up..
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Posted: Wed Aug 23, 2006 4:08 pm
Eris was limp the entire trip really. Occationally she opened her eyes, but closed them soon after. The blood on Jei's arms mixed with her hair, dying it a rosy pink. Her mind was whirling with emotions she was trying to get under control. But it was as if the chain she broke let loose something she had buried a long time ago. So long ago she hadn't remembered it.
She wanted the feelings to stop, she wanted to feel like her old self again. But the cougar on the cliffs had said freedom came with a price. She wondered what she had freed. And if there was anything else waiting to be freed within her.
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Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2006 7:17 pm
It had been a week since the incident on the cliffs. Eris had noticably changed and she wasn't sure if it was for the better. She had become moody and prone to random outbursts of emotion. It could be tears, anger, laughter, or fear. She couldn't control it any more. She had tried, she really had. But it was so hard. Delila had tried to help but Eris didn't accept Vixa's explination. That couldn't be the solution. She didn't believe it was the solution. The spirit had wanted to show her something. But what was it?
Chains were used to bind the weak or the enslaved. They were symbols of power over another. What did they mean to her? She thought hard about the vision she had seen. When she had fallen and been caught, it wrapped around her to stop her from going anywhere. Then, as she struck at the chain to free herself, the voices of the tribal elders, her aunt, and even other kittens range out. Insults, put downs, and disgracing remarks. Were these what held her? Were these words enslaving her to the tribe in some way. She had struck out at them, and with enough force, had broken them. Is that what she had to do now?
She looked up at her Aunt from her seat on the floor of the cave. Ruth was busy fixing Jei's meal while she was out at figther's class. The ideas she had been thinking about kept running through her mind. Enslaved, chained, restrained. All these things were from the words everyone, well, everyone but Jei and Delila that is, were chaining her down. The more she thought, the more angry she got. She wanted to show them that they couldn't hold her down forever. Then.....something welled up with in her.
"I'm going to be a great and powerful cougar. And I'll make sure you pay for what you've done to me."
What did she just say!?!? Good moon goddess protect her! She had just threatened her already angry Aunt! Her of all kittens!!
Ruth blinked and looked up from the carcas she had been preparing as she heard Eris speak. Normally the kitten was quite but lately she had been acting very strange and it had already put her in a bad mood. Now this worthless piece of fluff was threatening her? At first she was frankly stunned by the kitten's sudden outburst. Then the anger set in.
"Oh really, you think I'll pay for treating you for what you worth! Then here, let me help you make that debt greater."
Eris had to run out of the cave and hide when was finally able to get away from Ruth's painful hit. Now she was really hurt and knew she couldn't go back to the cave tonight. Ruth would skin her alive if she came back. She spit the blood from her mouth on to the stone under her feet and sighed. Where had that come from? She had never raised her voice to her Aunt. Sure she had made snid remarks but never something so bold as that. Now what would she do?
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Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 2:47 pm
The injured kitten slowly limped her way out of the camp and into the hills. She stopped a bit to rest. She had a lot of bruises, a badly cut lip, a black right eye, what looked like a twisted knee, and a few cuts from Ruth's claws. She had been really mad at her outburst. But why had she said that? What was making her change?
She had to get to gust cliffs. She had to talk to the spirit again. Eris stood up with that destination in mind but quickly sank back on to her rock, her knee unable to support her weight at the moment.
"I need to put something cold on it. I wonder if I can get to the stream?"
She looked out over the rocks towards the small water source of her tribe. The waters were cold there, having melted from the snow on the highest peeks of the mountains. That would soothe her knee. She just hoped Jei didn't miss her too much tonight. It looked like she'd be sleeping outside.
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Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 3:40 pm
Lyka sat quietly by the stream, purposely trying tune out the distracting noise of the gurgling water, slowly, carefully concentrating on the humming of the stones. Deliberately, she sank into the ground, but the water threw her off and she was unable to completely dissappear. She shook her head as if to clear her mind and tried again. This time, she was sucessful and the comforting cold firmness around her flooded her senses. She was one with the stone. She heard all it heard, felt all it felt, and she felt the tremors of small footsteps making their way towards her.
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Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 4:10 pm
Eris limped her way slowly towards the stream. Her knee was killing her. And it didn't help that her cuts were still slightly bleeding.
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Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 4:49 pm
Delila leapt through the trees, passing from shadow to shadow silently, fresh from her training exercises for the day. Now, if only to grab a quick drink from the stream before she headed out to hunt for her dinner. She was tired, but it was a good feeling, knowing that she was pushing herself to her limits and beyond, learning more each day about her new strength and abilities.
She was nearing the stream when the scent of blood invaded her nostrils, bringing her to a sharp halt as she frowned, testing the wind. An injured prey beast? No...it was cougar blood. Were there warriors nearby hunting? Or fighting intruders? She followed the scent slowly, determined to find the source of the blood scent.
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Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 9:17 pm
Eris finally made it to the stream. She gathered some moss and placed it in the cold icey water before wrapping it around her knee and tying it off with some leaves. She sighed, she tried to lick some of her wounds. Her hair was painted pink or even pure red in the areas where she was bleeding. This was going to be a rough night.
Again she sighed and tried to think of a place she could stay. Maybe if she found an empty cave she could make a small fire and wait until tomorrow to come back. But what would she eat? She couldn't hunt, or had never really been successful at it. She was on her own tonight. Or at least she thought she was. She didn't feel like she was alone, as if someone was there with her. She couldn't see Lyka but she felt her presence. And she had yet to hear the silent Delila coming toward her. All she heard was the rushing water and the pounding in her ears from the black eye.
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Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 10:38 pm
The scent grew stronger as Delila practically raced through the treetops now. It was definitely Cougar blood, though she couldn't place the Cougar just yet. What if a Quicktalon sister was hurt and in battle? She'd help how she could, even if she was just a distraction so her tribe sister could escape if needed. The scent of blood was practically tangible in her nostrils as she stopped abruptly in a tree with limbs overhanging the river.
She paused, glancing through the leaves at the cougar crouched at the water's edge. Eris? She was relieved to see no dangers here threatening the kitten, but what in the world had happened to her? Sure, she'd seen bruises and such on the spotted kit before...but never blood, at least not like this. What had happened?
She climbed slowly down the tree, leaping the last ten feet or so of the trunk to the ground, landing softly in a crouch. "What sort of trouble have you gotten yourself into this time, Eris?" She kept her tone light, trying to hide her concern.
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Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 8:26 am
Eris blinked, looking over at Delila. The other kitten had grown? That ment she was a teen now. Eris sighed a bit and turned away. They were all leaving her behind.
"Aunt Ruth is mad at me. I can't go home tonight. My knee hurts so I'm waiting for the swelling to go down. I hope Jei will not come look for me. Aunt Ruth will get even madder."
As usual, her descriptions left a lot out. But she was still trying to figure out what happened herself so she just left it at that.
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