i'd like to make myself believe that planet earth turns slowly
it's hard to say that i'd rather stay awake when i'm asleep
'cause everything is never as it seems
❖
I'm far from home. So far, that I think my momma, Morr, is setting the entirety of Novus on fire just looking for me. I can't help it though. Sometimes the desire to explore is just so great that I can't ignore it. Maybe I get it from my other momma, Zahra? She always seems to have more fun outside of Denocte's gates, so I wanted to see how much fun I could have too. Plus momma Morr can be so smothering sometimes. I loved my home, but there is so much more to the world.
I followed her out here and found myself in some kind of enchanted garden. I think they called it Dullmeen? Delymean? I can't remember, but I am surrounded by life here. There is the chirping of birds, little creatures shuffling around in the grass and there is the distant roar of a river in the distance. This land seems so much more lush than Denocte's prairie, mountains and seashore. Of course, I was one of the weird ones that liked the smell of low tide, but this is different. This is somewhere new and much more rich. I can smell the crispness in the air, damp earth and fresh cut grass. The world is more alive here.
I find myself amazed by the lights strung in the trees and the sight of lanterns flickering in the distant forest. There is something else out there that almost sounds like voices, but it's so far and only seems to be for a moment that I think I just imagined it.
Then there is a man, his coat dappled like the patterns of the sun shining down into water. His eyes are like liquid gold and I am captivated by him. He leads me through this place and tells me things. Apparently I was not imagining it, but hearing the voices of the lost. Why are they here? What did they lose? There are so many questions in my mind, but I just keep listening to this tall man speak instead of asking.
At the mention of this place being haunted, I find my heart catching a little in my throat. I'm not sure how I feel about ghosts, but perhaps if they're lost, I can find a way to help them? A small orb of light similar to a sun appears and seems to have a mind of its own. I'm tempted to catch it and keep it as my friend, but something tells me it's more wild than that. It floats out further and further as if it wants me to follow.
The man speaks of treasures to be found if I follow the path, but to not stray far from the trail. As pretty as it all is, I don't really know this place and I already am not sure where momma Zahra is. I definitely want to stay on this path so I can find my way back, but first…
The sun orb keeps going out further and as I take my first step forward, I realize that the tall man is gone. I'm still not alone though. When I turn fully around, I see someone else- a girl. She's older than me, but not super old. I wonder if she knows much about this place and what the sun orb wants.
"Hey! Do you want to explore with me?" I ask while bounding over to her. She's very pretty, especially with how long her hair is and the way she has it done. I wonder if I could get my mane braided the same some day.
"This old guy told me to follow the path and I think this little sun orb wants me to. Do you think it's safe?" I am feeling the excitement of adventure again, but there is a little bit of fear in there. I don't know this place or this girl or what this could all mean. But what was the harm in a little treasure hunt in the woods?
I can hear the voices calling for us again. I take another step forward, but not too far, just in case this girl might not be coming just yet. I hope she does.
Her father had forbade her from coming to the forest trail.
He forbade her from doing many things. Especially things he thought might be dangerous. Aion had always seemed a little too superstitious to her, a little too play-it-on-the-safe-side. She didn’t love him any less for it; Maret loved her father, even when he hugged her a little too tightly or pressed too many kisses to her cheeks before bed. He always seemed the bravest, smartest man to her, but if there was one thing he didn’t know, it was that being told “no” only increased Maret’s desire to do something by tenfold.
And so, while her fathers were busy dancing and staring into each other’s eyes, Maret slipped away and into the forest. The familiar thrill of excitement, of doing something she knew she should not be doing, made her heart begin to race. It was dancing inside of her now, leaping and pirouetting like it had forgotten the doctors had once called it weak. She was thankful for that; if even half of what the stories said about the forest were true, she would need every last bit of strength her heart had to offer.
She doesn’t start the path at the beginning, but rather slips around the green-dappled man in silence. It’s too risky to let him see her; what if he knew her fathers? Eros had used to be a Champion after all, and of community no less. And Maret was not about to have her night of recklessness cut short by committing an amateur mistake.
The forest seems far too quiet when she first sees the lantern-light through the trees, as if all the birds and the squirrels and the deer were holding their breath. She tucks this thought away in her mind (to write down later, after the night was through), and hurries towards the trail. Her heart beats away like a drum inside of hr, urging her onward, her own little soldier boy marching away -
She is not expecting to see someone else; much less a child younger than herself.
Maret freezes at once like a deer caught by a wolf, her two-toned eyes widening. And she debates, for only a moment, sprinting off into the forest exactly like a deer would, just in case the girl has any intentions of tattling on her.
But before she can, the filly steps forward with a smile turning her words yellow-bright, and Maret can’t help but smile back. Her shoulders relax, and before she knows it she’s stepping forward, too, towards the girl with the marigold-pretty eyes and skin the color of a baby fawn’s.
”Have you not heard about the autumn trail? It’s all anybody can talk about here.”
She matches the excitement in the other girl’s voice - and maybe a little bit of the fear, too. She’s heard all the stories about the trail (soaking them in like a sponge, begging the older girls for stories of last year’s experiences) - and she’s heard, too, about not exploring the forest alone. Especially after the deaths, which everyone said were over now, but that would not be the first time Viride was declared to be safe. Maret was, of course, willing to brave the tales and explore it on her own; but now that she doesn’t have to, she finds herself breathing a gentle sigh of relief. Even if the other is just a child; Maret doesn’t have enough friends to be picky. So she smiles wider and turns to follow the trail, nudging her new friend forward to follow the miniature sun with her.
“I’m Maret. Who are you?”
a sunflower soul
with rock n roll eyes
curious thoughts
& a heart of surprise
As you begin the pathway, the forest around you seems to come alive. There are birds of every size and shape flitting from branch to branch overhead, vibrant blue butterflies dancing around your hooves, rustlings in the nearby bushes. Perhaps you are familiar with the woods, and they seem peaceful to you; or perhaps every creak of the branches makes your senses jump, and every shadow dancing just out of sight has your skin crawling.
Or perhaps it feels as though the forest is watching you. Maybe the woodland animals are not the only things alive here.
Regardless, as you venture further into the forest, the festival noises are replaced entirely with the sounds of flora and fauna, and the glow of the lanterns placed along the pathway is greater than what little sunlight manages to break through the canopy. It feels intimate here, and whether you came with company or alone, you begin to feel acutely aware of how alone you are walking in the woods.
It is not long before the rustling in the leaves grows louder, and another set of footsteps begin to echo your’s. But when you turn to look, only the empty forest path greets your eyes. The trees shiver, the light in the nearest lantern begins to waver; and from the shadows, a new light begins to shine as a thousand fireflies wander down the trail.
For a moment, they seem to form the outline of another horse. But when you blink the image slips away, and the fireflies swarm together. They drift near to you, almost shyly, cautiously; the wind seems to be holding its breath, waiting, waiting. The fireflies reach out to you like an old friend, their light falling across your face. And then as one they turn, gathering once more into the likeness of a horse. And without turning, without caring for the old man’s warning, they step off the forest path and into the forest. Without the warm glow of the lanterns, they make their own light weaving between the trees, casting strange rays of light that seem to linger too long in the darkness, reaching back to you.
As if beckoning to you to follow.
To continue the quest, you must reply to this thread with your character's choice. There is no word limit, and you can be as creative with the prompt as you'd like! In this round, it seems as though a horde of fireflies are trying to show your character something...
Choices: stay on the path, or follow the fireflies
i'd like to make myself believe that planet earth turns slowly
it's hard to say that i'd rather stay awake when i'm asleep
'cause everything is never as it seems
❖
She smiles and it makes me smile back. I'm hoping I've just made a new friend because she already seems so nice. She must live here since she calls this the "autumn trail" and that it's all everyone talks about. I tilt my head.
"I'm not from here," I confess, almost with a frown. "It's pretty though." I wish I lived here, but Momma would never go for it, at least not Momma Morr. She never leaves Denocte for anything, which is a shame because I would love to show her this trail.
I had forgotten for a moment that I had been scared of this place until the girl nudges me forward. I'm a mix of emotions really. I'm excited to be embarking on this unknown adventure with a new friend, but also nervous about what we might find. At least neither of us will be alone now and there's always strength in numbers, right?
She introduces herself as Maret and my eyes are shining brightly up at her. I literally have to look way up- I'm so short compared to her! I hope my legs can grow quicker so I'm not so tiny compared to everyone.
"I'm Maeve!" I say excitedly, feeling proud of my name. In all honesty, I love my name a lot. "I'm from the Night Court. I came here with one of my moms, so normally I'm not so far but it's really nice here!"
We walk onward and the forest becomes more alive. A few butterflies fly through my feet and they are the brightest shade of blue I've ever seen. I gasp at the sight of them and almost get distracted by wanting to catch them, but I stop myself. We need to stay on track to see what sort of treasures the old guy was talking about. Maybe the butterflies will come back later.
Slowly, the distant sounds of Dawn's festival drift away and all I can hear are the sounds of the forest. Birds are flying overhead with their chattering, but there's something else. I almost feel like I'm being watched, but I can't see any extra eyes anywhere as I look around. Weird.
We are getting deeper into the woods now, so much so that the sunlight is being swallowed up. We have to rely on the light of the lanterns to make our way and I look up nervously at Maret. Something about her seems more confident than me and I hope to be that strong some day. For now, I'm stuck feeling the anxiety creep in even more. It almost sounds like our footsteps are echoing, or someone else is following us for a moment. When I turn though, there is still nothing to be seen.
"Did you hear that?" I ask her, my voice but a whisper. I move aside and press into her in hopes that it might calm me down.
As I turn my head back, I notice now that we are accompanied by fireflies, or as I like to call them, light-butt bugs. My fear slips away and I'm giddy again as my entire face lights up with happiness. I've fallen in love with them since coming here and I hope Maret likes them too. All I can focus on now is following them.
I move away from Maret's side to try and chase them, laughing as I go. It almost looks like they had formed themselves into the shape of a horse, but it's gone once I blink my eyes. They just keep fluttering further and further out so I follow them. I still want to catch one to bring home and show Momma, I just needed to -
I realize I've taken a few steps off the path and the old man's words play back in my head. He said to stick to the path… but these fireflies almost seem like they want to show me something. He did say treasures, so maybe sticking to the path would lead us away from it? All I ever want is to be more confident and less scared, so maybe this would be my chance to show someone that I'm strong. Maret would be the perfect one to prove that to.
"I think we should follow them and see what they want to show us! You know this place right?" I'm assuming she does since she knows that so many talk about it. I figure she could show us the way back if we get lost or if I happen to be wrong and the fireflies aren't leading us to something. I hope they are though, it would be cool to be the only ones to discover something special.
I take a few more steps, letting the fireflies brush across my mane. My feet are now fully off the path and on the forest ground. I'm not sure how we'll see, but it's worth a try. I can practice my night vision!
Before I continue, I turn to Maret and wait for her to follow (hopefully she does).
There is a moment in which Maret wonders if the girl is more similar to her than she appears — if there was a parent somewhere in the festival that she had slipped away from, if that same thrill of adventure beats its wings like a bluebird trapped inside of her chest. If the orange of her eyes betrayed a flame burning somewhere in her bones, if a miniature sun fueled her smile. Oh, Maret hoped there was — it would make the trail that much better, having a partner in crime (even if she was younger.)
So she smiles, and hopes her smile looks as much like sunlight as it feels like it, and presses her shoulder tightly to Maeve’s as they walk.
At first, she doesn’t realize the way the forest echoes with more footsteps than it ought to. She doesn’t realize the way the air seems to grow colder, and darker, darker than it ought to be at twilight. It is only when Maeve presses closer into her side that she thinks to notice anything other than the soft whisper of the wind through the leaves, and the smell of wildflowers and spices drifting around them.
“Hear what?”
Already she is turning, following the other girl’s gaze. Already she is imagining something wonderful (never something terrible) — and when she sees them, all those dancing lights drawing closer, and closer, and closer, she gasps in delight.
“Oh!” she breathes, pressing her muzzle into them. Maeve is laughing, and she is laughing with her — as the fireflies flutter against her skin, light as falling feathers, so much like butterfly kisses (but so much better.) And then the two of them are chasing after them, and oh, oh, oh! It feels so good to run, to shake off her worries about the forest before, to lose herself in the light and the laughter and the recklessness of the night. There is no fear in the girl’s veins, none of the caution that the stranger warned her about — how can there be, when there are fireflies aplenty and the light has never lied to her before?
She is grinning widely when she pauses to catch her breath, and there’s a wild glint in her eyes when she turns to the other girl. “We definitely should,” she says, all bravado and charm. Already she has forgotten about the stranger, forgotten about the sternness in Aion’s eyes when he warned her not to wander in the dark.
She leaps off the forest trail without giving it a second thought, feeling her heart leap into her chest at one more act of defiance. And as the fireflies group momentarily into the shape of a horse, becoming more ghost than creature, she begs her legs to go faster, faster, faster —
“I’ll race you! Try to keep up!”
And then with laughter tearing from her lips she flees into the forest, branches tearing her braids free and feather-necklaces tapping wildly against her throat.
a sunflower soul
with rock n roll eyes
curious thoughts
& a heart of surprise
The fireflies bob along ahead of you, leading you further and further away from the beaten trail. And as the trees close in around you, leaves whispering amongst themselves overhead, the lantern-light from the events begin to fade into the background. The shush, shush, shush of the trees start to give way to a murmur of voices, pressing in from the shadows.
The light-horse leading your way breaks into a run.
Through the forest it races, fallen leaves and forest soil shuddering in its wake, shedding fireflies like wishes. More and more fireflies appear, and form more light-horses that crash into the darkness and send the shadows fleeing. And with them, the warnings about the forest melt away when you follow.
But soon the trees fall away, and in the midst of a clearing the light-horses slow and turn to face you. Silver grass waves at you gently in a lingering breeze, waving you closer as a whisper rises from them. Mist weaves around their stalks like slender snakes, and as the fireflies begin to disperse, the mists begin to rise and take their place. A mist-foal framed with fireflies whinnies at you.
It takes a slow step towards you, breath whuffing softly over your face. The magic holding it together trembles.
And then, mist-hooves flashing as it rears, the ghost-foal begins to dance around you. The grass whispers louder and louder, as more mist-horses rise from the earth and join the dance. They whisper to you, dozens of voices that weave and blend together. Some of them whisper your name; or perhaps they repeat phrases of meaning back to you, phrases you hold dear in your heart. Perhaps you recognize the dancing foal, and perhaps it speaks to you kindly as it invites you to play a game of chase.
Or perhaps you see something malevolent in the way all those mist-horses surround you, and in the way their voices start to sound more like a hiss than a whisper.
To continue the quest, you must reply to this thread with your character's choice. There is no word limit, and you can be as creative with the prompt as you'd like! The fireflies have led you to a clearing, where dozens of mist-spirits rise from the silver grass and fog. They press in around you, whispering quietly to you - what are they saying? Are they friends or foes? Are you falling under their trance, or only unsettled by the ghosts?
Choices: double back to the path, or play with the mist-spirits
i'd like to make myself believe that planet earth turns slowly
it's hard to say that i'd rather stay awake when i'm asleep
'cause everything is never as it seems
❖
I didn't expect to have so much fun so far from home, but I'm glad that I am. I'm happy to have met this new friend Maret and started this adventure together. As much as I love my home, I feel like nothing as cool as this happens there. This is some kind of different magic that I've never seen there before. I wish Momma could see it too (I wish both of them could) and maybe they would be just as amazed too.
For now I'm okay sharing this moment with my new friend. Maybe I don't even need to share it with anyone else because it can be our own secret. It can be a memory we look back on and remind ourselves about later for nostalgia. At least now I'm living in this moment and I don't have to worry about much. There are no adults here to spoil our fun, which makes it even better.
It makes me happy to see Maret happy too, like maybe she needed this moment as much as I did. Her laughter is contagious and I can't help but laugh even more. Thankfully too, she agrees to follow the fireflies and then she challenges me to a race.
Oh, it's on.
I run as fast as I can and realize we're not alone. There is now a light horse running with us, only it's not exactly a horse, but a cluster of fireflies that makes it look like one. Maybe it's some kind of ghost following us? More start to appear the further in we run and it's like we're a part of their herd.
It feels amazing.
But we're all not racing for long. When a clearing appears, they stop and so I stop too. I'm not sure who exactly won because I'm too distracted. The grass is silver and something out of a dream. The firefly horses are now made of mist - there's a lot of mist all of a sudden. I don't know what sort of world we might've walked into but it's almost like we entered a portal. I look to Maret, fear starting to creep into me.
There is a mist foal that dances around us while others of its kind appear. I can hear whispers along the breeze but I can't understand what they're saying. Maret didn't hear anything before, but I nudge her now. "Do you hear that?" I ask, hoping she does so I don't feel like I'm going crazy.
The jumbled whispers start to sound more like actual words. I hear one say my name and it makes me jump, then one even sounds like Momma a little bit. I start to worry that I might've led us to something scary.
Then there is something about the way the mist foal looks at me. I can tell it wants to be my friend too and then I start to feel bad for it. This place seems kind of lonely for these spirits, so maybe they just don't normally have anyone to be their friend. Maybe all the voices are them being excited to see us.
I hope I'm not making the wrong decision.
"Maybe we should see what they want?" I ask Maret, but am ultimately deciding to follow them or try to befriend them. I don't know what we might be getting ourselves into, but the old man's words seem like a distant memory.
The fireflies flash along ahead of them, leading further and further away from the path. And Maret does not even look back.
She loses herself in the fireflies, in the thrill of the night. Her heart is beating like a fearless thing inside of her, beating in time with their hooves as her and Maeve take off after the light-horse. Leaves and branches snag at her mane, tearing flyaway strands from her carefully braided plaits, smearing her cheeks with dirt and grime, and she only laughs all the louder.
They twist around bushes and leap over fallen trees, racing faster and faster — Maret chasing the light-horse, Maeve chasing Maret. It feels endless, this race, this magic, this, this —
joy.
It fills her up like sunlight, warming all the frozen parts of her covered in diamond dust and ice. By the time they reach the meadow and the horse leading them slides to a stop, Maret does not feel like herself anymore. She feels lighter — braver — happier.
Her smile is splitting her face nearly in two.
She presses closer to Maeve as the ghost-horses press in around them. They’re beautiful, she thinks. If she had a pen and paper with her she would write about the ways the mist snakes off of their spines and legs, how their eyes look like moonlight given form, how they float with every step. How their voices seem at once like her own voice, and her fathers’, and every other voice blended together into one.
“I do,” she whispers back, pressing their shoulders together, ears circling forward to listen. “What are they saying?”
But she already knows. Even when the languages blend together, she can feel them tugging her forward all the same. Slowly she leaves Maeve’s side, one slow, hesitant step after the other, each one easier than the last. The mist-horses crowd in around her, so she has to look over their heads — practically through them — to see the younger girl. But as she looks around them, she sees a trend: nearly all of them are foals, some younger than Maeve, some barely older than herself. What harm were foals?
She flashes an encouraging smile at them. “Can’t you tell?” she asks. One of the mist-horses steps forward and whinnies, pawing at the ground with a silvery hoof. He tosses his head proudly in the air. “It’s a game!”
And when the next mist-foal prances forward, Maret joins her in her prance, black-and-white body flashing beside her silvery one.
a sunflower soul
with rock n roll eyes
curious thoughts
& a heart of surprise
A shiver seems to run collectively through the spirits, when they realize you are here to stay. They press in eagerly, closer and closer, until their fireflies brush their wings against your skin and mist wraps around your legs. A dozen pairs of glowing eyes stare at you solemnly. And still they whisper.
The ghost foal alone dances through them all, spinning and careening, hooves flashing brightly before disappearing into indistinct mist. Its little hooves never touch the ground, and yet the silver grass bobs and weaves beneath its steps. And the more it dances, the more the forest and the grass and the sky above seems to fade into fog.
They say on this night, the line separating the realm of the spirits and the realm of the living begins to blur. Unbidden, a phrase you don’t remember hearing repeats itself in your mind: when the spirits are allowed to walk in the land of the living for the night, so too can the living become trapped in the spirit world…
The color begins to bleed from the moon.
Little by little, the color is drained from the world surrounding you. Perhaps when you look down, you are surprised to see a once-bright coat reduced to shades of white, and grey, and black.
All around the spirits seem to be changing, solidifying: the mist pulls away from them, and moves to you instead. The edges of your hooves disappear into the mist twining around your body, as your form becomes less corporeal. And then bit by bit, you begin to fade. The voices of the spirits become louder, laughter breaking through the small clearing as one by one, they turn and disappear into the forest. ”Thank you,” they say, in voices that have turned unsettling cold, ”it has been so long since we last felt the breeze upon our skin…” Perhaps it is only now that a pit of dread settles in your belly, watching as the spirits become the living.
The dancing mist-foal, now a grulla colt, is the last to leave. He turns and smiles widely at you, sweeping into a bow. ”It’s not so bad,” he says, as if to console you - but he is already stepping away. ”They say there’s another way back, if you are true in spirit. They say the waters of the Rapax can reverse the curse.” He stops and looks at you from over one shoulder, with a look that is hard to place. Perhaps it is one of sadness, or hope - or perhaps there is only something feral gleaming in his eyes. ”But only if you make it there before you lose your body.” With a laugh, he bounds away. And the mist creeps further up your body, as if to emphasize the little time you have left. And yet you can’t help but feel there is another way, and that the little mist-foal is the key to it...
To continue the quest, you must reply to this thread with your character's choice. There is no word limit, and you can be as creative with the prompt as you'd like! The ghosts have tricked you. The longer you tarried with them, the more the magic was allowed to work: it gave the spirits their bodies back, while stealing your's! Slowly, you are being turned to mist, cursed to live in the spirit realm. Unless, you find a way back... As always, be creative as possible! Is the foal, in his own way, trying to help you, or show kindness? Or has your character lost all hope in them?
Choices: chase after the spirit, or race to the river
Disclaimer: there is no wrong choice here, and effects from this quest will only be as permanent as you desire! This will be your characters final choice in this thread, if you have any concerns or questions, please reach out to @sid!
i'd like to make myself believe that planet earth turns slowly
it's hard to say that i'd rather stay awake when i'm asleep
'cause everything is never as it seems
❖
I'm thankful that Maret hears them too or else I really would've felt like I was going crazy. It's not often that - well actually I don't think I've ever met any ghosts before. Not until today and they seem a lot cooler than all the stories say. At least these spirits are young like us and just want to play. I don't mind making new friends, even if they aren't exactly like we are.
Maret slowly leaves my side to play with them as they crowd around us. At first, it doesn't bother me because I'm lost in their game and the fun. I'm laughing again and jumping around with all the baby ghosts. I find myself feeling lighter than ever, like any worry I had has gone away.
Then I look down and realize that my head isn't the only thing that's lighter- I can see through my body! When I look back up, all the color in the world is gone and I panic. My heart doesn't beat like it used to, if it's even there anymore at all. We were tricked. "Maret?! What's happening?" I call out for my friend, trying my best not to cry.
All the spirits have changed to real horses and it's like we've switched places. They thank us, but I don't feel like I've done them a favor. I feel cheated and hurt. They tricked us to get what they wanted… now I understand why that man told us to stay on the path. I feel completely responsible for leading us both here. I don't know what I'm going to tell Momma.
There is a small bit of hope as the grulla colt tells us to go to the Rapax river to reverse the curse. We have to be quick because we might lose our body forever. I look at Maret and we are about to head in that direction when something stops me. Following these spirits are what got us into this mess in the first place. How do we know what this guy is saying is true?
"Wait," I tell Maret before running (or rather, floating) back to the colt. I make a motion that's like stomping my feet and while he won't hear it, the smushed grass beneath me will show it along with my angry face.
"Hey!" I call out, my nose all scrunched up now when I reach him. "What you did was really mean. We were just trying to be your friends!" I don't understand how anyone could do such a thing. "You don't seem very true in spirit, so how do I know the river will actually help us? You took our bodies, give them back! Or I'll… I'll… I'll get my Momma to come here and she'll burn your forest down!" I make a loud hurrumph noise to emphasize just how upset I am. I'm normally not mad, but these guys were real jerks. Hopefully they're as scared of fire as I am or this might not work as well as I'm hoping.
