deernet | Video UN: glyphywitchy [Back dated to May 12]

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Video UN: glyphywitchy [Back dated to May 12]

[It's been a few days since dying, and Luz had unfortunately kept this to herself. If you haven't been able to tell, this girl has been having a pretty rough month, and it didn't seem to be getting better. She lurched her device to focus, and, though coughing, was looking directly into the camera].

So. Uh. Died. First time, ha ha, not a fun experience. Kinda looking for some company, here or just on this thing otherwise. I should probably be getting rest, yes, but staring up at the ceiling regretting stuff and hating yourself can only keep out the quiet for so long.

Also, been out of the loop a bit. Someone update me on things?

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sickandstressed1

Luz was pretty sure that she was going to get an earful from people in the house, but ESPECIALLY from Ahiru, who had very much not wanted her to go on the mission. Luz had thought she could handle it and had handled somewhat similar situations before. Now, though, since they'd talked about it before, Luz knew it looked even WORSE.

Add the whole mix of self-loathing for being too weak to avoid death and the ever-present gloom of missing Fern and Varian, and Luz was pretty much a powder keg of emotions and blah. She was in her room right now, dimly lit with her purple lights and surrounded by a fort of stuffed animals and, well, Luz was a sight to see.

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Mmmm? [She looked over at her friend and reached an arm to curl around the shoulder as they set out.] That's a sign of just how much of a trial this situation's been for you, but I'm not surprised.

We'll get to the sauna quickly then. I want to take your mind off of this.

[Luz gave her a weak smile]. It's pretty surprising to me too. If anyone should be up for flying, it's me. I love doing it usually. Now though, I'm feeling kinda creaky?

Please, Vira. I'd appreciate that.

You're recovering. That's all. Don't worry about it.

[As they reached the little moaners, there was but a momentary flash before the world shifted back to the right part of the Cellar Door. She already had reservations for later today ... because... well, honestly, her skin didn't stay this glowing without effort. So, she was pretty sure she could just push it up.

It wasn't going to be a long walk now. As she smiled at her friend, she offered her a wink.]

You'll take to the skies again soon enough.

[Luz nodded, taking a long breath. She was definitely taking a lot of breaths lately, if only to remind herself that she was human, she got tired and needed to rest when her body and mind were overwhelmed.

Once they reached Cellar Door, Luz started to feel slightly anxious, if only because her usual excitement in going to new places felt slightly dampened by how strangely disconnected she felt, coming back from death].

I know. It just feels like a lot right now.

[Vira-Lorr kept an arm on her friend to offer support in the midst of all this. It was a whole lot to deal with, and it was very much a new and unpleasant experience for her friend. Of that, she was certain. While they entered the spa, she nodded sagely.]

Well, that's because it is a lot. The physical trauma is really the easy part in Trench. You're dealing with what's in the head, and that first experience can be very deeply wounding. It's ok not to force it.

[Luz leaned on Vira Lorr slightly when arriving at the spa. Even traveling this long was going to tire Luz a little bit, so she appreciated the arm].

I think you're right. My emotional stuff has always felt worst to me than anything physical. That's what really kicks my rear.

So what do we do now?

[She walked her towards one of the private sauna rooms, the one that she'd arranged. Opening the door in, she led her towards a bench and offered her a seat.]

For right now, I want you to relax. I'm going to get the coals heated properly and I'll put some incense out.

The stuff that they use in this city is actually helpful I think for our purposes.

[Luz started to feel a little more at ease now, if only because they weren't so out in the open, and she felt like she could at least unwind a little bit here. No monsters or onlookers or animals, just the two of them].

Right. Of course. Yes.

[Luz took a long breath, the released it, trying to to relax].

[Vira-Lorr would have locked the door if that weren't colossally unwise. Walking over to the center of the sauna, she settled down in front of the censer and turned a small switch. Somewhere below, a soft light exuded as the lunar orb powered up and the heat started to emanate from the rocks, growing steadily more hot.

Taking a bucket of water, she added essence and oils to it while settling down in front of Luz.]

I'm not putting 'active' chemicals in this. We're going to try and use meditation and relaxation to lul the mind into a euphoric state. I don't want to overtax you right now and I'd be concerned in using mushroom essences.

[...ya think?]

[Luz wasn't sure what to expect here. At this point it was Vira's show, and she started it up with a soft light, warmth coming from the rocks and a pleasant smell from the censure].

That's fine! I don't want to have this with the mushrooms yet. Let me just gather myself.

[And here Luz closed her eyes and felt the heat on her skin, producing beads of sweat all over her body, but her head took a swim as the scents and the relaxed environment washed over her.

One long breath, an exhale. Luz fixed her gaze to Vira, then took another breath].

Please, continue.

So. Now that you're starting to breathe the vapors. Remember that you're seeking the influence of your totem spirit. We're going to meditate, to relax and position ourselves while you attempt to open your mind. Relax and give up thinking for a little bit. Let the scents and the heat wash over you. As your head gets light, you are attempting to keep your mind open to receive guidance.

[She demonstrated a simple lotus position, sitting across from her friend to show her how to proceed. Admittedly, while she was taking the helm, soon the hope was that it would be Luz whose visions and meditations would take the lead of things.]

(OOC: IF you'd like to add a bit of something psychoactive for the two of them to experience a vision together, I certainly think that's within the realm of reasonable in the setting with the incense sticks.)

Ok. Taking a deep breath.

[Luz knew she was the one taking the journey, so she'd have to be the one to willingly open the door to the place where things might get strange. She imitated the same position Vira had, taking the breath, letting the scent take center stage, feeling the heat rising to her skin. For a moment, it was almost uncomfortable, as Luz let Vira's words wash over her.

And then everything seemed to get small. The room seemed to dwarf, and slowly, she felt herself disappearing out of it and into a form of a sleek, wild looking timberwolf. It was, without Luz needing to verify it, as if she were with Tempest right now, in her body. Where once was the sauna now seemed to be sandy dunes spread before them while a blazing sun was overhead.

Luz began to run: no thirst, no fatigue seemed to creep over her body. It was nothing but the muffled thud of her paws as she ran on, sweating and hot but uninhibited, full of wanderlust].

[Fluttering and flapping its wings to follow in the wake of the wolf was another. The multi-colored feathers along the wings belied the normal sleek black of the grackle with an almost rainbow hue that accented its plumage. It flew alongside and above, like any carrion bird, waiting to descend when the kill was done. Only the third eye that showed in its forehead showed who it was that followed in her train.

The world seemed to melt away as the meditation continued, only the vision that was being shared being the center. For Vira-Lorr, however, it was more a place to serve as protector and observer. This was not her quest after all.]

[There seemed to be no end to the dunes around them: one area after another was just more sand expanse. But Luz the wolf kept moving on and on, sweaty and hot but full of vigor. the journey seemed like a quiet one. Finally, she stopped at a shady spot.

It was unclear why, but Luz began to dig. At first there did not seem to be a rhyme or reason for this: after all, what made this place so different from any place else? Gradually though, Luz felt something at her paws: it was cold and transparent, and Luz yelped in her wolfy voice as she saw it was, in fact ice, and then she and the backdrop seemed to get sucked into the ground, and then Luz seemed to fall into the hole and out into another world.

It was icy, snowy, and desolate, but in the distance there was something like a cave there. While Luz felt compared to go there, she couldn't help but hear cruel laugher here: it sounded suspiciously like the men who had tortured her a year ago].

[Vira-Lorr had watched from the branch with idle curiosity the longer that Luz had been pawing, wondering what it was that she saw in there. when the hole opened up, and the great wolf was sucked in, the bird lunged and flapped her wings, barely following before the darkness swallowed up in the ground once more.

She was now circling again, agitated. Those voices ... they didn't sound familiar and yet they did. She didn't like the sound of this and cawed once in concern, though she didn't stop Luz. Visions were visions, though as she thought of her rapier, she could feel her talons sharpen, just in case.]

[Luz held back the growl in her throat. Caves. They still troubled her to this day. And why was she going from one area to another? Hot, then cold, and now back at the memories of people that hurt her.

The low growl, however, turned into a yelp of pain as she felt the stinging in her back, and she was flat on the ground. She couldn't see it, but suddenly everything got dark, and all around them was the smell of blood. She squeezed her eyes shut, because of course this was the OTHER place she didn't want to go: the factory, where she got the scars that were still on her back to this day. She felt the pain reigniting and she whined, scrabbling on the ground, closing her eyes and trying to make this all go away.

In the distance, outside of her pain, there were footsteps, and a far away voice calling out.

"Kid. Hey! Hey kid!"

And wolf Luz could barely hear, she felt so consumed with her pain right now.

Vira-Lorr heard the voice and saw her friend struggling. the grackle flapped its wings, coming down very close and proceeding to caw loudly. The caws of a grackle were loud, obnoxious and overwhelming things. When flocks of them landed like a plague of blackbirds, the sound was cacophonous enough to drown out traffic. Alone, it was still enough to cut through the sensations and create something that hopefully snapped her out of this.

Flapping forward and then back, she kept it up, trying to get her attention and lead her in the direction of the voice, rather than this hellish place she wanted no part of.

The piercing sound cut through Luz's pain, and the wolf started, her ears perked, the pain throbbing, but gently subsiding. It shook her a little, and then allowed her to hear the voice. It was familiar and, more so, it was the voice of someone that stopped her in her tracks.

"E-eda?"

And it was, or something like her anyway. This was where dreams got strange. She didn't see Eda as she knew her, but as the younger Eda she saw in pictures: red haired, bright eyes and a mischievous personality. It was actually more of a merge of other person, someone Luz would find out left too: Mebh, her wolf friend.

"In the flesh! So what are you doing, suffering out here in the snow? And what's with that bird?"

She pointed at the Grackle, looking at it squinty eyed a moment, then smiled.

"Oh, I get it. She's the one that woke you up. Heh. Looks like you're doing good even though I'm not there."

Luz was sputtering, trying to deny this, but young Eda shook her head.

"Nope, sorry, don't want to hear a word about it. But you DID want to see me one more time, and I can't blame you. Yeesh. You were not looking your best out there. Boy. You really do get into trouble in these places."

Young Eda looked wistful, then laughed.

"Good thing I'm not the Eda you know, or I'd probably start blubbering right now! Ah, I turned into such an old softie. But anyway. You're wondering why you went from the desert to the ice, right? Come on pupil. You can make a guess."

Luz looked over at Vira Lorr, as if to say help?

In that moment? Everyone was able to find out that yes, grackles could laugh. It was like a repeating shrill piping repeating as she was found out. The talons relaxed and she settled on the wolf's shoulder, clearly bobbing her head in amusement. Why yes, she was the one who'd helped wake her up. nice of this Eda to notice!

She bobbed her head again, amused. Yeah, she could definitely take a certain amusement that Eda was just going to Eda. Cocking her head. She paused and thought about this. Another shrill cry and she flapped over to one of the big blocks of ice, pecking at it and then looking at her. Maybe there was something in the ice?

(OOC: She's guessing there's something in the ice, but it could be whatever you want is the answer.)

Eda eyed the bird casually, and laughed with it. "Yeah, you get what I mean!"

But at the pecking of the ice, Eda shook her head. "It'd be nice if it was that simple, but no. It's one of those frustrating metaphorical thingies that's seeping into your subconscious. Stupid, I know. Too bad your brain can't just spell out simple concepts, am I right?"

Wolf Luz just stared on, making a confused noise. Eda sighed, then stretched out both of her arms, opening her hand. On one hand was the fire glyph, and in the other, Luz's ice glyph.

"Think of it like this your big brain starts to get all warped and weird when you have all these bad things happening to you. It's one thing to have your friends, but when you're alone, its a big mess. You have your extremes: you either decide to go off wandering alone, like you're some kind of lone ranger, shouldering everything all on your shoulders. Dumb, but relatable."

She tapped the fire glyph and the fire surrounded all of them, seeming to get bigger and bigger, and the wind was so great that you could barely hear anything.

"Then there's the other thing you do. The WORSE thing. Something bad happens, and you stay frozen in that place. You don't know it, you can't touch it, but you're there, and you're just suffering, not able to go on. When you're there, no one can touch you, so you'll just be there forever."

She tapped that one, and now the ice surrounded them, freezing them in place, and Luz felt the cold in her extremities and her wolfish body now gave way to her regular body, shivering and weak.

Eda stared her down, in her older, current form, looking saddened Luz's form.

"Ah kid, I wish I could be here, but that's not in the cards right now. So. You'll have to depend on other people now. Don't wander in the desert and lose yourself. Don't stay frozen in a bad place where you can never talk about your pain. It hurts, and its damaging. Be better than me."

She lowered herself down, and in her hands, she placed the staff in Luz's hands.

"Just don't forget. I'm always here, in a way. But after that, you have all these other people. Help them help you."

And with that, Eda was gone, leaving Luz still clutching the staff, tears in her eyes.

Edited 2022-06-23 06:37 (UTC)

That... that was a lot. Vira-Lorr was just watching it all play out, aside from the moment where she too was frozen in place. She listened to Eda explaining things to Luz, and the fact that this was all metaphorical for Luz's own frame of reference began to make sense to her. When she was finally loose and Eda was gone, the bird floated down to her. She could feel the vision starting to waver, and there was another shrill, keening caw before the bird warped and shifted, purples coming out in a swirl and manifesting as herself again.

"You know... it's nice of her to at least be more clear than some visions. Mine are usually infuriatingly hard to decipher," she admitted, smiling back at her and winking. "You alright?"

Luz was in quiet shock, not sure at all why her unconscious had taken to seeing Eda as her younger self rather than how she looked now. Was it to remind Luz that she had been young once, and that her mistakes shouldn't be repeated? Was it because Luz reminded her of what she was once like? It was a lot to take in, and when Vira flew over, she was happy to take a small interruption.

"Y-yeah, I think so." She rubbed her head. "Boy. That was intense. But I feel like I'm starting to understand what she said. I can't move forward if I'm stuck wandering alone, or trapped in a place where I've never gone beyond, I think."

She looked down a moment. "But I think I'm ready. To take another step."

So many possibilities, and like all visions, they were always infuriatingly open to interpretation, weren't they? Vira-Lorr smiled over at her understandingly in response to that, patting her on the shoulder.

"You can't move forward if you're trapped in the past, and those around you can help you not be stuck." She gave a quick nod. "Good. I'm curious. What step are you thinking?"

Luz looked back, and could see the desert: quiet and hot and stifling, open and never ending. As much as she didn't like to admit it, part of her was still there, remembering times with Eda and Margot before things got bad. There was the threat of Deerington but Luz managed to avoid it mostly, even with the vampire bite.

Looking ahead, she saw the cold, dreary expanse of the caves: places in the dark where she dwelled, static and scared and alone, always trying to leave but always managing to come back, to have this place still persisting even as she was desperate to leave it behind.

"Beyond these. Upward. I guess that means...another path, where I go back to my magic. But that part's easy, I think, because I've had that magic here. I think what I'm scared of is my OTHER magic: where I see the ghosts, where I can leave my body. That stuff. I haven't made progress there, and I think it's because I've been avoiding it."

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Video UN: glyphywitchy [Back dated to May 12]

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almost wish I had an icon of young Eda!

hehe I can only imagine.

Sorry I got very wordy here! Vira can totally come back now!

Hehe, revelations are fun!

Re: Hehe, revelations are fun!

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