Curiosity killed the cat...(Solo)~Part one~

[Ndale Soromund]

Season of Spring, Day 1, 512AV Time: Early morning Curiosity is what had her peeking out of her house, would anyone dare leave today? Yesterday there had much last minute scurrying but today it was empty. No one left there house, no doubt fearful of when the storm would hit. She craved to go and ask what they felt so that she may store away the information. But now was not the time, instinctively she could feel it, the subtle shifting in the air, everything! Every plant, every blade of grass even the wind seemed to pause, frozen in time, holding its breath. Waiting for that one moment when everything would collectively collapse in one fell swoop. But it wasn’t so much as the calamity itself that intrigued her as it was the aftermath, she was have tempted to go to the docks and see things that would rise in the sky…swimming was not her forte though. It would not end well. Perhaps it was her sense of self-preservation that overrode her curiosity, a rare thing indeed, all the same it was the only reason she was indoors, shoving her small belongings under the bed and hoping her house would be relative coverage. She longed to change though, she simply flutter away from it all, some part of her knew this would end badly, all the same her curiosity overrode her base instincts, forcing her to stay. “Need food…most likely, emergencies need food…” her list was being noted mostly by memory and it was something to keep out the jitters. Truth be told she could not fly far enough away and leaving had been pretty much denied. They—she knew what was coming, the Konti woman had warned them, still many had stayed, some had fled…she had no ties to the city and curiosity was not her only reason for staying. No, she could feel it…the chaos would be everywhere, there was no escaping, she would be safe nowhere. And if she thought hard enough she knew what it was…it was fear. Unwavering and all consuming, the fear people could never properly describe to her, it both excited her and well, scared her. Her mixture of looking at everything objectively skewed by the actually feeling. She loved and hated it. She wanted to study it, see how to stop it, the different types—but there was no more time for the collective silence, that one breath, it was all being released. Her initial plan was gone when the shouts started, no longer was Zeltiva filled with silence. Her body seemed driven by something she couldn’t quiet control and perhaps that is what prompted her idiotic decision to run from her house. Her heart thudding, her ears ringing and yet, it was not fear that propelled her. She had never really run on her human legs before and Mizahar seemed to be breaking from the inside out, she stumbled many times and the city that always seemed to be slightly wet was soaked. Her lungs burned and it was only then that she realized what it was. The ground seemed to surge up to meet her and once she was one the ground she did not get up again. All around her was utter chaos. Everything. Everything was breaking, everything shook and screamed just as Mizahar itself seemed to be screaming. But it wasn’t Mizahar that was screaming, it was her.

[Ndale Soromund]

When she managed to get ahold of herself she realized she was not the only one, though they had been warned it seemed that shelter was not easy and some had not even attended. Her own cries mixing and she watched in helpless fascination from her spot on the ground as her fellow avian animals were swept across the sky and into the ocean, some going trying to flow with the current but whatever was behind the storm would have none of it. The air seemed to ring now with only death cries of both human and animal. Her attention drew away though, something else in the sky catching her eyes. Magic! What a foolish thing for humans to have! Look at the storm! Look at the sky! But there was something else besides her sudden surge of anger at the djed tingling in the air, she was aware that in her own history and race there was much djed involved and it was a necessary evil. Still, such destruction. Her thoughts slid into each other, her own insistence on knowing precisely what was happening clashing violently with her own instincts. The mental struggle was near as hard as the struggle to stand, something which she regretted doing for she was immediately flung back into the ground, though this time she was not alone. Another young woman had apparently not been in her house during the storm and it was only now that Ndale realized her vision was fading with the ferocity of the storm. The colors mixing with together to form a rapidly becoming blob of gray and now she truly felt a trickle of fear inch along her spine, the woman tugging her arm and shouting. Telling her she must flee, they all must. But the cries and creaking of the city drew her away from help. It was a low rumble coming from the city itself and she watched as one of the taller buildings collapsed, her shout of surprise whisked away with the wind. It was the last thing she scene for her savior would not be deterred and forcibly pulled her along. Ndale was quite lucky in this for she could no longer see, the debris and winds from the storm finally proving to be too much, her vision fading to nothing. “Hurry!” This time the voice reached her ears, strained and scared. She shook her head, questions bubbling to the surface and one slipping past. “Do you fear death?” But whether or not the human heard was unknown and they continued their frantic crawl-squirm to somewhere where it seemed the storm was less harsh. Relative safety until she heard and felt the stones fall around them, the water pelting them harshly and the winds screaming that they could not hide. “Laviku have mercy…” Ndale did not speak, she did not need to. She could hear it. A load roar, a shout overpowering the winds screams. This! This was what she had felt, this was what she had wanted! Jerking her arm away from the woman she once more stumbled to her feet. Her mind strangely blank for a moment, her arms flung wide as if to embrace the incoming water. And it almost seemed to hug her back. Though the water slid around her it dragged her with it as well. Squeezing her so tight she could not breathe and the small gasps her could take were getting farther and farther between. And still Ndale’s mind work, question her, questioning the storm, wondering if the other humans felt this as well. And through all this her lungs screamed their protests, water filling them slowly, her movements beginning to cease save for what the water made her do. An instinct of panic kicked in but she could not heed it, her mind grew fuzzy and she let out a small sound. But still her only true thought, louder than the rest was a simple thing. Some most likely akin to a crows when they seen a shiny object because for a spilt second her eyes, though closed, could see a color. Pretty.

[Ndale Soromund]

Why she actually had done it she wasn’t sure. Something in her had simply ‘gone mad’, isn’t that what humans said when they lost themselves for a moment? She still could not see but she did not need to see to feel. Her body was bruised, burning and dry on the inside even though the outside dripped water, she could even feel a thicker warmth flow from her head and small stings all over her body from numerous marks. The clothing hanging off her body awkwardly, torn in many places but otherwise in better condition than its owner. Finished with her assessment that she was not missing any part of herself Ndale turned her head to the side and wretch whatever was left inside her. She continued to do so until she was near crying from the pain and lack of ability to stop the heaves. When they subsided enough from her she felt boneless, the last of her energy gone, her body taking a similar position as earlier, sprawled out and lifeless. A strange giddy feeling rose within her slowly, laughter and tears melding together with her dry heaves. It was becoming painful to even pull air into her lungs but she supposed she was lucky. Her mind worked as always, cataloguing her own reactions and setting them against others reactions to similar situations. The only plausible explanation she could come up with was that she felt inexplicably safe in the water and considering she was not crushed under some building she supposed there was truth in the feeling. That or she was suicidal. But as fascinating as death was she had no desire to be dead, at least not yet. The storm was not yet over though, even if the tidal wave was the worst of it now the aftermath…it would most likely be so much worse. Ndale did not bother to move, instead she let the sleepiness that had consumed her in the water consume her once more, trusting that there was nothing left for her to do.

[Ndale Soromund]

When she awoke for the second time she found her vision restored but she could not see the pigment that had previously stolen her breath. It was a pity but she would move on not to mention she had more pressing matters to attend to, one of those being where she was. Zeltiva was no longer Zeltiva. Although many buildings still stood, if not more waterlogged than usual many were also eradicated, leaving behind nothing but shambles and an empty space. From her current location she could see she was not far from where the woman had dragged her but that space was occupied by the side of the building. Crushed. She no pity nor sadness only a faint ting of what she was sure humans would classify as guilt. Somehow or another Ndale had been sure riding out the wave was relatively safer than hiding indoors. Thinking through it logically it was the only explanation for her urge to be outside rather than in. Sharply cutting off her inner monologue she once more surveyed her surroundings. She had run farther than she thought, which explained the feeling of weight in her legs for she was once more in the center of the market place. A few people also cautiously meandered around, slowly coming out of hiding from the storm. But many of the bodies did not move. In fact… Reaching a hand to her side she prodded the male beside her. He was inflated, filled. With water. Once more she poked him but his eyes did not meet her gaze only staring blankly at the sky. Dead. So many dead. How did she feel? How did they feel? What would they do now? She found that she could not and upon checking herself over once more she found gashes littered her legs and the cut on her head still bleed. If she slept again she had no doubt she would not likely live to wake again. An odd feeling rose within her. One she would rather not dwell on. She did not want this humanity, not right now. Her chest began to expand and contract rapidly and longer. Deeper choking gasps coming from her lips. Not crying but wrong, so very wrong. Everything felt wrong. The left eye began to move more rapid, responding to her panic and Ndale quickly shook herself, trying to force her body to stand and failing. She needed something, something, anything… Ah. Why now of all times did it make sense? From behind her more people seemed to appear, like tiny insects creeping from the earth. Looking for loved ones, friends, partners…partners. This feeling was almost akin to guilt but it was worse. She had only seen it in those that wandered had nothing left. Depair. END

[Paragon]

Adventurer's Loot Ndale's Loot : Ndale Skill XP Reward Running +2 Investigation +1 Swimming +1 Organisation +1 Lore: Storm Survivor, In the Heart of Chaos Items or Consequences: Nil This was beautiful - you captured the chaos of the storm perfectly - if you have ANY questions or concerns about this grading, don't hesitate to PM me.