A Turn of the Hourglass (Cascade)

[Aello]

Fall 32, 512 AV The girl's boiled leather soles slipped into the mud. She could feel it sucking lightly on her heel as it swallowed her limb past the ankle. As she wrenched her appendage free she could almost sense its gasp as sloppy print was left in her wake. Water sloshing between her toes as the sodden earth growled as it was beat behind. Water, grown swollen with earthen debris trickled up the length of her legs, clinging to the folds of her clothes. Staining the bleached white of her winterbane's coat, tarnishing the purity and lack of blemish that one hung against a blanket of black. A night devoid of stars. Despite the moisture which dripped off her long cloak in wavering rivulets, it managed to sway with her step, in slight with the breeze that swept in off the water, and trickled through the trees. As the element's ethereal embrace encircled the earthen make, she could hear the rustling of leaves bursting with colored flame, trembling alongside those that had yet to change color with the season's coming. She could just make out the sound of sea bird's wings flapping, and their dying, raucous caws as they sought cover from the rain. Clods of fluffed grey clouds, circling ominously overheard. Pouring their hearts out; tears of the gods. In her frustration with the inclement weather's presence, Aello could feel her fist tightening around her father's old bow. Her thumb strumming the supple curve of the wood as her knuckles rippled unpleasantly. Just as the drops sent running down the water, alongside the crashing of the waves. The burst of bubbles as frothing foam licked the shore upon which she tread, moving away from the other assassins she had left huddled in the forest against breaking fire. Smoldering coals and ashes, which scarce gave off any heat. As her teeth chattered, Aello extended her free hand, and raised the hood on her cloak a little higher. Tugging the drenched fabric further up on her head. She could feel its slide; note how it tousled her chestnut colored hair, now clumping into thickened strands with the moisture. Clinging to the back of her neck as though it were the only foothold left to one trying to scale a mountain. She could feel the strands crawling down her back, tickling the middle just between the blades. It had grown longer on her journey away from Ravok. She would have to remember to cut it, next moment she got, lest it get in her way. Much as the transparent beads which had gathered in the crevices cast by fabric lain down by unexpected weight. Those which pooled at the edge of the folds, as rain may in a house's gutter, and fell from grace, one by one. All splattering against her nose, her feet. Leaving cooler kisses against her flesh, which sent radiating waves of displeasure through her system, as they continued to obscure her vision, much as the eerie darkness that had rolled in, like a fog. Another bead rolled off her lash. Out of the corner of her eye, Aello watched it fall as the last of the color in her hands fled. Leaving only white, a sickly, ghostly blanch. "When will it be time?" she whispered, as her lips, lined with a deep lavender, trembled. "When will all this madness come to an end?" she asked, as she turned her chocolate brown eyes to the sea. Churning with Zulrav's wrath, coupled with Laviku's own. It seems to understand the heart of these matters, she thought as she turned away and sighed. Continuing to weave her way down the line of the coast.

[Cascade]

The rain continued to fall down. There seemed to be nobody around for miles, causing Aello to feel completely alone as she walked alongside the coast. The waves slammed against the shore noisily, and it appeared that the weather was getting worse every passing second. What had started off as a normal downpour and a calm walk along the shoreline was turning to a horrifying force of nature. Soon, Aello would realize that she had to rush to shelter. It was no longer safe, and this was a full-fledged storm. Lightning struck and thunder roared, a sound so deafening that it would leave most people bewildered. In the distance the sound of a tree cracking into two was heard. Up ahead of her was the opening to a cavern. Due to the fierce downpour, she would barely be able to make out its opening. It was small and situated beneath a rocky hill. It was the only visible shelter around, and Aello had to rush to it if she wished to keep safe from the storm. If she approached the cave, she would see that there was not much room inside it. The cave was dark and cold, but the rain didn’t reach its furthest corner. Strangely, there was another figure in there. Amidst the shadows was a huddled person hidden beneath a fold of cloaks. And, while the cave was small, it seemed to give this figure the refuge she needed.

[Aello]

Her arms swung as her legs pumped with each of her strides, propelling her forward at a far greater rate. Rain, falling on a slant, buffeted her form, dampening her clothes within a breath. As she ran, Aello listened to the clap of thunder, and the roar of the waves. The sound of her feet sloshing through the mud, sending ripples across puddles of brackish water as the liquid flew from its bed. Speckling her clothes with a sickly green, coupled with deep brown. As the lightning cracked, swiveling towards the earth, a bright light flashed before fading. It was just enough to temporarily illuminate her path. Casting the cave's mouth in both light and shadow. Causing the darkened stone to seemingly dance before her as her eyes caught sight of crenellations filled with the sky's tears. Within a few chimes, the huntress had reached the mouth. Her free hand trailing away from body, met with the wall. Her fingers fell against jagged stone. Shards, torn of the earth by inclement weather such as graced the world this night. Her appendages furled, digging into the earthen make. Pressing against cool wetness, swirling in a pit of grime. That which imbedded itself behind her nails as she dug. Seeking purchase as her dried throat sought the proper words. As she stood on the threshold between shelter and the raging storm, the huntress forced herself to take a deep, cleansing breath, in through the nose and out through the mouth as her eyes raked over the folded fabric of the huddled form. Lying against an edge of the cavern. Chocolate colored irises sailed over rippling cloth, largely dry it seemed, but still darkened by water's spout. A body which she could be either large or small, great or frail. For without her magic, and the density of the shroud, it was difficult to be certain. Near impossible. Nor would she know the gender, lest the stranger spoke. Perhaps, lifted their head to offer display of curtained features. "Hello," Aello called, as her curiosity coupled with unease at finding a stranger in this neck of the woods brought the onset of colored tendrils. Vapors which rose from the earth as easily as steam from boiling pot. She watched them whorl; climbing up both of their skin. Encasing, as they licked flesh lain bare, and covered alike. "Is it alright if we share a shelter?" she asked, as she eased herself further into the cavern, just out of the rain's reach.

[Cascade]

“Hello, dear.” It was the voice of a woman—calm, passive, and mysterious. Despite the noise from the raging storm, her every word seemed to be heard by Aello quite clearly. The figure raised her head to look at Aello. She did not seem to be surprised at Aello’s presence. While her hair was white, the woman had the features that seemed to be neither old nor young. Her eyes were old and dark blue and she looked at Aello as if she knew everything about the girl. “Of course, feel free to sit down,” said the woman as she gestured around her as if the cavern itself was spacious. But it wasn’t. She was seated on the side of the cavern where the rocks made a makeshift seat. Keeping her eyes set on Aello, she waited for the huntress to make herself comfortable. Outside, the rain continued to rage. The wind made strange, howling sounds as it passed by the cavern’s mouth. Despite the coldness and narrowness of the cavern, Aello would feel that being near the odd woman would somehow make her more comfortable. The woman moved with grace and emitted an aura that seemed to put certain serenity around her. “You seem troubled,” she said, her wise eyes looking straight into Aello’s entire being. The woman wasn’t talking about Aello’s uneasiness about the cavern, and her next words implied as such. It seemed as if she had known Aello even before the huntress entered the cavern. “Tell me what is troubling you these days, child. Perhaps we can sort it out together. It does seem like the storm will go on for quite some time, and what else is there to do rather than talk?”

[Aello]

"Thank you," Aello whispered as she offered the woman a small smile, as she set herself down, and pulled her knees into her chest, so as not to kick her companion with her feet. She set her bag atop them, and paused a moment. Studying both the woman's deep blue eyes, and her aura, which was beginning to expand and brighten. The colors bursting as it gave off a flare in shades mirroring that of the morning sun. At first, her eyes twitched, before insistent pulsating movements could be felt against her temples. Aello could sense the skin jumping as she closed her eyes and raised her hands, rubbing them lightly in circular motions to soothe for a time, as she whisked her magic away. Sighing inwardly as she thought on what it could mean. Surely, this woman had a strength hidden behind the portion of her features which made her appear aged. Lent notions of weakness and frailty. If not that, she had used up her strength earlier in the day, trekking through the forest, and was far too exhausted to come by a decent read of any situation. Let alone this strange woman. Either way, it was unnerving, and yet the stranger's voice served to assuage those fears. Made the huntress wish to sit in a cavern, and speak of things she oft kept even from her closest traveling companions. The aurist breathed deeply, in through the nose and out through the mouth, although, the gravity of it would make it seem more of a sigh, than calming mechanism. She nodded, causing woven ropes of chestnut colored hair, still sodden by recent rain, to dance across her cheeks, "that is true," she began, before pausing to gather her thoughts. "Suffice it to say, that I am tired of feeling as though I am fighting in a war that was never mine." She offered an uneasy smile as her brow twisted with the emotions running rampant in her mind- fear, confusion, discomfort, with a hint of something more. Something that suggested she wished to be free of the burden of them all. Adventure perhaps, or the first birthing of trust. A sense left so unfamiliar, so foreign, that it'd be a wonder if the girl could so much as begin to recognize it. "The gods have pulled me into something from which there is no escape. Less a curse seems desirous. Or prematurely meeting the supple curve of Dira's scythe." The girl swallowed the clump of saliva that had gathered in her throat, as she fell silent. Allowing her eyes to settle on the woman's own. The sense of agedness, and knowledge that rested within their depths. The deep coals of her pupils. "Or perhaps, it is only one god. One of chaos... Rhysol," Aello whispered, as she turned away. Her muddied irises taking on a far off look as her gaze swept over the storm. The lightning flashing in the distance. How ironic it seemed to be swept into this situation by something so chaotic. In more ways than one. "A price to be paid for defending a friend. A bondmate... something he will never have or begin to understand. The bond forged in mutual liking devoid of lust for body." Aello sighed as she turned back to the stranger. "A city guard died by these hands... and although there is a part of every human, it would seem, who finds ending a life prematurely altogether horrid, it need be done. For the cost of letting him live would have been far worse. For Alenias at least... but in his city, that is a high crime, which led to imprisonment, by which there was an escape. Aided by Kiochi, Alenias came, and we both went free for many moons." Aello paused as she licked her lips. Whetting the crackling fissures which tore against the supple pink. Edged with deep violet from the cold. "After fleeing the city, and hiding past the trees, Kiochi came. How he found us is difficult to say... but, he was there, and he offered a single, biting message from his filthy god. A favor was owed. A debt must be repaid," Aello explained. "To Rhysol it would seem, for letting us live." The girl drew her gaze in and turned to the woman. Her hands clutching at the folds of her cloak. Fabric weaving between her fingers as she clenched down tightly with her rising frustration. "I was to go to Silvas the Druvin, where I'd learn the task." Aello grit her teeth as her thumb danced over the folds. "I left the others back in the forest, the assassins sent to accompany whilst on this mission. To secure a building for their camp, to rage a war on Syliras. The castle which houses those considered uneasy allies." The girl paused, uncertain as to how much else she should reveal. And yet... There was something that made her want to tell all. And why not? She was stuck there with this woman for an indefinite amount of time. And who could this stranger possibly tell about her? It wasn't as though Aello was the easiest woman to find. "There was something else too. A vial given. It holds what looks like water, and a droplet of chaotic blood," Aello's face fell. "It's always kept close, so that it may be used for the other task I was bidden to complete. Filling a basin with it, a mouth of sorts." The huntress scratched her leg. "I believe it to be the source of the city's water, but I cannot know." Aello sighed. "This is all too troubling, this is not a war meant for me." For a long time, the girl fell silent, as she fumbled with the folds. "My battle lies in the past. What was recently discovered upon a most confusing meeting with a ghost. That of my late mother." The huntress held back her tears as her grip slackened. "She said that father never came to her, or Leon, and, he hasn't been seen since the cottage burned down. Since they all died." Aello paused as she looked up at the woman. Her eyes glassy from impending tears. She shook her head lightly, warding them off. Asking them to go away. "But he wouldn't do that. Would he?" she asked. "That's not like him at all. He would come to us... at least... her..." Aello's voice trailed off for a long time as she released her hold, allowing her hands to pass over her thighs. "That is the only thing my time should be devoted to. Finding out what happened. Discovering our family's past. That which has remained shrouded in the river's flow, or even, forgotten by one who didn't always want to remember." Aello sighed. "Let us just hope, for the sake of what remains, that the price for this isn't all that high. You know it well, don't you, that not all things are worth remembering?" "Some things are better left forgotten..."

[Cascade]

The woman’s eyes were soft and knowledgeable, and she nodded her head gently as Aello spoke. She wore a thin smile and was clearly listening to the girl’s every word. At certain times in Aello’s monologue, the woman narrowed her eyes—but that was the most indifference on her face. “Dear, there is no such thing as prematurely meeting Dira’s scythe,” said the woman with a wry smile. The corner of her eyes twinkled. “Dira is just and appears when she must, she is never wrong. Gods often know what they are doing, for there is a reason as to why they transcend mere mortals… even for someone as feared such as Rhysol. You speak as if you regret the path that the Gods have sent you on. Would you have wished for something different? Deep within you, do you truly believe that if you had the choice, you would have greatly altered your fate?” The rain was starting to falter. The sound of water hitting rock and soil seemed to slightly fade, and the woman in front of Aello spoke with such clarity. Her voice was gentle, but they emitted such confidence and truth and her questions seemed to echo through the walls of the small cavern. A hand found its way on top of Aello’s, as if comforting her. The woman looked straight at the aurist. “It is evident that you have gone through many hardships. However, dear Aello… if you truly believe that you were not supposed to have a place in this war, then what is truly your place? The ripples of time are numerous, but they all interact, one ripple causes another. Do you disagree?” She smiled and took put her hand back on her lap. The woman looked to the opening of the cavern. “The rain is dying,” she said, and then the topic was quickly changed once again. “Why should one wish to forget the past? Then what would the past serve us for?”

[Aello]

Aello peered into the woman's eyes as she nibbled her bottom lip. White crowns etching lines in paling pink as she considered. "No. Just the past perhaps. In slight." The huntress sighed. "It would have been nice to ask the dead more about what happened. To have spent more time with them before they passed." She wet her lips with the tip of her tongue as the elder's hand fell onto her own. Her skin was soft enough, yet wrinkled. Near leathery in texture. So very different from the girl's own. "But that is all," she finished as the limb receded, and she was left to peer at the fickle weather. Rain falling less fervently, in comparison to before. The huntress blinked a few times as her muddied irises took on a far off look. As though they were seeing through the landscape, into the distance. The farthest reaches of the world. Again the girl sighed, as her thoughts fell back into place. "I don't know stranger, where my place truly is. If it's in another's heart, if it's in a certain city, a certain place in the woods, or a mixture of the above. But this... this doesn't always feel like it. Sometimes, it seems little more than manipulation. As though, I'm some sort of puppet. And yet... if one only remembers free will, such things disappear, leaving one to wonder why. Only why, they would chose the path they have begun to tread." Another moment, another breath, she looked away at the rain, before reeling in her gaze. Allowing brown to settle on mysterious blue. Aello shook her head lightly, tousling her chestnut colored mane. "There is nothing to disagree on there. Every event effects what is to come. The past is what makes the future." She paused. "The only reason to forget that, is to release the pain. The stranglehold some memories have on the heart. But even that isn't wise. For as much as one tries to suppress or hide what was, as much as they try to run, it isn't enough." "Eventually, the past catches up to them, when they stop only to regain their breath," Aello ended, offering the woman a weak smile.

[Cascade]

With softened eyes, the ageless woman looked at Aello with an unexplainable expression. Then, ever so gently, she stood up. Her clothes rustled as she did so, and it could be heard because the storm had passed, leaving a light drizzle behind. “Dear, it is evident that you are very confused with where you are,” said the strange in a patient voice. With a hand, she gestured towards the opening of the cave. “Come with me, I want to show you something.” Without waiting for her to reply, the woman slowly walked towards the cave’s mouth. The folds of her dress flowed behind her, and she walked in such a graceful manner that seemed to give the illusion that she was floating. It was an image of such elegance, and despite Aello’s myriad of indifference towards her own life, she would not be able to help but admire the enchantment of this beautiful stranger. Aello would feel a strong urge, a pull, to follow the ageless woman. The woman stopped just outside the opening of the cave, feeling the relaxing fall of the drizzle on her face. Then she smiled, and started to walk towards the ocean. And as she walked, she murmured to Aello, “Tell me… who do you think would be able to best answer such confusing matters? Who would be able to explain to you why you are where you are right now?”

[Aello]

The girl's brows shifted. Etching lines of confusion upon her forehead, glistening with the final beads of captured moisture. What could she want to show me? Aello wondered, as her muscles coiled, and then released, causing her skin to ripple. "Alright," she whispered, as she grabbed her things and strapped them into place as she eased herself onto her feet. Rolling them about the ankles to loosen them, and rid herself of any lingering aches and stiffness, before following after the woman. The subtle swish of her skirts. Soon, they had both crossed the threshold, the invisible divide between cave's gaping maw, and the muddied beach. Puddles which swallowed the Aello's feet as she fought to remain within step of her elder. "Other than myself? If I were truly to look within?" she asked with a sigh, as her irises sailed over the horizon. The dying rain, the sea's rolling waves, crashing rhythmically into the shore, at what seemed to be pre-set intervals. Her chest rose and fell softly, almost gingerly, as tiny fingers prodded her wrinkled mind. Seeking an answer which already rested upon the tip of her tongue. "That would depend, wouldn't it? On the question's parameters?" Aello inquired. "For, if the being had to me mortal, the answer would be Nex. A confidant, bondmate. One who knows me better than any other, including the one that came first." The huntress paused a moment, "if Alvina, Eywaat would be a good choice. For his ingenuity would allow him to pull apart all the pieces, what has brought life to this point, and what shall bring it to a desired place." The girl paused, as the wind rustled the folds of cotton that swept about her lithe form. Her thumb glided over the supple curve of her father's old bow as she drew in another measured breath. "If a full god or goddess, then perhaps the first prayed to. Dira, who should know me like none of the others. Or perhaps Tanroa, who as the lady of time, should know all that happens throughout it. More intimately than any other entity could hope to." Aello sighed. "But one... which one? None. How could one explain that which you don't believe or know yourself, and have you absorb it? Believe it with all of your heart?" A short silence swept over as the huntress considered her heart's strings. The way they rippled in the breeze, stirring invisible cauldron. Pot of boiling confusion. "They can't, can they?" No one can.

[Cascade]

The woman took Aello’s musing into deep consideration. And throughout her monologue, the woman smiled knowingly and with amusement. ‘She does not realize that she already answered her question even before she mentioned all these other names… what an interesting one.’ They continued to walk. As they did, the woman stayed silent for a few seconds. Finally, she said, “Of course they can’t. You asked about who can give you the answers… other than yourself. Aello, dear, only you can find explanations for yourself. All those others that you mentioned, they are only here to help you on your journey.” They finally reached the shore. As they did, the rain had completely stopped. Even the drizzle was gone. The strange woman stood on the beach, looking out at the waves. They crashed against the sand peacefully. It was a serene sight, but the woman was not contented. She closed her eyes. Her lips were curved to a smile, and she seemed to say something under her breath—words that Aello couldn’t make out. Gradually, the wind seemed to slow down until it was completely gone. And the waves—they stopped as well. The ocean came to a still, the water unmoving. Aello would have never seen a sight like it before. The ocean never came to a still. What she didn’t know was that this was the only spot where the sea stayed unmoving. It was difficult to see one’s reflection when the water kept moving, of course. The woman gestured at the water, and urged Aello to step forward and to look at what she saw. And when Aello did, she would be surprised at what she saw—a face would be looking back at her. A face that she recognized for it was her own, except that it was much younger, the visage of a childlike Aello. The reflection would speak backfeel free to control her too, you know Aello much more than I do when spoken to, its thoughts and dialogue reflecting Aello’s persona at the time when she had its appearance.