ꙮ Later in the day, in the wide stoa before the entrance to the Temple. Ravhi is occupied, at the moment, doing Yazhn things - somewhere in the Temple, close to the Gallery, there’s a congregation of humans singing the God’s songs. People-watching at the stoa got boring, probably, after everyone filed in for hymns, and there’s a secluded fountain some distance away in a little dead-end formed by windowless buildings, with a treated cloth awning blocking at least some of the Sun’s light.
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← Active ScenesCan You Hear Me?
#wolf
sits on the fountain’s edge, trailing his fingers through the water, watching as the ripples distort the Sun’s light. Part of him soaks up the quiet, the near-silence–not that the City is ever truly silent. But after a whirlwind day or two of talking, temple music, and City bustle, it’s a balm to a soul grown in Almachadta’s wilderness.
ꙮ Dyu dragged you in, once, hurriedly, to at least listen to the hymns, in the morning. He’d been leading one of them, and at least once, he darted a glance at you to make sure you were still there. They were pleasant to listen to – some part of you picking up on commonalities between each plane’s idea of what ‘music’ sounds like. But it’s good to have the peace and quiet, too. And, in the quiet, that lingering sense of– not observation, not exactly. Presence. Like something’s standing– not over your shoulder. Right in front of you, in plain sight, not trying to hide, but invisible nonetheless.
stills, fingers still in the cool water. He closes his eyes, listens in that particular intent way…dipping himself into the Song like he’s dipping his fingers into the fountain. Mostly here…but a little not. And opens his eyes.
ꙮ A faint, flickering outline, like a trick of the sunlight, a ripple in the air.
lets himself sink a little more deeply then, breathing steadily–lowering himself a little more, and then further still–out of ‘here and now’ and into what he would have, not too long ago, considered to be confined to dream-space.
ꙮ The flickering outline leans forward in open curiosity, and waves a little bit?
tilts his head…waves back, a single arc of his hand. Focuses, eyes narrowing, trying to make the shape resolve.
ꙮ A dramatic pantomime of startlement, when Wolf waves back, and then– it stops. Standing there - you can see the vague outlines of what would be its chest, if it were a more-humanoid figure, and perhaps it is, perhaps it is more of a humanoid figure right now than it was a few moments ago, distinct along the edges and outlines? ⁂
- The Dragon invoked their Alethic ⚫tenebrous gnosis [d10: (2, 4)] -> 4.
ꙮ Perhaps, but perhaps not. It’s hard to tell. But you hear something, that might be singing.
feels that tinge of gnosis, that bit of shadow…narrows his eyes a little more, brow furrowing. And, carefully, he hums soft arc of notes that had passed through him not long before. Thinks of shadow, and of ice…of selfish determination…and his shadow reaches out, and offers a tenebrous thread to hold to.
Tenebrous roll?
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Also, he's humming the opening notes of "Still Here"
ꙮ Go for it; DC 4.
- The Wolf-Priest invoked their ⚫tenebrous gnosis [d6] -> 3.
- The Wolf-Priest spent 1 Arete and now has 6 remaining.
ꙮ Your own shadow, reaching out like your hand’s reached out to touch it, but you didn’t move at all. And it stands, surprised, a moment– and then reaches out itself - ⁂
ꙮ You hear its– no, his, voice, harmonising with yours as you sing, and then your own shadow deepens, suddenly, intensely, and you see an explosion of light. Not the light of the Sun, not anything harsh although it is bright, it is bright like a lantern and bright like a firework and bright like the knife-edge of truth; light-fatigue afterimages of a thousand thousand letters you’ve never read and can’t recognise and standing in the middle of that blinding swarm is a human figure made out of shadow and purple-black glyphs fading into and out of visibility, and ⁂
says, in a quiet voice only Wolf can hear, “CAN YOU HEAR ME?”
smiles, just a bit, at the corner of his mouth–wolf-green eyes shaded by the hood of his burnoose so that, to someone standing far enough away, his eyes themselves might seem to be shadow. “I can hear you, friend. Who are you?”
says, straightforwardly, “I’M ME.” And then he pauses, because that’s an utterly useless thing to say and Qarina would laugh at him if she heard him say it and he knows it, “QARINA’S BROTHER.”
inhales just a bit, lets his head tilt the other direction. “Well, well. It’s a pleasure to meet you. To what do I owe the honor?”
says, “I TRIED TO SAY HI TO YOU WHEN PART OF YOU WAS HERE BEFORE AND SAT WITH TEACHER, BUT YOU LEFT BEFORE I COULD.” What happened is that Wolf left before the shade worked up the nerve, but he’s not going to say that, either. “SO WHEN ALL OF YOU SHOWED UP, I FIGURED, MAYBE YOU’D ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO HEAR ME.”
blinks once, then smiles, his teeth very white beneath the shadow of his hood. “Did you, now? I hadn’t thought anyone else could see me, then. After all, I wasn’t really here.” His eyes–as much as they can be seen–flicker over the Shade, taking him in. “I’m very glad to meet you now, though. You helped save my friend.”
says, “I’M GLAD TO MEET YOU, TOO. I’M GLAD WE MADE IT IN TIME.” A beat. “MOST PEOPLE CAN’T REALLY SEE -ME-, EITHER. HOW DID YOU DO THAT, ANYWAY? I’VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THAT AT ALL.”
flashes that white, white grin again. “I’m very good at hearing things. I could hear your song, even if I couldn’t see you.” He glances over at his shadow, which…does not seem to be entirely in sync with his own motions. “And I tried to give you an anchor. Something to bring you closer to me.”
says, “OH, I MEANT WHEN ONLY SOME OF YOU WAS HERE. BUT I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT THAT, TOO.” A pause. “I THINK TEACHER KNEW? HE COULDN’T SEE YOU, OF COURSE. ONLY I COULD SEE YOU. BUT HE WAS SMILING, AFTER HE GOT UP. THAT WAS NICE.” You can’t see his expression, but it sounds like he might be smiling, also.
nods, a little. “Ah, I see. I…am a dreamer, in a way. I can dream myself places, sometimes, though I don’t always have control over it. I don’t know anyone else who can do it like I can, though, so I don’t know for sure how it works.” His smile turns softer and warmer at the mention of Ravhi. “I’m very glad it helped. I wanted very badly to bring him comfort. Do you like him too, then?”
nods. “THAT’S FAIR. I DON’T KNOW ANYONE WHO CAN DO WHAT SISTER AND I CAN DO, EITHER.” He hunkers down on the ground, arms around his knees. “TEACHER’S AMAZING. AND.” He’s quiet for a minute, like he’s considering something very carefully before talking. “I DON’T THINK HE KNOWS I CAN SEE HIM WHEN NOBODY’S IN THE ROOM.” Another pause. “SO I’M GLAD YOU WERE ABLE TO CHEER HIM UP.”
: “He carries a heavy weight on his shoulders, doesn’t he?” Wolf says, softly. “I’m glad that you look out for him. He needs strong arms, to help him carry that burden.”
nods, solemnly. “HE DOES. AND I WOULDN’T EXIST IF IT WEREN’T FOR HIM–“ -he pauses. “WELL, I’D EXIST. BUT I WOULDN’T BE ME. AND I WOULDN’T HAVE MY SISTER. AND EVERYONE ELSE WOULD HAVE TO WORK A LOT HARDER.” And then he glances up at Wolf. “SO I’M GLAD YOU’RE HERE, TOO. YOUR ARMS LOOK PRETTY STRONG.”
smiles slowly, lifting his chin. “They are. But I will not be able to stay here forever, so I am also glad to know you are here to support him, when I cannot.” He tilts his head at the Shade. “What do you mean, you wouldn’t be you, if not for your Teacher?”
rolls a shrug. “I’M QARINA’S BROTHER. IF I WEREN’T QARINA’S BROTHER I WOULDN’T BE ME.”
: “And Rav–your Teacher made you Qarina’s brother?” His tone is gentle, but his shadowed eyes are intent.
nods, because Wolf is clearly at this point a Yazhn and it’s fine to say things he’d only say to a Yazhn to him. Also he files something away to tell Qarina later, but that’s neither here nor there. “YEAH. BEFORE THAT, I WAS JUST….” He rolls another shrug, and woogles his hands in the air, and glyph-sparks fly from one to the other. “LIKE THE ONES THAT WANDER AROUND THE CITY. I THINK.”
: “There are others like you, then? Shades? But not…like you. Not talking…thinking?”
looks a bit surprised. “HAVEN’T YOU SEEN ANY? I GUESS THEY MIGHT ALL BE BUSY. SOMETIMES THEY HELP PEOPLE WITH THE WORK. OR SOMETIMES THEY JUST STAND THERE LIKE A SAND DUNE PRETENDING TO. IT’S PRETTY WEIRD. IF THEY CAN TALK THEY’RE REALLY, REALLY GOOD AT IGNORING ME.”
: “I see. That must be very lonely sometimes, having only Qarina to talk to.” His eyes flicker around that glyph-made form again. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised to find shadow-people in a place with this much sun…”
nods, a little bit, and looks up. “SISTER’S AMAZING, THOUGH. BUT YOU KNEW THAT ALREADY.” He sounds like he’s smiling. “AND I GUESS IT MAKES SENSE. SUN’S ALMOST ALWAYS RIGHT OVERHEAD, ALL THE SHADOWS HAD TO GO SOMEWHERE.” He laughs at his own joke.
chuckles softly. “I suppose they did. I’m very curious about the sun. I’ve…met it…before. It seems very angry. And…sad, in a way.”
blinks. “YOU… MET IT? CAN YOU FLY?”
laughs softly. “No. But I–and my companions–think that our Library has a window which shows it quite clearly.” He grimaces at the memory. “It is much harder to bear, there, than it is here. It was very difficult to stay in its light long enough to hear it.”
tilts his head to the side. The Fathom doesn’t have any windows in it at all. Windows in general are a pretty dicey thing. But. “BUT YOU SAID IT SOUNDED SAD AND ANGRY? IT SOUNDS THAT WAY TO ME, TOO.”
: “You can hear it, then?” Softly: “Something happened to it. A wrong was done. Or is being done. I think it may be the same wrong which we are trying to fix. But I do not know for certain.” He smiles, a little. “There is another sun, though. A very kind one. You can see that one in the Library, too. If you would like, I’m sure that we could try and show you.”
listens, and nods. You get the impression that his eyes are wide. “ANOTHER SUN. HUH.” He looks up at the Sun in the sky; the light doesn’t particularly seem to bother him very much. “I’D LIKE TO SEE THAT, SOMETIME.”
: “You should have Qarina ask Salme about it.” He smiles, a bit wryly. “I am afraid that I must go soon–keeping myself so I can see you is tiring. But I have one last question, if I may?”
nods, immediately. “OF COURSE.”
: “Those beings that attacked us. The Elementals. What do you know of them? They worry me very much.”
shudders, visibly. “THEY’RE TERRIBLE. AND THEY SCREAM HORRIBLE LIES, ALL OF THE TIME. LIES THAT SOUND TRUE.”
: “Yes. Yes, they very much do. Do you know where they come from? Why they’re here? We never encountered them on the other worlds we’ve been to.”
scrunches up his face, or that’s the impression you get. “AS FAR AS ANYONE KNOWS THEY’VE JUST ALWAYS BEEN HERE. THEY HATE THE WORK AND EVERYONE WHO DOES IT.”
: “I see…” Wolf rubs his chin thoughtfully. “They hate those who enact change, then. Who push back against desolation and despair.” Softly: “No wonder they targeted us.”
nods, a bit. And then looks at Wolf. “I THINK…” He tilts his head, again. “YOU FEEL VERY TRUE. NOT EVERYONE FEELS AS TRUE AS YOU FEEL. I THINK THE ELEMENTALS PROBABLY DON’T LIKE THAT VERY MUCH, SO YOU SHOULD GO TO THE RED COLUMN AND SEE IF THE ROHSU CAN TEACH YOU THEIR TRICK JUST IN CASE ME AND MY SISTER AREN’T AROUND SOMETIME AND THEY GET IN YOUR BUSINESS.”
: “I agree. I very much agree. Thank you for your Counsel, Brother.” He says ‘Brother’ part like a title, but also part like a name.
says, “THANK -YOU-. FOR BEING ABLE TO HEAR ME AND SEE ME. I- I HOPE WE CAN TALK AGAIN, SOMETIME.”
: “I know we will.” He smiles, gently–face softening into something much more like his normal expression. “You are not alone. You are not unheard.”
looks at Wolf, and you can see his eyes, shimmering with glyph-fragments, and he doesn’t say anything because he doesn’t have to.
smiles, and touches two fingers to his forehead in salute…and with a weary exhale, lets himself drop back fully into reality, the shadows around him retreating back into being the normal kind of darkness.
ꙮ And the shadows, and then the shimmering outline fades away, but you can tell that it’s still there, for a moment or two, radiating companionable contentment, before it slips away.