ORIGIN - The Creaking of Roots

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What a strange place this tunnel was. The soil smelled fertile and full of life, hugely different from the frozen ground in Ursa. And there seemed to be a constant shifting and groaning, as though the material of the tunnel itself was moving and expanding as she hurried forward. Air flowed differently ahead of her than behind her, shifting with the creaking, and Aethereal might've thought it was another hallucination if it hadn't felt a lot less violent than normal.

Now that the fight was put behind her, Aethereal's magic withdrew back into herself. The whispers grew quieter, though they were always present, as her wounds scabbed over and stopped dripping Oil. She leaked it still from her neck and vents, but that did not hurt as the open wounds had. It would take more time for her to recover completely, though. She could put a little bit of weight on her stabbed and bitten leg for the sake of balance, but any more than a little and it burned in protest.

Mother's voice was still absent from her mind when Aethereal tried a hello once more, and she wondered if it was the distance, or if the deer and his allies had really managed to destroy the connection somehow. She would not be going back to Ursa anytime soon; she had not found what she was seeking and she could not risk running into any of the deer's friends in Cepheus again. Would Mother be angry at her for attracting their attention and staying away? Or would she offer Aethereal plenary forgiveness? Maybe something in between.

She heard the creaking fade ahead of her, felt the promise of open air just a few meters away, and breathed a sigh of relief. Now she was well and truly out of Cepheus, and probably safe for the time being. But she still couldn't stop moving. Find it, the source of chaos, her instincts told her, and Aethereal wondered why she felt the urge to seek out something like that. It didn't seem like a good place to be, wherever it was. But she had a feeling it would help her, grant her relief from the worsening hallucinations and constant dripping of Oil. And then I can return home once more.

@Isolde, open to anyone else who wants to come also

Isolde had not been this far out of Cepheus. In fact, she's never been outside of Cepheus ever. The monster was far ahead of her, even if she could see its light coat clearly in the filtered light of the shifting cave.

She didn't like how much it moved, though, as it shifted aside for her where she couldn't fly. Trees weren't supposed to move. They'd never moved before for her. Why were they moving here? But, this is where James-friend said to go, and so she went. Keratin hooves left prints behind Aethereal's limping set.

It took her some time of pursuit (or, perhaps, just fleeing the same way) before Isolde finally spoke up, Aethereal close enough, the tunnel wide enough, and her energy back from running into the wind. "Hey!" No, bad start. Her mouth rippled anxiously as she galloped forward, her spiracles huffing. "You are okay!"

She had meant it as a question, but with the lack of inflection it sounded more like encouragement than anything else. She didn't even know what she wanted out of it- she attacked Aethereal, but why? Why did James-friend tell her to run or fight? Why was James fighting her?

Oh, how she hated having questions, sometimes.

@Aethereal ? Or @James ?

Hoofbeats behind her. A deer, one of the swift ones that roamed the tunnels? She'd passed one of those between Ursa and Cepheus, but even if it was only a Lesser, Aethereal wasn't feeling particularly charitable toward deer at the moment. She gathered her magic, pushing it into the stab wound and feeling some of the soreness subside as the scab strengthened and the internal tissue began the laborious process of repairing itself. Into this cave, and onward. She didn't have time for-

Then it spoke, in the same voice that had droned NO RUNNING as it stabbed and gripped her leg. It had the audacity to approach her, after that– ? It was a tight space to be turning around in, but Aethereal could not leave her back exposed. She turned as quickly as she could, tucking her wings tightly to her sides and beginning to back away as quickly as she could once she faced the thing.

"No thanks to you," she hissed, in what she hoped was a very menacing way. "Stop right there, and stay back." Tightly spaced tunnels were not a good place to get into a fight, especially when she had no idea whether the Vargas that the deer had mentioned awaited close by to ambush her from behind. Hopefully this one had sense, and wouldn't challenge her again. She took more steps back, careful still not to put too much weight on her injured leg.

@Isolde

Isolde stopped the moment Aethereal did, emotionless as it watched her swivel to face her and- snarled? Isolde's head tilted. Oh. This was about before! Oh. ... oh, no. She really did just attack someone because someone else told her to.

Her tail swished in her only movement, giving her mind something else to think about. "Ok," Isolde shot out quickly, blankly staring. Her hoof lifted, testing a step forward, before she placed it back where it was. No, that was staying put.

Why did she just do what people told her to? But, staying here was the easiest anyways. If she could sigh, she would, now, but all she could was ruffle her wings and turn her long crest to the side. "You are... Ok-aayy? Will be?" The inflection didn't come in until the last bit of those sentences, and she shut her eyes as a cringe to them.

Where was that articulate self of her's when she first hatched? A buzz of a huff fluttered from her spiracles. After a moment, she minutely twisted her head to stare back at Aethereal, eyes wide before lowering her head and taking that single cautious step forward. "Ssssssssssorry," she hissed out at length, jaw almost hitting the soil.

@Aethereal

For anyone in the future, this thread takes place after this one --> /showthread.php?tid=9407&pid=84423#pid84423

James had flown as far as he was able before the narrow branches impeded his progress. He limped along as quickly as possible, panting as he finally saw white. He stopped beside Isolde, swaying a bit, ears down and leg held up.

"Aethereal... your Mother put my boyfriend in a chrysalis," he said, "She, without hesitation, would have killed him, do you understand? Do you understand that she is a horrible, merciless being?"

He coughed weakly, lungs burning both from the spells and the long run here, "She is an infection. She cares not for you or for anyone unless you are of use. And she did try to use you. Your mind is quiet, right? She's not telling you where to go or what to do? That's how it ought to be. You have free will, now, and you don't have to listen to anyone, you can do whatever you want and you can fly and make friends."

He wiped his face with a wing and sniffed, tears still streaking his fur, "Please. Let there be no more suffering."

@Aethereal

The stabby thing didn't come any closer, thank the caves. And it seemed to be… concerned? About Aethereal? When it'd just attacked her minutes before? And it was… apologizing. Great soaring birds above, what was going on? Where was the consistency in her life? Not that Aethereal was ungrateful; she did like not being attacked. If only she hadn't been stabbed at all in the first place. "… yes," she responded finally. "As long as you don't decide to fight me again."

Aethereal almost felt a little bad, hearing how regretful it sounded, but the whispers around her urged her: go, go, go. Or maybe they said nothing distinct at all, and it was her imagination assigning them words, but she didn't want to stay long anyway. She backed away, almost to the tunnel exit now–

More hoofbeats approaching. This one was panting, tired, as if it had run here. As if it had just come from a fight. James, the deer's accomplice. And he, too, spoke, this time not to offer apologies but to condemn Mother. And suddenly, Aethereal understood - why they were being so friendly now when they'd attacked her in Cepheus, why this whole thing had happened the way it did: they thought Mother was bad. They thought she was some kind of manipulative mind control murderer.

This James deluded himself, Aethereal thought with disgust. Did neither of them have any self-awareness? … no, the stabby one she could almost forgive. And if not forgive, then at least lay less blame on; it didn't sound very intelligent and she thought it might be very young. James and the deer were the real threats.

"The deer attacked me first," she hissed at James. Another step back; she was almost there now. "If Mother struck back, it was because she thought I was in danger. Family defends family." Aethereal wasn't sure how exactly Mother had managed to 'almost kill' the deer (at least, she assumed James' boyfriend was the deer)– actually, maybe it had something to do with the screeching creatures Tahi-shei had told them all to flee from. Her siblings didn't screech, as far as Aethereal knew, but James seemed confident it had been Mother. I should be grateful, she thought absently. She could say thanks when she returned.

"I don't know where you got this misinformation into your head, but you're wrong." Maybe she wouldn't have bothered. Maybe she would have just fled into Pegasus while she had the chance, while the two were still and did not pursue her. But Aethereal knew the power of illusion, knew it from all the dreams and sleepless nights and invisible grips on her shoulder she'd ever felt. No one should live with such enormous untruth hanging over them, especially if it led them to attack more like her.

"Mother taught me to sing and dance. Did you know my siblings could do that? I don't think someone who only cared about usefulness would like singing. Singing doesn't bring down prey, build a den, or strengthen our fighting skills, but we do it anyway because we like it and it's fun."

"Our mental link was a way for us to talk, just like you're talking to me right now. I do what she tells me because I care about her, and because she gives me good advice. Like running away from a pair of people who turned out to fight me. But I can also do what I want - I'm doing what I want right now, just like I was before. She didn't order me to leave Ursa and go into that last cave. I did it because I wanted to. I feel a compulsion to search for something I still seek. Mother has nothing to do with it."

"If you want there to be no more suffering, then leave us alone and let us live our own lives. The world is a big place; we never have to run into each other again."

Unless James or the stabby one - no, the one-who-apologized - spoke again or tried to stop her, Aethereal would turn and walk the last few steps into Pegasus proper.

@Isolde attempted exit

(sorry for all the inner monologuing isolde's painfully growing a brain cell-)

Isolde was patient. She probably would have stayed there endlessly if Aethereal didn't respond, watching, waiting, like some messed up alien and just staring. But, when Aethereal finally did say something, Isolde let out a small shake of her head like she was hesitant about the meaning of the word 'no'. No, she would not fight again. No, she ~~would not~~ should not do just what some stranger tells her to.

But, he had seemed so right at the time.

Straightening back up, Isolde took a few careful steps back as James joined the conversation, talking and driving Isolde to stare down at him. She had been so eloquent with him. He had complimented (~~questioned~~) her about it, and now it had been thrown in the gutter, now, she was nothing but a savage.

Her jaws flexed even more, uneasily as she danced to the side like a nervous horse in a stall. She couldn't just leave. Aethereal had said she was fine ~~and she was fine~~ but now they were arguing, and Isolde let out a huff as she struggled to pay attention.

Mothers ~~are~~ could be bad. That was the fear here. The mother was a fungus, and the mother had returned James-friend to a chrysalis, and Isolde could hear her heart pounding above the skull in her ribcage. She ~~had to~~ should make a choice for herself, and all she could do as Aethereal was talking was anxiously pace in place, staring to the soil between the parties.

She could feel herself shivering. Had she ever done that before?

Aethereal was turning, and Isolde stepped forward gingerly, shaking as though she were a newborn calf. "I have never danced before," she droned quietly- as though she were speaking under her breath.

A pause.

"What is it like?"

Because that's the thing you need to focus on. You need to focus on that. Not the fact that you ~~maimed~~ attacked this being, not the fact that you ~~caused~~ helped her to be rid of her own mother.

Why did she doubt like this, so suddenly, so worriedly? Why did she even care?

And what was dancing? It must be important. Mother had given her peace, but Isolde had peace without mother, but by ripping Mother from Aethereal she had lost her peace. Isolde helped with that. And, now, she began to doubt- should she have?

She squeezed shut her eyes and withdrew the step she took, barely glancing to Aethereal like ~~because she was~~ a lost child.

@James

James sniffled softly, "I have children. I am... I'm a father. It... it's the male equal of mother. I have a daughter, you know. A-and her name's Comet."

He spoke from the heart now, tears rolling down his cheeks, trying to save these children who would never understand the fear of having your free will taken. Those terrifying moments in that tunnel when his heart pounded and his ears were clogged, terrified that the golem would take lives and wills at the same time... he knew nothing else like it.

"She's white, like snow," he said, "Like you both."

He knew he could not stop them with actions... but maybe, just maybe, he could convince them.

"Families teach others to dance," he said, "They can teach you anything. To love, to respect each other... but they also teach you that violence, that forcing others to do things is wrong."

James looked up, wounded and grief-stricken, "I watched her put gembounds in their stones. I watched her take control of a great rock beast. She wishes for everyone to be a part of her family but she lacks the most important thing that we free gembound have."

He looked at Aethereal, at Isolde, shaking, shivering, sniffling.

"She never gave you a choice, did she?", he said to Aethereal, hoping he was saying the right things, "She offered you warmth, right? She told me once that I'd have a family. She was so... warm, so inviting. But did she tell you about everything outside Ursa? Did she tell you that it's okay to roll in the mud, to splash through streams, to get branches caught in your hair?"

James took a step forward, offering an olive branch to them, "I am not Mother. I am not any truly powerful being. I'm just a horse trying to do what's best for my own family, to protect them, to love them, to allow them to grow how they wish and never to smother them with love in hopes that they never leave."

He gently wiped his eyes and closed them, breathing out, "Children must leave the nest eventually. They must leave home to carve their own path in life. I promise you, Isolde, Aethereal. I can teach you many things. I can teach you to fly, I can teach you to run, I can teach you to roll in the grasses of Pegasus and laugh, and I can teach you to make sweet things to share with your loved ones. But always will I allow you to come and go as you wish, and always will I offer my home for rest and for comfort, but never to keep you shackled down with twisted love."

He knew what that was like. To be held back by a responsibility, to be held back by what you thought was love, but wasn't. Not really.

"Please," he said softly, looking up at them with his tired eyes, his braided mane and tail tangled and messy, his feathers ruffled.

He hoped that his words were enough to at least get them to listen. He wondered if Mother was scared. If she was like him, afraid for his children, frightened they would enter the world and be harmed, and that was why she kept them close. He knew that probably wasn't the case, but he always managed to sympathize with the worst of people.

@Aethereal

strong language

for like, one word
A pause, as the one who apologized asked her what it was like to dance. They had attacked her, but their regret now seemed genuine. Their voice had a waver in it, as if they were... shaking? And they were a child, just like her - at least, she assumed from the way they spoke. Aethereal wanted to stay and explain, sympathy prickling at her chest along with something different: something that felt warm, something within her that wanted to love and protect this creature and pass on the kindness that Mother had shown her. But the chaos within urged her otherwise. She must seek out further chaos, she must consume it, become it-

No. If anything, these urges were closer to the mind control James spoke of than Mother ever had been. But they did not control her, and she did not want to be controlled by them. What had chaos ever done for her, anyway, other than steal away her sleep and peace? There might be a good side to chaos - for why else would it exist in the world? - but she hadn't experienced it yet. I'll listen to it when it does something for me.

"Dancing is singing, and moving yourself to the rhythm and the melody," Aethereal explained. She was half turned around in the tunnel, and honestly didn't feel like going to the trouble of turning her whole body back around now that she'd decided these two were not a threat. "The song rises and falls, and you rise and fall with it. Your heart beats faster. It is happy."

Aethereal paused in thought for a moment. The one who was young like her had offered apologies, but she had also hurt them, and had not apologized yet. They were even for the hurting, perhaps, but an apology was owed in return now that they'd decided they weren't gonna stay mad. "I am also sorry, monotone one. ... Do you want some food?" Along with hugs, which she didn't feel like giving to a stranger, food was a gift she could offer to help make up for it all.

James still seemed convinced that Mother was bad, and... he was offering to be her father? Well, Aethereal thought, unsure whether to feel amused or bemused or some combination of both, Mother did say I don't have one yet. There's room. But for someone she'd just gotten in a fight with, even if they were sorry now, Father seemed to be a bit of a stretch.

She had to admit, though, the things James described did sound good, even if saying that families taught each other against violence sounded a little funny when she remembered his boyfriend's command to run or fight. Tahi-shei had sounded pretty violent with that YOU CAN'T FUCKING HIDE FROM ME, DONTACAEL! But his stories of fights and rock beasts and Gembound getting hurt... that was disturbing. Both of them could have happy families without ruining each other's happiness, surely? She... she'd have to ask Mother about that, when she had a chance. Aethereal was sure there had to be some sort of explanation, but it was difficult to imagine any right now.

"I will remember what you said about the fighting," she told James. But she would also give Mother her chance to explain, like she had given James. "I will find the truth from both sides, and then I will decide." As for the rest, well, children left the nest, but wasn't that was she was doing? "Mother said that she would tell me of the world when I grew up. Maybe she thought I am too young right now, but I don't think she would have 'shackled' me forever. And I'm here now, aren't I?"

@Isolde

Slowly, Isolde's head drew up to look at the both of them as they spoke, a somber attention drawing over her. James was nearly begging, and Isolde's heart strained for him. Carefully, she started forward, with one, hesitant hoof-step before stopping.

She had been happy at her tree. But what if this happened again? Isolde's wings adjusted at her side as she considered, rough air flowing through her spiracles.

Mother had made Aethereal happy with dancing. But, James spoke of things Mother had done, things that set Isolde's jaws clattering, things that made her stop for a brief moment. Her neck folded back like a crane's as she glanced to the shifting wall of the tunnel, readjusting her stance once more as her tail swayed uncomfortably.

"I am not hungry," Isolde eventually peeped out, quiet. "Thank you, though." Her head raised just slightly and bobbed to Aethereal before returning to stare away.

She let in and out another of her alien sighs. "Could- Your Mother, do you think there is a chance that she can be convinced not to do those things? Not to-- hurt people, to drive anger, through us." Her eyes came up once more and she looked between Aethereal and James. "Keep to her family and everyone else keep to their families."

She didn't know the stakes, and she believed James, but... Aethereal had been happy. If Mother stopped doing those things, kept to who she knew, who wanted in the family themselves, then things would be good, right?

@James

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