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+--- Thread: [SOLO] Not Even at the Top, and Still Lonely (/showthread.php?tid=8935)
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[SOLO] Not Even at the Top, and Still Lonely - Garnet-Epsilon - Oct 13 2020
This week had... sucked. A long trek back from Draco, feeling some of their magic shift and change and become even more unpredictable than before, the loss of one of their defensive spells, and then the ONE time.
The ONLY time that Epsilon had been excited to meet someone new, and they'd been attacked.
Now, if Epsilon had been a bit more well versed in their own emotions, they'd know they felt almost betrayed by the cruel greeting, and also that they were more than concerned for Comet's fate.
Orthoclase had been an Overseer, the favorite of Master Vargas, and hadn't been above severe corporal punishment- admittedly, it seemed that Lord Dhracia would be the kind of person who preferred that sort of attitude adjustment, but still-
What did that mean for the wolf?
A deep sigh, than another deep inhale- and Epsilon pulls on their magic with an ungainly fury, almost like what they'd felt earlier, and lets their oldest spell ripple around them and distort the sound and air.
RE: [SOLO] Not Even at the Top, and Still Lonely - Garnet-Epsilon - Oct 13 2020
The angry yell they let tear out of their throat is instantly drowned out by the buzzing, humming, almost feedback like racket that Epsilon's magic was tearing out of the air, and they hold out the spell as long as they can before letting it peter out, and slowly the buzzing in the hybrid ears fades with it... and they feel the disorientation from the spell slowly fade away after a moment or two of silence.
Epsilon sits down, glaring up at the nearby throne, wanting to get up and fly up to it's top but just lifting their wings makes the whole cave tilt, and so they let the appendages hit the ground with a quiet thump.
That cursed wolf. I wonder if she has James fooled about what kind of person she is, or if that's just... normal. Out here.
Of course not, but Epsilon is trying to logic it out.
I'd expect that sort of suspicion from someone in the Sen- Forge, but... what reason has she to be that hostile and suspicious? She's friends with a dragon, for cave's sake! Maybe that's the reason why her friends all seem so reckless.
RE: [SOLO] Not Even at the Top, and Still Lonely - Garnet-Epsilon - Oct 13 2020
More silence.
More waiting.
The cave stops tilting, and Epsilon can lift their wings to move.
Move they do, up into the air- a simple half jump, hind legs only, just enough to get them into the air and onto the throne.
What kind of Gembound would sit here? Most likely one of the Masters, but... this doesn't make any sense. This back... They lean down, off their perch, and look at the base of the seat, trying to logic out the shape of the former occupant with a puzzled glare, trying to distract themselves from this disconcerting worry that have for someone they're also...
... afraid of.
A solid, but soft thump, and Epsilon is now in the seat, and they sigh, looking out over what the view would have been. The crumbling walls near and far, the ceiling of Orion twinkling overhead, and part of their mind builds a small image of Comet, and of a fully grown James, walking past, and they wonder if the two had ever sat here.
If they will, before they leave for Pegasus... with Pegasus.
Gah...
RE: [SOLO] Not Even at the Top, and Still Lonely - Garnet-Epsilon - Oct 13 2020
Thinking about the young Gembound makes then feel even worse, because all they can hear is the distrust and feel is dread about what Comet could do with her teeth to them, if they ever landed near them again.
Not that it would happen, but still.
Comet was nothing besides Orthoclase, or even any of the Chaos creations, but they at least wouldn't attack anyone outright without a command or motive.
Right?
It makes Epsilon feel like a monster, some sort of feral Lesser that they would be expected to attack the just hatched- something more terrifying than Lord Dhracia, who was even so gentle with her weapon when she had left with the child.
It's not sure what's worse- the feeling of being seen as a beast, or being seen as someone so amoral that they could attack a freshly hatched child.
RE: [SOLO] Not Even at the Top, and Still Lonely - Garnet-Epsilon - Oct 13 2020
They force themselves to look again at what is really in front of them, the stone throne underfoot.
To the small quest they'd given themselves.
Alright, what kind of shape would sit here? Nothing like Master Vargas, or any of the modern Gembound.
A jump and again, Epsilon perches on the back of the throne once more, looking around for anything- divots worn in the stone, pictures... of course there are none, but the images in Canis flash across their mind's eye, and they wonder if anything in those paintings could sit here.
Why there are so many building made of bone, of stone...
With another sigh, they pull on the oddly curled magic in their chest, and cast it out into whatever shape it want's to take, and the resulting darkness has them freeze, and look about in a mix of awe and concern.
"Ah..."
I did that? That isn't my normal magic... this is.. another kind, even different than what I had originally cast out into the world.
RE: [SOLO] Not Even at the Top, and Still Lonely - Garnet-Epsilon - Oct 13 2020
Okay. Lost of questions, lets run through the most pressing- their magic.
What and why? What, easy... the magic that tied the Sentinels together no longer applies to me- I'm not a Sentinel. I'm apart of the Forge of Chaos, now... maybe Draco changed my magic? Or Master Vargas did. Either way, that's what changed.
A sigh. Okay, not an easy answer.
It seems like the rest of my magic is intact. Now like I use it too much, but still. That's reassuring.
Well. As useful as it's usual level of intact was, whatever it may be.
RE: [SOLO] Not Even at the Top, and Still Lonely - Garnet-Epsilon - Oct 13 2020
Next, the stone throne. The Throne. Who, and why someone sat here.
I won't ever get the why by myself, they quickly dismiss the thought, albeit reluctantly, and stare out across Orion while they wonder upon the who. The people in the paintings, I was told to not think to much of them, so obviously not them- not important enough. But why is it this shape, it wouldn't work unless...
Dropping back down to the seat, they look out again, rising onto their hind legs before a sudden mental image hits them and they fling themselves back up onto the seatback, and let their mind place someone built like Lord Dhracia, like the humans, in the seat... and they feel a chill race up their spine.
Maybe?
RE: [SOLO] Not Even at the Top, and Still Lonely - Garnet-Epsilon - Oct 13 2020
A few seconds, then of letting themselves feel like they were the right hand of someone powerful- not to be used for destruction, no, but to collect others and bring them close, to know the truth when others might offer lies and platitudes.
To be cared for and noticed, despite it's inability to express cruelty in such a quick way as it's siblings- and seen as useful for it.
Then a darker mental image- of the white wolf being brought before Lord Dhracia, and they shake themselves free of that image before their mind can take it further, their sore chest reminding them that they can still get even- But she's a child. They come stupid, and reckless. Like that hooved one that Lord Dhracia had... Epsilon gets a bit green at the gills, and has to take a small jump down from the throne and towards the broken walls to shake their mind hard enough away from the memory to continue on.
Comet will get whatever is coming. Feeling guilty is none of my concern, I did not order her- she chose her actions. Although I ... will apologize, at some point, for drawing blood if I had done so... I shouldn't have panicked.
RE: [SOLO] Not Even at the Top, and Still Lonely - Garnet-Epsilon - Oct 24 2020
Finally at the wall, the broken remains of it at least, Epsilon steps up onto a small stone with their forepaws, not wanting to be dependent solely on their wings for finding a vantage point to investigate all of this... both their thoughts and the throne.
Taking to the air lends a certain thrill and clarity to everything, but keeping one's feet on the group is also a sort of calming, centering activity that Epsilon needs to get used to. Neck pain be damned.
I still feel guilty, though. Curse it all. I won't say anything, that much is a fact, but I worry about punishment.
Punishment like what had occurred back in Tunnel P. Not even favorites are free from any sort of pain, Overseer now or otherwise.
A sharp shove of the rock they're on, and they land on the ground with a huff, forcing their forefeet into the ground to feel the shock up their forelegs.
RE: [SOLO] Not Even at the Top, and Still Lonely - Garnet-Epsilon - Oct 24 2020
I wonder if there's ever been a job for things like me other than... spy, or any sort of subterfuge. Why are all the important jobs given to the large and violent, anyway?
Curious, really, not angry... a little confused more than anything.
I'd want to choose someone like Commander Hemlocke, someone who's able to pick apart someone in an instant... not literally, but with their mind. Master Vargas must be smart, he wouldn't be a Master if he wasn't, but given what I know about Orthoclase - Alpha and Ruby - Beta, they're not... well, not terribly ambitious. Just naturally powerful.
Okay yeah, they're salty. Just a tad.
If Epsilon knew what nepotism was, they'd feel better. Truly, knowing that there's a personal reason for preference for one's children.
It's also my fault for not pushing as harshly for skills as Delta. But I'll fix that, right quick. So they and I can see eye to eye.