Forbidden

That was where it started, and ended. I had been told to stay away from the outskirts. Why, they didn’t say. We were just told to not go around there. Of course, I had to go and check it out anyway. Besides, what could be the worst that could possibly happen, right? Well.. I was once again wrong. There was a growing list of things my master told me to do that I should have listened to. It was my first time laying eyes on the broken, shattered rip through space. Standing at its edge, I could see out across what appeared to be a strange land. What it was, I didn’t know. I was terrified, but I couldn’t look away. The end result was me lifting off the ground and moving outwards. Every part of me said to turn back, but there was something alluring about the giant gates. They were broken, as if some great force wretched them apart. The ruins were spread across floating chunks of air. Holding my breath for a moment, my body moved on its own, heading straight towards the strange land below. The descent was rapid, more so than what I would have anticipated. With the speed I was unaware of the actual distance traveled, or that I had gone nearly fifty kilometers. There was a strange taste to the air, and I ended up passing through several clouds before slowing my descent. In the distance was a cliff line that looked rather appealing. Then again, it was the only piece of land that was close. I didn’t come all this way to look at it, time to go check it out.

269 pexp

Azure orbs blinked in a lazy manner. Smoke curled up from full ruby lips, a pipe curled in delicate looking fingertips. Hanabi moved in an elegant manner, as if she glided instead of walking. Dressed in little. A simple black top meant solely to constrict the movements of her breasts. A small bit of cloth worn to cover her privates. A top that a sheer gown covered her. It left little to one's imagination. But she cared little for the opinions of others. Her daughter had long since stopped trying to get her into more clothing.

The pipe lifted to those lips. An inhale, eyes fluttering shut for a moment. Breath held and then slowly thos lips parted, pipe pulled away and smoke blown out. Azure orbs opened, pupils much larger than they shold be, but that had an almost cat-like tick to them. Her bare feet looked like they were touching the ground as she moved along the outskirts of Rockland, eyes taking in the broken world around her. This was home. Had been for some time. Ever since Jack left. But he was never really gone. He left her a gift. Her beautiful Senna. She was theirs and would always be. But she could not shackle him just as he would never shackle her. A smile touched those lips and she stopped. Her free arm wrapped along her form, hand coming to rest on the opposing hip as she calmly brought her pipe back to her lips. Life. So short for some... While she. She did even have a mark of the time that had passed since she awoke with no memories and no name. She had one now. Hanabi. Flower. She was was a blooming flower within all this death.

-315

A pale body would swirl down towards what would be discovered as water. While it looked strange from the skies and could have been anything, a hand running through it gave it a solid understanding. A set of white and blue robes flapped wildly in the wind while I twisted upwards towards the peaks. Stretching my muscles a bit, my body would take a physical form. Spiritually, it was still the same, but I wanted to be able to actually touch and feel the things down here. With my body now on the edge of the cliff, I would turn around to face the giant hole in the sky. That was my home, it always had been. Judging by the time I had spent getting here, I had about a quarter of a day to explore before I would need to return. This land was new, barren, ruined. Just like our realm. Whatever happened to us may have happened down here as well. I hadn’t really thought about it, nor did I know there was anything else out there. All that I had known had gone out the window, and endless ideas had replaced them. Taking my first step back around, I would stop to look at the ruins of large, ornately decorated buildings. The field I was in was accented by overrun gardens and a warped, broken fountain. There was rubble as half of the house had collapsed to the side, leaving its contents bare to the elements. Were there others like us down here somewhere, or was this the forbidden wasteland we were told about? Time to go explore and find out…

+289

Another drag then another exhale. It was done in almost a bored manner. She turned the pipe over and gave it a gentle tap on the thigh of a half broken statue beside her. She twirled the pipe in those fingertips as she turned and began walking back among the ruins of Rockland. Senna would be home soon. Would bring goods to be eaten. But they both did not need to eat as much as the others. They both were so much more than the beings the lived among. Jack had been like her. But more. She knew that parts of her were still like the powerless ones seeking to survive much like herself.

She hummed softly, moving along and into the broken garden she liked to tend to. It was overrun by the plants. But it made her smile. Let the plants have it was her thoughts. But it was the flowrs she delighted in along with the dainty insects that flitted among them. She called then 'flying flowers' not remembering the name butterfly is what went with them. They were her favorite. She paused, smiling as one flitted toward her. She extended her hand, letting it land on her fingertips. "Hello lovely.." she cooed.

-222

I would make my way into the wilderness of plants. They were strange looking, and I tried to not touch anything. I didn’t know what might happen were they to touch my skin. I would attempt to make my way through the foliage before a strange voice hit my ears. Was it a voice? Immediately shifting weight, my right arm would come up towards my face as my body lowered. It may have been my imagination, a kind of paranoia for this new, undiscovered land. Maybe someone followed me and was playing tricks on me. I could guess who it was, had it been one of my friends. Unfortunately for me, this was not the case. With my left hand, I would move part of the brushed plants to the side, revealing a lightly covered woman talking to some sort of colorful flying creature. Was she a spirit? I couldn’t tell, but she didn’t dress like we did. If there was life down here, then this was a huge discovery. We never had a reason to leave our realm since we had everything we would ever want or need. This however changed things. I would watch her for a moment before sneezing. Damn plants.

+216

The little creature remained with her as if drawn in by her presence. It was not a new thing. Many beasts seemed to look to her. They would come close then shift away as if realizing she looked like one of the beings that hunted and killed them for meat and warm furs. She had many furs to ward off the chills when they came. She paused though. Something was in her garden. She could smell a faint scent. There was a shift in the air that was not suppose to be there. It was not Senna. She knew her daughter's presence. The Flying Flower flitted away and she lowered her arm as the abrupt noise came from her left. She turned, eyes glittering in a bit f anger for being spyed upon.

It slipped away as she saw the blonde hair. Her inner self growled a bit, as if feral. But she ignored that part of herself and moved toward the person who thought it was okay to sneak about. She paused mere feet from him, Hanabi wary but willing to remain civil. "Why are you here, boy?" she asked, her voice a seductive lilt that swept over one's sense like thick, sweet honey.

-214

I dug my nose into the side of my robe, allowing blonde hair to cover most of my facial features. My breath would be held, anticipating any course of action that may be necessary to take. All movements were frozen, hoping that the other had heard nothing. As if fate seemed to enjoy my poor decision making, a voice called to me. What was I doing, boy? Excuse me? Standing up to full height, I dispersed the negative energy in my arm. After all this might be first contact with a new species or something and I didn’t want to get off to a bad start. Crossing my feet upwards off the ground, I would float up to the plants level before sitting on them. It was a casual entrance that allowed me to see all of her, and her to see all of me. I had no weapons, other than my fists, and was clad in white robes lined with a shade of royal blue. I would look across her for a moment before returning her comment.
“Why are you here… woman?”
I know it wasn’t the best comeback in the world, but she didn’t even ask for my name before labeling me. That was soooo rude.

213

She waited. Quite the patient creature she was. She was much older than many. Though she did not know just how old. But she knew she must have been alive before The Dawn. For when she had awoke she was no child. She thought everyone a child compared to her. At least when she first met them. She had wisedom. She was a clever woman. Tricky and sly. But people listened to her when she did speak. She had a small tribe here in Rockland. They had borne the mark of K Y R O on them. She had sought them out. Found them and brought them to be with her. Those symbols had to mean something. Why is it she found it? And it had been all over her. Had been on the pictures she knew were herself even though she had a different coloring now. The face shape was the same along with the smile.

He frozen then floated up. It nearly had her laughing into her hand. He spoke and she found she had the urge to tease him. She moved. A skipping step and then it was as if she was to fall, only for her to lift and come to float before him in a horizantal manner, peering at him with a cheshire smile curling on those lush lips. "I live here while you do not. So the true question is.. Why are you here?"

-239

Well, living here was a good answer. I hadn’t really anticipated that kind of answer from her. Then again, if she lived here I couldn’t talk my way out of this one. There was no reason to hide who I was or where I was from, or even why I was here. Actually, I didn’t have a really good answer for why I was here. I had only been in this realm for.. a few minutes at best. Oh well, maybe it would be best to get some intelligence work down here. Taking a look past her, I would look at the buildings around her. The gardens were nice looking, and I could tell they had a little bit of work on them. Maybe she had done it herself…
“I’m Ashurei, and I come from that thing.”
My thumb would lift up, pointing to the giant rip in the sky behind me. I wondered if she would believe me. Then again, that didn’t really matter, I wanted to go exploring. Maybe she knew what had happened down here…

180

He was like a curious child. She could see it in his eyes. Saw it in the way he looked at everything and stored them in his mind. She had been like that when she first awoke. THough she was still like that whenever she discovered relics. She studied them, aching to understand them. All she knew was the symbols KYRO meant something to her personally. But each time she looked at the symbols.. She could not read them. It was like they were just out of reach for her limited comprehension with the relics. She floated in front of him in a lazy manner, like a cat sunning itself on a window sill.

His name brought a smile to those lips and she floated closer. "I'm Hanabi," she introduced and then twisted herself in the air to peer up and she just laughed softly. "Interesting. I have only seen down below... But both places seem so boring. This place is where we all will learn why we are here.." she trailed off and flipped back around and peered at him. "What bring you down here, pretty one?"

-200

She floated, which surprised me. Maybe everyone could fly down here. I was rather interested in this lady. It didn’t make sense that she could fly, because she didn’t smell like a spirit. What did she mean by down there? Was there a place underground? This was my first time outside of our realm, and most of us had no interest in even coming down here. This was our forbidden land, the territory that we were told to stay away from. Even the outskirts were mostly looked down on, leaving only the most curious of us to venture down here. Taking a light breath, I would smell the plants and stuff only to sneeze again. I really, really didn’t like these flowers. So, this place is where they learned about why they were here. Why was I here? That was an interesting question to ask. I didn’t really have a solid reason for being down here, I just couldn’t keep my curiosity in check.
“well.. I saw the gates.. and once I saw outside them at this entire new world I couldn’t really keep myself under control. It’s a long way down here, but it was worth it. Are there others here?”

+218 /1,385