keep close to me [the descendants] day 1

[d6a georgie cham 🍓🐢 frankel]

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”There is nothing for us here, we need to move on. Come, both of you, we can find something for that arm of Fenrir’s somewhere else.” It is a natural feeling of responsibility that I suddenly possess for the two of them. One is very capable of looking after themselves and the other gives me an uneasy feeling, but I do not wish harm to them. Ripred may bless them with an honorable departure so long as I can prove to Ripred that they are both worth it.

I lead the way away from the crumbling chapel, it is out of sight, but I hope to lay my eyes on it at least once more before my time is up.

The ground beneath my boots slowly becomes moist, squelching with every step I make. A poignant aroma explodes in my nostrils. Again, a familiar metallic slightly meaty scent. It seems so ordinary, not a smell that makes me queasy. Rather pleasant…

”There is a strange smell around here and I sense we are not alone…” It is a skill I have picked up while doing the guarding job, I can’t just switch off, I must be alert at all times… I aim the crossbow in all directions, scanning the area ahead of my allies that are behind me. ”But there are some treasures, those plants over there are identical to the ones in the training center that ease pain…” I point the crossbow towards the crop of flora that grows by our feet.

”Lets not waste time here for long, we need to keep moving.”

Number two, regroup with friendly faces.
Number three, ensure any injuries are tended too immediately. Partially complete for my allies but I have no injuries of my own. This is a recurring item.
Number four, seek water and food supplies. There is water here and those plants may well fill a stomach but this must be a recurring item too.

There will be no time for rest in this arena. The list will keep growing.

Actions in trib maint.

[lucius branwen / 10 — fox]

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The red moon comes, rising to greet you as an old friend – only to darken and be relit by holographic faces, substitutes for constellations. The ground underfoot crunches as you follow some distance behind Nicoli and Ace through the fallen night. The sound of bones snapping from animals with broken necks make you think of sacrifice. Of theirs, and of yours, and of the gods.

They are always watching.

You think of Hela and wonder if she watches, too.

The answer comes to you harshly, carried on the broken wings of a fallen crow. You haven’t felt her tether since you left the room where your souls were torn apart. She might pray in the glow of a dying flame for your safe return. You can smell the smoke, see the tendrils float around her face.

But she is not with you anymore.

There are ways in which the world works that you might never understand. You were once a half of a whole. A brother and a keeper. Now you belong to a new pack putting faith in strangers you’ve known all of a week. The gods of lost time have walked with you all your life. They are all you’ve ever known. You know they don’t neglect you. You know there is a plan you haven’t yet seen in the prophets.

But you might have never felt so alone as you do under the dying rays of a bloodied moon.

acts in maint

[Cait]

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Fenrir doesn’t speak again for the rest of the day. His sour mood probably stems from the fact his arm is barely holding together despite his earlier handiwork, and I grimace at the pain he must still be in. He doesn’t give away his discomfort, though. So out of respect to try and make the arduous journey to healing as pleasant as possible for him, I keep my mouth shut as best as I can, only speaking when necessary. It’s probably the most restraint I’ve ever shown in my life, truthfully. But I don’t even have the energy to feel proud of myself.

Luckily (or unluckily, some may think) Nicoli does the bulk of the talking for the three of us, keeping up a breakneck pace that has sapped all the previous adrenaline out of me. I wonder if he will get tired of the sound of his own voice and the half-hearted echoes of agreement I give him, but his methodical sequencing doesn’t let up.

A man with a plan. A boy on a mission. He’s like the father I always wanted but never had. Except for the part where he’s only one year older than me, of course. And the part where I could slit his neck in his sleep if I wanted to. But I don’t want to. In fact I find myself relishing the fact that someone else is there to take the reins on responsibility. There’s less buzzing in my head when the decision-making is taken out of the equation for me. Makes it easier to focus on surviving. That’s the theory, anyway. Reality tells me what Nicoli has parroted on about for the last hour – that we need to keep moving, treat our injuries and find food and water – are the things that will keep us alive in here.

“There is a strange smell around here.” Oh, and there’s that, too. We should probably find out what the heck is going on in this cursed place. But it’s relieving to know I haven’t been imagining the distinct aroma that seems to be following us around the arena.

It doesn’t take long to realise what it is.

Nicoli – too busy separating plants into poisonous and edible – and Fenrir – sulking away in behind me, still nursing his broken arm – don’t see me stop dead in my tracks.

They don’t hear the heavy gush of fluid plummeting over the side of the mountain we’ve found ourselves at the edge of.

“Uh… I think I know what that smell is.”

There’s no water in sight like we’d hoped for. Instead, I stand face to face with a river of crimson liquid, a never-ending fall of recycled blood. The sheer heaviness of it all should make the hairs on my arms stand at attention. But it’s… hypnotising to watch. I shouldn’t be so entranced, I know this. But I don’t feel as disgusted as I think I should, and that disgusts me. The only thing that keeps me from hurling my guts at my sudden lack of humanity is the utter fear I feel at the gory sight.

Still human. Whatever that means.

I look back at Fenrir; I watch his eyes widen, then close. I wonder if he feels it, too.

Reality, sinking in.

How long will it be until we too become a part of this deathly place, forgotten to the world as our life serum is washed away forever?