such a different world now [svet/calamity] [day 1]

[ryan]

they have all finally taken their chance to fall asleep, and just as promised, svet said she would take the first watch. she had been the least affected out of all of them from the bloodbath, and she figured that she would have the best chance to survive an ambush if need be.

she had turned around for a moment, watching elm and theo rest up. dorothy was whispering something to herself, but svet was not going to butt in. it wasnt something that she needed to concern herself with. it was just nice to see that she was not the only one that had prayers to say. dorothy was young, but she was just as capable as the rest of them.

the next day she would show dorothy her true capability.

but for now, the solemn sound of the stream had made her feel a little more at peace, but she was waiting for the moon to shine bright in the sky. then she could whisper her prayers to it and have a full on conversation. the only thing that she trusted more than herself was the moon. the forresters made it very clear that the moon carried all of their power, power that svet needed here in order to survive.

she didnt know how to explain it to other people, even when karl had asked her about it earlier. she just drew a blank.

it was always easier to show what she meant, but most people were too afraid to stick around long enough to watch svet embrace the moon like she did. the power would infuse in her hands, and she would be able to do things that she never thought she could do.

she walked out of the bushes and stepped near the water. when she looked down, she realized that the moon had been out in all its glory. it shined in the water below, and when svet looked up, she smiled and clasped her hands together. "thank you for protecting me..." she nodded to the moon before taking a moment to process the beauty of this moon in particular. she knew all too well that there was no way the actual moon was here.

however, it wouldnt be the first time that someone accused her of praying to a false god.

"im sure you will make the next day just as calm as today was for me." she said to the moon, paying more attention to the vibrant light emitted than what was going on around her. she looked down to see that someone had been near her. she raised her head to meet there gaze, and thats when she realized that it was calamity staring at her. she smiled, someone else who believed in higher deities, just like her. "its good to see you." she had known her own weapon was close by, but if she was going to be attacked right here, it would have happened by now.

"karl tells me that you believe in something too." she looked up to the moon, the wind picking up and throwing her hair from side to side. "i can feel it yknow?"

she can feel everything.

[gamemaker kelsier]

C A L A M I T Y  G R A C E

You kneel there on the banks of the stream, eyes shut against the dark, fingers in the water, time slipping through you like a hundred different songs. Your brow is furrowed in concentration as your listen intently to the water's burble. "Yes," you whisper gently, "I know."

The earth still tells you stories of the pain it saw today, you hear it through The Mother's voice in your head. Songs sung like legends of battles long past only it was mere hours, not years. You sat there and watched Yael grimacing at the fire, pretending not to be in pain. You had to hold your own hands down in your lap to keep from meddling.

She doesn't want your help, she looks at you like the rest of your District has always looked at you and yours. She looks at you with th eyes of a non-believer and she sees a freak.

But that's okay, it's what you are.

The Mother's messenger bobs above you in the dark, bubbling gently down at its reflection in the stream. It is ethereal, what some less practiced might call an Angel.

You know better.

A rock clatters in the stream and you feel it in the change of it's rhythm, of it's flow. There is an intruder. Your eyes flick open, capturing the vision of Svetlana Forrester to the left of you, downstream. She stands there, looking like a picture against the backdrop of the moon. You stay still, tensing, eyes searching for Karl in the dark, he was there with you awhile ago, when the messengers first appeared.

If he's still here, he's hiding.

"Do not talk to me of your false gods, Forrester," you answer, not unkindly. You know what the unlearned do not though, false gods are just The Crone whispering her lies. Those who follow a false idol are only fools who've fallen for The Mother's trap.

In some ways, you pity her.

"I've only preached The Mother's word since we all arrived in this pocket of time," you explain patiently, "It's no secret that I am a follower."

You pull your hands from the stream, inspecting the tips of your fingers, gone pink from the cold. You flex your hands slowly and then look back towards her.

"It's not too late to denounce your beliefs," you offer, "it's not too late to embrace The Mother's light."

[ryan]

the air is slightly colder then it would be in seven right now, and svet is feeling right at home. the sound of the water is soothing, and the moonlight is something that she continues to bathe in. its glistening light outstretched just enough for svet to feel like she is swaddled in its beauty.

she isnt going to sit here and claim that she knew what it was like to feel the real moons energy, but she did have faith that it would give all the answers that she needed to hear.

calamity on the other hand has changed her tone, but svet does not flinch. she knew that there was something off about this conversation, but she was not one to sit here and claim that she knew it all. in fact, it was quite the opposite.

she had so much to learn.

"just because you dont believe in my gods do not mean that they are false calamity." she said softly, no malice in her delivery. she is simply stating what she knew of the world. she is in reverence of the moon, looking down at its reflection in the water. all of it, is just so mystical and magical, but she does not share any more words right away.

"i dont know why ive never heard you speak on your own god." svet was very focused at learning everything she could in the training center, which was probably why she didnt listen to every thing a tribute had said. "we follow different paths, but neither of them will lead to our doom." svet said more as a prayer to the moon then a response to calamity. it is clear that they feel deeply about all of this.

but so does svetlana, and in that, they are one in the same.

just two sides of a different coin.

"my beliefs are what ground me here, the moon sheds its light and wisdom on me after all." she smiles for a moment before looking up at calamity. "i can tell the mother grants you the same amount of wisdom and compassion." svet smirked for a moment before pushing hair out of her face.

"they both can exist here after all."

[gamemaker kelsier]

C A L A M I T Y  G R A C E

Perhaps it is too late for Svetlana.

You watch her, eyes shining in the dark from the refraction of the moon's light on the stream's surface. She speaks of the existence of more than one belief system and you cannot help but thing about the fathers who would come to your commune from the churches built into the district. Integrated, beloved by its people, preaching lies to the sheep within the District proper while you and yours stood outside of all of it, knowing the truth.

Oh Mother, you pity her for her foolishness.

There's only so much you can do for little girls like Svetlana though, there's only so much coaxing before the final step has to be taken. If you want to survive this place, you will need to purify it. Tonight, you could start with her. You shift the littlest bit on your perch, the blade on your back so light and so heavy all at once.

"Your false gods would strike you down for saying that if they existed," you answer her, fingers dipping back into the stream instead, "No true god would want attention divided."

Despite everything that you appear to be, you are a reasonable person. Born in the commune, the words of the The Mother were woven into your very being as you were being made. There is no truth that exists but hers, this is something you will always know, something concrete.

"You lack conviction," you say softly, "And you will be cast aside."