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| Lost Heritage | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Oct 1 2013, 10:56 PM (26 Views) | |
| Sonic | Oct 1 2013, 10:56 PM Post #1 |
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Played by Fallyn
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Posted by: Imperator Ix Feb 15 2011, 07:47 PM Imperator Ix sighed, and looked at the reports on his table. The albino echidna was, surprisingly, sitting on a normal chair, in his private quarters aboard Nocturnus. There was still no success in submitting Zoah and Kron to under his rule. Both races were to adamant to give up, and if they would continue their pointless fight, if would just lead to nocturnians wiping out both species. And that would be a shame, since both species would be powerful allies to have. As it usually was, brute force would not probably work against these. When he would finally manage to open the portal between zones, Ix wanted to have an unstoppable army. If he would have all four races of Twilight Cage under his command, conquering Mobius would be child's play. The albino echidna could follow what happened on the planet with Nocturnus's powerful scanners, and it did not seem likely, that anything could oppose him. But that would only be possible, if he could conquer this hell dimension first. With a sigh, the white echidna rose up from the table, and started walking in a small circle in the middle of his room, deep in thought. Sometimes, he almost felt like giving up. He was so tired. The process that gave the albino echidna his unnaturally long life, only halted his aging, but did not reverse it. And being fifty years old for four centuries could be bit tiring to the mind. Ix did not even try to have a close relationships with any of his crew, since he had probably known their grandparents too, and would know their grand-children. Good thing about it was, that everyone aboard Nocturne had been told their whole life, that Ix was their leader, and these days, Imperator had almost complete control over all of them. But that did not take the sadness away. Ix had seen countless faces go to the grave, starting from his wife, all the way with everyone he had ever known during these centuries. It was almost too much only to live in this ship, where only he was the one unchanged by passage of time, and everyone else were born, lived, and then died in this ship. Process could not be duplicated either, it only worked on Ix's particular DNA line, which was unusual from most echidnas. One side effect of it was his white fur, and an another was his eyes, that were more like small pools of light. Ix still remembered it all, after all these centuries. It had been an old belief, that white echidnas were harbingers of bad luck, and in ancient times, all babies with a white fur had been killed right after their birth to prevent catastrophes they would supposedly bring. Life had not been easy for an young Ix. And on second thought, it was not easy even now. The old echidna stopped in front of an old painting on the wall, and looked at the echidna with a dark red fur, and a small chest fur, holding a staff. "Brother, would you had thought, that we would end up like this? You almost destroying the world with Master Emerald that I built, and I ending up in this hell, forced to live on and endure, so our people might see sunlight once again. We just wanted to have an eternal peace, when did it go all so wrong?" It was an useless question, since Ix could remember many instances, when he could have turned back from his path, and things would have ended differently. One event in particular came to his mind... "You will lose Ix, you have to know that. This war of yours, will only cause misery to you and everyone who follow you in the end." The tall and graceful hedgehog, with a fur colour of sky blue, just shook her head sadly, at the young white echidna in front of her. "How can you say that?! Those things rule over us! They play games with us! You yourself destroyed one of them, who had grown bored of this game, that they call Mobius! I just want us being able to shape our own destiny. You are The Hero of Mobius, why of all people, you can't see that?" The white echidna was was almost shouting to the sky blue hedgehog with the emerald green eyes, which had captivated minds of almost any male she had ever met. She just shook her head again, those beautiful eyes having a sad expression in them, and continued: "I did what I had to. And I am not The Hero anymore. What you try to do, will destroy the world. Even if you don't use the power of Master Emerald in a way that it should not be, someone else will." The blue hedgehog just turned around and started walking away, gold rings moving against each other in her quills. Ix could barely hold back his anger, and then shouted: "Then I will make sure I will be always there to see that Master Emerald is not used with evil intentions! I will make a better world, one that does not need Hero to save it! The sky blue hedgehog stopped for moment, and then said in a silent voice: "And if you manage to do that Ix, then I will the one who will thank you most. But I doubt it will happen, if you won't, then someone else will be tempted by the power Master Emerald has." Ix thought for moment, and then just turned around, and started to walk away too. He would show her! He would show each and every one of them! He would make a world, which would not need Hero to save it! Which would not have primordials who played with it when they pleased! He would make it happen, and nothing would stop him, then she would see that Ix was right! When no one would anymore have to do what she did, and lose what she had lost! Ix looked at the old painting, that also had a sky blue hedgehog in it, standing behind the family of echidnas, with an another hedgehog standing besides her. She had been right all that time. And world could be now so different, if he would have listened her back then. "I admit it, Velocity. Master Emerald was a terrible mistake. You were right. I still sincerely hope you were reunited with your husband again, in whatever afterlife you went. Maybe The Hero of this era will understand what I am trying to do, or will at least give me as good advice as you did. Maybe I am even an enough wise to follow it." Ix shook his head, trying to get rid of this sulken mood he sometimes went when he thought about the past. There was no sense to remain in the past, he had to think of the future, and the future of his people. The albino echidna sighed again, this time more deeply. It would be so easy to just stop the process, and let himself die. But he could not do that. He would have to go on, for his people. Otherwise everything he had done, would mean nothing in the end. A sudden signal voice awakened Ix from his ponderings, and the old echidna turned around. Someone was on the door, wanting to speak with him. This was odd. No one was permitted to interrupt him, when he was in his private quarters. The old echidna calmly walked behind his table, regained his composure, turned his expression into a firm stare that he normally had on his face all the time. Only after all this time, Imperator pressed a button in his scepter, that opened the door. A nervous echidna stepped in, carrying a something wrapped in a blanket. From the marks of his uniform, Ix could already see that he was from the east sector of Nocturnus, one who was responsible of keeping order in that part of ship. Ix was quite sure he even remembered this one. Altair? Or was that his father? Or grandfather? Imperator had to admit, that after a century or two, faces of people around him turned into a blur. Only now Ix actually paid attention to the wrapped piece of cloth that the echidna was carrying. A second more, and the albino echidna blinked in surprise. "Officer, why are you carrying a baby, and why are you carrying it in my private quarters?" The nervous echidna came to Ix, carefully placed the baby echidna to the table. Ix noted curiously, that it had a little more light fur color than echidnas usually did. But then the echidna officer started explaining, and Ix's eyes widened in surprise. After the officer had left, Ix could not do much else than look at the young baby, who had somehow managed to fall asleep during the time two echidnas had talked. The light blue pools of light looked at the very young echidna girl, and then made a quick summary of what they hard heard, so Ix could understand it little better. Ix had an one child, when he had first arrived to Nocturnus. That child had in time, married a beautiful female echidna. Ix had been in their wedding, first ever to be kept in aboard the Nocturnus. It had been one of happiest days of his live. Ix had never been one who believed in priviledges that came with a blood you had in your veins, and as such, even his son had worked hard, starting from bottom of hierarchy in the ship. Ix had kept the same tradition with generations that came after. Even if your father was the top officer of some sector, you had to start from a normal foot soldier. In time, It had become too sad to watch how generation after generation of his children died because of an old age, and continued his bloodline. In time, Ix had taken distance to them, just leaving them to be an one family line with others. For last two or three generations, Ix had not really paid much attention to them. And now this had happened. Engineers said it had been an accident. Both of them had died instantly in the explosion, like many others who had been near. And somehow, this child had been found crying under one set of pipes, her mother maybe having placed her there to protect her from the explosion. Ix realized, that in that one instant, this little sleeping girl had turned to be his only remaining family. Ix put his hand on his forehead, trying to figure out what he should do now. The old echidna crouched down a little, to look at the sleeping baby on her table more carefully, for the first time in centuries, not sure how he should react. There was always a possibility, that it had not been accident. And that meant, that this little girl would be on someone's murder list soon, if she was not already. And she had no way to defend herself. Not in many years. Ix sighed, yet an another life ruined before it had even managed to start, probably only because it was related to him. There was of course an obvious solution. Ix could just do some arrangements, and make sure, that this girl, who her parents had named Shade, would have good foster parents, who would love her. In that way, she would be safe. Yes, that was what he would do. Ix would never reveal it to her, or to anyone else in that matter, it was not like the albino echidna deserved to have smiling children near of him anymore. He would never see her again, it would be safest that way. And just in that moment, Shade decided to wake up, seeing the blue light pools of light looking at her, and surprisingly, did not start to cry, and laughed instead happily, or at least something like that, she was only an young baby after all. Before Ix could even blink, she had grabbed one of Ix's dreadlocks hanging over her, and pulled it. The albino echidna was old, and she was strong for someone of her age. Ix had to tilt her head a little, and suddenly found, that he could not rise up again, without the baby rising up too along with his dreadlocks. Ix was very happy, that no one else was here to see this, and then tried to get her remove her grip, with no success. It seemed that Shade liked him, or his dreadlocks at least. With no other options left, the white echidna took her on his arms, and rose up. Much better, his back was not what it used to be. Suddenly Ix walked back to the painting he had looked before, still holding the young baby in his arms. The old echidna looked at the painting for a long time, all those faces he had known, and who were now dead. Then he looked at the young echidna in his arms, who had know grabbed yet another dreadlock with her an another arm, and now pulling both of them, giggling happily. And suddenly Ix made a decision. It was selfish, and most of all, she could hate her because of it in the future. But somehow, the old echidna could not give away the only family she had left. Not anymore. "Pachacamac, Velocity. I have made many, many mistakes. I'm probably going to commit yet an another one, one that could ruin a life of yet another innocent soul. Only because I have grown weak, and old, very old. Only because I still don't have enough will to do the right thing. What should I do?" Finally, Ix's eyes turned to look at the female echidna was was standing next to the young Ix, and holding his hand. "Joyanca, what do you think? This child is in sense, our child, even though there are generations and generations of our children between us. If you would see me now, after all this time, would you accept this? Would you think it would be wise? Could you agree with me? I would so much hope you could be here with me." Ix stood there for a long moment, and then just sighed. Of course they would not answer to him. They had all been dead for years, and Velocity would have probably just kicked him in the head if she would know what everything he had done after her time. He was alone, there was no one left. And there was a good chance, that they all would be doomed to stay in this ship forever, until it would finally reach it's limit, and not being able to support them. There was really not any hope left. Shade pulled again strongly at the dreadlock in her arms, like she was annoyed at the lack of attention Ix was giving to her. The old echidna looked at her, and then smiled a little. Well, maybe he would not be so alone after all. Maybe there would be someone, who he could let to lead his people, and finally give himself right to rest. Ix turned around, not paying any attention to the young girl, who now tried to reach one of gold rings in his dreadlocks, and started walking again, back to his table. There was many things he would have to do now. Shade would have to learn things the hard way, like everyone else had in this ship before her. She could not have special rights because of her heritage, otherwise she would just become spoiled. But for the first time in a long time, Ix realized he had some energy in his limbs, and his mind was more clear that it had been in many years. It felt...nice to have someone else than himself to care about again. And there Shade was, starting to fall asleep again. Not knowing, that destiny had placed her in an important position. Not knowing how many fights she would have to go through, some of them against those who she would come think as her friends or family. Not knowing just how grand impact she would have to the future of her people Not knowing of a choice she would have to make, which would affect the whole world, not just her people. You did not need to be The Hero, to be a hero... Posted by: Shade Nocturnus Feb 25 2011, 06:57 AM ... five chronological years later... “Excellent form, youngling,” came the elderly female’s raspy comment. The child, whom she was instructing, stood firm with her knees well apart and her body slightly bent. She held her tiny fist turned upward and tight against her face, and the other farther out in front. Another child stood no more than ten feet in before her. He was nervous. She could tell just by the way his eyes glanced around; like a cornered rodent desparetly seeking the quickest way to escape. His fear scent wafted out of his short fur in waves. “Vilmos, widen your stance.” She grinned as the seemingly disembodied voice corrected the shivering male in front of her. Vilmos was three years the child’s senior, but already the young girl’s skills of combat were edging beyond his level. She watched as the opposite child attempted to correct his mistake, and he fell into a more combat ready position. “Begin!” Before Vilmos could think to move, the tiny female was hurtling toward him like a little echidna torpedo. Dreadlock-styled spines twirled in a flash of salmon and grey; more akin to some strange pinwheel. Her first target was the male’s head. As he turned his neck, and brought up his arm to block the blow, she moved with the counterattack and thrust an elbow hard into the now exposed armpit. Instead of striking back, the boy dropped to the mat; wheezing and doing his best (and failing at it) not to cry. The girl came out of her half-flip, and was in the process of setting herself up for another spring. But Vilmos continued to sob where he lay crumpled on the floor. “Come on, Vilmo…” she called down; standing up out of a crouch and folding her arms in front of her chest. “ you’re boring me…” “Shade,” came the elderly echidna’s voice as the woman finally emerged from the shadows out the far corner of the room. The little girl only gave her a cursory glance. “But Nor-Lien…” she tried not to whine, “He’s not even trying.” “That is enough.” Shade scowled, “Yes, Instructor.” Nor-Lien stepped forward and leaned down to pull the unfortunate boy up by his elbow. “When will you learn…” she began to chide the older student, and then guided him through the motions of the proper maneuver. Half an hour later, both children were covered in bruises; Vilmos considerably more spotted with them than Shade was, and allowed to retreat back to their dormitories for the PM hours. The boy scurried out as fast as his legs would carry him. But the girl lingered; determined to correct a maneuver she had failed to perform correctly. As she practiced, a hooded echidna slipped into the Melee room. It paused and briefly glanced with nervousness before making its way to Instructor Nor-Lien’s side. From the corner of her eye, Shade watched the two whisper their conversation. Naturally, the girl was curious. Other than the Instructors, Nor-Lien and the old, wizened male; Sharku, adult echidnas where rarely seen by the children who dwelled on the nursery deck. By his musky scent alone, Shade could tell this echidna was male, and from what she could see of the bridge of his nose, his fur must have been predominately brownish-red. She inched closer to listen. Though his face was to Nor-Lien, the girl had the uncanny sense that he was watching her. The strange echidna was looking for someone. Someone “important” from what Shade could understand of the jest of the conversation. If that someone was so important, Shade wondered, why would he be looking for them down here? When he finally turned to leave, the darkness under his hood seemed to fill the entire room. A crimson light flared on one side, and the beam focused itself right into Shade’s startled face. The child couldn’t help but tumble backwards onto the mat in a moment of terror. She was still staring after him, long after he left, and it took several heartbeats and pain-filled vice grip on her elbow to realize that Instructor Nor-Lien was saying her name. “Who was that?” she asked as she was forcibly hauled onto her feet. “Never you mind,” came the woman’s raspy voice. “You will learn soon enough. Now get you to your dorm. I told both of you to go… off with you!” “But, Nor…” “Go! That is an order. I will come for you after you are bathed.” “Why? Ow— ! ” Nor-Lien gave Shade a swift swat on the rear and pointed to the door that would take the girl down the females’ wing of the nursery deck. The young echidna trudged off to do as she was told. In the sonic-shower she concentrated more of her efforts on trying to get the thing to play a song she’d made up rather than running it at the proper frequencies to cleanse her body. Afterward, warm and dressed only in a terry-cloth robe, Shade crawled up into her sleep alcove to ponder and wait. (( lame post is lame... sorry for the wait. infydead.gif )) Posted by: Imperator Ix Feb 25 2011, 04:16 PM Hour or two later, in the "night" of the ship's inner time, an another echidna walked towards the quarter where children of this disctrict were. He was wearing a simple robe, and leaning to a cane, that seemed to be made of a yellow metal or some sort, and had some intricate carvings on it. The old echidna walked in, right past the two guardian gizoids who stood in the hallway. Even though there was not much danger inside the colossal ship, nocturnian echidnas had learned to be very careful during their long visit in this hellish zone. And they had enemies here, some of their own kin. Two gizoids looked at the incoming figure, scanned him, and then granted him a permission, standing down back to their posts. When soft steps had disappared behind them, both guards also erased this visit from their memory. The one who had passed them, had designed this system himself, and had an absolute permission to do anything and go anywhere. The old echidna arrived to the training hall, and walked to the table where Nor-Lien sat most of her time, writing reports and analyzes about her students. It was important to know from an early age, where children would fit in. Some made poor soldiers, but good scientists, and other way around. The old echidna walked to the table, and opened the datapad. The light blue pools of light searched for the list of students for some time, and then gazed at a certain profile, reading it carefully. It would have been easier to just get this information to his command center without coming here himself, but that would have let traces. Not enough safe. The face of the old echidna went into a mild smile when reading the report of Shade, as any father would be, when got the knowledge, that his child was top of the class, even if she did not know it. Results were never revealed to children, would just cause pointless fights and competitions. In here, you did not try to be better than anyone else, you did your own part towards the greater good. After a while, a white finger pressed a button, and closed the datapad, also removing any traces that it had been opened in the first place. No need to raice suspicion. The the old echidna started to walk towards the small rooms that children had. They had all been taught to sleep alone in enclosed space from the young, so they could do it for the rest of their lives, and increace their resistance to mental hardship. Everything in nocturnian society was designed to shape it's residents into strong, determined individuals, who could be useful to the ship. The white echidna stopped in front of an one particular door, took a deep breath, and then pressed a button in a console on the wall. If there would be any luck, she would not have yet fallen asleep. The old echidna would not have wanted to do this for a some time yet, but now he had to. The door opened, the old echidna stepped in, and then it closed behind him. The old echidna crouched a little to fit in the small room, and then looked around himself, fairly sure Shade would not try to hit him with something. Ix just hoped, that the young girl would not find her scary or frightening. But then again, if Shade was even half as sharp as reports from her teacher told she was, she would probably be able to react with this, and would not panic. Posted by: Shade Nocturnus Feb 25 2011, 08:44 PM (( Gosh darn it I hate this computer! It just erased my whole darn reply! *spazzes* Oy~ This may not be as good as it originally was... -_- )) Shade sighed and closed her eyes. Being only five years old, the incident of the strange echidna quickly became nothing more than a fleeting memory. Instead her tiny little mind reflect on the day, and what kinds of things tomorrow would bring. Tomorrow, Instructor Sharku was going to show her and a handful of other students her age, how to construct a simple robot. Nothing as extravagant as a gizoid of course, but a tiny robot that would be able to walk and blink its little lights and perform tasks as simple as retrieving a fallen writing utensil was as close to being able to have a ‘toy’ as she would ever get. A sound of light-falling footsteps approached her alcove, and Shade sat up. She briefly wondered who could possibly be silly enough to be sneaking around after curfew. Any moment now, Instructor Nor-Lien’s voice would be screaming down the hall. The interloper would with a doubt be sentenced to cleaning lavatories tomorrow instead of attending Instructor Sharku’s class. Shade laid her head back down on her pillow to listen, but Nor-Lien’s rasping bark never came. The tiny echidna rolled over an clutched her coverings close to her face and attempted to go back to sleep. The approaching footsteps, as quiet as they were, no stopped on the other side of her door. Shade’s eyes snapped back open as her door hissed aside to let the person who had approached them inside. Surprised, she sat up and for a heartbeat or two, could only stare at the strange echidna who glanced curiously around the small room. A brief sniff told Shade that this hunched figure was definitely male; his musky scent was old and well established. The child was confused for a moment; why would Instructor Sharku be in the girls’ dorms… especially at night? Nor-Lien would be more than a little upset to learn of his trespassing. Perhaps he’d come to speak with her about the way she’d defeat Vilmos earlier that evening? Was he angry for it? Surely not. She’d won that sparing fair and square. Maybe he was lost, and had accidentally stumbled into the wrong living quarters. That was equally absurd. Her tiny brain processed all of those thoughts in a matter of seconds. But it was a sudden image of the strange male in the Melee room and his flaring light that sprang up in the Shade’s mind that gave her cause for alarm. With a frightened cry, the girl jumped upright to back-pedal on her mattress towards the wall. In almost the same movement, she’d punched up her pillow and gave it a spiraling kick to send it flying at the intruder as hard as she could. While the pillow was flying through the air, Shade dove to hide under her bed and yelled for help. It was scant protection of course. The bed could be easily refolded up into its storage position against the wall. But the child had little more thought to give to that. All she knew was that there was a hunched stranger in her room, standing between herself and the door to safety. To her horror, the figure calmly resealed the door and turned to face her. Posted by: Imperator Ix Feb 25 2011, 09:28 PM Ix would have sighed, if a pillow on his face would not have made taking a deep breath required a bit difficult. Well, it seemed this would become little more difficult that he had imagined. But it could not be helped, someone had been doing searches in the central database, looking for Shade. It was too early for him to step in the young girl's life, but he would have to do at least this much. The old echidna calmly sat down, to the same position like all the teachers did when starting a lecture in the ship as was traditional, and then slowly put his cane on the floor, and after left his hands on the open, to show that he did not have anything threatening in them. After all this, the white echidna took the pilllow from the ground, and then threw it just outside the bed, before saying: "My name is Pir'Oth, I mean no harm, I just have something I want to talk with you, Shade. You can stay under that bed if you want to, I'm not going to drag you out of there. But I'm not going to talk either, unless you come here and look at me while I do so. You teacher has taught you to be polite and listen what adults say to you, right? Don't think that same does not apply now, even if this is not a lesson hour." Ix spoke in a calm and but also a stern voice, fully using the same tone that all teachers did in everywhere, when they had to speak to a stubborn student, who had not yet done nothing wrong to deserve to be yelled at. The old echidna also made clear with his tone, that he really was ready to sit here all night, if Shade did not come out earlier. The old echidna did smile at the end of his speech, and then added: "Oh, and a very nice jump-kick by the way, you teacher would be proud of it. Not many of your age could do it. Are you now going to come and listen what I have to say, or are you going to stay there?" Posted by: Shade Nocturnus Feb 25 2011, 10:21 PM When Shade swallowed to take a breath between yells her pillow plopped on the floor within an arm's reach from under the bed. The girl snatched it, and cuddled behind it as she hollered for Nor-Lien to come save her. It soon became obvious though that no one was coming, and Shade silenced herself to better listen for the strange male's movement. It took a few heartbeats for her to realize the other echidna was speaking to her. His voice was oddly familiar, though she could've sworn she'd never heard it before. This Pir'Oth, or whomever he said he was, clearly wasn't going to go away. Cautiously, Shade inched forward and poked her muzzle out from under her bed. Her sense of smell did not lie to her, he was old; he was also dressed simply in a robe, a golden staff set causally on the floor at his side... it was a rather pretty stick and curiosity overrode caution. She wanted to touch it, though could not fathom a reason why. The old man settled himself on the floor, the carpeting suddenly almost seemed like a throne. The echidna's most striking feature however... was that his fur color was parchment white instead of the usual red tones. It was too different to be frightening, and she almost asked him about it. But when he reprimanded her on her behavior, Shade could only bow her head and comply to his wishes. Quietly, Shade pulled herself the rest of the way from beneath the bed and mirrored the elderly echidna's posture on the floor. His comment about her brief performance made her look up. "Are you a new Instructor?" |
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| Sonic | Oct 1 2013, 10:56 PM Post #2 |
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Played by Fallyn
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Posted by: Imperator Ix Feb 25 2011, 10:54 PM Ix would have smiled a little more if he would have dared to, when she saw how the young girl's eyes turned toward his scepter. Still attracted to golden, or rather, shiny objects? The old echidna would have laughed aloud, but did not want to startle the young child any more than he had already. The old echidna did nod approvingly, when Shade came out, and then sat on the floor. It probably helped her to cope with the situation, to think that this was a lesson like many others, just special one, and just for her. "No, child, I'm not an Instructor. I used to be, a very long time ago, but have these days left the teaching to younger people, who still have enough energy to do it. But I know talent, when I see it." The old echidna was silent for moment, looking carefully at Shade, and then finally nodding a little again, like the young echidna had passed an another test just by being there as herself. "Shade, I am going to tell you many things now. They are difficult things, and you might not understand them all now. But I want you to remember them all very well, because when you get older, they will make more sense. They are also scary, but I want you to be a brave girl, and listen them anyway. Can you do that?" Ix was silent for moment, waiting for Shade to show her approval in some way, and then after hesitating for a few seconds, continued: "Tell me, child....what do you know of you parents?" Posted by: Shade Nocturnus Feb 28 2011, 07:30 AM "No, child, she heard the elderly echidna began to say. I'm not an Instructor. I used to be, a very long time ago, but have these days left the teaching to younger people, who still have enough energy to do it. But I know talent, when I see it." Shade forced herself to sit still. She could feel the ancient male's eyes studying her; sizing her up... all but daring her to disobey the proper customs by moving and showing disrespect. She knew full well the consequences, and had only once gone out of her way to deliberately breaking them. Once had been all it took. Some lessons a child never forgets no matter the age. Finally, the white echidna nodded and she breathed a sigh; forcing her body to relax. "Shade, I am going to tell you many things now... ....be a brave girl, and listen them anyway. Can you do that?" The girl blinked; stunned by this announcement. She wasn't really sure how she was supposed to react. Scary things? What could be scarier than a Zoah? Not much she decided. "Will I need my study tablet to write notes on?" She asked, thinking this was to be nothing more than extra lesson-work. But the man Pir'Oth continued on, "Tell me, child....what do you know of you parents?" Parents? "You mean like, Father and Mother?" She asked at loud. "I'm told that they are not able to care for me." She answered soon after. It was the truth, that was what Nor-Lien had told her. Shade simply thought that her parents were too busy somewhere on the ship to devote any time to come see her. She was not the only child on the Nocturnus to have not seen or even been granted a whiff of her parents' scent. Sometimes though, parents did visit... even if for only a few hours. Shade used to wonder what it'd be like to have a parent call her by name or even grace her with even the quickest of embraces. But not anymore. It was not to be, she was often told... And long ago had quit searching and waiting for them. At least, as she understood it. " I suppose," she began to say again, " They don't want to see me. I understand. They have... more important duties. The Nocturnus needs them more than I do. They left me here so I can learn to take care of it too, someday." Posted by: Imperator Ix Feb 28 2011, 10:16 AM It hurt the old echidna to listen Shade's words, because it was a rather cruel deception to be done to an young child. But it had probably been the only way. And it hurt Ix even more, that he would have to be even more cruel to Shade, and tell her how things were, for her own safety. "Yes, that is how it works with most of children here in our ship. However, that is not true in your case. The reason why you have never seen your parents, is that they are dead, killed by an explosion, when one of the power generators overheated. You were with them back then, but by some miracle, you survived." Ix turned to look at the floor between them, sadness clear in her voice, partly because of that event, and partly because the old echidna could not even imagine how the young girl would react to this. Shade had never seen her parents, so maybe this would not be a such a shock, but then again, this knowledge did make the young girl see, just how alone she was and would be. The white echidna continued after a moment of silence, not anymore having a such stern tone in his voice: "As sad it is, sometimes accidents happen, and people die. However, the death of your parents was not an accident. That is why I am here." Posted by: Shade Nocturnus Feb 28 2011, 07:34 PM “…the reason why you have never seen your parents, is that they are dead, killed by an explosion… The air in Shade’s lungs, suddenly froze tight in her chest. Mother and Father were… dead?! The thought had never occurred to her that those who should’ve loved her and cherished her beyond all else, would have been absent not because she was an inconvenience… but because they were no longer alive. Though she’d long since stopped waiting for them to come, she’d hoped that when she was grown, perhaps she could make it a point herself to go and see them. The fantasy was gone now. Breathed away like a misty vapor at the old echidna’s matter-of-fact words. When an Instructor divulged information, it was absolute. Every child in the nursery wing knew this. Suddenly, Shade wasn’t so curious about this mysterious, pale-furred male. She just wanted him to go away and never come back. Every nerve of her little body wanted to spring up from the floor and dive head first under her bed once again. But training and discipline demanded that Shade remain seated to further hear out the rest of what this old Instructor had to say. The girl bit her bottom lip between her teeth and forced herself to calm down and breath slowly so that she wouldn’t cry in front of him. Crying was pointless anyway. There were lots of other children here who would never see their parents. What difference did it make that she be added to the numbers? They would all grow up through the same school, be taught by the same Instructors, and eventually leave to perform the same jobs. It was to ensure the Nocturnus continued survival… or so she was told. But the idea that it was her parents that were dead, and not someone elses; did not make the harsh lesson any easier to learn. Shade looked away from the elder echidna as much as she dared so he wouldn’t see the stray tear that traveled down the length of her muzzle and dropped silently off her nose. “As sad it is, sometimes accidents happen, and people die. Pir’Oth continued to say not unkindly, “However, the death of your parents was not an accident…” Shade blinked and turned her fuchsia toned gaze back to her elder; her spines stiffened on her head. Somebody on the ship purposely hurt her parents… killed them even? Why?! Why would someone want to hurt them? Had they done something wrong to endanger the Nocturnus? Did they disobey an order and were punished? She wasn’t quite sure what an ‘explosion’ was… but the word itself sounded terrible. “That is why I am here…” To this, a paralyzing fear gripped the girl’s insides like ice. Was this “Pir’Oth” person the one who did it?! Adrenaline forced her heart to hammer a hole through the cold grip of terror, and her breath came more quickly through her nose. Abandoning discipline, and now acting solely on the unconscious instinct to live, Shade rose to her feet. This stranger was between herself, and the door he had sealed. He didn’t mean for her to escape! He said it was a miracle that she’s survived this… explosion. Did he mean to finish whatever he’d started? Looking back on the event, she’d have realized it was pointless as she was no where near the match of her opponent; no matter how old and ancient he was. But in here and now, the tiny soldier-in-training could do the only thing she felt she could and crouched into a battle stance. Tears were running freely now, not tears of loss… for really, how could she feel lost towards people she’d never really known… but tears of fear. No one was going to save her… this time. Posted by: Imperator Ix Feb 28 2011, 08:22 PM Only now, still looking at the ground, Ix noticed how the young echidna's shadow suddenly shifted, and rose up to se her in full attack position, tearful. The old echidna blinked for once in a honest surprise, and then his eyes widened, realizing only now how his words could be taken as. Seeing Shade's face like that, was almost too much for the old echidna, but then Ix continued, begging with his stare for the young echidna to listen before jumping to conclusions. "Please think before you act, if I would want to hurt you, why would I had talked to you in the first place? I have no intention to do you any harm." The old echidna put his hand on his forehead, concentrated a little, and then lowered his hand. Now the light blue light in his eyes had dimmed somewhat, allowing him to have a little more facial expression: "It is true, somewhere on this ship, there are bad people, who wanted to kill you and your family. It was not because they had done something wrong, your parents were best people our ship had ever seen." Ix took a deep breath, trying to reogranize his thoughts. Why Ix could speak without stuttering to a colony of mind reading aliens, but with this little girl, he had trouble to find the right words? "By miracle, I meant exactly that! When I heard about the explosion, I was heartbroken! Then when I heard that you were still alive, that was the only glimmer of light I could see in that day. I could not find people responsible of it, no matter how much I looked..." At this point, there was a hint of emotion in the old echidna's voice. It was anger, raw and pure, but carefully hidden behind the pleasant tone, and you could feel from it, that only mentioning about those "bad people" he could not find, made the old echidna furious, because he had failed in finding them. "That is why I sent you here. I changed the data in the archives, and arranged that you were moved in here from the sector you were born, and then hid your coming here. Since I could not find the people who were after you, I had to hide you, to make sure they could not find you, before I could find them first, and make sure that they would not do anything ever again." Ix's frustration with the matter became even more clear in the old echidna's voice, and his last words and their tone did not really leave much interpretation on what the white echidna would do, when he would find people responsible of the explosion. Posted by: Shade Nocturnus Mar 12 2011, 06:07 AM As the old echidna rebuked her, and he began explaining himself, Shade slowly began to let her guard down. It was obvious from the passionate anger in his voice, this stranger truly did know who Shade’s parents were. She was torn between several conflicting emotions then; one of them an unexplainable desire for vengeance. When Pir’Oth began his tale of secretly moving Shade throughout the ship, the girl began to finally understand why this man had arrived unannounced tonight. The ‘bad people’ were looking for her again. Though she took some comfort in the fact that this elder was here now to make sure she wasn’t found, the tone in his voice was terrifying. If she ever stepped out of line, would she suffer the same fate as her unknown enemy? Suddenly, Shade decided she didn’t want to find out! She immediately dropped back onto her knees to sit before the old echidna, as he had so repeatedly requested in the last twenty minutes. “Instructor Pir’Oth, I am sorry to dishonor you so,“ the girl mumbled towards the carpeting. The idea of bad people sneaking into her room and silencing her forever suddenly became a question of… why? Why did whomever it was who had murdered her parents, want to hurt her too? She’d done nothing that she knew of to deserve such harsh injustice. “Instructor,” Shade decided to voice the question aloud, “Why are the bad people looking for—” The young echidna cut herself silent when a sudden memory of that afternoon flashed behind her eyes. The image of a different male echidna, the one with the red eye… it was all she could remember of him, but it was enough to intimidate her. Should she say something about that strange encounter to this even stranger elder? She couldn’t dismiss the heat and promise of a painful death in the old man’s carefully chosen words. It couldn’t be a mere coincidence that two adult echidnas whom, Shade had never seen or heard of before to appear to her in the nursery wing on the same day. But if the first stranger was simply here looking for someone else and she mentioned his presence to this, Pir’Oth… would she unwittingly be condemning an innocent man? Posted by: Imperator Ix Mar 15 2011, 07:54 PM It was true. Ix had been, and still was rather annoyed by the fact, that someone could commit sabotage in his ship, and then get away with it. The old echidna knew every system and machine in the ship inside-out, and it was extremely frustrating, that someone could hide their actions from him. Imperator wondered had he maybe went little too far with the tone of his voice, as the young girl suddenly sat down and started listening almost like she was afraid, that Ix would hurt her too, if she would do something wrong. Well, at least she was now listening to him, it was an improvement. Ix listened Shade's question, and then blinked when the girl abruptly stopped. It was rather clear she had remembered something rather shocking, probably something that had something to do with this situation. "What it is, child? Do you remember something? Have you seen someone else besides me here who normally would not be here? Please be honest, for your own good. If something out of ordinary has happened, I would like to know it, even if it might not have anything to do with you. " The old echidna was now using a more pleaseant tone. That had just been an educated guess, but the reason why he had came here had been that someone had been hacking into the inner data archives lately, and again had managed to erase all tracks of his search, so Ix had decided to play safe and come here. This ship had many secrets, but right now the only one he cared about was this young girl. And if someone had managed to find something about her location in here, it was possible that they had also came to investigate it. Posted by: Shade Nocturnus Mar 16 2011, 05:07 AM Shade quickly realized that she hesitated in her memory for far too long. Pir’Oth caught on much too quickly for her to redirect her thoughts. She dared a glance up at him through her draping spines as the old male asked the reason for her sudden silence. The white echidna’s shining blue gaze was intense; as was his posture from his seat on the carpeting. Shade couldn’t help but wince before the Instructor’s tone returned to its more friendly and consoling approach. She didn’t want to answer. No matter how much this, wisely old man had assured her he was on her side, she couldn’t shake the fear brought on by the topic of murder and death. If she answered, someone else might die… someone who maybe didn’t do anything wrong. If she answered, maybe whomever it was who was searching for her might find out, and come to kill her before this Instructor Pir’Oth could stop him. Didn’t he just say that he had had some having difficulty hunting down this unknown enemy? Wasn’t he still struggling? Suddenly, she sorely ached for Instructor Nor-Lien to come. She’d know what to do… how to answer this pale stranger with the glowing eyes. But Nocturnus echidnas were supposed to be stronger than that… weren’t they? A new wave of emotions rushed over Shade then. More fear because she was afraid of answering the questions; shame for her fear and anger at dishonoring herself from her own shame. Anger quickly turned to indecision… She didn’t want to answer the question. But Pir’Oth would sit here until she answered him. Would he guess the truth if she simply didn’t say anything at all? Soundlessly the girl reached up to wipe her face dry with the back of her hand. Maybe he wouldn’t be so angry if he thought she couldn’t remember, and nobody would get hurt? Finally, the young echidna began to shake her head, ‘No’ to his inquiries. Hoping that he’d take the gesture as an, ‘I don’t know' or an 'I can't remember.' Posted by: Imperator Ix Mar 16 2011, 01:35 PM Ix was silent for a long time, light blue lights looking at the young girl, and then narrowing when the young echidna answered. The old echidna was about to say something again, then closed his mouth, pondered for moment, and opened it again to speak: "...Fine then, if you think it does not matter." With this, Ix wanted to make clear that he was not going to force her. The old echidna did realize, that Shade was hiding something, and for one reason or another did not want to tell about it, either because she was too scared, or because she was ashamed, as those emotions were clear on her face. But it did not really matter, Ix would just check the logs here when he left, if someone had come here personally or sent something unoriginal here. Ix could just always look it from the archives, and then send someone fitting to ask from people from here. He could just had pressured Shade to answer, but what he had told already, was probably enough for an one night. If the young girl would get some time to get used to these sudden revelations, she might be a bit more reasonable later on. But there was still the main reason why he had came here. The old echidn gave a long sigh, and then took something from his pocket, and then offered his hand towards the young echidna, opening his palm, and revealing a small ring on it. It was a rather pretty sight, made of gold or so it seemed, and having small runes carved on it's surface. It was one of those trinkets, that echidnas usually wore in their deadlocks. "I would like you to have this, and keep it with you at all times. I can't meet you like this very often, as they will be watching me, like they have probably watched me all this time to wait that I would somehow make a mistake and reveal your location to them. So instead I want you to have this. It will protect you." Posted by: Shade Nocturnus Mar 21 2011, 06:16 AM (( ooc: Sorry, it’s been one of those weeks where I just kinda wanted to sit ‘n talk instead of writing… ‘tis been a long week. O.o )) The stretch of silence that followed her chosen answer was almost maddening. Twice she almost broke her resolve and opened her mouth to spill her thoughts and inner turmoil to this imposing, yet patient strange male. And twice the instinct for self preservation held her captive and wordless as a statue there on the floor. “...fine then,” Shade winced when he finally spoke again. “…if you think it does not matter.” The girl shook her head with more conviction, and set her trailing spines to dancing around her face with the movement. She then bowed lower towards the carpeting. “No, Instructor Pir’Oth. It does not. I promise.” Silence stretched again between the two echidnas; one old, and the other much younger. Then the older breathed a sigh; one that sounded tired, weary, and maybe just a little sad, despite all the bold proclamations of heavy-handed justice that had been made just minutes before. Shade was more than a little confused by it all. When the male spoke again, his words were certainly unexpected, and even more confusing. “I would like you to have this…” Shade looked up to see Pir’Oth reaching towards her with an out-stretched palm. Her first instinct was to shy away, but not willing to dishonor herself any further by showing him more fear, she forced herself to sit up a little straighter and peer into his hand with feigned curiosity. The bluff became genuine when she got a good look at the object he held. It was… a ring. A small gold band, the outer surfaced engraved with markings she’d only seen in her history lessons. On the inside, a locking pin spanned the ring’s diameter; a typical design made to hold the ring in place on an echidna’s dreadlock-like spines. Shade had only seen them worn on her peers whom had parents that willingly claimed them… a family crest of sorts. She’d also seen them on the occasional adult who was bound for life to another… such as Instructor Nor-Lien once was. Did this Pir’Oth mean to claim her as his own? Her eyes widened at the thought, and her mouth suddenly went dry. “It’s pretty…” Shade managed to whisper in awe. And indeed the ring seemed take on a shine of its own in her dimly light alcove. As the older echidna explained why he was passing her the curious piece of jewelry, the girl reached to take it from him before she could consider the wisdom of her actions. A smile, the first to cross her features since the beginning of the whole encounter began to tweak her young face. She turned the ring over and over again in her fingers, attempting to see if she could decipher the ruins etched on the surface. But alas she could understand nothing of the writing except as an intricate decoration. Shade’s smile quickly faded again when he spoke of the charm as a kind of ward. She looked up suddenly to look square into the male‘s eyes. “Protect me?” The memory of the red-eyed stranger flickered again across her mind. “How?” Posted by: Imperator Ix Mar 21 2011, 11:11 AM //Oc: no worries, I was a bit busy last week myself.\\ Ix could not stop a small smile coming to his lips when the young echidna curiously looked at the ring, studying it from all angles, before quickly taking it from the old echidna's fingers, smile coming to her face. Yes, it seemed that Shade certainly liked shiny objects. When the young girl asked questions, the old echidna quickly answered: "Look at the runes. Can you see the third one on it's inner surface? The one that looks like a diamond with five edges? If you ever find yourself in a hopeless situation where no one can help you, one where your life is in danger, and where those bad people are after you, simply press that rune with your finger. It will make sure that no one can harm you for some time, and will also send me a message. As long as you have that ring, I can find you and come to help." That ring was also a family crest, although anyone looking at it would not get much help out of it. Those runes were old language, the original writing of echidnas of the old. Oldest heritages had their crests written in that language, even if almost no one could read them anymore. When other adults echidnas would look at that ring, it would only tell them that Shade belonged to an old family, but they could not know nothing else. It was not terribly uncommon, sometimes families gave their children away and only gave a small token to them, so they would know that they were of noble heritage. "That ring belonged to your parents, so I think you should have it. No one can read those runes anymore, so there is no danger of giving it to you now." And if the young girl had looked at his scepter as carefully as she had studied the ring, she would notice that same runes that were on her ring, were also on Ix's scepter. The old echidna was not sure how much he should tell to Shade at this time, but if she was enough perceptive to notice the similarities, and then enough bold to ask about them, Ix would not lie about the fact that they belonged to a same family. Posted by: Shade Nocturnus Mar 21 2011, 09:03 PM When Pir’Oth explained the ring, Shade turned it over to examine the one he spoke of. Indeed on the inner surface of the ring, there were three other carvings there; one of them etched in the likeness of a gemstone. She wondered exactly what kind of ‘protection’ the ring would provide her that enemies wouldn’t be able to harm her until help arrived should trouble come to find her. It must have some kind of magic inside, she decided. She traced her finger over the rune and indeed felt that the inside of the diamond design would depress if she applied more force to it. She longed to touch it, to see what exactly it would do. Magic, she decided, that should not be wasted of mere curiosity; especially since Pir’Oth’s instructions were to only do so if she was in danger. His next words only implemented her pervious thought. He did mean to claim her as his own! Or at least, he remembered her family, and in the only way he could, the old echidna sought to restore them to her. She was no longer just another bloodless echidna aboard the Nocturnus. In that moment, all thoughts of bad people and the growl of anger in his voice was for the time being, forgotten. All the little echidna could see in front of her was wizened old man who’d just given her a gift. Such things were few and far between if existent at all amongst the society as she knew it to be. And what better present than the honor of knowing that you belong, and having something shiny and beautiful to prove to others that it was so? Without really considering her actions, Shade was once again on her feet. But she didn’t stay that way. Instead she crossed the inches of carpeting between herself and Pir’Oth to settle herself onto his lap. With a grin that stretched the width of her face, she held up one of her draping spines before his muzzle with one hand, and opened her other palm to hold up the ring. “Show me how to put it on?” Posted by: Imperator Ix Mar 22 2011, 11:02 AM Magic, or then just very advanced technology, even by Nocturnian standards. But there was really no need to start explaining an young child about static field generators and transdimensional tracking beacons. All that mattered, was that she knew how to use it, and more importantly, when to use it. It warmed Ix's heart to see Shade's smile to widen even more. but when the young girl came and positioned herself on his lap, the old echidna blinked once or twice in amazement, the light blue pools of light looking at the young echidna. Ix was first unsure how he should react, but then that innocent smile took all the old echidna's doubts away. "Of course. First you should..." Ix helped the young girl to put the ring to her dreadlock, allowing himself to smile genuinely for the first time in a very long time. The old echidna knew that he was making a mistake. This girl was a weak point in his armour, that someone could use to get hold of the old echidna. Not keeping distance to this young girl just dragged her to the same danger that had killed her parents. A strong leader should not have anything that his enemies could use against him. But Ix could not help it, he had distanced himself from other people for so long, that he simply could not make himself to sever this last connection he had to someone else. After a minute or two, the golden ring was on Shade's dreadlock, looking like it had always been there. The old echidna was just about to comment how good it looked on the young girl, when suddenly on Ix's scepter, that was still on the ground besides the two echidnas, one of runes was flashing. The old echidna looked at it, and then said: "Curses, my time is up. Unfortunately, I have to leave now, and it might be a very long time before I can visit you again. Take care of yourself, Shade." The old echidna patted the young girl on her head, with a smile on his lips, that was both happy and sad. Then Ix reached for his scepter while still keeping Shade on his hip. To any parent, there were a very few things that brough more joy than being able to keep a happy child this near, and Ix knew that once he would walk out of this room, it would be a very long time before he would see Shade again, or could be be something else than a tyrannical imperator to people around him. Posted by: Shade Nocturnus Mar 22 2011, 06:13 PM She giggled when Pir'Oth lifted her spine away from her face; the prickling sensation where the root of that spine lodged into the skin of her scalp tickled more than anything else. The locking pin was removed from the center of the ring revealing a razor sharp needle on one end. Shade made sure to hold herself as still as possible when the old male slipped the ring over her spine and pushed that pin through the naturally stiff material of the young echidna's dreadlock. Once it was secured, Shade held the adorned spine in front of her nose to watch the soft light glitter across the yellow metal. She breathed in a satisfied gasp and dropped the spine and let it fall against her shoulder to wrap her arms around Pir'Oth's middle; nuzzling her nose and face against the soft warmth of his chest. All too soon however, she felt a gentle patting on her head. Shade opened her eyes and looked up to the old man's face. Her own smile faded somewhat... she knew what he was going to say before it was even said. "Unfortunately, I have to leave now... " In one fluid movement, Shade felt herself gently shifted to the old echidna's hip as he pulled himself onto his feet. Understanding it was an unspoken dismissal, the girl let her legs slide down to the carpeting and she released her embrace on Pir'Oth to retrieve her fallen pillow from the floor. Standing a bit on her toes, Shade plopped the pillow back in its place, and then swung up a leg to pull herself up after. She knelt there for a few heartbeats as she watched the old male finish gathering himself. "I'll remember you, Instructor Pir'Oth," She blurted without thought. And indeed she would. It was hard to forget a white-furred echidna who randomly can to visit her after curfew hours, who told her stories of her parents, and gave her pretty things in the dark. The most she would remember of the encounter though was being allowed to embrace the man without reprimand. "...it might be a very long time before I can visit you again. Take care of yourself, Shade. " To this she only nodded. She knew those words were coming too. Children had no place in the busy, hive-like activities of adult echidnas. Shade reached behind herself for the corner of her blanket, sprawled forward, and cuddled her pillow. She closed her eyes, and promptly opened them again. "When you come," she began to ask with her voice muffled into the fabric, "Will you tell me more of mother and father?" Posted by: Imperator Ix Mar 22 2011, 07:21 PM The old echidna could not do much else than smile, and enjoy this brief moment of comfort. Ix was giving Shade a feeling that she belonged to something, but the young echidna was in turn making Ix to think, that maybe he actually had something to look forward to, and even if the old echidna had denied himself of getting attached to someone else a long time ago, the imperator could still feel himself lonely. It was very hard to live a life where you did not have anyone to care about. Ix took his scepter from the ground and rose up completely, while watching how Shade threw her pillow back to her bed and climbed there afterwards. The old echidna pressed the flashing rune on his scepter, and it stopped emitting light, the message being already been received. "I'll remember you, Instructor Pir'Oth." Those words made this whole situation even more bittersweet. Ix could not answer much to that, so he just nodded, and let the warm feeling those words had instigated to be visible on his face. Ix gave a small sigh, and then turned around towards the door, at the same time pressing yet an another rune on his staff, which made the crystal in it to become dim, shouring the small room in darkness. ..."Will you tell me more of mother and father?" Ix was silent for a moment, and then started talking while at the same time opening the door of the small room: "Yes, and when you get older I can tell you more of our family, we have been around ever since Nocturne was built. But those tales can wait, past is not as important as the present, and the future. Even if I will not be visiting, I will be watching, so make me proud of you, will you?" Last words were said with a bit of humour in them, but Ix was hoping that Shade would become something extraordinary with her skills among her peers, because she would have to be ready to face more responsibility and danger that many others ever would. With an one final hand gesture signalling farewell, Ix closed the door, and the silent steps started walked away. |
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7:55 AM Jul 13