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+---- Thread: [SE] more bright ideas (/showthread.php?tid=12329)
RE: more bright ideas - Deimos - 01-24-2026
Despite Deimos’ usual appearance, he did have multitudes of experience in juvenile pursuits – whether that was with his own family, or amusements from childhood and onwards. When boredom or restlessness hit, he was much more akin and aligned to finding dangerous platitudes, instigating entertainment, or provoking some level of distraction and intrigue. To hear Sohalia didn’t have that much in the realm of such ridiculous diversions gave him pause, because if he was capable of finding merriment amidst the trials and tribulations of Caido, he figured she’d have contorted in ample amounts.
[say]You can always come play with Erebos[/say] he snorted, because the lad was quickly becoming an energetic combination of both his parents and Deimos was now wondering how his own had ever survived the constant waves of mischief, nonsense, and energy; though the Sword liked to think he gave it back to the youth. [say]All right, maybe we try to tag then.[/say]
He amplified his speed, and he could hear the kids screeching to one another as a result; little legs bolstered across the grounds. But his strides were far more sweeping and elongated, and on a gentle nudge with his nose, he tapped at an older one’s ankles, listened as the kid exhaled and laughed. Aww man, okay, now it’s my turn! as he went to snag at the hellhound’s newfound bough. Confused, the beast released the flame and wood. [say]Perhaps we are ‘it’ if we have the stick…[/say] clearly trying to find a foundation for the game.
RE: more bright ideas - Sohalia - 01-25-2026
Sohalia followed along dubiously, doubt creeping in at the corners of her mind, because what business did she have, really, playing with random Ancient children when her city was trembling high above? This felt like another world entirely, one where she was able to let loose and be free and stop worrying, and that momentary lapse brought her no small amount of guilt. But they’d started the game now, and it seemed that it would be a letdown to the children to disappear back into the dry brush, so she dutifully followed along, one eye on Deimos, the other on the children, and tried to figure out what she was meant to be doing.
[say]I will keep the invitation in mind,[/say] Soh replied, a faint tinge of laughter in her voice, because she’d never been a babysitter before - and, as of this moment, had no idea just how much her life was about to change to begin with. But in any case, she continued to chase along, until she reached out to boop one of the running, screaming youths with one large paw. The child tumbled (seemingly on purpose; she hadn’t hit him that hard!) and jumped to his feet, reaching to snatch her own stick. [say]So are there two ‘its’?[/say] she wondered, sidestepping and bounding away from the child that now held her stick.
RE: more bright ideas - Deimos - 01-26-2026
Deimos would be amongst the first to admit that he’d missed many a quiet, or amusing, moment due to the weight of other things. Trepidation. Apprehension. Melancholy. Being consumed by duty or defiance, racing to the edges and never knowing when it would drop off – to another level of worry, deceit, or malice, carved to look like commitment and obligation. It would swallow a soul slowly, until there was nothing left but bones; and even then, they’d be expected to bear the world. He couldn’t be guilty about playing; because he’d tried and tried and tried to find Ru, and if she wasn’t here, then she was elsewhere, and there would be one more surface, one more place, one more pursuit – dogged determination didn’t need to fade or die. It just moved, the goal further ahead but still there just the same. Sohalia’s worries wouldn’t delay progress or make Stormbreak crumble faster – nor would a game. If anything, maybe it was a necessity, to cease the doubts and trials for one instant.
[say]Perhaps[/say] was all that came through though – his attention honed in on the maneuvering kids. Now with two its, he pivoted sharply, long strides sweeping around the turns of the bonfire. One seemed ready to antagonize his friends though, giggling as rapid little strides kept him hurtling towards a smaller individual, and the stick was passed quickly. But the other seemed wholly intent on getting Sohalia back, shifting in a defiant screech and a wide grin, reaching out to grab at a tail or tufts of fur.
RE: more bright ideas - Sohalia - 01-27-2026
Sometimes it felt as though Soh carried the weight of the world on her shoulders, and she’d more than once thought it unfair that such a feeling lingered in one so young. But she’d long since given up on the idea that life was fair, having been through her share of trials and tribulations - some self-inflicted, of course, but even still. At least this was a disaster not of her own making, and one that she could actively try to remedy. Maybe this time there was something she could actually do - even if the answers couldn’t be found here.
The burden didn’t lighten just because the game had started, but it did grow more distant, if only for the moment. As Soh focused on the children - one lunging to grab at tufts of fur and even going so far as to reach for her tail - she felt genuine laughter bubble up through the Attuned bond for the first time since the tremors had started. Dancing out of the way and swinging her tail free, she darted around the bonfire and tried to stay out of reach of the children.
RE: more bright ideas - Deimos - 01-28-2026
Sometimes it came down to choices and how one intended to live their life. Utterly consumed by every plague and strife, trial and tribulation, that passed through? Or striving, head down and determined, intending to carry on and continue, no matter the pain and anguish? Difficult to solidify in the heat of the moment, but thereafter, when one could glance back, it might look like more than weights and worlds, and a strong, justifiable means to an end.
Not that these instances were – but it wasn’t about that.
Deimos barked, trying to parse attention from beyond the bonfire; giving and granting Sohalia some time to escape and evade their efforts. One child screeched and lunged for her again, hardly deterred (practically launching through the flames themselves), and then the Sword was off again, long strides sweeping away. The other seemed to think he should be a noteworthy target once more though, and came after him, squealing like a banshee.
RE: more bright ideas - Sohalia - 01-28-2026
Sohalia slipped the child’s grasp, granting a playful mrow as she did so, as though inviting him to try again. Somewhere nearby, Deimos barked, distracting some of the children - although one did screech and launch himself at her tail once more. Soh flicked her tail away and whirled, dust kicked up by her paws as she darted around the flames, giggling all the while.
It was easy to forget, for a moment, and so that’s what she did, leaning into the fun and the play and the realization that maybe life wasn’t so bad after all, because so long as Stormbreak didn’t fall from the sky
RE: more bright ideas - Deimos - 01-29-2026
No use lamenting - he was on the prowl now. If someone said he intentionally slowed down, he’d probably deny it, but his speed was not at the top-tier of maneuvering limbs and pieces as the younger Ancient’s hand came to grab his massive tail. Feigning a strike, he barked again, granting a conquered howl as the child laughed, then held out the flaming stick. Grasping it within his teeth and jaw, he opted to direct the amusement solely upon Sohalia. Might as well grant and offer a challenge.
The children nearby scattered in whirlwind movements; some maneuvering through the bonfire, others crouching back into long grass or amidst their elders, giggling all the way. Deimos swept after them, then pretended to dart, bolt, and charge after two who’d begun to split their miniature parties; then, with little warning, made a sweeping turn directly towards the tide jaguar.
RE: more bright ideas - Sohalia - 01-29-2026
Sohalia was so focused on evading the children that it never occurred to her that Deimos might turn on her. In her mind, it was animals against Ancients, and he was irrevocably on her side. So even when he was tagged again, snatching a flaming stick from the Ancient child who’d gotten him, she never even looked his way, instead pouncing this way and that from the child who’d gotten him chased her, giggling all the while.
Deimos’s betrayal was sudden and swift, leaving Soh gaping at him as the children around her cheered and then scattered. [say]No fair![/say] she laughed through the bond, taking the flaming stick and bounding away after some children. [say]i’ll remember that.[/say] But for now, she would go back to chasing children. She’d have to get him back when he least expected it.
RE: more bright ideas - Deimos - 02-01-2026
The hellhound gave a very canine shrug, a roll through massive shoulders, and a distinct grin before he tore off again. Perhaps she wasn’t wholly accustomed to such children’s games at all; the likelihood of them all turning on one another for fun and amusement was a standard operation. Even in his youth, they’d spared no moment of fairness to one another – but then again, they were also being trained and honed for eventual warfare, so maybe he was the one a little too adapted to the notions of duplicity and deception.
Nevertheless, he remained unbothered – and then went searching for the other Ancient with the stick. It appeared as though the smaller individual had stuck the wood right back into the flame, so the flare was brighter, and he snorted, darting back the other way when the child glanced up with a rogue grin, giving chase immediately.
RE: more bright ideas - Sohalia - 02-02-2026
Deimos was understandably unperturbed by Soh's laughing threat, bounding off to play with the children as Soh did the same. She chased one and then another, darting this way and that with the flaming stick in her mouth, until she spotted a younger child hiding behind her mother's leg, watching with a look of yearning on her small face. Soh padded over, careful to move slowly and methodically so as not to scare the youngling, and gently reached out to boop her on the foot with one large paw.
The little girl smiled shyly, then reached out to take the stick... and then she was padding towards the other children, giggling, reaching for anyone who might be in range to tag. Soh offered a feline grin to the mother, who chuckled and went back to whatever discussion she'd been having with the other adults, before rejoining the fray, one eye on the younger girl. But it seemed that at least a few of the other children were happy to join in one pulling others into the game, because they ran just slow enough to be caught, and before long, they were all running and shrieking the same, regardless of age.
RE: more bright ideas - Deimos - 02-02-2026
There suddenly seemed to be more and more children, and he snorted, amused once again, as they tore around the bonfire. Several skirted by his tail or gestured to his teeth, to claws, but either remained undaunted or unafraid; perhaps Ancients were simply less bothered with shifts, with animals, they could foundationally understand. Regardless, several screamed near him, loud and obnoxious, then giggling, as a little one prowled nearby.
Tripping over some roots and rocks, she seemed to be making her way over to him. His ears went back and forth, mind trying to decide if this was a moment to let a youth win, or to bombard and take off. In the end, he stayed still while she shrieked about dogs, and lunged for him at the last possible moment. His tail wagged as she tagged it, and he reclaimed the stick, gaze flickering around for his next victim as the rest began to shriek and unfurl, running in all directions.
RE: more bright ideas - Sohalia - 02-02-2026
There were so many children. Where had they all come from? Their game had begun with only a handful, and yet now, no matter where Soh looked, more and more seemed to crop up.
The little girl she'd coaxed into the game had managed to tag another, and that one ran for Soh, screaming wildly as she leapt straight through the fire and towards the tide jaguar. Purring a feline laugh, Soh dodged gracefully, feinting to one side and then the other as she toyed with the child. After a moment, she allowed herself to be tagged, then snagged the flaming stick and took off for a new target.
Deimos had been tagged again, it seemed, and so the Luminary looked elsewhere for her prey. Stick clenched firmly in her jaw, she sprinted towards a gaggle of children nearby, who all shrieked and scattered. Having more fun than she had in eons, Soh continued the chase, growling playfully at each child who ventured too near.
RE: more bright ideas - Deimos - 02-03-2026
His eyes narrowed, intending to search for his next target. It’d be amusing (to him) to snag at Sohalia again, but when he saw she’d also been snagged again, he snorted, beginning to plot another rumination. Gaze glancing back and forth at the wild gaggle of children, he began to maneuver around the bonfire again. [say]Want to see if we can herd them?[/say] Then it’d be easy to funnel them into an area to select, choose, or single out an incoming quarry.
Shrugging, he then began to maneuver, quickly. Far swifter than he’d been the entire game, he shirked to the shadows before springing towards one group of kids. They all screeched and screamed, running into the opposite direction – which would naturally lend and blend itself towards Sohalia’s reach.
RE: more bright ideas - Sohalia - 02-05-2026
Herding the children sounded entertaining - and based on their reactions thus far, Soh rather thought that they would enjoy it, too. [say]Sure,[/say] she said, an eager glint in her eyes. And then she mimicked Deimos, putting on a burst of speed that took her to the edges of their little gaggle of Ancients. There she waited, pacing and prowling, until Deimos herded the children towards her. Here they came, laughing and shrieking, and Soh snorted with amusement as she bounded towards them.
She timed it well, and aimed true; the wave of kids turned, wedged between the tide jaguar and the hellhound, and raced towards the fire. Soh put on a burst of speed to snag at one of the kids with one large paw, and then she deserted Deimos, fleeing from the two 'its' to attempt to stay free.