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in the wake of closed doors - Harper - 12-13-2019
For how short of a time he has been here, Harper has heard much of the Gods of Caido and their Heralds. He has never been a man of faith, especially having encountered so many aliens, demigods, and multi-dimensional travelers that godhood simply didn't seem real or unattainable any longer. Faith didn't save him from a nasty fight or guide him through tough waters. Religion had been so deeply corrupted in his modern age.
But these aren't the same gods, with rules all of their own. And he still doesn't know what race he is (something he never thought he'd have to consider again). Harper is man enough to admit his own biases, the fact that he might surely insult a god if it deigns to meet him. Which is a terrifying prospect, meeting a god at all. But he is also an inquisitive man, not too bad of a detective either. Someone else's words will not satisfy his curiosity about these gods. So he asks for direction, for instructions on proper form and offerings, and sets out.
He has very little, had been thrown into Caido with little more than his clothes. Creativity is all he has left.
The shrine is a beautiful natural wonder, and he steps carefully, his offering held in his arms. He admits he's not the type to kneel, to pray reverently, but he bends one knee and places his offering in hopes whoever lingers here will understand. It is a candle, made from the wax ends of different dying ones before it that he'd bartered away. Heated and dyed with crushed petals into a swirl of different shades. [Say]"A new beginning made from many old paths."[/say] Sighing softly, he strikes the match he'd found had been far harder to barter for, and sets the wick alight before settling cross-legged before it, watching the flame dance in the fading light of dusk. [Say]"If anyone is there, I would like to meet you. To know you."[/say] More than just to know of them.
RE: in the wake of closed doors - Safrin - 12-16-2019
[say]"A poetic and beautiful gift..."[/say] Safrin's voice is like touched velvet beneath candle light, her skin moon-bright. She is suddenly there, in the blush of the flame, the warmth of it a beautiful clash against the cool starry-sheen of her eyes. Her perfectly painted lips spread into a smile as starlight softly descends around them, illuminating the area with the goddess' brilliance. [say]"..from a beautiful and poetic boy."[/say]
Sitting, the swish of her dress hugging to her curves as if not wanting to part from her skin, Safrin folds her hands into her lap. [say]"Many who have come here seeking to know us have gone mad with what they learn, Harper Quinn."[/say] With a secretive rise and fall of her shoulders, the goddess merely sighs softly. [say]"What is it you wish to know?"[/say]
RE: in the wake of closed doors - Harper - 12-26-2019
The suddenness of her appearance is jarring, but the aura that emanates from her is as soothing as the night air that surrounds them, easing the tension that accumulates in his shoulders. He can't help but stare, having secretly not expected an answer at all, much less a proper visit from a goddess. Harper can practically envision his agnostic tendencies shattering as he gazes up at her, lost in the glow she emanates, the unearthly perfection of her kindness, her smile. Radiating down on him alongside her soft words, prompting a flush of color to his cheeks. Mixed pleasure and humility. [say]"Thank you, I'm glad you like it. I wasn't...really sure what you would like best."[/say] Harper falters over himself as he speaks, unsure of how to properly address a celestial being. He has certainly never questioned his words so intensely before.
But then she's sitting, draped in the folds of her dress, on his level before he can even think to rise. There is less tension here as she comes down to join him, an ease that brushes away the nerves settling in knots at the base of his neck with gentle fingers. It's not a surprise that she knows his name, but the way her tone cradles it is foreign and delightful. [say]"There's so much I don't know, it's already driving me a little mad. I don't even know what I am, what my relationship could or should be to you, but I want to. People speak of you, but only vaguely, in terms I don't understand yet. It seems like a disservice, especially if you're kind enough to spend your time answering my silly questions."[/say] Harper gives her a smile equally charming and charmed, still in a bit of a tizzy mentally over being in the presence of a literal god. Talking to one even. It feels a little blasphemous. But why has everyone been so blase about the gods? When she is here before him, willing to answer his questions, when he is nothing more than a useless newcomer ignorant to her might?
[say]"Where I come from faith is a blind act, and mostly self-serving. But you're here, you give it purpose. You can say what you do and don't like, what you desire from us, what you stand for. How do I properly learn of you, worship you? Who do I ask, aside from you?"[/say] Again heat crawls to his cheeks at the word choice, unsure how else to ask without phrasing it in such an intimate manner. Worship. It's a new word for him to use, to enact. His sincerity is his only guiding compass. Harper has always lived on faith, even if not religiously. Faith in a brighter future, the good in others, the change one man can bring upon the world. This is only a natural progression from there, to seek her guidance, to shelter himself beneath her starlit wing and give her his devotion in return. Harper just doesn't know what he can give her, if she would deign to give weight to anything he could offer in the first place.
RE: in the wake of closed doors - Safrin - 12-29-2019
[say]"I like anything which has had thought or love put into it."[/say] The goddess replied with a disarming smile, elegantly moving a cascading dark curl from her shoulder down her back. [say]"Better if it's both."[/say]
The goddess' smile wilted ever so slightly as she regarded something just over Harper's shoulder for a moment, before her expression smoothed back into galactic star-struck beauty. [say]"Only vaguely mm? A shame."[/say] She said with a light shrug, though anyone who knew what a vain creature Safrin was would know just how wounding this statement was. [say]"As for what you are sugar, here you're called an accepted. Stronger than the other races, and with a soul completely ready to be writ upon..."[/say] So saying Safrin extended a finger to brush against his check, smiling fondly at him. [say]"A soul waiting to be attuned to the gods. To made closer to us, should you ever choose it."[/say] She added with a wink.
[say]"I have heard that about other worlds. Gods who rarely if ever appeared?"[/say] Safrin tutted under her breath. [say]"There are those here who know me well...but you can ask me anything, sweet boy. "[/say]
RE: in the wake of closed doors - Harper - 12-30-2019
Her smile is like the glow of the moon cresting over the horizon, a sight he has lived seeing nearly every day of his life. Harper had been a soul of the starlight from birth, and staring into her soft visage is like meeting the embodiment of the only family he has ever known. It pains his heart, then, to see it wilt beneath his comment. [say]"I'm sorry,"[/say] he says softly, knowing it is not his fault that her followers - young, new, those who merely knew of her - did not speak of her in ways that had helped Harper to her side. Regretful nonetheless.
He knows in his own world, his mentor would have given him a dressing down to have leaned even minutely into the goddess' touch. Preached that any kind of spiritual or magical being was dangerous, that he was being seduced, manipulated. In that world, perhaps. He'd seen the rot and twist of magic, of half-gods and pretenders. But he brightens beneath her touch in contrast to all of that, sure in his heart that it's different here, as so much else is.
Already she gives him answers, and though the temptation to ask then and there to be closer to her is present, he restrains it. [say]"Closer to all of you? Or just you?"[/say] Would she be his benefactor? Did it matter who changed him, who blessed him with becoming Attuned? As they sit there in front of each other, he finds he'd rather be hers. The embodiment of the nighttime that had raised him already. But perhaps it is foolish to be so devoted upon only meeting the first God he has ever encountered. [say]"How can I be stronger, more useful here? Where I came from I protected people by putting away those who would hurt them, patrolled at night above the law to keep innocents safe. I have nothing here but my training, my mind, and no purpose or direction to guide me in how to continue doing that. Can you tell me anything, anything about what I need to prepare against here? How to become stronger? How to help people again?"[/say] His mind goes to Melita's enchanted weapon, to Oliver's hybrid status, to the healing magic Phoebe had mentioned. So many things that he doesn't understand, but things that make them all stronger. [say]"And...if it's not too many questions, what do you rule over? How can I help your realm?"[/say] If nobody else will spread the word of Safrin, then Harper will take it upon himself to do so now. Surely she can tend to her own realm, but if he can help he will do so.
RE: in the wake of closed doors - Safrin - 01-03-2020
[say]"Do you want more than just me?"[/say] She asks, then quickly laughs so as to render the question rhetorical. It's too early for such a question after all. [say]"All of us, although..."[/say] Her fingertips whisper against the curve of his jaw. [say]"..there is something undeniably...intimate about the bond created when one is made into an attuned."[/say]
As for utility? She hums lightly at that as she considers. [say]"Here in the Grounds I believe Deimos leads a sort of...military, you might say. Though because the borders have been closed for so long their methods of dealing with those who break laws are rather...primitive."[/say] She settles on the word without judgement, shrugging her shoulders. [say]"Elsewhere there are those who might have been like you, a sort of strength to keep people safe. Both sanctioned and unsanctioned."[/say] Again her shoulders rise and fall. [say]"I suppose the first question is whether or not you want to remain here. In this place."[/say]
Leaning back, her shoulders curling slightly as she leans gracefully back on one arm, she regards the boy before her with secretive eyes. [say]"Are you...a bear perhaps? Maybe a wolf..?"[/say] Her smile curls. [say]"There is so much strength in you that even I cannot see what you might become.."[/say]
The question of realms and such makes her tut softly beneath her breath. It's such a mortal question to ask, to need to divide the world into neat slices. [say]"I am the herald of life. To say I rule over the night and the stars isn't quite correct, though I did make the cosmos and the light that sustains the stars..."[/say]
RE: in the wake of closed doors - Harper - 01-07-2020
Harper is no swooning maiden, but his cheeks flush warm beneath the starfall of her laughter, dripping like diamonds around them. Her touch is no more than a ghost's intimate caress, dragging heat where it lingers. Giving information and teasing in equal measures. Names, objectives, places to explore and discern on his own time when the world rights itself after her presence leaves a void behind.
And then she asks if he would like to stay. He is quiet for a long moment, not wanting to give her some false or hollow answer that is not properly mulled over. [say]"I can't say I won't miss who I knew or what I had back home. But I know I would like to stay here, in Caido."[/say] Though he wonders briefly if he is misunderstanding her question, and his spine straightens where he sits. [say]"Are there ways to return? Or do you mean there is somewhere beyond the Hollowed Grounds you would send me?"[/say] If he cannot be of use to her directly, can't make a difference here that others are not already doing, maybe she can point him elsewhere at her discretion.
Her compliment causes a boyish, shy smile to emerge. [say]"You do yourself an injustice, I'm sure you are more than creative enough to fashion a form for me."[/say] The flattery is like second nature to him, and though he craves to fly, to reach the summit of the sky, he knows in his heart that her insight is correct. That there are many fitting forms for him, as adaptable in species as himself.
[say]"Ah, that explains a lot. In my home world, there was an old religion where gods were champions of certain elements or themes. I guess I shouldn't be so narrow minded,"[/say] he admits with a rueful smile. [say]"Though it's a little sad that I can't help you directly, even if you likely don't need it."[/say] It is difficult to readjust his worldview on gods and religion, to come to terms with the fact that she is not held in existence by continued belief or prayers like the Greek gods. [say]"If I want to attune to you someday, should I come and pray? Will any other god answer? I don't know of their names."[/say] Already the temptation is on his tongue to just say yes, to link himself to her, but he refrains in favor of further information.
RE: in the wake of closed doors - Safrin - 01-09-2020
Her smile twists, cosmically aligned and dappled with secretive words not yet spoken. [say]"I did mean here specifically. In the Hollowed Grounds. There are other places in this world of course, places where you might protect those around you."[/say] Her shoulders rose and fell gently. [say]"The outer lands are quite lawless...places like Halo have their own..security. Torchline is entirely bought and paid for by the Governor..."[/say] She trails off. There is one more place, but Harper's soul is too good for it. He'd not rise to their brand of cruelty, she thinks.
Laughing softly at this, she fixes him with an adoring stare as she shakes her head. [say]"Ahh, but shifts are not up to me. Your soul is...calibrated for them, you might say. What you have the potential to be is already writ there. I am merely a key to open up those doors."[/say]
Cooing softly at this under her breath, Safrin considers. [SAY]"There is nothing specifically I need just now sugar, though I'll keep your name on the tip of my tongue if anything comes up."[/say]
Coiling into herself slightly, aware that she is being dangled and strung along and not minding it one bit, she sighs into a smile. [say]"They might...but you need only whisper my name and I'll come to you. The others...Frey and Ludo...you need not bother with them."[/say]
RE: in the wake of closed doors - Harper - 01-15-2020
Halo's reaches at least are something he knows of, but the idea of Torchline is one he can safely say he has never heard before. [say]"Bought and paid for?"[/say] His pleasant expression twists a little, turning downward at the corners of his mouth, brow pinching. [say]"Are the citizens safe?"[/say] Or, like so many ruling men and women, is this Governor corrupt? Already he feels the desire to know more, to try and help. Injustice is one thing he will never be able to ignore, which will likely lead to his inevitable anti-climactic demise.
But there is no room for rumination on such dark thoughts, not now beneath the glow of Safrin's adoring smile. Harper reflects her light, as bright and inquisitive as he has ever felt beneath her kindness. [say]"Amazing,"[/say] he says softly, involuntary. That the soul is akin to a material she cannot mold, can only release, is something that he finds incredibly interesting. [say]"So souls, they're like fingerprints? Is that how we're brought here, by focusing on certain patterns or frequencies?"[/say] He doesn't know much of The Voice or how they're transported to Caido, but perhaps it has to do with the matter of their soul?
His smile is as close to enamored as a disciple can be so early on, starstruck even if the word would not make him laugh to apply in conjunction with the goddess. [say]"Please do. I'm sure you'll tire of hearing it, but helping is my number one trait. Especially for beautiful goddesses."[/say] His grin is teasing, winking at the goddess impishly. Certainly, he would be there for her regardless of her physical manifestation, but her pleasing form and tittering teasing is definitely a bonus. Knowing he can call upon her with merely a whisper, it is a power he feels almost too weak to grasp. Humbled immediately by it, and tucking away the names of the other gods only for a surface level of investigation later. Already she has drawn him to her side, whether he knows it or not. [say]"I'll try not to abuse that."[/say] Far more serious a vow than his previous ones, because he'd not want to call her from her duties just to bend her ear over boring, human worries.
RE: in the wake of closed doors - Safrin - 01-21-2020
[say]'Well...I suppose that depends on who you ask. What counts as 'criminal' there certainly takes on a different meaning."[/say] Her shoulders shrug gently, rolling luxuriously as she reclines slightly. [say]"That black market deals occur in the light of day can prove fatal for anyone unwise enough to stick their noses where they don't belong."[/say]/
Raising a brow, her perfectly painted lips quirking up in an adoring smile, the goddess nods. [say]"Well aren't you the clever one."[/say] She beams, unwilling at all to indicate her ignorance on this subject matter. [say]"Yes, it is something like that. Who and what you are is imprinted upon the world. The Voice is able to reach out and pluck up that information, rebuilding you here. It is how some have come through portals, and how some have popped up despite having died in other worlds."[/say]
Safrin practically plumps herself up like any spring chicken might beneath his compliment. She doesn't bother to hide her vanity, but rather basks in it. [say]'I'll never tire of hearing anything that comes from your lips, blue-eyes."[/say] She purrs with delight.
RE: in the wake of closed doors - Harper - 01-28-2020
[say]"Some laws are meant to be bent,"[/say] he agrees with a playful smile, recalling the many times he and his fellow vigilantes had been decried on various media platforms. For all his desires to defend and protect, he's certainly no straight-lace. [say]"If it works for their economy and it's an accepted part of their society, I suppose there's no point in trying to uproot an entire system."[/say] Some things are worth fighting, while others are so ingrained in human nature and individual civilizations that they aren't worth burning to the ground until they grow out of control. Like a weed.
[say]"Rebuilding,"[/say] he repeats with a curious lilt to the words. [say]"I'd say it's interesting, but it's kind of creepy,"[/say] he admits sheepishly. Already having been dragged without consent from his world bothers him, but the idea of having to be rebuilt from a blueprint - is he even himself anymore physically then? - makes him feel kind of squeamish. Like he should be patting his skin all over to make sure his moles are in the right place.
Safrin preens like a majestic swan, and Harper can't help but grin, endeared. [say]"I'll whisper only the most flattering things to keep you company between visits,"[/say] he promises, finding the idea appealing. He had never been one to speak aloud to a faceless, unproven god, but he's definitely the type to talk aloud. Perhaps she'll appreciate some check-ins. [say]"I don't want to keep you here all to myself, though it's tempting."[/say] Boyish smile returns with a wattage no electric company could ever hope to harness. [say]"Should we shake on it, or are you a hugger?"[/say] He bats his eyelashes at her playfully, wanting to see another of those gleaming smiles or the soft cadence of her laughter before he must release her from his presence.
RE: in the wake of closed doors - Safrin - 01-28-2020
[say]"Wisely said."[/say] She agrees with a grin. Safrin is far from the morality police. In fact, she's flown in the headwinds of right and wrong simply to get what she wants. One might assume the herald of life would have a bit more respect for order and justice, but as it turns out...
[say]"It is absolutely. Though it has brought you here to me from a world galaxy's away. So I suppose I can't be too upset."[/say] She counters with an adoring and coquettish laugh.
Purring at this, utter putty before his alluring smile, she feigns insult for just a moment. [say]"You'd really shake my hand? You wound me. I don't look like this for nothing, after all."[/say] So saying the goddess of the stars and creator of comets and other celestial wonders, opens her arms to him to draw him close. Her size is hard to explain; she both fits neatly in his arms but also wraps around him completely as a blanket might. She smells like petrichor and lilac, as soft as morning dew yet thrumming with power.
RE: in the wake of closed doors - Harper - 01-29-2020
[say]"I try,"[/say] he grins with a wink tossed her way. [say]"How else will I impress you?"[/say] And it still makes him wonder when he takes a step back, how he can possibly feel so comfortable speaking to a literal deity, but her presence alone is like coming home. Familiar and welcoming and more than enough to put him at ease.
She is just as coy and coquettish as he can hope to be, and he laughs and flusters happily beneath the compliment. It's more akin to bar banter and flirting than meeting an immortal being, but he's not one to complain. What's the fun in faith if you're sitting singing hymns about how much you suck and want to be forgiven for existing?
It's that which makes it easier to step into her offered embrace. It is like holding onto a comet's trail - ephemeral at best, fleeting and burning against his palms. Yet still just as warm and all-encompassing as a sun-heated lake, concealing him from this new world that still so confuses him. There is nothing but peace here. [say]"Thank you,"[/say] he says, voice uncharacteristically weak, trying to project how he's feeling so that she can understand how much he appreciates this singular meeting. Unaware of how badly he needed faith and fealty until the moment she had arrived, far more than a figment of his imagination. Saying goodbye is a necessity, but it's hard nonetheless.
RE: in the wake of closed doors - Safrin - 02-03-2020
[say]'How else indeed."[/say] She coos back, though the starlit depths of her gaze suggest that she has a multitude of ways the man might do just that.
Whilst Safrin is in his arms the world will open to Harper. Infinities radiate from her touch and bright shimmers of worlds the boy hasn't yet seen sparkle just out of reach: volcanic rock, grasslands, the bones of massive creatures buried deep beneath the sands. Sunlight glinting on vast oceans, caves of crystal, swamps bursting with death.
[say]"Until next time, sugar."[/say] Her lips brush against the shell of his ear, the bar-banter flirtation raised one notched, and then suddenly she is gone leaving only the after-images of stars sparkling brightly in his arms.