Those that didn't help the fish went forward into the dark; Sam watched them disappear, hoping he was making the right choice by assisting the stuck creatures. It seemed that he had, once they got free of the net and began to fly up, lighting the way to a path that he and Aisha followed.
If this was some kind of dream, while it was unnerving that people seemed to be vanishing by the minute (he could have sworn they started with many more), but he was comforted by the glow of the fish enough to follow willingly. They brought him to a vast wall that posed one question in bold letters, causing Sam to stop before it and stare. This is a question he struggled with daily, never mind when confronted with it without warning.
The answer was easy enough to come to, but he took a moment to get bold enough to say it out loud (and he would still feel embarrassed). "To love someone and be loved in return."
A small smile creases her eyes as the caught fish nibble at her fingers, grazing her claws as she cuts them free of the netting. Sam joins her, not entirely unexpected from the bookmaker, and she shoots him a gratuitous glance as they work. Belril and Amun continue past, scouting ahead or moving on without them, either way she continued cutting, releasing, and freeing the glowing creatures.
When the last fish was cut free the fish swim around Aisha and Sam, a warmth grows in her heart as she looks over them, happy and free now. As they start to move away, Aisha instinctively follows, doing as she had before and letting the strange glowing beasties choose for her. Sam follows, and not long after Amun is joining them; hopefully the boy is safe wherever he is, for now she stays on her path.
The fish lead the trio to a wall, one with no method of continuing past. Maybe the end of this dark maze, this strange dream. The fish begin to arrange themselves, silvery lit words flickering into existence. What do you desire the most? What an incredibly meta question, she let out a sigh as she read the words again, and listened to Sam's declaration. It was honest, but that wasn't what Aisha desired the most.
Ambitions, leading to swords and battles and positions and heroic actions. She wanted all those things, they made her feel accomplished, happy. She also wanted friends, and good food, and a place to feel welcome, and someone to care for, those things too made her happy. What she wanted most wasn't the individual things, she wanted the feeling. Not the cause, the effect. She wanted to feel happy, to feel complete, to feel like the Aisha she imagined when she closed her eyes to dream.
[say]"To be happy,"[/say] she shrugged, for however long I can be.
Amun wasn't entirely sure what happened. After wandering across the platform, it grew dark, even with his Ascended eyesight, and then he stumbled across a door. When he opened it, he found himself with Sam and Aisha. There was no sign of Belril.
Frowning, the potter regarded the question shining in front of them. Eying the bookmaker when he spoke, Amun smiled. However, the other two spoke their desires far more swiftly than he did.
Turning to face the words again, he breathed deeply a few times. Then he spoke in a whisper. [say]"Safety."[/say] It was loud enough for the other two to hear it, but barely.
Amun answers safety!
Three separate answers, but only one can be favoured. Once the last person has spoken the wall seems to crackle with life; an outline appears, a final door, though this one opens all by itself. The trio are bathed in light, but as they all step through and are returned from whence they came, only one remains warmed by this light.
@aisha.
She will not know quite what has happened, but there is an unmistakeable sense of good fortune about her as she returns to wherever she began this journey. There's a spring in her step, warmth in her smile - something tells her that today will be a very good day indeed.
CONGRATULATIONS, AISHA HAS WON THE DROP! 400MP has been added to Chachy's account.
Thank you all for participating!
