[PQ] ghosts in the machine

kaimana

how beautiful the leaves grow old

You're not sure what is going on with Oia and Loren, but it sets you a little on edge. Maybe it's the fact that he's so very expressive and inconsistent with his emotions, like an abstract painting of colors strewn with wild abandon across a page. You're never exactly sure what you're looking at, and it's always a little different.

Oia, meanwhile, is a scientific illustration with clearly delineated labels written in a careful, consistent hand.

All you can do is push on through it, your attention focused on maintaining the magic to keep the companions sentient. And now you need to add another power, which will only prove a greater challenge.

One by one you attempt to animate the companions, following Oia's lead. As their bodies are (partially) suspended in time you reach out with power like a shimmering silk, gently coaxing movement from the muscle and bone.

And though they resist, you find it is possible to move them - with varying success. Isuma resists a little, but you are able to flex and extend her paws, demonstrating the delicate power within. Haai is the easiest, her forelimbs rising and dancing playfully despite the strength of Sunjatas mind. And Astra, well, she scarcely moves at all, except for a ripple of muscle beneath her fur.

You glance at Oia, a silent, communicative look. Fascinating.

But now it's time for the next test. Standing up you release the animation, a sheen of sweat upon your brow. "Ok- now companions are gonna stay with ma, an' people are gonna go with Oia. An' when you can't hear your companion anymore I mark how far away you are, k?"

how full of light and color are their last days