[RQ] One by one they follow

// i'm pedal to the metal make no mistake, this is my pity party, pity party
and i'm living out of time, eternal heatstroke, spiritual revolt from the waist down //

Following after Charlie up the stairs and finding it surprisingly easy to get along with the other woman, Kiada’s laugh is gentle as she nods her head despite knowing the priestess couldn’t see it. “I was, yeah. It sucked.” To put it bluntly. But there’s a puff of a sigh that slips from her that has a hint of a laugh on the end of it when she continues. “But it was the only way I got to come back from Mort’s halls, so… I took it.” And for that she’d never complain. Not in the slightest, now, when she has time back with her family and a new love in her heart, in the shape of a roguish man in a cottage not that far from here who’d asked her to marry him when he seemed more inclined to have a mental break over the bloodlust.

Either way.

Pushing open the door a bit wider to make it easier to haul the bags once they’re full, Kiada looks around the room briefly before spotting a series of destroyed pieces of obsidian, immediately making her way over toward it. “I’m not sure. A couple bags full will probably do the trick?” She asks, handing a bag off to Charlie before she starts to shovel one of the piles into her own bag – content to do most of the shoveling into both of their bags if the priestess had any further questions about her adjustment to Ancient life.

i'm just a full tank away from freedom. spitfire

KIADA

Maea

It's not a demon at your door

Distracting herself with more gathering of fallen debris from the Tower, Maea stopped only when the bag she had been filling grew too heavy to lift on her own. With fire dancing around her in the shape of butterflies, she gave in to the pull of the Spire and warily approached the entrance. Not even the wimsy of her play with magic could entirely chase the cold dread it instilled in her. Coughing into the crook of her arm, phantom pain tore at her throat, constricting the lungs -

Maea froze on the threshold, stock still with barely a half foot over the threshold. If she listened hard she imagined she could hear the echo of bright voices coming from within - but in truth that may simply be wishful thinking. Hoping the others would be on their way back soon.

It's just your shadow on the floor

charlie

"It just sounds so...like all the good things in life were just taken from you." The priestess whispers, as if just mentioning the other race could somehow taint the quality of the air. "Oh? You died too?" Eyebrows raised, Charlie pauses and glances over her shoulder. "Cool! I thought it was just Maea." Maybe death was more common these days? Because almost 50% of everyone she'd met so far had died, so...

"Mmk." Cheerfully getting to work, instead of shovelling, Charlie at first began to toss things into her bag which had once been something; candlesticks, ornate goblets, even something that looked like half of a hammer. All went in with little more than a shrug from the priestess regarding the precious artifacts she was basically treating as just junk.

"But you're happy now, right?" It sounds as though it's the end of a thought rather than the start of one, and indeed as Charlie looks across the room at Kiada, she certainly has the expression of someone midway through a conversation. "With Dygra? As an ancient?"

they say i did something bad
then why'd it feel so good?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

// i'm pedal to the metal make no mistake, this is my pity party, pity party
and i'm living out of time, eternal heatstroke, spiritual revolt from the waist down //

“Oh yeah.” Kiada says with a chime of laughter that Maea might hear from down below. “I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t drink, couldn’t eat and taste anything.” She trails off with a wrinkle of her nose as she starts shoveling stone and pieces of artifacts as well into the bags, also caring little for them. “Yeah, not just Maea. I died trying to help Tanau from some… illness I think?” She’d never gotten confirmation.

At her comment, made to sound like the end of a thought, the Harpy perks up with a wide fanged smile. “So very happy. I just got engaged, actually.” She admits a bit softer, content and pleased with the result of how the change to Ancient had vastly improved her life. “He used to be Ascended and turned Ancient as well. It’s been really nice to have our adjustments in common.” She shrugs lightly, topping off her bag with more stone and golden candle holders, before looking over to Charlie’s bag.

i'm just a full tank away from freedom. spitfire

KIADA

Maea

It's not a demon at your door

In the end, she just couldn't bring herself to step inside. Retreating with shame and dread burning her throat, Maea went back to the horses. Wasting time by building up a fire with discarded bits of wood, she huddled beside it with hands outstretched.

If only the memories could be so easily incinerated. But alas, their grip on her held tight as minutes slowly dragged by. Overhead the clouds scattered as the wind picked up. Pale patches of blue glimpsed through and for a few precious minutes, thin rays of sunlight illuminated the landscape. The snow that had seemed so dull and gray began to sparkle, bright enough that her eyes watered. 

Was it a sign, of some kind? That even in the midst of her worries there were silver linings to be found? Horribly on the nose, if so - but though the shadow of the Spire loomed black over her head, she did breathe a little easier as she turned back to the fire.

It's just your shadow on the floor

charlie

Tilting her head over her shoulder, Charlie's expression is one of cheerful ignorance. "Tanau?" The name feels unfamiliar on her tongue, though not unpleasant. Unsure what the protocol was in terms of being apologetic towards someone who had previously died, the little ancient just chuckled a touch uncomfortably.

"You did? That's AMAZING!" Maea very likely would hear that below, as Charlie jumped up, clapping her hands together. "Congratulations! Can I come to the wedding??? When is it?" And what would Kiada want as a wedding gift?

"Yeah, a shared history of that kinda stuff would be really nice." The priestess agrees, not without a small flicker of disappointment that she'd probably never experience anything like that. It passed just as quickly as it came, and soon Charlie was back to nearly vibrating with excitement as she continued to stuff their sacks to the brim.

Noticing some larger stones that would be awkward in their bags, Charlie poked her head out of one of the windows, squinting down below for Maea. "Hey! Look out below!" She tittered before yeeting the largest stones she could lift out onto the snowy ground below.

they say i did something bad
then why'd it feel so good?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

// i'm pedal to the metal make no mistake, this is my pity party, pity party
and i'm living out of time, eternal heatstroke, spiritual revolt from the waist down //

“He’s the Longheat deity.” She says, before catching herself from adding and quite literally hot into the mix, because she’s suddenly being congratulated with a shriek of excitement from the Ancient she’s just met, bubbling laughter from her lips as she collects more obsidian and a few pieces of silver metal shards left behind to toss into her bag. “Thank you.” She says initially, still laughing lightly. “We haven’t decided when it is, but yeah, you’re welcome to come!” It would be nice to have so many around, she thinks, even if they didn’t know each other very well. A bright spot amongst the darkening purple clouds that have suddenly started to come in darker and darker as the seasons pass.

Flashing a bright smile back and a soft little “it is,” and gods how lucky she has been, she starts to tie off her bag the second Charlie starts yeeting the stones out the window down below – stepping over quickly to help her pick up a large one they couldn’t manage on their own, waiting for the okay from Maea and Charlie respectively before helping Charlie toss that one out the window, too. "I think we're almost done here."

i'm just a full tank away from freedom. spitfire

KIADA

Maea

It's not a demon at your door

Charlie's voice did indeed make it out of the tower. Maea's head came up like she'd been shot, and in a heartbeat she was on her feet and sprinting towards the doorway. She had only just reached it when a window was flung open high above her head. Pale Deepfrost sunlight caught on blonde hair as the warning rang out; recognizing the priestess, the vice-like grip of dread around her lungs eased off and had her slumping against the wall. Gods, she'd been sure something had happened.

"All clear!" she shouted back. Retreating out of the way of falling debris, Maea shaded her eyes with a hand and craned her neck to spot her friends. "Found anything good?" she wondered - already her mood was brightening, now that she wasn't on her own anymore. Which was ridiculous of course, since it had been her own choice to stay behind. But she could kick herself about that later.

It's just your shadow on the floor

charlie

"Oooooh. I didn't even know there was such a thing." If she could and the name didn't immediately vanish from her mind, Charlie would try and find out more about the Longheat deity, and presumably the other seasonal ones. More than likely she'd become instantly distracted. Case in point: Kiada's wedding.

"Can I help? I love planning things!" The fact that the two barely knew each other didn't seem to put a damper on Charlie's enthusiasm if her ever-widening smile was anything to go by. "Anything at all you need, I can make it happen." She vowed earnestly, before giving Kiada a nod for her to help heave the bags out of the window.

"Yeah, a bunch of stuff! We're gonna come down now!" Charlie called as she squinted down at Maea. Hardly able to see the other girl for all the snow, her dark cloak helped focus the blonde's gaze as she waved merrily down at her.

they say i did something bad
then why'd it feel so good?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

// i'm pedal to the metal make no mistake, this is my pity party, pity party
and i'm living out of time, eternal heatstroke, spiritual revolt from the waist down //

Somehow surprised to hear that Charlie hasn’t heard of the seasonal deities before, she flashes an easier smile. But before she can comment on it, they swiftly drift into her currently nonexistent wedding plans, causing a light flush across her cheeks as she hums a soft laugh, working with the other Ancient to toss the bags and anything else down below. “Sure. I will let you know.” She flashes a brighter smile at the idea – already having so many people willing to help with whatever they could, it was certainly something that warmed her from within.

Dusting off her hands and the dust from her legs, Kiada takes one last look around before she bounds down the stairs with relative ease, to drift back outside into the cold and pale sun, collecting some fire from Charlie to continue to keep herself warm as well to help Maea haul it up into the cart.

i'm just a full tank away from freedom. spitfire

KIADA

Maea

It's not a demon at your door

Maea waited until it had stopped raining rocks before the started hauling them to the sleigh. Having managed a few round trips by the time the other ladies emerged out of the Spire, she joined up with them and made no secret of being glad for the company.

"What's your impression?" she asked Charlie, curious to hear her take on the most infamous building in the region.
Reaching down to help Kiada haul a sack full of materials to the horses, she raised a quizzitive brow at the Harpy, quietly wondering if she was alright, having gone inside. 

"Nothing much happened out here. Looks like the weather is changing, though; might be a good idea to head back soon."

It's just your shadow on the floor

charlie

"Mmmmmmm..." Glancing over her shoulder, Charlie lets her blue stare rake up the ruined building as she considers Maea's question. "I mean, if it was closer to town it could have been cool to fix up, but all the way out here?" Glancing back with her lip wrinkled nearly to the point of touching her nose, the ancient gave her head a shake. They were surrounded by water, then hills, then about a million kilometres of nothing but grass and forest. "I can see how it might have been scary, once upon a time." She admits, before moving away from the horses who were eyeing the fire surrounding her warily.

"Do you think this is enough?" The gates Danta had made for the Grounds-side of the portal were large, but not dense. If the Maverick had more or less the same idea for the Climb-side of things, Charlie thought they were probably right on the mark.

they say i did something bad
then why'd it feel so good?

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

// i'm pedal to the metal make no mistake, this is my pity party, pity party
and i'm living out of time, eternal heatstroke, spiritual revolt from the waist down //

“It’s a really long trek.” Kiada laments with a soft sigh, squinting back up at the spire once they’ve loaded everything up and she’s wiping the dust on her hands off onto her pants. Straightening up as she squints to the bags and additional rocks, the Harpy nods her head encouragingly. “Yeah, I think this should do it.” And if it didn’t, well, they collected the amount they thought they’d needed. Perhaps whomever builds it might have to alter their plans if it isn’t enough.

Either way, Kiada slips up into the cart alongside the pieces they’d taken from the Spire, offering a hand out for Charlie to take to haul the priestess up into the back of it so they can start heading back, flashing a bright grin toward Maea in spite of any shadows that she might be seeking out in the Harpy.

It was kind of cathartic to see the Spire in such a ruined, unused state.

i'm just a full tank away from freedom. spitfire

KIADA

Maea

It's not a demon at your door

"Looks good to me too," she nodded brightly. " If it's not enough we can always gather more before it's shipped off to the Climb." Kiada's smile was reassuring, and if she was privately relieved that the Spire was too far out of the beaten path to be repurposed, she didn't say anything. Mostly she was just glad that they would be heading back soon.

With the last of their finds safely stashed into the sled, Maea untied the horses and got back up into the drivers seat. Snorting and bobbing their heads against the added weight of the sled, they heaved forward and got it in motion. Driving past the little campsite, she left it burning - a single point of warmth and light in the bitter cold - and cast one long, final look at the Spire before resolutely turning away.

"Alright, let's go home!" Heading into the wind and squinting as the odd snowflake came drifting down, Maes hoped they would make it before another storm broke loose. At least she was in good company; not even the weather would be a match for the tree Ancient women.


{Fin} <3

It's just your shadow on the floor