[o] [SE] and this old world, it's a new world

Maea

I love you as certain dark things are to be loved

Sunlight glittered on rippling currents. A wind was in the high trees, scattering the spray of ruby waters far and wide, turning the area into a treasure box of ruby and gold. She wanted to save what she saw. Crystalize it, turn it into a work of art and gift it to Dygra. Surfing the breeze on widespread wings, she dipped and weaved around the floating stream, exaulting in the strange beauty of it. How often did any bird fly beneath the waves? How often did crimson light fracture upon their wings and turn white into something else entirely? 

Maea was in a mood to let herself be dyed some other color today. She'd tried the black and the white and found them limited; she'd tried the tiger and the bird too, and yet somehow neither could fully embody all that she was. 
Coming down to land, the woman regained her Ancient form for a moment. Red droplets beaded on her forehead and cheeks, pearling across the tender skin of closed eyelids and atop lightly parted lips. When the change came, it felt nothing like the other shifts. This form was lighter than the tiger, kinder than the crow, calmer than the girl ever was, and the lavender eyes that opened gazed out upon a world that was full of potential. 

Taking a few steps, on legs that seemed stilt-like at first but quickly gained their balance, the doe gazed back at herself, taking in the slender body. Once again the albinism had robbed even her shift of its natural color. White fur took on a pinkish hue in the ruddy light, and a flicker of firelight from nubby antlers illuminated the area around her like she'd become a torch-bearer or some haunted will-o-wisp of a deer. 

A rustling from a nearby thicket startled her; instinct kicked in and shee found herself leaping high into the air, jumping several feet off to the side without knowing that she could. What an exhilarating feeling! Maea felt so springy, bouncy in her steps like a rubber ball. Looking back over her shoulder and making sure the noise hadn't been anything actually dangerous, she tried jumping again. On and on she went, bucking and twisting like a kid, all full of herself and this fun new side of herself she hadn't paid attention to until now.

In secret, between the shadow and the soul

come real quick & get inside my mind

Vesper moves through the Greatwood with his usual languid ease, though his sharp gaze flickers with quiet calculation as he weaves between the towering trees. The dappled sunlight filtering through the canopy casts shifting shadows across his path, but it’s the crimson shimmer of the Cataract above that holds his attention the most. The river floats impossibly overhead, its waters catching the light like liquid rubies, scattering a spray of red droplets into the air.

Jack’s instructions had been frustratingly vague—typical—but Vesper isn’t overly concerned. If there’s a package to find, he’ll find it. And if there’s something—or someone—else lurking in these woods, well… the Greatwood is home to all sorts of oddities he's been told

It’s the rustling that catches his attention first, then the flicker of white in the periphery of his vision. Vesper stills instinctively, his muscles coiling with quiet tension as his shadows ripple along the edges of his form, ready to react. What he expects is some kind of threat. What he finds is… a deer. A ghostly fucking deer, bounding and twisting through the air with an almost gleeful abandon, its nubby antlers casting flickering firelight in the dusky shade of the trees.

The sight is almost absurd, and for a moment, Vesper just watches, arching a brow as the creature kicks and leaps, its strange, pale form practically glowing in the crimson mist. He catches the flicker of intelligence in its lavender eyes—far too sharp, too knowing for an ordinary animal—and something in his mind shifts.

"Y’know," he drawls, loud enough to be heard but low enough to remain lazy, "reason animals don't normally act that way is so they avoid bein' attacked." He leans casually against a nearby tree, arms folding over his chest, watching as the pale creature moves.

MAEA

A sudden voice where none was expected would startle most people, and as she'd already discovered, this shift was a bit skittish. The doe was mid jump when the drawling comment dropped, and almost tied herself in a knot with the way she twisted to both turn and land at the same time. Bouncing to a halt as if frozen, the cast about wildly for the speaker, expecting tigers and bears at the very least, ghouls and specters at worst, only to find... a boy. Young man, if she wanted to be generous, but boy felt apt given the way he'd startled her.

The feirwe shimmered and shrank into the diminutive silhouette of an Ancient woman. Resting a hand om the curve of her hip, Maea fanned her face against the slight perspiration brought on by her acrobatics and offered him a sweet smile, still too filled with the joyful thrill of motion to let herself be put down. "It's a good thing I'm harder to kill than the average animal then, isn't it? I hope you're not getting any ideas... it's too nice a day for violence."

I see a new horizon, holding on to hope
Say goodbye to all my pain when it's time for me to go

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

come real quick & get inside my mind

Vesper watches as the ghostly deer twists in midair, nearly tangling itself in an effort to turn and land at the same time. The sheer absurdity of the movement tugs at the corner of his mouth, amusement flickering in his cool blue gaze. And then, right before his eyes, the creature dissolves—folds in on itself like mist giving way to form—until a woman stands in its place.

He takes his time drinking her in, tilting his head slightly as his gaze sweeps over her, noting the pale hair, the lavender eyes still bright with lingering exhilaration. There’s something almost too delicate about her, too light and ephemeral for the way she smirks at him, for the glint of challenge beneath her words. Harder to kill, huh? His smirk deepens, head shaking slightly as he lets his weight settle more comfortably against the tree. "That so?" His voice is a lazy drawl, all smooth amusement as his sharp gaze flickers over her again. "Gotta admit, don’t look it. But maybe that's the point, mm?"

He watches her for a beat longer before he exhales a quiet chuckle and shifts gears. "But nah, wasn't plannin' on takin' a bite outta you," he muses, his smirk sharpening. "Just figured you weren't your average deer. Not many animals out here glow like a will-o’-wisp, for one. And somethin' about the way you moved... seemed like you were gettin' a feel for a body rather than livin' in it." It’s close to the truth—close enough that it doesn’t feel like a lie. His telepathy had given him the real answer, had picked up the flashes of awareness and thought beneath the playful leaps and boundless motion. But Maea doesn’t need to know that.

MAEA

A deep thinker, this one. Observant too, if those were the conclusions drawn after so short a time spent watching her. Maea wasn't sure she liked being that easy to figure out, especially not by someone who seemed possessed of all the things she was not. Like confidence, self-assurance, charm... She crossed her arms over the chest, like it would do anything to make her less readable.

Unfortunately for her, the unthreatening nature of her appearance was the reason she'd had to learn how to be dangerous, not the other way around. Perhaps her life would have been different if she'd thought to use it more as a weapon; like Hotaru, who never hesitated to make the most of every gift nature had given her. It wasn't in Maeas nature, alas, as proven by the way she'd immediately showed her hand. Look at me, I've got teeth, don't touch or you'll get bitten. Rawr. Terrifying.

"Good. Then we won't have any problems," she replied lightly."And you would be correct. It's a newer shift, I haven't had time to get used to it yet." Tipping her head aside, it was her turn to look the young man over, reflecting over the easy stance and his lack of urgency. "It seems I've interrupted you, in whatever brought you out here. Can I help you with anything?" She was itching to return to her frolicking, but would not shift back if she was going to have an audience.

I see a new horizon, holding on to hope
Say goodbye to all my pain when it's time for me to go

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

come real quick & get inside my mind

Vesper picks up on the subtle shift in Maea’s thoughts before it even reaches her expression. It’s a quiet, prickling discomfort, an almost defensive edge to the way she folds her arms across her chest. It’s not quite fear—more like irritation at having her tells laid bare without her meaning to reveal them. Which, to be fair, isn't her fault at all. If he was any old idiot he might not have noticed it, but for his telepathy. The sensation brushes against his magic like fingernails dragged over taut string, an unpleasant discord that has him instinctively smoothing his own edges in response. His smirk softens just slightly, his stance loosening as if to silently assure her he’s not looking too closely, not prying more than he ought to—at least, not in a way she’d notice.

Vesper's gaze flickers to the floating river above them, the crimson mist catching the light, scattering red and gold through the air. "Far as interruptin’ goes, ain’t much to interrupt," he admits, exhaling a quiet breath. "Just runnin’ an errand."

He doesn’t elaborate—he never does when it comes to Jack's business—but something about Maea’s keen gaze makes him tip his head slightly, considering. "But if you really wanna help, you wouldn’t happen to know if anyone’s been stashin’ things out this way, would you?" His tone is easy, casual, like he’s only half-invested in the answer. "Might save me the trouble of diggin’ through every hollow tree in the damn woods, especially seein' as they apparently like to move around."

MAEA

An errand involving something stashed in a tree sounded like the kind of thing Maea wanted to know everything and nothing about. Curiosity had ever been a vice and it reared it's ugly head now, pushing all thought about the feirwe and its potential for agility to the back of her mind.
"Can't say I have, but then I wasn't looking for anything either. Would this stash be marked somehow? I can at least help you look."

She had not been in the area long enough to have seen anyone hide things away, and they'd be doing a poor job of it even if she had seen something. Turning in a circle now, gliding her gaze across every knob, lump and bump of the trees, she balked at the idea of searching without anything more to go on.
"You sure it's something that's meant to be found and not a prank..?" she asked mildly, wondering for a moment whether she should feel sorry for him or not.

I see a new horizon, holding on to hope
Say goodbye to all my pain when it's time for me to go

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

come real quick & get inside my mind

Vesper exhales a quiet chuckle at Maea’s suggestion, shaking his head as he steps forward, scanning the nearest tree trunk with a sharp, discerning gaze. "Not likely," he muses, his voice laced with dry amusement. "The man who sent me ain't the sort to deal in pranks." His smirk lingers, amused at the idea of Jack wasting his time on a fool’s errand, though he keeps the rest of his thoughts to himself.

Instead, he tilts his head slightly, dragging his fingers over the bark of a gnarled tree, searching for the faint impression of the mark he’s been told to look for. "S’posed to be somethin' subtle—scratched into the bark, near the roots most likely. Real faint, like a tally mark crossed with a hook. Easy to miss if you don’t know what you’re lookin’ for." He lets his hand drop back to his side, knowing that the description he'd given was vague, but not wanting to just go around explaining thieves cant to near strangers if it could be helped.

But before he can say anything else, a shift in the atmosphere sends a prickle down his spine.

The forest around them dims—not from any shift in the sun, but as if the very air is thickening, growing heavier, the light turning wrong. A whispering breeze moves through the trees, but it carries no real wind, no rustling of leaves. Instead, soft murmurs brush against the edges of his mind, hollow voices threading through the stillness like echoes of something long forgotten. Vesper stills, his instincts bristling even before his gaze catches the flicker of eerie, floating lights weaving lazily through the trees. At first glance, they resemble the will-o-wisps he’s heard of—glowing, spectral orbs drifting in an aimless, mesmerizing pattern. But something about them is… off. Their glow is sickly, tinged with an unnatural, void-tainted sheen. The whispers grow stronger, curling at the edge of his consciousness, beckoning.

"Tell me that’s normal for the Greatwood," he murmurs, his voice low, but even as he asks, he knows the answer. His shadows shift instinctively around him, curling at his feet, ready. Whatever these things are, they sure as fuck aren’t here to help.

MAEA

Easy to miss, really subtle and really none of her business. Despite the infernal itch of curiosity, Maea tried to refrain from drawing any conclusions about who this youngster might be working for. "Got it. A small unassuming mark..." Going back over the immediate surroundings with a fresh guide for her eyes, she was about to ask more queations about locations when the feel of the area subtly shifted.

A sinking feeling in her gut preceded a rush of old grief, of loss and longing as Maea followed Vesper's gaze. The purple taint was made even more awful because she knew the glow of will-o-wisps so intimately; an affront to her companions memory, and decidedly unnatural even in an enchanted forest.
"Sorry to say, that is not normal for any place in Caido," she replied, jaw clenching as she turned her gaze from the eerie lights. "Don't listen to them, don't follow; whatever they promise, it's a lie and will lead you astray. Even ordinary wisps can be dangerous, and these are not ordinary." Not that it needed to be said. The clammy damp of cold sweat breaking out across her body was evidence enough. Vesper might not have been enough of a disturbance to make her want to run, but these absolutely were.

I see a new horizon, holding on to hope
Say goodbye to all my pain when it's time for me to go

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

come real quick & get inside my mind

Vesper listens to Maea, though most of his attention is honed in on the eerie lights flickering ahead, the whispers brushing against the edges of his mind like cold fingers trailing over the surface of a still lake. Even without her warning, his instincts bristle, his shadows curling tighter at his feet like a living, restless thing. "Yeah, we don’t have shit like that in Torchline," he mutters, exhaling a slow breath, his sharp blue gaze never leaving the corrupted wisps. "Plenty of things that'll gut you for lookin' at 'em wrong, sure. But nothin' that whispers sweet fuckin’ nothings in your ear while tryin’ to drag you off somewhere worse."

He shifts his weight, muscles coiling beneath his skin as he watches the floating orbs weave lazily through the trees, their eerie glow staining the air with something sickly, wrong. His shadows shift restlessly, responding to the tension curling in his gut, and with a flick of his fingers, he extends one out, stretching it toward the nearest will-o-void.

The inky tendril moves with deliberate care, brushing lightly against the eerie glow as if testing the waters. His expression remains cool, detached, but his mind sharpens, ready to react the moment whatever-the-fuck these things are decide to respond. "Let’s see if they spook easy," he murmurs, half to himself, half to Maea. "Or if they bite."

MAEA

Reluctant to take her attention off the will-o-voids though she was, something about the way the shadows moved around Vesper made her look twice. It couldn't be caused by the wisps, given the way it stretched towards the light, which left the options of magic or items - or something far more divine than she cared to think about right now.

Rolling her eyes at his eagerness to play with fire, Maea hung back a bit, preparing herself to do what she could in case this went sideways. Picking a chakram to hold in a hand, it was as likely to be turned on herself as on the wisps; to heal or harm, dependingon the needs of the moment.
"I suppose I can pick up the pieces if they do decide to bite you," she murmured, "though you won't like what they do to your head in the interrim..." Between the nausea and hallucinations, she'd pass on a second such experience, personally.

Watching with bated breath as the bobbing lights drew closer to the shadowy tendrils, the wispers intensified; voices almost recognized, whispering longingly of places to go, things to see, pleading for help and offering gifts if they but come, just follow a short way - it wasn't far, the need not worry; the light would show the way.

I see a new horizon, holding on to hope
Say goodbye to all my pain when it's time for me to go

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

come real quick & get inside my mind

Vesper tilts his head, watching with detached curiosity as the shadow tendril barely grazes the eerie glow of the will-o-void. The moment it makes contact, the whispering intensifies, curling around his thoughts like a thick, cloying mist. The voices shift, morphing into something almost recognizable—like half-remembered dreams or the echo of names he’s never spoken aloud. It should be unsettling. It is unsettling. And yet, a small part of him considers pushing just a little further, just to see what happens.

But then Maea's words slide in, dry and unimpressed, and her presence at his side cuts through the pull of the void’s murmurs like a blade. He doesn’t need to read her mind to catch the exasperation laced beneath her voice, the quiet, wary disapproval. It’s enough to have him reconsider—because as much as he enjoys stirring trouble, he's not so keen on being that kind of idiot. With a smirk, he retracts the shadow, letting it slither back to him like an obedient thing, curling lazily around his wrist before dissipating. "Yeah, yeah," he murmurs, feigning boredom as he shakes his head. "Ain’t in the mood for gettin’ my brain scrambled today."

With a final glance at the sickly glowing wisps, he turns on his heel, stepping away from the creatures and deeper into the treeline, hands sliding into his pockets. And just as luck would have it, as he moves further from the will-o-voids, his sharp gaze flickers downward—and there, scratched faintly into the bark near the roots of an old, gnarled tree, is exactly what he’s been looking for.

"Well, would you look at that," he drawls, his smirk sharpening as he crouches down, brushing his fingers over the faint mark. "Looks like I won’t be wastin’ my time diggin’ through trees after all."

MAEA

Decidedly relieved when the young man stopped his experiment and stepped away from the tainted wisps, Maea cast the purple lights a wry glance before falling back as well. Spinning the glistening chakram around her fingers in a game only margianally less stupid, she watched Vesper stoop by a tree, not quite pointing out but definitely noticing a few scratches Maea definitely would have overlooked.

"Who knew walking away from wisps would lead to what you were looking for. I wonder if it's a rule or merely coincidence..?" It spared her hours of frustrating search, sure, but honestly she was mildly disappointed that stranger would be leaving so soon. As far as random encounters went, this one wasn't bad.

"If you were to feel like taking risks some other time, feel free to come find me," she offered, trying and failing to mimick Vesper's casual air. "There's an unfortunate number of void tainted things around here; some culling now and again won't hurt."

I see a new horizon, holding on to hope
Say goodbye to all my pain when it's time for me to go

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

come real quick & get inside my mind

Vesper chuckles under his breath, brushing his fingers once more over the faint, deliberate markings before straightening to his full height. His sharp blue gaze flicks toward Maea, catching the way she spins her weapon in idle restlessness, the words she doesn’t say lingering in the space between them; this, of course, is not something that bothers the demigod given his helpful ability to just peek into the ancient's mind.

"Yeah, well," he muses, tilting his head as if considering her point. "Maybe it’s the universe tryna reward good behaviour for once." He smirks, clearly unconvinced by his own words, but there’s a teasing glint in his eye nonetheless.

At her offer, though—her half-casual, half-serious invitation—Vesper lets his weight shift lazily onto one foot, watching her for a beat longer than necessary. There’s something amusing about her attempt to mimic his nonchalance, and if he were an asshole (more of an asshole), he might call her out on it. Instead, he lets her have it, his smirk turning a touch sharper, more knowing. "Risk-takin’s sort of a specialty of mine," he drawls, his voice dripping with amusement, though there’s an unmistakable undercurrent of curiosity beneath it. He flicks his gaze over her, measuring, considering, before rolling his shoulders in a slow, easy shrug. "Tell you what—if I find myself in need of a little void culling," he echoes, dry and deliberate, "I’ll be sure to look you up." His smirk lingers a moment longer before he moves, stepping past her with the lazy ease of a man who’s already decided he'll play whatever game this is.

"Name's Vesper."