[SE] fishing expedition (open)

After venturing through the portal once, Saiden had decided to see what else the world of Caido had to offer. The Hollowed Ground seemed boring, from all reports, but talking with Jiao had left him wondering how much of what she'd told him about the Greatwood was true. So he'd walked through the mists, letting the portal deposit him by a once great tree.

Peering around the clearing, he let his feet take him where they willed. It was chillier here, and while he'd put on a shirt and boots and even pants for this excursion, he still shivered. Soon enough, he was quite lost, and he found himself wandering the woods aimlessly.

He was so focused on trying to figure out where the fuck he was that he wasn't watching his feet. Only when water splashed up did he glance down. Scowling, he lifted his boot from the puddle he'd stepped in. However, something started flickering in the center of the water, and not just ripples.

A picture appeared: it showed Saiden on a small boat, in the center of the Arclight Ocean. He had a fishing rod in his hands. Even as he watched, a veritable gaggle of children came into view. All of them had the trademark Hali features, and he felt his breath catch in his throat.

Coding base by Sky!

As Saiden continued staring deep into the depths of the puddle, he watched as the children, piled onto the version of him in the puddle. Fake him growled as he disappeared, then began chasing them around the boat. Soon enough, he saw a woman enter the picture as well. She appeared to be scolding them, though affectionately.

Then she turned, and the actual cook's breath caught in his throat. It was Eloise, and the sight brought happy tears to his eyes. Unfortunately, something happening in the background caught his eyes. The illusory Saiden was shifting, even as he watched, as were the kids. Soon enough, it was Jack who was there, with the boat turning into the Ark, and the Hali and the Hali features were gone.

At that, Saiden's hands clenched into fists. He jerked his eyes away from the puddle. Turning away angrily, he stalked off in a random direction. Although he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings, he soon found himself back in the clearing where he'd first emerged. Without a backwards glance, he went back through the portal and home to Torchline.

-FIN

Coding base by Sky!