Wanna Sit in the Dark
Delphine Mountrose


Age: 30 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 10 - Dext: 10 - Endr: 23 - Luck: 10 - Int:
POE - Regular - Galah
Played by: Vee Offline
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Posts: 402 | Total: 840
MP: 655
#1
delphine
LongNight was a cage. A prison. Wherever she was, she was still trapped. It didn't matter that she was safer than she would be in the Grounds, it didn't matter that Halo was met with fearsome cold. Delphine wanted... out. And she was pretty sure Noah wouldn't let her out.

Probably for good reason; she could barely survive the regular cold of Halo, much less a cold without any sun. Her cheeks puffed in thought, as she trailed her fingers across a stair railing, watching from above. The people below were milling, mingling.

Did they see being couped up as a time to get to know each other, to protect one another, ensure the survival of themselves and others? Did they not feel the walls closing in, worse than any darkness--and Delphine's seen darkness--that the world could send?

Fingers curled around the railing as she leaned, blonde curls falling into her face. And as she leaned, her lower lip trembled and she began to cry. It wouldn't be so bad if the twins were here. She told herself. Tears running down her face, she pressed a hand to her mouth, shoving away from the railing.

Guilt was finally nagging at her. Ludo's curse to remember that day had not brought forth guilt, not after Noah forgave her... but being without them for LongNight, and remembering the way she had been with them; how motherly she had been...

And the way she had promised to be that way for the rest of the year--how she'd wanted to, truly, be the mother they saw during the dreaded week of the dark.

That brought new guilt, for never being that person all the time she had them. One week a year, was that really being a mother?

"No," she murmured, blinking back tears as she moved towards one of the closest classrooms, not checking to see if the space was vacant. Her vision was blurred by her tears. Even Bellamy could love his child, she reminded herself. He had never loved the twins, not like he loved his firstborn with his actual wife. ...but you only loved them one week of the year.

The sounds of her sobs were likely easy to hear should anyone pass by the darkened classroom. Should they enter, they'd find the woman curled into a chair, hugging her knees to her chest, and crying.

Chulane
Ningo Farmer

Age: 30 | Height: 185cm | 6'1" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 24 - Luck: 14 - Int:
AUNI - Mythical - Luxere
Played by: Whimzi Offline
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Posts: 815 | Total: 926
MP: 35
#2
i'm still not sure what i stand for
Sleeplessness was the new trend. He barely knew what time it was; How could one say it was morning, noon or night when the sun refused to rise?

He had stayed on Antarctica during Summer, and had experienced a similar restlessness during the so-called 'night' there due to the sun not setting for a month in the midst of the season. The human body - most animals, in fact - were so unknowingly reliant on the steady cycles of the sun that when it did not rise or did not set, it threw the body into chaos.

So he wandered the halls a bit like a zombie, occasionally 'waking up' and engaging in conversation, in sharing and friendship, in mingling, but otherwise drifting from room to room, exploring, investigating, learning…

A sound caught his attention as he wandered past an almost-closed doorway, an unusual one that made him hesitate in his step. Was someone… crying?

He stuck his head through the doorway, murmuring a soft "Hey?" Then he entered, his eyes adjusting to the dim firelight, finding the hunched figure of Delphine, and approaching on swift, light footsteps.

He pulled a chair up to sit in front of her, frowning, but hesitating again before he went to say anything else. He knew very little about the girl, but he did know some. She had suffered a great loss, and though he didn't know the gritty details, he could imagine that such emotions rose and swelled up like a tide - he knew from his own personal experience with grief.

"Delphine," he began, rejecting the automatic desire to immediately ask 'Are you OK?' - it was obvious that she was not. "Hey, Del, I just want you to know that I'm here, OK? You can tell me to fuck off if you want. Or I could go get Noah, if you want? Or we can just sit here, and you can have a cry, and I'll just be here, OK?"

He was rambling a bit, mostly attempting to tell her he was here for her in whatever capacity she wanted him to be - even if it was none at all.
why don't we break the rules already?
CHULANE

Delphine Mountrose


Age: 30 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 10 - Dext: 10 - Endr: 23 - Luck: 10 - Int:
POE - Regular - Galah
Played by: Vee Offline
Change author:
Posts: 402 | Total: 840
MP: 655
#3
delphine
Delphine was drawn from her thoughts, when someone said her name, close enough that she had to notice them. She wiped at her eyes, listening to the man, shaking her head slowly. "Don't get Noah, he's got... so much to deal with, besides me and the fact I miss my kids." She mumbled.

Just a burden.

Taking a moment to compose herself, she wiped at her eyes again. "When... we came here, we found a nice, little isolated cave. And... that was our home." They'd lived closer to the bleak forest that the Hollowed Grounds supported.

Ludo had told her she had to learn to love her memories. She'd found peace with the memory of their death. But not with the memory of their life.

"But during LongNight, you know, there were monsters, but... if you don't leave, then you're relatively safe. So every year I came up with new games, and... new colors, new paint styles." She'd calmed down, a bit. "We'd practice their magic, and we'd practice learning to skin small animals and..."

She leaned forward to rest her head against the table. The wood was cool, despite the fires, which were low. "I... I miss it, I miss them. They always kept me busy and..." she pushed herself upright, fingers tapping anxiously against the tabletop.

"...I know Noah put me in charge as acting healer but... it isn't the same as spending a week with them, where I was the best mother they ever had..."

She drifted into silence with a shaky breath, staring at her hands. After a few long minutes, she murmured, "I promised myself... every year, that I'd stay the person I was during LongNight. The mother that played games and taught lessons... but I never kept my promise. Why?" She isn't really asking Chuy for an answer, the poor guy's only heard her talk about her children once, after all.
Ningo Farmer

Age: 30 | Height: 185cm | 6'1" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 24 - Luck: 14 - Int:
AUNI - Mythical - Luxere
Played by: Whimzi Offline
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Posts: 815 | Total: 926
MP: 35
#4
i'm still not sure what i stand for
He listened. He obeyed when she instructed him not to get Noah, and when she didn't tell him to leave, he stayed. He let her talk, let her get it all out, let her tell the story of her children, so that at least he might be able to share that memory with her now.

He still didn't know the circumstances of their deaths, and didn't ask for more details either. Probably never would, unless it became pertinent.

She was so young, and had been through so much - it would seem that Caido was determined to show to Chuy how easy his life of academia and farming had been, how peaceful and privileged, when compared to most others who ended up here.

"I'm sorry," it was all he could say. "I wish I had words that could help you." There was little that he or anyone else could do to relieve the pain of grief that rose up at these times. He could at least be here for her, offer a space where someone can hear her words, help her process her emotions, and ensure she comes out of the hard moment slightly more together than when she started.

"I think you are keeping your promise, to an extent. The art of healing is one I think mother's do best." He offered, warm words pressing against the coolness of the room, of the setting as a whole. He sighed quietly, before rising from his seat to throw more wood on the fire - can't have that going out. On his way back to his seat, he grabbed a blanket (something he had found in plentiful supply, given the climate of the region), and made to sling it about her shoulders, if she permitted him.

"Tell me more about them. What sort of magic could they do?" He asked, knowing that the question might hurt her to answer, but also knowing that ultimately it might also let some more of those emotions out, to be processed, seen and heard by kind, welcoming eyes and ears.
why don't we break the rules already?
CHULANE

Delphine Mountrose


Age: 30 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 10 - Dext: 10 - Endr: 23 - Luck: 10 - Int:
POE - Regular - Galah
Played by: Vee Offline
Change author:
Posts: 402 | Total: 840
MP: 655
#5
delphine
Delphine's face fell, when the man all but told her his words would not help her. He had no answers. And that crushing certainty, that nobody had answers, was almost enough to break her composure.

She shook her head slowly, "N... Back home, before I was a mother, I was Grand Healer." She explained, softly. There could not possibly be a connection between being a mother, and her healing. Or maybe she couldn't let herself listen, to hear.

She watched as he fueled the fire, hands running roughly through her hair, gaze on the ceiling. He asked a question, a request, and her smile was soft, like it might fall apart, her voice trembled.

"The smaller one, my little Bryony, she... well, she took after her father." Bryony had not looked like her father in appearace, had not resembled Bellamy in personality either, but her abilities had been snarls of the shadow man. "She had... this ability, to drain the life from whatever she held. And Acantha, my darling girl," Acantha had resembled Bellamy, had reminded her the most of him.

"Acantha would have grown up a healer." She explained, lower lip trembling. "They were two sides of a coin, see. Acantha was bold, and loud, and so sure of herself. Bryony, this shy little soul who cried when she met strangers..." She exhaled slowly, and tapped her fingers against the table, not really concentrating too hard.

The tune was a lullaby, "When I still had my harp, the little ones loved to learn to play, but even more than that they loved this tune." She hummed quietly, following the sounds of her tapping.

"But... I think, most of all, they wanted to explore the world. Before they died, they got to visit Torchline with me, as well as Halo. Noah... met them. He would have been good for them but..."

Without losing them she probably wouldn't have found Noah in the way she had him. "...I doubt I would be with Noah if they were still here." She cleared her throat.
Ningo Farmer

Age: 30 | Height: 185cm | 6'1" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 24 - Luck: 14 - Int:
AUNI - Mythical - Luxere
Played by: Whimzi Offline
Change author:
Posts: 815 | Total: 926
MP: 35
#6
i'm still not sure what i stand for
Chuy would've made the argument that being a mother enhanced one's healing viewpoint, that the maternal instincts often made one's ability to heal come more natural. That perhaps Delphine was a natural mother, so shown by her aptitude for healing before she became a mother - but then, he wasn't about argue with a woman who was so distraught already.

So he simply let her talk, glad that she answered his question, glad that a small, wistful smile graced her lips as she reflected on the memories of her child. He heard all that she said, committing it to his own memory, to preserve their names, and the snippets of what made them them that Delphine provided to him.

Then she was singing, or at least, humming, a tune, a lullaby and he let her do that too, letting a small, supportive smile curve his lips too.

"You don't know that," he said when she spoke of not having Noah in her life, in the capacity she has him now, if events hadn't of unfolded the way they did. "There is little use in pondering over 'what if's - try to focus on what you have."

He was trying to be soothing, to be kind, to help her deal with this particular wave of grief that had overcome her. "You have a place with Noah, you have your memories. You are a valued member of Halo, and you are very skilled in your field."

He sighed, knowing that there was no quick and easy solution, no words that would really help. "It's going to hurt, for a while. Time will help, but you're always going to struggle sometimes. And that's OK too."
why don't we break the rules already?
CHULANE

Delphine Mountrose


Age: 30 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 10 - Dext: 10 - Endr: 23 - Luck: 10 - Int:
POE - Regular - Galah
Played by: Vee Offline
Change author:
Posts: 402 | Total: 840
MP: 655
#7
delphine
Delphine shrugged slowly, murmuring, "Maybe you're right." Though she didn't sound like she believed him. But he was right; she should focus on the things she had, not what she had lost.

"Mm... I dunno that I'm valued in Halo, I don't know a lot of the people here... But I am skilled," at least that part she could admit too. The herbs were similar, and the way the magic worked was similar.

His ending words made her smile, and she murmured, "Thank you." She shifted in her seat to study the man, shoving her hands through her hair gently.

"Chuy? Have you lost people? You sound like you have." She'd forgotten he had most likely lost his entire home, like she had--forgotten he was an Outlander.
Ningo Farmer

Age: 30 | Height: 185cm | 6'1" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 24 - Luck: 14 - Int:
AUNI - Mythical - Luxere
Played by: Whimzi Offline
Change author:
Posts: 815 | Total: 926
MP: 35
#8
i'm still not sure what i stand for
He smiled warmly, glad to hear her talking again, glad to see his words having an impact that for the most part, seem positive. "You're welcome Delphine. You can talk to me anytime you need to - I can't promise that I'll always be able to help, but I am always happy to listen." He said his declaration with honesty, genuinely meaning it, no matter if she took him up on it once, many times or never.

His expression softened as she asked about him about his own past, of his own experience with loss and grief. "Like many Outlanders, I have lost access to everything I have ever known." He offered her another smile, a sadder one, that hinted to the grief over that loss that rises up within him every now and then.

"I live in hope that though I am not with them anymore, they live on. But that world, and the people I loved on it, may as well be dead to me - I have only my memories of them now." He spoke honestly, shrugging as he wiped a slight dampness that had formed around his eyelids. He wasn't crying, but he certainly wasn't dry-eyed as he reflected on his lost homeworld either.

"It is what it is. I am working on accepting it as truth. Keeping myself busy. Doing what I can to build a life for myself here." He offered another small, sad smile. "Have you got plans for Flowerbirth?" He asked by ways of letting the conversation move onto something else - onto what he had mentioned, about building a life here, thinking of the future, of the time that they could still have some semblance of control over.
why don't we break the rules already?
CHULANE

Delphine Mountrose


Age: 30 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 10 - Dext: 10 - Endr: 23 - Luck: 10 - Int:
POE - Regular - Galah
Played by: Vee Offline
Change author:
Posts: 402 | Total: 840
MP: 655
#9
delphine
Delphine nodded slowly, quiet. When he asked about Flowerbirth, she bobbed her head excitedly. "Noah agreed to explore Caido with me! He said we'll have to put his duties to Halo first, but..." She smiled quietly, "...I can't wait! I've visited Torchline briefly because my best friend lives there, but I didn't stay to do much or see much." She explained.

Her nose crinkled lightly. "I like Torchline better than Halo but... the cold is sort of growing on me. Or maybe it's the man?" She shrugged, "I'm just glad I don't have to explore by myself."

She was more than glad, she seemed absolutely over the moon that the Halovian had agreed to explore. "We're going to Torchline first, to learn more about the gods and... so he can meet Remi." She wasn't nervous about introducing Noah to the only family she had left.
Ningo Farmer

Age: 30 | Height: 185cm | 6'1" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 24 - Luck: 14 - Int:
AUNI - Mythical - Luxere
Played by: Whimzi Offline
Change author:
Posts: 815 | Total: 926
MP: 35
#10
i'm still not sure what i stand for
He smiled as she leapt into speaking about her future, blinking away the last of the misty eyes that lingered still from his talk of his lost homeworld. He was happy to look ahead too - that's why he had asked the question, after all.

He was quietly amused by the parallels in her future plans to his - he too had intentions of spending time at Torchline for a date with Kia, and they were also due to have him meet her parents, which was a daunting prospect to say the least.

"Who's Remi?" He asked, sensing her hesitation, her anxiety that she did her best to hide. He was curious, as he always was, as to what family she, as an Outlander, had here. It would seem he was relatively unique in his situation, having been plucked from everything and everyone familiar to him and placed here.

Many others had arrived with loved ones, or at least familiar faces. He didn't know whether that was a blessing, or just another part of the great curse the Voice wrought on all of the Outlanders.
why don't we break the rules already?
CHULANE

Delphine Mountrose


Age: 30 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 10 - Dext: 10 - Endr: 23 - Luck: 10 - Int:
POE - Regular - Galah
Played by: Vee Offline
Change author:
Posts: 402 | Total: 840
MP: 655
#11
delphine
Delphine chewed her lip. "He's... kinda like, my best friend? I guess it's safe to say we're pretty much siblings?" She wasn't sure how Remi would take, meeting Noah, after learning how Bellamy had treated her. She could just hope it went well.

She shrugged, grinning. "He can be a tad overprotective sometimes." Delphine scrunched her nose and studied Chuy, before inquiring, "What will you do for Flowerbirth? I figure while we're in Torchline, I'll probably gather some plants and... see if I can figure out how to coax them into growing around here," She really hated eating meat. But she wasn't going to starve herself because of a hatred, simply work to do her best to get back to being meat-free once again.
Ningo Farmer

Age: 30 | Height: 185cm | 6'1" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 24 - Luck: 14 - Int:
AUNI - Mythical - Luxere
Played by: Whimzi Offline
Change author:
Posts: 815 | Total: 926
MP: 35
#12
i'm still not sure what i stand for
He nodded along to her words, glad to hear she had friends outside of Noah and the little isolation bubble that was Halo. He chuckled softly at her description of this Remi, as overprotective, but he was guarded with his opinion there too, but overprotective could mean a great many things. He trusted Noah could give as good an impression as he always did when 'meeting the family', though.

Then the attention seemed to shift back to him, and he let a slanted half-grin tilt his lips. "In between trying to build a ningo farm and ensure everyone has food to eat, I'll be visiting the Grounds, to meet Kia's family. We also want to go camping in Torchline and do some exploring, so it's safe to say I'll be pretty busy." He offered with an easy shrug.

"I have hopes that with the ningo farm established we'll be able to produce some high-quality fertiliser for more plants to grow. Only time will tell with that one." He commented on her desire to grow more plants here - he did too, but he wanted to do it on such a scale that would allow Halo to be fully self-sufficient, at least during the summer months, which they could use to stockpile for the hellish time that was Deepfrost and Longnight.
why don't we break the rules already?
CHULANE

Delphine Mountrose


Age: 30 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 10 - Dext: 10 - Endr: 23 - Luck: 10 - Int:
POE - Regular - Galah
Played by: Vee Offline
Change author:
Posts: 402 | Total: 840
MP: 655
#13
Delphine
Delphine nodded, listening. "Oh. I hope I never go back to the Grounds," she admitted, biting her lip. Though she did wonder about the bodies, about the cave. She wasn't sure she wanted to go back there, though. She'd spent long enough in the Grounds.

"But Torchline! I enjoy Torchline, I think Noah's been once...?" She nodded slightly. "I've only been twice, but... it'll be fun." She was already planning to pick up one of the outfits she'd seen while she was last there, and of course see the ocean...

She leaned back in her seat, her eyes closing as Chuy went to explain, and quietly she inquired: "Is there not a way to magically grow plants? In my homeland..." She gestured helplessly. "If you could find somebody who can grow plants with magic... then, wouldn't that jumpstart a greenhouse?"
Let me make you smile, darling.
Ningo Farmer

Age: 30 | Height: 185cm | 6'1" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 24 - Luck: 14 - Int:
AUNI - Mythical - Luxere
Played by: Whimzi Offline
Change author:
Posts: 815 | Total: 926
MP: 35
#14
i'm still not sure what i stand for
"There is Earth magic, but from what I know, it will only help to grow plants native to the region the mage is in." Magic, he thought, not quite the easy way out. "I attended a lecture led by a distinguished individual named Jigano, at the Grounds, just before the portal closed up. Magic is foreign to me - it didn’t exist on my homeworld - so I've taken every opportunity I can to learn about it, even if I might never wield it myself." He tries to explain, before falling silent to mull over his thoughts a bit.

"He said that only mastered earth magic can create soil and plants aplenty, but it is restricted depending on what naturally grows there. And Halo doesn't have a whole lot of variety - shrubbery, lichen. I'm not sure how much it will help - but it's certainly worth a try." He added the last part in as a caveat, a sign that he too shared a shred of hope that magic might indeed be the answer. But he also couldn't help the way his brain was wired, to try and riddle problems out with practical means, with science, with things he can touch and feel and control.
why don't we break the rules already?
CHULANE



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