Slippery Shadows

I R I S Iris' bare feet slipped against the rocks as waves crashed against them, black and cool. 'I can do this', she thought as her toes slid down the merciless stone in search of a grip. Her hold on the bottle tightened as that sinking feeling in her gut started pulling her downwards. Her other hand outstretched, she caught a crevice and pulled herself up. Slithering up the rock, using all the limbs at her disposal, she made it to the top. At first, she took a moment to catch her breath and stare at the skies above, clear like a window into a spotted universe. Stars beyond counting burned through the night. "Dear Gods and Godlings!" she called, suddenly propping herself up, bottle scraping against the rough surface below. "I come to you with offering of divine nectar!" She placed it on the altar with a loud clink and dug into her pockets, emptying them of the salty cake that had been meant to soak up what she'd drunk. She placed the cake on the damp rock beside the sweet liquor. Iris had been avoiding this shrine. It could voice a truth she wasn't prepared to hear. Dead or alive, she mourned Elias all the same. Instead, she came to the shrine to ask for assistance in running away as opposed to facing more unpleasant realities. "I have triumphed the trial of the rock, and humbly ask for a boon." She declared, dramatically, voice resonating with awed reverence. Then she got to staring at the statue's feet. She'd never seen a god's feet. She wondered about that.

ludo Braved the forests, braved the stone Braved the icy winds and fire Braved and beat them on my own "A boon for climbing a rock? Sweetling, you are funny." Iris still won't see a god's toes - not this particular god, anyway. But raggedy edges flap around the statue, until Ludo is wrapped around its shoulders like a scarf. It peers down at her from behind a porcelain mask which is arranged in an expression that one might call amused, though of course that's impossible, is it not? It would have to be. Masks don't grin. (Or do they?) A surprisingly expressive ball of rags, is Ludo, and one tendril of cloth snatches up liquor and cake to examine it, as if wondering what game it might play. Eventually, it inches the bottle towards its mask, and a melodic fwoooooo hits the air, as if someone has blown into the neck of the bottle. "Go on, though. What's the boon?"

I R I S Startled by the sudden comment her eyes darted upwards, where she saw the statue receiving a gentle embrace. As the rags wrapped around metal like tendrils of smoke, Iris' heart picked up. It took her a moment to realize that the words relayed a compliment and stop blinking upwards like a simpleton. Her smile appeared and she thanked the herald with a small bow. A breeze came in from the coast and swayed her slightly. "I was trying for heroic, but I'll take what I can get." She quipped lightheartedly. Then, gathering her wits as the herald played around with her offering, she straightened up and looked at the porcelain face with drunken determination. "I'm in need of an efficient disguise. Wearing the same face every day can get bothersome. If bothersome was another word for - "Dangerous, even."

ludo Braved the forests, braved the stone Braved the icy winds and fire Braved and beat them on my own Cake and liquor disappear into Ludo's rags eventually, after the deity has blown into the bottle a few more times. Precisely where they go is anyone's guess, and really, it's better not to think about it too hard. Besides, there are other things to play around with now, and it billows away from the statue like a shawl that's blown off, only to settle around Iris's shoulders instead. "Oh I do love disguises," it chimes - to anyone looking, she is wearing Ludo like quite a fetching hood. "I like to wear other people as disguises. Would you like to do that too? I think you would look lovely as another person." Is it a compliment? Who knows?

I R I S All her hairs stood on end as the rags draped around her. She spun around once, making the stars on the horizon blend together as she tried to catch sight of the herald, but all she was left with was the feeling of Ludo's rags wrapped around her. She wiggled her shoulders and raised a hand up to feel the fabric, freezing when she heard the herald's voice right behind her head. Was it a compliment? Who knows. But the godling made an offer, "Would I?", and Iris chuckled in incredulous amusement. The wariness she felt dissolved as the amused energy the herald emanated enveloped her, and her hand went down to feel the fabric covering her, light and smooth. "I would love that."

ludo Braved the forests, braved the stone Braved the icy winds and fire Braved and beat them on my own Ludo titters at the feeling of fingers upon fabric - clearly hardly anyone thinks to touch the deity when it decides to wrap itself around the mortals who come to visit at its shrine. "I thought that you would. Very well, sweetling - let us make you a hood like this, to wear the faces of others!" Bobbing away again, Ludo hovers before her, its mask nearly nose to nose with her face. "I will need a few things. A hood you wish to use, of course - but you must steal it from someone else. And a looking glass, crafted by someone you do not know. I also require the sweetest honey from a hive of bees on the highest edges of the cliffs in Aumakua." And that's it! Iris has received a quest from Ludo! - Complete a thread stealing a hood from a character Iris knows - Complete a thread trading for/stealing/whatever a looking glass crafted by someone Iris does NOT know - Complete a thread collecting honey from a hive along the cliffs of the Aumakua Once she is finished, she can post back at the shrine for quest turn-in!

I R I S She retracted her fingers at the deity's strange chuckle but a small smile tugged at her lips in silent response. Still, it was Ludo's agreement that made her heart flutter. The possibilities opening up before her that swarmed her mind. Some, more the result of her inebriation than others. Ludo certainly didn't sit still for long, and it seemed to enjoy assaulting others' personal space from odd angles. Or, it imply derived pleasure from their discomfort. Eye to eye with the faceless herald, Iris didn't flinch (well, she only flinched once), staring straight into the porcelain surface. She imagined it would be easier if she drew eyes on it. Maybe then the stare-down wouldn't make her eyes water. These thoughts fluttering through her head didn't indicate a lack of focus. She listened to Ludo's demands intently, and her gratefulness mixed with reverence and respect. Not that these feelings could stifle a healthy sense of humor. "I will bring what you ask, herald. And I thank you for your generosity." She said with a small, quick curtsy, popping back up to level with the mask and the rags flapping somewhat menacingly around it.

ludo Braved the forests, braved the stone Braved the icy winds and fire Braved and beat them on my own "Do not thank me yet," Ludo advises with a brief wiggle of a rag, as if to say that the most difficult tasks are yet to come. Iris has to complete them all before there is anything to be grateful for. Still, the gauntlet has been thrown and there is little to do now but to crawl back down the stone and away. (Hopefully she doesn't fall). Either way, when next she turns to look at the statue, Ludo will simply be gone. It's as if it was never there. As if it were made of seafoam itself. ~FIN