[SE] bend and break

Aurelia

there's a heart here cast in stone
and there's a past i must atone

The brittlebone bridge is a place Aurelia has not been yet, in the Oerwoud. She's explored the entirety of this place except for this particular spot. Perhaps because of the mythos surrounding it, that it may invoke some terrible luck upon a person for one misstep.

But hasn't that been the theme of her entire life?

Perhaps this is the one place she should have always come.

So, with Seren in tow, she pauses at the beginning of the bridge, just before the vines give way to it. There is a hand-carved bow and a quiver of arrows strung across Aurelia's back as she glances over her shoulder at Seren.

Thus far, there have been no pumpkin sightings. Kind of a miracle, that. While Aurelia doesn't quite let her guard down, she does take the opportunity this exploration has given her to get to know Seren a bit more. That's why they've come out here, after all. Aurelia had asked her, had hoped that they could find some common ground with their fealty to Safrin.

"Do you know the superstition about this bridge?" Aurelia asks conversationally, just as she steps out onto one of the planks. She'll lead the way across it. There are no ropes to hold them up, only their own poise and balance on the steps. As she goes, she explains, "They say that if you look down, you'll be cursed with bad luck." She offers a grim smile over her shoulder at this.

there were moments i thrust away
now there's a keeper i must pay

SEREN

For every tyrant, a tear for the vulnerable
In every lost soul, the bones of a miracle

Seren had been surprised at the ouverture to spend time with Aurelia. A little taken aback, strangely reluctant... but in the end, she had agreed. If nothing else, then because she wanted to understand this woman better. She was the new Governor of Torchline, Maeve's co-ruler... and someone whom her mother had granted favor. These unsettled feelings of unease Seren kept getting around her could not be allowed to linger, not without a good reason.

Though, really. The killing of a companion would likely be reason enough to many. Not so for Seren. She knew the circumstances around that, perhaps better than many.

"Someone told me about, yes... I've been here once before," she murmured, following in Aurelia's wake out onto the bridge. She carried a simple wooden staff in her hand, and kept twirling it as she walked. To get used to the sensation of the shaft between her hands, and learn the shifting weight and balance of such a weapon. It felt better than a sword... but Seren admittedly missed the precision of a blade. Especially when vines and mutters in the underbrush made her think of those dratted gourds.

In the bright sunlight, the touch of night on the girl was glaring and obvious. Even the slightest move she made set the dark aura to billowing about her, trailing like a soft cloud around arms and legs, drifting past shoulders and loose curls like a veil. Highly aware of its presence, Seren kept her eyes on the surrounding landscape. Unwilling to find out exactly what the other woman thought of such an opulent display of... otherness.

"Better not look down, then. Torchline's had enough bad luck for a time."

In every dreamer a dream - we're unstoppable
with something to believe in

Aurelia

there's a heart here cast in stone
and there's a past i must atone

Aurelia finds a great deal of peace here in the Oerwoud, and Seren might be surprised to find her demeanor... rather lax. Even with possessed gourds abound, being in the jungle is like being somewhere she knows like the back of her hand. Even if this is a different jungle, even if this is a place she's never been. She finds herself quite at ease here, even in the presence of someone she is sure must not like her very much.

Hell, she barely likes herself at most times. She could not blame Seren, if it were the case, though it's what's inspired her to do this. To perhaps... mend the bridge. No pun intended.

At Seren's clever quip, Aurelia chuckles softly, the motion rumbling through her chest. Unlike the demigod behind her, she does not fiddle with anything in her hands. No, she merely focuses on keeping her balance, on getting used to the sway of the bridge and the way her feet must be placed.

"I agree..." she says finally, a bit more seriously, "I hope that Maeve and I can help it return to a state of.. glory. Prosperity. I know things have taken a turn, perhaps since before I even arrived. I don't know what it was like, before that. But I would like to see it become better." She eyes Seren then, an earnest look in her gaze. "Now that I've been given this responsibility, I feel..." she pauses in her tracks, a punctuation to her point as she considers how to put it, "I feel like I have a purpose here, which is all I've been looking for..." The words come out with a bit of pain wrapped around their edges.

It's been hard, finding her place in this new world, feeling lost and meaningless... pointless. Which is not something she is often able to speak on, given the nature of such thoughts.

The darkness that unfolds from Seren's movements does have some novelty, but at this point in their trek, Aurelia has had time to get past the initial shock of it. For most of the time, she has let it go, has not prodded about it - curious as it is.

Now, though?

"Does that.. do anything? That darkness around you?"

there were moments i thrust away
now there's a keeper i must pay

SEREN

For every tyrant, a tear for the vulnerable
In every lost soul, the bones of a miracle

Seren had no trouble on the bridge, even as it began to sway. Her steps were light and shifted gracefully to accommodate the movements of the bridge; she herself were lightened, and barely seemed to touch the curious planks at all with her feet. It had only been a season since she left the stars, but she had acclimed herself well and rapidly to the new gravity of Caido.

"I hope so, too. Things have been... restless, for a while now." That was an understatement, and Seren still only had the most basic understanding of all that went down with Sunjata and his father, before fires were ever set. Ever since Apopo erupted, it had been one incident after the other, and she could blame no one for being tired and longing for peace. "If you don't mind my asking... what are your intentions towards the other regions? Do you plan on mending the alliance with Halo?"

It was not just Torchline who had seen a shift in leadership... and Seren was wary of further tension between the governing individuals. Would they keep up this useless grudge with each other... or set that aside for the good of their nations?

When attention was brought to her billowing aura, Seren looked down at herself, and painted a swirling motion with a hand. It was pretty, to be sure. If she kept moving, the darkness seemed to linger longer, and within it distant stars seemed to twinkle and gleam.
"Eh... I don't think so," she murmured, a little sheepish. "My mother... it might be something she did. She wants me to stand out... I declined a suggestion from her to give me a shooting star to ride on. Perhaps she was a little disappointed." Seren shrugged, fondly amused even though she had no proof that this was more than a theory on her part. Maybe it was just something that would have happened to her eventually anyway.

In every dreamer a dream - we're unstoppable
with something to believe in

Aurelia

there's a heart here cast in stone
and there's a past i must atone

Aurelia notices how Seren seems to hardly step on the planks at all, meanwhile they seem to bend and creak beneath her own feet. Must be more of that magic Seren has, though Aurelia is not entirely sure on the specifics of her set of skills.

She continues to walk along the bridge, hesitating as Seren asks what she intends to do about Halo. Her brows raise subtly and she wonders that, too. "Right now, we are more concerned about starting within and working our way out," she says, tone a bit distant suddenly, "there is much to be done here."

"I do mind, actually," she firmly states, "I'd prefer not to discuss political decisions with anyone outside of my council, if you can understand. At least, not until these things are officially decided." Hopefully Seren can understand that. With a slightly curious tone, she asks, "Are you concerned about Halo? I'm sure they are strong enough on their own, for now."

Read: Hotaru and Noah can sort out their own bullshit for the time being.

Aurelia watches Seren craft dark stars out of her motions for a moment, brows pressing together with slight concern, slight bewilderment. But at Seren's explanation, her expression relaxes and she gives a wary nod of understanding. "I see..."

"How do you like being a demigod?" She asks suddenly, eyeing the girl in front of her before she returns her attentions to the bridge. "You were never anything else before, right? Do you sometimes wish you were..." she mulls over her choice of words, "more like other people?"

there were moments i thrust away
now there's a keeper i must pay

SEREN

For every tyrant, a tear for the vulnerable
In every lost soul, the bones of a miracle

If the demigod took offense to the decline of her question, it did not show. Her eyes kept trailing over the surroundings, searching for treeflits and colorful flowers rather than looking at Aurelia. If it stung, to be left out of the loop after being intrinsically involved and given the chance to influence... well, at least her shrug did not reflect that.
"I have friends in Halo," she replied evenly. "As I have friends in Torchline. I am concerned about all of them, especially now that things are so turbulent. This sort of chaos, with new leaders in place in both regions... it can be a growing ground for so much conflict, when we need it the least. I hate the sensation of tip-toeing around people, and being afraid to set off an argument because I happened to mention someone they're upset with."

Clearly that was what it looked like from her perspective. A petty squabble that no one was going to come out on top of, pointless and best left behind, now that new chapters had been entered into.

Hurrying up her pace slightly, Seren slipped in to walk beside Aurelia, her supple gait attempting to compensate for the woman's own, so that the bridge would not shift at all. It took some tries before she got it right, but the simple game appeared to entertain her.

"That's... a difficult question to answer," Seren admitted, and offered the Fireheart a rare smile, not often seen in this person's company. "It's... to me it is normal. I know there are some expectations on me, from those who know who and what I am. Mother wishes things for me, and my father probably have hopes too, even if they're more mundane. The war, the whole notion of being pitted against the Voice and her Ascended... that's a very heavy burden, and I don't think I have figured out where I want to be in all of it yet." Tucked away safe in a glass tower somewhere, sheltered and protected for better times? She could do that. Be a beacon of hope, awarding a sense of purpose and direction for those on the frontlines. Or she could join them, and help fight for this better, improved version of Caido where the Voice was no longer a threat to the balance. Or she could betray everything, everyone, go her own way and see how many steps she would manage before her light, and life, was ultimately forfeit. The choice was hers, and Seren could not say where her path might lead.

"But I suppose... if being normal meant I would never know my parents, or be their child... I wouldn't change a thing." Certianly there were priviledges and pleasant parts too, to being starborn and destined for great and terrible things.

In every dreamer a dream - we're unstoppable
with something to believe in

Aurelia

there's a heart here cast in stone
and there's a past i must atone

If Seren is offended by Aurelia's reservations, she does a good job of hiding it. She is not opposed to answering the demigod's questions, with easing concerns, however, and her question is poised to try and pinpoint those without saying something about more delicate matters. Matters which outcomes might change just the same as the tides of the ocean.

"Things are very turbulent," she agrees with a soft sigh, though she does quiet to listen intently to the rest of Seren's explanation. For someone so young, she seems to be a few steps ahead of someone her age. But Aurelia gets the idea that Seren is referring to her and Hotaru, and somehow too afraid to say it.

"If there is something you want to say, Seren, beating around the bush will do you no good either," she advises with amused warmth in her tone. At this point, this is nothing unexpected and... Aurelia is more detached from the situation than Seren might think. "If you're talking about Hotaru and I being at odds with one another.." her shoulders shrug downward, "what happened that night will never be forgotten - by either of us. And so it will take both of us to let it go, but I scarcely doubt Hotaru is ready to do that. If she's one of these friends you speak of, then tell me... do you think she could truly let it go?" Nevermind that she wants to warn Seren against trusting that kind of person.

When everything that had started all of this had been about something else entirely that the woman could not let go of? Aurelia doesn't trust that, for a moment, Hotaru would lay down her arms. Especially not after stealing power from the Warden of Halo. No, that does not seem like a recipe for peace.

As they walk side-by-side, Aurelia is quietly surprised by the gentle presence beside her. The pretty smile directed at her, so much like Safrin's - and just as rare in her presence, makes her jaw tense. But she offers a tight smile of her own in return. She watches the girl's features as she speaks, better able to traverse the bridge now that she's gotten used to it.

"The Voice... right.." Aurelia laughs softly, something almost sad about its tone, "you know something I've never told your mother?" Perhaps it is stupid of her to share with Seren, perhaps it will find its way back to the goddess, but for a moment Aurelia doesn't care. "I'm actually.. grateful to the Voice." She gives Seren a look, knowing how this must sound, and her head tilts as she smiles with the embarrassment of revealing that truth. "I mean, if it were not for her..."

"I would not be here now." And, in some ways, she wishes she could go back home. But in many ways, she knows it's not where she belongs anymore.

there were moments i thrust away
now there's a keeper i must pay

SEREN

For every tyrant, a tear for the vulnerable
In every lost soul, the bones of a miracle

Seren's mind had actually been on other people entirely. Sah, his new adopted family. Ray, Harper; the innocent bystanders who would inevitably be caught up in the turmoil if the new leaders pursued their own personal vendettas. But when Hotaru's name was brought up, Seren did sigh and nod, because inevitably that was where it had to begin.

"No, of course she will not. Nor will you, I imagine. You killed her companion, so tightly bound to her soul that he might as well have been a piece of herself. And she tried to kill you for doing so... and nearly succeded, I hear. Neither of you can be expected to forget that, or even forgive." She thunked her staff thoughtfully against a branch overhead, and dislodged a swarm of modilu flies in the process. Their shimmering wings shifted and changed color as they hovered around the woman, alternating shades of introspective blue, slashed through with the odd touch of purple dignity or vexation pink. "I really hope that both of you will be able to set those feelings aside, however. War... it is coming. We all know that. It could happen tomorrow, for all that we've been given a schedule. Halo and Torchline will surely need to stand united to survive what is coming, and the sooner that can be achieved, the better. Unless you think Torchline can face this alone?"

She had read too many books on past battles where discord between allies had spelled doom to not be concerned. Still, she gazed at Aurelia, giving the woman a chance to speak. She was the leader here... supposedly the Fireheart would know this already.

The confession - because that's what it smacked of, even though it probably was meant as a confidence - was met with a faint grimace. The notion of attributing the monster in her bedtime stories with anything good was difficult, and there was a surreptitious glance upwards, to the barely visible sky, as if Safrin might descend on them merely for suggesting such a thing.

"I wouldn't be here either, if her constructs hadn't brougth dad from his homeworld," Seren replied, in reluctant admission. "Though... I'm not sure gratitude is what I feel for that. If all the war and death and suffering over these centuries could be erased by my never existing... I would gladly trade."

In every dreamer a dream - we're unstoppable
with something to believe in

Aurelia

there's a heart here cast in stone
and there's a past i must atone

Aurelia lifts her gaze to watch as the insects hover around them, the fan of each set of wings giving off a small rustling sound. Altogether, the buzz became loud and nearly obnoxious but, she ignored it with an involuntary sweep of her hand to brush them away.

Seren's words have become a sort of mantra. She is not the first to sing it, and she likely won't be the last. Aurelia does not know what she's expected to say. "I have no intention of hiding from the war," she tells Seren with a confidence that doesn't require force or spirit. It is simply a matter of fact. Her gaze flashes with something lesser, something unreadable, "Or Hotaru."

"I believe that Torchline can face anything," she points out steadily, not looking at Seren either. Instead she regards the blooming purple flowers surrounding them. She dares not to reach out and touch them, however, remembering the legend. Thoughtfully, she explains, "We boast greater numbers than any other region. The leadership will be strong with Safrin's full support behind us. Maeve and I will work together; no decision will be made on our own. Especially not after we elect our council."

"Torchline will only get stronger as time goes on, Seren. You can rest assured in that. We are taking this all very seriously."

She will let that sink in as her gaze finally returns to the girl, watching for the demigod's thoughts. She understands that Seren has care for Torchline, and her concerns are entirely valid - especially with what she knows. Aurelia thinks the demigod's worries must be haunting, with all the weight she must carry on her shoulders as a demigod, as the daughter of Safrin.

She can only imagine.

But when Seren goes on to contradict herself, Aurelia feels a need to gently bring her attention to that. "But.. didn't you just say that you wouldn't change a thing about who your parents are?" She is not naive to what Seren is going through, merely trying to get her to face it herself. "That means.. that the Voice bringing your father here was a good thing. Was it not? It resulted in you, after all." She gives Seren a gentle nudge with her elbow, accompanying it with a soft smile. "I don't think the Gods are really so much different than us. They have very human qualities, if you think about it. Wants, desires.. they're flawed, too. They're just a bit better at hiding it."

there were moments i thrust away
now there's a keeper i must pay

SEREN

For every tyrant, a tear for the vulnerable
In every lost soul, the bones of a miracle

It all sounded very good. Aurelia's nudge was met with silence however, and it took a while before Seren turned her head to face at her. When she did, it was with a distant look, one that seemed to gaze at things very far away. A little pale under the freckles and the tan, her smile was a quick jerk of the lips, more reflex than intentional.

"I'm not sure I can afford to think like that," she said quietly. "That would mean that I am the daughter of no more than a fickle and willful woman who would slaughter a people on a whim, for her own personal reasons. It would mean that I have no purpose, and that all the terrible things that have, and will happen, are utterly meaningless." The gods had to be different. If she couldn't believe that...

Shying away from the very thought - that path led to insanity - Seren shook her head against the faint ringing in her ears, and drew in a deep breath.
"Do what you think is best. As you said, I'm not on your council, and you have no obligation to listen to me." Not even as Safrin's daughter could she ask for more than a little respect. "Just remember that Hotaru and Noah also rule because the Old God willed it to be so. They are not the enemies here."

Ignoring the swarm of insects, Seren stepped through them and pushed on ahead. The tension in her shoulders was palpable, and while there was nowhere to run - not out here, not unless she left Aurelia alone on the bridge - she still needed some space. Some time to collect herself, and stop panicking over things she could do nothing about.

In every dreamer a dream - we're unstoppable
with something to believe in

Aurelia

there's a heart here cast in stone
and there's a past i must atone

Aurelia tilts her head gently and her brows furrow. "Do you really think of people so harshly?" She asks rhetorically, knowing the answer is surely no. "Perhaps holding the Gods to such a high standard is cruel of us, to demand that they never make mistakes... and to brandish them as villains when they do."

She certainly knows what that feels like.

As for Safrin? Aurelia sighs heavily. "Even without all of her godly qualities, your mother is a pillar of strength. She sees people for what they truly are, and so many of us are afraid of that. I think that's what makes her so daunting to so many people; they're afraid she'll spot their deepest flaws. And she will.. but she forgives those. Doesn't she?" Aurelia comes up beside Seren, gaze gentle yet prodding. "She forgave me, for being an Abandoned. For having darkness in my soul. She gave me light, instead. Because she knows that we are more than what we've been through, we're more than our weaknesses."

Safrin saw her potential and did not deny it to her simply because she had made a few mistakes. She would extend that same understanding back to the goddess, if it were ever needed.

"We've not forgotten," Aurelia says flatly of Halo, drawing back so that Seren can walk ahead.

there were moments i thrust away
now there's a keeper i must pay

SEREN

For every tyrant, a tear for the vulnerable
In every lost soul, the bones of a miracle

Did she? That Aurelia thought she had to be forgiven for her magic in the first place made Seren's hands tighten on the staff, harder and harder until her skin prickled and stung. Doubt was a gnawing, treacherous thing, a seed planted by Nate's heated words and the roots were given more hold for every dirty little secret she uncovered. Stormbreak, it's defenses, and the price that was paid for them... it all made her ears ring, pulse raising until she wanted to scream. She ought to just see a shrine, speak to her mother about it... but she was afraid. Terrified of the answer she might get.

"You have nothing to be forgiven for," was all she managed to say, echoing the thoughts that kept ringing on repeat in her head. "Magic is not a sin."

Seren meant to stalk off, to put some distance between them - this really was not going well, she was not liking Aurelia an ounce better for all that she tried - but she only made it a few yards before a rumble and sway of the bridge announced the presence of something else on the bridge. Looking up, she was startled to see a mass of gourds come rolling, tumbling, bouncing towards her. Big ones, small ones, gourds in every shape, color and size kept pouring in like some horrific vegetable tide.

Reflexively Seren raised her staff and sank into a ready stance. "Uh, Aurelia? We've got company." A quick glance to the sky sent a star tumbling down; it broke into fragments and coalesced into a star-wolf in front of her, poised to defend. But the onslaught... "Stars above, there's no end to them!"

In every dreamer a dream - we're unstoppable
with something to believe in

Aurelia

there's a heart here cast in stone
and there's a past i must atone

Aurelia's lips purse softly and she offers a small, sad smile. Perhaps Seren is missing the point. Though she knows that she has never had a silver tongue or been particularly talented at swaying others, it is not her intent to manipulate Seren. Aurelia truly believes these thoughts of hers are true, and she does not understand how they could be taken so wrongly. Though, she also does not know what it is like to be the daughter of an Old God's Herald of Life.

She comes from a very different world, and even her fealty to Safrin does not change who she is at her core.

The pressure must be immense, and so she gives up at this point with a soft shrug. As for magic not being a sin? This sentiment baffles her. Then how is being an Ascended a sin? She wonders. Sure, one could say that they chose it. But Aurelia had chosen her magic just as much, had she not? Had she not opened herself up to its realms and possibilities? When she could have very well asked for them to be nullified, or perhaps for an item that could do such a thing.

Yet, she had chosen it.

All of her life, she had wanted nothing more than control. To be able to banish the shadows, even if her light burned and seared and plagued the air with screams.

Once Seren's warning rips through their awkward silence, her gaze lifts sharply from where it has drifted, stuck within her own head, pondering over how she might ease the tension. That will have to wait. The vampiric fucking gourds are at it again, and though Aurelia has brought her bow, she's not sure for how long it will be of use.

Nonetheless, she pulls it off her back and directs a bow at its merciless end. Poising, stilling her self with a strong inhale, she releases. The arrow finds the eye of a pumpkin that threatens after Seren, its vines reaching for her foot. From that point, arrow after arrow flies, each one knotched faster than the last to try and keep up.

Only.. she cannot.

"Gods' sake.." There really is no end.

Tucking her bow away, Aurelia realizes what she must do. The pool within her that so often goes untapped is suddenly pulled from. Fire begins to crackle at her fingertips, her hands guiding the flame into a fireball that she withholds for now. "Seren! Get back!"

Hopefully, this could make the bulk of them fuck right off.

there were moments i thrust away
now there's a keeper i must pay

SEREN

For every tyrant, a tear for the vulnerable
In every lost soul, the bones of a miracle

The wolf did not last long. Its star-gleam jaws closed around one gourd, and another, and shunted a drove of the gnashing biters off the edge of the bridge to tumble towards a crushing death. But three more latched onto its legs, while a big swollen monster of a pumpkin took a chunk out of its flank, and before long the summon dissolved into shimmering dust.

That left Seren and her staff, and she really got a chance to test her skills here. It was not a weapon she had used long, but it did solid work in bashing, breaking and smashing the vampire gourds as they charged. She stomped one to a gory pulp with a foot when it tried to take a nibble out of her shin, then had to stagger back to avoid two more.

Aurelia's warning had the soldier-in-training duck and come scurrying back, so that the flames would not scorch herself too. A memory of pain pulsed through her hands at the sight of it, but adrenaline left no room for introspection.

"Umbra!" she called out, hardly aware that she screamed with her voice too... and from above came the responding call of her dragon. He crashed down through the canopy on vast wings, a blue shadow with blue-white flames licking his jaws. When he exhaled, it was in a torrent of heat that made Seren's skin tighten and dry up... and she hoped desperately that the bridge would not burn alongside the pumpkins.

A sickly sweet scent of roasted vegetable began to fill the air. Sickly, because it made Seren's stomach growl. "This is really not the time to think about dinner, is it," she remarked at Aurelia - it seemed she had inherited her father's inability to stay serious in tense situations.

In every dreamer a dream - we're unstoppable
with something to believe in