With or without you [cont]

Laughter was swallowed up by the all-engulfing roar of the drop (or was it part of the roar?)

A hand tugged on Caiside's, still quite invisible but then again, so was he? Apparently? That water-y feeling persisted, but he was able to move. Hands in his hair, on his chest, shoving his back with youthful vigor, smiles pressed against his palm.

"Chase us, Caiside!" They cried, and before him the leaves were upturned as if several pairs of small feet were suddenly darting forward.

Coding base by Sky!

Caiside had closed his eyes against the lurching perspective shift, his body feeling just as strange as his head did. For a brief moment, he felt close, so close, to what he had once been, the dizzying height of power, and then he was back on solid ground. Or as solid as it could be against him at the moment. The roar of a waterfall, and barely there laughter, made him open his eyes again, his head swivelling as he tried to take in what was around him. Home, this looked like home. Could it be? Hands pressed against him, urging him to move before he could take everything in. Before he could figure out where he was. He took a hesitant step forward, moving with the touches, and then came the voice again. Ah. Ah. He knew games like this, and without hesitation he started running, following the disturbed leaves. A part of him debated changing his form, running with four, but he wasn’t sure if it was even possible with his body already so strange. And the last thing he wanted to do was cheat, break the unspoken rules of the game. So he simply ran, chasing after the laughter. Caiside You know how it goes, this story’s been told again and again A love, pure and light, that makes stars align Well that’s not the case here

The woods were incredibly thick, but the footprints pressed onward through the mulch easily. Every now and then Caiside would hear—when had his senses become so sharp, and yet so blurred?—the sound of arms flapping away from sides and fingers dragging against trees.

Only...they left claw marks in the bark..and—

—"Chase us, Caiside! " An owl darted down before the once-god, its wings fanned suddenly and abruptly in his face only to deposit a crown of tangled brambles onto his head. Alarming in its randomness, and then it was gone. "Faster Caiside!" They called, cheering egging him on, and in their words he could hear the smiles on their pudgy faces, whatever sort of things they were.

Coding base by Sky!

Caiside did not find his heightened senses strange, nor did he really even notice them, so focused was he on the chase. The trees were thick, would have kept his quarry out of sight even if they were visible, his eyes chasing the small signs he had to go with. The footsteps, and voice, and fresh claw marks on the wood. Claw marks? That seemed... strange, the things he was chasing sounded like children, and for the first time apprehension stirred in his gut, slowing his frantic pace. He knew, of course, they weren’t children, but he hadn’t put any thought into what they were. What if...? Wings, and brambles, and goading words drove the worries from his mind. The owl, and the crown, had surprised him, nearly made him stumble and fall, but he kept his footing, just barely. His hand came up to brush against the crown, fingers feeling the thorns without being hurt. All of this was so strange, but... so eerily familiar as well. Caiside redoubled his efforts as the voices came again, urging him on faster than before now that he had recovered. He had to be catching up, didn’t he? How much more could be thrown at him? I enjoy tempting fate Caiside You know how it goes, this story’s been told again and again A love, pure and light, that makes stars align Well that’s not the case here

How many there are Caiside cannot rightly say. More than two, less than 5? Either way, the sound seems to break apart as the group ahead diverges. Feet still fall easily on the fallen and mulched leaves, but now there are hands behind him. The laughing grows louder and suddenly one launches themselves at Caiside, small chubby (but invisible) arms wrapping happily around his neck, as legs (strangely strong) wrap around his ribs. Offering the occasional kick as if he were some pony, a cheek pressed against his and warm whispers of encouragement flowed into his ears.

"You said power right?" The voice asked, while echoes of chase us Caiside! continued.

Coding base by Sky!

The voices Caiside were already difficult enough to follow before the invisible feet split, the laughter echoing all around him. The sudden load of a... child? Whatever it was had to be about the size of one, and the weight made him stumble again, his knees touching the ground and head tipping back as small arms encircled his neck. Heels in his ribs brought a snarl to his lips, indignation growling out of him wordlessly, but he calmed immediately as a close, warm voice flowed into his ear. ”Yes.” He hissed, his voice coming out a breathless gasp. ”Please. I will.... I will earn it.” His fingers came up to try and get some space between the arm around his throat, so he could gasp in a breath of air. It should burn more, he thought, all of him should age more, with the way he was pushing himself through the forest. But if he could get a little further, just catch his invisible quarry, then he would be able to prove himself. With thoughts of his old power sparkling in his mind, Caiside spurred himself on, pushing himself more than he ever had before to try and close the maddening distance between him and his goal. Caiside You know how it goes, this story’s been told again and again A love, pure and light, that makes stars align Well that’s not the case here

Small fingers twisted into Caiside's hair, the arm around his throat perhaps growing annoyingly taught.

The sounds of leaves and running feet suddenly increased, as if the 3-5 strange creatures had doubled—tripled!—a herd of small voices all encouraging the once-god onward through the trees. Ahead more light seemed to shine through as if they were suddenly coming upon some sort of clearing.

"Will you do anything?" The small voice whispered mischievously, hands tightening around Caiside's throat in earnest now, the grubby fingers not squeezing hard enough to cut off air, but certainly to awaken whatever animalistic senses the not-god had.

"Chase us, Caiside!" they continued to call from ahead and behind, and as they raced, the trees suddenly gave way to the drop. There was hardly much time to react.

"Jump Caiside, jump!" They called and their stampeding feet ceased to make any noise, as though ahead seemingly did just that. Those behind shoved forward, grabbing at his clothes to encourage him forward as they too leaped off the cliff.

"Jump Caiside." The voice whispered against his ear.

Coding base by Sky!

"Yes!" Caiside roared in response to the voice, the word bellowing out of him with more force than he thought himself capable of. Had he not already worked? Done everything he could to prove himself? Had he not betrayed, and killed, and struggled? Had he not given up all comfort? Had he not been ripped away from everything, and forced to start over? Of course he would do what it took. With wild eyes and a heaving chest, Caiside continued his chase, focusing on the words around him, obeying without thought. He would run until he either could no longer run, or until he reached his goal. The light dappling around him as the trees thinned meant nothing, the trees thinning to reveal bare rock and a drop meant nothing. The voices said jump, the word screaming in Caiside's head, giving him a moment of preparation, just enough that he was ready when the whisper ordered him. He jumped. Without thought, or hesitation, Caiside threw himself from the drop. His feet still moved if to run on the air itself, as if he could steal just a little more progress forward from his descent. Caiside You know how it goes, this story’s been told again and again A love, pure and light, that makes stars align Well that’s not the case here

He jumps, and for one shining and brilliant weightless second he flies—

—until he doesn't.

The water of the Drop races up to meet him at a terrifying pace. The laughter does not follow him down, his mischievous passenger has departed and their melody of cackles turns dissonant high above.

Has he been tricked? There isn't enough time to contemplate for it, for the water is coming. The sharpened stones there, readying themselves to accept his yielding flesh. There is a monster far below, with eyes and teeth and a mind made for malice, and it is all coming, racing towards him and—

—with a gasp Caiside awakens. He is not the glade where he prayed, but somewhere else. Somewhere in the Greatwood. In one of his hands is the mushroom he picked up earlier, it's hallucinogenic effects having seeped through his skin, have finally run their course.

But was it a dream then? A drug-addled nightmare?

On the ground next to time is a broken circlet of branches, perhaps once a crown.

Coding base by Sky!

For a single perfect moment, Caiside feels whole, his body weightless, floating. He is where he belongs, beloved and powerful. Then his body, and his heart, drop from the sky. His wide eyes stare at the water, rushing up to meet him, and he desperately tries to turn, to catch sight of the creatures who have tricked him. He doesn’t twist fast enough, hitting the unyielding water like a stone and- Snapping up, moving so quickly he feels his body cry out in protest. For a moment, he can do nothing but grab, a frantic hand grabbing at his chest to ensure he is still in one piece. The other hand is full, Caiside furrowing his brow and looking down at the mushroom clutched in his fingers. Why does he have a mushroom? The memory of the shrine, and the strange blooms at his feet come back to him, a wordless rage growing in Caisides chest as he stares at the fungus. He was supposed to be getting somewhere. With a scream of irritation, Caiside rises to his knees and throws the mushroom as hard as he can, doubling over afterwards and pressing the butts of his hands to his eyes. He stays like that for longer than he would ever be willing to admit, then slowly rises to his feet again. Leaning down to grab the broken wreath of thorns, he looks at it blankly, then gently puts the mess of stick on his head. Choosing a direction at random, Caiaide shifts into his elk form and starts walking, hoping to find some kind of civilization before too long. Caiside You know how it goes, this story’s been told again and again A love, pure and light, that makes stars align Well that’s not the case here