[Dream] Sands of Time (Solo)

[Aello]

Timestamp: Summer 2, 512 AV The first layer peeled back, a soft spray floating into the air. Citrus drops falling in a soft mist onto skin, as the scent itself lingered on the still winds. Pith torn away, the muddied flesh unearthed. Nails tore into rotten flesh, flicking away that which caught beneath their layers. Revealing the greying seed which lay beside the heart; having been carried from the womb. The seed seemed to rouse, wrinkles cascading down the length of hardened almond uncovering a core the color of coal. The coals smoldered, a glimmer of the fire held within simmering as they were prodded with sticks. Tendrils from the fount of blood, from which they drank. Turning the pool dry; a sickly white. A reflective surface which shone like glass, off which only a few streamers of light filtered through. It was enough to catch the central eye. Enough to make them linger a moment on the supple curve of what it saw. To trail down the length as one might the form of an alluring woman, following the lines of sunlight without a source. Fingertips brushed up against a smooth surface. Cool; level, without blemish. The hand furling; drew across the glassy bed. Circling the transparent fixtures lazily, as though they were too tired to do anything more pleasurable to the flesh of a lover. The eyes grazed, noticing how everything that came in through the wall expanded, as everything behind shrank. Every limb seemed as though it were too slight to tackle the might of an insistent gnat. But what if she turned? Aello twisted her swan's neck. Blue and green rivers weaving through her paling flesh, coursing just beneath her skin. It made that cast against the bone pop as she took care to breath within the confines of the glass chamber. Her arms held out at each side, she peered over, against yet another curved wall. Her long, brown hair rippling beneath her; a cushion for such a stiff mattress. But it was the same. The emptiness outside seemed to grow as her body shriveled, dripping unpleasantly over ivory bone. Her form thrown wholeheartedly into the dysmorphic world of grain; a speck within the vast cosmos; simplified only in that there was a glass casing surrounding her. A chalice with no stem. Her body ached as she shifted her weight, trying to bring bare skin off the cool surface as a single grain fell, buffeting the flesh just above her exposed belly button. Aello cast her gaze downward as her right hand left the floor, and soon, pressed a single finger into the beige dot, lifting it from its bed. She turned her hand, exposing her palm for a moment, before sheltering it behind four unused fingers. Her eyes taking note of the insignificant blemish that marred her skin, the shape, an imperfect circle in that several jagged edges crept out. The blades of broken and twisted daggers. The grain was but a single sand. But where could it come from? Aello wondered as she pursed her lips, and blew the speck away. She watched it twirl through the air before it was lost to the glass, before turning her gaze skyward, where she noticed that she was within a loop. Stuck on one end of a mirror. She raised her hand; eyed its capture within the narrow tunnel that brought both ends together. As several more grains of sand fell forth from the dark beyond. Sinking into her upturned palm, before cascading over the edge of either side. The sand was warm. The texture coarse and unpleasant, especially with how it continued to rain down on the aurist. Disturbed, she stepped aside, making way for the pyramid which was slowly growing to her height, and then beyond. After a fashion, she forced her hands into the mound, and pushed. Toppling the point. Grains gave way, forming a small plateau next to the original mountain, whose base had now settled overfoot. They rose angrily from the depths, stepping lightly on the newest bed that had formed. The lining which stretched to each of the glass walls. She was going to be overrun, trapped, should she fail to break the walls down. Frightened, Aello ran over to the nearest, balling her hands into tight fists as she did so. Her lips parting so as to scream as her gnarled knuckles touched glass, and then began to pound against it, but there was no sound. No matter how many times she tried. She couldn't even pick up on the soft vibrational ring produced each time her fists slammed into the supple curve of the hourglass. Her prison. A constant reminder that she was running out of time. With eyes grown wide, Aello kept on pounding, knowing this was her only hope. But nothing ever seemed to happen. The glass not so much as shattering in parts as the sand came up around her bare waist, and then a few inches past. Submerging her in a sea which disallowed any sort of further movement. "Help!" she wanted to scream, although no sound continued to come out, and no one seemed around to listen. "Help," she mouthed as the sand enveloped her back, leaving only her arms raised above head to pound. "He-" she mouthed as the sand became all encompassing, and she was lost to it. Her nostrils flaring as the grains made their way inside. Her tongue growing dry as even more lodged on its surface, and then trickled down her throat. She could feel it weighing her down. Sense everything slowing down. Could hear the beige rattling in her ears, like maracas, but not the glass shattering as everything went black. As every grain of sand spilled out of the gaping maw, carrying her unconscious body with it. Laying it atop an uneven bed. Her broken body sickeningly pale, save for the sand that dotted her skin. She was running out of time.

[Paragon]

Adventurer's Loot Aello's Loot : Aello Skill XP Reward None +0XP Lore: Out of Time, Within the Hourglass, The Sands of Time Items or Consequences: Nil Beautifully descriptive! - if you have ANY questions or concerns about this grading, don't hesitate to PM me.