A Turn of the Hourglass (Cascade)

[Aello]

At first, the huntress could scarcely hear the words spoken to fill the silence cast by her awe. The shock at seeing turbulent waters stilled, the sky's tears faded even though misty greys remained overhead. She turned a moment, to the woman enshrouded by cotton folds, wondering how in the world she could have done it all, if her eyes did not deceive, and it truly was as perceived. Aello watched the woman gesture, a subtle push to look beyond. Out, and into the sea. Reluctantly it seemed, the girl obeyed, to find her own reflection settling upon the surface. Chestnut colored ringlets cascading over the length of slight shoulder, a simple white dress adorning pale skin. Two dark brown eyes, blinking lightly, lids fluttering like freshly born butterfly's wings. Heavy with the weight of chrysalis puss. It was her, and yet, stripped of several years of age. Dark circles beneath her eyes, betraying her haunt. Swallowing the clump of saliva that gathered in her throat, she whispered, "hello." "Hello," the reflection responded, as she tilted her head to the side, allowing the curls to bounce down the length of her neck. "Why are you holding daddy's bow?" she asked. Reflexively, her thumb brushed over the supple curve of wood. Muddied irises sailed over worn crescent, before they were cast back out to sea. "I took it from the house, when it fell," Aello replied. "You stole it! Thief!" the reflection turned, as though looking for an elder. "Someone catch the-" "I am no thief," Aello remarked. "I took the bow when the house burned. Father would have wanted it." The reflection said nothing a moment. "Yes, he would have. He does love the bow." She paused, "so why didn't you give it back?" "Couldn't." "You mean you wouldn't, because you're a filthy thief who wanted it for herself!" the reflection responded, as she put her hands on her hips. "What? No!" Aello remarked, taken aback. "Then why isn't he holding it?" "He can't now, he's dead," Aello whispered, as the back of her eyes stirred. Filling the meandering crimson rivers with a dull ache. "No he's not," the reflection responded. "He hasn't died. He's just... not here right now." Aello said nothing as her lower lip quivered. The color of waxen tulip petal fleeing to its outer edges, making way for mirror of the moon. "No dear one, he's dead. Been so since the cottage burned down." "No, he's around here somewhere," the reflection replied stubbornly. "And you should return that bow to 'im. He'd want it back." Aello's fist clutched it all the more tightly. It was her last link to him, save for her own memory. "He can't have it back... ashen fingers cannot hold dear one. So, it's mine now." She offered a weak smile. "Well, ours really. You're a part of me, aren't you?" "You wish," the reflection responded as she leaned in and stuck her tongue out a moment, before retracting. Aello chuckled. It was all she could do. OOCI pegged the girl as about 7. And uh... she was terribly snarky and cheeky and playful.

[Cascade]

The ageless woman gave a soft chuckle as well. There was amusement, curiosity, and wisdom in her twinkling eyes. “Children, they can be quite antagonistic at times, don’t you think?” she said. “Dear, do you know what I sometimes wonder about? I wonder when it is in a person’s life when they change from being a child, and turns to someone who leaves such childlike innocence behind.” The woman paused for a while, calling for Aello’s full attention. As soon as she had it, she locked eyes with the young woman for a couple of moments. There was something strange in her expression that Aello couldn’t fully distinguish, but at the same time, she could recognize it. A wave of nostalgia would be eminent as the memories came flooding within her. Memories from her childhood, every turning point that led to who she was today. Aello would be able to remember it all. “Oh, look,” said the woman with a smile. “Our next guest is here.” And when Aello would look back in the water, she would see what appeared to be her own reflection looking back at her. Then the reflection spoke. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be on your way?” it asked.

[Aello]

Aello nodded, although she said nothing, her eyes still fixated on the image of her past. The way her hair curled softly, the lighter hue, the way her eyes sparkled with a childlike curiosity and vibrance, until a time when an unsettling silence swept over the coast, causing the huntress to look out of the past and into the present. The knowing blue eyes of the older woman who accompanied her. "Someone once told me it was when you stopped blaming everyone else for your problems. Whatever happened to you, and started to blame yourself for everything," the huntress whispered as her feet slipped into the mud, coupling with the occasional darkened beige grain of sand. "But I don't know if I believe that," she added, as her muddied eyes grazed over the sea, trying to discern whatever rested in her peculiar expression. The tilt of her lower lip, the slight glimmer within her gaze. But it proved to be too difficult, and soon enough, the huntress was overwhelmed by the wave that crashed into her. The foam that burst as salted wounds penetrated the shores of her mind, before slipping through the folds. They seemed to start at the beginning. A fleeting image of her form swaddled in a milky white blanket, cradled in her mother's arms. And although she couldn't see her face, she knew they were hers. Somehow, almost instinctually, as a sense of warmth crept into her bones, before falling away with the next image. One of her father holding her hands. Her tiny fingers coiled around his thumbs as he guided them over her head, and held her upright as she began to put one foot ahead of the other. Her toes curling as they dug into the dark wood floor. Pristinely polished, slippery beneath her bare feet, which seemed to struggle to gain a decent purchase. They were her first steps; she remembered. A soft smile crossing her lips as the image faded to make room for another, one where her mother was seated in an old rocker. The chair creaking softly as she pushed against the soles of her feet, inching the adornment back and forth as she smiled sweetly, her eyes set on the closed eyes and button nose of another baby, swaddled in a soft blue blanket. The shade of the sky on a calm day. Aello could see her her mother's arms cradling her little brother Leon, her fingers winding about them as she tugged on them lightly. Pulling them down as she stood on her tippy toes and craned her neck so she could look down on her little brother's slumbering face. The memory left as swiftly as it had come, making room for times when she was a little older. When she and her brother used to tumble in the grass, wrestling each other endlessly. Getting long green streaks upon their clothes, and the occasional blade in their hair. The first time her father had trusted her with his short bow. The one she carried now. As the memory flashed in her mind's eye, her fist tightened around the supple grip. She could see him leading her outside by her spare hand, after having put his quiver of ten prized, peacock feather fletched arrows onto her back. She must have been little more than seven or eight when he first took her into the yard and taught her that she was right eye dominate. That you held the bow with the left, and pulled the string back with the right after having nocked an arrow. Placed the left foot in front of the right, closed your left eye, and aimed down the arrow's point. She remembered the weight of the bow. She felt it; how she struggled to pull the string past her smile, to her ear, where she often drew it now. She remembered every shot she took, trying to reach the targets her father had set a few yards away- sacks of dirt and flower, of which she never hit, until several more lessons in. Trips into the front yard. The next images seemed to come and go even more quickly. The day she had found her father's diary on spiritism locked in a chest by her parent's bed, after discovering a ghost named Fred in the attic. The first time she tried to make soul mist and failed, having forgotten one of the ingredients. The last few days before the fire. The day of it. Pillars of smoke rising from her family's cottage as flame consumed it. Licking at the boards hungrily. Blackening them as she stumbled out of her house, with her father's bow in hand. Awakening some time later to the realization that she was the only one left, and had to move on. To Lhavit, where she entered the brothel's, learning of her lust for other women and how to satisfy, to Avanthal, where she froze her arse off before going back to Sylira. To Ravok, where she met Alenias, and was thrown in jail no more than a season later for defending her honor against two city guardsman in the Silver Silver. One of which was slain by her own hand, that which held the cursed blade which had grown attached to her after meeting a ghost who sought to end the existence of the one he had murdered fully. She remembered the weight of it, the only thing she had left as she pressed her body against the cell doors. Waiting for death to reach her, alone in the cold, dank, dark. A death that never came, for somehow, Alenias had snuck in, pulled the keys off the guard, and then been caught. But that petching blue monkey, Kiochi, with whom she had struck a bargain, cackled. Causing him to bleed out his ears, so that they could both steal Aello's stripped belongings back, and then some, and escape. A few days later, they met Nex, and got lost in a cave. She remembered it now, the way her auristics had caused it to sparkle, before all the light was snuffed out, save for the strange glowing moss, which near lured her companions to their untimely death. Another wave washed over. She was standing by Dira. Her porcelain face, jackals, and silver scythe. Another moment, and she was fighting the Ebonstryfe apprentice on the streets, and then running through the forests. Returning to her home. The skeleton of her family's cottage. A wooden frame littered with ashes, where she found the ghost of her mother. The one who told her that her father had not come for her, and that she was certain he was no longer living. She had held her once, for a fleeting moment, and she could feel her now as she thought of all that had happened since. Her birth of faith in Tanroa. Her meeting with Kaledon, which led to a fall through Priskil's spire, and her acquisition of the eon bell. A moment, and she was back in the forest. With Nex, looking up at Rhysol's messenger. His form cackling as he instructed her to go to the druvin known as Silvas. Leading her onto the quest where she was now. The final memory, the pool she had just peered into. Talking with her younger self. A tear ran down the girl's cheek by then. Transparent and soft. Lending a cool kiss to her flesh as it ran down in a supple curve. "Another?" Aello whispered, as she turned to look, wondering how her aching heart could possibly handle another, if the experience proved to be anything like this. A singular tidal wave of memory, crashing into her form, willing her to her knees. Asking her to crumble; drown beneath its enormity. Its weight. Eyes falling, the huntress forced in another breath. Deeper than the others, one that swept in through the nose, and left in an audible sigh through her mouth. She could see herself now, in the reflection. Simple blue dress, muddied irises with smoldering coals for pupils at their center. A lithe frame, holding her father's old bow. A quiver strapped onto her back. Her long, chestnut colored hair filtering through the feathers as she offered the true self a hard glare. "On my way?" Aello asked. "When I scarcely know where to go? Which path I should take?" The huntress paused, as her eyes swept over the dirt which had been rubbed into the soft rosy petals of her reflection's cheeks. "For I do not wish to follow them. Rhysol's men. But there can be no turning back. Not if one wishes to avoid the god's pursuit. A curse, a death by their hands." Aello shook her head lightly, rustling her deep brown mane. "How can one bring themselves out of this place without knowing the truth that lies in their heart?" OOCSorry this is an ultra long post. Also, apologies for leaving the ending as such, I wasn't sure if you wanted me to assume control of the reflection again or not.

[Cascade]

While the woman in the water looked exactly like she did, there was something odd and different about her. There was darkness in her eyes that Aello found very much discomforting. However, Aello could recognize it. She somehow knew that darkness, as if it was a part of her that only she was familiar with. The reflection was a hostile one, and while it might be that her words were uncharacteristic of the face she wore, she continued with her interrogations as if there was not a thing out of place. “Why do you not know the truth that lies in your heart, if that is the case?” the reflection asked abruptly, as if it was the clearest thing in the world. “Who else would know what lies in your heart?” The figure in the water said something incoherent, but her gaze tore right into Aello. “You state that you do not wish to do this, but then you also state that nothing else can also be done. That is absolute silliness. Perhaps you should put this melancholy to a stop and take hold of your path.” Aello would find that no matter what she said to the reflection, the reflection would simply retort and answer with more questions, never letting the topic go. She would not stop until Aello came at a definite solution, and it soon became apparent about what she wanted—she wanted Aello to decide, then and there, about what path she was to take. “Oh my, it seems as we are starting to anger her,” said the ageless lady. She gave a chuckle directed at the conversation. “She does not seem to appreciate your indecisiveness.” The ageless lady stood there uncomplainingly, and while she said nothing about the current situation, it also appeared that she was waiting for something. This woman knew how to wait, she knew how to watch, and she did so patiently as both she and Aello’s reflective counterpart urged Aello to come to a decision.

[Aello]

"Because it holds many truths," Aello responded, "leaving me more than a little confused," she added before falling silent, listening to the endless banter of her own reflection. Slowly, she shook her head, tousling her chestnut colored mane. "No one but myself I would suppose." The huntress sighed. "We both know I am to do as Silvas told," Aello whispered after a short silence, her eyes falling to the mystery hidden within the mirror's own. Seeking to understand what was depicted there; hidden there, until the elder woman drew her out of her trance. Her muddled thoughts. Even if I do not want to. "It seems easy enough to aggravate her," Aello commented somewhat cooly, as her eyes settled on the deep blue orbs set in the woman's aged face. "But how could she be to blame? Even I don't appreciate my indecisive nature," the huntress explained as she squeezed her bow's grip, and a soft sigh escaped her pale pink lips. Another tick passed leaving much still unsaid. Uneasy, Aello turned back to her reflection, wondering if she had anything left to tell her. OOCSorry this is so short.

[Cascade]

The ageless woman looked at Aello with a melancholic expression. Most of her expressions were hard to decipher, and this was one of the easier ones to understand. If Aello thought about it, what appeared to be displayed on the woman’s face was unbridled pity. It was faint but it was there, and then it was gone again in a second. However, when Aello looked back at her reflection, her own being had the same expression. Her reflection pitied her as well, although it was much clearer in her face. The pity was mixed with a scowl, one that seemed to tell Aello to get a grip with herself. And then the water rippled. It almost appeared as if the waves of the sea had returned, but after a few seconds of violent rippling, it cleared again. The reflection of the young woman was gone. Instead, there was an aged woman staring at her. Aello gasped. She recognized the person almost instantly. It was her, years from now. She had recognized herself as a child, she had recognized her present self, and she recognized the aged version of herself as well. Out of all the reflections she had seen, this was the strangest one to face. “You are a troubled one,” said a voice. There was a chuckle in her voice. “But look, despite all the dangers and troubles, the waters dictate that there is much ahead of you. Look at the knowledge in this lady’s eyes, she has clearly been through a lot… clearly a lot more than you have.” Aello would realize that it wasn’t the person in the water speaking. It was the mysterious lady, the one standing behind her. When Aello looked back at the lady, the look of pity on her face was gone, and it was replaced with one of full understanding. “I have been watching you all this time, but I realize now that you more…” she appeared to search her mind for the right word. Finally, she said, “You are more conflicted than I thought. It is the reason I am here, for I wished to help you move forward, though it is more difficult than I thought. But I can also see that you seek answers, perhaps answers that you can not only find in yourself, but also in time itself. Tell me, has my gift helped you so far?” She pointed towards the bell that rested on Aello’s being. “Do you believe it? That time can help seek answers?”

[Aello]

The reflection's frame had shriveled, her shoulders furling into her chest as her neck glided easily over the poorly structured ivory. The flesh that lined her delicate features was still just as pale, although it had loosened, falling away from veins, muscles, and bones as though it were meant to be a freely flowing waterfall forced to break with the final adhesives that still clung. The flesh seemed to ripple against the water, for it, each time the woman swallowed or blinked. Her pale pink lips stretched thin against plump, wrinkling cheeks. Her nose set in the center of an ovular face, framed by faded chestnut colored hair. Laced with strands of white and silver that hung like delicate wisps atop her brow. It rested, against her features, an unruly mane growing straight with the weight of its length, framing the delicacy of her eyes, which had shrunken into her skull in slight, over time. They were still the same dark, muddied brown. Secretive and threatening, although a mist hung over them, as though to suggest that she were losing a portion of her ability to see. "Who is not troubled?" Aello whispered, as she peered at the future of her reflection. Eyeing the delicate folds of the simple brown robe she wore, as though to say that despite everything, most of her heart still belonged to the earth; the forest. "Her. Me..." Those eyes say everything, the huntress thought to herself. "You," Aello finished as she turned back to the older woman who had been addressing her. Her gaze faltering, finding the lowest folds of her dress, billowing in the fading winds. "Watching me?" she whispered, as thin lines etched themselves across the length of her forehead, and her right brow arched, easily falling into one of them as she forced her eyes to find the soft blue of the older woman before her. One who seemed always to rack her own mind for a time before she spoke. "Your gift?" the huntress whispered after a short time, clearly bewildered by what the woman was saying, until her eyes widened within a tick as a full level of understanding hit her. Allowing her brow to melt back into its proper place, as she took a startled half step back, and her right hand rose. Her fingers tracing the soft red ribbon she had used to keep the bell in place. Delicately, she wove a few fingers through, nervously twirled the string between her appendages, causing the bell itself to slip out of hiding. "But how would you know of this when it was kept hidden?" Aello asked. "Since you are obviously not Kaledon, you must be Tanroa herself." Smiling weakly, the huntress allowed herself to bow her head in slight as her fist tightened around the supple curve of her father's old bow. She let her body rest there a moment, before slowly drawing her eyes back up to meet the woman's own, before following with the movement of her head. When she had straightened herself out, Aello responded with, "the bell has proven to be of use in some situations," before falling silent, considering both of their words. Almost reluctantly, she began to nod after close to a full chime. Her chestnut colored mane tickling her bare flesh as it shifted alongside her, until she made all things come to a halt. Steadily, she breathed, in through the nose and out through the mouth, as she maintained the elder woman's intense gaze, never allowing it to falter, until she cast it away again, towards her oldest reflection with the coming of her final answer. "Yes," she said as a sparkle overcame her eyes, a glimmer that was too captured by the water's mirror. "With time can come some of the answers to life's little questions, if not all of them. Although, that may also bring the birth of new questions. Don't you think?" Aello asked as she offered her reflection a sweet smile, the hint of a stifled sigh of appreciation before turning back to whom she was certain was Tanroa herself. OOCUgh, Aello always gets like this when meeting the higher ups. Sorry.

[Cascade]

The woman smiled. Though her expression remained passive, she could not help but feel amused by the fact that Aello had finally realized who she was. And even though Aello finally knew of her identity, there was still a large aura of mystery that surrounded the lady, an aura that never appeared to leave her. “I love the stories of the living, and yours was one that called my attention greatly. And the more I watched you, the more I realized that you appeared to need… help.” Tanroa nodded slowly. It was a vague statement, but she hoped that Aello would understand it nonetheless. It was said that one of her more common traits was that she was never specific, for she preferred it that there was room for a hearer to learn and grow through a problem. For that reason, she said in reply to Aello’s question, “New questions should always be welcome. What is important is that you move forward, and not simply stay stagnant in one place.” The ageless woman gestured at Aello. Her movements were gentle and elegant, and so was the expression that she wore upon her face. “If you accept my help, dear Aello, come kneel before me and I will lend it to you.”

[Aello]

Aello offered Tanroa a weak nod to signify her comprehension, "of course," she commented as she took note of the subtle sweep of the goddess' hand. A gesture beckoning her forth as the folds of her simple robes rippled as the water had prior to her having stalled. Tentatively, the huntress found herself obeying the older woman's whim as her fist tightened around the supple curve of her father's old bow. Her thumb gliding across it nervously as her heart began to beat a little faster, and her right foot slid across the mud, closely followed by the left. Within a beat, the distance that once rested between Aello and the goddess seemed to close, allowing the mere mortal to gaze even more deeply into Tanroa's aged, and knowing blue eyes. Her own muddied irises sparkled merrily, despite the deep grey clouds that still blanketed the sky, and the lack of light that filtered through. Slowly, Aello bent her left leg at the knee and set it down in the mud, before easing the rest of her body down before the goddess. Her gaze fell to the muck that suctioned her legs a moment, as she smiled warmly, and then raised her gaze to meet with Tanroa's once more. With hair sweeping across her neck, softly, in the wind, the huntress placed her bow across her folded legs. When it was set against her skin, Aello allowed herself to to become immersed in the soft tickling sensation of her chestnut colored strands dragging across the surface of her flesh, the sight of such strong eyes. Filled with things she could scarcely begin to understand. Finding herself, for once, truly happy, the aurist's smile widened. "I will love any help you can give me lady Tanroa," Aello whispered. "Goddess of all time."

[Cascade]

The Goddess gave a patient and understanding smile. There was familiarity in her expression, and also a sort of adoration. She liked to watch over many mortals, and Aello was one of those who had caught her attention. Rewarding the woman with her blessing was something she had been contemplating. And now she was sure. Aello would feel the palms of the Goddess’s hands placed over her eyes. Her skin was warm and comforting. Tanroa spoke. She breathed a word that was beyond the understanding of any mortal. Aello heard it and it mesmerized her, but she couldn’t recognize it. It was said in the language of the Gods, and it held much meaning. Suddenly, Aello felt as if her hold being was suddenly submerged in water. A powerful wave suddenly washed over her, as if the sea itself had overflowed that very second. However, when the ageless woman took away her hands, Aello would realize that she was completely dry. When she opened her eyes, there was a faint circle around her irises. It was tinted blue and would not be easily spotted by others. Even Aello would not yet know of it unless she looked at her reflection once more. “Cherish my blessing, Aello,” said Tanroa with a gentle smile. OOCI think we can finish this in one more post. =) Then I can post rewards. Please note if you had any skills in mind.