pc: zhongli

[sacredpath]

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week 0; monday

[sacredpath]

[she's wearing a beach outfit! because that's where we are, the beach. she's walking along the shore, staying along the edge of the tide so just her feet get wet.]

...It really is beautiful, isn't it?

[dijun]

[ unfortunately for me and everyone, zhongli is going to have to be talked into a beach outfit. he's at least taken his jacket off after having had his home fit washed, but everything else remains.

shart, however, is beautiful herself. we stan. ]

Beautiful and tranquil. I almost thought it too good to be true, but thus far... it's been lovely.

[sacredpath]

Mm. I mean, I think it is probably too good to be true. It can't exactly be real, can it?

[dijun]

If the angels are to be believed, then it is. [ considering, as he comes to stand with her. he stays just at the edge of where the water comes to shore. ] There hasn't been a single sign of trouble, save for that which we create ourselves, and aside from the fog it's been perfect weather.

In the next eight weeks until judgement day, there must be a catch somewhere.

[sacredpath]

Whatever that means. Certainly there's something they hope to gain from doing this, but that doesn't mean it's our loss.

week 1; monday

[sacredpath]

[she's wearing a wig. it has been a day. but on top of that, she's trying to slink away from the end of the holiday market as she's starting to look kind of... slimy and nasty.]

Ew.

[dijun]

[ shart your DAY. at first zhongli is just sort of confused because what happened to her hair... and then she starts looking gross. his ears twitch up a little on the sides of his head. ]

... quite the day, Miss Shadowheart?

[sacredpath]

It has been terrible! Why is heaven like this? Despicable from start to finish.

[dijun]

I hope that changes for you, truly. Unfortunate that we can't request things to be changed with the angels...

Hopefully it starts to look up, by the evening.

[sacredpath]

[starts turning into worms.]

week 2; monday

[sacredpath]

[this is an open prompt! gimme au, gimme baby, gimme whatever you want.

shadowheart can be found in the new area, near the edge of the darkwoods. but she's not doing anything interesting, she's just sitting at the base of the tree.]

[dijun]

[ guess what... she gets a baby! there's a very quiet rustle of movement, and then... the sound of something sniffing? when she looks, the cat-sized noodle of a dragon freezes, big gold eyes looking up at her. ]

[sacredpath]

[baby... in that case, i change my mind, you get baby as well. the girl sitting by the tree is smaller, with her hair in buns, and a face streaked with tears.]

[dijun]

[ nnnnnOOOOO CRYBABY!!! the dragon goes even more still, blinking at the sadness here before slowly creeping closer, very. very. very gently booping his little snoot into her arm. ] Chrrrr. [ concern ]

[sacredpath]

Oh...

[pets him.]

week 2; saturday

[sacredpath]

[whew. what a week, huh? she's just going to sit somewhere, her head spinning a bit, so wherever you want to meet up is fine.]

[dijun]

[ at least it's actually been a week and it isn't just tuesday.

honestly when he finds shadowheart, off in the probably outside void, he'll leave afterwards for a few minutes. but only that. when he returns, he stands next to where she's seated and offers at her shoulder height... a wine glass? he has one in his other hand as well. ]

Perhaps you would appreciate this.

[sacredpath]

I always do.

[a wine glass is appreciated, in these trying times, but so is company.]

...Thank you. Are you alright?

[dijun]

[ he suspected that'd be the answer. he's got the wine bottle under his arm, too. ]

I will weather hardship as I always have. But it's not often that being right brings me such remorse. [ lowering himself to sit, setting the bottle between them. ] You?

[sacredpath]

I suppose it was never going to have a happy ending.

[who from that list would have been a relief?]

week 3; monday

[sacredpath]

[welcome to the memory zone... i'm throwing us right into it. she opens a door and they appear in the funhouse.

(you can watch this video for visuals / atmosphere if you like).

The memory is unfocused, hazy around the edges, something that happened long ago and is half forgotten, as though some of the glass on the funhouse mirrors is fogged or hazy. Maybe if you explore down a particular path, more will come to light, but for now, you follow.

A little girl wanders the forest, lost and fearful. It’s a cool night, not cold, but enough to shiver from the wind. It is pitch black except for the full, bright moon overhead, but the trees here loom impossibly tall overhead, nearly blocking out the light. She’s obviously worried, but not afraid. She keeps looking up at the sky, checking the position of the moon, taking a certain direction. She chews her lip and looks uncertain with herself, and she’s cut and bloodied her face from a branch, but she keeps wandering.

There’s no way to tell why this child is lost here, whether she’s been abandoned or left here on purpose or if there’s some other reason. There are a few branching side paths that maybe reflect thoughts, memories of earlier that night, of the reason, but Shadowheart - the real Shadowheart beside you - doesn’t choose to look that way, as she suddenly freezes in complete terror.

Bounding out from the woods is a large wolf. Impossibly large, really, imagined here the way it looked to the child it was looming over, much bigger and fiercer than her. The child is frozen as well. The wolf’s golden eyes are trained on her, fierce and dangerous, its teeth bared. As it pads slowly towards her, its ears press back and its tail swishes back and forth. Not even the posture of an animal hunting prey, but an animal itching for a fight, making itself an obvious threat.

Tears are rolling down the girl’s cheeks and she stumbles backwards, trembling. But then she realizes, behind her, is a woman in a mask, who puts a gentle hand on her shoulder.

And then there’s a path out of this section of mirrors, and a feeling like you must take it, you must leave this memory, because the only other direction to turn is down a dark, dark corridor and everything is telling you that you don’t want to go that way. Whatever memories continue on in that direction, they're hidden, and perhaps they should remain hidden. But Shadowheart is still frozen from fear at the sight of the wolf, so she has not yet left this memory behind.]

[dijun]

[ i'm sorry to say that i would go to war for baby shart.

the fear is palpable, truthfully. a disorienting memory - a strange domain - is one thing, but they're supposedly safe in this path of mirrors that takes them through the forest. to have nerves suddenly shift into this paralyzing fear even gives him pause, especially after having seen this girl, the week prior. knowing that she was frightened, and lost, and that a wolf was the cause of her greater fears.

but even if the rest of them aren't gathered around her, as they were at the debates, he's not a little dragon, this time. ]

This way. [ that's all the warning that shadowheart gets, the one that he stands with in reality. zhongli reaches down and takes hold of her wrist, her hand, and begins to lead her away from the memory. away from the darkness. ] It's alright, you can walk away, this time.

[sacredpath]

[the hand on her wrist helps. she unfreezes a little, starts to follow him.]

Sorry. I'm - the wolf - it's silly, but -

[she's fought demons, monsters, creatures far more powerful than this, but this wolf holds such a place in her nightmares. the mirrored walls reflect it; despite lacking memories of so much else, waking up night after night having dreamed of the wolf that was attacking her. her all-consuming fear, and the reminder to feel grateful to the people who saved her, no matter what else they did to her. wolves always remind her of that fear, she always freezes in terror when she sees them.

but they're still here in this memory, and unlike the dreams, it continues on without them, as they walk away from it. the woman takes the girl away, but her fear is not abated by this. she keeps turning her head, turning her so she won't see, as the other women in spears surround the wolf and pierce its body. the little girl winces at the wolf's horrible help, feeling sorry for it despite everything.

but she only sees it for a brief moment, before the woman in the hood and mask steers her away - that the wolf transforms back into a man.]

[dijun]

I wouldn't call it silly.

[ he keeps walking through the mirrors, watching the dream-like memory as it's reflected in its haze for them to see. his other hand is out to make sure they don't run into any of them, treating it like a maze that they need to get out of, rather than just a funhouse meant for play. ]

It has left a mark on your soul, this memory - and the wolf. That isn't silly. [ no matter the manner of beasts that she's fought, this is so deeply ingrained in her pysche that he doesn't blame her for the fear. especially considering the scene that follows, as she's steered away by the woman in the mask. the spears, the sound of pain, and the - ]

... especially when the wolf can take the form of a man.

[sacredpath]

Huh?

[yeah, she’s seeing that, too, but it makes no sense at all? It’s not that a wolf taking the form of a man is unusual. She knows many druids, and curses like lycanthropy also exist. But this memory is so formative for her and there’s this aspect of it that she wasn’t aware of at all.

Especially because the man is an older elven man with dark hair and features that make the resemblance to Shadowheart very obvious, as is the way he reaches towards the child and calls out to her, to Jenevelle.]