The Outsider walks among us
riposte and tear until it is done
|
They/them
|
10,844 posts
|
points
|
|
|
|
|
|
Addict
|
Post by + ebonite + on Nov 12, 2021 22:13:40 GMT -7
His gloom grew deeper by the day. He didn't think that he was ever going to get out of this punishment. He was bored and depressed and lethargic. He'd explored everywhere there was to explore. He'd played all of the games that he could think of to occupy his time. He'd collected so many seashells and sea glass that he had it stacked in piles. It was his latest game. He tried to clean up the beach every night. He grabbed everything that he could find and put it into his pile. It wasn't much, but it did give him something to do and something to look forward to every night, at least. He'd exhausted all of his other options. He had talked to Regina, which had been a nice change of pace. He really should be socializing with more of the herd members that were hanging around. He just still felt ashamed. And resentful. It was a bad combination for socializing. So he stayed by himself, an exile in his own home. He didn't even understand why the punishment continued at this point. He was never going to do anything like it again. It had been one mistake. Why couldn't his mother forgive him? His father seemed fine with him now, but his mother insisted on prolonging his torment. There had be a reason. He couldn't live life like this. He couldn't go on if he was going to be punished endlessly. What was the point?
He strode along the beach, wearing his usually pouty expression, his eyes sullen and his pace casual. It was nearly night time. The sun was making a glorious streak of red across the sky, spreading it into the coean below. It was beautiful. And it was the same thing that Vas saw most nights as he made his rounds on the beach. When he'd first started this, he only wanted to collect the prettiest things. Now, he just collected everything because it occupied more time. He could comb through his vast collection any time now and see if he'd found anything unique. So far, he'd found some really perfect, unblemished seashells, and some large pieces of sea glass. He'd even found a few sand dollars. But it only went so far to occupy his time.
As he was grumbling his way along, he was suddenly aware that he wasn't alone. Glancing behind him, he noticed someone was following him, her mostly white pelt showing up nicely in the last few minutes of sunlight. He was usually always happy to see his mom, eager to play with her and ask her about her day and show her everything that he'd collected. But with this punishment, he felt apprehensive and angry about seeing her instead. He pinned his ears to his head and halted in his tracks. What did she want from him now? She walked up alongside him, giving him a long look. So long that he quirked a brow at her, wondering if she was going to say anything. Was there something on his face?
timeline after he speaks to regina
"Speech"
|
|
The Outsider walks among us
riposte and tear until it is done
|
They/them
|
10,844 posts
|
points
|
|
|
|
|
|
Addict
|
Post by + ebonite + on Nov 12, 2021 22:40:03 GMT -7
She was being unreasonable. And she was aware of this. Vasariah's punishment had gone on long enough, but she continued on with it. He was growing more and more sulky by the day and she knew that if she didn't stop it soon, he would have some sort of outburst. She knew very well what it was like to be caged somewhere, after all, even if it was under very different circumstances. When she'd found out about him sneaking out, she had been upset, but she'd been even more upset to learn that it had been to the coronation of an Underworld ruler. Just the thought of it sent a chill down her spine. How could he be so foolish? The Underworld brought nothing but pain and misery to the mortal world. She did not care if Xerxes had told a wonderful tale at the campfire the twins had attended. He was evil and that was that. Whatever he had said was trickery and its purpose was to con unsuspecting victims into curiosity about the Underworld. And it had worked. That was the worst part of it all. Xerxes had told a great story and her son had been drawn in by it. It wasn't all his fault. He was too young to know any better and a trickster like the devil was a master at manipulation. But Seph still found herself wishing that Vas had been smarter, that he had seen through it. He hadn't. He didn't understand how dangerous it was. The Underworld was dangerous for all mortal equines, but it was especially dangerous for their family.
She had never gone into detail about what had happened to her, why she carried her scars, why she paced on the beach, and why she needed a break sometimes. She never explained her nightmares, not truly. She said that something bad had happened to her and she'd been locked away for a long time, but that was as far as she'd gotten. It was hard. It was hard to delve into the details and relive her past without activating that fight or flight instinct and it was also hard to tell her children this awful thing. She didn't like them knowing how horrible the world could truly be. You've grown soft, she chided herself gently. Yes, she had. She didn't consider it a bad thing. Up until now, at least. Now, it was negatively impacting her family. She didn't want to let Vas off the hook because she was afraid for him. She didn't want him to venture back to the Underworld. She didn't want him to get drawn in. She couldn't let them take her son. And she couldn't let them take her again, either.
Vas had taken to collecting stuff on the beach at night, so that's when she decided she was going to do this. She would tell Sariel too, eventually, but tonight it was just going to be her and Vas. He was angry at her and she deserved it. This punishment had gone on too long. She just hoped he hadn't started hating her because of it. She hoped she hadn't waited too long to do this. Her hooves sank into the familiar sand, relishing the feeling of it against her skin. It was nearly dark out and the sunset was a spectacular sight, painting the sky and the ocean in red and orange hues. She caught up to Vas quickly. His head was lowered and his ears were pinned. Her heart stuttered a bit but she made herself walk up alongside him. It was time.
"Vas, we need to talk," her voice was soft. She listened to the waves lapping against the shore, trying to prepare herself for what was coming next. Vas shrugged his shoulders at her. 'Okay.' he said. He sounded so defeated. Please, don't let him hate me. She took a deep breath. "Do you remember when I told you how I was locked away before I met your father?" she started. Her mouth felt so dry. 'Yeah,' came his simple response. "The ones who locked me away were followers of the Underworld," she said again. This time, his attention was caught. His eyes widened and he turned to face her. 'What?' the word was tinged with surprise. His gaze dropped to the ground as he worked through what this meant. 'Oh,' he said again as he came to the inevitable conclusion. Now, the hard part came. Now she had to explain why she'd been taken, how she'd been taken. He would find out about his older brother. "I was born to save the world," she said, though the words sounded ridiculous when they were said outloud. "My mother was an angel and she told me I had to stop the apocalypse. It was my mission. I had to prepare for it, train for it, maybe even die for it," she started, her words slow. The mantra of her mission still played through her head, despite all of her attempts to calm it down or get rid of it. At least she was able to ignore it now. "But years went by and the apocalypse never came. So, I got dis- found other things to do," she said, catching herself. She had not gotten distracted. That kind of talk did nothing but make her feel more guilty. And she wanted to stop feeling guilty for this. "I became friends with a stallion and lived with him for a while. But he betrayed and attacked me one day, so I left," she continued. Despite wanting to unveil all of the truth, she could not bring herself to come out and say that she'd been assaulted. Not in front of her son. "While I wandered the Free lands, I found out that I was pregnant. With your older brother, Sverrir," she managed to say his name outloud for the first time. Her voice cracked and she made herself stop, for now. Vas was looking at her with wide eyes, but he had said nothing. It felt awful, telling him this, but she needed him to know.
notes hmm this is just torture seph week isn't it
"Speech"
|
|
The Outsider walks among us
riposte and tear until it is done
|
They/them
|
10,844 posts
|
points
|
|
|
|
|
|
Addict
|
Post by + ebonite + on Nov 13, 2021 21:49:26 GMT -7
'Vas, we need to talk,' she said, her voice soft. She didn't usually talk like that. However, even so, his reply was a lethargic, "okay." He wasn't looking forward to another lecture where he was told how dangerous it all was. He knew that. He'd even gone into it knowing that it was dangerous. It just wasn't enough to dissuade his curiosity. 'Do you remember when I told you how I was locked away before I met your father?' she asked him then. Yeah, she'd been locked away for a while. It was the inspiration for the story that he'd told at the campfire. He nodded, "yeah." Where was she going with this? 'The ones who locked me away were followers of the Underworld,' she said. His eyes widened and he met her eyes. "What?" was his automatic response, coming out before he could properly work through the implications of this. He... he didn't know that. He knew she'd been taken but she'd never said who had taken her. He had never really thought about it, either. It was in the past, so he didn't take it into consideration. And he never would have suspected it to be Underworld followers. What would they want with her anyway? But now... everything made sense. No wonder she was so angry. He was going to the coronation of a group that had imprisoned her for years. That would make anyone upset. He hadn't known. "Oh," he said lamely, not knowing what else to say. He'd already made dozens of apologies, but he felt like it had never made a difference. Would it make any difference now?
Before he could say anything further, she was speaking again. 'I was born to save the world,' he blinked again. Wait, what? What was she talking about? She looked so tense when she was talking. Her jaw was clenched and her shoulder muscle was outlined against her skin. 'My mother was an angel and she told me I had to stop the apocalypse. It was my mission. I had to prepare for it, train for it, maybe even die for it,' she said to him. She was speaking slowly, methodically. Vas still could barely comprehend what she was saying. Her mother was an angel? Wasn't there a special word for those? But she didn't have a marking for that. She had a marking, but it wasn't the special one. He had one too and so did Sariel. Did that mean that they were special too? But I can't do anything. He was so confused. And she was supposed to stop the apocalypse? He'd never heard of any of this. Granted, it had happened a while ago, but he felt like that would have been an important thing that people would talk about. 'But years went by and the apocalypse never came. So, I got dis- found other things to do,' she continued. Well, that made sense then. It had never happened. Why didn't it happen? Had something stopped it? Or was it never going to happen in the first place? None of this made sense. He had so many questions. But he wasn't going to interrupt her. He would have time for questions after this.
She shuffled a bit, but kept talking. 'I became friends with a stallion and lived with him for a while. But he betrayed and attacked me one day, so I left,' she said. He huffed a bit. He had attacked her? Some friend he was! What kind of friend would do that? Vas couldn't imagine attacking Teya or Orel. They might fight sometimes, but he'd never attack them. 'While I wandered the Free lands, I found out that I was pregnant. With your older brother, Sverrir,' these words were strained, pulled from her. Vas felt himself holding his breath. He felt like the world was dropping beneath him. Pregnant? He had another sibling? But this time on his mother's side. He didn't know any of this. Sverrir. His older brother. What had happened to him? Why wasn't he here now? Why had he never met him? Vas wanted to say something, but he also didn't want to break the flow. He opened his mouth once, twice, and then finally snapped it closed. He would wait to ask any questions until this story was done. They hadn't gotten to the part about her imprisonment yet, so he figured there was more to go. When the silence started to stretch on and on, he would know that she was done.
timeline after he speaks to regina
"Speech"
|
|
The Outsider walks among us
riposte and tear until it is done
|
They/them
|
10,844 posts
|
points
|
|
|
|
|
|
Addict
|
Post by + ebonite + on Nov 14, 2021 22:12:47 GMT -7
Her son was silent during all of it so far. He just stared at her with wide eyes, searching her face, probably looking for further answers to all the questions he had. Seph would try to answer them, though the keyword was "try." She didn't know if she'd be able to. She didn't know if she'd be able to finish telling the story, if she was honest. But she had to try. And even a partial story was better than nothing. At least now Vas knew (or at least could guess) why she was punishing him for so long. The silence was stretching on now, so Seph knew that she had to keep going. She had momentum going and she couldn't stop now. Even if it was painful and awful and every fiber of her being wanted her to run away from it all. She owed her son this explanation. She sighed and tried to pick up where she had left off. Sverrir. Now his name had been said. It made him feel more real. For how short his life had been, it was easy to imagine that he hadn't been real. But he had been. And he'd died. She had never seen his body, but she knew it. If he had been alive, the Ghosts would have used him to lure her back. And it probably would have worked.
"After S-Sverrir was born, I was very weak. I had lost a lot of blood. They must have been following me because that's when they took me," she said. Her gaze had drifted away from Vas and was now looking out toward the ocean. The sun was almost set now, just a red gleam on the horizon. It was bleeding into the lake. "The Ghosts," she murmured. None of them had ever said a name other than Ghost. She figured it was some kind of code name because it would be illogical for a whole group to take the same name. They all had pentagrams carved on their shoulders. They were all monotone and stoic, cold and unemotional. Seph remembered admiring them for it and then hating herself for admiring them. They were ruthless, a blunt instrument of the Underworld. She had no idea if they'd ever gained an advantage from the information she'd told them. In truth, she hadn't known much to begin with. She was in the dark for most of everything. She just knew the basics: the apocalypse and the anti-christ. She was supposed to stop them both. But neither of them came and so she did nothing. It was pathetic, really.
"They locked me in a room. They asked me for information on my mission, on Utopia, on angels, on any other missions going on," she said, her voice thready and strained. Her ice blue eyes flicked to her son. Vas' eyes were huge and they looked wet. Seph looked away quickly before she could confirm that observation. "I refused to tell them. They starved me. Beat me. Didn't give me water. Refused to let me sleep," she said, not letting herself stop now. The Ghosts had used every form of torture to get her to talk. Her skin told that story. A lot of her scars were faded now, but if one looked close enough, they could see them, scattered across her body. There were dozens of them. "They killed your brother," her voice was thick now and her own eyes were misted. "I lasted for a long time like that. But eventually, everyone breaks. I told them everything," her teeth ground together as the tears spilled down her cheeks. "But they didn't stop or let me go. I stayed in there, barely alive. I wanted to die," this was so much for her son to take in, but she couldn't sugarcoat it. Not this part. Vas needed to understand exactly what the Underworld was and what their worshippers did.
She turned to look at him then. He was crying. She wanted to pull him close and hold onto him, but she couldn't until she was done. "But I didn't. Instead, I was saved," she said, managing to pull her lips into a small smile. "A boy saved me. A boy around your age. He unlocked the door and guided me out. Utopia had sent him to rescue me," she said. The story would get better now, brighter. Seph would always want to know why Utopia had waited so long to save her, but it was too late to wish for things that hadn't happened. The fact was that she had been saved and she was here now, standing on this beach, talking to a son who hadn't been murdered. "We escaped together and went to the Versai for refuge. I recovered there, but I wasn't healed," she said. Everyone's feelings on the Versai were profoundly negative right now and Seph agreed with them. Even if they had rescued her and helped her recover from her ordeal, that did not give them the right to murder. Seph thought it was ridiculous that a Light allianced group would so brazenly murder someone else. She was also grateful for it, in a way, because it revealed who they were at their core. "I wasn't healed until I met your father. I ran to the Free lands one day and I happened to meet him. He was easy to talk to and he made me laugh. I decided to leave the Versai to go and live with him," she managed to chuckle a bit, "I think you already know the rest." The boys had already heard the tale of how their parents had met before. It had been the inspiration for the story that Vas had told at the campfire.
Now that it was over, Seph walked over and pulled Vas close to her. He squeezed next to her, his face wet with tears. "I know that that was horrible to hear," she said to him. "It's horrible for me to talk about, which is why I never told either of you the full story. But knowing that you snuck off to an Underworld coronation..." her voice trailed off as another wave of anger threatened to take her. She pushed it away. There was no more need for her anger. "I need you to understand that they're dangerous. They're dangerous to all mortal equines, but they are especially dangerous to us and our family. I cannot lose you. And they cannot find me again," she hugged him tighter. Her being free in the world had always been a dangerous gamble, but the Ghosts had yet to find her again. Perhaps they had abandoned their search, knowing that she had given them everything already. It was an optimstic thought but Seph would not embrace it entirely. She couldn't fall into a false sense of security when they were still out there. She had escaped after all and they did not take lightly to that kind of thing. For now, though, she was going to live her life. She refused to squander away the freedom she had now. She would not waste it being afraid. She had a family now and she would fight for them until her last breath.
notes torture seph week continues
"Speech"
|
|
The Outsider walks among us
riposte and tear until it is done
|
They/them
|
10,844 posts
|
points
|
|
|
|
|
|
Addict
|
Post by + ebonite + on Nov 15, 2021 22:56:58 GMT -7
Vas was both curious and afraid for his mother to continue her story. He knew that this was probably where it was going to get bad. She'd never said any details about it before, only that she'd been locked away and she had gotten out somehow. When he'd been younger, he never thought anything of it. It was just a fact of his mother's life. Now that he was older, he could think about all of the implications. He could imagine what would have happened. She'd been taken by Underworld worshippers. They'd known she was some kind of agent of Utopia. The only way this could end was badly. 'After S-Sverrir was born, I was very weak. I had lost a lot of blood. They must have been following me because that's when they took me,' she started again and he tensed up as he listened. Sverrir. His older brother. Did his father know about Sverrir? Vas had a sick feeling in his stomach. There was a logical conclusion for why he had never met this older brother and why his mother could barely say his name. He didn't want to think about it, but it was there. His mind had been primed for it. 'The Ghosts,' she murmured. It was almost too quiet for him to hear, but he caught it. The name sent a shiver of dread down his spine. He engraved the name into his brain, so he could watch out for it in the future.
'They locked me in a room. They asked me for information on my mission, on Utopia, on angels, on any other missions going on,' her words came and even though Vas had been expecting them, he couldn't stop the rush of emotion that clutched at his chest. His mother, locked in a room, trapped, weak, abandoned. Questioned by a group that had taken her from her son. His eyes began to well with tears. His mom looked at him once, briefly, and then looked away. She was looking at the ocean. 'I refused to tell them. They starved me. Beat me. Didn't give me water. Refused to let me sleep,' even through the rush of blood in his ears, he could hear every single word she said with startling clarify. Starved me. Beat me. He felt his gaze roaming along her coat. He knew that she had scars. Once you were close enough to her, they were hard to miss, even faded as they were. He'd never really been curious about where they'd come from. They were just... there. As normal a part of her as everything else. But of course they had a story. Every single one of them was from torture. 'They killed your brother,' it hit him like a punch to the gut to hear his suspicions confirmed. They had killed him. His older brother. Sverrir. A brother he would never know. 'I lasted for a long time like that. But eventually, everyone breaks. I told them everything,' she was crying and shaking now. Vas wanted to comfort her, but he was worried he'd break her concentration. A part of him wanted her to stop so he didn't have to hear any more of the horror, but she had chosen to tell him this and he couldn't stop her now. 'But they didn't stop or let me go. I stayed in there, barely alive. I wanted to die.' The hits never stopped. But he could hardly blame her. Even after telling them everything, she wasn't released. Had they ever used that information? Did she even know?
Tears spilled down his cheeks. He wanted it to stop. He wanted to stop imagining her, trapped in a cell, beaten and starved, unable to escape, knowing her son was gone. She looked at him then and he felt ashamed for crying. He hadn't been the one to go through this - she had. But she smiled at him then and it was enough to stop his sniffling for just a moment. Why was she smiling? 'But I didn't. Instead, I was saved. A boy saved me. A boy around your age. He unlocked the door and guided me out. Utopia had sent him to rescue me,' she said. Vas blinked, managing to clear his eyes. Not only had she gotten out, but she'd been rescued. By Utopia. They came for her at least. Vas wondered why it had taken them so long to notice. Hadn't she been important to them? And why would they send someone as young as him to go and save her? Vas couldn't imagine trying to go and save someone who'd been locked up for years. Especially if they were being held captive by Underworld worshippers. 'We escaped together and went to the Versai for refuge. I recovered there, but I wasn't healed.' He blinked. She'd been rescued by someone from the Versai? But... but he thought the Versai were bad? Wasn't that why they'd been banished? His nose crinkled up as he tried to work through this. Had they not always been bad? Had they been good back then?
He wasn't given further time to contemplate it because his mother was continuing on. 'I wasn't healed until I met your father. I ran to the Free lands one day and I happened to meet him. He was easy to talk to and he made me laugh. I decided to leave the Versai to go and live with him,' she chuckled and he managed a smile, even through his tears. 'I think you already know the rest.' Yeah, he did. Everything after that he'd been told.
The tale was over now, Vas knew, because his mother turned and guided him to her. He pressed against her side, burying his face into her shoulder. 'I know that that was horrible to hear. It's horrible for me to talk about, which is why I never told either of you the full story. But knowing that you snuck off to an Underworld coronation...' he flinched as he heard it. He was never going to do anything like that ever again. 'I need you to understand that they're dangerous. They're dangerous to all mortal equines, but they are especially dangerous to us and our family. I cannot lose you. And they cannot find me again,' she said to him. He nodded vigorously. Never again. He would never visit them or talk to them again. His curiosity was over with. It was done. They would not tear his family apart. They were already missing one member. They couldn't afford to lose anyone else. "I'm so sorry," he said against her. They were words he'd already said before, but now they bore the weight of his new knowledge. She squeezed him tighter. They stayed together for a few more moments before pulling away. Then, they both turned and watched the last of the sun fade away.
timeline after he speaks to regina notes and done <3
"Speech"
|
|