I will do anything

Grassy hilltop.
Rippling notes of a tranquil harmony drift upon the air, emanating from a healing shrine of Isune nearby. Superimposed over this location, an ethereal forest reaches up to the sky. A light cover of clouds hides the sky in a sheet of white. Soft, blue-green alpine grass carpets the ground here, a hardy variety well suited to the cooler temperatures found as the ground rises up towards the Teeth to the east. Moss campion grows in profusion, its tiny leaves and pale pink blossoms adapted to suit the rockier soil. A perpetual cool wind sweeps down from the mountains, threatening to sweep away the more delicate plants. A tall, vibrantly healthy mulberry bush grows nearby. A giant mosquito lies crushed. Humming happily to himself, a red furred furrikin lounges about here.
You see a single exit leading south.

Harmony echoes in your mind as you sing to Initiate to the Tah'vrai, Rhalkyr, "**a quiet nudge, a clear beckoning and then -tug- into existence** Here."

You feel a slight tug within your chest and the air around you sparkles with motes of bright light.

Appearing in a readied, aggressive stance, Rhalkyr's hands are extended to either side, fingers flexed into stiffened claws, eyes thinned to dangerous slits. Finding you, they do not, as before, flit away, but remain fixed upon you.
Across the heavens, the stars and moon challenge night's dark reign, revealing familiar constellations that tell the tales of myth and legend.

You have emoted: Cheliyi watches silently within a surge of freezing mist, which converges upon Rhalkyr like a hungry wave. The mists coil into tendrils that bind the hulking human with efficient precision, biting deep into his skin like a thousand tiny knives. The mugwump smiles politely, though the expression does not reach her glittering eyes. "You made my Dad cry," she murmurs, gaze igniting with a cold hatred as a freezing sensation climbs up Rhalkyr's limbs.

You reach out through your bond with Muginn, the ghost-feathered crow and summon him from the stables. You sense him answering your call.
Muginn, the ghost-feathered crow trots in with head high, butting you gently with his head.

Rhalkyr does not cry out in pain, the array of lacerating tendrils eliciting instead a low, snarling sound, more befitting a beast than a human. Flexing his prodigious muscles, the stripes that adorn his powerful frame undulate and writhe as the bronze flesh they adorn bulges with effort. Cocking his head at an odd angle, he responds in a tone that is incongruously mild. "No. Gurashi's tears, self-inflicted."

Softly, as if she did not hear him, you say, "I told you I would do anything for them, yes? Anything? Thank you, for letting me prove it."

You have emoted: Cheliyi curls her fingers in a gentle, sweeping motion, and the responding tendril's touch is -anything- but, curling around Rhalkyr's throat like a frost-bitten noose. Muginn watches the affair with a predatory gleam in his lone eye. "Perhaps," she hums, "this is unkind. Perhaps, it is bitter."

The grass around you rustles slightly as the night breeze caresses you.

Offering no resistance, Rhalkyr tilts his chin up even as the winding serpent of mist coils about his neck, his eyes gazing down upon you with something very much akin to amusement.

You have emoted: Smiling again, her lips stretch taut as her wooden fangs glisten with saliva. The expression almost hungry, Cheliyi's gaze trails along the different coils of mist cutting into Rhalkyr's skin.

You think to yourself: **the all consuming hunger, old and familiar... yes... come back to us. eat.**.

Warmly, you say, "But, I would be a poor gardener if I let my seeds go to waste, yes. If there is one thing I learned as an Exemplar of my Tah'vrai, it is to garden well. To plant well. Perhaps... I should plant them with you."

A giant mosquito arrives from the south, buzzing threateningly.
Buzzing furiously, a giant mosquito dives suddenly at your head. You feel a sudden sharp, stinging sensation.
Muginn, the ghost-feathered crow leaps into the air in front of you, deflecting the attack.

You have emoted: Without breaking eye contact, Cheliyi silences the mosquito.
Folding your hands together you cause the timepiece on mechanical lace gloves to open up and reveal a small pistol.
A bullet wrapped in bursts of steam and beams of holy light shoots from mechanical lace gloves and hits a giant mosquito.
You shift the reserved damage of your last strike forward.
The final blow proves too much for a giant mosquito, who expires, pitifully.
You have slain a giant mosquito.

Bizarrely, despite or perhaps even because of the increased pain that is brought to bear upon him, Rhalkyr's eyes glitter with greater - and now unmistakable - amusement. In a voice made more ragged than ever, he grinds out, "Bitter. Seeds."

Muginn, the ghost-feathered crow descends on the corpse, casually tearing it to shreds.

You have emoted: Cheliyi's grin splits unnaturally wide, reminiscent of the grotesque ravenwoods in the Forest of No Mercy. "Indeed. They were not mine, at first. But, peoples have to adapt, yes."
Tilting her head at an unnatural angle, you say, "Perhaps, I should eat you. Make you go to sleep, very, very slowly. But... no. You would wake up, and all of my work would go to waste. Mister Dad told me not to eat peoples, anymore."

Muginn, the ghost-feathered crow tilts his head in tandem with you, his gaze eerie, piercing. Famished.

The coil of mist tightens around Rhalkyr's neck, almost shredding his skin with the tension, an effective chokehold.

The tendons of Rhalkyr's neck stand starkly out, straining against the cruel, crushing tendrils of mist as he hisses out a choked breath. A thick, wheezing sound throbs forth form the man, a low and pulsating noise, as slow as the cruel, gradual sundering of dry treeflesh. Mangled laughter, or as much as one can manage, when unable to breath, and under such duress.

You have emoted: Cheliyi smiles brightly, seemingly overjoyed by Rhalkyr's laughter. "I'm glad you agree, yes."

Eyes wide and glittering with cold starlight, you say, "You know, my dad always says that there is a price for love. But, there is a price for knowledge, too."

The mists slowly burn away at Rhalkyr's skin, freezing it from a bloody pink to black. If not for the numbing chill, the pain would certainly be agonizing.

Soft once more, you say, "And this is part of it. Speak to my father again, hurt them again, and I will do much more than burn your skin."

You think to yourself: **black and orange, make him -hurt-**.

Streaks of violet light snake across the morning sky, colouring it a deep purple.

The disturbing, brutally maimed sound of Rhalkyr's mirth fades, and it is a long moment before he draws sufficient, rasping, ragged breath to speak. Simply, he says, in an unmistakably mocking tone - though the word is contorted such that it is difficult to discern, "Soft."

You have emoted: Cheliyi's grin splits wide once more, creaking with some painful echo in the distant pines. "Mm. Perhaps. But, it takes quite a bit of control to contain bloodlust, yes. Perhaps you should learn more of Crow. You may be of Glomdoring, but you are no ally of mine. No family of mine. Take care, when you swim."

You have emoted: The mugwump turns her back on Rhalkyr, Cheliyi's misted crow watching the human without pause. As she exits with a merry hum, the corvid gives one, shrieking caw, and the mists dissipate as if never there. All that remains are swaths of frosted skin, and a distinct chill to the air.

You portal to Overgrowth.
This room has not been mapped.
A Gentle Grove.                                        (#OVERGROWTH_1)
You feel hidden powers in this room. The shadowy outline of a twisted forest casts a dark gloom here. A quiet glen of gnarled weeping willows encase all sides, leaves swishing softly in an unseen breeze. Hung from many branches are small cicada and blossom origami, as if the willow trees themselves bear fruit. Twilight cloaks the area, blanketing all in a ghostly glow. Soft grasses and leaves crunch underfoot, the soothing smell of decaying flora and wet earth flooding the air with each step. Large, fluffy bats flutter overhead, oddly docile despite their inherent natures. Freshly planted, a small rowan sapling grows in a clear place of honor, lovingly tended to. There are plenty of spaces for rest, a soft patch of grass here, a plush expanse of moss there. Piled next to a rather large patch of moss sits a stack of letters, each paper clearly well loved. A small vase sits atop a mossy stump, practically bursting with flower cuttings, bringing a spot of bright color to an otherwise unremarkable sea of greens and browns. A large, fluffy crow's nest hangs from one of the many willows, full of shiny baubles and small bones of some poor rodent. The sound of a babbling brook seems to echo in the distance. Little else can be heard, save for the soft woosh of the entry portal. A thick bed of moss clings to the ground here. There are 3 moss-covered stump chairs here. A painting of Unwanted Silence is proudly exhibited on a nearby wall, with an inscription on a plaque on its frame. Perpetually ticking away the hours, the Enduring Clock of Present's Resolution stands proudly nearby. You see a sign here instructing you to use the PORTAL command to enter the aetherplex system.
There are no obvious exits.
You have emoted: Cheliyi's hands tremble, and she lets out a quiet, pained laugh.

You think to yourself: **the hunger, unsated, fading again... it leaves faster each and every time, yet now...**.

You have emoted: Cheliyi exhales shakily.

You think to yourself: **so hungry. so angry. you almost regret it.**.

Muginn, the ghost-feathered crow tugs on your skirt, clicking his beak with fond pride.

Softly, you say, "Mm. I will do anything."
Leaning forward, you gently press a kiss to Muginn, the ghost-feathered crow's brow.

Muginn clicks his beak, his feathers ruffling as he blinks up at you with an uncharacteristically fond look in his eye.

You think to yourself: **the wyrd.... no. you can feel guilty later. now, justice has been done.**.

You have emoted: Cheliyi sits down on a bed of moss, eyes staring blankly at the ground.

You close your eyes and inhale deeply, absorbing the scent of your surroundings.
You let loose a long breath from your lungs, exhaling slowly.

You think to yourself: **the bloodlust wearing off, leaving you slightly sick to your stomach, but giddy. You did it. You showed him. He may have laughed, but it was real, and you used your strength. It felt nice, almost.**.

You have emoted: Cheliyi swallows thickly.

You think to yourself: Almost.

You have emoted: Cheliyi closes her eyes, and puts her head in her hands.

You think to yourself: I tried to kill someone for hurting who I love. Dad said that it is fine. I did not eat him. Dad says that is good.
You think to yourself: ... Dad will be disappointed I was not kinder.

You have emoted: Cheliyi wilts, and sighs. Her expression grows into a grim frown.

You think to yourself: **the familiar ache.**.

You think to yourself: Supposed to spread kindness. Though, he did not deserve it. But, I am supposed to be -Light- now. Not...

You let loose a long breath from your lungs, exhaling slowly.

You think to yourself: Was never light anyways.

Muginn, the ghost-feathered crow nudges his head through your curled position, butting up into her face. The mugwump blinks and chuckles, before petting the crow gently.

You think to yourself: ... Should go make those brooches, now.

You sigh quietly, frills drooping as your tail sags.
You have emoted: Cheliyi stands, and enters her portal.