Bring Roses!

[[ August 8th: THE LITERAL SECOND I LOG IN ]]

Glossy black rose petals drift across your field of vision, their sweet fragrance disorienting.

You perk your ears up as an errant topic catches your interest.

With a soft gasp, you ask, "Dearest Lady?"

You have emoted: Smiling softly, Aleyah cups her cheek in her own hand, her wings pulsing warmly through pinks, reds, and purples. "Your voice is a blessing, Dearest Lady."

You take to the air with a few beats of your wings, alighting gently upon a vaguely humanoid-shaped cocoon.

A whirlpool of incorporeal shadows fills the area with an unnatural darkness, revealing the ghostly figure of Viravain, Lady of the Thorns at their centre as the umbral filaments dissipate.

You have emoted: Aleyah rises up on her feet atop a vaguely humanoid-shaped cocoon, only to drop into an immediate, reverent kneel on the spot before Viravain.

[ Look @ Mom: Mom's so pretty. She's still wearing the circlet I made for her! ]

Viravain places a hand on a cocoon of thorns and wyrden flora, Her expression still and calm. As She withdraws Her touch, the cocoon pulses with a flickering of wyrden fire.

You take to the air with a few lazy wafts of your wings.

Quietly, mostly to Herself, Viravain, Lady of the Thorns says, "It is nearly time."

You have emoted: Aleyah emits a soft, fascinated noise, eyes wide.

[[ R E D A C T E D ]]

The air around the Goddess fluctuates with power, and your connection to Her reacts in kind, as if your very essence were drawn to Her energy.

A smile playing across Her lips, Viravain turns to face you for the first time. "You have stood by My guest for quite some time, child. What have you learned?"

You think to yourself: Warm... It's so good to be besides My Lady.

You have emoted: Her gaze falling briefly upon a vaguely humanoid-shaped cocoon, Aleyah turns her golden eyes upon Viravain in turn, bright with fascination. "I have learned that [[R E D A C T E D]]." She hums, thoughtful, crossing her legs in mid-air. "I have learned that [[R E D A C T E D 2]]."

You say, "It has been quite an interesting observation of priorities."

You purse your lips, deep in thought.

Much more warmly, you say, "I have learned that I really very much like it in here! And that You can do anything."

Quietly, you say, "And I have learned things of Lady Khasur that I am very certain You know, but that I promised her I would never say aloud."

Viravain pauses at this, the sharpness in Her demeanor shifting. "Well, well," She says, quietly. "To have gained the trust of My Khasur is no easy feat." The scythe shifts in Her hands as She ponders idly.

Viravain strokes a wickedly curved scythe tenderly.

Voice nearly as sharp as Her scythe, Viravain, Lady of the Thorns says, "What webs will you weave for Me? How will you grow My design?"

You have emoted: Smiling brightly, Aleyah enthuses with a few rosy beats of her wings, "I love You, my Lady! I want the whole Basin to love You. I am going to [[ R E D A C T E D]]."

Viravain lifts Her chin at this, the shadows undulating around Her reaching ever outward.

Warmly, you say, "Ever smiling, ever kind, ever welcoming more people home."

Viravain, Lady of the Thorns says, "Become a bookbinder. Craft for Me a tome that only Mine will use, in My image."

Viravain, Lady of the Thorns says, "Do all of this while you watch over My guest. Do not disappoint Me."

Coiling sinuously about Her petite frame, stygian shadows cloak Viravain in an unnatural darkness and evanesce into the aether, leaving behind only the faintest scent of roses.

You have emoted: Sighing fondly, Aleyah alights once more upon a vaguely humanoid-shaped cocoon, crossing her ankles and bringing around her notepad to sketch in. "I shall. And I won't. As You will it, my Lady."

--- [[ Simultaneously: https://pastebin.com/N3CUVTUn ]] ---

=====[[ Many hours Later, like, close to 12 am, Gurashi gets this emit and I had to SCRAMBLE TO FINISH LAUNDRY IN TIME ]] =======

There is darkness, barely pierced by the foggiest of light before you; as though you were standing in a shrouded mist that the sun were feebly attempting to breach. There are voices around, you talking, but no more than the faintest of murmuring whispers that are infuriatingly out of reach. You scream and feel the bindings around you constrict, nearly choking the precious breath from your lungs as you perform this only piece of feeble resistance left to you.

=============== [[ My POV ]] ===================

As you touch a vaguely humanoid-shaped cocoon, a thin, spindly tendril reaches back for you, twining delicately around your fingers. A foreign thought takes hold and invades your mind completely, urging you forward. The flickering image of a black rose appears before your mind's eye, and then vanishes like smoke, as if the alien thoughts were too weak to hold on.

[ 50 Roses in: ]

GURASHI gets: Your thoughts are immediately swallowed by another's, however briefly. Flashes of Friend Akuuko terrified and alone ripple through your mind's eye, and you hear his voice whimpering and afraid.
------------
ALEYAH gets: Thick, gnarled roots erupt from a vaguely humanoid-shaped cocoon, snaking their way briefly across the ground. Finding sure purchase, they dive deep within the floor of the temple, rooting it firmly to this spot.

Khasur Stormcrow exhales softly, her eyes alight. "Ahh, there. As I suspected. All it needed was a little coaxing, and..."

Khasur Stormcrow says, "It has found sure purchase with which to grow in earnest."

As your hand moves across a vaguely humanoid-shaped cocoon, you feel something within react, like the quickening of a heartbeat or a fluttering of trembling fingers.

Resting a hand against her neckline, Khasur Stormcrow says, "Quite fond of them, I see."

You flash Khasur Stormcrow a joyous smile.

You say to Khasur Stormcrow, "I'm fond of anyone who gives me an excuse to speak to the Lady more often."

You smile and say, "This has been nice. I feel like I'm doing something important to Her."

You say, "And if She wants to welcome him home, then wholeheartedly, I will welcome him home."

Khasur Stormcrow steps backward from a vaguely humanoid-shaped cocoon and holds her hands lightly in front of her, fingers steepled. "You are so calm in this task, Lady Aleyah. And steadfast."

Fondly, you say, "It has always been in my nature to nurture."

Goodly Gurashi An'Ryshe, the Crescendo yells, "Is -me-, Gurashi...! Is ... Is going to be O-K! Everything is going to be O-K!"

Kindly, you say to a vaguely humanoid-shaped cocoon, "You hear...? Cousin Gurashi is here too. Rest, relax.... breathe. It'll be all right. So many people are waiting for you, to welcome you."

ALEYAH gets: The latent hum of psionic power wraps around the silken strands of the cocoon before you, dancing before fizzling out underneath the lingering embers of wyrden flame.
GURASHI gets: Suddenly, through the misted darkness you feel a familiar presence. A voice you haven't heard since you were perched on the windowsill of the tower, watching them sleep. Kid? Kid! You make to yell and struggle, but the silk steals your air before you can and painfully twists and tears at your skin. Your psionics warped and pressed in on all sides, you feel even more alone than you had before.

Your mind goes slack for the span of a few heartbeats and your thoughts become Akuuko's. All you can see is the beautiful petals of your Lady's roses, and you yearn for them, need them, pine for them.

You have emoted: Aleyah blinks a few times, dazed.... and then she smiles warmly, gently caressing a vaguely humanoid-shaped cocoon. "That's it...." She coos, kindly. "Focus on the roses."

Goodly Gurashi An'Ryshe, the Crescendo yells, "Can still hear me?! Will get you out very soon, yes! I promise! Please be brave!"

Sweetly, you say, "Focus on the roses, and friend Gurashi's voice. You can have them both, dearest Akuuko. Soon."

Two hands push against the side of a vaguely humanoid-shaped cocoon, as if the thing inside were growing impatient as its strength grows.

An agonized scream echoes outward from the centre of a vaguely humanoid-shaped cocoon, and although fear is the paramount emotion in the strangled voice, a great deal of additional strength is present that was not there before.

Kindly, you say to a vaguely humanoid-shaped cocoon, "I know it hurts.... I know! It's frightning! Just a bit more now, and you'll be out! Just a bit more."

[[ Many, Many, Many roses later: ]]

A vaguely humanoid-shaped cocoon flickers with a haunting light that glows from deep inside, as if a black flame were casting shadows within.