closed 🪶⚡ i'll be the light to lead you home

[garudas]

Who: Cidolfus Telamon & Benedikta Harman.
Status: Closed.
Where: The Roost, The Farplane.
What: Cid and Benedikta move to a new house in the Roost. Event stuff later.
Warnings: The usual. :)

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[garudas]

[She makes a noise in agreement.]

Well, let us hope that they can also sense that we are a force to be reckoned with. So that we might try to enjoy our time wandering for now.

[For all the feelings that being here provokes, it is still a very beautiful place.]

[ramuhs]

[He smiles at that as his hand squeezes hers before he playfully swings it.]

Only a foolish soul would dare to try.

[When they reach a small gap, he hops across easily and has their hands held stretched out as if to have her jump to him.]

[garudas]

[She grins at him and their hands before she leaps over the gap with him, landing at his side.]

You don't suppose the souls have to eat here, do you? I hadn't thought to bring snacks with us.

[ramuhs]

I doubt it. Where would the food even go?

[A low chuckle as they continue to descend.]

Then again, I thought some places that looked like restaurants or cafes... And I did see fruit trees. Perhaps they use ghostly ingredients and absorb the energy?

[garudas]

[She doesn't want to consider that question.]

I wonder if we could eat them... say, if we plucked a peach from a tree...

[As her eyes start to wander.]

[ramuhs]

[A wry grin.]

Wasn't there a story that if you eat something from the underworld you are then trapped and must stay in it?

[A mischievous grin as he leans towards her.]

I'd be careful what you eat here, my dear.

[garudas]

[She whirls her gaze around to him.]

What? Where did they say that?

[A light bristle, and she shakes her head.]

... Well, no matter. A good thing we are not in the underworld, but I can manage to hold off. Though, they should not make their food here look so appetizing if they do not wish for undead souls to be caught up in here.

[ramuhs]

[He can't help but laugh at that.]

If I had known it would be so easy to capture you through your stomach I would have left out food for you before.

[garudas]

What, like I am some kind of rabbit to be lured in and trapped with food?

[She snorts.]

I think not.

[ramuhs]

Should I try it one day? Leave something out at the Roost and see if you can't resist?

[garudas]

[She swats him.]

And then what do you plan to do with me after that!?

[ramuhs]

[A more wicked grin as he leans in closer.]

I wonder.

[Though she probably can get an idea.]

[garudas]

[He gets a nudge back with her shoulder when he leans in, her chin dipping away from him.]

At least now I know not to fall for any traps around the Roost, lest I be snared by a big, frightening bear.

[It's her turn to hop over a gap next, some coral steps reaching up to meet them on the other side, and just like he had done before, she lifts their hands and offers to catch him when he follows.

And she is far too caught up in taking in everything else that she does not sense that they are being followed...]

[ramuhs]

Now who said he would be frightening?

[He'll watch her leap ahead before he grins.]

Perhaps he just wants to—

[And jump!]

Cuddle!

[When he lands, his arms wrap around her for a "bear hug."]

[garudas]

[She sputters when he suddenly takes her into his arms, and those that are nearby turn to look at them. Not that she is paying them any attention, nor can she, with how she seems to fit so snugly into his arms. Her own go around him in response, all instinctive at this point, and she breathes out a laugh against his chest as she tries to regain her balance.]

You know you do not need to set a trap for that.

[ramuhs]

No, but I do enjoy keeping you on your toes.

[A low, rumbling laugh as he gazes down at her before stealing a quick kiss and then letting her go.]

[garudas]

[Ah, she silently mourns the loss of his arms around her... And she steps after him as she shakes her hair back into place.]

I'd argue that it is your greatest skill... You are aging me faster than I can keep up with.

[They arrive on another small ridge made up of one very large coral that overlooks the other direction from the city, and with a glance at him, she squeezes his hand and tugs him along, pausing at the edge of it to get a good look at where they are.]

[ramuhs]

And I'd argue I have a few other skills that you'd think are "greater."

[He couldn't help himself was he just smirks at her, a warm tingle of levin shooting up her palm before they're at the edge to look out. It really is quite beautiful, if also a bit eerie with how wide and empty it is. Actually, he thinks he might see some creatures that look like animals out there...

And he's so preoccupied with both Benedikta and the view he will not notice a shadow creeping closer to them from behind.]

[garudas]

I'd argue that this is not the time to bring them up lest we forget why we are here...

[She shoots him a knowing glance and a smirk to match, a shiver rippling up her spine at the shot of levin buzzing over her palm. Her shoulder bumps playfully against his, glad that the heaviness on her chest has lifted somewhat. Being here, looking out to the rest of the Farplane and what is classified as the "Uncharted" really does make one think deeper on their own lives, and she is no exception to that, but having him here truly does help to take some of that weight off.

But there is still one weight that needs lifting, and she points further down.]

That there is where we need to go, yes?

[ramuhs]

Aye, I think so. And sooner we find and deal with the problem, the better.

[He's actually lost track how much time they've spent so far. Has it been an hour yet? So he'll take the lead and start heading towards the path that would lead them further down...]

[garudas]

[Well, at least they have one advantage over many of the other people here in that they can last a little longer before feeling the effects. Whether that's a blessing or not...]

One crack and then we head back to rest. Before we start feeling those things that they warned us about.

[She is not keen on going down that road.

But she will follow after him, her hand slipping out of his for a moment so that she can ensure that everything is tucked away safely before they descend. Checking her sword and then the talisman before they make a jump down a fairly steep but shallow ridge.]

It looks like it will get steeper from here on out and—tsk—

[She feels something brush up against her arm, and she simply brushes her hand against it, thinking it the wind.]

Watch your step, Cidolfus.

[ramuhs]

[He's already jumping down another section of the path, the small bits of loose coral and rock clattering down as he turns to look back at her.]

Hah! I've traveled many a path like these, so this is nothing.

[garudas]

[She snorts at him when he glances back at her, her smile faltering when she feels something against her leg this time, less like a wind. She peeks over her shoulder, gives her ankle a shake, and goes to hop down over the gap. She makes it, landing behind him.]

It's a little windy here...

[She comments when something cool passes behind her again, and she thinks nothing of it—it's often that drafts can come up from gaps like that, however small.]

I suppose it's a given, all things consider—

[There's a sharp crack, and something cold wrapping around her ankle. She feels as though she is falling through the corals, like the ground is giving out beneath her. Her stomach drops and she shrieks, the sound echoing loud and clear. It would be a surprise if it did not carry all the way through the whole Uncharted.]

Cidolfus—!?

[But when Cid turns around, he will find her gone from his sight, her screams coming from somewhere below, broken only by the sound of corals being shattered and pulled apart, her nails scraping along them as she is dragged further by a soul that she cannot see.]

Get the fuck off me!

[She throws a kick back, but it's no use. The cold hand simply grabs her other ankle, locking them both in place as it pulls her down, down, down the corals towards the ground with little regard for where she lands.]

[ramuhs]

[After smiling at her landing after him, he had turned to chart out their path down. It looked like they would need to do a few more jumps—!?

At her scream he spins around and runs back shouting.]

Benedikta!

[But she's already gone before he could even see what happened, his heart already plummeting as he grabs onto the coral before he tumbles over the edge. From there he can see her being dragged down, the sight of a ghostly figure pulling her enough to tell him what's going on.]

Fuck, like hell you will—!

[His aether and levin gathering at his feet, he immediately jumps down, landing roughly on a jutting coral ledge, but the force of his weight breaks it so that he ends up fall and skidding against the side. He manages to right himself before he jumps again, lightning trailing behind him as he tries to close the gap.]

[garudas]

[She can't even see him coming, and she can barely hear him over the commotion. A voice echoes from behind her, those fingers digging into her ankles, leaving divots that would turn red with blood if this were any other place. "Wrong, wrong, wrong!!! You belong here!" It's a woman's voice, the shrieks as desperate as Benedikta's sound to get away. She attempts a burst of wind, but it falls short, the soul completely undisturbed by her magic.]

Fuck—!

[Her hand fumbles around her coat for the talisman, but just as her fingers manage to find it, she's dropped another several feet, coughing when her lungs meet another surface. The talisman falls out of her reach, making her curse out loud.

"Wrong, wrong!!! It's all wrong!"

By the time she manages to open her eyes, her vision blurred, she can at least make out that everything around her has slowly started to gray and blacken, all manner of colour drained out of the rocky landscape as she's pulled deeper. And seeing Cid coming after them, the soul drags her beneath an overhang, sharp rocks jutting out in all directions as Benedikta continues to scream his name.

But she cannot let the soul see that tears have started to erupt in her eyes, fear gripping her in ways that she cannot even process right now while she kicks and screams and tries to claw her way back.]