XXII

I chooseth this fate of mine own freewill

[arcana-fool]

((OOC: I'm really sorry I haven't been around much this past week; I've been busy with work & moving house haha;;; Though hopefully things'll return to normal next week. I'm so so sorry to people I owe replies to, I'll get to it when I can!;;;))

[whataheartthrob-deactivated2014]

It felt dark. The world she was in, it really felt dark, cold, unfamiliar to her. She was lost, afraid, where had she gone? She swore that she didn’t went anywhere, but in the deep dark skies she was nowhere, but she had to be somewhere, right?

As if walking a canvas of broken lands, she walked and walked, seeing more of the darkness, until she saw a bright, shining light at the horizon. Desperately, she began running, sprinting towards it, determined to get out of this… hellish place. Nearer and nearer, her eyes widened as she felt a sudden warmth, and then the setting began to fade, slowly and slowly, and thought she heard the bustling noises of the city-

When she finally awoke she was laying comfortably on the grassy floor, and next to her was a young lady, a slight look of worry spread across her face. Confused, Momo awkwardly sat up and spoke with the other, brittle but with a charm of positiveness. “Ah… I’m really sorry… who are you? Where is this place?” Of course, she didn’t want to feel too rude towards this mysterious person, but given the sudden appearance and in a different area, she had to take some precautions.

[arcana-fool]

"You're awake? Great," Josei's expression burst into a smile when she noticed her unconscious companion had finally come back round to the world of the waking. She moved her headphones back to their usual position around her neck, quickly turning off the music so not to appear rude. The other girl seemed a bit awkward though, glancing around at her surroundings with a perplexed expression.

"Oh! Sorry, haha, I guess this must be a big surprise," She chuckled, rubbing the side of her face in an awkward manner. She hadn't really taken into consideration what might happen when the blonde girl woke up. Now that she did, it wasn't surprising that she might be a bit suspicious of the auburn haired high-school-er. "You just collapsed in the street, so I moved you somewhere it might be a bit more comfortable. Or as comfortable you can be in this heat." 

"As for where..." She tilted her head a little, as though the movement might bring on an epiphany but no such luck. "I have no idea! Just wound up here one day. I was hoping that you might have more of a clue than I do." Josei smiled a little wider, trying to reassure the girl that she meant her no harm.

[demisekun-deactivated20140501]

     His interest piqued as Josei extended out her hand towards him. For a few brief moments, all he could do was stare until she finally suggested that they get ice cream. He found this invitation to be odd…apart of Pharos expected the female to be questioning more about him. But that did not matter. What did, to Pharos, was that she was here in this world with him. He had a hunch that there was an underlying meaning behind all this…

     The male took Josei’s offered hand into his, hiding his quizzical expression from her. “Every day is like this,” he said, looking up at her. “There are only a few people in this entire city. There are stores, too, but no one operates them. It’s just like the Dark Hour, but electricity works and…you know…there are no Shadows.” His gaze shifted, staring down at the ground. “That’s all I’ve gathered so far from being here for a few days.”

[arcana-fool]

The older girl listened as Pharos recounted his past few days experience in this new city, the two of them making their way down a typically empty street. No shadows huh? Well that was a relief at least. No need to worry about being attacked by monsters lurking in dark places, no worrying about constantly changing map & rooms. Perhaps the afterlife wouldn't be as bad as first thought.

She glanced down at him when he stopped speaking, taking note of his sudden silence. He seemed... preoccupied, deep in thought and, was that worry? She couldn't quite tell, but she could make a good guess he was concerned about how this could be, how any of this could be happening. You couldn't spend ten years with someone and know nothing about them after all, even if it was only in your subconscious.

"Cheer up Pharos-kun," She squeezed his hand reassuringly, partly for him, partly for herself as well. They didn't have to be alone was what she wanted to say. They didn't have to be as they were all that time ago, but she couldn't bring herself to. Her courage faltered when she tried.

"You've done a lot in just a couple of days, congrats! I'm sure we'll figure it out, whatever this place is, you and I!"

[whataheartthrob-deactivated2014]

arcana-fool was the last thing you saw before you..

Oh, God. The heat was absolutely unbearable. It was just way too hot, and Momo was pretty sure that she was sweating through her pink sweater. Geez, that was just gross. Grabbing the hem of her sweater, she yanked it off quickly and wrapped it around her waist, continuing to trudge to wherever she was going.

"The heat.. is way too.. hot..” Wheezing and coughing, she realized that her mouth was rather dry and there were no water fountains around to quench her thirst. Her line of vision began to blur, so basically, Momo was just walking around blindly now. Her pace began to slow down greatly, until she wasn’t even moving forward anymore.

Before she did lose her conscious, though, she was sure that she saw the silhouette of a person not too far away. Then, she collapsed with a thud.

[arcana-fool]

And just like that, the figure in the distance crumpled to the floor.

"H-Hey!" Josei called out, her casual stroll turning into a hurried trot as she jogged over to see what was going on. She couldn't just leave whoever it was in the middle of the street, especially in this heat. They'd probably be cooked alive. Besides, the city might seem empty, but she knew from experience that looks could certainly be deceiving. You could never be one hundred per cent on what was waiting out there for you.

"You all right there?" She leaned over the girl, contemplating whether or not to move her into some shade. It wouldn't do anything about the heat, but it would be something at least. By the looks of it the girl was out cold. Heh, cold. It would be the only cold that anyone would have access to at this rate.

Hooking her arms underneath the unconscious girl's, she managed to pull her closer to the side of the street, underneath a faded green canopy outside of an empty café. Once assured of their joint safety, she took a seat next to the girl, wiping the sweat that'd gathered on her forehead with the back of her sleeve. She'd decided to sit with her until she woke up at the very least; it's not like she had anything more pressing to attend to anyway.

[demisekun-deactivated20140501]

     A faint smirk appeared on his visage at the female’s words. “You’ve already fulfilled your contract, haven’t you?” he stated, remaining in his place while holding his hands together behind his back. Pharos might have not been there at the time during its completion, but he believed that with their reunion it must have. Since he had been in the Daze for a few days, he had been constantly questioning everything. With Josei’s arrival, it answered one of his queries: this must have been some kind of afterlife.

     “I have a feeling that this isn’t the end of your journey quite yet…unless this-” He outstretched his arms to emphasize the area around them. “-is the world of afterlife. But as I’m sure you know, it wouldn’t make much sense for me to be here. For being outside, this place is surely hot…”

[arcana-fool]

The afterlife... She gazed around at the empty city that stretched forever in all directions. Like everything else in this strange world, it felt more familiar than disorientating. It wasn't the silent, calm nothing that she had anticipated, but it could have been much worse. Much, much worse.

It wasn't something she wanted to think about, not right away at least. It could wait. Time was the one thing she'd have plenty of from now on.

Now that he mentioned it, she started to notice the sweltering heat that seemed to penetrate everything. Beads of sweat rolled down the back of her neck and soaked into the collar of her Gekkoukan High uniform. She sighed, rubbing the back of her sleeve against her forehead, taking a moment to collect her thoughts again.

"C'mon," Josei offered Pharos a hand gently, the corners of her mouth flickering into a smile. "On a day like today, it'd be  a great plan to get some ice-cream or something to cool off, right? It'll be my treat."

[arcana-fool]

((OOC: Hello everyone and thanks for having me in the group!

I can only apologise if I seem a bit slow (stupid work/timezones) but if you ever wanna thread/rp/anything with me just drop me an ask or something and I'll try my hardest to get round to it! and hopefully I won't bore you all too much haha

Hopefully I can get to rp with all of you though!))

[demisekun-deactivated20140501]

"And so we meet again…"

[arcana-fool]

Life certainly had a sick sense of humour. Or should that be Death?

An overwhelming sense of deja-vu flooded through Josei as her crimson gaze met the boy's icy blues as she stood opposite him, still not quite fully aware of what was going on. It was supposed to be sunny, wasn't it? There was a girl with blonde hair and a promise... wasn't there?

She remembered him though. It wasn't quite so easy to forget someone so... important. When they'd first 'met', it had been a lot like this, though instead of a sickly shade of green though, the world was now painted a brilliant red.

"Have another contract for me to sign? I thought I'd reached my world saving limit," She tried to joke, but her tone fell flat and the smile just wouldn't come. Her heart felt heavy though her memories remained light and elusive, slipping through the cracks like sand through a sieve.

"I'm not surprised though," She mumbled "It's only fitting that you'd be waiting for me at the end."

[arcana-fool]

Death is not a hunter unbeknownst to its prey, one is always aware that it lies in wait.

Though life merely a journey to the grave, it must not be undertaken without hope.

Only then will a traveller's story live on, treasured by who bid him farewell.

How does a person choose the way he will die?