Angst Meme: Flowers
[ heather ]: one of our muses is lost in the the wilds, and the other is desperately searching for them.
// @luxfurem
It had been a peaceful evening, the two serpents sitting in a quaint garden, secluded from the rest of the Death Eaters. Be it due to the fact that the two were considered more beast than human by fearful mortals, or be it because the two were firmly lost in their own little world, Orochimaru and Tinea so often found themselves in only one anothers company. Not that it seemed to be a great loss to either one. Orochimaru had a blindfold placed around their eyes, for their own safety when they allow the Basilisk to remove the one she is normally forced to wear. So she can examine the way their hands ghost over the strings of the koto they play for her. So she can see how the tips of their nails pull at the strings elegantly, and create a rather haunting song for her enjoyment.
But the sounds of their melody are interrupted by the rumbling of the floor, and the sharp bang of collision. Careful not to look in her direction, the serpent pulls down their blindfold to catch the view of the great pillars above them starting to collapse and tumble down. Falling to the earth below, to the garden, as gravity reaches up with its hands to drag it back down, “put your blindfold on dear, quickly,” they instruct, so that they can look where she sits and grasp her hand in their own. The sensation around them is one they have felt before. The insidiously quiet touch of magic, a spell cast around the twin leviathans that would stop either serpent from taking on a more dangerous or predatory form.
Trapping Tinea and Orochimaru as they are, human, with the vipers chakra sealed and the Basilisks eyes her only true defense under the curse veiling the grounds. They take her hand and tug her to her feet, instinctively knowing a battle lost, when they have fought so many wars in their century old lifetime. Being in the garden, and having the pillars crash down to break the surrounding walls, allows for Orochimaru to navigate outside the borders of their home. Voldemort was not within the abode, the chambers free from his Lordship and protection, there is no one to seek refuge in, and there is no one worth heading back to protect. No one, but the female serpent they currently take in to their custody.
But wizards and witches are well aware that some may try to flee the ambushed estate, already the sound of those hunting the two ring out like dogs after foxes. The night casts a blanket over the forests surrounding them, but it serves to be more of a hindrance to the two running away than it would serve a place to hide. She can not be expected to run with her blindfold covering her vision, human senses not nearly as equipped to navigate the world blindly. Grabbing a torch from the boundary wall had been the vipers last plan of action before breaking in to the heavy thicket of trees. So that the immediate footpath would be lit up for them, but there is a certain drawback to being able to see, and that is being seen. The glow from their fire lit torch only giving them away amid the blackness.
With so few options, they eventually have to stop, both to catch their breath and come up with a better plan than dragging Tinea through unknown territory while she was blind. They consider putting out the torch, knowing their golden eyes could make things out in the dark, but then they think better of it. As they move her to the drop of a small cliff, where she would easily be able to fit her body and hide beneath bushes and overhanging tree vines, hidden amid the roots. A muddy little patch, dirtying the fine kimono Orochimaru had given her to wear. A small price to pay.
“Count to four, in your head,” they whisper to her, before placing something cold in to her hand, the handle of a blade they had carried on them, “then take off your blindfold. If anyone finds you, either use your gift, or use this blade. Stay hidden until morning, then go back home if it looks like Lord Voldemort has returned. I’ll find my way back to you there,” they say, before pushing away from the hidden location with the torch in hand. Using that light to lure the following attackers away from her spot in hiding. The glow of their handheld fire attracting every set of eyes in the nearby area. They keep this trick going, of leading others away from her, for the next hour. Before they tire too much, and they have to snuff out the flame in the hopes of hiding themself.
Where they end up however, after all that thoughtless running in the name of survival, is unfamiliar grounds. The spell that had been placed upon them like a curse had yet to release its hold on them, and while the viper excelled at living in the forests with their powers, they were rather vulnerable sitting without those abilities. The cold was as hungry as the wolves they can envision prowling around them, as the porcelain skinned being saunters through the woods barefoot. A rather abrupt departure from the peaceful garden they had abandoned their koto in. The long sleeves of their kimono are torn and tattered, as is the long flowing fabrics of the gowns bottom half. Their long hair a little messier from the running, from catching on branches.
They can not find their way back, let alone find somewhere suitable to sleep or rest. The only small hope they have, is that Tinea would manage to find her way back home, having been close to the borders, and able to see the top of the damaged building from her place of hiding. With no allies around her, surrounded only by vanishing enemies, they have faith she would have rid herself of the blindfold as instructed for the sake of survival.
There is little hoping for themself however, as they navigate a forest that seems haunted. So used to being the hunter rather than the hunted, the serpent feels unable to keep their head above the water in this foreign environment. Seeking the mark Voldemort painted the sky with like some SOS signal, but receiving no such thing. For who knew if the young Lord had even returned yet, to see his followers ambushed so violently. Night turns to day, only to circle back to night once more, until three more moons have come and gone, until the cold has finally won out over the vipers stubbornness. They had tried to retrace their steps, they had tried to apply the rules of the forests back home to the ones in this unknown world. Nothing was quite the same however, and all their tricks seemed futile.
Pale skin is dirtied by scrapes, bruises and a thinness attributed to the harsh conditions. Until finally, in what feels like hallucination and reality all at once, the serpent hears a familiar voice. Their name on her lips, their name escaping her mouth. They wait a moment, as her calling echoes in between the trees, wondering if this is not some trick. Wondering if either their mind plays games, or if this is akin to some cruel deer call. Luring them out for the kill by using the sounds of the ones they have come to trust. They can not know, but being desperate enough, they start to pursue the sound regardless. Like their personal siren, they abandon the ship to find her.
Graceful movements forward, wraith like movements in ethereal lightness, have them nearing that sound. Until finally, golden eyes dull from fatigue yet alert from hope, find themselves landing on a familiar figure standing beside large sequoias, where a breath can finally be taken, as the last few steps feel effortless to reach her. And despite being the more worn looking of the two, Orochimaru is quick to assess her for any injuries, any signs of foul play, any reasons to seek blood. Without those, they run a hand through her hair, fingers brushing against her cheekbone as they rid a leaf from those strands.
“Did you find your way back home?” they ask, their smile faltering a moment, although she would only be able to tell by the sound of their voice, “... is there a home to go back to?”
