Cast: Millie (Cyber) and Gracie (AOM)
TLDR:
Support Points Earned: 2
April 11, 2018
April 12, 2018
April 13, 2018
April 14, 2018
April 15, 2018
April 17, 2018
April 18, 2018
TLDR:
Support Points Earned: 2
[7:46 PM] cybershadowX: The sound of Millie's violin drifted across the ocean side, rolling in and out with the tide. It drifted across the sand like a phantom, melodic tendrils reaching for the treetops.
Millie sat under a young palm tree, it's green fruit ripened and soft. Her white dress fluttered in the wind like a butterfly, dancing with the sound of the strings.
I hate this song...
The world around Millie fell into the abyss, like pools of blood draining into the earth. Her breath, her sight, her thoughts, all of it dissappated with the notes as she played. The haunting vestigial structures of her past.
Over and over and over and over.
The memoirs of the past forced her way into her mind, like worms drilling into a corpse. Her instructor had forced her to play this song for years, chasing perfection like a shooting star. Hours and hours she would stand in that box of mirrors, watching herself saw that violin until her fingers bled. Soon the music itself lost meaning. No longer was it a product of passion or feeling, but a factory of sound, each note molded and cut exactly the same.
Within a year her instructor had broken Millie's sense of sound. No longer could she play the violin from ear or from paper. Anytime she picked up the violin she could only play that one song, no matter how long she stared at the notes or how hard her instructor beat her. The only thing that came out of that violin was the exact same song, played in the exact mold as before. A wind up doll, mechanical perfection, emotionless sorrow.
Then why do I still play?
Millie sat under a young palm tree, it's green fruit ripened and soft. Her white dress fluttered in the wind like a butterfly, dancing with the sound of the strings.
I hate this song...
The world around Millie fell into the abyss, like pools of blood draining into the earth. Her breath, her sight, her thoughts, all of it dissappated with the notes as she played. The haunting vestigial structures of her past.
Over and over and over and over.
The memoirs of the past forced her way into her mind, like worms drilling into a corpse. Her instructor had forced her to play this song for years, chasing perfection like a shooting star. Hours and hours she would stand in that box of mirrors, watching herself saw that violin until her fingers bled. Soon the music itself lost meaning. No longer was it a product of passion or feeling, but a factory of sound, each note molded and cut exactly the same.
Within a year her instructor had broken Millie's sense of sound. No longer could she play the violin from ear or from paper. Anytime she picked up the violin she could only play that one song, no matter how long she stared at the notes or how hard her instructor beat her. The only thing that came out of that violin was the exact same song, played in the exact mold as before. A wind up doll, mechanical perfection, emotionless sorrow.
Then why do I still play?
[3:37 PM] AOMRocks20: “That’s a very sorrowful song. Though it is ill-fitting for the environment, I would fathom.”
Gracie doesn’t make her presence known until she arrives next to Millie, leaning against the palm tree. Her gaze shifts upward at the tree, taking a moment to observe the fruit before quickly dismissing it and looking down toward her. Her free hand grips her lance, ornate pearl ring gleaming in the sunlight. She looks forward, past them, into the far waters.
“I had not known you to play the violin, Millie. Nor that you would play to yourself.”
[5:33 PM] cybershadowX: Millie finished the song before lowering the violin and bow with a sigh. The clouds above shifted towards the horizon, like a wave of grey.
"A relic of the past. No matter how far I run it follows, a phantom anchored to my soul."
She returned the violin back to its case and snapped it shut. The wind caressed her hair gently and she lazily twirled a bit of it on her right finger. In front of her, the waves continued to lap at the shore, sand crabs scuttling back and forth. A seagull cawed as it dived for its prey, but failed to outwit the crustacean. The last drops of ichor and blood faded from the sky as Kyria's light sunk below the horizon, and the stars began to emerge in her absence.
"My mother forced me to play as a child. Every day I would pick up the violin and saw at it like a wind up doll. But a wind up doll only knows its first song."
As she tilted her head back the constellations of the night sky greeted her. Today, the great peacock Horush spread it's plumage in his full glory. Perhaps her luck would be better tomorrow.
[7:47 PM] AOMRocks20: Gracie's brow furrows, the Ayzer pushing off of the palm now, leaning more on her lance as she observed her slip the violin into its case.
"If you keep it, is this not only hurting you, by bringing back the memories of your mother forcing you?"
[11:28 PM] cybershadowX: Millie smiled. Although she was not fond of her memories as a child, they were some of her only memories of her mother. Now that she had moved away from home, even if they were bittersweet, she still welcomed the memoirs of the past.
"Not all memories are as black and white as good or bad. As much as I disagree with her decision, I am happy that she cared enough that she would be willing to pay for my violin lessons."
The melody of the requiem replayed again within her head. She wished that she had spent more time with her parents while she still could. No family was perfect, but they were still family.
"Besides, my mother would scold me if she found out I haven't been practicing while I was away."
She chuckled to herself, but it felt hollow. Like the inside of an empty coconut.
[12:54 PM] AOMRocks20: “So you plan on returning to your home, then, after... all this is done? That you might show your mother how practiced you’ve become...?”
She leans back on the palm tree, shaking out her hair as she stares into the endless, inscrutable waves.
“...that... sounds like it would be a pleasing task. Though perhaps your mother wouldn’t be so sure.” The Ayzer swaps her lance hand, fingers rustling with the gleaming pink pearl ring.
[1:03 PM] cybershadowX: The stars danced before Millie's gaze, matching the melody of the rolling waves.
"What about you? Where will you go once our business is concluded?"
Millie wondered why Gracie brought that lance with her everywhere. Security? Or perhaps something else.
[1:16 PM] AOMRocks20: Gracie takes a long time, eyes closed, listening to the waves before answering.
“...If this journey does not provide the answers I seek, I will drift, as I have for many a year. Alaros comes to mind. Perhaps Neraida. ...if they would allow me, I may visit the domain of the Dragons. Every country I can, every island and country I would pass through, I fathom.”
[3:08 PM] cybershadowX: The twin princes, Chairos and Vairos warred across the sky, their cloud of arrows piercing each other one by one. Genbei, the great tortoise, struggling against weight of the sky, slowly inched his towards the horizon.
"I see..."
Millie didn't know what she would do once she was done with the pack. Since she had just joined, she didn't know what she would do once she left. Perhaps she would simply return to Niciri.(edited)
[2:41 PM] AOMRocks20: “If I ever find my answer—or, perhaps, never find it—I think I shall return to my farm. My father would likely be growing old, then. I would not wish to watch it fall to disrepair on my account.”
Gracie sways her lance to and fro, thoughts on her father. She had left him in good spirits, and while his movements were slow he was still capable. On the other hand, she worried about the nature of the illness that claimed her other parent, gaze turning towards the stars.
[2:46 PM] cybershadowX: "A farm huh..."
Millie's dorm in Niciri had quite a few adjacent farms, so it wasn't like it was a completely foreign concept to her. She quite liked farm animals, but sometimes the smell of their excrement would cause her to scrunch up her nose.
"Oh, if you know about farms, do you have any experience of taking care of chickens?"
[3:34 PM] AOMRocks20: Gracie furrows her brow, considering her experience. While her abilities as a farmer were certainly solid, livestock was not necessarily her forte, not to mention land livestock.
“Alas, I am afraid I am not as knowledgeable at working with livestock as I am with crops. And I have never attempted to care for chickens—my father’s farm was underwater. What concerns do you have? I shall do my best to answer them, though I can not guarantee you an answer.”
[4:04 PM] cybershadowX: "Well..."
Millie thought back to the chicken she and Miranda had caught earlier. She had managed to build a makeshift nest for her on the convoy but she wasn't sure that was enough. For the time being she seemed relatively happy, so long as she was given time to roam around for most of the day.
"I have a pet chicken in the convoy, but I'm not one hundred percent sure on how to take care of her. In fact, I haven't even named her."
[3:48 PM] AOMRocks20: Gracie frowns, rubbing her chin while leaning on the palm with her back. A chicken on its own, she could manage; a pet would be something else entirely.
“Well... I must say, I am less experienced with pets. The animals I kept were livestock. I suppose that, your chicken being a pet, you would want to give it a name as soon as you can think of one. It would help you grow closer with it.”
[4:06 PM] cybershadowX: Millie picked herself off the ground and flipped the sand out of her hair.
"I guess I should. Maybe Miranda would know."
She smiled as she recalled the sight of Miranda pouncing on the poor chicken. Memories were such interesting possessions. Sometimes the most treasured are lost and sometimes the most inconsequential surface without reason. The darkness of the night consumed the beach, with only the soft glow of the twin moons to illuminate the grey waves.
"Tell me more about your farm. I'm curious as to how the Ayzer tend to their crops and livestock compared to us Beorc."
[12:12 AM] AOMRocks20: Gracie slowly sinks to a sitting position next to Millie, brow furrowed as she delved her past for her memories of the place.
"My farm... well, we farmed sea lettuce, mostly. It's a very convenient crop for Ayzer to grow, for it works excellently with wildlife and livestock we raised with them. While it is certainly possible to keep fish, it is more difficult, as it requires very fine confinements in order for the fish to not escape the farm. It's easier for us to raise livestock that is slow-moving, like manatees or certain type of slugs which have been called 'sea hares'. Both of these animals feed on the lettuce, and so are easy to compel to stay within the farm. Most of the work on a sea lettuce farm is ensuring the animals are safe for harm and inspecting the water's floor for signs of the red tide. There is also the regrowing of the lettuce, and ensuring that it does not become overconsumed by the livestock."
[3:28 AM] cybershadowX: Sea slugs? Sea hares? Millie was quite curious as to what those were, since she had only learned about manatees at school.
"You guys farm sea slugs? That sounds pretty cool! How big are they? What about color? Do you farm them for meat? What else are they used for? Are they cute looking?"
Although she couldn't figure out why, new types of animals excited her, and she wanted to learn more.
[8:36 PM] AOMRocks20: Gracie gives a small giggle, amused and quite surprised that Millie would have such a curiosity over something as dull as livestock.
“W-Well, I...! They’re about as big as... ah, yes, meat mostly... well, I suppose they look... Forgive me, Millie, but could you perhaps slow down? Your questions are coming at me rather fast.”
[8:38 PM] cybershadowX: "Ahahaha sorry."
Millie rubbed the back of her head as she laughed. Rapidly asking questions was a bad habit of hers.
[1:10 PM] AOMRocks20: “To answer your questions...” if I can recall them...
“They are... a bit cute, I suppose. We raise them for meat; there are not many Ayzer pets, quite honestly. We raise them mostly for meat...” Her brow furrows as she attempts to burrow her mind further.
“...they’re about as big as a pair of boots, and come in many colors. They aren’t used for much rather than meat, at least on my farm. To be honest, it has been a good amount of time since I have worked there. Perhaps we could go to the library, that we might find some books on lifestock?”
[1:16 PM] cybershadowX: MIllie nodded. Although it was a bit late, the library in Maufi should be open at all hours.
"Sure, I know where it is."
As she picked up her violin case the evening sea wing tussled her hair and dress.
That reminds me, tomorrow is when we deploy...
[1:16 PM] cybershadowX: === RP END ===
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