The Harbinger That Follows Death (Open SL)

Drawn to the decay of the Bellows, this young man walks amidst the ruins. The smell of the mold and mildew of of the slow rotting wood soaking in the water stings his nose, reminding him that life is limited and nobody can stop the decay of death.
Already waking up in a foul mood, being in this place doesn't help. The smell of death, the stench of the bog, and the eerie feeling of a presence watching him put a heavy weight on his shoulders, angering him and making him need a release through blood and battle. Knowing how worked up he's getting, he tries to calm down, gripping his head and sighing before finding a dry spot upon a rock to sit and meditate.


As he meditates, he feels the pain of the migraine and the images and scenes flash into his head. Mildly curse, he begins to mutter, "God damn it. Why can't I just have a day without praying for death?" Rubbing his eyes and sighing, he leans back and stares remorsefully up at the trees, trying to see the sky that lies beyond. "Just once... Just once I'd rather not do what others force me to. Just why must I walk headlong into the fields of death?"

Standing up from his sitting position, he walks closer to the water edge, staring back at what potential lies beyond, not yet knowing which fate lies with him. "When the world falls, the four will rise. War will rage, plague will spread, famine begins, and death cometh. This world has already fallen. Soon war will begin and the plagues will come." He sighs again and kneels down, supporting himself on his toes as he hangs his head in near defeat.

Soon enough the quiet scene was broken by the sound of something being dragged across the ground quickly. The man couldn't see what it was just yet, but he could probably guess that it was something quite large and heavy. After a few seconds had passed, if he where to look at the source of the noise he'd see a what looked like a silhouette of a young woman walking towards him. It was hard to tell with how far away they where from each other, but it seemed like the lady's left arm was monsterous large. Something that no human should have. As the seconds went by her image become clearer and clearer, as the noise of wood scraping against the ground became louder and louder, until suddenly it stopped as Cherry stopped and noticed the man.

She was a little curious of him, even though she was pretty confused about the vision and voices she had just heard. She wasn't about to turn down the chance to meet a new person, plus she can use him to check if what she heard was real or not. "Hey! Hey, can you hear me mister? Do you hear that?" She asked, as she moved a little closer to the man. "Any voices, black eyes, or was that just me?"

Not paying much attention to the noise, he would continue to sit. He's long grown accustomed to staying still letting the predators walk by him as long as he doesn't provoke them. As the sounds get closer, he would sigh and slowly put a hand on the hilt of his sword to wait and see what occurs as he has yet to know if what stalks him is a territorial creature or just a passerby.

Hearing the dragging stop, he would tighten his grip on his blade and carefully peer over his shoulder to search for the potential threat behind him. When he notices the young girl, he lets out an audible huff and stands up, keeping his hand on the hilt of his sword. Giving her a once over as she begins to speak, he notices the tree arm but shrugs it off as that probably isn't the worst he has seen in his travels. "If by 'That' you mean the telepathic link we were given, then yes I did." When she steps a little closer, he readies himself to draw his sword. "You aren't the only one that heard it and chances are, we're not the only ones. And given how it pretty much gave us an order to go there, I'm guessing there will be even more people heading that way."

He stares blankly at the girl, a hint of aggression and annoyance in his eyes. Shifting his feet, he sets a defensive stance. "What about you? What is a girl your age wondering such a gloomy area such as this without any guardians?"

A wave of relief washed over Cherry as she saw the man saw her tree arm and did not make any comments about it. It was so nice to talk with somebody who didn't think she was a demon for once, even if that somebody in question seemed rather standoffish. "tele- What now?" She asked, clearly confused by the word he used before shaking her head. "S-sorry, im not sure what that means. But I am glad you saw it too. I was worried I was going insane, or maybe a demon was trying to play a trick on me. Well I guess it could still be a demon." She mused before her grey eyes snapped to the man reaching for his blade. She made no more movement towards him, but she also didn't try to move away either. She has dealt with many people who has been tense around her, for one reason or another. He wasn't even the worst she has had to deal with, so she didn't even make a comment on it.

"A order? I guess you could take it that way, but I see it more as a sign. Maybe from the gods?" Her mind raced back to her time spent with her new friend, and all she learned about the gods. There was no proof that the gods where behind this, but that wasn't a theory Cherry would give up so quickly. "But anyways, thats good I guess. Knowing that I am not going alone makes me feel better, plus I think something bad is happening over there. People where asking for help." She said, glancing to the side. Clearly nervous about all of this.

"Me? Well I was looking around, trying to find some cool stuff when Inhad the vision. And after that I started to make my way towards the highrise!" She answered, once again not making any comments about his annoyance. "Anyways, will you be going to the highrise too?"

He lets out a deep sigh of annoyance but releases the hilt of his sword as he reduces his defensive stance to properly face her. The look of aggression still in his eyes. "Telepathy. It's what you might call a supernatural power which allows you to connect and relay messages to another person." Rubbing the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes, he continues. "Theoretically, you could manipulate another person's thoughts and actions, but that mostly depends on the user's power. At least those are the things I've learned from what books that haven't already rotted away in this desolate hell."

Easing up, he stands tall and glares at the little girl. "I could care less about the gods. What do they bring other than remorse? We're only their playthings. Toys used to fight wars against one another. As for those people... If you want to play hero, then go play hero. It's not a fate I will let myself dragged into, especially if its the gods that are trying to make us fight." Once she asks if he was going, his eye would twitch, causing him to sigh once more out of annoyance. "That'll depend if this damned headache will go away or not. If not, then I guess I'll go just to find the asshole that sent that message and kick his ass."

"OH! So that's what it means, thank you mister! I have to say though, I don't really like the sound of that. I mean, controling what people think? That's pretty creepy, wouldn't you agree?" Cherry asked the grumpy man, still seemingly not noticing how annoyed he was. Or at the very least not really caring all that much. "Really? I am not too sure about that. The kind lady that told me about the gods say that they all care about us, and that they are simply busy these days. Because of all the pain, and I am sure if they had the power to help everybody they would." She stated, with a small little smile on her face. "Playing hero? But I don't have a cape? Besides, I wouldn't call myself a hero, if people are in trouble I think you habe a duty to help them!" Cherry said.

His reply forced a giggle out of the girl. "You are rather confident aren't you?" She asked, with a playful, almost teasing energy to it. "If it really was the gods that sent us this message I doubt you could do that, but if it was a demon or just some human with, uh. With.... Um. Give me a second I can remember this!" She held up her finger for a couple of seconds before perking up. "Telepathy! That's the word, telepathy! Anyways, if it's somebody who has telepathy you may be able to do so. And the only way you'll find out is by heading over there, right?" She asked, a cheeky smirk on her face.

She could tell that he wasn't the type to care about the lives of the people that may or may not have been st the highraise. But she did, and him coming there would help her in this goal. Of course she couldn't just straight up ask the man. Even she wasn't that naive, no, she would go the route of tricking him into it. If she couldn't use empathy to get him to go, she'd annoyed him into it. Something she seemed quite skilled at doing, since she made his eye twitch without even trying.

He sighs and rubs his eyes as he lightly mutters something along the lines of "This is why I don't like kids." Looking up and locking eye contact with her, he speaks up "Whether or not it's creepy depends on the actions of the user. As for your fanatical gods, the woman who taught you those beliefs must have been a devout believer and a part of some clergy. And just because that's how she thinks and teaches, doesn't mean it is correct. There are many beliefs in this world, but for people like me, any faith we once had is now gone. So don't try persuading me through holy faith or through what your so called gods want us to do. And I wasn't referring to the people you find in comic books. You can just as well be a hero without a silly cape."

Seeing how teasing and giddy the girl is getting, he would let out a sigh and shake his head before replying. "Confidence can get you out of many situations, but don't let that turn into over confidence. With that said if it were truly one of your gods that gave me this headache, I'd still confront him even if it means my death. However, that does not mean I'm willing headlong into danger. I've done that enough and would rather not continue walking headfirst into a field of death."

While talking with her, she would notice the aggression in his eyes slowly dissipate while his annoyance with her remains. Her words and tone gives him a vague idea of what she's trying to do, but he won't easily fall for it. He gives her respect for trying though. It's not very often somebody tries the soft spoken route with his attitude.

Cherry shook her head. "I am not too sure about that. I mean even if the person in question was a good guy, controling someone thoughts is pretty creepy. And if they could do that, then who knows what else they could do! Maybe those telepathy people can read our minds!" She said, tapping her head with her finger to better drive the point home. "That is a pretty big invasion of privacy if I do say so myself! And as for who taught me those things, I don't really know what a 'clergy' is, but I know she strongly believed in the gods, yes. Plus by your logic, then your belief thqt the gods think of us as some sort of doll or playething may not be right either. Anyways though, if it bothers you I won't bring up the gods around you again."

"Really, that's kinda stupid to be perfectly honestly. I mean if you die that's it. You poof! You're gone! Finished! Erased! And then you cannot do anything, ever again! I mean there has to be something in your life that you'd miss, wouldn't you?" The thought of somebody being fine with dying just to tell somebody off was something that she just could not understand. Why would somebody just throw away there live like that when they still had so many years left to see new things and meet new people? Although she had a feeling that he wasn't the type that liked to make friends with people, or even be around them. "But anyways, moving on from that. You won't be heading into the field of death, I am pretty sure that the vision took place in the highrange. Also, by the way. You'll have to show me that place sometime, I've never heard of a place called the 'field of death' before." She said, not catching on to the metaphor.

"And what will happen if we let said 'asshole' roam free, hmmmm? He may not stop, your headache may not stop. You may live the rest of your life, having a never ending headache and more visions! Just because you don't want danger, which, if your last comment about not caring about rather you'll die against the gods or not. Shouldn't be much of a problem now would it be? Unless of course, you where just hyping yourself up~?" She asked. The cheeky smirk still on her face as she kept laying on the teasing and goating. All the while with a false innocent look on her face. At first this was just a plot to trick him into helping her, and doing the right thing. But teasing him was actually becoming fun for her now!

Her smirk only widen when she saw the anger fade away from his eyes. And his body growing less tense. It seems he was getting more comfortable with her. Which is always nice.

He would shrug, "Reading our minds would not be beyond the realm of possibility. Doesn't matter if a person's belief is right or wrong. A person's experiences are what concretes those details and beliefs." He keeps his eye on her, looking at her skeptically.

"And so what if that's it? There is no evidence of whether or not there is an afterlife or what happens to the soul after death. Do we get reborn, is there an afterlife, do we get reincarnated? It's a question many people have asked for eons, and quite frankly, I don't care. All life has to come to an end at some point, what does it matter if mine ends sooner than others? So what if I can't do anything else? If I die, I won't need to do anything else. I may have regrets, but you'll always have some form of regret in life. Do I have something I should miss? Not really. I have no lover, no friends, no family. Nothing ties me to this Earth." Giving her another annoyed expression, he grimaces and silently groans. "That's not what I meant by 'field of death'. The highrises is a bitter cold land that can easily kill those who are not prepared. Walk in without the proper clothes and materials, you will soon freeze to death. It's a desolate place that would rather kill you with every move."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he suffers through her ignorance, making his migraine even worse. "Stop smirking like a brat who got a check
in chess. I even said that I'd go if this headache won't stop. If whomever is doing this continues to pester me with it, then I'll go and castrate him. If I die, then I die. That's that. And just because I have no feelings of hostility, that doesn't mean I still wouldn't give you a good smack if you annoy me enough, so stop with that stupid smirk on your face already." He would offer peace with a slightly tired, annoyed look with a raised eyebrow. He doesn't know what she's planning anymore and quite frankly, he doesn't really care. At this point, he doesn't know if he should laugh or cry at the girl's ignorance.

"So you really don't care, huh? You have no desire to life, and have never stopped to think about what may happen to you after you die. Not even once? Im sorry but I find that a little hard to believe. Everybody thinks about what happens after death, at least once. And as for the dying thing, that is the whole point! We will all die one day, so we need to enjoy our lives as much as we can before that day comes. And besides, our lives are a gift, a mircale even. Like for me to be standing here. My mom had to meet my dad, and their parents had to meet each other for them to be born, and it just keeps going on and on and on. The chance for us both to be standing here is so small. You shouldn't be so willingly to just throw your life away." For a moment her playful energy disappeared, as she seem to take this topic very seriously. Right now she had forgotten about trying to trick him, or the visions and the voices. And was right now just worried about trying to make him see things her way.

"Oh, well that sucks. I was hoping there was a place I have never been to before. Well, whatever. Anyways, you could say that about most places in paris. The only place that isn't like that would be the Field of Glass." Cherry said, before she began to softly tap on her wooden arm with her slightly overgrowned finger nails.

"Well alright then. I guess if my smirk is so offensive I'll stop." With that she dropped the smirk and replaced it with a forced frown. As she fought the urge to smile again. "But I guess if your going to go there, I should be off then. But before I go, I am a little curious. What is your name mister grumpy gus? Mine is Cherry."

"Who says I haven't thought about it? I found no answer about what happens after, thus why I think this. From the moment you are born to the day you die, you are forced to suffer through joys and regrets. The only time you're truly ever at peace is the moment you die." He gives her a slight shrug. "You're right. Birth is a miraculous thing, it's just the things that happen between life and death I don't appeal to. Life and Death are two sides of the same coin and I can't argue against that. I just would rather prefer peace but this world is a foul place that won't allow that, thus my opinions of death."

He gives her a nod and sighs before rubbing his neck. "I won't apologize for the things I've said, but that's just how I believe. I've suffered too much to have faith in the entities you call gods. As for other places... There is an entire world outside of Paris. I can't say it's much better than here, but there definitely much more to see than the death and destruction that happens here." Seeing her trying to force a frown, he would chuckle at how bad she is at it. "Forget it. You can smile. I just don't like the calculative smirks of children. As for my name... I guess there is no harm in telling you. It's Drak Vongrad."

Cherry raised her eyebrows at his comment. "You've never been at peace then? Cherry let the question stay in the air for a few seconds before she said something else. "Im sorry. Nobody should have to live a life with no peaceful moments, well. Maybe a evil person. But I don't think your evil." A jerk? Yes, she thought he was quite mean. But evil? Far from it. He was just jaded in her eyes, which she could understand.

"You don't have to apologize, and you don't have to have faith in gods if you don't want to believe in them. The woman I told you about before told me that you can pray for other people, and I will make sure to pray for you." She snickered and soon enough that big smirk was back on her face again. "That is quite the nice name Drak. Anyways, like I said I have got to run. That feeling I have is getting stronger, and I don't want to waste time. But uh, before I go. I hope to see you at the highrange, Drak." She offered another smile, this time it wasn't filled with mirth or trying to tease him into doing something. This time it was genuine, this lasted for a few seconds however as soon she was off. Rushing off to the highrange as fast as her stick like legs would carry her. And her arm dragging behind her all the while.......

[Exit]

He scoffs as she hurries along, waiting until she is out of earshot. "Only evil people never have peace? What nonsense... Not everybody can live happy lives. Fate is a lot more cruel than you think, little one... I just pray for your own sanity, you can keep your naivety."

He sighs and goes back to the water's edge, still bothered by his migraine and the visions that were implanted into his head. "If you want to see me again, then just be careful... I think I'll stick around here for a while longer. I can't say I care too much about what's going on over there. I wouldn't be surprised if all of those 'survivors' actually didn't survive. They're either on Death's door right now or are about to be... If only this were simpler times... I'd probably actually give a shit." Giving a sigh, he sits down, picks up a rock, and tosses it into the water, disturbing whatever lies below.

[Exit]