Day 1: Choice
     He stood in front of two doors, looking back and forth between the options, his gaze occasionally going to the figure that was between the two, her feet not touching the ground. A grin split across her face as she watched him, her eyes following each turn of his head. While he wished that he could blame her entirely for his current situation, he had been the one to agree to her offer, so it was also partly his fault. Now, he had to choose, only he had no idea what he would be choosing. “Tick tock, the clock marches on.” She said, a short, faint laugh following her statement. “You can’t stand there forever, despite what it may seem. Which door will it be, which fate will befall? I wonder, I wonder.”

     Her comments weren’t helping him as he continued to second-guess his thoughts about each door. The one on the left was a faded gray, paint chipped to reveal a vibrant red underneath, with a gold colored handle. The one on the right was an offwhite shade, with a rounded doorknob, a style that he would have expected from a house. Neither door truly stood out, but it was what they represented that made this choice difficult for him. All he knew was that one would lead to a grand performance, one called ‘a rarity even among those travellers’ while the other led to what she had referred to as ‘familiarity’, neither of which particularly helped him.

     He continued to look between the doors, trying to make a decision despite not truly understanding his options, before he finally took a step forward, and then another one, heading towards one of the doors. As he stood in front of it, he looked back towards the person one final time, and at the smile on her face. He still wasn’t quite sure of what exactly she was, nor would he ever be. With that final look, he placed his hand on the door’s handle, turning it, then opened the door, a creaking the only sound. As he stepped through, he heard her final words.

     “Forget me so, forget yourself, lend all to them, for all is lost. A crossroads finally crossed, the old cast aside. It’s been a pleasure, but our time ends now.”

     As she finished speaking, he crossed the threshold of the door entirely, and now stood on the other side. His choice had been cast, though what choice he had made, he still wasn’t sure.

Day 3: Deja Vu
     As he walked down the street, one of the others beside him, the familiarity of it all struck him. He had done this many times before, yet this time, he couldn’t help but feel as though there was something more. “Hey, you all good?” His companion asked, her head turning to look at him instead of forward. He shrugged, not quite sure how to answer.

     “Yeah, I’m fine, just thinking.” She gave a nod before turning back from him, her gaze forward once more. He had never been here prior, yet there was some part of him that seemed to differ from this fact. Nothing truly differentiated this city from the many others that he had seen, but something about it seemed less unknown than the rest. The two continued on their walk, only making the occasional remark to each other before his companion stopped, her gaze travelling up a tall building before going to him. “So, what’re you thinking? I think that it seems fairly ready to me, though obviously not at the final stage.” He just nods.

     “Yeah, that sounds about right to what I’ve figured. I suppose we should go report back soon, tell the rest the good news?” His companion nods, pausing for a moment before adding on to his statement.

     “Yeah, we should. I mean, we could go see something else here, but nothing really stood out to me, so we don’t really have to stick around any longer if you don’t want to.” He shrugs.

     “I do want to take one more look around, but on my own. You can go relay the good news, and I’ll be back shortly.”

     “Wow, you want to go look at things? I’m impressed. Just don’t stay away too long- we do need to get started on the production, after all.” With that, she walks off, leaving him alone in the sense that he no longer has a companion, despite the masses moving around him. 

     He isn’t entirely sure where he is going, but allows himself to just follow the odd feeling, finally stopping in front of a somewhat overgrown field, the ruins of previous buildings peeking out from between the grasses and weeks.

     As he walks further in, he notices that a discernible feature does still stand- a door, red paint fading and chipped away. He gets the feeling that it was somehow important, but the where and why are unknowable to him. With one last look to the door, he turns, starting the journey back. There is nothing here for him, regardless of what odd sensors may be doing for him. He knows where he stands, and it is not with some sort of odd feeling in a place like so many others.

Last edited by DarkLordRebel (9/08/2020 1:12 am)

Day 4: Ambivalent
     She swung the rapier at her opponent one final time, time seeming to slow for her moments before her blade struck. She knew what had to come next, what was expected, what always happened, but in that split moment, she wondered. Was their path truly the right one? She knew how it worked, and had been a part of it many times before, yet now, the question ran through her mind.

     She could still see her blade moving closer, ever so slowly towards its target. She couldn’t change anything this time, even if she wanted to. The path would continue onward, and this curtain would fall, the next stage then open, as always. As always, the light was followed, sating their purpose time and time again. Yet what was that purpose? To die, to live, to glean? She had never taken much issue with it, not since her decision made before, one she didn’t remember but knew to have taken place.

     Something about this moment made her question their actions though. The task at hand had to be completed, yet her certainty in its completion wavered. She wanted it to be completed, yet she was unsure if it should come to fruition like it had so many times prior. Was her purpose, and all the others, truly a worthwhile one like they believed, or was something else truly at play? She could no longer tell in that moment stretched to eternity.

     Her blade finally struck, time resuming its normal march, and with it, the halt of those near-traitorous thoughts. As her opponent fell, she pulled her rapier back, thrusting it into the air as a sign of victory. The path had never steered them wrong before, and she had been with it far too long to question it. The time of questioning had passed her as quickly as it had begun, and in the end, it had only strengthened her certainty. She would continue on, continue following until she no longer could, though she didn’t expect an end anytime soon. As she lowered her blade, she looked down at the body of her opponent, before continuing on, for while her part of the task may have been completed, her role was not.

@Autumn Thanks!

I've just accepted the fact that I'm quite far behind on these now, but I still plan to write them in order? Will it still be September upon finishing? Guess we'll see.

Day 6: Nature
     As her leader’s eyes gazed into her own, a thought raced through her head, one that she found she still had no answer to. She had always been good at reading people, getting a general sense from them, yet she had never been able to with their leader. It was something that had always been odd to her, especially given what she knew of her now after countless years and countless journeys.

     Now, her journey was coming to an end as she sat, propped up against a wall. Her leader was still matching her gaze, a neutral expression upon her face otherwise. “Any final requests?” The leader posed a simple question to her, though it took her a moment to answer. She knew what she wanted to know, but was unsure if she would get an answer.

     “Why was it that I could never read you? I didn’t have issues with anyone else, but you gave off nothing. Why?”

     There was no response at first, and what seemed like an eternity in the moment passed before the leader began to speak once more. “The origins of you and the others are similar, albeit in different locations. Even beyond that, there is something you all share.” The leader paused, and she almost fancied that there was something lurking behind the orange-red eyes staring into hers, but she brushed it off as the woman in front of her began again. “I differ from you all in both regards. I have been here since the beginning, and will be here forever more, even as more come and go.” Another pause, this time accompanied by a smile, one that filled her mind with unease. “And I am not like you all in that regard.”

     She understood after that statement, and she almost wished that she had not asked in the first place. She would never stop following the leader, nor did she want to, but in that moment she saw for the first time what lay behind the mask. She knew their leader now, and the only blissful thought to come from it was what she knew to come after the answer. “Thank… you.” She finally muttered, forcing the words out to the being in front of her. 

     “Of course. Journey well, Citri.” She didn’t recognize the name of sorts that she was addressed by, for that was not her. As she closed her eyes, allowing the vivid oranges and deep purples to greet her, she realized what the name meant, and allowed for one final smile as she welcomed those shades openly.