❅ Thirteen (Video)

[stonebird]

So a new land awaits us. (She is trying to take the next move in stride, but this one will be harder for her.) I didn't know I would love the sea as much as I do. I think I've walked the beaches every day - except when a storm was upon us. I've become quite good at swimming too.

What use will any of that be in a jungle or on ice?

(However this is Hadriel's nature and it might be worse than all the monsters and other random beasts.)

If I leave behind remembrances for those who have journeyed home, will they remain in our absence? Or will this land crumble to nothing in our wake?

Comments

[soldier_blade]

Jungle more like, if there are lakes or rivers deep enough. [Sonya's in her room when the feed turns on, a random book in her lap. If Sansa listened carefully, she'd hear the album Sonya had on in the record player; in this case it was an album by 'The Cure'. On the other hand, I'd still be wary of whatever's swimming with you.

[stonebird]

That is the part I don't like. (What could be in jungle waters? She doesn't know nor does she really want to find out.) Where are you? I hear strange music behind you.

[soldier_blade]

If you find water that's clear enough to see through, it should be safe, but I wouldn't count on it. [She was beyond seeing these worlds as anything but what could be counted for survival.]

[She did smile at the question, looking over to where the player was positioned. Fan as she was for rock music, the evening more called for new wave/light jazz.] Record player. I managed to come across it in one of the dilapidated shops, along with a collection of records. Most of the albums are from no later than when I was in my late teens or early twenties.

[stonebird]

There are no guarantees. One moment, you grab hold of your happiness and the next, it is taken from you by someone you did not see in the shadows. (Or they are in broad daylight, pretending to be your friend.)

Do they bring you good memories? (It's hard for her to not go running to hear the...record player.)

[so_dark_a_road]

I too love the sea, and I wish we could stay here.

I'd hope that neither you nor anybody else would end up swimming on an ice planet. That would be a recipe for hypothermia and swift death. But the jungle planet is bound to have rivers and streams. Swimming might be possible there. . . provided there aren't alligators, crocodiles, or very large carnivorous fish living in the waters. Or worse.

If you want to leave some remembrances, I don't think it so much matters whether this land persists after we are gone. Those for whom you leave such tokens will never return here to receive them. But the remembrances would be at least as much for you as for the missing, and therefore, in my opinion, worth leaving. If you decide to do it, and you want someone to go with you when you go to distribute them, call me. I'll gladly go along with you.

[stonebird]

Maybe we were fish in another life. (Though she is more like a siren with her voice so often lifted in song.)

...precisely. (She sounds fatigued at the very idea of either planet.) I wish we could find a nice place and stay for awhile. I fear my luck will run out one day; I am no warrior except in heart and spirit. What good will that serve me if I fall into the jaws of some monstrosity?

I thought the gods might see them and know our kin are dearly missed. (It's so strange to imagine the island simply ceasing to be; to exist.) If you are not too busy, yes, please come with me.

[so_dark_a_road]

[ Chuckle. ] Perhaps we were. [ She a siren and he a merman! They'll sit on the rocks with their sea-harps and sing to the birds, the dolphins. . . and the sailors. ]

[ It is going to require some energy to deal with either planet. ] I liked the desert planet, too. After we got the wells dug and the Orchard irrigated, it wasn't such a bad location. And it was beautiful. But I, too, worry about what sort of place the gods might bring us to. We have enough problems with the monsters that plague us from time to time, and with our own internal problems in the community. Not to mention the problems caused by the gods. We don't need more exotic monsters and other predators that might be a part of a new environment.

But Sansa, you are a warrior in heart and spirit, as you say. That counts for a great deal, even in an unequal battle. And you are not inept in the skills of a warrior -- I have seen you practice, remember? Still, we all fear what you fear -- that someday we might run out of luck. I will protect you so long as I am near, and so will Maglor and Fingon, and so will Jon and Daenerys. Margaery's turning out to be quite the swordswoman, and she might protect you or stand at your side equally with you. And you have other friends as well.

I suppose they must at least occasionally notice what we do. [ Can't keep the sarcasm out of his voice. ] I don't know that they would care, though. I've suspected for a while that the gods sometimes remove a member of a kinship group precisely to grieve us, so that they may feast off of our emotions. But as for the tokens, when would you like to go? I'm not busy at the moment. Or you could name the time, and I'll make sure I'm free.

[bythewaves]

I would rather the jungle, for Fingon's sake. [ Maglor murmurs softly ]

I will miss the ocean too - I am not surprised little firebird. They say that an Echo of the First Song lives still in the water. Perhaps you hear it too. And who knows? But I think it will not hurt to leave such things.

[stonebird]

The cold bites hard and deep; there is no negotiating with it. (But she is naturally drawn to it nonetheless.)

What does it sound like? All I have heard are the lapping of the waves and the call of birds. But I do feel this pull like it is right for me to stand on the water's edge.

[bythewaves]

If you feel that tug, my dear, I think me you hear the song, curling deep in your heart, e'en if you know not what you hear!

[audio]

[circumitus]

Um, would not recommend going swimming in subzero temperature, but jungles are very humid -- wouldn't be surprised if there're any lakes or rivers.

[Pause.]

Granted you probably shouldn't swim in those, either.

[audio]

[stonebird]

I know the dangers of swimming in ice. The body will quickly be unable to move and then the systems will shut down.

(Then there are the jungles...) What if there are monsters in them?

[audio]

[circumitus]

There are more things to worry about than monsters in places like that. Bacteria and parasites can sometimes be much worse.

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[fogsong]

You'd be leaving something for no one. Once we're gone, what does it matter what stays behind? [ Cool, curious. ]

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[stonebird]

It's a reminder for the gods. If they choose to look, the remembrances will give them hints as to who I cherished and now miss.

(Bring them back! is her not so subtle plea.)

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[fogsong]

...But they won't ever care. [ She gets it, she does, but she knows better than to bother with things like that now. She's grown a little more jaded and cynical here. ]

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[closerift]

Have you left them in the Memorial Garden? It ought to travel with us, in that case. Otherwise, I'm not so sure.

[ If one collection of remembrances follows them from place to place, why not all of them, right? ]

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[stonebird]

I can carry their memories with me, but I thought to leave evidence of their presences on these islands. (But there's no point if the islands cease to be.)

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[closerift]

Then I really do recommend the Garden. It's where the rest of us have been doing that very thing. You're welcome to leave whatever you'd like there, and we keep it tidy.

[ Whether the city moves or splits in half or falls under siege, someone will always tend to the Garden and the objects left there. ]

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[utulien_aure]

I hope that in the future, you will be able to swim in as many places as you like. But please, Sansa, promise me one of them will not be amid the ice.

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[stonebird]

I am a child of the North. Though I was born in a castle warmed by fire and furs, I took some of my first steps in the snow. I know not to swim amongst the ice.

(Then, quietly:)

I tried it all too recently and I have rarely felt such pain.

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[utulien_aure]

[He closes his eyes]

Ah, child. I am sorry. That is not something I would have wanted you to experience.

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[writtendestiny]

[Poison thinks about it before she answers. Where she came from, in the Box, the place they had left behind had crumbled to nothing, torn asunder by the creature they had been keeping held in slumber beneath it.

But this place isn't like that.]

The islands were here for a long time before we arrived. They'll be here for a long time after we're gone. What's the harm in leaving something behind?

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[stonebird]

Can we say that for certain? (It likely doesn't matter. She will leave evidence of her missing family regardless.)

I see no harm in it. If nothing else, it will help ease my mind.

[writtendestiny]

Can we say anything for certain? [Poison replies with the smallest shrug.]

Maybe the islands will disappear with us. Maybe they weren't even here before we were. But if it eases your mind, then do it and don't worry about it.