Okay starting to realize who's influencing my mental image of Gravitas.===We arrived at the base of the northmost spire without incident, but overhead the crows kept circling, waiting for something to pass over that they might reap its remains. I couldn’t see anything, nor was anything moving on the spires, but there was no reason for this many crows to congregate unless there was something to scavenge. There was one shadow of a bird that seemed just a little different, just a little brighter, than the rest.
===“Eve.” I moved up next to her. “Can I fly up there and see what they’re waiting for?”
===She didn’t even turn around. “Make it quick. And don’t die on me.”
===A globule of the shroud peeled off with me as I flew through it, and it shimmered around me as I ascended, flickering white with every wingbeat. I realized halfway up the spire that it was nullifying the wind currents I was making; Eve clearly had practice with hiding pegasi.
===I realized belatedly that finding the group again might be near impossible, but a glance downwards revealed that I could see them just fine, despite Eve’s shroud. At a guess it seemed likely that those inside one shroud could see into another, which made sense if she were part of a unit.
===As I drew level with the nearest spire’s tip, I scoured the flocks for the raven amongst the crows. I had had a sneaking suspicion when I had first noticed the outlier, that maybe, just maybe, beneath its feathers and wings lay a secret I already knew. The suspicion solidified when I found a pure-white raven hovering right behind me; albinoism aside, regular birds were not capable of that feat, save for hummingbirds and a select few birds of prey. It had bright red eyes—another distinguishing trait—and two red streaks running along its body right under its wings, both of which only furthered my suspicion.
===The raven was darting around me, looking right at me curiously. It couldn’t see me, I was certain, but it could sense my presence; that much was clear. More evidence. I hesitated, then floated towards it until the shroud encapsulated it, too, at which it gave a squawk of surprise and reeled back slightly.
===“It’s okay.” I held out a hoof as nonthreateningly as I could. “I know.”
===It cocked its head, stared at me, and—after an unmistakeable glance at my cutie mark—it disappeared in a flash of white-hot fire, and when the light faded, the raven was gone, and in its place was a smoky grey pegasus. He had spiky, maroon hair so dark it was almost black, and the white silhouette of a raven sat on his flank, surrounded by tiny starlike runes and glowing softly in the aftermath of his metamorphosis. Perhaps the most alarming part of his appearance was two bold, blood-red eyes that seemed to lack the need to blink.
===“Hm.” He rubbed his chin. “Finding Apollo?”
===Blood rushed to my face, and for a moment I lost focus. “No, the Plea. You’re...” I breathed in sharply. “...not going to tell anyone, are you?”
===He just looked at me. “No.”
===An awkward silence followed. He didn’t seem to want to introduce himself—which was fine by me. It meant I neither had to play the Silhouette charade nor lie about my name.
===He did not seem surprised to see the phantom universe surrounding us or the other four looking up at us, far below. But then, I guess when you can shapeshift into a raven, there’s not much that can really surprise you. Or concern you.
===I ignored—not without difficulty—the growing, crushing sensation of utter hollowness that was slowly eating my insides. Not having eaten for a few hours wasn’t helping. “What’s with all the crows?”
===He gestured at the spire. “There’s a dying dragon inside. I’ve been trying to clear them out so she can die in peace, but I mean...” He shrugged. “It’s a dying dragon.”
===The phrase restored my usual state of mind; the wearing hollowness faded, the surging blood receded, the wind around me remembered to breathe, and all that was left was the frigid focus of objectivity. My home.
===“Who is it?” It couldn’t be Timid Thunder unless there was some odd gender disparities.
===“Don’t know, haven’t seen her. The crows say she’s—” He paused for a moment, ear cocked. “She’s crying and wailing in pain. Trust me,” he added. “Crows know death when they hear it.”
===I strained my ears as hard I could, but for all my efforts I could not hear anything that sounded like a dragon on Tartarus’ doorstep. “I don’t hear anything.”
===“Are you a crow?”
===“No, but—”
===“There you go.” He gestured at the murder. “I said they can hear death, and that’s exactly what I meant. They know the sound far better than I do,” he added with a slight tilt of his head.
===I looked down at the waiting guards, then back up at the pegasus, whose red eyes were locked on me, and within them I caught a glimpse of something I’d seen only once before. “Volcano?”
===“Yes.”
===“Me too.” I saw Julienne far below, waving something that sparkled silver in the sunlight. “I should go.”
===He shooed me off. “Fly.”
[Spider Dance - Toby Fox] [♫] [t] [Splinterfox | MW/BM | Tanaris-NA]
[OSaS A1 ~ 80% Completion] ~ [Thank You, MLP] ~ [ ??? ]
*waves* Hey everypony. I feel extremely drained lately. Got into a discussion about whether certain D&D items had saves, and in my view they don't because there is no goddamn save listed with the item. Someone else had the opinion that they do have saves despite them not being listed because they almost exactly recreate spells that do have saves.
The reason I feel extremely drained is that while my reasoning was lauded by others as being equal to that of a good lawyer, I still made a few mistakes in my word choices and fact-checking and this person has gone in and attacked those with no regards to the rest of the post. My chest and head hurt from how much this person has enraged me with his lack of reasoning and empathy. A metaphor I think might fit is he's dumber than a bunch of chickens: They at least have the capability of taking the wheat and leaving the chaff.
He has incited me so much that I know I can never properly explain my view anymore because I'm not thinking clearly and I will make another mistake that he'll just attack and that'll get me even more riled and unable to think. And try as I might to calm myself, I am still shaking. I wish I knew what to do...
Last edited by Jackielope; 2013-03-04 at 09:10 PM.
My mom watched Disctrict 9 yesterday and she liked it xD... she barely watches movies with deep content :P
was the ninja boss in mgs1 designed to make you hate everything?
I was this close
this close to actually smashing my keyboard
FG looki here what i has found
Dontrike/Shadow Priest/Black Cell Faction Friend Code - 5172-0967-3866