09-06-2017, 05:55 PM
A few thoughts had run through Ebony's mind, parading through and leaving no serenity in their wake. A slight theme of contentment seemed to prevail, although individually most seemed to leave confusion behind, shrouding any direct mental activity. Despite cold hands brushing against her face, she'd felt a slight warmth and relief. Was that because the thing was gone? Was that because someone else had removed it, to actually show care for her? Or, under a face flushed red from exhaustion - definitely exhaustion and nothing else - she'd considered the possibility that it might have been due to Sonny, or Summer, being the one to do it.
And then there was the carrying. Summer was cold, like an ice pack. While Ebony preferred the warmth of her scythe (and Sonny by extension) - even in heat like this, she had to admit the coolness of his hands against her legs, and her chest against his back, was comforting. From a mixture of physical exertion and burying herself under a black cloak, her body had reached near feverish temperatures. Briefly, she wondered if she felt warm to him, as Sonny had to her. The comfort was debatable in its origin. Again, it could have simply been due to her finally being able to rest, the sense of safety it provided, the cool feeling of his body. Or maybe because someone was showing her sympathy and compassion in such a bleak looking world.
Regardless, for the time being, she was happy, at least in part. And somewhat excitable due to the recent exchange, even if her mind was tired. She wanted to know more about her new friend. Strange personality quirks aside, he was nice. She liked him. He was the real deal. An actual hero, unlike the fictional one she pretended to be. Without a better idea, Ebony found herself copying his questions for her.
"How did you learn your magic?" Her tone started off more excitable, but slowly drifted off towards the end, showcasing her fatigue. Despite her body's betrayal, she did really want to know.
"It took a lot of trial and error," he said, cheerfully.
"E-error?" Ebony asked. While worry for his safety was entirely unnecessary due to this being a past event, Ebony couldn't help but feel a slight fear. She herself had to deal with unreliable magic on occasion.
"There weren't many other people, or any at all, that researched magic where I came from. I was one of the first, so I had to pave my own way." He grinned, trying to be modest.
Nonetheless, Ebony was still amazed by his claims. With her head filled with wonder at the fact he'd discovered things by himself. It always confounded her how people could be the first, at least to their knowledge, to learn something. Even though she found all the maths theorems boring, and never liked having to learn physical laws, she saved a special level of respect for the first people to discover them. Sure some seemed obvious, but it astounded her nonetheless. Especially the obscure and complicated proofs or strange experiments. "Wow! That's so cool. Are you really smart? Like a famous scientist? Could you turn lead into gold? Or build a time machine? Or..."
Sonny's voice laughed lightheartedly. If his hands were free he'd likely have waved dismissively. It took him a short while to compose himself while Ebony's praise trailed off. After calming herself, she waited expectantly, eyes wide open under her hood.
"It's... not that impressive. I mostly learnt weather magic, I'm more like a two thousand-year-old professor than a proper scientist." Sonny spoke happily, obviously flattered by the praise but perhaps not thinking it was fully deserved.
Ebony grinned sheepishly at the rebuttal. "Nuh-uh. That's still really cool. That means you can make it sunny whenever you want... right Sonny?"
Ebony - One; Sonny - Nill.
A deep, quiet, chuckle resonated from Summer's throat. Ebony could feel the slight vibrations from her position on his back as the man's ribs shook slightly. Eventually, the noise subsided as Ebony was left in slight confusion over the change in voice. She considered it must have been the other 'personality'. He'd looked grim before, so she was glad her comment made him happy.
After a pause, Sonny spoke, "As a matter of fact, I can."
Ebony smiled, but couldn't think of anything else to say. She wanted to talk and share stories with her new friend, but none came to mind. It was frustrating, and she was sure the second such an opportunity became unavailable, ideas would come rushing to her head.
Sighing, she shrugged lightly, thinking about her day. Ebony hadn't kept track of the time, but it couldn't have been longer than half a day, from dawn to midday, at most. That was how long she'd been in the Omniverse. Although the time comparison had been hard to make, it was the middle of the night when Omni had taken her, so a more appropriate approximation would have been midnight until dawn. And now that the adrenaline had fully left her system, her lack of sleep and drained mental state truly became apparent. Regardless of any specifics, she had been here about eighty times less than Sonny, likely an even shorter time than that. He was barely experienced with the place, but just by comparing herself with him, she knew this reality wasn't for her. For Ebonywood Hellscythe maybe. Like a grand chapter of an adventure novel, but not for her writer. The fights she'd reluctantly participated in had already shattered the idea that she could ever hope to be that ideal self.
She wasn't that girl. Nor was she the girl from the orphanage, or the one from the tower. She was a nobody in her mind. A nobody that wanted to go home, back to the ship, to a place that no longer existed. She had to hope, and through great willpower, she'd denied, refused that the harsh truth of the situation could be correct. It was just a dream. It had to be.
Nonetheless, she still found herself entertaining a life here. There had to be a good place somewhere, rolling hills, cool rivers, and a shining sun. Her, Morene... and Sonny. Together and friends. She shook her head, hair falling forwards out of her hood and onto Summer's neck. She couldn't get comfortable here. Morene and the others actually liked this - liked the fight against the darklings. Ebony couldn't hope to find a place in a world like that. Again, she waved her head slightly from side to side, mumbling slightly. Not even Sonny and Morene would make it worthwhile.
"Is everything alright?" Her slight shaking had prompted a response, the shivering in her legs halted by a reassuring grip from his hands.
Ebony slumped against the mans back, resting her chin on his left shoulder and gently gripping around his chest. All with the aim of simply leaning against him further. The cold felt nice, but it also kept her awake, calming her mind. Her eyelids begged her to let them close. What harm could it do? She wondered. Just for a minute. Only a moment...
She blinked, waking up almost instantly from a rest she didn't know she started. Her back straightened abruptly, and her arms tightened briefly, nearly brushing against her carrier's neck.
"Ebony?"
Sighing, she slouched again, holding herself against him by pinning her arms around his broad, strong, shoulders - except this time her chin rested on the other side. One might have found it amusing how her strength almost mirrored his. "I'm... fine." Her tired voice mumbled into his ear, slow and careful breaths rolling down his shoulder. Pushing her neck and chin into him, she mumbled, not caring that her hood had fallen down in the recent movements, although the faint warm breeze made it hard to focus on anything. "W-why are there two of you? How-how come you can s-share a body?" She stumbled over the words, speaking faintly and close to the embrace of sleep. While his body was still cold, she'd grown accustomed to it - it did little to keep her alert anymore.
Looking up from her position, using his shoulder as leverage to move her chin, she noticed they were probably about half way up the mountain. For some reason, they seemed to be travelling very slowly, or perhaps the path was simply longer than it looked.
In the back of her mind, she was grateful for that.
And then there was the carrying. Summer was cold, like an ice pack. While Ebony preferred the warmth of her scythe (and Sonny by extension) - even in heat like this, she had to admit the coolness of his hands against her legs, and her chest against his back, was comforting. From a mixture of physical exertion and burying herself under a black cloak, her body had reached near feverish temperatures. Briefly, she wondered if she felt warm to him, as Sonny had to her. The comfort was debatable in its origin. Again, it could have simply been due to her finally being able to rest, the sense of safety it provided, the cool feeling of his body. Or maybe because someone was showing her sympathy and compassion in such a bleak looking world.
Regardless, for the time being, she was happy, at least in part. And somewhat excitable due to the recent exchange, even if her mind was tired. She wanted to know more about her new friend. Strange personality quirks aside, he was nice. She liked him. He was the real deal. An actual hero, unlike the fictional one she pretended to be. Without a better idea, Ebony found herself copying his questions for her.
"How did you learn your magic?" Her tone started off more excitable, but slowly drifted off towards the end, showcasing her fatigue. Despite her body's betrayal, she did really want to know.
"It took a lot of trial and error," he said, cheerfully.
"E-error?" Ebony asked. While worry for his safety was entirely unnecessary due to this being a past event, Ebony couldn't help but feel a slight fear. She herself had to deal with unreliable magic on occasion.
"There weren't many other people, or any at all, that researched magic where I came from. I was one of the first, so I had to pave my own way." He grinned, trying to be modest.
Nonetheless, Ebony was still amazed by his claims. With her head filled with wonder at the fact he'd discovered things by himself. It always confounded her how people could be the first, at least to their knowledge, to learn something. Even though she found all the maths theorems boring, and never liked having to learn physical laws, she saved a special level of respect for the first people to discover them. Sure some seemed obvious, but it astounded her nonetheless. Especially the obscure and complicated proofs or strange experiments. "Wow! That's so cool. Are you really smart? Like a famous scientist? Could you turn lead into gold? Or build a time machine? Or..."
Sonny's voice laughed lightheartedly. If his hands were free he'd likely have waved dismissively. It took him a short while to compose himself while Ebony's praise trailed off. After calming herself, she waited expectantly, eyes wide open under her hood.
"It's... not that impressive. I mostly learnt weather magic, I'm more like a two thousand-year-old professor than a proper scientist." Sonny spoke happily, obviously flattered by the praise but perhaps not thinking it was fully deserved.
Ebony grinned sheepishly at the rebuttal. "Nuh-uh. That's still really cool. That means you can make it sunny whenever you want... right Sonny?"
Ebony - One; Sonny - Nill.
A deep, quiet, chuckle resonated from Summer's throat. Ebony could feel the slight vibrations from her position on his back as the man's ribs shook slightly. Eventually, the noise subsided as Ebony was left in slight confusion over the change in voice. She considered it must have been the other 'personality'. He'd looked grim before, so she was glad her comment made him happy.
After a pause, Sonny spoke, "As a matter of fact, I can."
Ebony smiled, but couldn't think of anything else to say. She wanted to talk and share stories with her new friend, but none came to mind. It was frustrating, and she was sure the second such an opportunity became unavailable, ideas would come rushing to her head.
Sighing, she shrugged lightly, thinking about her day. Ebony hadn't kept track of the time, but it couldn't have been longer than half a day, from dawn to midday, at most. That was how long she'd been in the Omniverse. Although the time comparison had been hard to make, it was the middle of the night when Omni had taken her, so a more appropriate approximation would have been midnight until dawn. And now that the adrenaline had fully left her system, her lack of sleep and drained mental state truly became apparent. Regardless of any specifics, she had been here about eighty times less than Sonny, likely an even shorter time than that. He was barely experienced with the place, but just by comparing herself with him, she knew this reality wasn't for her. For Ebonywood Hellscythe maybe. Like a grand chapter of an adventure novel, but not for her writer. The fights she'd reluctantly participated in had already shattered the idea that she could ever hope to be that ideal self.
She wasn't that girl. Nor was she the girl from the orphanage, or the one from the tower. She was a nobody in her mind. A nobody that wanted to go home, back to the ship, to a place that no longer existed. She had to hope, and through great willpower, she'd denied, refused that the harsh truth of the situation could be correct. It was just a dream. It had to be.
Nonetheless, she still found herself entertaining a life here. There had to be a good place somewhere, rolling hills, cool rivers, and a shining sun. Her, Morene... and Sonny. Together and friends. She shook her head, hair falling forwards out of her hood and onto Summer's neck. She couldn't get comfortable here. Morene and the others actually liked this - liked the fight against the darklings. Ebony couldn't hope to find a place in a world like that. Again, she waved her head slightly from side to side, mumbling slightly. Not even Sonny and Morene would make it worthwhile.
"Is everything alright?" Her slight shaking had prompted a response, the shivering in her legs halted by a reassuring grip from his hands.
Ebony slumped against the mans back, resting her chin on his left shoulder and gently gripping around his chest. All with the aim of simply leaning against him further. The cold felt nice, but it also kept her awake, calming her mind. Her eyelids begged her to let them close. What harm could it do? She wondered. Just for a minute. Only a moment...
She blinked, waking up almost instantly from a rest she didn't know she started. Her back straightened abruptly, and her arms tightened briefly, nearly brushing against her carrier's neck.
"Ebony?"
Sighing, she slouched again, holding herself against him by pinning her arms around his broad, strong, shoulders - except this time her chin rested on the other side. One might have found it amusing how her strength almost mirrored his. "I'm... fine." Her tired voice mumbled into his ear, slow and careful breaths rolling down his shoulder. Pushing her neck and chin into him, she mumbled, not caring that her hood had fallen down in the recent movements, although the faint warm breeze made it hard to focus on anything. "W-why are there two of you? How-how come you can s-share a body?" She stumbled over the words, speaking faintly and close to the embrace of sleep. While his body was still cold, she'd grown accustomed to it - it did little to keep her alert anymore.
Looking up from her position, using his shoulder as leverage to move her chin, she noticed they were probably about half way up the mountain. For some reason, they seemed to be travelling very slowly, or perhaps the path was simply longer than it looked.
In the back of her mind, she was grateful for that.
Quote:1418 words. Wew.
I do not regret that bad pun. Sonny had it coming to him.
Eb is pretty sleepy, if it wasn't obvious.