Morning of 1/9/15
"Those who'll lose everything can be anything."
Ahni snapped awake, the words ringing in her ears as if Melanie herself were standing beside her. She sat upright, eyes wide and irises a frightened yellow -- where was she? The small woman hugged the giant comfy blanket around her and took a good look around. The room she occupied was decently-sized but designed efficiently -- a large desk sat in the center of the room, flanked by odd metal cabinets with quite a few drawers in each, a cork board on the wall behind the desk containing various bulletins and crayon artwork, dark curtains covering a large window. Early morning light filtered through the edges of the curtains, giving Ahni a sense of the current time. She blinked, rubbed a balled fist against an eye, attempted to stand up from the oversized leather couch that she had apparently slept on.
But it was really, really comfy, so she plopped back down again, relishing the cozy pleasantness for a few more moments.
"Those who'll lose everything can be anything."
She had just started to drift back to sleep when the words rang in her ears once more. Her eyes popped open, and she stared at the ceiling as the words turned over and over in her addled brain. Was it true? Could she really be anything? The thought of losing everything -- or anything, really -- brought the gloomy, nearly colorless grey of sadness to Ahni's kaleidoscope irises. She had lost many things in her years, had lost track of how many things, in fact. She wasn't one to dwell on the past, especially not on unfortunate circumstances; however, Melanie's words had struck a strange chord with Ahni.
But her stomach grumbled, and serious thinking went out the door.
Again, the half-elf asked herself, "Where am I?" Her voice came out as barely a whisper, a gentle breeze through summer leaves, as she stood up, taking the giant blanket and fashioning it into a kind of hooded robe around her skinny body. Curious as a cat, she shuffled (for shuffling was the proper way to move while burrito'd up in a large blanket) over to the desk. A strange contraption with many buttons rested in one corner of the desk, a couple of the buttons flashing red, an odd crescent-shaped piece connected to the contraption with a spiral cord. A skinny hand snaked out of the blanket-cocoon and reached toward the contraption before Ahni's attention was captured by the cork board. She shuffled over and peered, emeralds flickering from one bit of information to the next. The half-elf squealed in delight -- and promptly smacked a hand over her mouth -- upon seeing a special announcement and filed the information away for later use. Her focus then shifted to a drawing that was no doubt made by a small child, and the puzzle pieces clicked into place.
"How do you get home at this late hour?"
"The flowers, of course."
"Have you ever seen the Orphanage? You could stay over and go home when it's warmer, tomorrow?"
"Do you stay there too?"
"I surely do, when it's this late. It's a very well-protected place."
Thinking back, Ahni realized that Shadow seemed concerned for her safety, though she wasn't sure why. He had offered her his bed, but she felt strange sleeping in such a large bed by herself. So after Shadow bid her good night, she nosed around, ended up finding his office and extremely comfortable couch and bunked there for the night. Of course, snagging Shadow's comforter from his bed before crashing on the office couch was absolutely necessary.
But her stomach protested again, and she shuffled toward the double doors leading out of the office.
Once she knew the doors were securely latched behind her, Ahni stood in awe of Shadow's room. Apparently, she hadn't effectively taken in its majesty the night before. The room itself was almost as large as her own cave in the Glen and decorated quite beautifully, in Ahni's opinion. (She lived in a cave, though, so her fashion sense was a bit skewed.) Her fuzzy, bear-eared longcoat had been draped over a chair near the exiting door, the previous night's clothes folded neatly on the seat --
Wait. Ahni blinked. If her clothes were there... what was she wearing? She threw off the blanket cocoon and peered down, eyes wide. An audible sigh of relief escaped her as she remembered that Shadow had loaned her an old shirt to sleep in, and she had not, in fact, slept naked in a strange place. She quickly dressed, folded the shirt, placed it where her own clothes had been moments before. The Orphanage was pleasantly heated, and Ahni left her longcoat for the time being. She could always come back and get it. She looked around the room again, curiosity getting the best of her. She nearly tripped over the discarded blanket as she moved to peer out the windows, gathered it up, tried to situate it smoothly on the bed. It had never occurred to her until that exact moment that she had never properly made a bed in her life... but it seemed that the top blanket was supposed to sit nicely on the top of the bed, so that was what she did -- and then she laid down. That blanket was so cozy!
"Sometimes, losing everything is worth keeping someone else happy though, isn't it?"
Ahni frowned at the memory, eyes wandering up to the ceiling. Was it really worth it? Who could possibly be happy if she lost everything? "No," the little half-elf spoke softly, pointing a finger-gun up. She couldn't remember who had taught her the strange sign. "It is better to be happy inside, because the ones you care about -- and that care about you, that is also very important -- will be happy that you are happy." She nodded decisively, pulled the trigger on her finger gun. Ahni would have to remember to tell Melanie her feelings on the matter the next time the two met.
Once her serious thoughts had been resolved, Ahni was free to think of whatever her little addled brain wanted to. She thought of cupcakes with swirly frosting, how she hadn't eaten yet, how adorable kittens were, that Shadow was wonderfully gentleman-like for offering his bed and letting her stay in his room, how her stomach felt like it was eating itself... And somehow, that last thought reminded her of something very, very important, something she had lived with for who knows how long. Ahni quickly jumped off the bed, gasping aloud.
The Voice hadn't come at all throughout the night. Ahni fully believed that Shadow had kept it from bothering her, and with that, she opened the bedroom door and skipped out to find him.
(( Conversation bits taken from live play with Melanie and Shadow <3 ))
"Those who'll lose everything can be anything."
Ahni snapped awake, the words ringing in her ears as if Melanie herself were standing beside her. She sat upright, eyes wide and irises a frightened yellow -- where was she? The small woman hugged the giant comfy blanket around her and took a good look around. The room she occupied was decently-sized but designed efficiently -- a large desk sat in the center of the room, flanked by odd metal cabinets with quite a few drawers in each, a cork board on the wall behind the desk containing various bulletins and crayon artwork, dark curtains covering a large window. Early morning light filtered through the edges of the curtains, giving Ahni a sense of the current time. She blinked, rubbed a balled fist against an eye, attempted to stand up from the oversized leather couch that she had apparently slept on.
But it was really, really comfy, so she plopped back down again, relishing the cozy pleasantness for a few more moments.
"Those who'll lose everything can be anything."
She had just started to drift back to sleep when the words rang in her ears once more. Her eyes popped open, and she stared at the ceiling as the words turned over and over in her addled brain. Was it true? Could she really be anything? The thought of losing everything -- or anything, really -- brought the gloomy, nearly colorless grey of sadness to Ahni's kaleidoscope irises. She had lost many things in her years, had lost track of how many things, in fact. She wasn't one to dwell on the past, especially not on unfortunate circumstances; however, Melanie's words had struck a strange chord with Ahni.
But her stomach grumbled, and serious thinking went out the door.
Again, the half-elf asked herself, "Where am I?" Her voice came out as barely a whisper, a gentle breeze through summer leaves, as she stood up, taking the giant blanket and fashioning it into a kind of hooded robe around her skinny body. Curious as a cat, she shuffled (for shuffling was the proper way to move while burrito'd up in a large blanket) over to the desk. A strange contraption with many buttons rested in one corner of the desk, a couple of the buttons flashing red, an odd crescent-shaped piece connected to the contraption with a spiral cord. A skinny hand snaked out of the blanket-cocoon and reached toward the contraption before Ahni's attention was captured by the cork board. She shuffled over and peered, emeralds flickering from one bit of information to the next. The half-elf squealed in delight -- and promptly smacked a hand over her mouth -- upon seeing a special announcement and filed the information away for later use. Her focus then shifted to a drawing that was no doubt made by a small child, and the puzzle pieces clicked into place.
"How do you get home at this late hour?"
"The flowers, of course."
"Have you ever seen the Orphanage? You could stay over and go home when it's warmer, tomorrow?"
"Do you stay there too?"
"I surely do, when it's this late. It's a very well-protected place."
Thinking back, Ahni realized that Shadow seemed concerned for her safety, though she wasn't sure why. He had offered her his bed, but she felt strange sleeping in such a large bed by herself. So after Shadow bid her good night, she nosed around, ended up finding his office and extremely comfortable couch and bunked there for the night. Of course, snagging Shadow's comforter from his bed before crashing on the office couch was absolutely necessary.
But her stomach protested again, and she shuffled toward the double doors leading out of the office.
Once she knew the doors were securely latched behind her, Ahni stood in awe of Shadow's room. Apparently, she hadn't effectively taken in its majesty the night before. The room itself was almost as large as her own cave in the Glen and decorated quite beautifully, in Ahni's opinion. (She lived in a cave, though, so her fashion sense was a bit skewed.) Her fuzzy, bear-eared longcoat had been draped over a chair near the exiting door, the previous night's clothes folded neatly on the seat --
Wait. Ahni blinked. If her clothes were there... what was she wearing? She threw off the blanket cocoon and peered down, eyes wide. An audible sigh of relief escaped her as she remembered that Shadow had loaned her an old shirt to sleep in, and she had not, in fact, slept naked in a strange place. She quickly dressed, folded the shirt, placed it where her own clothes had been moments before. The Orphanage was pleasantly heated, and Ahni left her longcoat for the time being. She could always come back and get it. She looked around the room again, curiosity getting the best of her. She nearly tripped over the discarded blanket as she moved to peer out the windows, gathered it up, tried to situate it smoothly on the bed. It had never occurred to her until that exact moment that she had never properly made a bed in her life... but it seemed that the top blanket was supposed to sit nicely on the top of the bed, so that was what she did -- and then she laid down. That blanket was so cozy!
"Sometimes, losing everything is worth keeping someone else happy though, isn't it?"
Ahni frowned at the memory, eyes wandering up to the ceiling. Was it really worth it? Who could possibly be happy if she lost everything? "No," the little half-elf spoke softly, pointing a finger-gun up. She couldn't remember who had taught her the strange sign. "It is better to be happy inside, because the ones you care about -- and that care about you, that is also very important -- will be happy that you are happy." She nodded decisively, pulled the trigger on her finger gun. Ahni would have to remember to tell Melanie her feelings on the matter the next time the two met.
Once her serious thoughts had been resolved, Ahni was free to think of whatever her little addled brain wanted to. She thought of cupcakes with swirly frosting, how she hadn't eaten yet, how adorable kittens were, that Shadow was wonderfully gentleman-like for offering his bed and letting her stay in his room, how her stomach felt like it was eating itself... And somehow, that last thought reminded her of something very, very important, something she had lived with for who knows how long. Ahni quickly jumped off the bed, gasping aloud.
The Voice hadn't come at all throughout the night. Ahni fully believed that Shadow had kept it from bothering her, and with that, she opened the bedroom door and skipped out to find him.
(( Conversation bits taken from live play with Melanie and Shadow <3 ))