closed | an eye for an eye

[thecrossingnpcs]

WHO: The Wraith, Shepard, and Soo Won
WHAT: A conversation
WHERE: In and around the Dunes
WHEN: Sometime after The Wraith's sighting in the Desert
WARNINGS Nothing for now, will edit as needed.

[The journey out here takes some time; it turns out the map was not as straightforward as it appeared (and it didn't appear that straightforward to begin with). But, ultimately, it leads out to a cave that will be familiar to Lyn: it's the same one she came out of when she found herself lost, with the iconography of an eye drawn on its inside wall.

Within the cave is a wraith. It is large, with unnaturally long proportions, as if something took it by the head and by the feet and stretched. Its right eye is much, much larger than the other, making it appear almost cyclopean at some angles.

This wraith, like all of the others sighted before it, does not speak. It merely watches, though its gaze has a very different quality than the others like it: curious, dissembling, and intelligent.

There is a book propped up on a stone inside the cave, away from the winds and the heat of the Desert. It is opened to a middle page, where words appear as if by an invisible typewriter:]

Hello.
I see you found your way.
You're persistent.
I thought you might be.

Comments

[protectorofkouka]

[It was heartbreaking. War claimed too many innocent lives and the children haunted Soo Won the most. Even if he did the best he could under the circumstances, seeing Sunny and the others here in the afterlife only reminded him of those ones he failed.

The burden of his throne was easier to bear when he was alive and unable to talk to the dead like this. He couldn't help thinking about what had become of his fallen countrymen. Did they move on peacefully, or had they been reduced to wraiths? He hid the heavy weight he carried, and the ache he felt when Allynbeee vague mentioned their deaths, behind a friendly smile.]

Ah, I was a merchant. What about you?

[callsignhornet]

I was a soldier.

[ It was perhaps a grand understatement. Allynbee knew she was a damn good soldier, a damn good commander both by rank and action. She had not, however, acknowledged that she was good enough to have been resurrected to keep the galaxy safe. In the back of her mind, she wondered about a lot of things. Sometimes, it was about those she left behind, but mostly about the people she expected to see, considering this was supposed to be the afterlife.]

You know, I don't know what I was expecting, but I don't think it was...this.

[ She gestures to the sands all around them, gaze hesitating on a bit of movement on the horizon. Hmm.]

[protectorofkouka]

[Soo Won wasn't surprised to learn Allynbee was a soldier in life. Aside from the innocent casualties in war, soldiers were who he had expected to see the most in the afterlife. That was familiar at least and he agreed with a small smile as he followed Allynbee's gaze.]

Yeah, me neither.

[To be honest he hadn't thought about the afterlife much. Even with his death looming over him he didn't have time to worry about it. There was too much to do before he could feel assured that Kouka kingdom would be safe in his absence. He didn't care what happened to him afterward. Yet now that he was here his death tormented him more than he thought it would. He clung to the stubbornness that served him well in life and focused in this place's mysteries instead of how he truly felt about everything. The crossing had created some annoying cracks in his defense though.

Soo Won's eyes narrowed slightly when he noticed the slight hesitation in Allynbee's gaze.]

Do you see something?

[callsignhornet]

[Brows furrowed, her gaze scanned the horizon again. There was a little wind, but all things considered, this outing was met with a mild environment to explore. Allynbee quietly hoped that it would stay that way.]

I can't decide if it's nothing or if the desert's playing tricks.

[She hated how unpredictable this place was. After making a career out of doing things that all the data and planning in the galaxy said was impossible, she felt at loss dealing with an environment that was - at best - fucking mercurial.]

We should be careful.

[protectorofkouka]

It's hard to say in this place.

[Soo Won shared her frustration at the unpredictable nature of this place. There had to be some trick to it, otherwise leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for them to follow would be impossible, but Soo Won hadn't figured it out yet.]

Should we check it out?

[callsignhornet]

[Allynbee gave him a quick nod, before looking back toward the horizon. It would be better to be careful, get eyes on whatever was causing the anomaly she’d spotted. Hopefully, things would at least stay stable enough to solve that mystery.]

Have you ever been to a desert before?

[protectorofkouka]

[Soo Won's carefree attitude shifted into something more serious as they approached the anomaly Allynbee noticed.]

Not really no, there were drier areas in Kai, the kingdom neighboring ours, but not a vast desert like this.

[callsignhornet]

We're lucky. I've been in deserts that span most of a planet.

[The wind kicks up a bit, and instinctively, Allynbee hesitates. It's stronger than she was expecting, given how calm things were moments ago as a few miniature dust devils passed them.]

We should pick up the pace.