by SunnyJustice » Thu Feb 02, 2017 6:27 pm
Windwoods Ruins
Cilan led the way onward, at a relatively slow pace. A few people were still trailing behind. Slowly but surely though, they were making their way forward.
Rowan stared at Lily thoughtfully as he walked. Truthfully, he didn't need to look in her direction. Rowan could see perfectly in any direction. Making eye contact was just polite though.
"That could be very useful," He said encouragingly. Lily had always been important to him, and to the group. Rowan reached out and gently took her hand. Now he could see his healing power working, his pure light intertwining with her softer glow. He kept a careful eye on her. Rowan couldn't be reckless with his power, since he knew what he could do.
"Can you do it at will?" Rowan asked. "Maybe we could test this later."
Gavotte would have taken Jennifer's other hand, except now it was covered in fiery sparks. Gavotte was not immune to fire, as far as he knew, and he didn't want to test that out. He kept close to Jen, since she was like their personal campfire. "What do you think the Sanctuary is like?" He asked Jen and the Imani siblings.
---
Clock Tower
Ivana followed Amber downstairs. She loved being around her adopted sister, and sometimes she completely forgot they weren't fraternal twins. They were pretty much soulmates in Ivana's eyes. Once she reached the area Kale and Jason were guarding, she quickly did an inspection. Sparks danced around her hands as she looked over the place. No spitballs... no wads of gum... no immature graffiti.
The electricity extinguished from her hands. She wouldn't randomly electrocute the guards right now. They were behaving themselves and not acting like Darius.
"Good evening," Ivana greeted the boys, curtsying with her white gown. She then took a step back and watched. Ivana was very picky and critical towards boys. If they started treating Amber with any disrespect, Ivana would cook them and throw their burnt flesh to a prowl of manticores.
---
Celestial Tower
Clotilda nodded and jumped off Jonah's back. She patted his arm reassuringly, instead of violently stabbing it with a knife, which she would do with anyone else. But she always made exceptions for Jonah. They made a great team, and she was sure they could kick anybody's ass to the Underworld and back. Nobody could compete. If only they were still alive. Not even Agatha herself would be able to overcome them, actually, not even the Queen of the Underworld could. Clove was that confident in their shared ability. Their powers weren't as ridiculous as the legends, but they definitely made a better team.
Oh disgrace! If only her outrageously overpowered reflexes had activated when Alastair went to grab her. For some reason, they hadn't worked, and she was definitely not strong enough to physically fight her way out of Alastair's grasp. Clotilda was going to find out who disgraced her over, and she was going to haunt them. She would make their dreams turn into nightmares. She would torture them with endless visions of their own bloody, agonizing death. She would freak them out so much, they would have a heart attack in their sleep.
"You're the only good thing about being dead," She said in her typical tone towards him, a combination of accusatory and affectionate. She always sounded like the old saying, 'bickering like a married couple', except Jonah was too mature for stupid arguments. He spoke up when he needed to though. He wasn't a wimpy little pansy, which Clove hated. She hated all weaklings, male or female. She wanted to carve up their faces with blunt, dull knives.
Sometimes, she even saw her mother as a weakling. Not because of her actual strength. The stupid Queen had such ridiculous physical strength, if Clotilda tried to bend Solara's pinky finger with all the strength in her body, Solara would still win and keep her pinky perfectly straight. Then again, Solara wouldn't make a vulgar gesture like the pinky finger. And that was why she was a weakling. No matter how much Clove tried to get her mad, Solara just stood there. Disgrace did she hate her pathetic mother! She never did anything except stand there like a rock statue or something! Clotilda would attack her with her fists, feet, elbows, head, anything- and Solara would still just stand there. Until Clove got tired.
It was so, so frustrating. So Clove just wrote her mother off as a weakling. She was just so... ugh... so boring. There was not a single thing more boring than fighting Solara.
She walked forward and apprehensively touched the door. She recoiled with a yelp because it was painfully hot. "You little disgrace!" Clotilda yelled and kicked the door violently. The light filtering through the cracks immediately dimmed. It was still glowing, but not ridiculously anymore.
"... Hm?" Came a deep voice from the other side.
"You heard me the first time! You burned me, you disgrace!" With a scream of rage, Clotilda grabbed the doorknob and twisted hard, then kicked in the door. It swung open, and she was momentarily blinded by the light. She fell to her knees with another scream of both pain and fury.
"... I am sorry," The voice said. A gentle hand touched her cheek, spreading pleasant warmth through her. Clotilda couldn't help but relax. Slowly, her vision cleared until she was looking into her mother's face. Solara was kneeling in front of her, with her eyes closed as usual. The entire room was illuminated in pure white light, so much that Clotilda couldn't even see her own shadow. Or maybe that was because Clotilda herself was glowing too.
"Mother, it's me," Clotilda breathed.
"... Yes," Solara said after a pause. "... And Jonah Soare."
She always spoke that slowly, and never once had she raised her voice even slightly, yet her voice was authoritative and carried tremendous weight. It was the opposite of Clove's voice. And it ticked her off, well, normally it ticked her off. Right now Clove couldn't be angry, even if she tried (and she was trying). Her mother's touch was so nice and warm, so gentle despite the great strength behind it.
"I sometimes forget you can see me perfectly with your eyes closed," Clove murmured. She didn't resist as Queen Solara took her into her arms, cradling her like a child. It was so comfortable, and she nestled into her mother's embrace. The comforting warmth made her sleepy, and her eyes began to close.
When she blinked open her eyes, Solara was standing in the doorway, facing Jonah. Clotilda was still in her arms, and still glowing faintly. It was quite peaceful.
Solara simply stood there silently for a moment before speaking. "... You found me just as I was about to return," She told them with a smile that never reached her eyes.
"Return?" Clove murmured sleepily, still in a dreamlike haze.
"Sunny!" Came a low, heavily accented voice that sounded much like Solara's. Juniper rushed over from the stairs and went to stand by Jonah with a chuckle. "Have you two come to say goodbye?"
Solara placed Clove on the ground. Her sleepiness immediately faded, and she was able to stand on her own two feet. It was unexpected, even for her. The drowsiness quickly left her, along with the warm glow of light. And she was finally able to think clearly. She had just found her mother, and now she was about to lose her again.
"Goodbye?" Clotilda echoed.
