"Deep in earth my love is lying 🥀 And I must weep alone."

[ectoherbology]

Who: Wendy, her ghostly sister, and you
Which: Open Log
Warnings: Wendy frequently mentions the macabre, themes of death, mourning and violence may come up


Where: Reverein
What: In town, a lone child wanders around and explores, donning a mourning veil. She's asking for help getting equipped for winter!


Quite unlike the world Wendy had been trapped in before, the presence of a town was something to immediately take advantage of. Cradling the silken red flower containing her sister's soul in her hands, Wendy was traveling between each building open to anyone, hoping to take advantage of what was here. On her back was a large sack woven from grass and reeds, though it was currently quite empty.

Her first bit of luck is getting a winter coat from a seamstress, one that's several sizes too large for her but nonetheless will help keep her warm. Blowing soft puffs of warm air on her fingers to ease the chill, she moved on, careful not to accidentally step into someone else's path.

Catching the fact that a stranger's gaze was upon her, she approached, staring with eyes slightly too eerie and hollow to truly belong to a kid. "Excuse me. Is there a method of currency here, or particular item for trade? I don't have anything, yet, but it's quite cold."


Where: Outskirts of Reverein, near the lake
What: Wendy and her ghostly sister Abigail are working on crafting a base outside of town for survival


To anyone familiar with the struggles of wilderness survival, the appearance of several things between Reverein and its lake made quite a bit of sense - baited rabbit traps woven out of long grass, trees chopped and saplings stripped, rocks disturbed and dug up from scavenging for the right size and shape for tools...

At the center of all of this activity is a massive firepit, circled with heavy stones to keep fire from spreading. It was currently lit, but low, at the moment only serving to slowly cook a few tiny fish that had been fished up from the lake. Sitting atop a stump nearby was the young Wendy, wearing a simple scarf even in the frigid chill of the outdoors. She's preoccupied with crafting something - but whoever approaches will first be 'greeted' by a frightful ghost popping up in front of their path and interceding them from approaching Wendy. There's a supernatural chill in the air, and a glowering, pinkish glow, but it subsides the moment Wendy simply says, "It's okay, Abigail."

Comments

Outskirts

[abyssbound]

She isn't the only one who opted to live outside of the city--Asura had built a comfortable farmstead for himself out in the farmlands some time ago, and in the winter months when crops won't grow, he routinely patrols the edge of the Wildlands to ward off any potentially dangerous creatures that might attempt to harass Reverein and its inhabitants. The smell of smoke and cooking fish is enough to draw his attention to the small fire and the girl nearby.

A cursory glance around the site reveals that she at least knows the basics of roughing it, so when Asura steps into the light of the fire, he ignores the defensive spirit and only asks:

"Need anything?"

[ectoherbology]

Ah, now that was the look of a person who'd also learned wilderness survival. Wendy relaxed, even as Abigail grouchily 'shouted' at the stranger. "Have you got any extra warm furs or fabrics?" she asked plainly - no need to be humble, after all. "I didn't have much to offer for barter in town, but I did accrue a few things - but I don't know if it will get more bitterly cold than tonight or not."

[abyssbound]

He'd had to learn survival skills when he wasn't much older than her, so there is certainly some level of empathy there.

"Not on me," so he says while half-naked in this chilly weather like he can't even feel it. "But I can bring some blankets back. In the mean time,"

Asura snaps his fingers and the fire gains a bit more life, its warmth extending several more feet as the flames glow brighter.

[ectoherbology]

The trick has her blinking a bit, but not as surprised as one may expect. "Ah... a similar trick to miss Willow. But you don't seem as easily chilled to the bone as she does," she observed. "Are you not vulnerable to hypothermia? It isn't such a terrible way to die, at least."

[abyssbound]

He'd beg to differ, that dying of hypothermia seems to be an agonizing way to go if what he'd witnessed in the Hell of Ice were anything to go by.

"My body gives off a lot of heat, so I don't really feel the cold in the same way as humans." He's been compared to a walking furnace before. But her words strike him as peculiar... "Have you died from hypothermia before?"

[ectoherbology]

"Many times. It is much easier to bear when so much of you goes as numb as a broken heart," she nodded in the affirmative. "Much preferable to a flaming demise."

[abyssbound]

Interesting. Asura would like to pursue this line of questioning further, but for the moment he places a hand to his chin in thought for a few seconds before

"I'll be right back with those blankets." And just as quickly as he'd appeared, he's gone, though her fire remains warm and lively.

After about fifteen minutes, he returns with an armful of three fluffy blankets and offers them to her.

"Assuming you're new to the dream world, would it be accurate to say that your waking self is in some kind of purgatory?"

[ectoherbology]

She took them, immediately pulling one over her shoulders. No point whatsoever in rejecting help, after all. "Perhaps. I liken it to a game like chess... we are as pawns on a game board that resets upon our demise," she explained. "...And if Abigail and I are not alone, it will only reset once everyone has perished."

[abyssbound]

That almost sounds familiar; a death game that repeats indefinitely, though in this particular case the players retain their memories of previous loops.

It definitely sounds like a purgatory.

Asura takes a seat on the ground opposite the girl with the fire between them, a thoughtful look creasing his brow. "Do you have any memories from before those games began?"

[ectoherbology]

"Yes. I recall my life before then, with my family," she acknowledged with a small nod. "I may have entered the Constant in pursuit of my sister's soul, after she perished. A man controlled by unknowable forces reached me in my dreams, and I awoke in the Constant, a piece on the board. But nonetheless, as promised... Abigail was there, with me," she added, looking to her deceased sister. The ghost let out a faint giggle, floating over Wendy's shoulder protectively.

[abyssbound]

So the ghost haunting her is her sister. He can't fault her her reasons, but that fate seems far too cruel for a child to endure. The least he can do is make things easier on them in this dream world.

"How many times have you repeated the game?"

[ectoherbology]

There's a distance in her eyes, as her gaze wanders. How many times, indeed? She used to keep count. Then forgot, and then when she met the other survivors she would keep count again. But...

"...I don't know," she answered sincerely. "This place would be the first in a long time where my demise may be certain."

[abyssbound]

He figured as much. Whoever it was that had trapped her and her sister's spirit in that purgatory was cruel indeed. Asura wordlessly watches the flickering flames for a long while as he thinks, his pointed ears occasionally twitching when they pick up on the sounds of small animals in the brush. This place isn't quite the Wildlands, but it's a far cry from safety.

"You know you don't have to stay out here, right? Even if you don't want to live near other people, there are still abandoned houses in the town that would provide better shelter."

[ectoherbology]

"I am aware, and I do intend to stay in one. But I don't trust things to stay peaceful and uncomplicated. It is better to have things prepared, just in case," she acknowledged. "Abigail has asked that I do not die, so I will oblige."

[abyssbound]

That answer actually gets a chuckle out of the huge man, and Asura concedes a nod.

"All things considered, that's a wise attitude to have." What with the Story Eaters and all the other strange events that have been occurring on a near-monthly basis. It's actually safer at times to be outside the city limits than within.

"My name is Asura." He finally introduces himself and raises a hand to gesture in the general direction of the eastern farmlands. "If you need anything, I've got a small farmstead that way. I'll look the other way if a few tools or some produce go missing."

[ectoherbology]

"I can pull my weight. If I take from your tilled fields, I will be sure to re-till and plant something in its place," she promised immediately. "I'm very familiar with how to do it."

[abyssbound]

Right, despite appearances, this child probably has a few more years on her than she seems. Asura taps his chin in thought for a minute before nodding decisively.

"Then do you want a job?" He offers. "There's not as much to do on the farm right now," it being winter and all, "but spring is just around the corner and I could use the extra hands once planting season comes. In exchange, I'll include cooked meals and you can keep a portion of the produce."

[ectoherbology]

She nods - she'll take any degree of normalcy. Or what passed for normalcy in her life, besides the 'game'. "That's a fair deal," she agreed, before gesturing to herself and then to her floating ghostly sister. "I am Wendy. This is my twin, Abigail."

[abyssbound]

Hey, if there's nothing they can do about the circumstances of their waking worlds, at least they can pursue the escape of a 'normal' life in this dream world. For whatever that's worth.

He gives a short nod to Wendy and the ghost before his eyes drop back to the small fish. "Do you know how to make a fishing net?"

[ectoherbology]

"I had tried at one point, but it simply took too much spider silk to reliably craft. We got more utility from a line and bait," she explained, shaking her head.