Riful's Heart.

[dramatispersonae]

[everything goes away.]

[sight, sound, taste, touch, smell - you lose yourself to the nothing that waits through the doorway. do you have a body? a mind? what is such a thing? for a dizzying moment, you might not even be sure you have a "you" to identify these concepts with.]

[then, wrenching and violent, the confusion of the senses pummels itself back inside you like seasoning pounded into raw meat, and you're left, painfully sensate, on an open plain.]

Comments

[oh_brother]

[ggglances at Mark, but doesn't press that first statement. offers a hand.]

My name is Okumura Yukio. We met briefly when I came to examine Amethyst.

[identityformations]

[taking another breath to steady himself and then. reluctant handshake. sorry I have a memory of doctors being really awful, dude. 8(]

I remember. Paleon.

[oh_brother]

[shakes it lightly]

If you do not wish to travel with me, that's fine. But we should find another place to investigate.

[identityformations]

The other cavern down here contains a glowy magic pool, a batch of bloodstains, and some lovely skittery noises coming from the darkness.

[oh_brother]

Ah, I know what the skittering is about. There's an injured dog in there that I treated.

[identityformations]

...huh.

[oh_brother]

In any case, we should probably leave the caves, since I think we have explored most of them.

[amivoringyou]

[speaking of which, there's a familiar 'yip!']

[and the dog comes crashing into one of your legs, and immediately bites it in startled joy.]

[... IT GOT LOST, IT WAS LONELY '-']

[oh_brother]

-- there it is.

[identityformations]

[what is this pineapple dog and why is it attached to my leg]

Ow?

[oh_brother]

Ah. It's a little too friendly ...

[reaches down to try and gently disengage it]

[identityformations]

...this was the do--ow--g you mentioned?

[letting him do that then, rather than trying to wrangle a strange animal]

[oh_brother]

[pulllls the dog away]

That's right. It looks a lot like one of my teammates.

[identityformations]

I hope your teammate doesn't have the same idea of how to greet people.

[reaching down to prod the bite lightly, then clearly deciding it's nothing to worry about]

[amivoringyou]

[Acediamikapuppy licks Yukio's hand '-']

[oh_brother]

[good puppy 8| let's head back towards the entrance of the cave]

I would be highly concerned if he did.

[identityformations]

[following Yukio and the demented dog :|a]

Any idea where we'll go from here?

[oh_brother]

... I have no idea, honestly. Perhaps not the tower, as that is where Sion went.

[identityformations]

The trees were...strange.

[oh_brother]

[slight nod]

You may lead the way then.

[amivoringyou]

[outside, the mounds seem ... closer to you, again, but once more, looking at them head on destroys the sensation. you get the sense you're being watched from somewhere.]

[so, for that matter, do the trees feel closer to you, less distant. but this sensation doesn't go away when you look at them.]

[amivoringyou]

[and so you walk.]