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]

[meanwhile, reaching in his pocket for a roll of bandages]

Ah ... you're right. Let's try following those.

[identityformations]

You come prepared.

[oh_brother]

I found it on one of the rooms.

[... hmmm. offers it to the dog to chew on]

[amivoringyou]

[the dog sniffs art your bandage, curiously, then ... starts to wander off after the footprints ...]

[identityformations]

Interesting.

[following the dog]

[amivoringyou]

[the ground is hard, and seems like it would be unforgiving of prints; nevertheless, these were left at some time when the ground was soft, and have since hardened, a record of someone's journey somewhere.]

[the trail of feet continues on for quite a while. at irregular intervals, the walker even seems to be skipping along, from the way the ground swishes and the footsteps sink.]

[oh_brother]

[following along as well]

Something seems strange about the ground.

[identityformations]

Got dried out.

[oh_brother]

I suppose I am not much of a tracker then. Still, they're either fresh or unusually preserved.

[amivoringyou]

[eventually, the small patter of her feet is joined by the heavy, thudding step of a large man, whose feet sink deep into the ground, and they continue like that for quite some time.]

[something of happiness exists in the following of these footsteps, and almost without noticing you have walked more than halfway around the edge of the woods.]

[identityformations]

[large like mr. phallic statue large? :|a]

[oh_brother]

[I am focusing in on the feeling of happiness!]

I didn't know she had someone like that.

[amivoringyou]

[... yes, indeed, exactly like the naked man.]

[the feeling of happiness thrums in the air like a sine wave as you go.]

[identityformations]

[shit I hate feelings]

[coming to a standstill]

...you keep going if you like.

[oh_brother]

Are you all right?

[identityformations]

[very short, bitter laugh]

Wouldn't want to get jealous, would I?

[oh_brother]

...

I'm not sure I understand.

[identityformations]

[blurrrrgh, there's a nice montage of unease and shame and frustration and self-loathing passing across his face before he just. shuts down.]

I'd be alarmed if you did.

[oh_brother]

[studies him for a moment ... then nods]

Wait here. I'll be right back.

[identityformations]

[fidgeting under that studying, looking awayyy, but nods]

I'll be at the statues.

[oh_brother]

All right.

[continuing on!]

[amivoringyou]

[the feeling dims and fades, settling comfortably into a background hum ...]

[but then the two pairs of steps diverge as footprints crowd around them, almost a cacophony of feet, and as they step apart the footsteps vanish completely and the sensation dies like a ribbon, cut to fraying pieces.]

[oh_brother]

[stops then, now looking at the extra footprints]

What happened...?

[amivoringyou]

[the statues, when you arrive, are as they were when you left them.]

[identityformations]

[he's going to head over to the woman with the shell-shocked eyes and very gently reach out to touch her cheek]