jigoku_logs | Stairs are the enemy

Entry tags:

whisper stormdawn [original]

Stairs are the enemy

[ WHO ]: Whisper (

shoutitloud) and Tian-shenim Bailong (

nurturing)
[ WHERE ]: The apartments!
[ WHEN ]: Today!
[ OPEN/CLOSED? ]: Open <3
[ RATING ]: PG for Whisper's mouth?
[ WARNINGS ]: N/A
[ NOTES ]: Whisper is going to do some exploring on her own. This involves hoofing it (see what I did there) down some stairs!

Stairs.

Stairs were a Centaur's mortal enemy. Whisper had decided that until she could find a way home she would have to explore, because exploring was typically how one found the answers to their problems. Well, that and treasure, glory and battle. All good things, considered! Still, Whisper was not sure of this place and its magic. Water that came from metal knobs and changed temperature on its own, and strange boxes that made pictures and noise! It would have been fascinating if it weren't for the feeling of dread at the very lack of life around her. What little nature she could sense was faint and wrong, leaving her with a vaguely slimy feeling that she hated. Thankfully the flowers in her hair had yet to fade or die - and she would try and keep it that way.

But for now there were only stairs. This door at least was wider, easily enabling her to slip onto the landing, though what met here there was far more unpleasant than a dingy hallway. The lights here were flickering off and on almost regularly, bathing the room in sickly light before plunging into darkness and returning to light. Water dripped from somewhere unseen, echoing through the concrete stairwell, and Whisper felt like bolting - but there was nowhere else to go except back into the strange hallway with all of the little doors. Each step was unsteady, her hooves clicking loudly on the hard steps as she slowly eased the bulk of her body downwards. She felt cold, and almost wished that she had more covering her than a suggestion of a shirt. Each step seemed to take forever, and after a momentary pause she began to sing softly to herself in a desperate attempt at warding off the negative emotions.

"A-a lusty young smith at his vice stood a-filing... His hammer laid by but his forge still aglow..." she began in a quavery voice - melodic enough on its own though by no means trained.

"When to him a buxom young damsel came smiling... a-and asked if to work in her forge he would go..."

She could do this, she could. She was nearly halfway down, clinging to the cold metal bannister for dear life.

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Tian was not too fond of stairs, either. Well, not new stairs at least, because he never knew just how steady they were, how many steps he should count or if they were broken anywhere. He had stood on his nose more than once when he was a child, and even though he still seemed young thanks to the gift of Life, he didn't feel like breaking his hip.

It was such a pain to set.

The mage also shared the centaur's feelings about this place. It was just... wrong. Unnatural and twisted in a way that made Tian's skin crawl. The vines and leaves in his hair was also something he wanted to keep alive, but the nature here - the life - was corrupted like he had never before seen.

It seemed like a good thing for these two to meet, and when Tian hears the singing down the stairs that he too was braving, the mage finds himself smiling slightly in warm amusement at the words. "Can I offer help in any way?"

"Can I offer help in any way?"

Whisper's head shot up at that, and she stopped so quickly that it took her a moment to really, well ...stop. Her hooves gave a great clatter on the stairs as she tried to turn herself, peering up into the flickering darkness for a sign of the one who had spoken.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" There was no malice in her voice as she spoke, merely a curiosity at who was addressing her - and offering help at that.

"If you mean what you say, I'd love a hand getting down these stairs. It isn't very easy for a girl like me." She added in a joking tone. Her song was forgotten for the moment as she whirled to once more try and face the source of that voice, eyes brightening as she spotted Tian.

"Hello!"

Oh heavens, that was a lot of hooves. He had only imagined two, but it seemed he had miscounted. Yet she spoke like a human, so Tian finds himself very intrigued. A centaur? There were none in Landiam, but he had heard stories... this was something he definately had not expected in a place like this.

Using his crystal staff to count the steps and make sure they were free, Tian moves down the stairs and over to stand beside Whisper. That ever-present smile deepened into a good-natured chuckle.

"Hello! It's very nice to meet you, even in such troublesome circumstances." He taps the stair she's standing on. "I believe we can sort this out, however."

"Huh. Lead the way then! Well, the way is down and I'm here first so I guess I'm leading but you're welcome to come with me!"

She watched as he slowly descended the stairs until he could stand at her side, twisting her upper torso so that she could peer at him with a grin. Another human? Humans were good - well, mostly. They only had two legs and in most cases she was fairly certain that she could escape.

Well, when the circumstances didn't include stairs, at least.

"Do you think we're really trapped here?" She asked in a light tone, keeping the doubt from creeping into her voice as she remained angled downward and somewhat clinging to the bannister.

As human as you could come, green hair and sprouting foliage aside. Tian calmly listens to her as she speaks, continuing to count the steps slightly. "Would you be insulted if I asked you to lean back your shoulders and upper body slightly, to realign your weight? It should make it a bit steadier."

He had some experience with taking a horse down a few stairs, and while he was not sure it worked the same, Tian would imagine that it was at least a bit similar.

Her question about the place and the rumor that they were trapped makes the old mage frown slightly, and he shakes his head gently, a few loose leaves popping free from between his light-green strands of hair. "I'm afraid I do not know. I've never been planeswalking before, but this place has a darkness to it that worries me. If we are truly trapped, then we must help each other to find a way out."

"mm. Yep yep. Too dark here, and it doesn't feel like home at all. Wherever we are, it's a bad place."

She watched him for a few moments in silence, noting how calm he was as he stood at her side. The light flickered overhead, dimming out and then returning, causing her to sidle from side to side in a nervous manner. Still, she was paying attention, and even took Tian's advice, leaning her upper body back a little to help redistribute her weight for movement.

"Oh, that's much better! Maybe I won't fall after all." It was meant to be a joke, but there was a faint tremor there - it was after all, a very real worry. Turning her head to study him once more, she smiled at his green hair, wanting nothing more than to touch it and the leaves twining in it.

"Hey! You've got leaves too! Are you a mage as well? Or a druid perhaps?" She asked in a hopeful tone as she took a slow step downward, forcing her eyes to remain open.

"A mage." Tian replies, turning his head to her direction. "Mage of Life, in fact. Perhaps that is familiar to you?" She had said mage before druid, after all. Maybe they came from the same world?

Feeling with the crystal staff, Tian was pleased to see that they were reaching the next floor in just a few more steps. If this lovely lady wanted to move further down, they could probably plan it a bit better if they both could get their bearings, first.

...and perhaps have time for introductions, when the threat of falling was not as high.

"Mage of life... it sounds important!" She chirped, attempting to rely less on the bannister and keep her upper back straight. It was difficult though and her steps were slow and careful as she eased the bulk of her body downward. Once they reached the landing she relaxed for a moment, lightly pawing at the concrete.

"Almost down. I'm not going back up either." She declared with a proud tilt to her chin. Not that Tian seemed the sort to try and make anyone do anything but still. It wasn't that long a trek down to the first floor from there. Awkwardly, she sidled a little closer to Tian, taking comfort in his presence. He at least seemed a somewhat familiar element in this strange, dark world of terrible magic.

"Ah, yes. It's an honor to have been given such a gift from the life stream." Tian smiles again and then gives a content sigh as they reach the landing. A few more taps around with his crystal staff told the mage that there was more stairs to fight - but for now, things were wonderfully horizontal. "If the gods are willing, you ill not have to brave these steps again."

He turns to Whisper, giving an extravagant bow. "Now, then! Before I forget my manners. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, my lady. I am Tian-shenim Bailong, Archmage of Life." He chuckles again, expression soft and full of humor despite those dead eyes.

Now that she could get a good look at him, she noticed his eyes. But eyes weren't everything - one of the elders back home had been blind, and he was still able to function without their use. Perhaps Tian was the same? Despite his inability to see it, Whisper allowed her front legs to dip slowly forward into a semblance of a curtsey, bowing her upper torso as well.

"Greetings Archmage! My name is Whisper Stormdawn, of the Stormdawn clan. I don't really have a title unless you count mage-in-training." She paused for a moment before adding, "Or wench. That too." He was a pleasant sort, and she felt calm around him, twining her fingers in her own hair to keep from touching his and the leaves twined within. She would just play with her own leaves and keep her hands to herself (for now).

"I guess we should keep going. Everything smells wrong and these stairs are giving me a bad feeling..."

He might not be able to see it, but he can hear the way her hooves move, and it makes him smile. A centaur - or similar - of the Stormdawn clan. Mage novice, even? That has Tian brightening up in curiosity. Maybe she was of his own school?

"Friend is a lovely title as well, Lady Stormdawn." He softly adds, not shy about offering friendship to such a lively person. Her life made him feel so much more at ease in this place that was nothing but death and pain.

When she mentions moving on, Tian nods slightly and then feels his way over to the stair's edge with his staff. "I believe that if you lean back like before, and then take one stair per hoof, things will be much smoother. Try to step far in, so that you have a little space in case the step is uneven or the hoof slips."

"Friend is an exceptional title!" she agreed, reaching out to gently touch his arm as she prepared herself for the next set of steps downward. One hoof at a time, one stair at a time - it was going to be a slow process for them both and Whisper made a mental note that she was not going to be heading up those stairs again any time soon, not if she could help it.

"Okay, like this, then. I can do this - we can do this! And then never go up them again, right cutie?" Poor Tian would just have to get used to petnames; Whisper was terrible with formality in any format. But she did fall silent for the time being, focusing on the steps ...at least until the silence got to be too much in such a dim, cramped place. At that point she cleared her throat nervously, giving Tian a sidelong look.

"What will you do when you make it to real ground?"

Tian happily accepts that gentle touch and then starts walking down the stairs with her, now and then helping her steady herself with a careful touch on her flank. Hopefully that would not be seen as rude.

Her petname for him makes the old mage chuckle - that was something he had not heard in a long time. These days it was mostly titles - official, boring ones. He finds that he likes it - he likes her in general. A breath of fresh air, indeed.

"I would hope not, but if we cannot find a way out of this place, I'm afraid all the rooms are located up these difficult challenge of stairs."

A bit of a downer, perhaps. So he follows it up with a brighter look. "But I am quite curious to feel what this world is about outside of this house."

She didn't think his assistance was rude in the slightest - but then again she rarely called people on getting fresh unless she didn't like them. More often someone had to call her on being too fresh when she was just being what she thought of as playful!

"Mm? Well, I'm staying on the ground once we make it. Maybe there is a forest or something." She added, a trace of longing in her voice. A forest sounded wonderful right now - though she had a feeling that it wouldn't be as simple as that, all things considered. The stairwell loomed a short distance away and she let out a gleeful squeal when she spotted it.

"We're almost there!"

"I have not been able to feel any life in this place, but I hope it is just the building. Perhaps there is a forest; it would be a welcome change." Tian longed for the sound of the forest as well, the feel of grass and leaves, the soothing touch of a tree's bark.

This place - all of it - was just so empty.

"Careful, now. Let's not be too eager and lose our balance." In truth, he looked forward to reach horizontal floor just as much as Whisper. While he had a lot of stairs in his towers, they were well-known, almost like old friends. Learning a new route was a bit straining these days.

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Stairs are the enemy

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