flood of blood to the heart

i spit blood when i wake up

choking on brain matter and makeup

There was a sense of solemnity surrounding the ruins of what was. She could smell it in the air and feel it in her paw pads with every step she took. Tali swore she could still hear the echoes of students and teachers still occupying the halls though it was very much a trick of the mind - that or maybe it was just her confusing it with the sounds of the new residents taking up refuge in the deteriorating building.The local fauna reclaimed the area rather quickly, and once Spring returned she was sure the flora would follow suit rather quickly. That notion gave her hope that something good could come from this emptiness.

The twilight had just passed into dark, bringing the quiet with it. Many nights Tali had taken to holding up within the College and still did so now in the silent halls. It gave her a sense of peace when there was little to be found; And while she knew she was no longer as safe as she used to be, it was still better than what her life could have turned into back home in Tir Na Nog. It could have turned into no life at all, or a life living caged and captive for a bogus crime until someone could convince the courts otherwise. So yes, while it was not perfect conditions Tali still remained grateful.

However, there was a sound that cut through the quiet. At first, Tali did not pay much mind to it - the critters that lived here could have been milling about and that was nothing to be concerned with. Tali merely continued to travel across the rubble and up what was left of a stairwell up to the semblance of a second floor, usually curling up somewhere there under an open window. Hell, she’d even made it to her usual resting spot and had started to settle there when she heard it again.

The sound. It sounded like shifting rock, like someone was walking over it just as she had been. Her ears shifted to attention, her dark form sheltered in the nightfall so that only her pale eyes gave her away. To the untrained eye, they resembled will o’ wisps. She waited and listened, hoping to not hear it again but yet she did. It sounded too heavy of a sound to be coming from something small, at least that’s what she figured, so now it had earned her more serious focus. Someone, or something, was here and Tali did not particularly enjoy it sharing her space (even if it wasn’t actually her space.)

So she left her spot and cautiously trod back to the top of the stairs.“Who’s out there? Come out!”

white roses, black doves | godmother rise up

i need you to see me for what i've become

The encounter with Circe was still fresh in his mind as he made his way back north to the lands of Saora. He'd carefully avoided detection from Rionnach guards by sticking to the wilds instead of the cities but a part of him wished to linger in Sussex with the beautiful siren. She had captured his attention in a way he'd not had happen since Lye and that was almost frightening for him. It meant he could... move on. It meant that he didn't have to be in this purgatory any longer than he chose to be and while he did not intend to move on with Circe specifically, she was the catalyst to show that he could change his life if he truly wanted to. It was then that the words of others he'd encountered during his stay in these strange lands began to reply in his mind, echoing those very thoughts. They'd all tried to say the same thing, tried to get him to believe that he was in control of his own life. While he wasn't too sure he had that much control he know had the idle idea that he had some. What he would do with that knowledge was yet a mystery, even to him, but it was freeing in a sense.

Sinclair paused in the darkness as he came across a sprawling, abandoned building. The structures he found in these lands were unlike any he'd ever seen before so each one was like something new. Maybe it was intrigue or maybe it was simply the need for shelter for the night that drove him inside, but he disappeared into the dark halls and began wandering them in search of somewhere to sleep. However, he detected soon that he was not alone and when a voice called to him from above, he rounded the staircase and stared up at the woman. She'd called out as if he had been hiding and he was, but not from her. He hadn't even noticed she was here and likely wouldn't have had she not called out. His nostrils flared as her scent wafted his way and his lavender eyes narrowed slightly. "I didn't think I'd find anyone else here," he said, though not particularly toward her. He supposed she likely thought the same. A single ear twitched before he began hauling his figure up the stone stairs towards her. "What is this place?" he asked, hoping she might know more about it. He wanted to know more about Rionnach and Saora and had yet to find someone to enlighten him. If he was going to stay here he needed to be less ignorate of his surroundings.

art + code: clae

i spit blood when i wake up

choking on brain matter and makeup

She was pleasantly surprised to see that her demand request had been acknowledged and subsequently followed through, seeing the dark-furred figure appear. Tali had not, however, thought about what could happen after - then again who would have? An anxious wreck maybe, but certainly not anyone remotely normal. It was better that way anyway, for who could go through life worrying about every stranger they’ve come across and how they might murder them?

Though, admittedly, the thought may have crossed her mind for barely a second as he began to climb the stairs.

Tali, however, did not run nor did she project an aggressive exterior. Cautious, yes; anyone would have done the same. But not threatening. Her stance did not change besides a subtle shift of weight on her paws, letting the muscles rest a little as thankfully they hadn’t gotten into an immediate scuffle. Her ears twitched, a wordless sign that she had been listening and rightfully so her head cocked to the side ever so slightly at his remark. He didn’t think he’d find anyone else here? Well, guess she couldn’t totally fault him for that…she had thought the same. “Well, there is,” she answered - notably not the best way to reply, not in the slightest. Blunt, to the point, but not going to win her any social points.

Knowing after the fact that her response wasn’t the most courteous, Tali made a conscious effort to try and back-track by humoring his curiosity. “This was the college,” she began, motioning towards the empty and deteriorating shelves where the professors’ supplies once were stored. “But that was a long time ago…now it’s not much of anything.” A soft huff escaped her at the end of the sentence, cerulean eyes narrowed slightly from her thoughts. Maybe she could have just appreciated that nature was reclaiming the space, but that would have been too easy. “Were you just here to sight-see or…?”

white roses, black doves | godmother rise up

i need you to see me for what i've become

He almost chuckled at the girls blunt response; it was obvious between the two of them that someone else was indeed here. He supposed it was ignorant of him to think himself alone in these ruins. However, she did not end on that note thankfully and answered his question. This had been the college... whatever that was. He mounted the last stair and stood before her, his eyes gleaming with newfound curiosity as she asked him if he were here to sightsee. "Not exactly."

A moment passed as he looked around the decrepit ruins. "I was looking for a place to rest for the night, mostly. This place seemed as good as any." He had imagined settling down alone for the night, not with an audience. Could he even stay here now or would more passers by wake him should he choose to rest here? Were these ruins frequented much since the college left them or were they mostly ignored? He looked to the young woman in front of him and walked towards one of the walls, inspecting a dusty shelf with some old contraption sitting upon it. His gaze flickered to it for only a moment before returning to her. "You said this was the college... what does that mean?" he asked her plainly. He didn't truly expect for her to answer all his questions but secretly he hoped she did. He wanted to learn more and know more about everything for the first time in... ever. It was like an awakening he could not ignore.

art + code: clae