~~~Given Name:Shimmer
~~~Appearance: Sharp blue eyes rippled in the reflection of the dirty pool; they hide behind matted bangs of gold falling to frame a dirt smeared face thin in size and pale in comparison to the lite ruins around them. The reflection was rippled and distorted as a slender hand dipped into the cool murky water cupping it, caressing it, as the pale specter brought the water hungrily up to her cracked lips, once full and decorated by dimples in bright smiles now turned into a decrepit smile, twisted by the despair of this hell. The rest of the small figure was a dirty and pale as it's face, a lacy tattered dress gracing its frames, the end of it thick and heavy with grime and sludge of various things, it was hard to tell if the girl child was as frail as she seemed.
~~~Equipment:Shimmer carries little on her person, and woke up with even less. Her once gilded heels now tattered and worn attached to her feet with bindings and cloth, scavenged from her own clothes and corpses alike. Dangling slightly from her slender wrist is a small pouch, crudely sown and formed together of shoes and twine. Shoved into it were small berries and scraps of meat; little things she had scavenged. Her namesake and only true possession she awoke with was glittering around her neck; a softly shimmering ring, silver worked into the form of entwining branches and flowers, dotted lightly with little gems and precious stones. It was secured by a simple throng of leather and thread. Her right hand dripped red pearls of liquid as they raced down from the handle of an ax, it looked well crafted and maintained, a gift from a dying man so to speak. She kept a whet stone and small amount of oil tucked in the bindings around her wrist, having spent many a days destroying her once delicate hands as she learned to care and clean for the pretty blade. It too shimmered in the low light.
~~~Memories:
- Her golden hair whipped over her face, her cheeks flushed and glistening in the summer sun. The sky was blue, and wide, and went on until it hit the line of endless grass waving gently in the wind. The pounding sound of hoof beats, whirring bees, and whistling grass assaulted her ears. A rushing feeling of warmth bubbled up through her body, and exited as a rich, full laugh. The feel of the powerful beast under her thrilled her, but not as much as the sight of the bright smile on the face of the man riding beside her, sharing in her liberation.
- Her eyes were closed, as feelings of trepidation shot through her, the light bouncing of her feet, him taking her hand sliding something cold and foreign on to it, the weight of it unfamiliar yet not uncomfortable, a well of emotions clouding her eyes as he whispered for her to open them. The ring sat on her hand, shimmering happily in the sun light breaking through the trees. His soft embrace and subtle smell of leather and iron, words of love and adoration being whispered over and over again in her ear, as she felt his shirt moisten beneath her face, still unaware that she was crying. Forever. Those were the only words she could whisper back, and she had meant them.
- Her heart pounded solidly in her chest, a heavy thumping as time seemed to slow. Her beloved lay in the bed, her hair mussed and strands sticking with sweat to her forehead and cheeks. Her face was ruddy, her breathing quick, but her eyes were bright and clear. She smiled the smile that only a woman completing the greatest task of her life could smile. The sheets and nightgown formed a soft background, offsetting her almost barbaric appearance. Maybe it was the sense of creatures having completed such an act since the beginning our race. Time slowed to impossibly small increments as she leaned to take the small babe out of her wife's hands. The sharp tangy smell of blood didn't seem out of place as her son twisted and resettled it's tiny body in her arms. She looked up in wonder to see the contented gaze of the mother resting on her. Her, and her son.
- The light summer rain kissed her cheek as she stood on the shipping dock, the gentle waves rocked against the stead fast structure as she watched her brother wave as the creaking ship sailed further and further from her view. If the dock was longer she would have run along it to keep his bright happy smile in her eyes for just a little longer. Dropping her hand back down to her side she sighed wistfully, wondering just what it would be like to venture out into the vast ocean. Turning, she continued to walk, stepping down, lightly feeling the warm sand squish beneath her toes and dragging her heels lightly as she left a pattern behind her. So this what it meant to be a shipmaster's daughter, to be bound to the land; stuck on shore as the ocean beckoned, whispering to her with promises of glory and praise. But she was stuck on land, destined to wander the sands of land and not those of the oceans, sighing she picked up a stone holding it up to glimmer in the sun before casting it out into the waters watching it skip lightly on the surface hopefully before sinking.
- The arid sands swept across the dunes in torrents and waves summoning and creating a massive sandstorm. The cloth around her face fluttered in the oncoming winds, the spy glass pressed in against her scrunched, wind burnt cheek. The caravan was close, but so was the storm. The soft snort and neigh of beast behind her gave her pause; she herself was seated upon a white washed creature, its soft mane whipping around them, mounted behind her was a band of sand riders, waiting on a signal or word from their leader. The threatening storm, the unsuspecting caravan, the change for gold and goods, the thought of the challenge made her mouth water in suspense. This what what she lived for, the glory of the chase, the building thrill as it drove her to shivers of pleasure, a wild howl escaping her lips as she urged her charge forward the rest of them following her in a wave of colors and wild yelps and calls.
- ~~~
- She laughs politely behind a daintily gloved hand, and takes a sip of the well-watered wine in her glass. The gentleman currently addressing her was soft, portly, with deep creases in his face, a scattering of white hair across his scalp, and generous laugh lines at the edge of his eyes. These she knew, were more from the drink so often consumed by the retired cavalry general, rather than the grandfatherly nature they seemed to portray. She felt the disdain and irritation of wasting her time on this man build up in her and she forced it down without a flicker of disgust marring her perfectly polished expression. He made another slurred joke, this time about the gentlemanly sport of fox hunting. She paid him a vague compliment, accompanied by one of her most dazzling smiles, and he preened visibly, his chest and stomach puffing out like some red-ribbon rooster. She had to become acquainted with the man, she was to live in his household within the year. She steeled herself under the pressure of responsibility and propriety, and prepared to make another exaggerated word of praise. She adjusted her gaze over his shoulder so she wouldn't have to look at him, the bulbous nosed drunkard wouldn't notice either way, and got caught with her mouth ajar. There, dressed in an ill-fitted servers uniform, among the sea of colorful gowns and somber suits, was the most beautiful man she'd ever seen. The jacket was stretched tight across his chest and shoulders, and the sleeves were a bit too short, but she barely noted it. He was here. He turned with the drink tray being held idly in his hand, their eyes met. She fell into pools of woody brown and gold, and brushed past her future husband.
- A dark laughter echoing through the barren hallway, as a scrapping sound followed it by a soft ticking sound, the ticking of a clock? Far off in the house the sounds of screaming could be heard as an accompaniment to the soft ticking and scrap, scrap, scrap. Another pearl of laughter snaked through the shadowed space. Farther and farther down the hall did the carpet begin to squish, squish, squish, the white walls did start to turn red, red, red as if someone decided them too mundane and droll to be left alone.
- The soft touch of his hand gently brushing a wisp of hair back into place, the tittering of laughter as it escaped her, the halo of light around him as he hung over her. The smell of flowers as they crushed the bed beneath them, the blissful feelings as he whispered sweet nothings in her ears, kissing her softly over and over again. The chirping of birds, as they continued to welcome the spring season, their special clearing for them and only them. The nativity of it all, that this would last forever, just her and him in their field of flowers.
~~~~Awakening:The warm taste of honey lingered on her lips as her eyelids flickered open, a nagging feeling at the back of her mind as she started absentmindedly at the cavernous spikes above her. A slight tilt of her head letting it fall towards the right showed the same never ending scenery, skeleton remains scattered around her; a pleasant smile on her lips as if this was all just a bad dream.
Surely she wouldn't wake up in this place, she was..she was...she was...who was she?
The question hit her like a ton of bricks dragging a hollow ragged breath from her chest as she scrambled to her feet, her heels teetering dangerously on the uneven ground. The soft clanking of metal drew her attention, to the shimmering object on the ground. A ring. A ring of flowers and branches. One that drew out sadness and longing, but oh how it shimmered even in this darkened place. The only sound she could hear was her shaky breath as she reached out tentatively to reclaim the ring, her head screaming in pain as her voice whispered
Forever in her ear. In fear she dropped the ring with a shoot as memories flooded back to her in broken fragments, feeling as if something was ripping apart her mind.
"Shimmer. Shimmer. Oh how it Shimmers~"She hummed softly fascinated by the object of such pain and yet happiness, picking it back up afraid to slip it back on her dirtied hands. A feeling of disgust at the sight of her skin being marred, a pity she couldn't see her dress till much later, after any thoughts of keeping it clean were soon lost. There was little around her, and everything echoed. Whimpering slightly she clutched the ring to her chest backing away slowly from the small circle of light. Perhaps she could find someone to take her home, home? Where was home? So many questions, and every time she thought she had something figured out, it seemed like the walls would laugh at her.
Perhaps she was one of the fortunate ones for in the first day, she was alone, no whisper of dark creatures, or whimpers of frightened souls, it was just her and her thoughts driving her further and further. There were times she would scream and cry, anything to break the silence. Perhaps this was her hell, to exist in this state of nothingness.
But that was wishful thinking, for in the months that followed she would wish for that simple hell once more.
