Infinite Cosmos

The Sisters of the Dying Branch

Faintly, Arken could hear Hana’s voice. She mentioned s’mores. That’d be nice, he thought. A nice, toasted dessert to ease him into the night. Milk would be nice as well. There was no way he was getting though, is he. Unless he goes and knocks on the door to the place the elders were staying at for the evening and asks for milk. They’d probably turn him away or scold him for disturbing their peace or something...

In any case, Arken rummaged around his small rucksack and found a canteen of water. Taking a small sip, he let the night breeze take his mind where they wanted to go. At first, it was the crackling fire, the scent of burning wood, the red-orange glow. The way the marshmallow charred just right, the sweet perfume of caramelizing sugar, the faint scent of glee and excitement. His mind drifted. Away from the fire, away from his surrounding, and back into the void. What was it? What stared back at him. Just as his thoughts were getting heavier, a small sliver of light shone through.

Hana.

The way she took his arm and healed it. He looked at the scar. Was that really their first major interaction? He remember, vaguely, seeing her around at coven gatherings and family get-together and that sort of thing. She always kept to herself, and he did the same thing. Arken, in typical Arken fashion, didn’t pay the shy, wallflower-esque, girl much attention at all. He carried on, behaving as he is told to. As time went on, he has always held a sort of odd curiosity towards the Song girl.

The thought of s’mores returned, snapping Arken back to reality. He turned, peeking over whatever he had made for himself. “Uh. Ha- Hana? Can you make me a s’mores? I’d really appreciate it. I like the marshmallow to be toasted and chocolate be melted. Thats the only request I have...” His voice trailed off slightly at the end. It felt so odd just simply asking for a s’mores to be made for him...

By the Gods, was Arken nervous? It didn’t even matter that all the commotion was going on around him between what sounded like Dakota and Summer. Those two weren’t his concerns. His mind then went to the thought of “If Hana brings me the s’mores, I can keep her away from those two fighting...”

Illogically, his mind couldn’t stay away from her...

@Akayaofthemoon

The Sisters of the Dying Branch

Arken, after being essentially shooed away from Summer, sort of just putzed around a bit while a few of the other newly initiated witches headed back towards the house. Camping under the stars would be a great way to end the night, he thought.

Then his thought aimlessly floated over to Hana.

Nothing about her in particular. Just...her, in general. There were many questions he wanted to ask. Conversations he wanted to have with her. For some reason, sharing a campsite with her made his pulse quicken and heart flutter a little. He has literally never felt like this towards anyone else.

How does Hana see him? Some rich, old coven family dickhead? Some guy that plays too much? UGH.

After a short while, he glanced around the wellspring again, noticing that most people have either started to or have already headed back, Arken decided that he should probably do the same. Walking through the tunnel, he spotted Hana, slowly making her way back as well.

All the healing she did previously could not have been easy on her body, he thought. Ah what the hell, the thought followed. He walked up, took her hand and just kept striding forward, back towards the party.

What could go wrong? He thought. His heart might as well have stopped when his hand touched Hana’s. He took a few steps forward, his mind completely blank. Eventually, he was able to blurt out a few words. “Ah. UM. The night. The...um...sky, sure it full of stars...” He even followed his random sentence with a few nervous chuckles. “Uh, we should get back to the group...” He said, letting go of her hand and essentially power-walking his own way through the tunnel and back to the group...

Back at the campsite, Arken made his way back into the house And got changed into something more comfortable and campfire appropriate. Dressed in a pair of athletic shorts, a plain grey t-shirt and some simple tennis shoes, he found a spot not too far from the fire and sat down. Staring up at the sky, he leaned back and propped himself up with both hands. This was it. He is now a fully initiated member of the coven. Though not in the same standing as some of the more prominent members, he can at least now claim to fully be in the coven, and not just by association and birth. He sighed softly. The magic coursing through his body was itching to be tested. He glanced around him, making sure there wasn’t someone too close as to potentially be hurt. He inhaled a steady breath and gentle placed his hands on the earth near him and let the magic run from his palms into the ground. In his mind, there was something in particular that he wanted to make. Something...comfortable. It wasn’t exactly enclosed, but it was enough to shield the elements. It made for a decent place to spend the night, given the simple sleeping bag that there were given.

The rest of the newly initiated witches were speaking about heading into the wood for a little bit of adventure and thrill-seeking. Normally, Arken would be all for it. Tonight, he had something else on his mind. The darkness that he saw during the ritual. The feeling of impending doom. Just what was that. He leaned against the earthen wall he had just made, looked up in the glittering sky and pondered.

For a brief moment, he would poke his head out and scan around the site, wondering where Hana was or what she was doing. Hopefully his actions had not caused too much trouble for her...

@Akayaofthemoon

《 H. E. R. O. 》

Glancing around the room, William naturally backed up slightly, away from Brie. Their powers, and how his own power affected his body, made it an potentially lethal mix if William was to get in the way of Brie using her powers. Watching the lights flicker, William chuckled inwardly. In spite of all of her shortcomings and recklessness, Brie IS a proper heroine. Her love for animals, namely Leftovers, of all sorts is in direct conflict with the task at hand. Yet, when asked to, she can definitely choose the responsible path.

Oh what the heck. What is a little shock anyways. William took a step towards Brie, wincing slightly as the static electricity around her crackled. William gave her a quick, soft kiss on the cheek and whispered “I’ll never get tired of seeing you use your powers...” before backing away a safe distance as Brie sent her electricity through the columns of water holding up the creatures.

William scanned the room once more, noticing the key card. “That. I’d be willing to bet that that key card is our way out.” As Brie’s powers started to recede, and the Swampjaws at least incapacitated through shock, William snagged the card off whatever it was hanging on and presented it to Brie. “Look at this. They just put whiteout over the words... Such a dumb way to try to conceal something...” William let out a sigh. “It looks like Basilica is printed on the card. I’d reckon that’s where we need to go?”

@Danvers

Sol City Modern Slice of life - Chapter 3 - (all welcome new and old)

Early afternoon. A time where Ryan hasn’t had to himself often. He sat in his empty restaurant, glancing around. He still keeps the place clean, but due to a lack of muse, he hasn’t opened for service for some time now. His staff are still being paid, through the restaurant’s well-funded saving’s account. Though, it is not endless. Eventually it comes a time where he would have to decide whether he is going to shutter his restaurant for good, or to resume service.

That day is not today.

Idly scrolling Reddit (tm), Ryan would occasionally look up, peer around the clean space around him, sigh slightly, and look back down on his phone. When he would look up, he would look towards the door, as if he was waiting for someone to walk through. The door isn’t locked, per se. He did have his closed sign up, or at least he thinks he does. The tea he just made and random things on the internet is keeping him from walking over and checking.

Setting his phone down, he took another, and the final, sip from his tea cup. Getting up and stretching, he sauntered over to his door, made sure the closed sign is up, and turned back around. Pausing for a brief moment, he walked into his kitchen and started pondering some new dishes. Or, rather, dishes that he hasn’t made in a while, giving the seasonal offerings of produce and fish.

The Sisters of the Dying Branch

Arken bit his lower lip as the pain slowly subsided. Maybe it was just the natural endorphins his body was producing, or maybe it was just him, getting used to the sting from the raw wound on his wrist. In any case, there he sat, just glancing around at his fellow recruits, most of which are going through what he just went through.

Just what was that? What was that rush of power... What was that sensation? He felt like...well, he felt like he has never felt before. And what was that emptiness? What was in it? Who was there? What was he meant to see? So many questions, and no answers to be found...

Back to the situation at hand. He was still bleeding, albeit less so, when Hana approached him. She obviously saw his wound and proceeded to heal him. The contact, however professional and brief, made Arken feel...warm and fuzzy. All of their interactions previously, however momentary, flashed in his mind like shadow puppetry. All of the previous coven meetings that they were both present for, the party, if you can call it that, before the ritual, the ceremony, now. All of it.

“I. I..uh. Thank you, Hana...” He said softly. He was blushing, if she cared to look at him. His voice was soft, if she could hear him. He was not his usual self, if she had the mind to look at him. Shaking his head ever so slightly, he clambered to his feet and shifted over towards Summer, kneeling down besides her. Smoothly, even casually, he placed a hand on the small of Summer’s back, and whispered to her “Didn’t think you’d fall this easily, Abernathy...” He said, with his trademark smirk plastered all over his face.

@Akayaofthemoon @Danvers

《 H. E. R. O. 》

Having caught up to Brie, William rested his hands on his thighs to catch his breath. Has Brie always been this fast? Or was it fueled by adrenaline? In any case, he looked up and surveyed the area. A ‘classic’ bathhouse. Marble everywhere. Water in the center. Could it really be this easy?

What would they have to do to get through this ‘challenge’? Just as that thought exited his mind, the TV in the room came back on. William looked up, side eyed, and waited for Nero to speak. Nero, in typical fashion, made what essentially is a torture chamber with a hot tube sound grandiose.

He then said the word ‘attack’.

In that moment, William noticed the glowing eyes. Thats never a good sign. Brie, being the leftover lover like she is, recklessly approached. Squealing about how cute these overgrown, monstrous crocodiles are, William sighed and if they weren’t under a potentially lethal situation, he would have facepalmed. However, he did not have the time nor mind to do that. Seeing Brie nearly have one of her arms torn off, William just shook his hand and sprung forward to pull her close to him.

He looked her up and down, to make sure she was not hurt. “Ok. So, we need to incapacitate these things... And I’ll do it, knowing the fact that you don’t want to hurt these things. And no, we’re not keeping them as pets. Dog would not get along with these things nor do we have the space for them to live a good life, in relative terms that is... So. I figure we can drop something heavy on their heads to knock them out?” William said, looking around. “Though, there aren’t anything in particular that I can pick up...”

William sighed. “Ok, this is what we’ll do. You, please keep yourself safe and look for a way out. I’ll trap these things in some really strong streams of upwards flowing water, pinning them to the ceiling for the time being...” He said, snapping his fingers once.

Several discs of water appeared around the room, one under each of the seven Swampjaws. With a steady exhale, William waved his right arm upwards as streams of water, large enough to lift and contain the majority of the Swampjaw’s bodies, erupted from the floor, occasionally drawing more water from the tub in the center of the room.

“Any luck on finding a way out?”

@Danvers

The Sisters of the Dying Branch

Before heading to the wellspring, Arken overheard Summer making a comment about a piece of clothing and a time period. He smirked, and went up behind her again, muttering something like “Perhaps you’d look good in some 1700’s Protestant dress that showed off some ankle? Ever thought about that Abernathy?” He smiled, then chuckled, before walking away.

Being led to the wellspring, Arken’s mind was surprisingly blank. Occasional, thoughts of the scenery and Their overall surroundings would enter his mind. But they would be gone as soon as they had appeared. One theme remained. Hana. He didn’t see her, despite his best efforts of turning and trying to spot her from the crowd.

Why?

Arken thought to himself. What was so mesmerizing about that girl? He wasn’t even fully aware of her existence before this gathering. So why? Why was he so drawn to her? Why did he want to get to know her so much? So many questions...

Soon enough, they arrived at the wellspring. The blue of the lake definitely caught Arken’s attention. Then a thought of bring Hana here on a date followed. Then, immediately after, a thought of the date being illegal and not allowed appeared. Just what in the hell was he thinking, or doing? No matter. A few senior members of the coven spoke about the wellspring and the ritual they were partaking in. “Ok, so, slice wrist, make potion, drink said potion, become witch. Got it.” Arken mumbled to himself.

Following the examples of several other recruits, he took a knee on a red pillow, making sure there was one left open to his side, in the hopes of Hana joining him. Secretly, he chastised himself in his mind. Why was he acting like this? At this juncture? No matter, having observed and listened to the instructions, Arken picked up the dagger. Looking around, Arken felt uneasy about the whole thing. This was...is...blood magic. If this wasn’t a coven sponsored event, Arken wasn’t sure the ritual would be allowed.

In any case, Arken balled up his left hand into a fist and scrapped the blade on his wrist. The blade hadn’t cut him, but it was enough of a sensation to make him wince slightly. Drawing in a deep breath, and exhaling hard, he steeled his resolve and gripped the dagger firmly. One more deep breath and his right hand moved almost on its own, drawing the blade across his left wrist.

The pain didn’t hit him right away. He was actually able to look at his wrist for a brief moment before realizing what he needs to do. Grimacing from the pain, he moved his left wrist over the cup and let his blood flow for a moment into the cup. Immediately after, he took the cup and emptied the content into his mouth.

The taste was foul. He did not like it one bit. Never again, he thought. Within seconds, a sense of euphoria took over him. He felt great, like he was on top of the world. Like he can do anything. Hell, he might even walk up to Hana and just kiss her right this moment.

Then. The darkness came.

An indescribable weight. A sense of the end. It was as if he was staring into the void. And it stared back.

Gasping, Arken opened his eyes and shot looks all around him. Ok. He was still at the wellspring. He caught a glimpse of Calypso hacking up something vicious. He cringed, visibly. He felt a little bad for the girl but he wasn’t going to save her or anything. He then saw Summer make a small comment about it before standing up and basically pass out. “Heh. Abernathy. I wish I had my phone with me...” He muttered. He saw Charles as well, seeming doing ok. “Charles. You seemed to have fared pretty well...” He said, leaning forward to adjust how he was kneeling. As soon as he placed his left wrist on the ground, all the pains in the world took him at once. He stumbled, landing on his left side, rolled a bit, and sat back up, with as much dignity as he could muster at that moment.

And there he remained, seated, and wincing in pain while using his right hand to stem the bleeding...

@Akayaofthemoon@Danvers@KaijuBaragon@canaryrose

《 H. E. R. O. 》

Wings Of Law.

Wings Of Law.

Wings Of Law.

Wings Of Law.

The thought slowly materialized in his mind. Seraph’s smirk. Mr. Impressive’s smug smile. Sea Serpant’s...fucking face. These lowlife, scum of the earth, no good, second rank motherfuckers. They were the ones behind this shit. There has to be a way to get a recording of whatever was said between Nero, Grace and Eliza. William was going to make sure the Wings of Law no longer existed after this ordeal.

Some dark, disturbing things popped into his head along the way. Things that sounded like the word lay.

Taking a deep breath, his previous feeling of inebriation is now completely gone. The group has split up. At this point, it no longer really mattered how they were split. After all, everyone present are capable, powerful heroes in their own right. And if Nero, or Seraph, was to kill any one of them, it would be hell to pay. Nero surely isn’t so dumb that he thinks that it would be ok to fatally harm an official hero.

William hoped anyways.

William exhaled heavily at the mention of the stench. His mind had been too boggled previously to have paid attention to it. Now that he has snapped back to reality, it was as if all of gravity hit him all at once. The smell came with it. William shuddered.

“If this fuck willingly employ such creatures, he shouldn’t be alive... They smell so foul...”

Brie then took off towards the bathhouse, saying something but the ogres not being there, and how there would possibly be a clue there. There wasn’t much choice. He wasn’t going to split himself up away from Brie. He gave an encouraging nod to the rest of the heroes present and took off to chase after Brie, as per usual at this point.

“Hey, slow down, let me go in there first!”

William called out to Brie before the part, and whoever else decided to join them, entered the bathhouse.

@Danvers

The Sisters of the Dying Branch

Arken was near the gathering spot for the ceremony when he sort of snapped back to reality, realizing he was just wandering around, waiting for the ceremony to actually begin. It also looks like some of his fellow witches were doing the same. However, the whole being alone and in silence just didn’t sit well with him.

Slowly, he wandered back to where the younger coven members were gathering before. Off to the side, he spotted Hana, still at the table, looking sort of flustered and unsure of herself. A thought flashed in his mind, and he decided to approach her again, perhaps to just strike up more idle conversation.

Or maybe it was something more...mischievous...

Sitting down next to Hana, Arken tapped her shoulder softly and spoke in a gentle tone.

“So, Hana. What sort of magic are you most familiar with?”

He said, as he idly shape a earthen ball into a disc, then into a small mug, then back into a ball.

“As you can see, I’m an Earth magician. My family all are, I suppose. It’s...kind of what we’re known for.”

The earthen ball seems to dance in his palms, now changing from a small star into something heart shaped.

“Ah. There. Thats what I wanted to make. Here. This is for you. It’s a heart.”

He said with a soft smile. The earthen heart slowly hardened until it was dry to the touch. He leaned closer to her, and whispered softly to her

“I don’t often give away my heart. Be sure you take care of it, yeah?”

He leaned back and gave her another wink. He was holding back a grin, knowing that Summer probably saw this and won’t let Hana live this down. Was this act a little devious? Perhaps. But, to Arken, it was just a harmless cantrip, designed specifically to fluster Hana and maybe to incite something in Summer.

@Akayaofthemoon@Danvers

《 H. E. R. O. 》

Well. So much for a peaceful 4th of July celebration. It is like that one line in Harry Potter from decades ago. "Why is it when something bad happens, it's always you three?" Only this time it is the group aptly named The Gang from H.E.R.O. William vaguely remembers seeing an orange mist engulf the party venue. Whatever happened next was hazy at best...

When William slowly woke, his head was pounding and essentially threatening to explode. He grimaced, reaching up to massage his temples with his right hand. He blinks a few times, looking around him to take in the atmosphere and assess the situation. The TV, and Nero, couldn't have been louder than the music at the party. However, given his current state, the sound was deafening and not conducive to the pounding headache he was experiencing.

Listening quietly and looking up at the TV to see a battered Grace and bound Eliza, William sighed and shook his head. "Hey Tom, look, its your girlfriend..." William made the useless comment aimlessly, though he addressed Tom directly with it. He tilted his head to give Brie a small kiss on the forehead as she leaned against him. Rubbing her shoulders softly, William continued to make some more useless comments "Why is it always us that get caught up in some bullshit? This shit tier villain wannabe was probably hired by some cheap fucks to get at us anyways. Lets just blast our way directly to his actor and grab Grace and Eliza. I need some water...and a fucking nap... I can't be asked to do all this..."
Some among the group that are in the same predicament as William made comments and suggestions that were way more logical. Rumi, being who he is, made some logical explanations about their current situation. Tom was obviously very invested in the situation and behaved as such. Some new guy William has not interacted much tried to be the hero among them and go off to fight some...ogres? What the fuck are ogres? Like the movie monster? Maybe this actor wasn't as shit as he thought. If he managed to get actual ogres in here...

"Oi New guy," William spoke to Alpha nonchalantly. "I get it you want to fight, you're not the only one here about that hero life." He said. Yes, he sounds and is behaving more calloused than usual. Blame it on the drinking and the drugging. He stood up, though with more effort than usual. "Right. So. I heard something about a Bath. That means water, like Loverboy over there said. I'll go there, I would say I'll take someone else with me too but I don't know who to take. Brie maybe?" He said. Was there some logic behind his thinking? Perhaps. Water and electricity, when controlled and paired correctly, can be extremely powerful. But, truthfully, William wanted to keep Brie close, as to keep her away from harm. "That leaves the coliseum and basilica. If I had to venture a guess, I'd say we should split the teams as such. Brie, myself and perhaps new guy into the bathhouse. Sam, Tom and Blake into the coliseum and the rest of the Gang into the basilica. Here is my reasoning. Water-based locale for me, obviously. Alpha can be our like... personal guard if things get too close. Sam, Tom, and Blake are potentially ones among us that are the most suited to deal with a physical fight, as it happens in coliseums. Tom can use his aerial mobility to provide support. And Sam is... big. The basilica. People sing in church so Patricia would be great there. Besides Jamie can provide enough firepower by herself. With Rumi controlling the situation, that shouldn't go too poorly, granted that she listens to him. And for JoJo, just... use your powers and don't die, I suppose. There. Did I miss anyone?" William said, visibly tired from all this thinking and plotting.

William looked down the hallway to get a physical assessment of what they're looking to deal with. "Wait. There are a fuck ton of those ogres down there... We'll switch the groups around. Blake's group heads to the basilica and maybe JoJo can help there instead... And for God's sake use your fucking powers this time... But then...the groups are all mixed up. Ugh." William grumbled. "Ok. Here. The bathhouse group is now Brie, myself and Tom. The group charging into the ogres should be new guy, Blake, Jamie and Rumi, with Rumi providing battle plans on the fly. The coliseum group then becomes Jojo, Patricia, and Sam and Angie. With Jojo primarily tasked with keeping the group alive... There. God that made my head spin even more... Any objections or whatever?" William said, massaging his temple some more to try to alleviate the pain some.

@Hitman@DarkRecon@DClassified@canaryrose@KaijuBaragon@Scarifar@Danvers@Amethyst@Rabidporcupine