Some Long for the Short Death

A good time had passed since she had been imprisoned. After awaking several hours post passing out the Scourge had finally crawled out from the rock pile that had enshrined her. Unsteady legs had lifted the young woman to her feet and shaking hands removed the chest piece of her armor. In complete isolation, she was able to lift her shirt enough as well to examine the wounds in her side, grimacing at their swollen appearance.

The part of the shirt had been torn and wrapped about her in a make-shift bandage but it was not well. The berries had been consumed, the deer stared at as the smell of dead carcass had her as far from the creature as she could be. But other indications of her being sick were present, paler than usual with her normally bright green eyes cloudy and distant. Injured, hungry, and alone, Moira was forced to watch the sun cross over the sky above and settle to the ground with each day passing.

Little seems to happen around this area, even the animals know not to get too close to the Ravager. Little more than deafening silence can be heard, the monotony only broken by the sound of wind whipping around the sphere every so often. After a day, though, the sphere has claimed another victim: a blueback fly. Somehow managing to penetrate the bubble's thick shell, it buzzes irritatingly from place to place within the 8 foot diameter sphere.

Even through her exhaustion, the noise of the buzzing fly is irritating to Moira and her eyes slowly open to look and catch sight of the fly making her frown. "How... in the light did you get in here?" She mutters to herself before slowly pushing herself up off the ground and narrowing her eyes further at it. "If you can get in then... then maybe there is a way to get out.." At the very least the fly and an escape attempt will be something to break the monotony of the day.

The fly offers little in the way of answers, buzzing elsewhere within the bubble whenever Moira ventures too close. Its legs rub together as it lands atop the deer carcass, its mouthpad sucking up blood and gore.

Sighing, Moira just shakes her head as she watches the fly and the caracass. "Well... at the very least I need to get out or catch sick from the dead animal.." She then pats herself and finds her pouch. Reaching within it she pulls out the blue gem within and looks it over. "Alright... this came from one of the creatures, I wonder if I can use it to bring one back..."

Pulsating quietly like a heartbeat, the stone, too, offers no overt answers. Steady as the sunrise, it pumps and pulses, growing lighter and more dim, and reflecting slightly against the bubble's glasslike surface.

Walking towards the edge of the bubble, Moira gently knocks the eye against it then frowns and sighs moving to put the eye away. "Much longer and I'll be starving to death..." She mutters to herself. "Think Moira... the creature was digging at those rocks over there as if trying to get in to them. This must be the area where that cave is that Laeria was talking about... so what's the connection?"

The fly, full from its meal of deer fluids, sets on its path once more, bumping futilely against the translucent surface of the bubble, then settling on a part near the top, rubbing its legs together.

Staring at the fly in a rather futile manner, Moira shakes her head. Her legs slip out from under her as she falls quickly to a sitting position on her rump and stares, not noticing the tears trickling out of her eyes. If she had noticed, she'd force them to stop. Instead she continues muttering to herself about trying to find a connection. With a deep howl of sorrow that seems to her to come out of nowhere she lashes out at the bubble about her, not with fists but with what she can gather of the light... that is until she breaks down in to open sobbing.

It would seem this leaking mammal is far less interesting to the fly than the deer was. It stares down at her with its multifaceted eyes blankly. That is, until the girl releases what she can of the Light. This seems to irritate the fly enough to move from its perch, buzzing around noisily, and beginning a whole new round of bumping against the bubble.

Moira half screams and stands up to charge towards the fly to squish it, reaching her hand up to smack down towards it before stopping and sighing. "No..." She whispers and shakes her head. "No... there's another way. I'll find another way." And once more she begins to walk around the bubble she's in attempting to find... something.

There isn't much within the bubble. It is set on a large slab of gray stone, probably one of the stones that made up. A quarter of the sphere disappears into the stone, seemingly anchoring the bubble in place. More stones lie out of reach of the bubble, and the remains of the chitterberry sapling and the clothesline lie limply on the stone slab. The deer lies in a pool of semi-dry blood, its black eyes dull and cloudy.

Finishing her walk about the bubble, Moira heads to the edge and places her hands against it, to push the bubble, as if testing it's consistancy and resilience. To even perhaps feel what it is made of before stepping away and looking around. "Trapped..." It's all she can manage to think of to say.

The easiest thing to notice about the bubble is just how cold it is. Like a dagger left out in a snowstorm, it sticks lightly to Moira's fingers. As she pushes, it gives no purchase, feeling as strong as thick glass, metal, or even possibly stone.

Shaking her fingers and sticking them under her armpits to warm them, Moira looks around and then goes back to her initial place away from the deer and sits down, rocking a bit to keep the pangs in her stomach at bay. "Trapped..." She whispers again and once more the tears start to come, after which she eventually lays down on the ground again to attempt to rest having wearied herself with the pacing.

The crimson moon Dayhunter slowly rises in the east, adding its pinkish glow to the view of the stars. The fly, seemingly tired as well, huddles near an edge of the slab, rubbing its legs together anxiously.

Return to Season 3 (2005)