YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE YOUR EYES

if ten million fireflies lit up
THE WORLD AS I FELL ASLEEP

Unknown location, survival rate undetermined, several threats detected.

Hope fiddled with the muscles of her limbs, twitching them slightly to determine weather she could move from her current spot. As far as she could tell, there were no binds keeping her in place. She sat up quickly, hands fumbling around with some furry texture beneath her fingertips. Her lips turned down in a confused frown until finally her fingers reached a hard wooden surface at the end of the platform she was laying on. Eyes wide with a bit of shock, she kept feeling around the hard surface for something, something to give her some indication of where she was. As she reached across the table surface, her fingers tapped something that made a crinkling sound. Very brief, but noticeable when touched. Hope traced her fingers around the object. It was rectangular in shape and small, vaguely reminding her of a book. When she picked it up and brushed her thumb across the crinkling section, she realized it was in fact a book. A bit flimsy for most of the hard cover books their making for learning skills, so she assumed this must be a journal, or some notes.

Hope set the book in her lap and continued her search across the table beside her. There wasn't much else in her path other than a large stone. It was smooth to the touch and cold, with a shape like a turnip. The shape reminded her of some distant memory, something she had seen before. As she continued to touch the object the image became more clear to her-- a shine to Kynareth. So she was in a temple? Why was she in a temple? Last thing she remembered was being taken to the College of Winterhold. Hope still couldn't tell where she was beyond this object, but the only thing clear to her was that she needed to leave. Somewhere her memory was nudging her, reminding her that she wasn't safe. What was making her feel so unsafe was a big question mark, but Hope knew she was never one to ignore her instincts.

She pushed herself off of the platform she was sitting on, journal in hand, and her head looking back as she heard a faint creek-- a bed, she now realized, she was laying in a bed. Very slowly she crossed the room with her arms out and reaching. She needed to find a door, a window, something. With everything in her she reached out with her senses, noises, vibrations, anything she could pull from to help her blind eyes see in her mind. Her hands made contact with a wall, and she crouched down immediately, feeling around for an opening or a new surface that indicated a door. All she could feel was a strong draft-- she was very close to a place that would lead her outside. The room she was in must of been open this entire time.

Hope sucked in a deep breath, holding it in her lungs and calling upon a new power. "Clairvoyance..." she whispered softly, "I need help..." and in her mind, a light fog of blue fire surrounded her in a small circle, caressing her limbs but not burning her. It was amazing, she could actually SEE it in her mind, barely highlighting a portion of her legs. To her, it would be as if she was in a pitch black room with nothing but a tiny blue light to guide her. "I need to get outside," she mumbled to herself, confirming her current goal, "Someone out there will know where I am." With this thought, the blue fire rushed out, delicately drawing a trail of fire leading around the corner. Hope smiled emotionlessly and crawled around the door frame, keeping herself low to the ground and her hands on the wall for support. In the black vision she could see a few disturbances, as if someone threw a rock in the water. These ripples were the same blue color as the fire, but faint, barely noticeable since the sounds were almost unnoticeable. People-- they were walking around in this building and talking. Hope could hear a range of prayers, blessings, and confessions, but nothing that gave her any important information. She carried on, following her trail of invisible fire and keeping out of sight of anyone until finally making it to a door with wind blowing in from the creases.

Outside.

Hope quietly opened the door and stepped out, shutting the wooden slab behind her with a small click from the lock. The sun was high, she could tell, it was warm on her skin. It was about mid-day, maybe a little after. There was stone beneath her bare feet, warm to the touch from the sun and coated in a thin layer of dry soil. People were all around her, causing the ripples in her vision to start creating forms, dim outlines of where people were standing or walking. She took a deep breath and made her way through the crowd with the journal clutched tightly in her arms. To anyone paying attention, she probably looked like a lost child. Little did she know she had an untreated gash across her shoulder that was carving down to the front of her chest. She couldn't feel it, didn't even know it was there. She was only aware of her instinct telling her where to go. Anyone could tell she was blind, just by the way she moved through the crowd with her eyes wide open and tilting her head to pay attention to things others would ignore.

"Excuse me," she muttered softly as she walked, trying to grab someone's attention. "Excuse me," no one could hear her tiny voice, it drowned out in the hustle this towns activity.

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status: COMPLETE
tagged: OPEN
words: A LOT
notes: HELLOOOOOOO
lyrics: FIREFLIES, OWL CITY
credit: TEMPLATE BY SHAZI ?! AT CAUTION 2.0

Tagged : Hooooooope | Words : 732 | Notes : Ahh it's good to dust off Fjoldir.

The day had offered nothing special for Fjoldir, as many days never did. His shift hadn’t seen him at the door of Dragonsreach today, mostly because half of Irileth’s soldiers were meeting to arrange a short hunt for dragons in other areas of the hold. Apparently, someone had decided the ones that had killed the dragon at the Western Watchtower, including Fjoldir himself, didn’t need to get their hands stained with dragon blood again – or, in Fjoldir’s case, nearly broken and bruised from a swing of a warhammer against dragon scales. They gave him his old patrol for nostalgia, he guessed, and he walked it in solitude, having nothing in particular to think about and only a handful of people to talk to. Truth be told, the day had offered so little that Fjoldir had almost resorted to trying to make his long legs stretch between specific rocks on the paths of Whiterun. On occasion, though, he stopped to talk to one of the venders set up around the city – and, in the aftermath of one of those stops, Fjoldir noticed her, just as he adjusted the fit of his helmet over his head. A solitary girl of…twelve or thirteen, almost undoubtedly out of place, wandered a short distance away.

He watched her, immobile, for longer than he probably realized. In that time, the eyes behind his helmet picked out a great deal of interesting features about her. Anyone with two good eyes could notice the gash on her shoulder, because Fjoldir picked it out immediately even with the girl moving through so many people. Ironically, though, Fjoldir didn’t believe the girl had two good eyes, and instantly he felt a great deal of sadness swell up in him. She probably didn’t want his pity, but he couldn’t help but empathize with the girl immediately when he saw the way she never focused on anything in front of her, only blankly staring to some distant horizon ahead of her and relying on her touch and hearing to keep moving. She wouldn’t want his pity, yes, but she did look like she needed help, and though the bustle of Whiterun kept him from hearing anything from her at first, once Fjoldir started taking steps in her direction with the crowd giving his large frame a wide berth, he could see her mouth moving. The shame of it was that no one but Fjoldir moved to help a girl with a gash on her shoulder and a….a…book – he could now see it there, clutched in her arms. His pace quickened when he realized no one else seemed to be in too much of a hurry to bother with her.

There came the issue of how to get her attention in return, since he didn’t exactly want to startle her and he didn’t exactly…have a good record with accidentally intimidating people. Removing his helmet, though he immediately felt stupid in doing so with the girl apparently blind, he tucked it under his arm and ran a hand through his sweaty hair before trying to get ahead of her in the crowd, skirting along the edge until he’d reached a point in the path ahead of her and seemed in good enough position to slow her down a little. To his great luck, she almost bumped right into him, but he eased a hand to the healthier shoulder and to let her know he stood there before her. Though the crowd gave some small grumbles of complaint, Fjoldir stooped down to his knees before her right in the middle of the street, making sure she could hear his quiet, raspy voice. ”Hello,” he greeted, because he could genuinely think of nothing else to say to a girl who seemed to be in dire circumstances. Telling her about the injury on her shoulder and how badly it probably needed to be treated as soon as magely possible wouldn’t exactly do for comfort. ”You look like you need help, and I can hopefully provide some.” Beyond that, he genuinely didn’t know where to go next. Did he ask her about parents? Ask where she’d come from? Ask what the book was or where she was going? He…really didn’t know. Quietly, as he studied the girl’s face, he wished she’d immediately volunteer something and let him get her to a healer as soon as possible. That, he could manage.

YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE YOUR EYES

if ten million fireflies lit up
THE WORLD AS I FELL ASLEEP

Magicka depleting, Hope felt an empty pit beginning to form in her chest. Her sight would vanish soon and she would have to rely soulfully on her senses rather than the magic to see. What could she do if no one were to stop and answer her simple questions? What if... -- her head started to ache, sounds were floating into her mind of frantic men and her muscles being held tightly in a hostile hold as she heard her own screams. Now she remembered.... those men, that was the threat she had been picking up on. Somewhere deep inside she was still alive in this body, and she knew she was still in danger. Hope could feel the pit grow deeper. What was this feeling? She couldn't even place the emotion anymore, it was practically alien to her now. Was this fear? She couldn't be afraid, her body wasn't capable of showing the emotion, but was this what she could feel it dwelling inside of her? There was no time to think about it. Instinct was kicking her again, urging her to move on towards saftey.

She hadn't expected her body to run into something so hard though. Hope gasped slightly at the sudden bump, miscalculating the force as stronger than it actually was. "A wall?" she questioned, her voice soft but stripped of any emotion. A hand came down on her shoulder, large and strong. Not a wall, a person. Her instincts pushed her to touch this person, understand where the force came from. Her tiny hands pressed against the person's abdomen. Her fingertips tapped at the scratchy fabric, picking up a harder texture underneath. Armor, most likely supported by a strong middle. "You are a man," she clarified, in a rather obvious tone. Her cloudy eyes gazed up towards the general direction of his face and she offered the stranger what she thought was a kind smile. In reality her smile was sweet on her lips, child-like, with a lack of emotion in the eyes-- a bit of a haunting look.

There was a shift in the air, very faint but Hope felt a slight weight change in the strong hand that still rested on her frail shoulder. She blinked curiously when the man uttered a hello. "Hello." Hope answered back with her toneless voice. She liked this man's voice, it was deep and hushed at the same time, like they were sharing a secret. Her defense lifted slightly as she listened to him speak on. Apparently he knew she needed help, and was willing to offer some. Hope understood immediately and decided she would not waste this glorious miracle. "Thank you," she said, and extended her arms with the book out, nearly hitting the man in the abdomen again, "I would like to know my location and the contents of this book."

The book was a journal of daily activities and research notes on soul gems and the spirit of an innocent child. Mainly that innocence was the strongest and purest soul to use when filling a soul gem, yet no one ever kills a child to accomplish this power. The journal has some mentions of a child of Hope's appearance being found and taken away to carry out the experiment, but nothing else seems to be written as to what happened after words.

- - - - - - - - - -

status: COMPLETE
tagged: OPEN
words: A LOT
notes: HELLOOOOOOO
lyrics: FIREFLIES, OWL CITY
credit: TEMPLATE BY SHAZI ?! AT CAUTION 2.0

Tagged : Hooooooope | Words : 673 | Notes : Nothing really!

Well, people had called Fjoldir things much worse than “wall” before…and in fact, people did probably think of him as a wall, given that he stood at least five inches taller than any of the other guards in Whiterun. Still, he had to raise an eyebrow slightly at the girl before letting her now that it was not a wall that had interrupted her carrying through the crowd, but another living, breathing human being capable of resting a (hopefully) comforting hand on her. She seemed to react well, but also proved to Fjoldir that she was indeed blind by the way she seemingly looked up – assumedly trying to look up at him but missing by a few inches and staring blankly at the sky above him – and tried to determine what he was by testing the front of his armor. Fjoldir didn’t…know exactly how to help someone who was blind, so he simply stood back in silence to let her process all the information that she wanted to on her own time, before she reached her conclusion. Her voice had…the strangest tone he’d heard in a while, almost forcing Fjoldir to make a guttural noise as if he could help her add more…emotion to her speaking. He refrained, though, instead merely trying to give her a greeting that would put her at ease and not worry about…making too much of himself.

She seemed friendly and polite, even smiling at him – far too polite for her to carry any awareness of the fact that she had such a massive gash on her shoulder. Could she not feel it? The last thing Fjoldir wanted to do was bring it to her attention if it wasn’t bothering her, but the wound still seemed like it needed serious medical attention and should have been bothering her greatly. He almost winced when he looked at it again, knowing he’d be noticing it, and probably complaining, if he carried a wound in that same place, as much as he relied on his arms. But she kept on without a peep about it or even an action that would indicate she had been through a bad ordeal. Could she be suffering from some kind of…magic? Some kind of problem due to blood loss? Fjoldir didn’t know. He wished he knew a few more things than how to bash monsters with his warhammer – if he did, he could serve her more usefully.

He could read, though, and Fjoldir accepted the book she offered him quietly, taking it into his larger hands and holding it up to his face as he eyed it and opened it. Maybe this would have a few more answers about what she was doing he- Ah, Talos, it was about magic. Fjoldir’s brow furrowed in concentration as he tried to make out some of the ramblings about soul gems on the first page, but he couldn’t…he didn’t know what half of it meant, or what parts of one section went with another section, or anything of the sort, and he didn’t want to just stand there silently reading to himself. He pointedly made some noise while turning pages, taking in more of the jumble about soul gems and…well, he knew if he started reading it, he wouldn’t understand it and wouldn’t be of any use, really, or at least not in the middle of the street. He could spare a few minutes away from his rounds to get the girl some medical attention and inspect the book, so placing a hand down on her shoulder again, he stuffed the book under his arm with his helmet. ”Would you be alright with coming to the barracks with me so we can both sit down and I can-“ Don’t bring up the wound. ”-get you some food and a chance to rest? I wouldn’t mind going through the book with you there.” Hopefully, she wouldn’t take his words as anything more than what it was – an offer to lend her some aid…and find one of the mages lurking around.

YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE YOUR EYES

if ten million fireflies lit up
THE WORLD AS I FELL ASLEEP

Hope felt the book relieve from her little hands. There was nothing but air wrapping around the empty space now. She clasped her hands together and politely held them in front of her as she waited for a response. She was a little confused as to why he didn't tell her where they were, but she figured he must want to get this out of the way one at a time. Strange, was multitasking uncommon in this area? She would have to make a note of that for future interactions. She could hear the ruffling of pages being turned, but the sound was muffled by the activity going on around him. Hope took a moment to assess her surroundings again, but there wasn't much to pull when she couldn't use magic. All she could hear were people trading, some lady arguing with her husband about a family sword, another mourning her son, some family feuding, a man preaching about Talos-- all useless information. "The people here talk of petty hardships," she noted absently, not really saying it to anyone. Every last thing she could hear was useless information. Not once did someone say the name of this town and Hope couldn't help but feel some pressure in her chest-- an unknown word called annoyance.

Another flip of a page and a muffled sound-- confusion, Hope assumed. Maybe the contents in the book were not easy to understand. This was disappointing and quite a mystery regarding her origins and why she was even here in the first place. Hope looked over her shoulder to find a sound she could study until this man spoke again. The only thing that caught her attention were frantic voice. A noise that made Hope's body tense up. She knew these voices. Should she go to them? Her body stayed locked in place and the falling pit returned to her stomach. No-- something in her was telling her not to engage. In fact she had a sudden desire to leave this area. Her mind was whirling with the idea of hiding, running... escape.

Hope turned her head back towards the man just as he place his grip back on her shoulder-- and by the nine was his hand always a surprise to her. It was just so large and heavy, just how big WAS this man? She dismissed the thought and returned her full attention to him. He asked to take her somewhere-- barracks-- so that he could feed her and give her rest. Hope was about to object but when he said they could go over the contents of the book there she relaxed and nodded. "Can we get there quickly?" she asked him, still clinging to her instincts and the frantic speaking that felt so close behind her. "I am..." Hope paused to find a word that would suit the unknown feeling she had, "scared?" The word didn't sound right to her, but her memory served her well in giving her a correct term for something she no longer understood.

"I'm afraid I am out of magicka and cannot see." she informed him, "Would you mind guiding me? The noise of this place is hard to navigate in."

- - - - - - - - - -

status: COMPLETE
tagged: FJOLDIR!
words: A LOT
notes: I LOVE HOW CONFUSED HE IS
lyrics: FIREFLIES, OWL CITY
credit: TEMPLATE BY SHAZI ?! AT CAUTION 2.0

Tagged : Hooooooope | Words : 556 | Notes : Not a thing!

The girl spoke again, and Fjoldir's eyes left the page just long enough to see what she was meaning about petty hardships as she looked in her face. Well, he guessed she had a reason to bring up that people were complaining about petty hardships when she had a gash on her shoulder and no ability to see in a place that she apparently didn't recognize at all. Though Fjoldir was trying to fulfill her request with the book, he wasn't really learning anything anyway, so he guessed he could spare a few words away from his concentration. "You should have to hear it every day," Fjoldir volunteered, before he realized that she couldn't see his armor and thus, wouldn't know he said so because he was one of the town's guards. "I'm a guard here in Whiterun," he immediately added, with a nod of his head. And being a guard, and a blacksmith before that, he had absolutely no understanding of magic in the slightest. Sure, he saw someone casting magic maybe four or five times a month and knew some people around who could use magic, but actually comprehending how magic worked was not something that was in Fjoldir's array of specialties, if he even had any specialties aside from hitting things.

So, right, time to get to the barracks so Fjoldir could at least...read the book to her, since he didn't understand it. Who knew, maybe she was a mage and understood some of what was written even if he didn't. And apparently, she was going to take up his offer that they go there. In fact, the quicker they got there, the better. "The barracks are just down the street a ways, near the gates. It won't take us long to get there." Her next comment didn't...seem quite right, making Fjoldir wonder again what was really going on with the girl and that gash. What was she scared of? Well, he supposed if he was in such a large crowd and couldn't see, he would probably be pretty scared too...but only if he was her height. But why did she have to say it so strangely, like she wasn't sure? Fjoldir had no idea, but he guessed he shouldn't question it. He didn't exactly understand all that much to begin with when it came to other people, and especially those of the female variety. Siri was clearly to blame for that.

Oh, well, he guessed being out of...magicka could be a reason to be scared, though he wasn't sure why. Maybe she had one of those strange spells that led the way to different places. How those worked, Fjoldir would never ever know. "I'll get you there," Fjoldir told her, a smile on his face and in the tone of his voice, as he placed his hand on the back of her arm to turn her slightly. "We may have...magicka potions in the barracks, but I'm not sure." Whether that would put her mind at ease or not was beyond him, but he could try to put her mind a little more at ease, couldn't he? Especially since it seemed like time to head off to those same barracks, after a couple of people passed by, looking at the girl strangely. "Right this way," he said to her, as he coaxed her forward just slightly. "What was your name, if I can ask?"

YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE YOUR EYES

if ten million fireflies lit up
THE WORLD AS I FELL ASLEEP

Whiterun, so that's where she was. She should of known by the priest screaming about Talos. Somewhere in the back of her mind she could hear a man, his hearty laughing as he explained his trading in Whiterun. He said there was a priest calling to the heavens like a banshee about the Hero God Talos. That man looked just like her, the same dirty blond hair and crystal blue eyes. The man was her father, but that word was so far away from her now, it was a concept she no longer understood or cared for. On the bright side, she knew where she was now, and how far away she was from the place this blond haired man called father should be-- far... far away in Winterhold. There was another pressure in Hope's chest at the thought of how far she was away from... home? Yes, her home... she needed to go home.

Hope sighed in disappointment, her face not exactly showing it at all but the sound she made said it all. It would seem for now that she would have to plan a way over there, and that was going to be a long and dangerous trip for a blind girl. Even with her knowledge of two handed weapons and magic. At least this Whiterun Guard was willing to help her to some degree. Hope's cloudy eyes looked up towards the tall man and for the millionth time today, she felt small and helpless.

Nonetheless, the man told her the barracks were a short ways away and that he would lead her there no problem. Hope could hear the smile in his voice and it comforted her. Maybe she could really trust this man after all. She offered her emotionless polite smile back and allowed him to gently turn her a certain direction. Hope regarded the frantic voices in the background, trying to figure out if she and this man would be heading towards them or not-- their voices still sounded as though they were behind her, and that knowledge put her at ease. When she and the man started walking, Hope's cloudy eyes stared blindly forward at some middle ground. Her small hand clenched the cloth of his armor for support, walking easily beside him.

As they walked, the man explained that the barracks may have a stock of Magicka potions available for her needs. Another relief, Hope could only go so long without the help of her magic. She tightened her grip of the loose piece of fabric in appreciation, "That would be helpful, thank you." she told him and looked towards the ground. The stones of this city were strange on her bare feet. Sometimes Hope found herself tripping when one stone was placed slightly higher than the others. After catching herself for the millionth time, the man surprised her by asking for her name. Had she not told him? Hope thought back and realized, no, she hadn't told him her name-- nor has he told her his. How embarrassing. She felt trust towards this man and didn't even know his name.

"My name is Hope," she told him, "Hope Wind-Song." for a moment she paused then sighed and thought maybe she should inform him a bit of her situation. She realized she hadn't done that really either, just threw a book at him with no explanation. Not very smart. "I think... I should tell you something.... important." Hope hesitated a moment. Something told her maybe this wasn't the best of ideas but she felt she should fill him in just a little.

"I don't remember much about myself," she admitted, "But I think I came from a place called Winterhold... I have a few memories of that place. I don't know how I came to be here but I remember men speaking frantically. I believe they brought me here because they did something awful... but I'm not sure what." she pointed-- a bit higher than she should have-- at the book the man still held. "I think that's the answer to what happened to me."

Hope paused again, realizing something again, "What was your name again?"

- - - - - - - - - -

status: COMPLETE
tagged: FJOLDIR!
words: A LOT
notes: I LOVE HOW CONFUSED HE IS
lyrics: FIREFLIES, OWL CITY
credit: TEMPLATE BY SHAZI ?! AT CAUTION 2.0