I thought I had been following the road that led north out of Berrybrook. With the rest of the borders hitting the sea, it was my only way out of the city. However, there was no way for me to tell which direction I was heading anymore. I didn't have the strength to look up. My head hung as my body steadily drooped closer and closer to the ground. White snow was all I could see. Even my feet were lost to me with the deep snow easily suffocating my poor slippers. Part of me began to wonder if I was moving at all. Every inch of a step I took made it feel like I was walking through nearly hardened cement. The trees never appeared to move. There was no way for me to know if I was making any progress because my sight was so blurry it was if I had water dancing in my eyes.
Frustratingly, what hindered my progress more was the coughing. I couldn't stop. My breaths were wheezes and heaves, and I could actually feel all the swelling in my lungs because of the cold air going in and out of them. The mucus I hacked up was turning bloody again. I was forced to pause every thirty seconds or so to have a fit and deal with trying to getting my body to breathe after it was done. My hope had been to get out of the city fast, but it was looking like I was going to have to find a place to rest for a while. I was at least confident I was far enough away from the hospital for Eden and the doctors to not find me. Staring at the snow, I wished I was white again. Then I could lay in it, take a nap, and no one would notice me. Being green against all the snow made me stick out in a bad way that I didn't need at that moment.
I managed to lift my head high enough to see the bottom of the tree trunks. There were enough of them around. It didn't seem like it would be all that hard to find one to hide behind. Yes, finding one wasn't the hard part. Getting to it would be the difficult half of the task. Just lifting my head sent me spiraling into another coughing fit. My eyes watered further as I desperately tried to control it. All the air my lungs were expulsing sent my head spinning. My heart raced as tinges of black decorated the corners of my vision. I couldn't pass out here! Someone would surely find me!
I would have cried out in alarm had my lungs allowed it when I cracked open my eyes to find that there was someone right in front of me! I pitifully squeaked out the last of my coughs and went rigid with fear when I spotted that familiar shade of skin and narrow face. It was Ms. Yellow.
"You have always been so troublesome," she spoke in rebuke, "I warned you a thousand times that you didn't belong in the normal world. You were created for The Company, and as such we are the only place where you can truly live without all this suffering. Just look at what being here has done to you. With us, you hardly ever got sick. Now you're just a pincushion for those doctors to stick all their antiquated medicine into."
"Will you...take me back...then?" I heaved.
The pain of talking set my chest on fire.
"I...made a mistake. I'll be...good now. I'll listen." I whispered.
"You'll come back willingly?"
There'll be other Christmases, Ethy. She's lucky there was that experimental drug. I was about to start trying to calculate how long she'd gone without a Color Shot.
@AmberKotori- Well, they definitely were taking her "away" at the very least. Hence the clues about the "sun" making her vision all white, all of Ethereal's pain going away when leaving with them, and then that pain returning when Mr. Glory distracted her from that.
@AEventyr- Indeed. The curse of her celebrations going wrong will break at some point. But, perhaps she'll find this Christmas won't be as bad as she's imagining anyway
She took the last shot a few weeks before Thanksgiving, so it has been a little over a month. She only needs to take one every six months.
@AmberKotori- It was more that their appearance was the mental manifestation of her wishes. She wanted both to be taken back to The Company and to be free from her pneumonia. The only faces she knew besides Eden's that had connection to The Company were Swirl's and Eminence's, which was why they were the ones to show up to give her what she wanted.
I understood what was going on at that point. "Head into the light....." "NO DON'T! LIGHT BAD!" Of course it would be two villains from her past - whom she was trying to get back to - who would try to lead her into the beyond~~~
And good about holidays. She and Eden deserve some sort of happy year after the one they've been through.
I thought it was pretty poignant I've always really wanted to do more with Yellow and Blue, so it was fun bringing them in again. And I do delight in making things tough for my characters occasionally (to put it lightly :disagree: ), so to have them appear at such a moment was even more wickedly delightful. As was getting Eden upset. Mostly with that though, I had been struggling on how to reveal all that was told about his situation and how he felt. That I was able to get that much information out there in a way I was satisfied with had me feeling cheerful despite the actual negative atmosphere at that point in the chapter.
Since we're also on the topic of Christmas, how do you guys feel about what I plan to do as a special for Christmas not being all that Christmasy? It's a TGO thing. It involves a whole ton of reading, and a lot of it leans towards being darker in tone. It's a project I've wanted to do for a while, and it's really the only thing I have out to put as a special since I don't have time to whip anything else up. I just don't want to put a slight damper on anyone's Christmas. I don't think it's all that bad and depressing, but it certainly would be a moderate mood killer for the otherwise happy holiday.
Nothing could put a damper on my Christmas more than this constant rain. I want my snow, plum it all! It's your imagination. We're just along for the ride.
You would have thought given what I'd been through the past month that Eden would have woken me up a bit nicer. All I knew was that I had been having the best sleep I had had in a long time. It was true I had been feeling better, but I had wanted to guarantee that I would be full of energy for the holiday. That's why Eden got permission for the nurses to give me slightly more medicine than normal and for me to get quite the sleep aid. I was out like a light. I didn't stir once like I normally did. On the flip side of things, the medicine pushed me so far under that when Eden woke me up like he did I was so ridiculously groggy I couldn't even recall why I had been so determined to have the extra dosage at all.
"Wake up. Wake up! C'mon, stop sleeping!" Eden prodded as he shook me without notice.
I blinked blearily.
"Leave me alone." I mumbled, lazily pushing him away.
"Nope," Eden protested, nearly squishing me as he half laid on me, "No sleeping in today."
"Why not?" I asked unenthusiastically.
"Seriously? It's Christmas! No one sleeps in on Christmas."
"I beg to differ." I mumbled again.
I shifted under Eden's weight so I could breathe better. Did he not remember that the whole reason I was in the hospital was because my lungs weren't cooperating with me? Suffocating me wasn't going to help him get what he wanted.
"You're no fun at all," Eden pouted, "You're the kid here. You're the one who is supposed to be bouncing all over the walls in excitement while I'm the one who is supposed to be annoyed at you for waking me up. This situation is all backwards."
"Don't care. Sleep."
"You really don't care?" Eden asked suspiciously, "I wonder what I'm going to do then. I have this big present being brought in for you downstairs, but if you don't get up soon you're going to miss the chance to get it entirely."
I studied him as I cracked one of my eyes open.
"How big?" I asked.
Eden smirked widely.
"It's big. Trust me." he promised.
"Fine. Just get off me so I can breathe, and I'll get up."
"Whoops. Forgot about that." Eden grinned goofily.
He sat up and helped me out of bed.
The atmosphere surrounding the hospital was a lot different than it had been the past few days. The amount of people was way fewer, but those who were around had so much more energy. The quiet almost solemn mood enveloping the building had transformed into one of gentle merriment. It was strange and delightful. I enjoyed it more and more with every step I took. Eden had to practically carry me half of the way considering that I really was incredibly groggy. I could barely keep my balance. It was when we reached the first floor when I had mostly found my footing. Eden led me to one of the waiting rooms. It was completely empty. I was left to take a seat while he went and got my present. A million ideas when through my head as to what it was. The thing that confused me was how Eden said I could have lost the chance to have gotten it. Maybe the warning was just so he could convince me to get up? It was when I heard a weird noise approaching from down the hallway that I realized what was going on. That strange noise was the sound of nails padding along the tiles. It was only seconds later when Eden walked a certain, furry someone through the door.
"Button!" I squealed as my puppy came into sight.
I hardly got the chance to take a few steps forward. Button rushed to me so fast that she yanked her leash right out of Eden's hand. That's nothing to say of how she nearly bowled me over when I knelt down to give her the biggest hug ever. It was going on a month since I had seen her last. Of course, she was still growing so her extra strength and bulk wasn't something I was prepared to handle. Then there was the fact that I was crazy weak. The slightest breeze pushed me over. However, I didn't care how Button almost knocked me down. I buried my arms against her fluffy fur and breathed in her scent even if it made my throat scratchy. I had been missing my dog so much. I didn't want to let her go for anything.
Eden sat down next to us.
"I had tried to get the hospital staff to let her in sooner, but they were stubborn about refusing until yesterday. They said that for Christmas they would allow the visit. She can't stay for too long. A half hour or so- granted that no accidents happen." Eden chuckled.
"Oh, please. The nurses have to clean up pee, poop, and blood all the time from the patients here. Why would a little more from a dog be a big deal?" I said, rolling my eyes.
"I guess that's because dealing with the patients' bodily fluids is part of their job. I'm sure it's something none of them enjoy, hence why they wouldn't have to add on more of that work if they don't want to. I don't think we have to worry though. Mr. Morning said Button's been pretty much all trained up in that regard."
Sunflower's family had taken Button since I had been admitted to the hospital. Eden was with me all the time. He didn't go to the house often enough to look after her properly. Sunflower's family had a lot of pets already, so them watching her over for the moment had been the best solution.
I didn't answer Eden. Button was begging for more petting. It was clear she had been missing me as much as I had been missing her. The half hour Eden said we had together flew by before I knew it. The hospital staff was willing to give me another ten minutes, but after that Eden had to send her away with our neighbor who had been kind enough to give her the lift.
@Makayla_MakaPaka- That's why I hate how these forums take you to the last page of the thread when you click on the title. It makes no sense whatsoever to have it set up like that. That's why I usually click on the "1" beneath the title of other threads to be taken to the first page instead of the last where there are usually spoilers.
@AmberKotori- I thought so too It was needed after the heaviness of the last two.
@AEventyr- Christmas, indeed No snow here either. It felt more like spring today with the warmer weather and rain I don't like Christmas without snow. It's no fun.
I find it amusing how I have gone ahead and given Ethereal this problem with her health. It was only supposed to be a small thing that popped up from time to time to add drama, but it's going to end up being so much bigger now :disagree: I've been getting lots of ideas already of what I can do with it.
I hear you. This is the warmest I remember it being this late into the year. My Dad swears he remembers a warmer one when he was growing up. Definitely windy, too.
Still no snow, and it was odd seeing folks walk around without jackets - some even in shorts - but have a Merry "Snowflake Day" guys!
I was pretty much bouncing up and down in my seat, craning my neck to get a glimpse of the house I hadn't seen in a month. Eden swore the reason he slowed the car down was because the road was icy, but I couldn't help but to think that he was teasing me. I had been driving him crazy with my excitement since I had been given my release date from the hospital. For him to prolong my anxiousness was something I could easily see him doing. Although, even though we were going slow the house came up on us so fast. I couldn't believe I was finally back on my street. My house was almost as marvelous a sight as it had been the very first time I saw it. I gripped the sides of my seat tighter with every passing second.
I was already unbuckling my seatbelt when Eden pulled into the driveway. My door was opened before the car had even come to a complete stop, and my feet sunk into the snow the second the car was put in park. I don't think Eden had realized what had happened. I was running around the car so fast he had no time to react.
"Ethe- Meadow, you can't get so riled up!" he called after me as I made my mad dash to the door.
I ignored him entirely, not noticing the name-slip that almost happened. I instead latched onto the door handle, frowned when I realized it was locked, and pouted at Eden.
"Door open, please!" I requested, hating that I had left my own set of keys in my bedroom way back when.
"I'll get there when I get there." Eden teased, walking as slow as humanly possible.
He also took a long time separating the keys to find the one for the front door. I'm sure he would have continued on with his nonsense had I not clutched at his clothes and shook him in order to get him to unlock the door faster.
A large part of the reason why I wanted to get inside fast was because I could hear the sound of a furry someone hurriedly pacing around behind the door. Button jumped up onto me so fast once the door was open that I barely had the chance to take those few steps in. She had been brought back to the house that morning as well, so we were both eager to share in the excitement of being home together. I gave my puppy a massive hug and lots of pets. I was rewarded with sloppy kisses, tail wagging, and a bit of cheerful barking. While I was making sure that Button didn't push me over, I took a second to glance around the house. Everything about it was the exact same. It was perhaps a bit dusty seeing as how Eden hadn't bothered to do much cleaning while I was sick, but other than that it was the good old place I had grown to love immensely. It was comfortable and familiar, and the sense of belonging was so strong I had the desire to cry for a brief moment.
@AmberKotori- Yup I thought it would be nice to include some spookiness since I didn't do anything with Halloween in the story. There's also a reason I wanted to give Snowbell more of an appearance in the story
Dark out. Can't see the mountains of snow we got today. Yup, definitely skipped over the scary story part. But yikes, poor kid! I would have been crying or broke off something to run out screaming and flailing it at whomever locked me in there. Then fully panicked when I saw ghosts. Also, good boy, Am, sleeping between Meadow and Sap. #nothing can sink my ship! #except Kelsey #please don't *really hopes hashtags don't actually work here*
@AEventyr- I was typing out a reply last night about how we hadn't gotten a lot of snow so much as atrocious wind, and then the wind made the power go out :disagree:
Meadow's the kind of person who freezes instead of fighting or fleeing when confronted with fear. Will probably be a serious issues at some point in the future, but who knows?
Glad you noticed the sleeping positions I think you'll like what Amaranth does next chapter too
Obviously, I am not a fan of hashtags and use them quite sparingly.
The wind has been horrible here today but not enough to put the power out. That is hilariously ironic timing and also stinks!
Comments
I don't know where I am.
I thought I had been following the road that led north out of Berrybrook. With the rest of the borders hitting the sea, it was my only way out of the city. However, there was no way for me to tell which direction I was heading anymore. I didn't have the strength to look up. My head hung as my body steadily drooped closer and closer to the ground. White snow was all I could see. Even my feet were lost to me with the deep snow easily suffocating my poor slippers. Part of me began to wonder if I was moving at all. Every inch of a step I took made it feel like I was walking through nearly hardened cement. The trees never appeared to move. There was no way for me to know if I was making any progress because my sight was so blurry it was if I had water dancing in my eyes.
Frustratingly, what hindered my progress more was the coughing. I couldn't stop. My breaths were wheezes and heaves, and I could actually feel all the swelling in my lungs because of the cold air going in and out of them. The mucus I hacked up was turning bloody again. I was forced to pause every thirty seconds or so to have a fit and deal with trying to getting my body to breathe after it was done. My hope had been to get out of the city fast, but it was looking like I was going to have to find a place to rest for a while. I was at least confident I was far enough away from the hospital for Eden and the doctors to not find me. Staring at the snow, I wished I was white again. Then I could lay in it, take a nap, and no one would notice me. Being green against all the snow made me stick out in a bad way that I didn't need at that moment.
I managed to lift my head high enough to see the bottom of the tree trunks. There were enough of them around. It didn't seem like it would be all that hard to find one to hide behind. Yes, finding one wasn't the hard part. Getting to it would be the difficult half of the task. Just lifting my head sent me spiraling into another coughing fit. My eyes watered further as I desperately tried to control it. All the air my lungs were expulsing sent my head spinning. My heart raced as tinges of black decorated the corners of my vision. I couldn't pass out here! Someone would surely find me!
I would have cried out in alarm had my lungs allowed it when I cracked open my eyes to find that there was someone right in front of me! I pitifully squeaked out the last of my coughs and went rigid with fear when I spotted that familiar shade of skin and narrow face. It was Ms. Yellow.
"You have always been so troublesome," she spoke in rebuke, "I warned you a thousand times that you didn't belong in the normal world. You were created for The Company, and as such we are the only place where you can truly live without all this suffering. Just look at what being here has done to you. With us, you hardly ever got sick. Now you're just a pincushion for those doctors to stick all their antiquated medicine into."
"Will you...take me back...then?" I heaved.
The pain of talking set my chest on fire.
"I...made a mistake. I'll be...good now. I'll listen." I whispered.
"You'll come back willingly?"
I nodded.
"It's what you want the most?"
Continue reading.
@AEventyr- Indeed. The curse of her celebrations going wrong will break at some point. But, perhaps she'll find this Christmas won't be as bad as she's imagining anyway
She took the last shot a few weeks before Thanksgiving, so it has been a little over a month. She only needs to take one every six months.
And good about holidays. She and Eden deserve some sort of happy year after the one they've been through.
Since we're also on the topic of Christmas, how do you guys feel about what I plan to do as a special for Christmas not being all that Christmasy? It's a TGO thing. It involves a whole ton of reading, and a lot of it leans towards being darker in tone. It's a project I've wanted to do for a while, and it's really the only thing I have out to put as a special since I don't have time to whip anything else up. I just don't want to put a slight damper on anyone's Christmas. I don't think it's all that bad and depressing, but it certainly would be a moderate mood killer for the otherwise happy holiday.
You would have thought given what I'd been through the past month that Eden would have woken me up a bit nicer. All I knew was that I had been having the best sleep I had had in a long time. It was true I had been feeling better, but I had wanted to guarantee that I would be full of energy for the holiday. That's why Eden got permission for the nurses to give me slightly more medicine than normal and for me to get quite the sleep aid. I was out like a light. I didn't stir once like I normally did. On the flip side of things, the medicine pushed me so far under that when Eden woke me up like he did I was so ridiculously groggy I couldn't even recall why I had been so determined to have the extra dosage at all.
"Wake up. Wake up! C'mon, stop sleeping!" Eden prodded as he shook me without notice.
I blinked blearily.
"Leave me alone." I mumbled, lazily pushing him away.
"Nope," Eden protested, nearly squishing me as he half laid on me, "No sleeping in today."
"Why not?" I asked unenthusiastically.
"Seriously? It's Christmas! No one sleeps in on Christmas."
"I beg to differ." I mumbled again.
I shifted under Eden's weight so I could breathe better. Did he not remember that the whole reason I was in the hospital was because my lungs weren't cooperating with me? Suffocating me wasn't going to help him get what he wanted.
"You're no fun at all," Eden pouted, "You're the kid here. You're the one who is supposed to be bouncing all over the walls in excitement while I'm the one who is supposed to be annoyed at you for waking me up. This situation is all backwards."
"Don't care. Sleep."
"You really don't care?" Eden asked suspiciously, "I wonder what I'm going to do then. I have this big present being brought in for you downstairs, but if you don't get up soon you're going to miss the chance to get it entirely."
I studied him as I cracked one of my eyes open.
"How big?" I asked.
Eden smirked widely.
"It's big. Trust me." he promised.
"Fine. Just get off me so I can breathe, and I'll get up."
"Whoops. Forgot about that." Eden grinned goofily.
He sat up and helped me out of bed.
The atmosphere surrounding the hospital was a lot different than it had been the past few days. The amount of people was way fewer, but those who were around had so much more energy. The quiet almost solemn mood enveloping the building had transformed into one of gentle merriment. It was strange and delightful. I enjoyed it more and more with every step I took. Eden had to practically carry me half of the way considering that I really was incredibly groggy. I could barely keep my balance. It was when we reached the first floor when I had mostly found my footing. Eden led me to one of the waiting rooms. It was completely empty. I was left to take a seat while he went and got my present. A million ideas when through my head as to what it was. The thing that confused me was how Eden said I could have lost the chance to have gotten it. Maybe the warning was just so he could convince me to get up? It was when I heard a weird noise approaching from down the hallway that I realized what was going on. That strange noise was the sound of nails padding along the tiles. It was only seconds later when Eden walked a certain, furry someone through the door.
"Button!" I squealed as my puppy came into sight.
I hardly got the chance to take a few steps forward. Button rushed to me so fast that she yanked her leash right out of Eden's hand. That's nothing to say of how she nearly bowled me over when I knelt down to give her the biggest hug ever. It was going on a month since I had seen her last. Of course, she was still growing so her extra strength and bulk wasn't something I was prepared to handle. Then there was the fact that I was crazy weak. The slightest breeze pushed me over. However, I didn't care how Button almost knocked me down. I buried my arms against her fluffy fur and breathed in her scent even if it made my throat scratchy. I had been missing my dog so much. I didn't want to let her go for anything.
Eden sat down next to us.
"I had tried to get the hospital staff to let her in sooner, but they were stubborn about refusing until yesterday. They said that for Christmas they would allow the visit. She can't stay for too long. A half hour or so- granted that no accidents happen." Eden chuckled.
"Oh, please. The nurses have to clean up pee, poop, and blood all the time from the patients here. Why would a little more from a dog be a big deal?" I said, rolling my eyes.
"I guess that's because dealing with the patients' bodily fluids is part of their job. I'm sure it's something none of them enjoy, hence why they wouldn't have to add on more of that work if they don't want to. I don't think we have to worry though. Mr. Morning said Button's been pretty much all trained up in that regard."
Sunflower's family had taken Button since I had been admitted to the hospital. Eden was with me all the time. He didn't go to the house often enough to look after her properly. Sunflower's family had a lot of pets already, so them watching her over for the moment had been the best solution.
I didn't answer Eden. Button was begging for more petting. It was clear she had been missing me as much as I had been missing her. The half hour Eden said we had together flew by before I knew it. The hospital staff was willing to give me another ten minutes, but after that Eden had to send her away with our neighbor who had been kind enough to give her the lift.
Continue reading.
@AmberKotori- I thought so too
@AEventyr- Christmas, indeed
I find it amusing how I have gone ahead and given Ethereal this problem with her health. It was only supposed to be a small thing that popped up from time to time to add drama, but it's going to end up being so much bigger now :disagree: I've been getting lots of ideas already of what I can do with it.
Still no snow, and it was odd seeing folks walk around without jackets - some even in shorts - but have a Merry "Snowflake Day" guys!
I was pretty much bouncing up and down in my seat, craning my neck to get a glimpse of the house I hadn't seen in a month. Eden swore the reason he slowed the car down was because the road was icy, but I couldn't help but to think that he was teasing me. I had been driving him crazy with my excitement since I had been given my release date from the hospital. For him to prolong my anxiousness was something I could easily see him doing. Although, even though we were going slow the house came up on us so fast. I couldn't believe I was finally back on my street. My house was almost as marvelous a sight as it had been the very first time I saw it. I gripped the sides of my seat tighter with every passing second.
I was already unbuckling my seatbelt when Eden pulled into the driveway. My door was opened before the car had even come to a complete stop, and my feet sunk into the snow the second the car was put in park. I don't think Eden had realized what had happened. I was running around the car so fast he had no time to react.
"Ethe- Meadow, you can't get so riled up!" he called after me as I made my mad dash to the door.
I ignored him entirely, not noticing the name-slip that almost happened. I instead latched onto the door handle, frowned when I realized it was locked, and pouted at Eden.
"Door open, please!" I requested, hating that I had left my own set of keys in my bedroom way back when.
"I'll get there when I get there." Eden teased, walking as slow as humanly possible.
He also took a long time separating the keys to find the one for the front door. I'm sure he would have continued on with his nonsense had I not clutched at his clothes and shook him in order to get him to unlock the door faster.
A large part of the reason why I wanted to get inside fast was because I could hear the sound of a furry someone hurriedly pacing around behind the door. Button jumped up onto me so fast once the door was open that I barely had the chance to take those few steps in. She had been brought back to the house that morning as well, so we were both eager to share in the excitement of being home together. I gave my puppy a massive hug and lots of pets. I was rewarded with sloppy kisses, tail wagging, and a bit of cheerful barking. While I was making sure that Button didn't push me over, I took a second to glance around the house. Everything about it was the exact same. It was perhaps a bit dusty seeing as how Eden hadn't bothered to do much cleaning while I was sick, but other than that it was the good old place I had grown to love immensely. It was comfortable and familiar, and the sense of belonging was so strong I had the desire to cry for a brief moment.
Continue reading.
Meadow's the kind of person who freezes instead of fighting or fleeing when confronted with fear. Will probably be a serious issues at some point in the future, but who knows?
Glad you noticed the sleeping positions
#Apparentlytheywork #Butyouforgotnospaces
The wind has been horrible here today but not enough to put the power out. That is hilariously ironic timing and also stinks!