ɢʜᴏꜱᴛʏ ɢɪʀʟɪᴇ

ɪᴛ ɪꜱ ꜱᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴋɴᴏᴡɴ ꜱᴏ ᴜɴɪᴠᴇʀꜱᴀʟʟʏ ᴀɴᴅ ʏᴇᴛ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ꜱᴏ ʟᴏɴᴇʟʏ.

[ɢʜᴏꜱᴛʏ ɢɪʀʟɪᴇ @SilveredSnake]

ɪ ɢʀᴇᴡ ᴜᴘ ɪɴ ᴀ ᴄᴏɴꜰᴜꜱᴇᴅ ʜᴏᴜꜱᴇ; ᴛᴏᴏ ᴍᴜᴄʜ ᴜɴᴡᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ ᴀᴛᴛᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏʀ ɴᴏɴᴇ ᴀᴛ ᴀʟʟ.

ʟɪꜰᴇ ʙᴇʟᴏɴɢꜱ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪᴠɪɴɢ, ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴇ ᴡʜᴏ ʟɪᴠᴇꜱ ᴍᴜꜱᴛ ʙᴇ ᴘʀᴇᴘᴀʀᴇᴅ ꜰᴏʀ ᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇꜱ.

#SWRP | #MVRP

[ɢʜᴏꜱᴛʏ ɢɪʀʟɪᴇ @SilveredSnake]

... skies above. "You know, *most* people find a way out. I'm sure you'll get your doorway sooner than you think. Everyone's here for a reason, after all." And Ryale's reason was to be here so she could tell them that.

[ɢʜᴏꜱᴛʏ ɢɪʀʟɪᴇ @SilveredSnake]

Sophie makes for a pitiful sight like this, and it just wouldn't do to keep looming over her in this moment, so Ryale squats down in the sand next to her and then sits down. She pats Sophie's shoulder in an imitation of some kind of soothing maneuver. "Basically. Time works... +

[drop ship victim @FLAMESPRITES]

Sophie nods, nods, nods her head, because it’s the only thing she thinks to do as she collapses in the sand. Right. There’s also a real chance she won't ever leave. And if she doesn’t she'll just be hanging out here with Ryale forever. Stuck wondering if there's anything on ...

[ɢʜᴏꜱᴛʏ ɢɪʀʟɪᴇ @SilveredSnake]

... differently here, so you don't have to do the 'living' stuff as often as normal, but you're still alive in there. Gotta keep your ticker ticking."

Ryale lets Sophie go and lays down, sheets of silver hair splayed across the alabaster sand, and looks up into the gray... +

[ɢʜᴏꜱᴛʏ ɢɪʀʟɪᴇ @SilveredSnake]

... wouldn't dare to spoil that fun for a first-timer.

"Oh yeah, I've been here a long time." She stops like she's doing the math, but after a few seconds with a blank expression she simply giggles and repeats "Long, *long* time."

[ɢʜᴏꜱᴛʏ ɢɪʀʟɪᴇ @SilveredSnake]

Ryale purses her lips and nods. "It's not a very convenient place to be." That'd be the understatement of the century, if only time worked like that in this dimension. Of course, there were perks to finding yourself beyond the reach of the laws of causality, but Ryale... +

[drop ship victim @FLAMESPRITES]

"Well shit."

Getting stuck outside of time seemed like a serious problem but she wouldn't know just how bad it was until she left. Assuming she ever left. Already, Sophie wondered where it might spit her out, if she'd be returned to the smoldering remains of home. It'd be ...

[ɢʜᴏꜱᴛʏ ɢɪʀʟɪᴇ @SilveredSnake]

... things to do until it wants you to leave, and then you'll know. At least, that's how it usually works for everyone else."

[ɢʜᴏꜱᴛʏ ɢɪʀʟɪᴇ @SilveredSnake]

For just a moment, Ryale offers an empathetic grimace before her sunny disposition returns. "Ooh, that's not really how this place works. Sorry." She gestures out at the vast infinite nothingness around them, back where she came from. "You just kinda walk around looking for... +

[drop ship victim @FLAMESPRITES]

Sophie peers at her own tattered clothing. There’s nothing about her that screams "Lightbearer" except the knife she’s manifested out of thin air, the blade still alight in her grip. Even though she knows what duty entails, has heard it spoken and seen it done, ...

[ɢʜᴏꜱᴛʏ ɢɪʀʟɪᴇ @SilveredSnake]

... down for good." There's a knowing twinkle in her eye, like she knows where Sophie was before waking up here, but if she does she doesn't follow up on it, instead looking up and around and shrugging. "After all, this place isn't stimulating enough to be the afterlife."

[ɢʜᴏꜱᴛʏ ɢɪʀʟɪᴇ @SilveredSnake]

Somehow, despite the concern in Sophie's voice, Ryale finds that question amusing, and she offers a little laugh in response; not mocking, just reacting to the absurdity of the idea. "Of course not, *silly*; we're Guardians, right? It's gonna take more than *that* to put you... +

[drop ship victim @FLAMESPRITES]

Sophie's done her best to quell the fear in her heart, but it can't be helped when she blurts out "Are we dead?" To think she's in the afterlife is comforting but to accept that she's died is much harder. She looks down at her own hands wondering if she tore off her gloves ...

[ɢʜᴏꜱᴛʏ ɢɪʀʟɪᴇ @SilveredSnake]

… before. Never seen it myself, of course; all I have are stories.”

[ɢʜᴏꜱᴛʏ ɢɪʀʟɪᴇ @SilveredSnake]

At this distance, Ryale becomes less ghost-like and somewhat more skeletal, though she’s clearly still alive—as alive as anyone can be in a place like this, at least. Despite this condition, she’s exceptionally animated as she listens. “It does, it does. I’ve heard that one… +

[drop ship victim @FLAMESPRITES]

Sophie's used to being the shorter company, but her size really pales in comparison to the Stranger. However weight doesn't quite scale; while Sophie is shorter and stockier, Ryale is tall and bony. In some places it's as if her skin's been shrink wrapped. That doesn't matter ...

[ɢʜᴏꜱᴛʏ ɢɪʀʟɪᴇ @SilveredSnake]

... Sophie, which betrays two things: her excess height, and the faint whisps of Void Light that are noticeable sometimes peeling off of her. A strange place indeed. "Well, Sophie, *when* do you come from?"

[ɢʜᴏꜱᴛʏ ɢɪʀʟɪᴇ @SilveredSnake]

Sophie's internal musings are lost on the stranger—Ryale—who continues on speaking, on her own train of thought. "Meeting new people is so rare here, I always forget my manners." Seeming to guess the easing of tension, she begins to step forward, off of her dune and towards... +

[drop ship victim @FLAMESPRITES]

Eternity... a land beyond time. How does someone wake up in a place like this? It must be the afterlife. That would explain why Yorick wasn't here and how she escaped the cataclysm. Sophie always wondered where the Light returns to in death—is this what lies within the Traveler?

[ɢʜᴏꜱᴛʏ ɢɪʀʟɪᴇ @SilveredSnake]

... on, ad infinitum.

The stranger muses, eyes on the horizon for a moment, before suddenly snapping to her senses and covering her face embarrassedly. "Oh my god, I'm so rude, forgive me." She uncovers her face and offers a little curtsy. "I'm Ryale."

[ɢʜᴏꜱᴛʏ ɢɪʀʟɪᴇ @SilveredSnake]

"Someone called it Eternity once, so I guess that's its name. Not very fun though, is it? I haven't come up with a better one yet, but I'm happy to hear suggestions." 'Eternity' seems apt, since that's all you can see no matter where you cast your eyes. It all stretches... +

[drop ship victim @FLAMESPRITES]

This doesn't seem like a place people should be, like a landfill or a deep pit. The fact that she can see for miles uninterrupted just reinforces the thought. A desert with no heat, an everlasting plain. She imagines something hiding out in the open and mistakes movement in ...

[ɢʜᴏꜱᴛʏ ɢɪʀʟɪᴇ @SilveredSnake]

... happens. Go to sleep in your bed, then you wake up and you're here. Spooky, isn't it?" Not as much as that smile.

[ɢʜᴏꜱᴛʏ ɢɪʀʟɪᴇ @SilveredSnake]

Everything in this place is unnatural, from the ocean to the sky to, of course, the stranger. At least so far nothing seemed dangerous, despite the stranger's sharp-toothed smile. If they're concerned about Sophie's grip on her knife, they don't show it. "Hmm, yeah, that... +

[drop ship victim @FLAMESPRITES]

There was a gracefulness to the stranger's stride, which was all that kept her from being horrifying. Sophie dwells on what she could use as a weapon but only finds the knife in her hand. She's never killed anyone before, only animals during hunts and even then sparingly.

[ɢʜᴏꜱᴛʏ ɢɪʀʟɪᴇ @SilveredSnake]

... she moves on anyways without giving time for pause. "Did you *swim* here? That must've been so fun!"

[ɢʜᴏꜱᴛʏ ɢɪʀʟɪᴇ @SilveredSnake]

Closer examination only serves to make the stranger seem even more... *strange*. Pale skin and white hair pairs with golden eyes and an elongated gait that lets her clear the distance between them rapidly without making her look like she's moving fast at all. She doesn't get... +

[drop ship victim @FLAMESPRITES]

Wherever she is now, it has the makings of a mirage. Sophie waits with bated breath to find out what it's hiding. And yet the environment remains perfectly conceivable as the sand softens beneath her feet and the waves roll in at a steady pace. She gets out of the water, ...

[ɢʜᴏꜱᴛʏ ɢɪʀʟɪᴇ @SilveredSnake]

... close, though, staying a dune away, drifting along the sand like a mist that'll vanish if you step too close. "I think so. At least, I was here before, and I'm here now, so I guess so." A smile spreads across her face, as if what she just said made any cohesive sense, but...+