The girl nodded some as Charlie explained, giving Victoria a small, sympathetic smile.
"I help," the girl said, looking back at Charlie. She took the woman's free hand, leading them towards the water. She stepped out onto it, bringing Charlie and Victoria out with her on top of the water. It seemed to solidify around her, giving them a platform to walk on to cross.
Charlie smiled and Victoria's eyes widened as the surface of the river solidified beneath them. For a moment it seemed as though it wasn't a river at all, but a mirror, reflecting the world back at them. Even Joel babbled excitedly at the girl, then at the water. Victoria smiled at him, watching him making her feel better.
"You see that, Jay-Jay?" she cooed. "We're walking on water."
Once they were on the other side, Charlie let go of the girl's hand. "Thank you. Would you like something in return?"
The girl shook her head, of course. She never wanted anything in turn. She gave a smile to them all, taking a moment to rest her hand on top of Victoria's before slipping back into the river, water liquefying under her feet. Once again, the three were alone, the trees stretching out in all directions.
"Are you sure?" Charlie asked, but she was already gone. Charlie took a breath, turning to her friend. "Alright, we should get going."
Victoria stared back at the river for a moment before meeting Charlie's gaze. "Y-yeah."
Charlie squeezed her hand in reassurance. "It'll be alright."
She nodded, lowering her gaze to Joel staring up at her. She booped his nose, and a wide smile grew on his face. She couldn't help but return it. "It'll be alright," she repeated.
Charlie led them into the woods.
The woods were a dangerous place to be. This one, in particular, was a common hunting ground, if you will, of both minor gods and some from the Nine as well. None bothered Charlie and Victoria, however. In their animal forms, several crossed their paths, silently looking at the three before just moving on with their days. They were just mortals traveling, there was nothing special about them.
In the distance, far, far off, though, some weren't so lucky, their screams echoing in the air.
(Do we want them to eventually meet up with Tragedy?)
(This is something I'd work towards eventually, yes)
(Ok, just not sure how I want to progress haha)
(Right, that's totally understandable aha. I'm trying to keep god encounters to a minimum for now, and to keep the Nine for later on in the rp)
(I could introduce more human characters soon if you'd like?)
(Sure, if you want. I think I can come up with something tho)
The man in question looked up with a start when he heard a voice call to him, setting his food down in his lap.
"Most would consider that to be a good thing in this world," he said in turn, moving to stand after a moment and put his food away.
"It's always good to be cautious." The man let his gaze flicker to the mark on Tragedy's wrist, relaxing some. "But then again, with a goddess like Serna on your side, things can't be terribly dangerous." The man adjusted his own covering some, making sure his mark wasn't visible.
(Hh I swear I'm capable of being consistent sometimes)
Tragedy smiled. "I'd say she's certainly made things safer for me," they agreed, "otherwise, I likely wouldn't be chatting with a stranger I found in the woods." They leaned against a tree a small distance away from the man, as Geranium sleepily made his way back up to his place on Tragedy's shoulder.
"I don't suppose you're heading anywhere in particular?" They asked, mildly interested. They were always hoping for a story from a fellow traveller. "Perhaps I could help you find your way. My name's Tragedy. This," they gestured at the mouse on their shoulder, "is Geranium, and is there a name that I could have the privilege of using in reference to you?
(If you can that would be nice then aha)
(asdfk don't worry about it lol)
"I'm heading anywhere but where I was," the man admitted. He stayed where he was, looking at Tragedy as the other moved. He wasn't one to share stories, but he would if he was asked to.
"Name? No, I don't," the man said, shaking his head. "Never given one." Several gods didn't bother with them, and it wasn't as if he had ever needed one before.
"It's nice to meet you, though."
The woods were a dangerous place to be. This one, in particular, was a common hunting ground, if you will, of both minor gods and some from the Nine as well. None bothered Charlie and Victoria, however. In their animal forms, several crossed their paths, silently looking at the three before just moving on with their days. They were just mortals traveling, there was nothing special about them.
In the distance, far, far off, though, some weren't so lucky, their screams echoing in the air.
Victoria could hear the footsteps of several animals who passed them by as they traveled, but of course, it was easy to just assume they were just animals. Both women thought they caught sight of an owl or a pack of wolves that stared at them with far too much focus, awareness, to simply write them off as mere beasts, however. But nothing bothered them, and they wanted to keep it that way.
She wasn't sure how long it had been before she noticed the screams, but Charlie led them forward despite them. After growing increasingly disturbed, Victoria tapped Charlie's shoulder.
"Do you hear that?" she asked, her voice quivering.
Charlie paused to listen. The screams had been so faint to her that the noise the three had been making covered over them. "Oh, yeah. You, uh, get used to that after a while. We can't really do anything about it, so just relax, alright? Unless of course, we end up being the ones screaming."
Victoria sighed as they continued. Joel was looking curiously around them, drool running down his chin. Using her sleeve to clean it off, she murmured and cooed to him, kissing his head.
(i have smth it's just gonna come a little later fyi)
(Okay! sounds good with me, I'll come up with some filler for now until we get them to the bigger plot beats)
There are many, many things that couldn't be helped, in this world. There had once been a time when the gods were kept in check, long ago. Before the world had been remade into what it was now. People had even been able to deny there were gods at all. That was impossible now, though.
If Victoria was listening, she'd be able to hear a not so nearby struggle going on. Someone was trying to run, stumbling over their own feet as they presumably tried to get away from whatever god was dealing with them. It didn't last long, though, their struggles stopping with a loud, piercing scream before being cut off.
She held Joel close as she listened to the struggle, her breath gradually becoming shallow. She started to murmur, “Yeah, easy for you to say, you’ve been wandering like this since-“ the scream cut her off, and even Charlie flinched. They froze. Charlie put a finger to her lips, signaling for quiet. Then they continued on, Victoria with her arms around Joel like a shield.
“If I recall correctly, there’s something up ahead,” Charlie whispered. “But I haven’t come across the place in a long time, so I’m not sure what we’ll find…”
There weren't any other major events in the forest, for now. Whatever the god had done to the person seemed to be enough to keep them from going for anyone else. No gods passed by the two women either, the entire forest seeming to have calmed down from the excitement of a home being burned.
Eventually, they came to a break in the trees. Charlie pushed away some overhanging branches, and they entered another clearing. Well, sort of.
In front of them lay the remnants of an urban city. What used to be skyscrapers standing tall were now sliced in half, collapsed in on each other, or half-buried in the earth, rising out of it at an angle. What was once gleaming, shining straight metal was now warped rust and vegetation. It was almost like a pile of decaying bodies of giants, left to rot, their skeletons covered over with soil and flora. The three, maybe four, hundred-year-old structures lay dormant, the bustle of life they once possessed now reduced to the silent spirits of trees, vines, and bushes.
The women stared in awe. Then Charlie whispered, "Right. I think I remember now. It might be dangerous, some animals might have made a home here, I'm not sure, but I want to see if we can find anything useful."
Victoria glanced at her, hesitant. "Gods?"
She bit her lip. "I'm not sure. Last time I came, I don't think I stayed long enough to find out."
"Should we, then…?"
She shrugged. "We're basically doomed to wander the earth forever, Victoria. Might as well have some fun with it."
The area was as calm as the rest of the forest appeared to be. There was a breeze, a cloud covering the sun for a moment before drifting past. Things weren't going to go wrong, were they? There'd be nothing that could happen in this skeleton of a once-bustling society. For now, there didn't seem to be any sounds or signs of gods, nor any large animals. This could change the further they went in, though. Things could always change in an instant.
(would humans be able to have/make weapons?)
(Yes, thankfully, seeing as it was deemed they still wouldn't be powerful enough to take down a god)
(Nothing advanced, though)
(got it)
They stayed close, Charlie holding out her knife just in case. Victoria kept a hand over Joel's head. They stayed on stretches of grass that used to be streets, weaving around the large, overgrown piles of rubble that rose up on either side.
"These places always had big spaces where there would be piles of random stuff," Charlie murmured. "I just hope we can find something that isn't rusted or covered in weeds…"
"Why would there be piles of random stuff around here?" Victoria asked.
"Mm, I've heard different things. Some people say they were sacrifices to the gods, some say they were just piles of trash. Seems to be the latter though, because nothing happened to the people that did raid them."
She tilted her head. "And what are we looking for?"
"Something that will make it easier to carry this." Charlie gestured to the pack and the skins over her shoulder. "This will get harder to carry the longer we travel. I can't carry it forever."
"I can carry it when you get tired," she offered.
"Victoria, you have the baby."
"But I can still help…" Victoria knew Charlie tended to be a bit too prideful and independent to accept help from others, but she at least wanted to be of some usefulness.
"No, no, I'm fine. You don't need to do anything for me. Just be on your guard, yeah?"
"Yeah…"
They continued on, the conversation dying.
The space was quiet, for now. The sounds of animals were sparse here, even for someone with the abilities Victoria had. There seemed to be… less life, here, even with the lush plants and how hospitable it would be to animals and even humans. These places weren't forbidden, of course, there was nothing a human could do to try to fix this place, but visiting them was frowned upon. Not to mention what had become of them in recent times.
"Duck!" The word was said far off, possibly even on the other side of the area, but it was there nonetheless. It was hard to tell just what was going on other than that- that was the only word that had been shouted loud enough for anyone to hear.