Just over a week had passed since the bookstore fiasco. Reuben still hadn't spoken more to Ryder about what happened, and his birthday was just a couple days away. The two hadn't spoken much at all, actually. The Rothmore home was quiet, eerily so. The tension was high and anyone who visited could tell. Calista hadn't come back since their blowup and Ryder hadn't noticed any calls or texts between the two. Reuben stayed out in the shop most of the days just keeping to himself. Ryder stayed in the house doing the same. It was very unhealthy to say the least, neither party talking it out. It was before dawn and the guardian had been stressed out all morning, Evan had been getting shorter and shorter with him over the course of the week, and these two talked each and every day all day long. It was like they were best friends, but Reuben's heart sank each and every time a text message would come back with a short reply or no text would come back at all. With a heavy sigh, Reuben put down the bottle he was working on and just laid his head in his hands. He couldn't even express how he felt. Angry. Disappointed. Hurt. A whirlwind of emotions at every person involved. Angry at Calista for doing everything she did and lying to him. Ryder for telling Calista in the first place about Evan and then keeping what they did from him. Evan for being so back and forth, but mostly hurt that he'd started distancing himself. Reuben just couldn't sort out all of these emotions. He needed to get away. The guardian attempted to call his hiking buddy, Sam, to no avail. She was going to be too busy at the zoo today. He contemplated contacting another person from the lab. But a quick run down of all the names didn't really offer anyone particularly enticing at this very moment. Plus, it was rather early to be calling people. Setting the guardian's list back in his desk, he got up and paced around the workroom just thinking, fuming, and still not being able to get over what had happened. His reading in the morning even knew he was tense. Obviously, Reuben knew what he needed to do; and that was just go have a conversation about it with Ryder. But all the tarotist wanted to do was call Evan and profusely apologize like he had the day of the incident, find some sort of glimmer that the two could continue to flesh out what they had started, even if it was only friendship. Reuben ran back into the house and into his bedroom. He packed up a bag and left a note on the frei's door that said, "I'm going out. I'll be back later." Ryder awoke around ten that morning to the note on the door. Had Reuben really left him all alone? The whole reason Calista had to come watch him that first day was "in case something happened" or if he needed someone for anything. But now, Reuben was just off doing his own thing and the frei was left to fend for himself.
If the raevan were being honest with his feelings, he'd say that having the house to himself without fear of Reuben looming was actually rather nice, especially since the past week had been so tense for the poor frei. Since he was home alone, he decided to take this opportunity to write Reuben a birthday card. One thing he read from his storybooks that was during a birthday, typically humans would get each other gifts and cards. Some, however, were just a heartwarming gesture. Ryder didn't have anything he could really give him, so he decided that he'd create a nice card for the tarotist. Heading out to Reuben's workshop, he pulled out some paper from the desk and checked it to be sure it wasn't anything important. He then took a quick trip into the shop to make sure that Reuben wasn't around. He closed up shop for the day, obviously, and posted his typical "sorry for the inconvenience" sign before heading out. At least that was a bonus for Ryder, giving him more time to craft a beautiful card! This card was done to kill two birds with one stone. First it was to apologize, offering that olive branch to his guardian was much needed to lighten the mood around the house, and the second was to wish him a happy birthday like the characters in some of the books he had read did. At least Ryder realized that the intention behind the card was that it was heartfelt and not just a random card. Ryder picked up a pen and scribbled on the paper "Happy Birthday". It looked like a five year old had written it, but it was honestly the best he could do. He tried to imitate the letters he would read every day, but his hand just wasn't working with him the way he had expected it to. He tried holding it a different way, and swapping hands, and just began to get frustrated with the fact that he knew what he wanted to write, how to spell it, everything; but he just couldn't get it to look like he wanted. After almost twenty minutes, the frei set the pen down and looked at the card. It looked like utter shit; even he knew it. But, it was mostly legible, and it was worth a shot to try and get his guardian to ease up on the anger. Ryder folded it in half and floated it into the house, setting it on the little desk Reuben had in the living room so that the guardian would see it the moment he walked in the door. Ryder, still slightly miffed by his lack of knowledge on how to use a pen, decided that if Reuben was going out, so would he! The toadstool got dressed, grabbed his spell book, and headed out the front door towards the forest behind the house. "Just go," the imaginary friend whispered to her creator in the dead of night. "It's not like you'll be missed around here this late." Ryder stared at the ceiling from under his covers. Alice was probably right, Reuben was probably sound asleep and it's not like he would even have to know if Ryder left. The toadstool was just restless and needing to get away. Practice his magic. Get out there and do something with himself. He felt as though he was wasting his time lying in bed doing absolutely nothing but staring up at the ceiling fan that spun slow enough for him to capture one blade and follow it with his eyes. Ryder was bored, plain and simple; and with a little convincing from his trusty side-kick, the frei clothed himself, put on his toadstool cap and grabbed his spell book and crystal ball before leaving the house, much like he had done a few weeks prior. The frei made his way towards the same spot he and his companion, Xiu, trained just weeks prior. He had learned a lot from that valsaros and he wanted to prove to himself and to the other raevan that he was going to be one strong frei. Practicing literally every single day did cause his powers to strengthen over time. He only took a couple days off here and there to recuperate; and that was only when it was forced upon him by Reuben. Closing his eyes, he enchanted the spell book to float as he magically turned the pages with his mind. He plucked a toadstool from the ground and as his freckles glowed, he then expanded the cap outward and elongated the stem, creating an umbrella. He then shrunk the mushroom down and turned it into a little ball, completely formed from the cap itself. He then broke the ball into different pieces and scattered it all over the ground around him, only to throw his hands up into the air, causing the mushroom bits around him to rapidly grow into individual toadstools all around him. He had really gotten the hang of this power, and quite quickly at that. It had only been a mere three months since he first discovered this power, and yet he was already able to quickly manipulate mushrooms and bend them to his will. Finally, as the small mushroom forest began to grow ever slowly around the frei, he stopped the growth and imagined what he wanted the page to say. The enchanted paper began to glow a moment before it was permanently inked by Ryder's imagination. The title on the top of the page being, "Mushroom Forests" and photos of his mind's eye directly printed in the pages. The raevan then took out his crystal ball from the wrap and held it up, also enchanting it so it would float. He hovered over the ball as though he was a sorcerer looking into the future; though instead, he looked into the ball to see his imaginary friend, Alice, come to life inside it. An entire scene played out in the ball where Alice was playing croquet with flamingos and hedgehogs. Ryder laughed as he slowly allowed the ball to fall to the ground, hitting it ever so softly.
After that, Ryder decided he had had enough practice for one night. Packing his things, he noticed the moon was high and his surroundings were a little eerie. The clouds covered the moon's rays from fully hitting the ground and any strays were lost through the treetops. The darkness was overwhelming. The small glow from the frei's rune was all that lit the path towards home. Slight panic overcame the poor raevan as he tried his best to make it home quickly. The howling wolves and creaks of the forest were beginning to frighten the frei. He cursed under his breath the moment Alice told him to go. He clutched tightly to his spell book and his crystal. He was hungry, alone and afraid, wishing he was home and wishing he could take back the past few hours at this very moment. Luckily, the raevan wasn't too far from home, but still, the things that went bump in the night felt more real, more scary, and much larger than they would to the average person. After all, the kid's imagination got the best of him from time to time. Little bugs became huge monsters. Small things over exaggerated in the worst of ways. The trek home was the scariest thing the small frei had experienced in his short life. As he reached the front door, he looked around. He slowly opened the door with a creak to reveal the living room lit up by moonlight. He was home. He was safe. The toadstool made his way slowly to his bedroom, however, at the end of the hall was what looked to be a dark figure in the low-light of night. Ryder closed his eyes tightly and reopened them to view that dark figure creeping closer and closer. Ryder's heart began to beat unimaginably fast. He quickly closed his eyes and turned away, only to feel the body heat of the figure looming behind him. "Boo." The frei's screams could probably be heard for miles. When the hall light flicked on, there stood Reuben, cackling. "What the hell, Reuben!?" the frei called, white as a ghost. Reuben's laughter subsided after a few moments and he spoke, "I should be asking you the same thing. Where were you at so late at night?" Ryder's face flushed. "I was...out practicing." The frei looked down at the ground in front of his guardian, obviously aware that he had broken some sort of unspoken rule. With an audible sigh, Reuben walked closer to his charge and grabbed his shoulders. "Please don't ever go out like that again without telling me, okay?" Ryder turned his face away and just simply nodded before pulling away from his guardian and slowly floating to his room, defeated. Due to Ryder's antics the previous week, Reuben had thought about one thing; what if Ryder did get lost out there and needed help? If he hadn't been able to find his way home and was lost, how would he have gotten any help? Those questions swirled around in the tarotist's mind the days following the incident. This led Reuben to one answer. Get the kid a cell phone. Reuben recalled Vesna on her cell the day they met. Just like a teenager. Luckily, Ryder hadn't ever taken an interest in really playing with Reuben's cell phone so the guardian never thought to purchase one for him. But now, the frei was getting a bit more adventurous, Reuben could tell by the late night escape. So, it was time. After he closed up shop, Reuben went to the local retailer and took a look at the different phones he could add to his phone plan. Over all, Reuben figured to get Ryder something easy, user-friendly, and one the guardian could help with had the frei any issues; his old iPhone 6s Plus. Reuben decided to splurge and get himself an upgrade, leaving the frei with his old phone, which he could easily clear off. Reuben walked into the house with an oversized shopping bag for what was contained inside. "Ryder, come out here please!" the guardian called to his charge as he set his keys on the table, swinging the bag onto the table as well.
Ryder, donning a new set of horns and wings, quietly floated into the living room. "Yes?" Reuben's eyes widened upon seeing his charge in the new getup. "Nice horns," he said with a slight nod of his head. Ryder smirked and nodded in return. He then continued to float there questioning why his guardian had called him out in the first place. He glanced at the bag that Reuben had sitting in front of him and raised a brow. Reuben cleared his throat before he spoke. "So because of your little excursion the other night, I decided it's finally time to get you something," he began, digging his arm into the bag, pulling out his old phone. Ryder's brows furrowed when the man took out the phone. He shrugged and shook his head. "It's a cell phone. That way if you ever need to contact me or anyone else, you can." Reuben held out the phone to his charge, who took it. "Cool," he said with a smile, taking a look at his new device. "So, how do I use this?" Reuben chuckled. "I'll teach you, don't worry." ◈ WHO: Shoshana, Phoenix, Ryder, & Reuben (Beerrito & Skyeforge)
◈ WHEN: Early afternoon on August 18, 2017 ◈ WHERE: The Mystic Herb in Barton Town ◈ WEATHER: Slightly warm but not uncomfortable. ◈ WHO: Mark, Chittery, Ryder, & Reuben (HaiLaSin & Skyeforge)
◈ WHEN: Mid afternoon on September 2, 2017 ◈ WHERE: A park near Barton Town. ◈ WEATHER: Sunny and comfortably warm. The night had fallen, and all was quiet within the Rothmore household. Reuben had gone to bed, and Ryder...well, he had talked himself into yet another late night magic session in the woods behind the house. With his phone in hand, his spellbook in the other, he snuck down the hallway, into the kitchen, and out the back door. Past the gazebo in their backyard was a small fence, which was easily hopped and then there he stood, just about one hundred feet from the edge of the forest where Reuben would go for his morning runs. Being born of a wild forest mushroom, Ryder felt drawn to the forest, especially at night. During the day, he hated to leave the house. But at night, the frei thrived. He was able to practice alone, in the dark, with nobody to bother him. It was his little escape from whatever reality he was living in. Though, he did know that Reuben didn't approve of his late night excursions in the past, telling him to always let him know; but he was asleep, and the raevan didn't want to bother him. Thus, he just left, keeping his door closed, knowing full well he wasn't technically allowed to leave the premises without permission. But to him, when the forest called, the frei would come. The iPhone lit up in the distance, though the frei wasn't paying any attention. He was too focused on a new spell, trying to perfect his imaginings movements. Flowing movements were important after all, especially when fighting. Preparing another monster for the battle training with Xiu was very important to the frei. Out here in the dead of night, he could be as loud as he wanted, bothering nobody. There was no way Reuben would allow such a monstrosity at the house, no way in hell. Again, the phone lit up, this time signaling an incoming call; but to the caller's dismay, it was not answered. The device sat situated on a nearby log, along with the spellbook the frei brought. The frei was far too busy dancing around, hands flailing to control the hands of his monstrosity. It was a magnificent thing, magic. But Ryder's precise focus did not falter by an illuminated screen. Hours passed and Ryder, devoid of energy, cast away his imagining, deciding it was time to return home. He floated over to the log and gathered his things, clicking the power button on the phone he noticed a very long list of notifications. Texts, missed calls, voicemails, all of which came from Reuben and Calista. The time: 4:24 AM. Ryder's eyes widened with each swipe of his thumb across the screen. So many messages. How did he get so carried away? He was gone for...almost five hours. "Fuck," he mumbled under his breath as he clicked the power button, blackening the screen of his phone, shoving it anxiously into his pocket and quickly floating through the forest back home. As Ryder approached the front door of his home, he noticed every light in the house was on, even though the sun had yet to rise. Exhausted from his training and nervous from his missed messages, he glanced down at the knob on the door. Did he dare enter? He knew he was in trouble. He didn't even have to listen to any messages to know that. The quick glance he had taken at the messages before his trek home was enough to alert him of the impending doom that awaited his return.
With a heavy sigh, he turned the knob. As the door opened, the house was empty. Reuben wasn't there to greet him, and Calista hadn't come over either. But before he was even able to close the front door behind him, Reuben barrelled into the living room, a very angry look on his face. Ryder hadn't ever seen the man scowl like this before, it was so unbecoming of him. "Where the hell have you been!?" a loud tone filled the room, only to be followed by utter silence. "I left you countless messages! What the fuck were you doing, Ryder!?" the man continued to yell when no response was made. Ryder took a deep breath, physically shaking in fear and anxiety. He had never been yelled at before, not like this. But he felt so ashamed. He just didn't even know how to respond. Reuben had never cursed at him before, he had only heard that kind of speech directed toward Calista. First for the fiasco with Evan at the bookstore, and now directed towards him. But being the brunt of the anger was the worst feeling in the world. Ryder couldn't help but stay silent, the tension in the air growing with each second that passed. "Answer me, dammit!" Reuben said, closing the gap between himself and the frei, crossing his arms in the meantime. The frei hung his head in fear, anger, and worst of all, shame. He clenched his grip on his spell book, tears welling in his eyes. "I-I," the frei's words cut off by the slamming of a hand on the nearby table, causing the frei to flinch back in fear. "You what!? Thought you could sneak out yet again and get away with it? You deliberately ignored my calls and texts, aunt Calista's calls, and failed to get back to me whatsoever! You had us both worried sick about what could have happened to you! Have I not told you never to leave the house without my permission? Have I not!?" the guardian yelled, still furious. "Y-you...have," the frei muttered between soft sobs, trying to keep an averted gaze from his guardian. The frei was all alone. No muses came to his defense. Even Alice stayed silent. "I know I have! And yet you deliberately went against my wishes and left anyway! Not even a text saying where you're going!" "I'm...sorry," the frei whimpered, tears now trickling down his face. "Sorry isn't going to cut it, young man," Reuben said, standing tall, eyes glaring towards his charge. "You're grounded." Ryder looked up, not sure what to make of the word his guardian just said, the first time he saw those piercing blue orbs staring, what seemed to be, right through him. "That means no cell phone for the rest of the month, and you're not allowed to leave the house unless I'm with you. Not even if you tell me where you're going. You have lost that privilege." The frei's sadness turned to anger in that moment. How on earth could this man be so cruel? Not allowing him to leave without him, the toadstool could deal with. But no phone? Now that he had had the luxury of a cell phone the past month, he didn't want to give it up! A glare shot up towards Reuben who stood there, one hand outstretched. The frei knew what he wanted. He wanted to take his phone away from him. The frei wiped what tears were on his face and he no longer felt ashamed of what he had done. All of that had turned to anger. He slowly went into his pocket and brought out his cell phone, holding it out for his guardian to take. As the man yanked the phone from the frei's grasp, anger boiled up inside of him. Keeping silent, however, knowing full well that whatever came up after this would just make the situation worse, the frei began to float off towards his room. "You'll get this back earlier if you're good. Stay in your room," the man said, shoving the phone in his pocket and watching his charge float off to the room, only to hear the slamming of the door behind him. The instant the door was closed, Reuben felt ashamed of how he had acted. He felt like his father, how he was yelled at, screamed at even, for the littlest of things. He hated his father and their relationship worsened because of how he was treated. Now, with the realization of what had just occurred, Reuben felt like he was turning into his father. The guardian slumped into the couch, head hung in his hands and tears welling up in his eyes. What had he just done? Yelled at a poor, innocent soul. Sure, he was angry because Ryder hadn't followed through and hadn't listened, but he vowed never to treat his raevan the way he was treated as a kid; but looking at this situation, he had broken that vow in spades. Instead of apologizing, taking back what he had said, giving the boy a more reasonable punishment and maybe a firm talking to, the guardian left things as they were. After all, the shop needed to open in just a couple of hours, and Reuben had yet to even get his day started. He was too stressed out about the night's occurrences to do anything but worry. Though now that Ryder was home safe, Reuben could begin his day, hoping that the rest of this Monday would go more smoothly than how it began. He would deal more with this situation later. The crow cawed as the sun began to set. Looking out his window, he saw a lone crow perched upon the dying tree in the backyard. Was it really dying? Ryder hadn't ever seen a tree begin to lose it's leaves. But every day more and more leaves began to gather at the base of the tree. It was autumn. Reuben said that every year is a cycle. Birth, life, death, and rebirth. Each season corresponds to a different aspect of the cycle. Things like philosophy and metaphysics were some of Reuben's favorite subjects, but not Ryder's. The toadstool couldn't quite comprehend why his guardian seemed so intent on making him learn such abstract thoughts. Though these thoughts were pleasing to the palate, they weren't something that Ryder necessarily enjoyed discussing, especially when Reuben was so vehement in his ideology. Instead, Ryder enjoyed the comfort of his bedroom. Being grounded wasn't half bad. Coming up with his own worlds, characters, and stories. Using his cell phone to explore other's worlds and characters. Being able to create, and visualize, an entire world was always a fascinating and extensive adventure. But Reuben didn't see things in the same light. He wished Ryder to be more outgoing -- or more specifically -- his version of outgoing. Ryder had been truly trying to build the confidence to get out of his shell. And by his standards, he was doing fabulously. He had met a few fellow raevan and had tried his best to talk to others, like Mark and Daniela. But for some strange reason, it wasn't good enough. The crow cawed once more before flying off it's perch, the branch left wobbling a moment. Staring out his window, Ryder couldn't help but feel alone, just like that crow, the sun's rays beaming down on him in the evening glow. Even with all the muses in the world, with Alice right beside him, he didn't quite feel complete. Something told him he needed to try to be more outgoing -- the way Reuben was -- and to try and change the way he was for something new. Maybe Reuben would appreciate him more that way. Ryder floated away from the window and looked in the mirror he hung upon his wall, he watched as his mushroom caps began to transform before his eyes into that of large crow wings, wings that would allow him to fly away, just like the crow had just done. What was he to do? Alice hadn't even come to say hello today. In fact, none of his muses had. Just that lone crow. He didn't even have the energy to practice magic. He just felt so lethargic. Life seemed to pass by so slowly. He didn't have any new books to read, and with no cell phone at his disposal, life seemed dismal. He couldn't search the web or buy any new books to read. He just had to deal with what he already had, which wasn't a lot. The frei's boredom turned into utter agony. Leaving the room wasn't something he did often during this "grounding", but when he did, it was just because he needed to satiate himself either out of actual hunger or out of pure boredom. But this time, he just needed to leave the room as the walls seemed to be closing in on him today. One last glance out his window at the bare branches on that dying tree, nothing felt right today. Ryder found himself draped over the small chair in the living room, his ribbon lazily dangling over one arm whilst his head rested up against the other. Tick. Tick. Tick. The grandfather clock's pendulum swayed back and forth in the corner of the room. The room felt eerily silent over all. The ceiling fan circulating the air was the only other noise the frei could hear. As he watched the ceiling fan slowly swirl above him, he tried to focus on just one blade, which kept his attention for only a moment, before the next ticking of the clock. Where was Reuben? Still working, perhaps? Ryder hadn't left the house in over a week, not even to go to the shop, not even to get some fresh air in the back yard. With a heavy sigh, the frei rolled to his side, staring at the coffee table and all of the little knick knacks that accompanied it. Just then, Ryder heard the doors in Reuben's room open. He must be home. The frei closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep. He didn't want to deal with Reuben, if he was being honest, but he knew Reuben's routine well enough to know that the guardian wasn't going to stay in his room long. Sure enough, the bedroom door opened and he heard the footsteps tap along the wood floor and stop once they were behind the chair. The frei could sense someone hovering directly over the chair, which caused his heart to pick up pace. But he was steadfast, eyes closed, and soon enough the footsteps picked back up and the tapping drifted off into the kitchen. With a soft sigh, the frei opened his eyes again, staring straight at the coffee table. This time, however, his gaze landed upon the lovely sight he had so longed to see. His iPhone, now decked out in a new, beautifully designed, fungus case. With wide eyes, the frei sat up quickly and grabbed out to see if what he was seeing was real, or a figment of his imagination. To his surprise, when he picked it up, it was really his iPhone. He turned it over to admire the craftsmanship and the beautifully detailed artwork on the case, and with a smile, he clicked the power button to reveal a full battery. "I'm glad you're awake." The words startled the frei, who flinched, placing the phone back on the coffee table and quickly turned around to view his guardian walking into the living room from the kitchen, arms crossed and a smile on his face. "I wanted to apologize for last week. I didn't mean to yell at you like I did, and I know it's been a bit of a tense week here, but I wanted you to know that you're ungrounded. You can have your phone back, but I still don't want you to go anywhere without me, understood?" Ryder patiently listened to his guardian's words, taking in each one. Even though there was still some slight resentment towards him for how he acted, Ryder nodded, gave a smile, and floated up out of the chair. One thing he didn't want to do was apologize again for leaving the house, for he had already apologized once upon first realizing how upset his guardian was. "Thank you for the new case. And yes, I understand," With a nod, Reuben gave a soft smile and outstretched his arm towards Ryder's bedroom, almost ushering him to leave if he so please. Ryder took the sign and did just that, grabbing his phone and instantly unlocking it to reveal an absolutely stunning display that he missed so much the past week. The frei floated off slowly towards the bedroom, enthralled deeply with the device, only to close the bedroom door ever-so-softly behind him, where he would stay the rest of the night. The day had been rather uneventful and the frei had been doing nothing at all but lazily laying around the house reading a new book he found on the bookstore application. As he scrolled through it's pages on his cell phone, a message notification banner ran across the top of the screen. Assuming it was Reuben just trying telling him dinner was ready, he ignored it and swiped up. Then another banner flew across the screen, and another, and another. The phone just incessantly buzzed with each subsequent text received, interrupting the frei's reading. He glared at the phone and decided to open up the text message only to see more texts pouring in. As his eyes ran over every letter, the frei lit up. So, this new raevan did tell stories? And his name is Emyr!? But he...lies? Ryder shrugged off the latter notion and instantly beamed with excitement. He had been in a rut lately with some of his own storytelling, so maybe a new view on some stories would be a breath of fresh air and get his imagination flowing again.
Without a second thought, Ryder set the phone on the bed and floated out into the living room to deliver the great news of Emyr's birth to his guardian, who was still making dinner in the kitchen. "Reuben, guess what!" Ryder stated excitedly, floating into the kitchen. Reuben was slaving over a large pot of soup when Ryder floated in. He glanced at his charge and noticed the extreme excitement on his face. "What is it?" "Emyr is born!" "Who's Emyr?" Reuben questioned curiously. "Mark's raevan!" Reuben's face crinkled. Mark? The name rung a bell, but he couldn't quite place the name with a face. "Mark from the park, remember, with the monkey," Ryder clarified. "Oh, monkey man Mark. Well that's great, congratulations to him," Reuben said, only a second later questioning how he knew this. "Wait...and how did you find out this information?" the guardian inquired. "He texted me," the frei said, almost a questioning tone not truly understand why it mattered. "And how did he get your number?" "I gave it to him, why?" "When did you do that?" the guardian questioned, ignoring the latter end of his frei's words. "Oh, umm. He asked me for it that day at the park. Gave me his phone so I could put my number in it." Reuben shook his head. "But he didn't, I was there with you the whole time." "Yes he did, while you were playing with the monkey, why does it matter?" the frei reiterated the question, now just becoming annoyed with his guardian for pushing the issue so much. Reuben's eyes narrowed. "Because, I want to know who you're talking to. You don't even know who he is, Ryder. And why didn't he ask you for the number with my knowledge?" The frei took a deep breath and let out a sigh. "I don't know, Reuben. I was just letting you know. There's no need to get defensive about it." "You're right. Well, thanks for letting me know about it. I'll give him a call and we can plan a date for you and his frei to meet," the guardian huffed as he went back to stirring the pot of soup on the stove. "Oh, he said he'd call you once Emyr is settled in." Something about this stranger telling Ryder that he would get in touch made the whole situation worse. It would have been one thing if Mark had said something like, "let your dad know and we'll set a date" or "have your dad call me". But no, now the ball was still in his court, and things just didn't set well with Reuben. Not that he was going to necessarily stand in the way of Ryder making new friends, but why was this Mark character so shady about stuff? "I'll text you when dinner's done," the guardian said plainly, still stirring the pot. Without another word, Ryder turned around and floated back to his bedroom, the entire vibe being killed by Reuben's overreacting. With narrow eyes, Reuben couldn't help but feel a bit defensive. First, the man questions his parenting during their initial meeting and then gets his charge's phone number without permission so that he can talk to him behind his back? What was this guy's deal? It just seemed a bit off to the tarotist. But, he didn't say another word to Ryder, and instead, he decided to wait for the call from the monkey man. Click the image above to be taken to the doc RP. ◈ WHO: Emyr, Mark, Ryder, & Reuben (HaiLaSin & Skyeforge)
◈ WHEN: Late evening on September 27, 2017 ◈ WHERE: The Rothmore Household ◈ WEATHER: Indoor air conditioning abounds. Click the image above to be taken to the doc RP. ◈ WHO: Xiu, Cesc, & Ryder (Rapidashtrainer, Atmadja, & Skyeforge)
◈ WHEN: Afternoon on September 30, 2017 ◈ WHERE: Wooded clearing near Barton Town ◈ WEATHER: Sunny and warm. Darkness overcame her with the setting of the sun only to be eradicated by fire hours later. Flames burned and licked at the castle walls below as the woman stared out her window to see nothing but fire and smoke. Screams could be heard from all directions, an ominous sound they made. The sky burnt umber as the blood moon hung overhead. The dark castle walls seemed to encroach upon her dusty blue colored dress. Her golden brown hair flowing down her back as sweat began to bead upon her skin. Her silhouette was all that could be seen amongst the flames. Her demeanor calm, complacent, and accepting of what was happening around her. As the flames burned brighter, hotter, and higher, all she could do was stand still in the darkness of her tower as if to accept her fate. A faint hum could be heard, as though she was trying her best to stay positive through the piercing cries of those below. And then... ...he awoke. Opening his eyes, there was nothing but darkness except for the dim red glow from his clock which read 3:13. The toadstool laid in bed staring at the ceiling, contemplating what he seemingly just witnessed. He always had dreams, but this one seemed different, a nightmare perhaps? There was so much more going on beneath the surface that he couldn't quite understand. The flames seemed so real, it was if he was there himself. Something had to be done. Sitting up, the frei took to his desk where Renard slept soundly in his tank. The raevan took out a piece of paper and imagined the words "The Tower" written at the top in a fancy font. With a faint golden glow, the words magically appeared on the paper and as the illuminated letters faded, the words sat on the page plainly in black. After that, the toadstool closed his eyes and imagined the scene again from his dream. The fire encroaching on the open window, the woman standing, staring, calm and collected, the ominous screams being heard all around, and finally the blood moon that hung in the sky. With a quick synopsis flowing through his mind, the frei took to the paper again and imagined the small paragraph of what was happening directly onto the paper. That same glow, and the same fade only to leave behind a paper with a written account of what had happened in his dreams. Ryder had done this before, using his imagination on the paper. One minute, the paper would be just fine and full of his wondrous ideas, but over time, as he either slept, or began to forget, the magical imagination ink would fade away to nothing and the paper would be blank once more. He was far too impatient to learn how to correctly write holding a pencil to the paper, and even if he did, it wouldn't be easy to write his ideas fast enough to remember the details. But, what else could he do but try and keep a record as best he could. Laying back down in bed, the frei stared back up at the ceiling. "The Tower...by Ryder Rothmore," the words slipped from his lips in the silence of the bedroom. A grin grew upon his face soon after the silence returned. Oh, how he hoped to turn his nightmarish dream into a story to be proud of. The cold, dark and damp stone walls enclosed around him. Screams and cries let out from all directions as he sat peacefully in this prison. It wasn't until steps could be heard coming down the corridor that any sort of tension could be felt. The keys jangled as they knocked against one another with each step taken. The sounds this one person made seemed to echo throughout this prison louder than the ominous cries for help. All the focus was on those steps, the keys, the dank cellar encasing him in darkness. Large, cold steel rods barred him from moving. As the echoing steps finally reached him and the clanking of the keys ceased, all he could see was a figure cloaked in darkness. Taking the bronze keys, which seemed to appear from darkness entirely, he unlocked the cell door and swung it open and through the darkness one could see a grin most evil as the keys were, once again, enveloped in darkness. This time a long whip of chains began to reveal itself, emerging from the dark and held by a dirty, husky hand. Now, the perspective changed to that of the darkness. With whip in hand, he glared at his victim with a grin most foul. The sufferer, a brawny elemental, head ablaze and anger in it's eyes. As the darkness pulled back on the whip and lashed it forward, the elemental let out a bellowing roar, which shook the entire room until... "AHH!" Ryder screamed, sitting straight up in his bed, covered in sweat, panting in fear. His head fell into his hands as he quickly glanced at the dim clock on his nightstand which read: 2:15 on the dot. Rubbing his eyes, he took a few deep breaths and laid back down, staring at the ceiling. "What's going on with me?" he asked himself. Who was that darkness? And what about the large, angry elemental? The dream was scary to the frei, it was definitely a nightmare. He rolled to his side and stared at the clock as the minute ticked to 2:16. With a heavy sigh, the frei closed his eyes, finally feeling some sort of relief from the startling nightmare. Why had the last few dreams he woke up remembering been nightmares? One thing Ryder was always proud of was his dreams, he dreamt every night and oftentimes they were inspirations for stories or creatures he could imagine during the day. The toadstool hadn't ever had nightmares like this. Typically his dreams were very much peaceful or full of adventure. But now, this looming darkness always seemed to encase the characters within them. But they were just dreams after all. With that in mind, the frei slowly drifted back off to sleep. The thunder could be heard from the confined space. It wasn't long before he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He held his breath as best he could to help hide the fact that, internally, he was screaming. Three Hours Earlier... "You're absolutely sure you don't want to go?"
"Positive," the frei's voice rang in an obviously annoyed tone. He had heard that question all day. Wasn't answering it once enough? "Okay...well, we'll only be gone a few hours." The guardian reassured his charge as he fixed his collar in the mirror. "Great. Enjoy." "Okay, it's seriously your last chance to-" Reuben began, only to be interrupted. "Leave the kid alone, Reu! God, I've only been here twenty minutes and you haven't shut up. He doesn't want to go. It's settled. Now come on before we're late." Calista said, anger bubbling up in her voice. The only thing heard in response was a heavy sigh. The frei laid outstretched on the living room couch reading a new horror manga he found on the iBooks store. Scrolling through the pages on his phone, he didn't even look up once. With a heavy heart, the guardian laid down a few rules for the raevan. "Don't leave the house; it's going to be nasty out there in an hour. And text me if you need anything," Reuben said, slowly being ushered out the front door by Calista. "Bye," Ryder stated coldly, swiping his finger to reveal the next page. As Reuben had said, within an hour, the storm had rolled in. The faint sounds of rain pattering on the roof could be heard from the couch. Lightning struck, lighting up the dim room for a brief moment, only to be followed by a soft roar from the heavens. It was nights like this that were too few and far between for the frei's liking. He absolutely loved the rain. It made things damp, which he loved. Ryder was still quite invested in his new manga. His brain swirled with different ideas of whodunit. The mystery behind the pages intrigued the young frei. And the pictures only proved to help his fading imagination out. The frei swiped page after page. The soft rain pattered down, tapping at the windows in the living room. The thunder roared and the lightning flashed. ~~~ Ryder awoke in his bed in complete darkness. He sat up, only to see two orbs of glowing red glaring through the mirror across his bedroom. The frei, feeling his heart beat faster, floated over to the mirror, the glowing orbs seeming to follow him like eyes as he made any movement. As he stared into the mirror, the orbs glowed stronger, brighter shades of red. The frei's heart began to race even faster than before. Suddenly, Ryder felt strong pressure on his chest. Quickly opening his eyes, the frei saw nothing but a dark figure looming overhead with a hand pressing down on his chest. A quick yelp escaped his lips and the startling jump caused an unforeseen reaction in the frei. From every freckle on the frei's body, colored smoke quickly emerged in a large cloud all at once. The rainbow smoke, much like that of his essence, quickly filled the area as the frei quickly fled the living room towards his room, dropping his cell phone on the floor in the process. The victim of his smoke cloud began to cough and wheeze uncontrollably as the frei made his escape. What had he just done? Fumbling and coughing seemed to cease as the frei found himself in his closet. The thunder could be heard from the confined space. It wasn't long before he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He held his breath as best he could to help hide the fact that, internally, he was screaming. Hiding in the closet just wouldn't do, but where else was he to go? He couldn't confront the ominous figure. Not yet, anyway. He didn't have the power to do anything. His cell phone was still in the living room. Footsteps could be heard outside the small closet's doors. Even peeking through the small gap in the wood didn't seem to do much, as not much could be seen. Suddenly, the small sliver of the bedroom that could be seen was now covered by darkness. Chills ran down the frei's spine as the doors of the closet flung open. There the figure stood, tall, looming, staring down at him. "What the hell was that, Ryder!?" That voice. Ryder's fear turned into sheer anger the instant the voice was recognized. "What do you mean!? Why would you scare me like that!?" The frei emerged from the closet, arms crossed. The guardian let out a heavy sigh and began to chuckle. Between the nightmare and the scare, the frei had had enough for the night. Little did he know that the horrors were just beginning. ◈ WHO: Cordelia, Adrian, Reuben, Ryder, & Evan (Ebony Shade & Skyeforge)
◈ WHEN: Evening on October 31, 2017 ◈ WHERE: The Silver Fox Tech Café & Lounge - Isle de Gambino ◈ WEATHER: Chilly. Darkness filled the room as Ryder sat up in his bed in the dead of night. In the mirror across the room, two red orbs floated within it, as if to entice him to approach. Curious, the frei floated over. As he approached however, the two orbs floated just over his own eyes in the reflection. Suddenly, his mouth in the mirror widened, opening up to reveal nothing but an eerie, echoing laughter.
Ryder shot up, drenched in sweat. It was all a dream. He looked into the mirror across the room and shook his head. Yes, it was all a dream. What was that thing in the mirror, though? He quickly laid back down and rolled to his side, throwing the blanket over his head in order to shield himself from the outside world. "It'll be okay...it'll be okay...it was only a dream..." the toadstool repeated to himself over and over until he drifted off to sleep once more. |