[center][h1][color=630460]Azaris[/color][/h1][/center] How had it found her? Azaris paced through the void. Had she not hidden well enough? She had covered her tracks as well as always, the only exception being her beach home, which the lifeblood had never dared touch anyway. Or maybe it had eyes there too? The probable truth, as much as it pained her to admit, was that the lifeblood had always known where she was. It was omnipresent and omniscient, and that Azaris had hoped to avoid scrutiny with tricks like invisibility and silence made her feel idiotic in hindsight. But self pity never helped anybody. It was time to live in the here and now, if here and now turned out to be relevant concepts in this empty hellhole. She took in her surroundings. There were none. A little unnerving, for sure, but nothing she couldn’t spruce up. Closing her eyes and waving her hand, she began to sculpt a crystalline purple tower. For a first try, it looked quite pretty, and it’s color scheme meshed quite aesthetically with the cold void it inhabited. A few more for good measure. It was like a city without the people, that is to say, a much more pleasant city. Taking a seat in her purple chair in her purple castle in her cozy infinite blackness, Azaris took some time to think, and it did not take much thinking at all for her to realize something. This sucked. Isolation was fine when self imposed, enjoyable actually. She had front row seats to all the interesting goings on of Galbar, she could retreat to her beach whenever she desired, and she was fully capable of rearranging people’s objects on a whim for shits and giggles. On Galbar she was unnoticed, and content. But here she was [i]unconnected[/i]. Just because she didn’t want to reveal herself to those who could seek to hurt her didn’t mean that she didn’t care about them. Maybe it was a tad overzealous for her not to try to talk to any of those that she saw. Probably not Klaar, definitely not Yamat, but Gibbou or Cadien or Iternis all seemed good enough company, and as long as she engaged them in her domain form on her terms, there would have been little harm possible for them to do. Azaris sighed. More than anything, she wanted influence. She wanted to take action and watch those around her scramble to make sense of its effects. But she was the only one here, and unfortunately she usually knew what she was doing. Maybe she should contact Naaro. It would be wrong of her to leave her hero on earth with a promise of protection when her power was limited as it was. She was supposed to have a sort of mental link with him. It was time to test it out. [color=630460]Naaro?[/color] [color=9e0b0f]Wha- Azaris??[/color] His reaction was as instantaneous as it was terrified. Understandable, considering that one, she had never taken the time to contact him after their initial encounter and two, she had given off the implication that she should not be disturbed. No matter. Circumstances change, and she no longer had anything better to do. [color=630460]The one and only.[/color] [color=9e0b0f]Do you require anything of me?[/color] [color=630460]No, actually, I’m just checking in. How long has it been?[/color] [color=9e0b0f]I suppose it has been quite a while since we’ve spok-[/color] [color=630460]Naaro when I ask you how long it’s been I mean tell me how long it’s been, I legitimately have no idea.[/color] [color=9e0b0f]Oh. It’s been around… seven years now? Yes.[/color] [color=630460]Ah, not that bad then. How have you been?[/color] [color=9e0b0f]...Not that I don’t want to talk to you, but I thought you said being bored was not a good reason for contact?[/color] [color=630460]Naaro, this is different. [i]I’m[/i] bored.[/color] [color=9e0b0f]Ah.[/color] [color=630460]So what have you been up to?[/color] [color=9e0b0f]I left the cabin after a few months, and encountered some lighter skinned Alminaki. Humans, apparently. For reasons I still have yet to completely understand, the entire damn forest has been at war. Chief against chieftain against some man in a tree who called himself the Arbor King. He didn’t last very long. Long story short, I am a freelance assassin. There is good money to be made in war.[/color] Ah. Not the most savory work, but she supposed the nature of the powers she bestowed kind of pushed him into it. [color=9e0b0f]You seem much less… Formal, than our last encounter.[/color] Azaris sensed that Naaro chose this word carefully. After all, it was considered rather rude to call a goddess a stone cold bitch. [color=630460]Ah yes, speaking through a mental link definitely allows one’s thoughts to flow much smoother than scratching messages. It was not my intention to seem terse.[/color] A lie, She actually quite liked seeming terse. It made her feel mysterious and intimidating, not to be trifled with. But it did not lend itself well to casual conversation, and she did not want to burn the bridge of her singular worshipper. [color=630460]But yes, assassination is a fine use of your skills. As for me, I fear I may not be able to assist you in future endeavors, for the time being. I find myself stuck.[/color] [color=9e0b0f]Stuck?[/color] [color=630460]I have been relegated to a personal section of void. I can no longer access your planet. At present, it seems you are my only link to the universe.[/color] [color=9e0b0f]Ah. That sounds… Bad.[/color] [color=630460]I’ll be fine. I can still advise you, but do not count on me to bail you out if you encounter trouble.[/color] [color=9e0b0f]I wouldn’t anyway. You owe me nothing of the sort.[/color] Their business had concluded. Azaris could now go back to her seclusion, continue building her towers, do so for what could very well be eternity. But she could not bring herself to ignore her last true connection to the world. Maybe a friend was what she could use right now. [color=630460]Anyway, have you had any interesting marks in your job?[/color] [color=9e0b0f]A few. You remember I said the Arbor King didn’t last long?[/color] [color=630460]Don’t tell me-[/color] [color=9e0b0f]Yep. One second his followers were all ready to kill and die for him while he sat up in that oak tree, yelling profanities at the clouds, and the next, poof. This bow really is quite nice.[/color] Azaris couldn’t help but snicker at the imagery; she had chosen her hero well. The conversation continued as she made her way outside the tower, eyes once again confronting the cold and dark expanse. [color=630460]Hey Naaro, I’m trying to class this place up a bit. What do you think I should make?[/color] [color=9e0b0f]How about a rabbit?[/color] [color=630460]Naaro… that’s really fucking stupid.[/color] [color=9e0b0f]They’re nice animals. You asked me, that’s my answer. [/color] [color=630460]Fine. I will make one rabbit.[/color] With a swirl of her hand, a fluffy white bunny waddled into existence, looking rather dopey next to the glimmering azure tower. Azaris hadn’t really needed to make it, but Naaro was right. She had asked. [color=630460]It is rather adorable.[/color] [color=9e0b0f]I told you. Nice animals.[/color] [color=630460]Ok. I should really get back to work on this place. The emptiness is starting to be unnerving. I’ll probably end up contacting you again at some point.[/color] With a sigh, Azaris continued construction of her city. It felt a little less horrible, having a connection to the outside world like that. And the rabbit was good company anyhow, even if it was rather confused being picked up by hands it was incapable of seeing. Her conversations with Naaro continued as well. For her, around a day passed between their talks. For him it was closer to fifty years. Through him, Azaris heard cities rise and fall, heroes die just as she learned their names. Naaro in particular seemed to move in and out of different fields of work according to his whims, his powers not exactly lending themselves well to a settled life. They laughed at the other's jokes as they continued on their respective paths. It was… rather nice having someone to confide in. And hearing of the goings on of the world reminded her that Galbar was still out there. existence went on, even if she couldn’t be a part of it. But while the truth could be cushioned, it could not be nullified. Azaris drifted up to her home tower and shoved her head into her hands. [color=630460]Naaro.[/color] [color=9e0b0f]Yes?[/color] [color=630460]I don’t think I’m ever getting out of here. How long has it been?[/color] [color=9e0b0f]1500 years.[/color] [color=630460]It’s been 1500 years. And no matter how much of this stupid city I build, none of it changes anything. It’s just more space for me to go insane in. It’s nothing more than a distraction, and a bad one at that.[/color] [color=9e0b0f]...Don’t give up hope.[/color] The tone sounded more like a question than a genuine reassurance. It did nothing to soothe her mind. [color=630460]Can I be honest with you?[/color] [color=9e0b0f]Of course.[/color] [color=630460]I’m terrified. I’ve been trying to keep myself busy and pass the time in any way I can but I have no idea if time will even continue to be a relevant concept for my stay here. I can’t do this forever. It’s just… I was supposed to be safe. Never revealing myself, always covering my tracks, always looking behind me. But none of it ended up mattering in the end. It found me and locked me in here without breaking a sweat. And I will live with that until time itself stops. [/color] Azaris could hear Naaro fumbling for a response. As much as she loved her hero, there were some things that mortals could never understand. True, he did not age. But immortality tended to be a much more concrete concept for gods than heroes. In this sense, she really was alone. Whatever he was saying didn’t matter at this point. [color=630460]I’m going to go for a little bit.[/color] Not waiting for a response, Azaris ceased the mental link, lay her head on the glittering glass table, and waited. One moment later, her head unceremoniously dropped into a green grass field. [hider=Summary]Azaris starts building a city in her void to pass the time, and also becomes better chums with her hero Naaro, considering he’s literally the only person she can talk to. Eventually she goes a li depressy due to thinking she would never get out, disassociates for a fat minute, and tumbles into antiquity. [/hider]