Orpheus

The Midnight Train to Nowhere

Oh Phones. Hahahaha. I see you've taken his route!

I'll post when I get back to school~ <3

The Midnight Train to Nowhere

Oh my gosh that gif and Haku's current position as the Ice Queen-

The Legend of Heroes: Tales of the World

There was light, soothing music in the air and the skies were bathed in soft wondrous colors. It was exactly like a scene in a painting, except static cut the lullaby and the pastel hues turned scarlet every time Lute glanced up.

He tried. When he couldn’t see his sister anywhere time suddenly played back, and he found himself back to the day before it happened. He really tried.
Except it never worked. The first day, Lute camped out to wait for the criminal. He set up a watch route ranging ten meters out the farmhouse and was halfway through his fifth round when screams erupted. When the virtuoso returned Ruana was gone. The second day he asked her to stay with him in the same room. During midnight, when Lute thought the danger would have passed, he allowed her to go to the bathroom. She never returned.

And it kept repeating. He would do everything in his power to save his sister, but it never worked; his efforts fell a centimeter short of the real thing, and Lute found his incompetence unforgivable.

Now, it was different. Now, there were more people to be lost.

Lute tore his gaze from the skies and looked at Estelle as her blade dug deeper into her arm. The last time he went in and slashed at Simon, but the wildcat popped out of nowhere and stabbed the fiery-haired woman through and through. This time there could be no more mistakes. The virtuoso just knew it was his last chance. His emotions were strung taut and he could barely breathe. Estelle was a part of his trial, they said. If he could save at least one of the Pride, they said they would return his sister. He couldn’t panic. He was far too terrified for her life to even panic. He was far too terrified by all the things that had happened, by all the bloodshed he had caused, to feel anything aside from this.

… There wasn’t anyone left in the Pride. His decisions had killed them all. Up in the seats, back when the crowd was running wild, Selan was cut down where she stood when he chose to defend Lucien from an incoming attack, and when Lute had to turn his back on the summoner he was murdered too. They all ended that way. Even Atlas and Robin. Even Jeff and Aria and the girl who jumped on her chair in the restaurant. Everyone.

Lute readied his blade, his hands shaking. ‘This is it’, He thought and took a step forward, only for Simon to raise his arms up then swing his sword down in a forceful slash, completely severing the girl’s arm.

“It’s all on you, kid. You're really not a leader type. Leaders listen, and you're deaf dumb and blind! You can't listen to anything asides from your own voice, which is why you can't talk with anyone. That's pretty bad, isn't it?” The people in the audience froze and their heads pivoted towards Lute, all of their eyes trained on his very form. "Hell, if that ain't bad enough, you can't even decide for yourself, let alone work with others. It's too dangerous for everyone if you do anything!" He was staring in shock at the collapsed Estelle and even before he could react, a hole in the ground opened up and swallowed him whole.

“Stay there, pet. There where you can’t hurt anybody.”

And Lute did.

The Legend of Heroes: Tales of the World

Good evening, everyone! How are you all doing? ^ o ^ /

... Our third exam and finals are happening next week (and only a day of cram in between, yey!) so I really won't be able to post tomorrow. Seriously. So yeah, wrapping up Lute's scene.

EDIT: Posted! Andddd he's done. Now off to review! Good luck to everyone else who still has school and tests!

The Midnight Train to Nowhere

Ey guise. We're not complete yet, so I won't post. Wanted to give everyone a chance to freak out/attack. 8D

The Midnight Train to Nowhere

GROUP ONE

“I will obey the guides! Gah!”

“… obey…”

“… guides!”

“Gah!”

Riley’s voice echoed throughout the forest and birds started cawing. The trees suddenly burst to life; shadows jumped out from within the thick boughs and large leaves then fly upwards, animals careen away from the humans who were the source of the noise. Small hedgehogs scurried away from their places behind the nearby bushes. A rabbit burrowed deep inside a hole.

And then silence ensued once again. The uproar caused by their voices subsided until a deafening calm blanketed the area.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

Slow, heavy footfalls came from the west part of the forest. All of the humans, despite being in various states of discomfort, rushed up to their feet and warily faced that direction. They listened to the steady footfall until it became louder, faster and-

“RAAAAAAAAAAGH!”

???

The creature barreled through the woods, clearing a path with its sword which it wielded like a scythe. Trees fell over either from its blade or the sheer force it used while running and it paved a path for itself quickly. The beast's eyes glanced to the side as if it had spotted something and it picked up a log with its free hand, then threw it at Leon and Hakuren. When the humans ducked, it let out another huge roar that shook the entire forest, and then slammed the hilt of its sword against its thick metal shield as if to draw the small group's ire.

Rise to arms, humans.

The Legend of Heroes: Tales of the World

Lute fell in a lake. When he realized that he gasped for breath before the waters closed over him, reaching out both hands towards the surface as he sank deeper. He didn’t know how to swim…

Shwwwing!

Something cut through the murky liquid and hit him on the side of his face. When the virtuoso recognized that it was a fish hook he immediately wrapped his fingers around it and tugged; somebody pulled the line and he was suddenly airborne for a few seconds, only to land in a mound of dry leaves. He was out of the lake, but the person who saved him…? Lute pushed himself up, crushed bits of leaf and soil clinging to his wet skin, and glanced around quickly. “Hello!?” He called out, but nobody answered. The forest was quiet…

Wait, forest? They had moved nearer to Thaum a few years back, smack near the woodlands. In fact, Lute recognized this lake all of a sudden; he used to fish here. He began to run in the direction of Auntie’s farmhouse. Maybe… Maybe it was normal there. Maybe there was an explanation why the world froze and then tilted, with him ending up here.

“Brother… It was cold last night.” A whisper floated through with the night wind and Lute froze in shock. That was his sister’s voice! “Rua-,” He pivoted and was about to yell, only to be struck dumb by the sound of his own voice, answering his sister’s question. “What are you talking about? It was so hot I couldn’t sleep!” This… This was a conversation they had back when Lute was sixteen, and Ruana was fourteen. He remembered it too well… “Is that so…? Then I’m mistaken. It’s just that the kitchen window kept fogging up while I was wiping the dishes.”

Oh gods, please no. The fear, the anger, the terror… He started to feel it coursing all over his body in the same intensity it did the first time. Lute ran faster and the farmhouse slowly started to get bigger. He was close. So close! It would be different this time!

“Brother, I… Brother, I have something to ask you…” No, no, no. Please be quiet. I can’t listen to this anymore. I can’t. “Was it cold last night?” He should’ve known. All those signs, and he didn’t see! “No, Ruana. Why’d you ask?” She paused before answering him. “My bedroom window was fogged up.”

"You're being paranoid, sis." He had the audacity to laugh. "What, you think some weirdo's squatting outside your room and breathing at you? That's just plain freaky! Nobody would do that!" Oh, how wrong he was.
Lute kicked the door open and froze in place, his chest heaving up and down because of the exertion.

You could’ve seen, but you chose to be blind.
You could’ve heard, but you turned away and played deaf.

Everything was in disarray. Chairs and tables were overturned; the vase which was usually filled with flowers Ruana picked from the meadows was on the ground, shattered to pieces. It looked like the scene of a struggle.

His sister was gone, and it was all because he didn’t listen.

The Midnight Train to Nowhere

Writing a post, but seeing how slow I am I'm very sure people can pop in. 8D

The Legend of Heroes: Tales of the World

I'll be posting for Lute later, hahaha. Good evening, people~

EDIT: I know it's pretty long, but that's because I may or may not be able to post tomorrow. >.< Sorry, guys (both for the length and the absence)

The Midnight Train to Nowhere

Group One: The Forest

1. Hakuren
2. Leon
3. Riley
4. Lesley
5. Jasper


The five of them tumbled down into a lush forest. The lucky ones had their fall broken by the thick underbrush piled under the trees, but the less fortunate humans woke up face down on the forest floor, soaked in shallow yet mossy rainwater. None of them suffered extreme injuries save for bruises and cuts given by the twisted vines everywhere, so if they met their other friends they would definitely think that they fell on the lesser evil. Jasper, albeit a bit scratched up like everybody else in their group, woke up with a small ‘present’ in her hand; Victoria’s whip lay tangled around her, the sleek black leather gleaming from under its half-submerged position in a puddle. It looks as if she dragged it down along with her.

The forest was quiet. There was that subsided noise of bugs chirping and the tree leaves prevented sunlight from coming in, so the area was quite cool and damp.

It was way too peaceful.