John Dove
Location: Road to Town
Phase: Midnight
Date: 11.09.1994 (SUN)
Weather: Darkness
The shadow turned away, directing her gaze once more to the far-away moon.
"Nothing can be done for the gift that's been given. It is a symbol for you now. It may carry death with it, but so does everything in this world, Boy. For something to be close to death is the nature of every living thing... and, in all honesty, that trinket pales in comparison to you yourself, Boy. Thanks to what happened that day, you are closer to death than most... much closer. You walk in the valley of the shadow of death," she spoke quietly, yet firmly. "It may have been how you gazed at the moon which drove you mad and your world grey, but... I wonder if that was it all? No normal human should be able to gaze at me so intently as you did. Perhaps there is a reason as to why death gathers and swirls around you so strongly, Boy."
She lifted her right hand, and for a moment, she gazed at the long nails and the talon like fingers that were quietly returning to their more slender, normal, even humanoid shape. At the same time, the night-time wind picked up once more, it's soft breeze blowing through the forest. Clouds had started to gather up and were swallowing up the full moon above.
"I wonder... if you assigned a color to something and made yourself see it... just what would that color mean...?"
It was just idle whispers of the night.
Nothing more than that.
Vague ideas that she presented to herself, ruminating on could-bes and what-ifs.
"In any event, Boy... as you suspect, the events of this place have naught to do with me. Indeed it is rare that the Turnside would appear in such a way, so blatantly and so determined to drag passers-by to its depth... but at the same time, it feels almost as if that is the purpose here. Like it was fated to happen, no matter how one tries to stop it," the Shadow of the Moon continued. "A forgotten town at the edge of the world is a barrier in itself, Boy, and as long as the influence does not spread, as long as it becomes self-contained and does not contaminate the environment, well... who knows how the World does react? But make no mistake, these events are not a mere coincidence."
Those crimson eyes narrowed as she gazed into the distance, to the town that was bathing under the moonlight while veiled in the heavy shadows of the night. Set against a backdrop such as that, John could easily see that now, with her monstrous shadow gone, the figure ahead of him... was, in the end, quite small - almost fragile and ephemeral. A far cry from the monster she had been not too long ago.
"Your own doom may be unavoidable at this point, but pay attention until the very last hearbeat. One never knows what might happen in the grand scheme of the universe," she spoke, before heaving a quiet sigh. "But... yes, indeed. The night is not yet, and every moment I keep it alive taxes me. Boy... do what you must. Do what you feel is right."
She turned back.
Her red eyes bore into John.
And a for a fleeting moment, he could almost imagine a gleaming grin on her face - one with sharp canine teeth.
"... We can have tea in the afterlife once you are done."
And with that...
... She was gone.
Just as the night.
Just as the darkness.
Just as the moon.
------- Leaving John Dove alone in the forest.
Once againa so far, far away fom the starlit sky.
[SCENE END /// Move to NEXT Phase!]
John Dove
Location: Road's End - Streets
Phase: Afternoon Phase
Date: 11.09.1994 (SUN)
Weather: Ovecast
The supernatural night was gone, and instead of it, there was only an overcast sky... and the sad remains of the battle that had been waged here, far away from the road. Both Elaine Winters and Ramia Ramalsaqr had had their last stand here... and now, only John Dove remained. Judging from the position of the sun in the sky (though it was hard to make out thanks to the heavy blanket of grey clouds in-between) it must have been well-past noon, straight into the afternoon at this point.
In othe words, he had spent way more in that fictional night that he had realized.
Still... now that it had ended...
--- Wasn't there something he had wanted to do?