> Hythlodaeus: Wake up.
Sep. 26th, 2020 09:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
weenwoonHythlodaeus became aware of feeling cold.
That's strange, some part of his mind supplied. He was not sure why - he was not sure what he had been expecting, or why. But something was off.
After a little more time the whisper of the waves filtered into his consciousness. Right, the ocean... The shore. They used to walk on the shore. They...
The thought trailed off with a certain amount of urgency as his mind finally fully snapped into possession of his body, registering a whole slew of not-very-pleasant sensations: scratchiness of the sand, water in his ear, rain on his face and that definite feeling you get when you're soaked wet and cold enough that you know you're in for a fever tomorrow. Hythlo pushed himself up, trying to open his eyes yet finding only darkness in front of him--until there was a sudden squeaky sound and he found himself looking into two glowing red eyes.
Whatever the thing was, it seemed to be startled by his awakening, burying itself into the sand but still staring up at him. Curious - was all he could think, his consciousness still slogging through the strange mire in his head.
"And whose creation are you?" Hythlo mumbled, trying to steady himself as he managed to get in a sitting position. Certainly this wasn't Lahabrea's handiwork, and Hythlo was grateful of that - waking up to a fiery avatar of destruction in his face was not really something he wanted to experience. Indeed, the little creature in front of him was actually much too cute and somewhat... imperfect in a charming way. A child's work, perhaps. As it showed itself again, seemingly convinced that Hythlo was not about to attack it, he could not help but smile at the little shape. In fact, it looked familiar...
"Hades", he chuckled to himself, reaching out to brush his fingers against the tiny robed critter, which clung to his hand in curiosity, oblivious to Hythlo suddenly freezing. The name he'd uttered brought other memories with it, and for a minute he could only stare ahead of him, unseeing, coming to terms with things.
Well, well, well... This is what it comes down to, eh, candidate-for-the-role-of-Emet-Selch? You watch the souls travel to the Underworld and back all your life, and now it's time to make your own journey. Truth to tell, Hythlodaeus had been lowkey looking forward to it: it was much harder to be scared of death when the endless repetition of the cycle of life played out before your eyes every day, and he'd wondered about what it was actually like to be in the lifestream.
However, he did not expect it to be being cold, hungry, tired, and having sand in his shoes. Whoever designed this place had done a very bad job... Unless, of course, this was not actually the Underworld.
In spirit of enquiry, Hythlo poked interestedly at the pebbles. The silt under them was more than real enough. Picking out a clean pebble, he quickly put it in his mouth and bit down: it certainly was teeth-breakingly sturdy and tasted sandy. Well, that seemed to settle it.
Spitting out the pebble, Hythlo got to his feet, a little shakily, and looked around with interest. The ocean shore seemed to stretch on and on with no end in sight, but there were buildings and vegetation as he looked inland, though none of it was familiar. He sighed inwardly, wishing that Hades was here as well - his friend was so much better at being perplexed by things, and absolutely masterly at being angry about them. Hythlo himself, he was sure, had always suffered from being too cheerful and easygoing.
"Let's go, little one."
The Ascian beckoned to the Duskull, who had clearly taken a liking to him, and set off towards the town.
That's strange, some part of his mind supplied. He was not sure why - he was not sure what he had been expecting, or why. But something was off.
After a little more time the whisper of the waves filtered into his consciousness. Right, the ocean... The shore. They used to walk on the shore. They...
The thought trailed off with a certain amount of urgency as his mind finally fully snapped into possession of his body, registering a whole slew of not-very-pleasant sensations: scratchiness of the sand, water in his ear, rain on his face and that definite feeling you get when you're soaked wet and cold enough that you know you're in for a fever tomorrow. Hythlo pushed himself up, trying to open his eyes yet finding only darkness in front of him--until there was a sudden squeaky sound and he found himself looking into two glowing red eyes.
Whatever the thing was, it seemed to be startled by his awakening, burying itself into the sand but still staring up at him. Curious - was all he could think, his consciousness still slogging through the strange mire in his head.
"And whose creation are you?" Hythlo mumbled, trying to steady himself as he managed to get in a sitting position. Certainly this wasn't Lahabrea's handiwork, and Hythlo was grateful of that - waking up to a fiery avatar of destruction in his face was not really something he wanted to experience. Indeed, the little creature in front of him was actually much too cute and somewhat... imperfect in a charming way. A child's work, perhaps. As it showed itself again, seemingly convinced that Hythlo was not about to attack it, he could not help but smile at the little shape. In fact, it looked familiar...
"Hades", he chuckled to himself, reaching out to brush his fingers against the tiny robed critter, which clung to his hand in curiosity, oblivious to Hythlo suddenly freezing. The name he'd uttered brought other memories with it, and for a minute he could only stare ahead of him, unseeing, coming to terms with things.
Well, well, well... This is what it comes down to, eh, candidate-for-the-role-of-Emet-Selch? You watch the souls travel to the Underworld and back all your life, and now it's time to make your own journey. Truth to tell, Hythlodaeus had been lowkey looking forward to it: it was much harder to be scared of death when the endless repetition of the cycle of life played out before your eyes every day, and he'd wondered about what it was actually like to be in the lifestream.
However, he did not expect it to be being cold, hungry, tired, and having sand in his shoes. Whoever designed this place had done a very bad job... Unless, of course, this was not actually the Underworld.
In spirit of enquiry, Hythlo poked interestedly at the pebbles. The silt under them was more than real enough. Picking out a clean pebble, he quickly put it in his mouth and bit down: it certainly was teeth-breakingly sturdy and tasted sandy. Well, that seemed to settle it.
Spitting out the pebble, Hythlo got to his feet, a little shakily, and looked around with interest. The ocean shore seemed to stretch on and on with no end in sight, but there were buildings and vegetation as he looked inland, though none of it was familiar. He sighed inwardly, wishing that Hades was here as well - his friend was so much better at being perplexed by things, and absolutely masterly at being angry about them. Hythlo himself, he was sure, had always suffered from being too cheerful and easygoing.
"Let's go, little one."
The Ascian beckoned to the Duskull, who had clearly taken a liking to him, and set off towards the town.