Place of the forgotten ones - The third era

[Andromeda_]

4 hours ago, YourLocalStranger said:

He pulled himself out of the water. The large nichelings eyes had flashed to blue for a second, but his own eyes were a faint yellow when he looked at his reflection in the stream. He remembered the other nichelings smile, the bright sun, the shimmer of the water... He shook himself off and turned to look at the nicheling with him. For some reason he didn't want to say anything about his memory. Not yet. 

'Yeah, it was nothing. I thought I saw another forgotten nicheling like us, but I was wrong. This place almost makes you see things, eh?' he lied. The lie came easily, and it filled him with another worry: had he been a liar when he was alive? He was always so convinced he had been a good nicheling, forgotten by accident. What if he was forgotten because nobody cared about him? Or worse, hated him? He shoved the thoughts away for a moment. I was a good nicheling. I did good things. 

'You alright?' he asked softly. The big nichelings eyes were white again, but still had a faint blue tinge to them. 

"I-I had a flashback. There was...white stuff everywhere. I had 4 siblings near me. We were very small. Our mother was near us. She said that if she kept us, the tribe would exile her. She told us one last thing: Don't trust anyone." 

Don't trust anyone. Don't trust anyone. The words repeated in his head over and over.

[Chiyanna]

21 hours ago, Chiyanna said:

Suddenly, they had another flash. 

"It's a girl," said somebody. 

"Can I see?"

"Sure little one, look at your new baby sister."

He saw a very small reddish nicheling, who had a wide face. Unfortunately her head reminded him of... 

"She looks just like me," said a pleased older sibling beside him. 

"Does not!"

"Does too! Look at that wide head for cracking nuts. This is gonna be so fun to have a little sister!" 

"I hope she's not exactly like you," he grumbled under his breath. "But she is colored like me! Nice and red."

"You're not red!" She protested, "you're brown!" She said with a smirk.

"Cut it out, both of you!" The bigger nicheling said, licking them both on the head. Her tounge easily glided over his sister's head,  making her annoyed. But it got caught for a second on his mane, which caused her to smirk at him. He made a menacing face back as his mother washed and straightened it. 

"I'll always love all three of you, equally. It makes me sad to see you fighting like this."

"I'm sorry, mother," said the orange one with that disgusting puppy-dog look. 

"Say it to your brother," she commanded. 

"I'm sorry, can you ever forgive me?" She had even worked up tears. 

His mother was looking at him with eyes that went straight to his soul. "Sorry," he muttered, "yeah alright I forgive you."

"Yay!" She said,  jumping up, "Tell me a story mother, please."

"Yeah a story would be nice," he admitted.

"Alright," and so their mother began a story.

And then...the spirit was back again. Their eyes had flashed black while they had the memory.

 

@Liljatonttu

"I saw a place that was...different. You-you're a girl, aren't you?" said the spirit after the memory faded. 

[Lilytuft]

9 hours ago, Chiyanna said:

@Liljatonttu

"I saw a place that was...different. You-you're a girl, aren't you?" said the spirit after the memory faded. 

-Hmm? Yes. Why?

[Lilytuft]

Why did life even matter anymore? It was over anyways! They were free from it now!

But how did it end? How did we get here?

Guiding had told Fangs about something called "death". He'd later heard it described as the lack of movement. The body ceaced to move through space and the spirit through time. That explanation contained a lot of concepts that didn't make sense to him, but he'd gotten the idea. Along with a headache.

According to what he'd heard from others who'd gotten stuck here, death was usually the result of something painful. "Sickness," "starvation," "injury." All just more words that lacked meaning to him.

But considering the amount of painful memories he'd heard others describe, there was also a lot of suffering that didn't end in death. Since there was no pain after death, surviving must have been really unfortunate. Surely it was preferable for the pain to end, instead of having to live with it.

Suddenly it was bright, like a thousand eyes had surrounded him. The world around him was full of unfamiliar colors. The light was coming from the sky, which was the color of the spiky spirit's eyes. He was on a clearing, the ground covered in fallen leaves, trampled grass and water that bore the scent of danger. All of it was of unfamiliar colors, as were his paws, which matched the small nicheling laying at his feet. The nicheling was huffing, his fur was ruffled and there were clumps of wet moss all over his fur. Water was leaking from the moss and there was some on Fangs' paws as well.

The air was thick with all-consuming guilt.

[Chiyanna]

2 hours ago, Liljatonttu said:

-Hmm? Yes. Why?

"I...don't think I am. But I knew some who were. From what I just saw, I was different than them."

[Lilytuft]

13 minutes ago, Chiyanna said:

"I...don't think I am. But I knew some who were. From what I just saw, I was different than them."

-That's very likely. Most nichelings have a mother or sisters or friends or a mate. And as for yourself, you will figure it out in time, which you have plenty of now

[Chiyanna]

1 hour ago, Liljatonttu said:

-That's very likely. Most nichelings have a mother or sisters or friends or a mate. And as for yourself, you will figure it out in time, which you have plenty of now

"You seem to know...things. A good amount. Could you maybe walk me through this...remember?"

[Stranger]

17 hours ago, Andromeda_ said:

"I-I had a flashback. There was...white stuff everywhere. I had 4 siblings near me. We were very small. Our mother was near us. She said that if she kept us, the tribe would exile her. She told us one last thing: Don't trust anyone." 

Don't trust anyone. Don't trust anyone. The words repeated in his head over and over.

'Well, if she left you behind I don't know how valid that advice is.' the spirit said carefully. 'Can you remember what your siblings were like? Did you care about them?' he asked, in an effort to help the big nicheling remember something happier than his mother abandoning him. Don't trust anyone. How strange. Surely you must trust someone. 

'Here, let's head back while you talk.' He decided. He had enough of this weird, boring forest. 

[Andromeda_]

6 hours ago, YourLocalStranger said:

'Well, if she left you behind I don't know how valid that advice is.' the spirit said carefully. 'Can you remember what your siblings were like? Did you care about them?' he asked, in an effort to help the big nicheling remember something happier than his mother abandoning him. Don't trust anyone. How strange. Surely you must trust someone. 

'Here, let's head back while you talk.' He decided. He had enough of this weird, boring forest. 

"I don't remember much about them" He said. Why would our mother tell us to not trust anyone? Did something happen to her that made her that way? I need to know....

[Stranger]

4 hours ago, Andromeda_ said:

"I don't remember much about them" He said. Why would our mother tell us to not trust anyone? Did something happen to her that made her that way? I need to know....

'I guess none of us remember much of anything.' He paused walking for a second. 'You need a name, or something like that. I can't just keep calling you big guy.' the spirit grinned. 'What do you want to be called, for now at least?' 

The spirit waited for a reply, and started thinking of a name for himself. Words he remembered from the time he was alive were scarce, and he barely understood some of them. Think! What did nichelings always say when they saw you?!

A lot of words floated through his head. Some of them he pushed away without a second thought. Liar. Coward. These words echoed in someone else's voice, something he couldn't quite place. He didn't understand what these words meant but wanted to stop thinking about them as soon as they entered his head. The voice unsettled him. Then another word floated through his mind.Thief. He didn't know what this meant either, but it had a ring to it. Maybe he could get the others to call him that? After all 'guiding' wasn't exactly a proper name either. 

'You can call me Thief, for now! I'm sure my real name sounds much better though, I'll find it soon!' he said happily. What would the others think of his nickname? Thief thought it was pretty clever, and it showed he remembered something. That he had a chance at remembering his name. If everyone else believed it, maybe he'd finally start believing it himself when he says he'll remember who he once was. 

[Stranger]

Just now, YourLocalStranger said:

'I guess none of us remember much of anything.' He paused walking for a second. 'You need a name, or something like that. I can't just keep calling you big guy.' the spirit grinned. 'What do you want to be called, for now at least?' 

The spirit waited for a reply, and started thinking of a name for himself. Words he remembered from the time he was alive were scarce, and he barely understood some of them. Think! What did nichelings always say when they saw you?!

A lot of words floated through his head. Some of them he pushed away without a second thought. Liar. Coward. These words echoed in someone else's voice, something he couldn't quite place. He understood what these words meant and wanted to stop thinking about it as soon as they entered his head. The voice unsettled him. Then another word floated through his mind.Thief. He didn't know what this meant, but it had a ring to it. Maybe he could get the others to call him that? After all 'guiding' wasn't exactly a proper name either. 

'You can call me Thief, for now! I'm sure my real name sounds much better though, I'll find it soon!' he said happily. What would the others think of his nickname? Thief thought it was pretty clever, and it showed he remembered something. That he had a chance at remembering his name. If everyone else believed it, maybe he'd finally start believing it himself when he says he'll remember who he once was. 

( @Liljatonttu, could you please add Thief's name to his description at the start?) 

[Andromeda_]

8 hours ago, YourLocalStranger said:

'I guess none of us remember much of anything.' He paused walking for a second. 'You need a name, or something like that. I can't just keep calling you big guy.' the spirit grinned. 'What do you want to be called, for now at least?' 

The spirit waited for a reply, and started thinking of a name for himself. Words he remembered from the time he was alive were scarce, and he barely understood some of them. Think! What did nichelings always say when they saw you?!

A lot of words floated through his head. Some of them he pushed away without a second thought. Liar. Coward. These words echoed in someone else's voice, something he couldn't quite place. He didn't understand what these words meant but wanted to stop thinking about them as soon as they entered his head. The voice unsettled him. Then another word floated through his mind.Thief. He didn't know what this meant either, but it had a ring to it. Maybe he could get the others to call him that? After all 'guiding' wasn't exactly a proper name either. 

'You can call me Thief, for now! I'm sure my real name sounds much better though, I'll find it soon!' he said happily. What would the others think of his nickname? Thief thought it was pretty clever, and it showed he remembered something. That he had a chance at remembering his name. If everyone else believed it, maybe he'd finally start believing it himself when he says he'll remember who he once was. 

"I don't know." He said. He tried to think of something. Then the word Sharp popped into his mind. An image flashed in his head. A group of nichelings approaching him. One of them said something about him (the spirit) relating to sharp. Sharp. He liked that word, but he didn't know why.

"You can call me Sharp for now." He said. 

[Lozloxfeafcakerat]

(I probably won't do this ever again sowwy)

[Chiyanna]

17 hours ago, Chiyanna said:

"You seem to know...things. A good amount. Could you maybe walk me through this...remember?"

(I'm waiting on lilytuft

[Lilytuft]

22 hours ago, Chiyanna said:

"You seem to know...things. A good amount. Could you maybe walk me through this...remember?"

She sighed and switched to a more comfortable position.

-I don't remember much myself, but perhaps I can at least be of some help. Are there any words that confuse you? Fangs had a lot of them after being found again.

[Lilytuft]

Fangs stared at his paws despite no longer being able to make out the colors. His world was spinning and swaying, everything was confusing and terrible. So bright, then dark again. For a while that terrible smell wouldn't leave him alone and he was terrified that if he moved at all, he'd be attacked.

What was that what was that what was that?

What were all those colors and why was there so much light everywhere? Where did all the water come from?

That little nicheling was in pain? Did I do that?

He looked around, realising the little nicheling was no longer in front of him.

Where did he go? And where did he even come from? Did anyone else see the light? They seem to be carrying on conversation as if nothing happened!

The water on the ground and his paws was gone too, along with the leaves and... and the forest.

What forest?

He'd heard the word. It meant a lot of trees. He'd assumed it was like the swamp without the reeds. He had never even imagined something like what he'd just seen. He didn't know so many trees even existed!

[Stranger]

12 hours ago, Andromeda_ said:

"I don't know." He said. He tried to think of something. Then the word Sharp popped into his mind. An image flashed in his head. A group of nichelings approaching him. One of them said something about him (the spirit) relating to sharp. Sharp. He liked that word, but he didn't know why.

"You can call me Sharp for now." He said. 

'Alright then, I think we should get back to the others, Sharp.' Thief said. There wasn't anything here for now, and the others were at the border of the swamp. Maybe if he walked far anough he'd escape this place?... No. That was stupid. He could still look around though, as long as he kept the swamp where he could see it. 

[Andromeda_]

11 minutes ago, YourLocalStranger said:

'Alright then, I think we should get back to the others, Sharp.' Thief said. There wasn't anything here for now, and the others were at the border of the swamp. Maybe if he walked far anough he'd escape this place?... No. That was stupid. He could still look around though, as long as he kept the swamp where he could see it. 

"Alright." They trotted through the thick swamp. He knew this Thief guy wanted him to remember more, but he just couldn't remember anything. 

(i was going to have him hallucinate a nicheling from his life here but i feel like hes learning too much about himself too quickly)

[Chiyanna]

16 hours ago, Liljatonttu said:

She sighed and switched to a more comfortable position.

-I don't remember much myself, but perhaps I can at least be of some help. Are there any words that confuse you? Fangs had a lot of them after being found again.

"So you can help walk me through what I saw, what I heard? Sister, mother, brown, red, forgive, leave. Some words I remember others saying. In a different place. Do you know what they mean?" The spirit seemed earnest and curious.

[Chiyanna]

16 hours ago, Liljatonttu said:

Fangs stared at his paws despite no longer being able to make out the colors. His world was spinning and swaying, everything was confusing and terrible. So bright, then dark again. For a while that terrible smell wouldn't leave him alone and he was terrified that if he moved at all, he'd be attacked.

What was that what was that what was that?

What were all those colors and why was there so much light everywhere? Where did all the water come from?

That little nicheling was in pain? Did I do that?

He looked around, realising the little nicheling was no longer in front of him.

Where did he go? And where did he even come from? Did anyone else see the light? They seem to be carrying on conversation as if nothing happened!

The water on the ground and his paws was gone too, along with the leaves and... and the forest.

What forest?

He'd heard the word. It meant a lot of trees. He'd assumed it was like the swamp without the reeds. He had never even imagined something like what he'd just seen. He didn't know so many trees even existed!

(Also is Fangs next to Guiding and my character anymore? Or did he wander off?) 

[Lilytuft]

36 minutes ago, Chiyanna said:

(Also is Fangs next to Guiding and my character anymore? Or did he wander off?) 

(He's some meters away from everyone)

[Lilytuft]

7 hours ago, Chiyanna said:

"So you can help walk me through what I saw, what I heard? Sister, mother, brown, red, forgive, leave. Some words I remember others saying. In a different place. Do you know what they mean?" The spirit seemed earnest and curious.

-Some of these are a bit blurry for me as well, but I'll do my best to help you. Sister and mother are members of your family. It's... a coplicated subject, but when two nichelings in the living world love each other very much, they might make more nichelings. These nichelings start out as small and defenseless, but grow big with time and care. Usually one of the two nichelings who made the small ones becomes a mother and the other a father. The little ones are siblings to each other, labeled sisters and brothers.

Her thoughts got carried away thinking about something far away and long gone. It wasn't just discussing the topic of family and children that brought these things to mind - the very act of trying to explain words to this confused spirit made her miss caring for her own offspring. What they had been like was a mystery to her, but the feeling of curling up around a little one to protect it from all the dangers of the world was one of the few things that hadn't left her, and it had stuck with her ever since she'd had some of her first flashbacks.

Snapping back into this reality made her realise she'd forgot the rest of the terms she was supposed to explain.

[Stranger]

20 hours ago, Andromeda_ said:

"Alright." They trotted through the thick swamp. He knew this Thief guy wanted him to remember more, but he just couldn't remember anything. 

(i was going to have him hallucinate a nicheling from his life here but i feel like hes learning too much about himself too quickly)

Thief finally got out of the swamp, Sharp right behind him. The nervous one and Guiding were in deep conversation, and Venom snout guy was standing a couple of meters away, looking confused. He glanced around at what was past the swamp. When he found himself in this place, he was panicking and didn't really see anything. Maybe he'd see something now? But there was only a barren moorland, a couple of shrubs littered around the place, and an endless fog. He doubted there would be anything out there. But maybe the way out of this place was out there somewhere, and the reason everyone was trapped here was because they were afraid to leave the swamp. Maybe there wasn't a lot of nichelings here because they all ventured out, and found the way out of this strange nightmare. Thief sat there, lost in his own thoughts. 

[Andromeda_]

4 hours ago, YourLocalStranger said:

Thief finally got out of the swamp, Sharp right behind him. The nervous one and Guiding were in deep conversation, and Venom snout guy was standing a couple of meters away, looking confused. He glanced around at what was past the swamp. When he found himself in this place, he was panicking and didn't really see anything. Maybe he'd see something now? But there was only a barren moorland, a couple of shrubs littered around the place, and an endless fog. He doubted there would be anything out there. But maybe the way out of this place was out there somewhere, and the reason everyone was trapped here was because they were afraid to leave the swamp. Maybe there wasn't a lot of nichelings here because they all ventured out, and found the way out of this strange nightmare. Thief sat there, lost in his own thoughts. 

Sharp noticed the strange look on Thief's face. "Hey, you alright?" He asked. "Maybe we should go over to those guys, they might be able to help us find our memories."

[Stranger]

18 hours ago, Andromeda_ said:

Sharp noticed the strange look on Thief's face. "Hey, you alright?" He asked. "Maybe we should go over to those guys, they might be able to help us find our memories."

'Oh, uh, yeah! Let's do that!' Thief smiled, snapping out of his thoughts.