revivalproject | To Sleep Perchance to Dream

WHO: Felwinter & you I guess
WHERE: Temba
WHAT: Dodging memories
WHEN: During the Storm (Backdated)
WARNINGS: Falling satellites and robot death. Actually, a lot of death because this is Felwinter we're talking about

I. The Sky is F a l l i n g
He isn't sure what sort of ghosts the storm might conjure up. There are only so many people from his past that would really stir him to follow them, and he knows better than to do that when the timing is so evident. Nor has he any reason to chase after those who have died by his hands. Was he remorseful? Not particularly so, not when those who died had raised a weapon at him first, or would have done the same if he had not done so. Warlords were not particularly known for making friends, alliances were only forged to exercise further power upon the Lightless.

What Felwinter had not expected was to see himself, standing there. He instantly knows when this version of himself is from, absent as they are, the trappings he currently wears, a metallic, skeletal figure in scavenged rags and mismatched pieces of armor. He stares at himself and already has a feeling he knows what's coming.

It's an eerie sight to come upon for anyone, especially as the rains begin to taper off in the area, a false daylight and an open expanse of a deceptively peaceful field.

And then both Exos look up towards the sky as a huge shadow falls across them, and the little silvery drone beside the Felwinter of memory urgently intones, "Run."

II. Re-Moval
The chill of crisp, frigid air gusts through what had only moments ago been the open square of Temba's city center, now replaced by some old, frostbitten courtyard, flanked by a huge structure that may as well have been carved from the very mountaintop it stands upon. And indeed, looking past the edges, the world drops away, snow-capped mountain ranges stretching beyond, barely masked by the flurries that blow through.

Felwinter stands like a solid shadow some ways before you, his Ghost floating just beside him, above his shoulder. Past them towards the center of the courtyard- which is actually a generous term considering the state of the thing- another Felwinter stands across from a being in armor that looks like it could have been medieval in inspiration, but if such smiths and leatherworkers had better tools and material to work with.

A negotiation. Also another poorly defined term, seeing as how warlord was not willing to give up his mountain keep. The memory version of Felwinter expects this. Which is why he doesn't waste words and instead draws his gun.

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It was not pleasant to be walking through town, get bowled over by a random storm, and stumble forward into cold air. Tae wasn't even wearing a coat! The doctor wraps her arms tightly around herself, wondering why she doesn't feel the sting of rain, or see the flashes of lightning.

But Agra-10 never made much sense in the normal sense, now did it? That's probably why she's standing near an Exo, shivering, while looking at... the same Exo?

"I'm starting to think Temba isn't real, and I'm in a coma and discovering a far more active imagination than I would have given myself credit for."

"A plausible theory," Felwinter replies without looking, his attention still fixated upon his past self.

The request made was simple; he sought refuge and this keep seemed the most ideal place. Warlord Castor however was not going to simply handover his property to anyone, much less let another Risen take up residence. Weapons were drawn, but Felwinter was faster, already anticipating how things would go. He came to claim territory and the only solid way to do so was to kill the owner.

A bullet to down Castor, and when his Ghost materialized to revive him, Felwinter shot the Ghost. The drone's shell fell in pieces to the floor, and the Exo pushed Castor's body off the mountain.

The Felwinter beside Tae sighs.

Tae flinches at the sound of the bullet. She might be a tough woman, but that didn't stop her from being overwhelmed from what she saw here. It was just... upsetting.

"Did you really do this?"

"Yes," the Exo says, watching as his specter looks around, Felspring's double looking to him as they take in the place for what it means to them, somewhere they can finally stop running. The walls and the frosty winds fade around them, the rain pattering steadily once again.

He doesn't expect her to understand. He doesn't expect anyone to understand. But he won't deny his past, nor the blood on his hands, knowing there will always be more.

Oh dear. Tae wraps her arms more tightly around herself. This is definitely a whole problem in another way. Lives laid out before each other. It's invasive. It's wrong.

"Why?"

"Because he would have killed me otherwise, and I was tired of running."

The lingering chill seems to hang onto the cold fact of the statement, but Felwinter has no reason to lie about it.

A horrid life to have to live. Kill or be kill. Society was clearly failing.

"I'm sorry that is a world you live in. Things should not be like that."

That was only a part of it. The real threat to Felwinter was one he could not even reach, let alone understand why it so specifically targeted him. Hiding, or at least being able to better see what might next come from the skies, had been his best option.

"It should not," he agrees. "Humanity is not at its finest. The strong trample the weak, and the weak feel they have no choice but to look to the strong for protection. And strong band together as an even more oppressive force or they clash against each other because if you are not with them, then you are against them."

"Actually, that sounds a bit like my modern political systems, so I guess I can't judge too much," Tae sighs.

Politics just be like that.

"It is an old game that merely changes its players and levels of severeity," Felwinter suggests.

Yes, there was that. Tae doesn't like the sound of that at all. She'd rather it not be like that.

"It becomes even more likely when there are more people I suppose."

"Of course. The more potential for dissension, the more likely the problems. Like minds will band with like minds, and someone always ends up the victim."

Yes, that sounds right too. Because society does not like to account for the idea of equality.

"There will always be those who seek power at the expense of others."

Felwinter nods silently. He'd never asked for this power, and for the longest time all he'd wanted was to be left alone. But he's since found a purpose. Responsibility came with that mountain, realization that there were others who lived in more or less the same state as he had, but the threats weren't from a singular mysterious AI who existed beyond the stars.

Felwinter had found a purpose.

"...we should get you out of the rain," he suggests, turning to finally face the woman.

"Rain?" she asks, frowning, still shivering. "I can't even feel it. Which is of course suspicious."

Because you never know when things are going to change around here, do you?

"I would like to get dry, though."

Even as she speaks, the view of the frost-capped expanse starts to fade, the rain to remind them of where they truly are as the empty courtyard disappears, leaving puddles and wet, uneven streets around them.

"This way," Felwinter says, once he's made out the closest buildings, which aren't very far at all.

Of course she is going to follow him. Tae has no reason to mistrust the Exo, even if he had shot someone in his past. He clearly regretted it, and she doesn't know where to go anyway. She's hoping that the Exo has better senses than her merely human ones.

"Weather was bad enough in Tokyo. This is miserable."

"I do not think they would have the same intended effect if it were pleasant," Felwinter notes, but he makes sure to not pace himself too fast as he leads the way. His Ghost drifts after him before vanishing in a brief shimmer of silvery light. Safer this way.

"Yeah, that's a good point," she says with a groan.

"Well fuck them," she decides at last. Yeah, cursing is not normally her style, but she's going to do it in his situation. She does try to speed up.

At least the roads are better these days.

To Sleep Perchance to Dream

II

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