HOME | DD

Description
Great, now where have the others gone off to? Lute thought as she looked at the situation at hand as calmly as possible. She had come to a fork in the path and had no idea where to go. Something about this forest had made her very pensive. As she and the others had walked along the path she had hardly paid any attention to them. Or where she had been going, for that matter.
That had led her to that very situation; Standing alone at a fork. Unfortunately there weren't even any footprints on the ground that could have given her a clue as to what direction she had to take. One thing was certain for her: It was the others' fault that she had gotten into that predicament. All the time they had been so silent that she had sunken deeper and deeper into thinking. They must have picked a direction while she had been like that and not bothered to check on her. It seemed unlikely for Korasu to forget about her, but he could be extremely carefree and airheaded at times. Kite was naturally a bit clumsy, so forgetfulness was nothing out of the ordinary for her either. And those rescuer guys with the weird team name... She didn't know them enough to accurately judge them. They had seemed reliable enough. Otherwise she would not have allowed them to join up with her and the other two.

She was trailing of again. What was it about that place that made her think so much? She needed to concentrate, needed to find the correct path. The issue was that each path was just as likely as the others. There were three paths branching off the path she had come from. Going back the way she came was not an option. If the others had lost their bearings shortly after entering the forest then she had done it right at the entrance. Going back would only have resulted in getting lost further than she already had. Though, what did she have to lose?
My life, that's what. This place is dangerous. I need to make a decision. Either I find the others or I find the place where Jasmine is being held and I meet them there. Sitting around will get me nowhere.
Looking at the paths again she might as well have taken any of them. They were entirely the same in terms of darkness and creepiness. Needless to say Lute was not impressed. She knew places were only as scary as the things that inhabit them. Granted, this place was inhabitated by an illusion creating maniac, but what harm could illusions do? They aren't real. No physical harm can come from them. And as long as ou don't let them get to your head they wouldn't...

She suddenly became aware of faint noises coming from the paths. She couldn't make out from which path they came, but they definitely there. They sounded like... voices? Angry voices, no less. Sounded like two. A male and a female. Back and forth they went as if they were engaged in a fierce argument. Lute struggled to recognize the voices. They were familiar. She was certain she had heard them before, but she could not remember where. It was like a distant memory that hid in a very foggy part of her mind.
Still, that nagging feeling of recognition persisted. Then she became aware that the voices had become louder, clearer. Were they approaching? Who in their right minds wandered through these woods and had a loud argument as they walked? Probably some guild newbies out on their first mission, too inexperienced to care about the error of their actions. So young, so naive.
The Swanna sighed. She couldn't remember the last time she had been as careless as these guys. Must be nice not having to live up to anyone's expectations...
A shudder ran down her spine. The voices were too old for a couple of fledgling guild members. Maybe they were residents after all. Only question was if they were hostile or...
Recognition hit her like a rampant Rhyhorn at full charge. Her entire body froze. She shivered. There was no way those voices could be here. Not at that time. Not together.

Her surroundings shifted. Where she had stood in the middle of a dark, foggy forest she suddenly found herself inside a house. Home. That was what she had used to call that place. The voices were there, as well. Loud. Yelling. Fighting. The place seemed so big. Or had she just grown smaller? Something was screwing with her mind. Yes, that was it. The forest was getting to her head. Maybe she had been thinking too much. She should have acted, rather than standing around and thinking for so long.
This is so unlike me. I need to get out of here. Get away from the illusion. This is all just in my head. There was a sudden noise of something crashing into a wall and breaking into tiny pieces. A vase, if she recalled correctly. Everything was just like that day. That day when her parents...
The scene changed. She didn't move her feet, nor did anything move them for her. The entire world moved around her while she was stuck in place. Now she stood in the doorframe to her parents' bedroom. Everything was in a huge mess. Their bed was messy, shards of what used to be a vase covered the floor in front of a wall. Someone had toppled a shelf and miscellaneous items were scattered all over the floor.
And in the middle of it all stood her parents. Her mother Kithara, a Swanna from whom she had clearly inherited her good looks, was angrily staring up at a stern looking Dragonair. The Latter was Lute's father, Shrapnel. That was the worst part. They had been fighting for hours. Lute remembered that very clearly. She had never been so scared in her entire life as she had been that day. But as bad as the fighting was, as much as she was scared of them hurting each other, the silence was still worse. For what felt like painfully long-drawn hours, but had in fact only been mere minutes, Shrapnel and Kithara had just stared at each other. Anger and hate filled their eyes, destroying any hint of the passionate, tender love they once felt towards each other.

Kithara turned towards the door and stood. There was no way of telling what she was thinking at that moment when she had noticed the tiny Ducklett watching them with those big, tear-filled eyes. Lute had cried, but either she and Shrapnel had been to loud or too busy with arguing to notice her. Just like back then the illusion that looked like Lute's mother walked past her, wordlessly. And just like back then she felt her heart breaking.
The scene faded. She was back at the fork. Two of the paths were now illuminated with faint lights. In the distance she could make out two figures. On the right was her father, looking impatiently at her with his usual stern gaze. To the left stood her mother, waiting, yet clearly feeling no desire for her daughter to actually follow her.
Were those really her choices? Follow down the paths her parents taken in their lives? What good had it done them other than tearing their family apart and getting lost in work and loneliness?
Lute was sitting on the grounds. Her legs were simply to weak and shaky to support her. Only then she realized how much she actually missed them. Kithara had promised to visit her, but those visits had been so rare and only grew rarer the older she got. And Shrapnel had always been buried in his work. Actually, she had not seen him for years. She wasn't even sure if he was still alive. Nevermind ever seeing both of them in the same place again. Their seperation had torn deep wounds. In all of them.
Both of them were a poor choice. Of that she was sure. Following either of them could only lead her to ruin. But what else was there for her? She looked down the middle path and for a second she thought she could make out something at its end. A third option. A way out. There was still something else. Someone else.
Slowly she got back on her feet and looked at the illusions again which wore her parents' faces. I don't need my parents. Why would I need them now? They've done nothing. All I am today... is thanks to her. And with unexpectedly certain steps she walked down the middle path, into the darkness, towards the silhouette of a big, dark bird with a wide hat. Ironically that turned out to be a shining light in her life. Someone she could look up to and rely on. Not a mother... But as close to one as she could wish for...

--

Fifth part of "Slight Change of Plans" by

A collaboration between Rhapsody and Second to None for

Previous:

Next:

Dragonair and Swanna © The Pokémon Company

Description
Great, now where have the others gone off to? Lute thought as she looked at the situation at hand as calmly as possible. She had come to a fork in the path and had no idea where to go. Something about this forest had made her very pensive. As she and the others had walked along the path she had hardly paid any attention to them. Or where she had been going, for that matter.
That had led her to that very situation; Standing alone at a fork. Unfortunately there weren't even any footprints on the ground that could have given her a clue as to what direction she had to take. One thing was certain for her: It was the others' fault that she had gotten into that predicament. All the time they had been so silent that she had sunken deeper and deeper into thinking. They must have picked a direction while she had been like that and not bothered to check on her. It seemed unlikely for Korasu to forget about her, but he could be extremely carefree and airheaded at times. Kite was naturally a bit clumsy, so forgetfulness was nothing out of the ordinary for her either. And those rescuer guys with the weird team name... She didn't know them enough to accurately judge them. They had seemed reliable enough. Otherwise she would not have allowed them to join up with her and the other two.

She was trailing of again. What was it about that place that made her think so much? She needed to concentrate, needed to find the correct path. The issue was that each path was just as likely as the others. There were three paths branching off the path she had come from. Going back the way she came was not an option. If the others had lost their bearings shortly after entering the forest then she had done it right at the entrance. Going back would only have resulted in getting lost further than she already had. Though, what did she have to lose?
My life, that's what. This place is dangerous. I need to make a decision. Either I find the others or I find the place where Jasmine is being held and I meet them there. Sitting around will get me nowhere.
Looking at the paths again she might as well have taken any of them. They were entirely the same in terms of darkness and creepiness. Needless to say Lute was not impressed. She knew places were only as scary as the things that inhabit them. Granted, this place was inhabitated by an illusion creating maniac, but what harm could illusions do? They aren't real. No physical harm can come from them. And as long as ou don't let them get to your head they wouldn't...

She suddenly became aware of faint noises coming from the paths. She couldn't make out from which path they came, but they definitely there. They sounded like... voices? Angry voices, no less. Sounded like two. A male and a female. Back and forth they went as if they were engaged in a fierce argument. Lute struggled to recognize the voices. They were familiar. She was certain she had heard them before, but she could not remember where. It was like a distant memory that hid in a very foggy part of her mind.
Still, that nagging feeling of recognition persisted. Then she became aware that the voices had become louder, clearer. Were they approaching? Who in their right minds wandered through these woods and had a loud argument as they walked? Probably some guild newbies out on their first mission, too inexperienced to care about the error of their actions. So young, so naive.
The Swanna sighed. She couldn't remember the last time she had been as careless as these guys. Must be nice not having to live up to anyone's expectations...
A shudder ran down her spine. The voices were too old for a couple of fledgling guild members. Maybe they were residents after all. Only question was if they were hostile or...
Recognition hit her like a rampant Rhyhorn at full charge. Her entire body froze. She shivered. There was no way those voices could be here. Not at that time. Not together.

Her surroundings shifted. Where she had stood in the middle of a dark, foggy forest she suddenly found herself inside a house. Home. That was what she had used to call that place. The voices were there, as well. Loud. Yelling. Fighting. The place seemed so big. Or had she just grown smaller? Something was screwing with her mind. Yes, that was it. The forest was getting to her head. Maybe she had been thinking too much. She should have acted, rather than standing around and thinking for so long.
This is so unlike me. I need to get out of here. Get away from the illusion. This is all just in my head. There was a sudden noise of something crashing into a wall and breaking into tiny pieces. A vase, if she recalled correctly. Everything was just like that day. That day when her parents...
The scene changed. She didn't move her feet, nor did anything move them for her. The entire world moved around her while she was stuck in place. Now she stood in the doorframe to her parents' bedroom. Everything was in a huge mess. Their bed was messy, shards of what used to be a vase covered the floor in front of a wall. Someone had toppled a shelf and miscellaneous items were scattered all over the floor.
And in the middle of it all stood her parents. Her mother Kithara, a Swanna from whom she had clearly inherited her good looks, was angrily staring up at a stern looking Dragonair. The Latter was Lute's father, Shrapnel. That was the worst part. They had been fighting for hours. Lute remembered that very clearly. She had never been so scared in her entire life as she had been that day. But as bad as the fighting was, as much as she was scared of them hurting each other, the silence was still worse. For what felt like painfully long-drawn hours, but had in fact only been mere minutes, Shrapnel and Kithara had just stared at each other. Anger and hate filled their eyes, destroying any hint of the passionate, tender love they once felt towards each other.

Kithara turned towards the door and stood. There was no way of telling what she was thinking at that moment when she had noticed the tiny Ducklett watching them with those big, tear-filled eyes. Lute had cried, but either she and Shrapnel had been to loud or too busy with arguing to notice her. Just like back then the illusion that looked like Lute's mother walked past her, wordlessly. And just like back then she felt her heart breaking.
The scene faded. She was back at the fork. Two of the paths were now illuminated with faint lights. In the distance she could make out two figures. On the right was her father, looking impatiently at her with his usual stern gaze. To the left stood her mother, waiting, yet clearly feeling no desire for her daughter to actually follow her.
Were those really her choices? Follow down the paths her parents taken in their lives? What good had it done them other than tearing their family apart and getting lost in work and loneliness?
Lute was sitting on the grounds. Her legs were simply to weak and shaky to support her. Only then she realized how much she actually missed them. Kithara had promised to visit her, but those visits had been so rare and only grew rarer the older she got. And Shrapnel had always been buried in his work. Actually, she had not seen him for years. She wasn't even sure if he was still alive. Nevermind ever seeing both of them in the same place again. Their seperation had torn deep wounds. In all of them.
Both of them were a poor choice. Of that she was sure. Following either of them could only lead her to ruin. But what else was there for her? She looked down the middle path and for a second she thought she could make out something at its end. A third option. A way out. There was still something else. Someone else.
Slowly she got back on her feet and looked at the illusions again which wore her parents' faces. I don't need my parents. Why would I need them now? They've done nothing. All I am today... is thanks to her. And with unexpectedly certain steps she walked down the middle path, into the darkness, towards the silhouette of a big, dark bird with a wide hat. Ironically that turned out to be a shining light in her life. Someone she could look up to and rely on. Not a mother... But as close to one as she could wish for...

--

Fifth part of "Slight Change of Plans" by

A collaboration between Rhapsody and Second to None for

Previous:

Next:

Dragonair and Swanna © The Pokémon Company