Relationship Status: Vyxsis is It's Complicated with Slyphe

Vyxsis

This was immediately after Aetolia broke the other day, unfortunately, so I lost the prior discussion between Vyx and Leana. The log also doesn't include the previous meetings with Slyppy when Vyx stumbled in on Them returning from self-imposed exile. Don't take it as a full record of anyone's motivations, because I assure you, everything here is complicated as h*ck. Still, it's fun! Whee! Cheers @Slyphe! (Log lightly edited for formatting, cutting out prompts, etc. Italics below are messages only I saw.)

Before the throne of Change.
Walled entryways rest in each corner of the square section of this hexagon-shaped chamber, giving a glimpse of those nearby chambers. The area itself is opened up to the elements and is flourishing with plantlife, not a single stone being visible upon the ground save for a few that rest near a large throne that rests towards the northern-center of the area. The plantlife changes its fauna and flora, never remaining exactly the same for long. Water rushes down the northern corner wall from an unknown source, causing a small waterfall that flows into a thin river. The river takes a straight line to the back of the throne and ends abruptly beneath it, not leaking outside of its path at all. A small pool of rippling seawater is set near to the throne. Keladorn, captain of the temple guard stands watch here, trident at the ready. Covered by an ever-shifting veil of seawater, a large throne resembling a rising torrent of water sits here. Resting upon a tall pedestal, a set of conch shells shine brightly here. Antennae twitching at the slightest breeze, an oversized ant is here. An toad of fairly a large size sits quietly here. Leana is here, shrouded. She wields a buckler in her left hand and a chipped bone dagger in her right.
You see exits leading north, northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest.

Leana seems to savor in the sensation of being pressed against you, remaining mostly quiet as she continues to stroke your carapace, "Maybe not the Earthen, but the others would if you requested it," she says as a low, throaty laugh takes her, "Do you feel me now, lovebug? My warmth? I've been pressed against long enough for it to heat you."

"Warmth? Yes, I feel it, and I always have, hayati." Vyxsis flicks her wings out slightly, letting them hang like a thin, translucent robe. "I would have to request it as a favor to One of ours, and it is not a favor any of Them have particular reason to grant. Sky Dreaming probably would find it... quaint, silly. Slyphe at least might want to do it... maybe." Her antennae lower until they are pointed forward, and she laughs darkly. "If They do not simply want to blot me from existence."

Leana murmurs softly to herself, satisfied to remain like this in silence. After a few more beats of silence she says, "Nothing changes for me," she whispers to you.

The dominating figure of Slyphe, the Maelstrom shimmers into view, as though a mist has pulled away to reveal They had been there all along.

If Vyxsis is surprised, it doesn't show in her body language, and she calmly genuflects to Slyphe. "Changing One. Probably tired of listening to me babble - not that I could blame You."

You think:
I may wish I really were a cockroach after this - not only would I be indestructible, but I would also be incapable of doing anything that might attract a God's attention for good or bad.

Slyphe leans Her chin on Her fist, arm propped on a throne of tides, watching you and Leana with some amusement. One blue leg crosses over another, and when She speaks, Her voice is soft, gentle, like a forest brook. "If your babbling were like that of a river, perhaps I would not mind listening. As you are, it is a fetid pool, still and dead."

Leana turns to regard the God from behind her blindfold. She remains silent, though her smile grows as she listens.

The God's demeanor at this meeting, however, does seem to surprise Vyxsis, whose antennae probe upward as though testing the air. "I tend to think my voice is rather melodious, actually," she buzzes back to Slyphe, "and even water that does not run still moves - into the air, for instance."

With eyes narrowed, Slyphe answers not with words, but by the sudden choppiness of the seas surrounding the aisle, deadly sharks circling in the waters, revealed only by their fins. "You need not remind Me whom you now serve." The Changing God lays Tempest's Wrath across His lap, drawing attention to the three wicked points at its tip. "But that is the prerogative of mortals, to change their minds. I am here because you offered to breathe once more, at My behest." The implication is obvious -- the God needs not ask the question direct, with it hanging in the air like fog, thick and suffocating.

"I was not reminding so much as... never mind, best not to look a gift seahorse in the mouth," Vyxsis answers, clearly having thought better of arguing semantics. She doesn't even glance toward the sharks, too intent on watching Slyphe's every move and gesture, searching for intent. "It is true, I did say something of the sort a few weeks past, and I realize more and more that I have no particular reason to remain as I am. Not only that, but," she pauses to steal a quick look at Leana, "I have some reasons to change."

Slyphe smiles wide, revealing a maw that would put the largest, meanest shark to shame. She stands, bringing Tempest's Wrath with Her, and raises one webbed hand, lifting water from the nearby pool. "It would not be like you to have forgotten My teachings," She says, hints of approval in the undercurrents of Her voice. The water She lifted wobbles and shifts, moving closer to you, and growing in size until it is coincidentally, ominously, just large enough to fully envelop your head. "And so you know that change is often painful."

Leana takes a step back to observe the God conduct with her own filed teeth exposed in a gleeful smile.

Vyxsis watches the large bubble, but she doesn't move despite being uncertain of its purpose. "No," she whispers hazily, "I have not forgotten."

Waving a hand almost flippantly, Slyphe leans back in Her throne. The water answers Her call, moving toward you as one huge bubble, stopping when it just barely touches your face, leaving a film of water where it touched. "Then you will breathe." That is the only warning, the voice that sailors fear, as the sea turns from a calm to a storm in an instant. The bubble envelops your head, even your antenna, cutting you off from your senses. The water quickly continues, leaving the Horkval necromancer completely enveloped, completely... alone.

Water. Water means nothing - you need not breathe.

As the water takes her senses - stripping Vyxsis of sight, sound, smell, even balance - she stumbles backwards. It's a departure from her initial stoicism, but it's also clearly nothing like panic. She manages to steady herself and stands erect, hands gripping the lower hem of her shirt.

You feel the water entering through your mouth, working its way to your dead, redundant lungs, useless for so long. When they are full, though, you feel a tickle in your throat: a weak, far-off impulse to breathe, less like a demand and more like a memory of what it was like.

Vyxsis stiffens suddenly, all motion coming to a momentary halt. She's been submerged many times since embracing undeath, but her reactions now are unusually tense and jerking. The water moves with her mandibles and antennae as they break out into confused motions, searching for something, anything to anchor herself.

Nothing. There is nothing. There is only water, in every direction, blanketing everything in darkness. The tickle grows stronger, no longer a memory. It is now an impetus. Breathe. You need it. You NEED to breathe. Air. Oxygen.

The motions of Vyxsis's antennae and mandibles become more frenzied, desperate, and she releases the grip on her shirt in order to pat at her chest and neck. That patting quickly increases to pounding until, seized with panic, she puts her hands to her mouth, pulling away as though trying to draw the water away from herself. Clearly failing, the Horkval drops to her hands and knees to retch silently.

That's it. Breathe. You feel your lungs working again, SCREAMING, burning as they can draw no air, only water. You feel sharp, stabbing pains in other organs, all around your body, like the bites of a hundred piranha. Finally, you hear something again.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Your heart. It beats faster, and faster, and faster, as darkness closes in.

Vyxsis grows weaker, no longer retching - no longer even holding herself up. She sprawls upon the ground and twitches helplessly like any common insect.

Leana turns her head from you to Slyphe and chances on moving to your side, kneeling down to tend to her wife.

Darkness closes in, and you feel your heart slow... just like it did years ago, as blood left you and Earth welcomed you. Now, Water rebirths you into the world once more... and the last thing you feel before you slip away is a sense of comfort, as the water changes from an enveloping death to the warm embrace of Slyphe.

You slip blissfully into death.

Vyxsis has been drowned by the Maelstrom, her dead lungs forced to draw breath once more.

[Death sequences ensues, and upon reviving, Vyxsis immediately returns to Libec Cay.]

As you touch a repaired nautilite bangle with opal accents it begins to glow softly, and you feel a tugging at your soul.
You are pulled along by a repaired nautilite bangle with opal accents, warping through space to meet with Leana.

------------Changed Area-------------- Now in (Libec Cay)
Before the throne of Change.
A small pool of rippling seawater is set near to the throne. Keladorn, captain of the temple guard stands watch here, trident at the ready. Covered by an ever-shifting veil of seawater, a large throne resembling a rising torrent of water sits here. Resting upon a tall pedestal, a set of conch shells shine brightly here. Antennae twitching at the slightest breeze, an oversized ant is here. An toad of fairly a large size sits quietly here. Water violently swirling about Its form, Slyphe, the Maelstrom is here. It wields Tempest's Wrath in Its left hand.
You see exits leading north, northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest.

Leana cups your cheek, leaning in to tenderly kiss you.
You throw your arms around Leana's neck and smother her with lustful kisses.

You see Slyphe raise Its voice and shout, "And so, a change has been wrought. An unliving now lives."

[[queue IC and OOC messages going WHAT'S HAPPENING AAAH from a gajillion ppl]]

Clearwater's voice resonates across the land, "Praise be the Maelstrom!"

Having returned, Vyxsis looks down at her hands and takes a few moments to breathe. "It does feel... different."

Slyphe offers Leana a wide smile, before nodding to you. "And I am pleased, to the extent that I can be, with you."

Shachalai vociferates thunderingly, "The cycle turns!"

Alathesia's voice resonates across the land, "Yadda yadda shhh, you are disturbing my quiet time."

Leana reaches out to take hold of your hands, "You feel warmer," she comments.

Vyxsis sighs again - truly sighs - and looks up at Slyphe. "I thank You, but I must be clear - this is only one change. I remain Indorani." She squeezes Leana's hands, fondly enjoying the sensation.

Slyphe begins to shimmer, already vanishing, but He responds one last time, still smiling. "As a river cuts a mountain... in time."

Slyphe's form bursts into a torrent of water that washes over the area violently until it disperses and They are gone.

The corners of Leana's mouth lift slightly in a small grin.

Leana sticks out her tongue and says, "Good sense of humor."

You say, "Mmm, They always did joke a bit - which I can certainly appreciate."

With the God gone and her breath restored, Vyxsis's attention returns fully to Leana. "We should get off this island, I think... no sense helping the river on its way through the mountain."

Leana begins to follow you.

You draw a square of light from your deck that forms into the Universe.
You fling the card at the ground, and it vanishes into the earth in a spark of magic.

A shimmering, translucent image rises up before you, its glittering surface displaying the verdant grasslands, soaring mountains, sprawling settlements and deep blue seas of the Aetolia mainland.

You reach out and touch the map before you. Your surroundings spin as you melt effortlessly into the image.