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 Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 10:35 pm
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Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 7:47 pm
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Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 7:49 pm
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Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 7:51 pm
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Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 7:52 pm
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Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 7:54 pm
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She was in her element.
Riley sat indian style on the ground, surrounded by the corpses of several animals. Her tentacles were coated and dripping with blood, and she was full. So deliciously full. Her eyes were closed, and it looked as though she was meditating - but in fact, she was carefully locking away any trace of emotion into deep, protected compartments of her mind. She couldn't make herself forget, but she could lock it all away, if only to give Malodore one last gift. She'd protect it from harm. Her kind would never know of her indiscretion.
When she'd concluded, she opened her mind to the hive, and her eyes rolled back as the rush of thought filled her. She shivered slightly, taking in every bit of new information that was available. She lost herself in the feeling, letting the flow and ebb of information carry her for a while, before seeking out her target.
Once she found the mind in question, she closed her mind off - but not before a single stray tendril of inquiry had started to inch her way. The Elders were curious about her.. she had shut off just in time.
Father. She murmured into the mind she'd located, though he was so far away. She had no sooner said his name, than her mind was filled with piercing, incapacitating noise. She screamed, dropping to the ground as her hands grabbed her skull. Her body writhed in agony as the pain rifted through her, blinding her. Moments from passing out, her father pulled back.
The numbing pleasure of feeling nothing swept over her, and her cringed body relaxed against the leaves and dirt she lay on. She breathed hard and ragged, taking her time before she finally managed enough power to ask.
Why.
How dare you wait this long to contact us. You have not reported back to the hive in an unacceptable amount of time. The Elders have questioned-
Yes, I can tell the Elders are very curious about how much progress I'm making, gallivanting around like an idiot amongst-
Her mind flooded with pain once more, and her head tilted back in a silent scream that she couldn't even let out. When he was done, his voice was cold and calculating.
What have you learned so far.
She didn't have to tell him anything. She could feel him rip every shred of new information out of her head by force - and she could feel him trying to break her private barriers. It gave him pause.
Hiding something, are we?
Riley found the courage, and will power, to bash against his own private fortressses. Who isn't. She hissed back in retort.
She could tell he was done with her, but she wouldn't let him go. He paused, and his voice turned liquid smooth. What? You have something more to tell me?
I want to go home.
There was a pregnant pause, as her father digested this declaration. Then, out of sheer curiosity, he had to ask. Why?
I don't belong here.
He had to laugh. Of course you don't. That's not why you're there. You have a mission, and you'll finish it, or you'll be discarded. Coming home is not an option.
She wanted to argue, but she felt the solid disconnect as her father abandoned her, and buried her head into the ground.
Complete her mission, or be discarded.
She couldn't decide which option she preferred, right now.
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Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 1:13 am
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Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 1:19 am
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Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 2:17 am
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Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 2:19 am
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Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 3:55 am
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Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2011 10:27 pm
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Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 1:01 am
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Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 4:03 am
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Things had certainly been looking up since the rather unfortunate events that had led to Malodore and Riley's falling out, and subsequent falling back in. The dance had only been a day or so ago, but Riley was still cleaning remnants of Icky Stix sugar out of her apartment. Today, she had changed into a disposable old t-shirt and jeans (which, of course, meant she wore a designer outfit - Riley didn't actually own 'ragged' or 'old' clothing.). and tied her tentacles up tightly into a band of cloth she was using as a handkerchief. This was the day she was going to tackle her aquarium.
The water had been flooded in color and sugar for days - she had transported her poor Bioluminara out of the tank quite a while ago, and it bobbed in a small container nearby while it watched. The aquarium itself was too large for Riley to try and empty on her own, so she chose instead to do things the slow and steady way. She had a large bucket, and she dipped it into the water, filling it up. When she was done, she took the bucket to her window to empty it.
Before she could tip the bucket over, however, she caught a flutter of movement deep in the cloudy rainbow depths. She turned her head to look behind her and check - no, her Bioluminora was most definitely not in the tank anymore.. so what..?
She closed the screen of the window, and then tipped the bucket through - siphoning the water out through the screen's small holes. When the water was gone, she tipped the bucket back over and looked down into the depths of the bucket.
There, within the bucket, flopped five slimy looking little Cephalatos.
What.. where did you come from? She muttered, and hurried to grab another container and fill it with fresh water. She dumped the Cephalatos into them, and observed their small forms squirming through the water.
The Bioluminora, watching through the clear container it was held in, did not seem impressed.
On and on this process went, as Riley continued to grab buckets of the colorful sugar water, and dump it through the screen. With every bucketful, she found herself the owner of more and more of the tiny white creatures. The container was bursting with them. One managed to climb over it's brothers and sisters, take a giant leap, and flop into the container holding the Bioluminora. The jellyfish wrapped one of it's long tentacles around the Cephalatos, picked it up, and flung it right back out. It landed on it's back with a rather painful sounding splat, and sank into the water as it wiggled aimlessly.
When Riley had managed to dump out most of the sugar water, she noticed that the bottom of the tank was home to some white lumps. She filled the tank with a little water to dilute what was left, and found her tank home to several more Cephalatos - only these were in a strange, lumpy, ice cream shaped form. She scooped them all out by hand, and put them in their own separate container. They began to turn the water white immediately.
This is ridiculous.. She counted how many of the little creatures had been either created by, or attracted to, the sugar she'd left in her tank. She gave her Bioluminora a wary glance. Did you know about all of this?
The Bioluminora bubbled innocently.
I might need a bigger tank.. She surmised, as she began scrubbing down the tank itself to clean it of as much sugar as she could. And you're going to have to get used to sugar in your tank. Because it looks like these guys eat it, and they shed it. She murmured at the Bioluminora. It sank to the bottom of the container, clearly unhappy about this turn of events. As Riley scrubbed, she continued to speak to her silent watery pet. Think of it this way, you will be the Queen of the Cephalatos Kingdom. You word is law. You shall rule over the peons and they shall worship you as their one true Mistress. The idea certainly sounded pleasing to Riley, but the Bioluminora didn't seem to be moved by her speech. It remained at the bottom of the container, bubbling in angst.
Or I could put you in Cthulhu's chest.
The Bioluminora swam to the surface, shaking visibly.
That's what I thought.
She finished cleaning the tank, and began filling it with water using the bucket again. When she was done, she dumped all of the grown Cephalotos in first. They zipped around in agitation, looking quite unhappy with their new, sugarless surroundings. She paused for a moment, thinking about how to rectify their agitation, and headed to her kitchenette. She pulled a small box out of a cupboard, and plucked a few sugar cubes from within it. When she returned to her study, she dropped these into the water - the Cephalatos began sucking on them hungrily.
Well, at least those won't make too much of a mess if they eat them fast. She finally returned her Bioluminora to the tank, where it was promptly 'hugged' by as many Cephalatos as could get around it. It sank to the ground and played dead.
That's my girl. You show them who's boss.
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Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 2:42 am
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4:00AM.
The night still holds dark and dreary outside, a pleasant sensation that lulls and comforts a sleeping predator. A sudden spark of light penetrates the darkness of her room when she opens her eyes. She can see the two hazy circles of white on the ceiling, a reflection of the light coming from her own eyes. She tilts her head, and they sway, dancing in perfect harmony with one another. She can hear the stirrings of life in her room, as the creatures that dwell within it start to notice the light as well. One of them - she doesn't bother to check which - jumps up on the bed. It climbs on top of her legs, and after a moment of predatorial stillness, it leaps into the air to try and reach the ceiling. The feline - it's Storm, she realizes vaguely as the cat jumps into her line of sight - doesn't come close. It has no sensibilities, and so it keeps trying to reach for the impossible.
Her failure is acknowledged as a fitting metaphor.
Riley pushes herself up out of the bed, disturbing the feline so effectively that it slides off the covers and slams onto the floor on her back. It flips over almost immediately, scurrying away into the darker corners of the room. Riley can see it perfectly well as it hides there, batting at a stray bit of fluff, completely confident that the shadows protected it from view.
One upward tug of her silk shift leaves Riley abruptly undressed. She reaches for her gym shorts and t-shirt to slip them on. Her sneakers wait as they do every morning, on the left side of the door facing outward. She puts them on, and leaves.
Every thought has it's purpose. She thinks about the amount of kibble to leave Storm in her bowl. She thinks about how gently she can drop the brain into the water-filled treasure chest without waking Cam. She thinks about the strained upper thigh muscle deep in her body, and how much running she can get done this morning without injuring herself further.
Here, she is careful not to think about the run itself. She thinks only about her muscle, and how much strain it can handle. She doesn't think about where she's going. She doesn't think about who she's going with. Her thoughts are carefully orchestrated to the here, and the now. Every thought is precisely compartmentalized in her brain, until she feels safe, and secure. Confident in her capabilities, she lights a single candle in her living room and sits adjacent to it. Her eyes focus on the flickering flame, and she thinks of nothing but the flame as she opens her mind to the hive.
The ebb and flow of information is startling. It seems she joined them at a busy time, and she barely has a moment to identify why the hive is all connected when her father pulls her away and privatizes their thoughts. It is the first time he's ever reached out to her - and she's sure this bodes ill.
What is it? There's no room for cordial frivolities, not that they ever used them in the first place. What's wrong?
Instead of words, Riley is given all of the information at once in a chunk of data, implanted directly into her mind. She processes the scene, watching it like a movie. A large grouping of their hive had attempted to break off to form their own faction. Younglings, mostly. Young, like her. Fresh, moldable minds - easily corrupted.
In her dorm, she stares at the flame, focusing on nothing but it's yellow flickering heat.
She witnesses their instant execution in her mind's eye, the group of fourteen Illithid dropping to the ground at once as their minds were discovered, penetrated, and destroyed. The commotion she had dropped in on was the tumult of information being shared as their brains were being ingested and becoming part of the elder brain. All of their innermost secrets and betrayals, laid bare for her entire hive to sample. There is a mixture of excitement and disgust rippling through the hivemind. They can't look away. It's too interesting. They can't keep watching. It's too horrific.
They choose to keep watching.
Riley chooses to keep watching, as well. She's careful not to let it slip that she's sure her future holds the same in store. She stifles the thought, letting it burn away in the flame of the candle before it can reach her father. All she can think of is the flame. All she can watch is the ingestion of lives. All she can accept is the reality of the inevitable.
Her father is rifling through her head. She can feel it. She keeps watching.
These classes you go to are so frivolous. Do you suppose they'll get more complex once you graduate in years?
Riley stares impassively at the flame. It flickers to the left.
I am certain of it. There's much to be learned that they are keeping from us. Only time will afford me the opportunity to gather the true knowledge we seek.
Time. Her father wavers. I suppose time is one thing we can afford, isn't it?
We can. Not I, she holds back. She knows they individually have no time to spare, and she knows it never matters. The collective will have all the time in the world to figure out how to grasp the reigns of power. Every step she takes can be filled by another, and still another, should she fall. The individual is replacable. The information is collectable. There is nothing to fear from their short, destructive lives.
Her father finishes scouring her mind for new information. Most of it seems centered around the vast number of species that encompass the student body. This overwhelming diversity will sate the elders craving, for now. Once she has catalogued the entire student body, she will have to come up with something else to give them. She feels the wordless disconnect, and is left alone with her thoughts. She finds herself wondering, for the first time, why he never says goodbye.
Her laughter fills her now empty mind, and the candle winks at her playfully as it shares in the joke. She reaches out and snuffs it with two fingers, before carefully allowing herself to think again.
She was late. Malodore would be waiting. She surges out of the living room, bolting out of the door with a quick slam. She locks it, and the previous conversation, behind her.
5:00AM.
The day begins.
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