I've been waiting for that kind of lie, satisfaction guaranteed

Late day 3 - Momentarily private!

Located to one side of the temple is a plot of land that features an array of overgrown potted plants, small sculptures and other markers all spread out and placed in different areas. There are also some personal possessions placed around these objects. While clearly a memorial of some kind, there are no graves present here and no details that could reveal who each marker is for. Unlike the rest of the upper level of the island, which has become overrun by devil’s ivy, the memorial garden has remarkably remained unaffected.
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Pippi
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Location: I'm from England!

I've been waiting for that kind of lie, satisfaction guaranteed

#1

Post by Pippi »

((Katie Agustien continued from ieatnothing))

She was far away from the woods now, practically on the other side of the world to them. If she turned and looked back, she could follow the path as it snaked down the hill towards the center of the island, and disappeared into the treeline. There was no sign of Forrest, or Meilin, or even Dane. Nothing to suggest any of them had followed her, or even tried.

Good. All she’d needed to do was to lose the other three, and to get to a different location, and she’d achieved both her targets. It hadn’t mattered where she ended up. It wasn’t as though Saffron’s location was gonna be handily signposted for her, after all. She just needed a restart, a fresh place to start searching for her girlfriend, without being surrounded by people who… well.

Images of broken noses and blood and fury swept through her mind again, and Katie gritted her teeth, continuing her walk up to the cliffside.

The fresh air was cleansing, now that she didn’t have to share it with three other people and feel it slowly replaced with tension and frustration, and she gave herself a moment to close her eyes and feel it rush through her hair. The sea breeze, with its hint of salt and its chill streaming through her pipes was enough to momentarily clear out everything from her mind.

And for that moment, it was pleasant.

But in the next, the realisation that it was cutting off the urge and drive to find Saffron before it was too late hit her, and she opened her eyes, and let the image of Cammy’s body stick to her mind once more, and kept on walking.

She went to the gardens, rather than the temple. No real reason why, it was pretty much a coinflip, but she was tired of being cooped up and surrounded, whether by walls and ceilings or by overarching branches and vines. Her footsteps alternated, thud and tap on the stone pathways, splash and squelch whenever she stepped onto grass.

It was peaceful in the garden. Peaceful, quiet. Empty. It was no longer a surprise to her, so it was hard to feel more than a tiny twinge of disappointment. There was nowhere really to hide out here. She stopped next to a small pile of stones, a memorial that looked much much newer than the other weathered marks of respect, imagining Saffron jumping out from behind them, yelling ‘boo!’ at her.

Katie smiled, even as her hand trembled. Just a small moment of respite. Then on to the next location. On to the next spot of hope.
[+] V9
Amber Barnes
Dennis "Buck" Buckley
Patty English
Alejandro Garcia de Teresa
[+] The Past
V8
S009 - Trinity Ashmore - DECEASED - Sasumata - Embrace the dark you call a home, gaze upon an empty white throne - overlords! > Zeus > Road > Recycle > Clarification > Now? > Dodge
Pregame - Annabelle > Light > Treasures

S019 - Robin Valenti - DECEASED - Bowie knife - And if you don't love me now, you will never love me again, I can still hear you saying you would never break the chain - Lights
Pregame - Tears
The Past - like > You
It's Media - awry

S038 - Jess Kawazoe - DECEASED - MAC-11 - What's going on? Could this be my understanding? It's not your fault, I was being too demanding - Veridis > Lines > Circuit > Human
Pregame - Voyager
It's Media - ALERT

S054 - Beatrice Briggs - DECEASED - Broadaxe - Calling for the hero, here comes a big rush, if only for tomorrow, hold on and push up - Prison > Healing > father > Flowers > Beautiful > Gentle > Sing > Ordovician > You > Permian > World > sunflower > universe
Pregame - Sunset

Left Behind (Pregame)
Poppy Fontaine - Here comes the sun, here comes the raging sun, and it's raging on and so we rage as one, on until the day is done - Pregame - door > Fight!
It's Media - neighbors

Ada Bentley - Stranded on an island made of glass, trapped between the future and the past - Pregame - Intro
It's Media - Typo! > Neighbourhood > everyone

V7
B006 - Stepney Cruz - DEAD - Dynasty decapitated, you just might see a ghost tonight - Mountain Bike - Localised - Catastrophe - Inferno
Pregame - Chill - Loss - Realm
Trip - Loved

G035 - Katie Agustien - DEAD - There's only two ways that these things can go, good or bad and how was I to know that all your friends won't hold any grudges, I got the final judgment - The World's Sharpest Knife™ - Dread - Skin - ieatnothing - Satisfaction - Tempest - Zero
Pregame - Vend-etta - Flames - Fleet - Monachopsis - Glitter
Trip - G҉ A҉ N҉ G҉

B028 - Aurelien Valter - DEAD - When everything's lost, they pick up their hearts and avenge defeat, before it all starts, they suffer through harm just to touch a dream - Spiked Mace, Glock 19, Min-Jae Parker's Crossbow - Nightmare - Bubbles - Neighbourhood - Tragedy - Make It - Fiend - Sleet - Love - Walls - Friends - Key - Everything - Gotta - Ghosts - Alone
Pregame - Shark - Heart
Prom - Link - Gradation - Ballare
Trip - Inferis - Scusare

B052 - Garren Mortimer - DEAD- Cut up and I can't feel my hands, no need to chase, can you relate, can you keep up the pace like you're dying for this? - Bryan Calvert's SPAS-12, Alligator tooth sword - Sky - Geek - Nation - No - Dilemma - Mauerbauertraurigkeit - Struck - Punishment - Énouement - Pain - Learn - lamb - Moves
Pregame - Rain
Trip - Life

Meanwhile
Lyra Doyle - Let's live tonight like fireflies, and one by one light up the sky - Pop!
Pregame - Evolution - Life - Lo Mein
Memories - Forward - Odds

Dean Puchero - By July you'd made a whole bunch of brand new friends, people you used to look down on, and you'd figured out a way to make real money - Phone - Angel
Pregame - Generation - Prince
Memories - Star
Prom - Sun - Luster

V6
Bryony Adams - Burning bright until the end, now you'll be missing from the photographs
Astrid Tate - So what became of loving man, and what became of you?
Mia Rose - You can't understand that I won't leave 'til we're finished here, and then you'll find out where it all went wrong

V5
Owen Kay - I fold my tie and ribbon to hide my scars, that's how it starts
Amy Bachelor - Can you whisper, as it crumbles and breaks, as you shiver, count up all your mistakes
Francis St. Ledger - So a day when you've lost yourself completely could be a night when your life ends

V4
George Leidman (Adopted from Blastinus) - Now if we jump together at least we can swim far away from the wreck that we made
Tim - Freddie - Kendra
[+] The Future
Boyd Adkinson - Ain't no surprise that I can't sleep tonight, my only vice is standing by your side
Redd Quintero
Melissa 'Lissa' McCree
Jamie Mittelman
Tabitha 'Tabby' Sun
Natalie McGuiness
Takumi Tsunoda
Ophelia Wright
Anna Montgomery
Jordan Rush
Patton Tesser
"bryony and alba would definitely join the terrorists quote me on this put this quote in signatures put it in history books" - Cicada Days, 2017
Aura
Posts: 564
Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 4:01 pm

#2

Post by Aura »

(Saffron Fields continued from No Center)

Despite her best efforts, Saffron had gotten separated from Arizona. Now she was left to wander the island alone with her thoughts, which were not being particularly useful at the moment. Just reminders that she had lost everyone, she couldn't survive alone, Caroline had died because she couldn't find her in time...

... Yeah, she didn't like that particular one very much.

Her supplies were another major issue. Saffron's metabolism was on the faster side thanks to her near-constant training, but she had to make her food and water last. She would eat a little, just enough to feel that she wouldn't collapse, then move on. While this kept her from draining her supplies too quickly, it also made sure that she felt hungry and thirsty almost 100% of the time. She was tempted to try to loot the next corpse that she saw. She didn't have any malicious intentions, but she needed to survive. While she didn't have the desire to kill, she figured that lifting supplies from the deceased wasn't too objectionable. After all, it was better to put them to use rather than let them sit there and rot.

Of course, that assumed that she actually found any dead bodies, or anyone at all. Since she got separated from Arizona, she actually hadn't seen anyone, living or dead. It was almost as though she had slipped into a dimension where no one else existed. She had never imagined that impending doom would be so boring, which seemed like a strange thing to complain about.

Her travels wound up bringing her from one garden to another. Her map called it the Memorial Garden, and although she didn't know exactly what it was memorializing, it brought a small smile to her face. Unlike the overgrown mess that she had visited before, this garden was neatly maintained despite its age, looking quite serene. It gave her a small form of comfort.

She searched around the garden more out of curiosity than anything, still using her pool cue as a walking stick because she had simply gotten used to it by then. She looked around the respectful memorials until something caught her eye. A tall, muscular girl. Her hair to her shoulders, her outfit from the bus, just standing there. It was almost like a dream, or a mirage powered by hope. Saffron called out to her.

"Katie?"
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Pippi
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Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 7:04 pm
Location: I'm from England!

#3

Post by Pippi »

The footsteps behind Katie weren’t so much drowned out as absorbed, by the sound of the rain and the clifftop wind. They merged together, turned into just more of the island’s atmosphere, its background noise. There had been some novelty to the rain when it had first arrived; it had given her surroundings a different feel, turning the island into a whole different one. But now it was just making everything damp and even more miserable, so now she just did her best to tune it all out.

The footsteps she could just ignore as part of the rainfall. But the voice? Oh, the voice was carried from something else entirely other than the water and the wind.

Her head perked up at the sound, barely daring to believe she’d heard it correctly. There was no mistaken the word that had been spoken, it was hard not to recognise your own name being said after all. But she had to be mistaking the voice for someone else’s. Hearing another girl’s voice and replacing it with what she wanted to hear. She turned, preparing herself for disappointment.

There she was.

Saffron stood at the entrance to the garden, a slate grey sky as a backdrop, just like that first day on the bridge. Some of the pieces were different - the pool cue, the collar around her neck - but the image was enough for Katie to connect the two days, for her heart to flutter away and her mind to go blank once again.

Katie stared at Saffron, mouth hanging slightly open, for what felt like hours. Her hand cracked open, the knife tumbling from it into the damp earth, and before she’d even finished shrugging off her bag, she was running to Saffron, as fast as she could, kicking up water and mud behind her.

She flung her arms around Saffron’s waist, clinging tightly to her, almost knocking the other girl over. She buried her face into her neck, and she felt herself shaking, wordlessly crying into her shoulder.
[+] V9
Amber Barnes
Dennis "Buck" Buckley
Patty English
Alejandro Garcia de Teresa
[+] The Past
V8
S009 - Trinity Ashmore - DECEASED - Sasumata - Embrace the dark you call a home, gaze upon an empty white throne - overlords! > Zeus > Road > Recycle > Clarification > Now? > Dodge
Pregame - Annabelle > Light > Treasures

S019 - Robin Valenti - DECEASED - Bowie knife - And if you don't love me now, you will never love me again, I can still hear you saying you would never break the chain - Lights
Pregame - Tears
The Past - like > You
It's Media - awry

S038 - Jess Kawazoe - DECEASED - MAC-11 - What's going on? Could this be my understanding? It's not your fault, I was being too demanding - Veridis > Lines > Circuit > Human
Pregame - Voyager
It's Media - ALERT

S054 - Beatrice Briggs - DECEASED - Broadaxe - Calling for the hero, here comes a big rush, if only for tomorrow, hold on and push up - Prison > Healing > father > Flowers > Beautiful > Gentle > Sing > Ordovician > You > Permian > World > sunflower > universe
Pregame - Sunset

Left Behind (Pregame)
Poppy Fontaine - Here comes the sun, here comes the raging sun, and it's raging on and so we rage as one, on until the day is done - Pregame - door > Fight!
It's Media - neighbors

Ada Bentley - Stranded on an island made of glass, trapped between the future and the past - Pregame - Intro
It's Media - Typo! > Neighbourhood > everyone

V7
B006 - Stepney Cruz - DEAD - Dynasty decapitated, you just might see a ghost tonight - Mountain Bike - Localised - Catastrophe - Inferno
Pregame - Chill - Loss - Realm
Trip - Loved

G035 - Katie Agustien - DEAD - There's only two ways that these things can go, good or bad and how was I to know that all your friends won't hold any grudges, I got the final judgment - The World's Sharpest Knife™ - Dread - Skin - ieatnothing - Satisfaction - Tempest - Zero
Pregame - Vend-etta - Flames - Fleet - Monachopsis - Glitter
Trip - G҉ A҉ N҉ G҉

B028 - Aurelien Valter - DEAD - When everything's lost, they pick up their hearts and avenge defeat, before it all starts, they suffer through harm just to touch a dream - Spiked Mace, Glock 19, Min-Jae Parker's Crossbow - Nightmare - Bubbles - Neighbourhood - Tragedy - Make It - Fiend - Sleet - Love - Walls - Friends - Key - Everything - Gotta - Ghosts - Alone
Pregame - Shark - Heart
Prom - Link - Gradation - Ballare
Trip - Inferis - Scusare

B052 - Garren Mortimer - DEAD- Cut up and I can't feel my hands, no need to chase, can you relate, can you keep up the pace like you're dying for this? - Bryan Calvert's SPAS-12, Alligator tooth sword - Sky - Geek - Nation - No - Dilemma - Mauerbauertraurigkeit - Struck - Punishment - Énouement - Pain - Learn - lamb - Moves
Pregame - Rain
Trip - Life

Meanwhile
Lyra Doyle - Let's live tonight like fireflies, and one by one light up the sky - Pop!
Pregame - Evolution - Life - Lo Mein
Memories - Forward - Odds

Dean Puchero - By July you'd made a whole bunch of brand new friends, people you used to look down on, and you'd figured out a way to make real money - Phone - Angel
Pregame - Generation - Prince
Memories - Star
Prom - Sun - Luster

V6
Bryony Adams - Burning bright until the end, now you'll be missing from the photographs
Astrid Tate - So what became of loving man, and what became of you?
Mia Rose - You can't understand that I won't leave 'til we're finished here, and then you'll find out where it all went wrong

V5
Owen Kay - I fold my tie and ribbon to hide my scars, that's how it starts
Amy Bachelor - Can you whisper, as it crumbles and breaks, as you shiver, count up all your mistakes
Francis St. Ledger - So a day when you've lost yourself completely could be a night when your life ends

V4
George Leidman (Adopted from Blastinus) - Now if we jump together at least we can swim far away from the wreck that we made
Tim - Freddie - Kendra
[+] The Future
Boyd Adkinson - Ain't no surprise that I can't sleep tonight, my only vice is standing by your side
Redd Quintero
Melissa 'Lissa' McCree
Jamie Mittelman
Tabitha 'Tabby' Sun
Natalie McGuiness
Takumi Tsunoda
Ophelia Wright
Anna Montgomery
Jordan Rush
Patton Tesser
"bryony and alba would definitely join the terrorists quote me on this put this quote in signatures put it in history books" - Cicada Days, 2017
Aura
Posts: 564
Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 4:01 pm

#4

Post by Aura »

Saffron let her pool cue fall to the ground as she accepted Katie into her arms, draping them over the other girl's shoulders before embracing her. She patted her on the back and kissed her lightly on the cheek, just as grateful for the reunion as she was.

She stood there for a few minutes, giving Katie the comfort that she clearly needed as she cried into Saffron's shoulder. She hadn't heard Katie's name on the announcements yet, so she knew that she didn't kill anyone. However, that didn't mean that she hadn't suffered in her own right. And whatever she went through, Saffron intended to let her let it all out, right there with her, in a safe place.

"I was so scared." She admits, rubbing Katie's back. "I was afraid that I'd hear your name on the morning announcements, and I'd never see you again." She leaned back and gently stroked she side of Katie's face with her good hand. "But you're here. You're alive." She starts to get audibly choked up. "We're alive."

Saffron's eyes begin to water as she hugs Katie again.
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Pippi
Posts: 1393
Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 7:04 pm
Location: I'm from England!

#5

Post by Pippi »

She felt Saffron kiss her cheek and rub her back, and she slowly stopped noticing the raindrops on her hair and her shoulders, and started feeling as though she could let everything around her disappear whilst she remained in Saffron’s arms. The rain, the collar around her neck, the knife lying in the mud behind her, Forrest, Meilin, Dane, Bill, Erika and the words she’d said, Cassidy…

Everything was gone, except for her, and except for Saffron, and the warmth and safety of her embrace.

Saffron was sweaty and soaked through, dirt and foliage clinging to her, but Katie didn’t give a shit about any of that. She remembered the evening after Saffron’s dance recital, how she’d tried to stay as close to her as possible. She remembered the feeling of Saffron’s arm around her shoulders, of the way she’d smelled, her bright and beautiful voice, and those senses trickled back into Katie’s subconscious.

She felt safe. She felt safer than she ever had in her life. A dangerous way to feel to be sure, but here, with nobody around but the two of them, she let herself be so.

“We’re both alive…”

Katie’s voice was soft and trembling, such a far cry from its usual self, so very different to the last time she’d opened her mouth. She could still feel the gentle touch of Saffron’s fingertips on her cheek, and she softly made space between the two of them, arms still around the other girl’s waist.

“I’ve been looking for you since I woke up, and… and I kept on thinking I’d be too late, that the island would just be too big, that I’d run into too much bullshit to keep on searching for you, but… here we are…”

It was an odd thing to think about at a time like this, but they’d never officially said they were dating, had they? Never properly used the term ‘girlfriends’ out loud, although God knows Katie had thought it plenty. It sounded wonderful, that proper label, that… officialness to it, but it also didn’t matter anymore. They were in love. Words were cheap. Katie leaned in and kissed Saffron on the lips.

“Let’s go someplace else,” she murmured, smiling, tears sparkling in her eyes. “Not the temple, that place looks ruined to shit. Let's walk together a bit. Find some shelter. Together.”

((Katie Agustien continued in Tempest of Seasons))
[+] V9
Amber Barnes
Dennis "Buck" Buckley
Patty English
Alejandro Garcia de Teresa
[+] The Past
V8
S009 - Trinity Ashmore - DECEASED - Sasumata - Embrace the dark you call a home, gaze upon an empty white throne - overlords! > Zeus > Road > Recycle > Clarification > Now? > Dodge
Pregame - Annabelle > Light > Treasures

S019 - Robin Valenti - DECEASED - Bowie knife - And if you don't love me now, you will never love me again, I can still hear you saying you would never break the chain - Lights
Pregame - Tears
The Past - like > You
It's Media - awry

S038 - Jess Kawazoe - DECEASED - MAC-11 - What's going on? Could this be my understanding? It's not your fault, I was being too demanding - Veridis > Lines > Circuit > Human
Pregame - Voyager
It's Media - ALERT

S054 - Beatrice Briggs - DECEASED - Broadaxe - Calling for the hero, here comes a big rush, if only for tomorrow, hold on and push up - Prison > Healing > father > Flowers > Beautiful > Gentle > Sing > Ordovician > You > Permian > World > sunflower > universe
Pregame - Sunset

Left Behind (Pregame)
Poppy Fontaine - Here comes the sun, here comes the raging sun, and it's raging on and so we rage as one, on until the day is done - Pregame - door > Fight!
It's Media - neighbors

Ada Bentley - Stranded on an island made of glass, trapped between the future and the past - Pregame - Intro
It's Media - Typo! > Neighbourhood > everyone

V7
B006 - Stepney Cruz - DEAD - Dynasty decapitated, you just might see a ghost tonight - Mountain Bike - Localised - Catastrophe - Inferno
Pregame - Chill - Loss - Realm
Trip - Loved

G035 - Katie Agustien - DEAD - There's only two ways that these things can go, good or bad and how was I to know that all your friends won't hold any grudges, I got the final judgment - The World's Sharpest Knife™ - Dread - Skin - ieatnothing - Satisfaction - Tempest - Zero
Pregame - Vend-etta - Flames - Fleet - Monachopsis - Glitter
Trip - G҉ A҉ N҉ G҉

B028 - Aurelien Valter - DEAD - When everything's lost, they pick up their hearts and avenge defeat, before it all starts, they suffer through harm just to touch a dream - Spiked Mace, Glock 19, Min-Jae Parker's Crossbow - Nightmare - Bubbles - Neighbourhood - Tragedy - Make It - Fiend - Sleet - Love - Walls - Friends - Key - Everything - Gotta - Ghosts - Alone
Pregame - Shark - Heart
Prom - Link - Gradation - Ballare
Trip - Inferis - Scusare

B052 - Garren Mortimer - DEAD- Cut up and I can't feel my hands, no need to chase, can you relate, can you keep up the pace like you're dying for this? - Bryan Calvert's SPAS-12, Alligator tooth sword - Sky - Geek - Nation - No - Dilemma - Mauerbauertraurigkeit - Struck - Punishment - Énouement - Pain - Learn - lamb - Moves
Pregame - Rain
Trip - Life

Meanwhile
Lyra Doyle - Let's live tonight like fireflies, and one by one light up the sky - Pop!
Pregame - Evolution - Life - Lo Mein
Memories - Forward - Odds

Dean Puchero - By July you'd made a whole bunch of brand new friends, people you used to look down on, and you'd figured out a way to make real money - Phone - Angel
Pregame - Generation - Prince
Memories - Star
Prom - Sun - Luster

V6
Bryony Adams - Burning bright until the end, now you'll be missing from the photographs
Astrid Tate - So what became of loving man, and what became of you?
Mia Rose - You can't understand that I won't leave 'til we're finished here, and then you'll find out where it all went wrong

V5
Owen Kay - I fold my tie and ribbon to hide my scars, that's how it starts
Amy Bachelor - Can you whisper, as it crumbles and breaks, as you shiver, count up all your mistakes
Francis St. Ledger - So a day when you've lost yourself completely could be a night when your life ends

V4
George Leidman (Adopted from Blastinus) - Now if we jump together at least we can swim far away from the wreck that we made
Tim - Freddie - Kendra
[+] The Future
Boyd Adkinson - Ain't no surprise that I can't sleep tonight, my only vice is standing by your side
Redd Quintero
Melissa 'Lissa' McCree
Jamie Mittelman
Tabitha 'Tabby' Sun
Natalie McGuiness
Takumi Tsunoda
Ophelia Wright
Anna Montgomery
Jordan Rush
Patton Tesser
"bryony and alba would definitely join the terrorists quote me on this put this quote in signatures put it in history books" - Cicada Days, 2017
Aura
Posts: 564
Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 4:01 pm

#6

Post by Aura »

"I was afraid too." Saffron said as she and Katie looked at each other, still in a loose embrace. "But now, it's okay."

She graciously accepts Katie's kiss, holding her a little closer when their lips touched. It was a liberating experience, a feeling of freedom after the massive anxiety of the last couple of days. It wasn't the same feeling that she had when they first met, or when Katie went to her dance recital, or when they kissed for the first time, but it was still a good feeling. In the deepest part of her heart, Saffron knew that this was right, the two of them together again at last.

And she hoped that it would be for a very long time.

"Wherever you want, Katie." Saffron agreed, her fingers interlaced with Katie's as they walked out of the gardens. There was nothing that could have caused her to lose the smile that was on her face at that moment.

(Saffron Fields continued elsewhere...)
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