| An Unholy Rebirth | ||
| Date Started: November 13th, 2024 Date Finished: Ongoing Next Role-Play: N/A Timeline: November, 1620 Setting: West Blue Characters Involved: Sora, Mortis Beatrice | ||
| Participants | ||
| User:Yourlocalwreck • User:Blackdagger01 | ||
Rude Awakening[]
A sharp gasp filled the small box Sora was in as he jolted awake. He coughed, feeling the salt and dirt burning his throat and lungs as they cleared themselves.
He opened his eyes. A thick layer of salt cracked as the shell covering his eyelids fell away. But it didn't help; his vision was granted no more sight than it was when his eyes were shut.
He felt his skin slick with sweat, clothes that weren't his pressed tightly against his body. Drenched. Cold. He shivered. The cold was no stranger to the boy. But this one, it felt different. Like he was being… Forgotten.
Where was he? He tried pushing against his prison, but it didn't budge. He felt the hard wood creak slightly under the strength he applied. But he could barely move.
It dawned on him. He was being buried alive. His fate was sealed prematurely. He screamed, or, tried to. But the air refused to leave his lungs; only coughing up salt and seawater.
He was trapped. Unable to move. Unable to scream. He always relished the idea of his death. But now that the moment was finally upon him, he wanted anything but.
In a fit of panic, he placed his hands on the top of the prison. He pressed once softly. Dirt fell into his opened eyes and mouth, only bringing more irritation to him. His muscles ached. What could he possibly have done to get here?
But now was not the time to ponder his situation. In one final, panicked, push to save his life, he pushed with all the strength his body could possibly muster. And by some God-given miracle, it worked. The lid of what he realized to be a coffin snapped off, freeing him from the box.
He sat up, eyes in pain as the harsh sunlight unmercifully pierced his vision. With a groan, he tried to look up and see what was going on.
And there, the first sight before him as he awoke, risen from his premature grave, a silhouette rested against the viasge of a horizon-bound sun. Like darkness incarnate, the figure that sought his death six feet below.
Raising it's scythe like the reaper determined to send him back, but something was off. No, not a scythe, it was a shovel.
"What the hell?!" The dark figure screamed, swinging down the wide of the shovel toward the side of Sora's dirt covered face.
Sora saw the looming figure imposing over him. Once more, he thought that he was about to die. The Grim Reaper itself has come to claim his soul. Or so he thought.
In reality, just as he closed his eyes the shovel smashed against the side of his head. Having his salt crusted hair bashed between the dirt wall and the metal shovel didn't help his confusion. But he was left conscious enough to shout out at the figure above him.
"Shit! What was that about, huh?!"
"Well I'll be damned..." The voice spoke out, feminine in tract, a curious tone to her voice. The woman stepped down into the pit that was meant to be Sora's grave. No longer silhouetted against the setting sun her features would come into focus. Short, black hair drapped against pale white skin next to which her red eyes stared down at him like rubied gemstones, shining just as brightly. "Tell me, what was the other side like? How'd you get back? Hell filled to the brim? Deal with the devil? Perhaps you're the next messiah? Oh, sorry for hitting you with the shovel by the way. I don't typically deal with zombies."
"I.. Uh.. I'm not sure." Sora mumbled as he scratched his head, flecks of dirt falling onto his clothes as he did. His tanned skin contrasted his white hair as he continued to utter out slurred words. "I don't remember it. At all. In fact, I don't even know how I got here. Why am I even in a box?" He patted his face as the realization swept over his face. "Oh my God. Did I die? Am I a zombie now?!"
The woman seemed to ponder his question for a moment, bringing hand to face to gently pinch her chin. "Hmm, that's a good question. Since you don't remember anything about the land beyond I'd assume not, or at the very least that would be disappointing. Either way, I lay the dead to rest, so, alive or undead you're not really my problem anymore. I will say though, I couldn't find a pulse when those fishermen brought you to me. You're lucky I decided not to cut you open, I thought about harvesting your organs but God knows where you'd been." She shrugged, "Lucky you."
The raven-haired woman lowered her hand to the boy in the box, offering to help him up. "Beatrice," She stated her name with no other context.
The kid patted his chest at the realization. "Geez. Thanks for not cutting me open I guess...? I don't know what to say to that, so.." He spoke as he reached his hand out and up towards Beatrice, taking hers as he lifted himself up. His hands were rough and heavily calloused, firm as bricks.
"You can call me Sora," the kid said bluntly. He grunted as he rose to his feet, wobbling slightly on his still numb legs. "I guess you've never had a zombie come up before? If that's what I even am.." "I certainly look like one.." He thought to himself.
Beatrice shook her head in the negative, "I've heard the stories but in the Blues people tend to stay dead. Not too much weird goes on around these parts Until you at least, Sora." The woman spoke, black lips stretched into an unnervingly calm smile given the odd events happen before her. "Either way, since you aren't dead and I'm pretty sure you're not a traditional zombie, what do you say you tell me how you ended up all the way out here? I mean, if you were an adult, hell, even a little older than you are now I wouldn't bother asking. But you're a bit too young to be sailing on your own, you drift off to sea playing pirate?" She asked before seeming to realize something.
"Shishishishi, sorry, I've forgotten my manners. A man wakes from his death I doubt the place he wants to spend much time in is a graveyard." She motioned toward the many other graves surrounding them. "What do you say we head back to my place? Tea?" She asked before he could answer her first question, leaning against the shovel now stabbed into the loose dirt that had once filled the hole Sora had been resting in.
"Yeah. Tea sounds good. And honestly, I wish I could tell you but," Sora rubbed his head as he spoke. "But I can't remember anything at all. It's just... Blurry." He hoisted himself out of the hole, standing next to Beatrice. "I'd hope people stayed dead. I have a feeling I'd be better off dead, too..." He blinked hard, the light burning his eyes. "You won't kidnap me though, right?"
"Shishishi, No, I don't intend to do that. I don't have much use for the living I'm afraid." She laughed, covering her mouth with her hand as she motioned for him to follow her. "Now as for being better off dead... Maybe, I can't say unfortunately. Maybe we'd all be better off dead, maybe it's like the people of Kano say, 'to live is to suffer, only through freedom from this mortal coil can we find peace' but I've never met someone whose come back from the dead. Or well, not one who remembers what it was like on the other side anyways." She shook her head in disappointment as they walked down the steps of a hill at the bottom of which was a medium sized, two story building which overlooked a small, fishing town on the coast of the island.
"That said, I don't think anyone should go rushing to their death, it's like sneaking a peak at a gift before it's the right time, you're ruining it for yourself for a brief moment of relief and satisfaction. So maybe you would be better off dead, but your life is yours, you should live it while you can. After all, we'll have plenty of time to see the other side later. Shishishi," She explained the morbid topic with an oddly cheerful tone, giving the young man a playful wink.
Before long Sora would find himself in a gothic looking home, dim lights, black and purple furniture and curtains, occult imagery lined the walls, books on everything from ghosts to mummification lined her bookshelf.
Beatrice entered the room carrying a porcelain tea set on a tray, sitting it down on the coffee table between them she took a seat on the opposite couch before pouring two steaming cups. Alongside the tea set were a pair of spider-shaped cookies, her head motioning that he could have one if he so desired.
"Maybe a bit of calming tea and a snack will help jog your memory. But while we wait for your past to clear itself back up, maybe you'd like a bit of insight into your future?" The odd woman pulled a deck of tarot cards from her coat pocket, an amused look on her face.
Sora tenderly took the cup between his calloused hands, and softly sipped the liquid. He looked at the biscuit, but ignored it. He wasn't hungry. The cards looked interesting. He hadn't seen them before. "Sure.." He mumbled out through soft sips of tea. It was like he could feel his dry throat moisten after every sip. Like he was being saved from whatever cruel hell he had home through.
He still couldn't remember much, but he innately knew his current situation was better than his one before. That he was safe for now.
Beatrice clapsed her hands together in witheld excitment as he agreed to allow her to do a reading.
"Goodie!" She exclaimed before she began to shuffle the cards before tossing out three on the table in front of them with the face of the card being flat against the table.
"Now we'll see what the future has in store for you. The arcana is the means by which all is revealed, Sora. You may not believe in them and I won't scold you if you don't but do take them seriously. Even if only as something to reflect on later." She explained before flipping over the first card.
"Death." She told him, "and in its upright position, my favorite card." She chuckled softly before looking up to Sora. "Don't worry, it isn't scary. Or well, it doesn't mean that you're going to die or anything. Death represents the end of something, it represents change. A part of your life has come to its end and a new one will soon begin. Wherever you've come from, whatever life you lived before, it's over now."
She tapped the death card before pushing it toward him and then flipping over the next.
The next tarot card showed a man about to walk off a cliff with a white dog tugging at his leg to pull him away from it. "Oh! Speaking of new! Yes, the upright Fool. The fool represents the beginning of something new, a fresh start, endless possibilities. You're the master of your own fate now, Sora. You're free to be whoever you want to be. Your choices are practically endless."
Like Death before she pushed the Fool card toward Sora before moving to hover her hand over the third card. Beatrice hesitated for a moment, but only a moment before flipping it to reveal a card, this time upside down so that it it's upright picture faced Beatrice as opposed to Sora.
"Strength in the reverse." She nodded her head, "That makes sense, yes, you are still very young." She spoke before remembering he wouldn't understand what it meant.
"A reversed arcana represents the opposite of it's true meaning. Strength typically represents harmony within oneself, bravery, leadership, self assurance. However, in the reverse it represents self doubt, a lack of inner strength, and the inability to assert oneself. You're a young man, likely going through a lot of changes at the moment. It makes sense to lack confidence. Now altogether..." She pushed the reversed Strength card toward Sora.
Beatrice took a moment, sipping at her own tea before replacing it back on the table with a content sigh.
"A major point in your life has come to an end but with it a whole new world of possibilities have become open to you. From now on it's up to you to find the courage and strength within yourself to take hold of those possibilities. You can't let self doubt and insecurity force you into a state of stillness, not when you're only just now at the beginnings of your journey." Beatrice explained her interpretation of the cards before looking to Sora to see what he might think.
"Uhh...." Sora stared at the cards dumbfoundedly, blankly looking at them. His eyes saw the art on the cards, but, he still didn't entirely understand what Beatrice had explained to him. Not at all.
With a confused look smeared across his face, he smiled at the older woman. He nodded his head, and put his hands together. "Thank you, that sounds wonderful. It will... Probably help me. I think." He wished he could remember... Anything. Perhaps this truly was his new beginning. He wasn't meant to discover what lay in the past.
He put his hands on the table, leaning over slightly. "Thank you for taking me in and giving me some warmth. But, I need to know where to go next. I can't stay here forever. And I have to discover where I came from, you know? It's like being a blank sheet of paper. I hate that. I want to go out and fill my piece of paper with all sorts of beautiful drawings." He closed his eyes, envisioning something. His future, or the piece of paper. Who knows. He smiled slightly. "Doesn't that sound great?..."
Beatrice crossed one leg over the other, raising her hand and resting her chin against the back of it as she leaned forward, staring at the boy in thought. "Of course, I've heard similar things a thousand times before. Boys and girls who want to take to the sea to discover themselves. It's almost as though there is something out there drawing them there. Some sweet whisper that calls to them, a siren's song perhaps? That might explain the state you were found in," She reached forward and gathered up the cards, shuffling them together neatly once more before placing them in the inner pocket of her coat.
"A blank sheet, an empty bowl, wet clay yet to harden, they're all very beautiful things. Yet to take shape, undefined, limitless with possibilities. Yes, but for now you should rest. You're still half-dead as far as looks are concerned. Spend a few days resting and in the meantime I'll make arrangements for you to leave this place. A fool on a journey, what will become of you?" Her question was rethorical, rising up from her seat.
"You can stay in my guest room. I have plenty of clothes for you to try though most are quite formal in appearance. They're intended for the dead, I wonder why they're so intent on looking good in the afterlife? Ha!" She seemed to laugh at a though she had before shaking her head. "Dinner will be ready in a bit, so do as I say and rest."
"B- Fine. I'll stay, just a while. A day at most. I can't remember anything, sure. But I know. I can feel, something urgent calling out to me. Something I need to figure out. It's not me just trying to find myself. It's like... I can hear their voices echoing across the waves to me. And I- Ugh. The screams... I can't forget them, I don't remember who, but-" Sora stopped speaking.
"I'm sorry. I don't know what I was doing. Thank you for taking me in, Beatrice. And for reading my future. I can't thank you enough." He stood up from the chair, sending it backwards. "And I will take those clothes, thanks."
Beatrice playfully stuck her tongue out at him, "Good, I was afraid you'd argue and I'd have to finish what I was doing earlier." She joked, "Guest room is up the down the hall and to the right. I'll call you when dinner is ready. Don't expect too much, I'm not a great cook."
A Voice Across the Waves[]
Night had fallen and the sun rose once more, to most such a thing was sure to occur but Beatrice always thanked the good fortune to see another sunrise. Standing outside, a large coffin-shaped pack on her back, watching the sun rise over the horizon as she sipped at a mug of black coffee.
Though the air was warm, the heat of the drink made her breath visible in the morning air. Her eyes falling from the horizon to look down at the village below. Small, barely fifteen to twenty houses. Little work to be found in a place like this, even if someone in her profession should be thankful for that.
The sound of hoves against dirt broke her away from her thoughts, looking down the path that led to her home she saw the horse drawn carriage racing up the path. Her red eyes watched as it rode up and stopped only a few feet from it. The horses neighed loudly, kicking up dirt and no doubt waking anyone in the house that was still asleep.
From the carriage came two people, a man and a woman in scrubs followed closely behind but a much nicer dressed man in a black suit and long riding coat. Salt and peppered hair ran out like a waterfall from beneath a bowler cap resting atop his head.
"You arrived faster than I thought. I was sure you wouldn't be here until about lunch time." Beatrice spoke, a teasing tone in her voice.
The man stared her down for a moment before letting out a sigh, "How could I not race here after hearing what you've got planned? I'd thought you were jesting at first but I thought better of it." The Salt and Pepper man spoke with a stern but exasperated tone to his voice.
Beatrice nodded her head, "What can I say? You know me well. It'll happen whether you approve or not. I've been thinking about it for awhile now, just needed a good excuse. We both know I'm right anyhow."
The man pulled a long cane from his coat before beginning to walk around the carriage to look at the house. "Right or wrong, I'd have liked more warning. Luckily the good doctors here were quick to accept."
Beatrice shook her head, "I would have, but he only intends to stay a single day. It would have been too late if I'd waited any longer to tell you."
"The corpse boy is in there then?" He looked up toward the guest room window.
"Yes, Father. Sora is here in the guest room. Though he might have jumped the gun a bit yesterday, the boy was all but dead not long ago. I doubt he'll be up and ready to leave right away. All the same, I'm not the gambling type. Better to be safe than sorry." Beatrice spoke before motioning toward the house. "Coffee?" She asked.
The older man shook his head, "No, I don't have the time I'm afraid. I've got to head back soon, I only came to wish you good luck and bring the other two. Your ship has been loaded up, you're free to leave whenever you'd like. Today, tomorrow, it doesn't matter." He raised his hand, pulling the rim of his bowler cap down over his eyes.
"Wonderful news. I promise you won't regret this, the Mortis name will be a world-wide name soon." She nodded her head, a tone of faith and conviction in her heart.
"Right... I'll be off. Doctors' Worthsfield, take care of the business here while she's gone. Call if you need anything." Beatrice's father spoke before moving back toward the carriage. "Take care, Beatrice. The Grandline is a place of death, a place befitting our kind."
A rapping the guestroom door rang out loudly, breaking the silence of the peaceful morning air. "Sora, if you've got it in you, come down for breakfast." Beatrice's voice rang out from behind the door's wooden body.