Dreaming of something new. (Andráska Venora)

[Nixie]

Timestamp: 2nd of Ymiden, 710th.

Inside Nixies home, a patch of fuzzy seaweed swayed at the waters whim. In her absence, a handful of small fish had made themselves at home in its tendrils, but as soon as she returned, they scattered every which way, leaving through the small cracks she hadn’t cared to fix. Her day had been a busy one, spending most of it focused on creating her newest totem. She still needed to awaken its potential and meditate with it, but that could be done tomorrow. For now she would try to sleep.

Settling into her usual spot amongst the seaweed, she thought her excitement would chase away a good night's rest, but exhaustion weighed heavily upon her and she drifted to sleep without delay. While her body rested, her mind swam with thoughts of the adventures that awaited her. Soon she would have her first pair of legs and get to feel dry land beneath new feet. Oh the places she would go! A new and exciting world awaited and her imagination began to conjure up scenery of a shoreline. The sky was so blue and full of stationary fluffy clouds. Small colorful fish swam through the air. Waves lapped, gently, at a pristine beach. Beyond the shore, giant coral structures protruded from the ground like trees. Their branches were full of birds that blew bubbles as they sang to Nixie of far off places and creatures unseen.

Nixies long, pale tresses floated, subtly, up and down with every graceful step. Opalescent purple, orange flecked, eyes took only a moment to absorb her surroundings. While some things were strange, they were boring in comparison to her legs. Long, silky smooth, strong ones replaced the usual slimy looking tentacles she had been born with. Sheer black fabric replaced her usual scant attire, taking the form of a snug strapless dress who’s hem split at her hips into eight tentacle-like strips that hung mid thigh. Like her hair, the eight strips of fabric seemed to move of their own accord, but she couldn’t be bothered with anything but the legs her gaze admired gleefully. Her eyes were wide and the corners of her lips turned up into an excited smile. Sometimes she would stop to wiggle and dig foreign toes into dry sand. Other times she would twirl down the shore with each step just to watch the way her legs listened and responded with grace. Absorbed as she was with her own fantasy, she wouldn’t notice the uninvited guest.

[Andráska Venora]

"My two natures had memory in common."

• 2nd of Ymiden, 710th

• His palace was enormous and crafted of white sand and glass, built upwards instead of outwards with sharp archways and elaborate detailing. Sea shells were strung up to dangle from the ceiling like a tinkling chandelier and they gave off a soft white glow in the otherwise bright and sun-filled room. It wasn't until Andraska realized he needed more furniture that he decided to leave the castle in search of driftwood, an easily obtained resource on the beach, and so he walked down the shore in search of something he could make a throne from.
  
  Green eyes trailed down the shore, bending over and gathering wood as he went. Bubbles floated through the air, past his face and popping, a gift from the birds. He worked quite fast, a few good sized pieces of wood piled in his arms when he noticed the woman. She was wearing a black dress with frayed edges, looking almost ethereal. Her legs were long and smooth, exposed proudly. She seemed fascinated with them, digging her toes into the sand like a child, a little quirk that made the noble born smile.
  
  In contrast, he was wearing an outfit he would have likely passed in the waking world. His suit was fresh pressed, cufflinks glinting in the light. Even his shoes were made of rich dark leather, suddenly so ill-fitting for a scenery such as this, he felt confusion on why he was wearing it at all. A bright red rose was tucked into his jacket and he tossed down the driftwood, calling out to the stranger, experimentally in common, "Hey there," he lifted a hand to wave, slowing when caught sight of her eyes. They were opalescent, lovely little things, a bit unsettling in their foreignness. Andráska wanted to see them up close, taking a step forward. Was this a siren? Would she drown him?
  
  What did sirens look like?
  
  "What's your name?" he asked, taking a step forward.

[Nixie]

Graceful, moving, legs turned into stiff, heavy, stumps when an unfamiliar voice surprised her. Her gaze shot up from her feet to find its source, and once she did, the corners of her lips turned up into an excited smile. The man before her was unusually handsome and alluring. She had no idea who he was, but he seemed friendly enough. And now was her chance to practice greeting a human in, what she thought, was the customary fashion. She would execute it to the best of her ability and fullest extent of her knowledge... Hurrying toward the stranger, she stopped just a few feet from him.

Nixie flung one arm up above her head and waved, the energy behind it, shaking her whole arm and torso. It was a bit awkward... given the close proximity. Then she stopped, suddenly, taking two frayed pieces of her dress between thumb and index before slowly touching her heels together to bend at the knees in a subtle curtsy. Bowing her head at the same time, platinum hair slid from behind her shoulders and hid her face.
“Greetings. It’s nice to see you on such a fine day.” She didn’t know if it was really a ‘fine’ day, but she had heard others say such things in meetings. Without giving him a chance to reply, she closed the gap between them, slid slender arms under his, pressed her hands against his shoulder blades, pulling him toward her in the process, and touched her soft lips to his cheek with a quick kiss. With that, she chuckled a little, happy with herself, and then took a step back. With a small gap between them now, her arms hung, relaxed, with hands clasped in front of her. Her lips turned up in a smirk, believing she had just delivered the perfect greeting. Now that she was done with the formalities, the two could surely be friends!

“My name is Nixie. What’s yours?” Without waiting for an answer, she stepped forward and hooked one of her arms in the crook of one of his, squeezing it tighter than she needed to. “Do you live over here?” In the distance she saw a structure stretching up into the sky, above the clouds. It hadn’t been there a little bit ago, she was sure of that, and she wanted to explore it. Trying to walk toward it, she started dragging him along.

[Andráska Venora]

"My two natures had memory in common."

• 2nd of Ymiden, 710th

• The creature before him was full of surprises, immediately sending a greeting and erasing any distance between them. Andráska, had he been a more cautious man, would have backed up, but something about her was fascinating that it kept him where he stood. She kissed his cheek - nothing dubious, and it he laughed at her easy going attempt at etiquette. He had also enjoyed her curtsy, never seeing girls wear a skirt with such frayed edges, and would have to tell his cousin Tristan next time he saw him.
  
  "Andráska," he said politely, leaning forward to boldly look into her eyes. They were so fascinating. He had not ever seen anything like them, but the rest of her looked normal enough, "You can call me András, if you wish," he whispered, his green gaze finally breaking and his spine straightened. She was so happy, that it was infectious, and when she took him by the arm, he didn't dare ask why.
  
  "I do," he answered, suddenly excited to show someone else the home he had been building. "I was going to find wood for furniture and a fire, but I'll show you." He broke free of her grip and ran a bit down the shore, looking for his hard work. As his eyes scanned the beach, he was surprised that it was... gone. Blinking, he circled near the area where he thought he had left it, staring skyward where the spirals had been. There was a shimmering - something like a mirage, and his brows furrowed. "Hm." He saw a bubble blowing bird fly and weave, some even hovering in the air, as if resting on something.
  
  Crouching down, he scooped up a hand of sand and took a few steps back, and looked over his shoulder at Nixie. Throwing the grains away from him, the sand made a soft sound as it hit something and a great shimmering occurred, like a magically veil was rising to expose the lovely structure. It looked even grander than he remembered, and he smiled proudly, extending his arm to his guest.
  
  "Would you like to come in?"

[Andráska Venora]

"My two natures had memory in common."

• 2nd of Ymiden, 710th

• When the words left his lips, it seemed like he had provoked the world around him. The birds that had been in the sky blowing bubbles flew off, and the floating orbs solidified and dropped the beach like orbs of glass. They whistled soulfully as they fell from the sky, shattering when they hit the sand and creating a minefield. Andráska's castle stood strong, but vines started sprouting from the ground and curling around the spires of the structure. They began to thicken and turn a dark green, thorns sprouting and growing to the length of a man's palm. He jumped back, eyes widening and he turned to Nixie, but she had long since disappeared.
  
  “Where are you?” he shouted, eyes racing around the beach in a desperate search. But, she was no where to be found and he was nearly pelted in the face with a falling orb of glass. The water beyond the beach itself was restless, waves picking up and crashing; swirling black and turning an inky color. His dream was falling apart and while he didn't quite understand that was the case, when the castle began to crumble, Andráska Venora woke up.
  Reviews Note: This thread was abandoned, or at least I haven't heard from Nixie in a while (what a shame!). It's short, but I did my best to wrap it up. Thanks for reading.

[Rumour]

Name: Andraska Venora

Knowledge:
PC: Nixie
Nixie: Happy
Nixie: Bold

Loot: N/A
Injuries: N/A
Fame: N/A
Devotion: N/A

Story: 3/5
Collaboration: 5/5
Structure: 5/5

- - -

Comments: Oh, I'm so sorry that this wasn't able to be completed! I would have really loved to see more interaction between Nixie & Andraska. It started out so promising!

Andraska, I loved the gorgeous description you used in your posts. The way you described the castle of sand and glass made me want to visit it myself. I especially liked how you described the castle crashing down around Andraska in your final post. This was skillfully done, despite the challenge of having to close up the loose ends in an unfinished thread. I did end up deducting 2 points in Story because your total word count was less than 1000, but the writing itself was just lovely.

One last note - this is a friendly reminder to add your Cylus 717 expenses to your ledger!

Nixie, please resubmit this thread for review once you update your seasonal expenses and thread list (if/when you return). Thank you!

If you feel I've missed anything or if you have questions about your review, please don't hesitate to send me a quick PM. Thanks!

[Rumour]

Name: Nixie

Knowledge:
PC: Andráska
Andráska: Handsome

Loot: N/A
Injuries: N/A
Fame: N/A
Devotion: N/A

Story: 2/5
Collaboration: 3/5
Structure: 0/5

- - -

Comments: Welcome back, Nixie! I'm so glad to see that you've returned to Standing Trials. My apologies for the request to deduct your expenses - I hadn't realized that this was a memory thread rather than a present-day thread. You're absolutely correct that you don't need to deduct expenses for seasons where your character wasn't active and didn't earn nel.

I loved your posts, and I'm sorry I didn't get to see more of them! You included gorgeous description of both your character and her surroundings, and I loved the part where she attempted to introduce herself to Andraska using a "normal" greeting! So, so cute.

The point deductions are not because of your story or your writing (which were both lovely), but because this thread was abandoned. As per the Reviewer's Guide, abandoned threads are ineligible for Structure points and can receive a max. of 2 Story points. You've received 3 Collaboration points because of your two posts.

I really hope to see more of your writing, and would love to see another dream thread with yourself and Andraska. I think your writing styles really complement each other! Looking forward to your next one.

If you feel I've missed anything or if you have questions about your review, please don't hesitate to send me a quick PM. Thanks!