♛ .o3 ♛ [ within the mind ]
[Everything is hazy when the Forge turns on, and for a moment nothing appears to be out of the ordinary. The interior of a dimly lit room, perhaps even the one that Hades currently occupies an Anatole. It's oddly large, however -- the end of it is invisible, and the ceiling might not even be there.
And then the view changes.
A small grove of trees, scattered sunlight -- a girl sitting beneath one with her legs carefully tucked underneath her. There is no life in her eyes, beautiful as she is. Almost like a doll.
From the left, a boy (a young man, almost) floats down from above, landing delicately in front of her. His red hair flows unnaturally and his smile is as cool as ice. He stands with grace and his feet leave no imprints in the grass, but the sun in the sky above them begins to set. He's beautiful, too, in a way that the girl isn't. He's alive.
They speak for a long time while you watch, hearing only indistinct murmuring, until their voices are perfectly clear for just a moment -- ]
The bird is noisy, isn't it?
I'll get rid of it.
[A crack comes from the branch above you and dead bird falls in a flutter of feathers. You wait, quietly, for it to still, and reach down to take it.
Even as your hand brushes its head its wings turn to white bone and its eyes to empty sockets.
You smile.
The boy and the girl are still talking above you as you sink into the earth, into a world - your world - of darkness. The bird turns to thin, hollow bones in your hands and you let them dissolve into the air as you stand beneath the earth and yet not within it. A sliver of moonlight in the air is all that remains.]
---- end mind broadcast ---
[When Hades looks back to the Forge and watches the recording, an amused smile is on his face, unseen as it is (the camera is, as usual, aimed at the wall).]
That was unexpectedly interesting.
[Unworried, unhurried, he reaches over, clawed fingers momentarily visible, and turns off the feed.]
And then the view changes.
A small grove of trees, scattered sunlight -- a girl sitting beneath one with her legs carefully tucked underneath her. There is no life in her eyes, beautiful as she is. Almost like a doll.
From the left, a boy (a young man, almost) floats down from above, landing delicately in front of her. His red hair flows unnaturally and his smile is as cool as ice. He stands with grace and his feet leave no imprints in the grass, but the sun in the sky above them begins to set. He's beautiful, too, in a way that the girl isn't. He's alive.
They speak for a long time while you watch, hearing only indistinct murmuring, until their voices are perfectly clear for just a moment -- ]
The bird is noisy, isn't it?
I'll get rid of it.
[A crack comes from the branch above you and dead bird falls in a flutter of feathers. You wait, quietly, for it to still, and reach down to take it.
Even as your hand brushes its head its wings turn to white bone and its eyes to empty sockets.
You smile.
The boy and the girl are still talking above you as you sink into the earth, into a world - your world - of darkness. The bird turns to thin, hollow bones in your hands and you let them dissolve into the air as you stand beneath the earth and yet not within it. A sliver of moonlight in the air is all that remains.]
---- end mind broadcast ---
[When Hades looks back to the Forge and watches the recording, an amused smile is on his face, unseen as it is (the camera is, as usual, aimed at the wall).]
That was unexpectedly interesting.
[Unworried, unhurried, he reaches over, clawed fingers momentarily visible, and turns off the feed.]