Roleplay

Quincy was observing a deer and her fan fawn when Xander called. He had sorta been listening to his earlier dialogue, but mostly had let it fade through his ears as he watched. The deer were mostly grazing, and had zero notion of their existence until Xander yelled, scaring them away.

“Oh, for the love of.. what, Xander?” He turned and at first he was about to tease him for letting his hair flare in such a fragile environment, but the orange in the distance is what caught his eye. Panic shot through him so fast, he forgot to run until Xander bolted.

When the scenery finally came into view, he had to stop to process it. Fire consumed everything in sight, and the dawn that has started to appear looked more like a spotlight that only illuminated the dying mess. Even as the fire stilled, it held no remorse.

————-(HHHH)

Even when Cheryl’s shaky sobs quieted enough to see clearly again, she couldn't get up. Her body was growing numb, and the pain on her skin continued to burn in the kind of way that was too consistent to constantly feel. Her mind was getting the signal to receive pain, but it had fallen so far behind the curve that it couldn’t compute.

She settled for trying to slow her breath, inhaling and exhaling to the gentle, gracious rhythm of the breeze. Apollo’s arms created a quiet place, one that calmed her mind enough to think. She resorted to counting her breaths, taking her mind off the world as it tried to retreat—tried to shut down. Thoughts were slowing, and she had all but fallen asleep until motion caught far too much attention to be ignored.

She risked lifting her head, and was startled to see the spirits sprinting towards the village on hot heels. She jolted onto her feet, but the pain slammed into her like a speeding car and she dropped back to her knees. Luckily it was a shortly lived punch and as she got to her feet slowly, she was able to stand on shaky legs.

She was about to speak when she realized she didn’t need to—the Light Spirit snapped his head around and locked eyes with Cheryl, freezing when he saw Apollo on the ground. Quincy had never felt quite this way—a frozeness he had often watched humans endure. Everything seemed to completely stop except for mind, and it was only when everything snapped back to reality did he find himself by Apollo’s side. He didn’t know how he got there, but he found himself staring into Apollo’s eyes—then his horn. Cheryl looked desperately at Xander, then to Quincy.

Cheryl had never took time to consider the ramifications of losing a resivoir. Panic has been the only fear factor to consider at the time—the fear that Apollo would be forever injured—a glass piece of magic hadnt really fallen under “necessity”. But when she saw the heartbroken, sorrow-ridden look the light spirit was giving Apollo, Cheryl was seriously reconsidering.

“Is Apollo going to be ok? Can you help him?” Her voice was small and ragged from everything caving in in them. She shuffled closer behind Quincy. He was reaching up at Apollo’s forehead, lost in the way it generating and losing magic. He didn’t provide an answer, as he didn’t hear the question.

((I did a sneaky and wrote Quincy first >:D

oh my gosh ;-; it never crashed on mine the heck that sucks lol

LIKE?? DO SHARE???

sobbing i was a little late BUT I’M BACK

Apollo looked over as Cheryl stood up, managing to see the spirits coming towards them as she dropped down briefly. He wasn’t expecting Quincy to come beside him, although the two of them were important to the spirits. Well, maybe he wasn’t anymore…

“I-It’s not that bad, see…” Apollo cupped his shaky hands at Cheryl’s remark, staring at them intently. After a few seconds, a cat blob appeared which was about the size of a marble. However, it didn’t last more than a second before fizzling out into nothingness.

Apollo looked up at Quincy and tried to manage a smile. “I-It’s not that bad… right? I-I can still help?” He could feel his smile falling as his voice shook.

Xander stood off to the side, watching the dying flames and keeping an eye for anyone who was still around. He turned his attention towards Apollo as Cheryl spoke up.

It was pretty bad.

A damaged reservoir was practically useless, and its effectiveness varied depending on how much was broken off. In Apollo’s case… there was almost no hope yet. It could still generate magic but that magic had nowhere to go but out and into the world. It was like a cut that never closed, only much more severe.

However… since it wasn’t completely gone there was hope. A tiny sliver of hope but still hope nonetheless. “There is a way to bring the magic back.” He looked over at Quincy before continuing. “But you would have to accept our offer first.”

((:O so sneaky

My phone just has too much on it lmao. Just way too many drawing references and things that take up too much storage. Probably should clean it up lmao

>:3 I’ll post a sneak peak of what I’m working on at the bottom of the google doc

You’re fine btw, it’s all chill. I got to make sushi today which was fun. Love some nice sushi -u-

[img]https://i.imgur.com/U5UfCrB.png[/img] Hehehe happy April fools >:DDDDD Enjoy gender swap Apollo lmao, I’ll make it not a link in a bit, away from a computer sad ;-;

Quincy looked down at the marble-sized blob with his eyes wide. He put his palms under Apollo’s trembling hands and stared at them. He could feel the magic struggling to return, struggling to regenerate, struggling to heal. It pained even Quincy to feel. What Apollo had just done with his magic–even something so small—was impressive beyond what he could have ever expected. It was horrific to think that Apollo could never live with his own magic ever again. And yet as he closed his fists around Apollo’s fingers, a wobbly sense of hope darted through Quincy’s mind at Xander’s suggestion. He winced for not remembering the reason they were here in the first place.

He nodded. ``If this truly happens so often.. The world needs you more than ever.`` He sighed, looking into Apollo’s eyes. He hated how similar he knew they looked to his own—hated how he had to feel this pain. He hated even more that he could simultaneously feel the pain and yet never be able to grasp even a sliver of it.

``Your magic will never be the same… but I hope you understand how much stronger this could make you. Your magic would have to fuse with my own, and you couldn’t make the decision to use one or the other.. But not only would you have your own magic back, even just a little of it. You’d have mine, too. And you’ll never feel pain when you use your ability. You’re unique, Apollo. Don’t let this go to waste.``

Cheryl bit her lip, her mind seemingly desperate to pull itself in all directions all at once. It took awhile, but a resolve began to sift to the top of her thoughts. She listened to the light spirit with a desperate kind of hope when he mentioned Apollo getting his magic back. She stepped forward again, crouching next to Quincy infront of Apollo. She took a few shaky breaths before whispering:
``I think this is the right decision, Apollo. You’re in so much pain. I’ll be right here the whole time.`` She looked at Quincy for help. She hated feeling like this was such a last resort, but she hated the idea of Apollo being in pain even more. She looked at Quincy. ``It.. Wouldnt hurt him. Right?``

``Should he accept.. It really depends. And you’d still need to go to your old home to accept your offer. This is his decision right now.``Quincy gave Apollo’s hands a reassuring squeeze.

``Even if you don’t accept, it would still heal. After a while, you’d be numb to the pain, and you might be able to find another village that could take care of you. This is a weighted decision, but you also need to understand that you still have free will in this.`` The fire crackled behind him, sending the last of the weakest branches to the ground before only the smallest bits of flame remained.

(((AHHHHAHAHHAHAA GENDERBEND APOLLO IS HEKIN HOT
ALSO NEW SHADING EXPERIMENT??
AND THE THING?? AT THE BOTTOM OF THE DOC?? HOW CHERYL IS HOLDING HIS PERFECT FRREIKGNDK FACE AND HE HOLDS HER WRISTS?? THAT IS SIMULTANIOUSLY SO SAD AnD SO HEARTWRENCHING AND SO GOOD AND I LOVE IT

SORRY I DIDNT POST I HATE THAT I DIDNT POST WHOOPS

Apollo looked at Quincy as he spoke, his eyes wide in wonder. He didn’t realize just what came with being a host; having the magic of a spirit? He almost wouldn’t fathom it, the idea seemed impossible. But still… it wouldn’t ever be entirely his magic ever again. The magic he’d taken for granted all those years was gone, and so many others had lost theirs too.

Was it really fair for just him to regain his magic?

Cheryl’s words pulled him out of a spiral, bringing him back to reality, smoke still present in the air. He looked at Cheryl, then at Quincy. If he did this, if he went along with the spirit’s plan, countless people would be spared from the fighting. If everything went well, nobody would lose their magic anymore. Apollo locked eyes with Quincy, a spark gleaming in them.

“I accept.” There was little hesitation in his voice; he moved to stand up. Excitement and nerves bubbled up inside of him, he would have his magic back but… who knows what the spirits had planned for him and Cheryl. “What do I have to do?”

Xander smiled as Apollo accepted, finally they were getting somewhere. Of course, it was unfortunate that Apollo had lost his reservoir, but now he saw what had been happening to others.

Xander normally was… somewhat patient, but right now the fate of the world was at stake. They couldn’t afford to waste time. He looked at the dying embers, ignoring the wreckage of what the raid had left. He wasn’t sure if there were any survivors… maybe a few but the damage had been done. “We should move soon.” He said and turned to Cheryl. “I’m assuming you also want to accept this offer?”

((Hehehe yes >:3333 Yes yes I started messing around with half tones. Fun accent shading :DDDDD

YAY glad you like it >u< I will be keeping the glitch. That’s the cover for my what will hopefully become a YouTube video. It’s getting there… How would you want me to credit you in potential YouTube video btw :>

Edit: Guess who finally joined deviant art >:DDDDD

(((HHHFHFNFJDD IM DOING THIS NOW RITE?????????

Cheryl watched him get up, her arms twitching outward instinctively to catch him if he fell. Somehow he managed to stand up, and she was too lost in thought to realize he had excepted the offer, and it took her a hot minute to remember what that meant.

It was somehow both very exciting and very terrifying. This is what he needed, but it came with responsibilities that would be sure to bite them later.

She turned to Xander, taking in the full weight of his question. After some consideration, it came down to a simple truth. If the world needed them, and Apollo needed her, then there was really only one way to go that could benefit everyone.

She tried to think about the consequences of what this could mean, but her mouth was already running: “of course.”

Cheryl blinked in surprise at what she just said, but as if she needed more reassurance, she repeated herself; louder this time.
“Of course I accept. Anything to help.”

Quincy grinned, glancing at Xander. “You are correct; we should move soon. Perhaps get somewhere you can rest for the day and travel at night. It will be colder, but safer, and Apollo will need time to rest and adjust. Here is not safe.”

He looked around, his eyes settling on the trees in the direction of the city. “You are far too close to the city to rest.” He pointed to the other way, not off-route, but avoiding the human establishment. “You should head about a mile that way. Set another fire if you’re in danger. We’ll catch up with you, but.. we should look for survivors. We’ll catch up with you just after noon.”

Quincy turned back to Apollo, staring at Apollo’s horn like it was a new project, like clay to be molded. “And, uh, do not almost die again. Or die. Please.”

((WHOOPS LATE RESPONSE i guess i’m transforming him next post (whoops) i think this route was more realistic ??? it took awhile to figure out a half decent route to take,,,


ALSO LOVE THAT WE CAN CHAT ON DA HAHAAAAA

Apollo blinked, still in shock from what he had just been through. “I-I’ll try.” He said to Quincy, taking Cheryl hand and moving towards the area Quincy had pointed to.

They moved at a slower pace, pain and drowsiness dragging Apollo down. His brain was still trying to process what happened. It was practically a blur at this point, things flashed before his eyes before being buried and forgotten.

He really needed sleep. He needed to forget.

“H-Hey.” Apollo murmured, his words felt heavy. “Are you sure you’re ready… to go back?” Everything was blurring together, the pain was making him dizzy. “I-I mean, what if something happens again or something.”

He felt his legs turn to jello and moved over to a tree to sit against. They were far enough and it wasn’t like he could move any further. “W-We’ll be ok, right? Everything’s fine now…” Apollo’s voice faded into nothingness as blacked out into a much needed sleep.

—————————(mehhhhh mobile-^-)

Xander scanned the recharge of the village as the two hobbled away, looking for any noticeable survivors. There were footprints in the snow, but they could be from the survivors or the raiders. “Let’s search the rubble. Some might be trapped.” Xander stepped into the clearing and began moving the wreckage of tents.

Singed fabric and wood stained the ground, ashes of what used to be homes blew in the wind. And Xander couldn’t see anyone.

And then, he spotted a boot sticking out of a used-to-be-a-tent. He rushed forward and moved the wreckage to see who was there.

A young boy laid in the snow, breathing shallowly. He was a fire and wind hybrid with messy brown hair. His eyes were closed and his hands clutched the remains of a beanie. “Quincy, I found one!” Xander called out, looking down at the boy.

The boy was in a rather bad state, his head had some major cuts and his arm looked broken. The only thing that had saved him was his half fire, which gave a bit more resistance to fire. It was a miracle that he was alive and still had his reservoir. Xander reached down with a careful hand. “Hey, kid.” He tapped gently.

The boy shot up with a burst of energy. “M-Makni!” He looked around with panicked eyes and uneven breath, before eventually locking eyes with Xander. “W-Who are you? What… Makni?” He was obviously shaken up.

“Don’t move so much, please.” Xander did his best to sound comforting and calm, which took a bit of effort. “You’re hurt, but you’re alive. You survived… this.” Xander motioned to the surroundings before taking scraps of tent to wrap the boy’s wounds.

It wasn’t until a tear fell on Xander’s hand that he realized the boy was crying. “Why… Every time… Why...” The boy choked on tears. “Why do only I survive?” Xander’s face fell. The kid had seen, no, lived through this exact event before. He’d been through this goodness knows how many times. For a child to go through that…

“Calm down kid. You’ll be alright.” Xander put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Let’s fix you up.”

((Yes yes transforming in next post. Feel free to time skip and leave Xander beh8nd so I can wrap this up lmao.

Also HA I had a second cake baking. You didn’t even know >:3

And yes chatting on DA is great I love it <3

Cheryl begrudgingly took Apollo's hand, really not wanting to face another hour of walking. But they needed to be safe, and that seemed to be the only thing feuling her forward.

The tiredness somehow made it simultaneously longer and shorter--it seemed like the walk would never end and yet she had zoned out so much while walking that she was there before she could think too hardly about it.

She was snapped out of her haze when Apollo started to speak, and she launched into protective mode.

His question was frustrating. Not necessarily because he asked it, but because the correct answer was not the honest answer, and she was mad about it.

``No,`` she mumbled. She sat down beside him, tiredness crashing over he like a wave. It was irritatingly hard to refuse. ``I never want to go back to that place. Ever. And the last thing I want to do is bring you there. If my dad saw you again...``

"W-we'll be ok, right?"

She sighed and squeezed his hand. ``No one's okay in my father's house. But right now, we're ok. Everything's fine.`` Cheryl noticed that by this time, her poor companion was knocked out. She looked up at the trees, and the sun glinting through the trees warmed her skin just enough to irritate it. Her burns itched and the fire from before danced behind her eyes if she stared at one place for too long.

At some point, she hid her face under Apollo's hair and forgot about the sun. Her mind was too tired to giver her detailed, in-depth replays of the attack, but it gave her the important bits. Like the screams. And the searing heat. And the thunderous stomps of hooves that carried this new nightmare on a searing platter. It was like a horrible collage of new things to fear that her brain kept tangling the deeper sleep she fell into--eventually the line between flashback and nightmare blurred and she was dreaming things that didn't even happen.

Fortunately, even her mind got tired of fear, as if it realized the only way to truly escape anything it could conjure up was to run away from it. She eventually managed to find a sweet in-between space of sleep and consciously listening for Apollo's breath, counting them like counting sheep. It was a rough attempt, but still here.

---

(heheheheheheheh computer suck it)


Quincy was turning bodies over and checking for pulses when Xander called. He rushed over, nearly tripping over inexperienced physical legs.

When he arrived, he dropped to his knees and swept the boy's hair out of his face so he could see the cuts, going to the full dad-mode he kept forgetting to hold back.

He stood back up, fighting the urge to growl and kick and shout bloody murder when he realized the implications of what the boy was saying. He had survived so many.. and yet to still be standing was somehow both a curse and a blessing.

He looked down at him, watching Xander patch up wounds with tent scraps that were covered with an indistinguishable mix of ash and snow.

Quincy didn't want to leave, but the sun was already making a dash for the hills and he needed to check on their new hosts.

``I'm going to go check on Apollo and Cheryl. You stay here, catch up with you can. Bring the boy if need be.``

After awhile of tredging, and getting very angry, and tripping a lot, he finally gave up on a physical form and resorted to speeding through the trees. When he arrived and found them sleeping, he was torn between letting them sleep through the afternoon into the next morning and waking them out of spite.

Unfortunately he needed to do what had to be done, and gently shook them both awake. Cheryl woke up screaming, which startled Quincy, and had him ducking from hastily balled chunks of snow.

“Shut up and calm down, it’s just me!” Cheryl got the gist quickly and got her bearings quickly, but it looked like she wanted to keep throwing snow. Or that rock her hand was creeping towards. “Its just me, remember? Quincy?” She didnt answer him, but kept staring at him like a staring contest until she deemed him safe. he waited until she relaxed and helped Apollo to his feet.

“You both have had… quite an adventure. I dream of the day these efforts will pay off.”

He looked at Apollo, putting his hands on his shoulders. “You ready?”

He turned his head towards Cheryl, but heroes his eyes an Apollo. “You’ll want to look away. Light enchanted can tolerate the brightness capacity, but I don’t know what it will do to humans. Plus, light magic means all of it, including illusions. I remember people have gone insane watching such a centralized event. ”

Cheryl did not like that idea, and could have been compared to a feral animal in the way she looked like she wanted to tear Quincy to shreads for mentioning the sheer idea of seperation from Apollo after what they had just been through. At some point, she wandered to a nearby boulder that close to a tree and high enough to snap a few branches to fiddle with.

Quincy took a deep breath, and focused on the root of Apollo’s eyes. “Focus on your breathing. This might hurt. If you concentrate on letting your mind filter like light, you will find that it’s much easier to focus on your thoughts than your physical body. It sounds confusing, but we will train.”

His eyebrows scrunched together, and the tattoos that painted his body began to light up similarly to his horns and eyes. Cheryl disobeyed Quincy and snuck peaks every once in awhile. Light began to shift and the beams of light that snuck through the canopy looked more like mirrors. Everything took on a glassy, distorted sheen and the contrast between light and shadow strengthened.

Eventually Cheryl had to shield her eyes when Quincy’s body seemed to dissolve with the light. It was still there, only visible through the mirror beams that bounced everywhere. It was disorientating, and eventually Cheryl had to tuck her head in between her knees to keep from falling off the rock.

Quincy called the light from everywhere he could think of, calling it to his tattoos to conduct it through to Apollo. He took one of his hands and pressed it to Apollo’s forehead, Channeling everything he could into him. It was too late to think about a slow and cozy process—too late to think about overloading everything too quickly. Eventually even the sun began to flicker and strain. He felt himself drain—this time would be different. He wouldnt just be sharing his magic—he was practically giving it to him.

Finally, after everything, the world seemed to dull. Like the light was exhausted. Eventually, the colors began to slowly creep back into view.

Quincy was gasping for breath when he was finished. Breath wasn’t something he normally needed, but granting his physical body such a simple desire was practically minimal compared to the sickeningly drained feeling that over him. He let himself relax under the boulder Cheryl had climbed on.

Once she realized it was safe to open her eyes, she tumbled down, nearly crashing into of Quincy. “Are you guys ok?”

(((((UIHSDKLJADHJSKDHNKJLSDHN SSSHHH IM NOT DONE YET I HAD TO PAUSE IN THE MIDDLE RQ HOLD ON,,


ok im back =D
NO THAT IS SO SAD AFI IT’S OK I LOVE YOU WHY WOULD YOU MAKE ME CRY LIKE THIS

SOBBING I HAD NO IDEA. HOW DARE YOU.

Apollo kept his eyes shut as someone shook his shoulder. He was still so tired, not ready to brave the world again. His courage and confidence needed a recharge, possibly forever. However, he finally woke up to Quincy yelling and Cheryl chucking snow at him.

At least things were starting to go back to normal.

Apollo smiled and stood up shakily, his limbs still not fully awake. At Quincy’s question Apollo nodded, turning to give Cheryl a smile. As Quincy wanted Cheryl to not watch, his eyes widened. He knew that light magic could be used to blind people but… insanity from illusions? Spirit magic really was incredible. He watched as Cheryl wandered off to a boulder before turning his attention to Quincy once more.

Apollo took in a deep breath as Quincy began the process, trying to focus like Quincy had said. He watched as Quincy’s horns, eyes, and tattoos glimmered in the light which seemed to grow in brightness with every passing second. The snow amplified the beams of light coming down, reflecting across everything and distorting it. Apollo let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Even his eyes were starting to hurt, tears stung as Apollo briefly was dragged out of his head.

His eyes burned from the light, his head stung where his broken horn was. He bit back a scream, only letting a little hiss escape. The light dissolved the scenery, drowning everything in a blinding glare leaving only him and Quincy in an ethereal space. Quincy pressed a hand against Apollo’s head and the pain really set in. Magic, or what he assumed to be magic, flooded into him. It flooded the hole that losing his reservoir had made and spilled out, moving through every part of him.

His head felt like it was about to burst and tears streamed down his face. His own skin burned a bit, although he couldn’t tell if the glow he saw was originating from him or was just light bouncing around. His own eyes began to glow as the process reached its climax; his tears turned to light and burst into shapes when they landed. Apollo clenched his teeth; he just had to last a little longer, and then it would be done.

And then everything stopped. The light vanished leaving a world drained of light and color. It was like everything had been bleached and Apollo wobbled as his eyes adjusted to normal amounts of light. The pain on his head was gone, or maybe numb? Although, the brightness wasn’t completely gone.

His eyes glowed, along with three glowing horns from his head, resembling Quincy’s. Tears dripped from his eyes and landed on him, bursting into flowers made of light before they, and everything else that was glowing, fizzled out. Apollo stood, breathing heavily and looking towards Quincy and Cheryl.

“A-Are you alright?” He reached a shaky hand towards Quincy. He hadn’t seen the spirit breath, practically at all before. “Your magic… How much did you use?” Apollo sat down next to Quincy and moved to grab Cheryl’s hand, glad to be by her side once more.

———
Xander nodded as Quincy moved to go meet with Apollo and Cheryl, only realizing that the boy had a reaction to their names once turning to see his wide eyes. “You know Apollo and Cheryl?” Xander asked; the boy nodded. Huh, it really was a small world.

“Y-You know them? But I thought they came out here alone…” The boy looked down, lost in his thoughts. “Did they lie to me?” Ah, now he’d done it.

“No no.” Xander said, his brain trying to think of what to say. “We’re from the village. We agreed with them and wanted to follow them, to make sure they would be ok.” It wasn’t entirely a lie, but he couldn’t exactly tell this boy he was a spirit. That would complicate the situation quite a bit.

“You didn’t need to check on them.” The boy puffed up, putting on a tough act. “I was the one who took them in and showed them around. They would have been safe with me!”

Xander chuckled. “I’m sure they would have been. But, they’ve left now and you need a place to go as well. Tell me, do you know anyone outside of this village?” The boy looked up in thought before having his lightbulb moment.

“I can just go to Apollo’s old village! It’s safe there, a-and I’m sure Skadi would take me in…” As the boy trailed off, Xander recalled Apollo calling the girl they’d seen before leaving that name. “Yes, go stay with her.” The boy nodded quickly, moving to stand up with Xander’s support.

“Be careful and slow. Make sure you aren’t followed.” The boy nodded and went towards the village, using a branch as a sort of crutch to support his one leg. Xander smiled as the boy went off. At least there was one survivor, one that would hopefully get to Skadi safely. He watched the boy disappear into the distance before moving towards the rest of the group.

((Afi gets to the village safely, I promise <3 He’s only a side character, they can only get a certain amount of cake.

How does one do the commission thing on DA btw. There’s like a thing in the menu but idk how to use it lol I post and then check DA and you responded in chat XD