Aᵁᴰᴵᴼ

[ancestor]

...Hello?

Hello. I am not supposed to be here. I am supposed to be—

[ The voice that speaks is so quiet it's nearly a whisper; quiet and lilting in a way reminiscent of whale song. Her words are cut short by a wavering intake of breath. When she speaks again it's with the fervent confusion of a person who has recently experienced something very traumatic and can't quite comprehend it. ]

I'm supposed to be... I'm dead? I'm meant to be dead. I remember it. I remember— It hurt. I remember that. It—hurts. They were all screaming. Everyone was—

All of them—

[ A small, choked sob. ]

My people.

I'm supposed to be with them.

Comments

[albatrossomen]

I do. Unfortunately that is, for the moment, out of reach.

cw: suicidal ideation, of a sort

[ancestor]

It wouldn't be difficult to finish what was started. The cracks run so deep... A little bit of pressure is all it would take... But could I find the Lifestream from here?

[albatrossomen]

There is no guarantee that you are even in the same universe, much less close enough to touch upon what you seek. The veil is not so easily crossed by will alone.

[ancestor]

I am the Traveler. Distance is no obstacle. What do veils have to do with it?

[albatrossomen]

The separation between unaligned universes. Is this a risk you would so wantonly take, when it is just as likely you'll be left alone to the void?

We are currently en-route to something that will assist in returning us from whence we came.

[ancestor]

If I was brought here there is an connection. The void does not frighten me.

There is naught to return to.

[albatrossomen]

Your arrival here was not an act of will.

[A thoughtful sound. He doesn't have much to disagree with on that point.]

[ancestor]

I don't care what 'act' brought me here, willful or not. All I care about is dying like I was meant to. Like I deserve to.

[albatrossomen]

I suppose that decision is ultimately up to you, I would still like to suggest not acting in haste. If there is a purpose to your being here, there may yet be courses open to you not yet readily apparent.

[Hard to act when you're dead and all.]

[ancestor]

They were my purpose! I want no other!

[albatrossomen]

[Why is everyone slow? Sigh.]

And if there is an opportunity to undo what has been done?

[ancestor]

An 'opportunity', or false promise given to ensure compliance?

[albatrossomen]

Hardly. Obliteration will be awaiting you whenever you wish to grasp it. I am merely suggesting taking a step back to examine what may exist around you. None among us are natives here, only the ship themselves. Could it not be worth a single day's restraint for a chance?

[ancestor]

I should not be here.

[albatrossomen]

Yet you are.

[And if she is, is there not the most slim chance another could be as well?]

[ancestor]

I shouldn't be. I should not be here. I should not be alive. I don't deserve it. I don't want it.

[albatrossomen]

But you are.

[He's not sure what else to do here. She is alive, against all reason.]

[ancestor]

And they're not.

He's—

[ Her voice falters, broken by a damp and wavering breath. He had been all she had left in the end, even if they had ceased all contact years ago.

She speaks again; quiet, reedy, and choked with emotions she tries to keep at bay. ]

...There is no point.

[albatrossomen]

[Circular. A well of despair. He needed a different tactic.]

He?

[ancestor]

...It doesn't matter. I was dead to him long ago.

[albatrossomen]

Perhaps it would help to talk about it, all the same.

[ancestor]

What is there to talk about? He was my best friend, and then I left.

Then the world ended.

[albatrossomen]

What was his name?

[ancestor]

...Hades.

[albatrossomen]

[A thoughtful hum.]

Interesting! That that name should exist in mythology from whence I hail. Not that I am accusing you of deceit, only noting the curiosity of coincidence. He represents a god of the Underworld.