On the edge, and breathing [Aria]

[Rivaxorus]

She was here again, here in this godforsaken place. She didn't like the heavens, because all she was allowed to see was the underworld, and she didn't know why. What kind of huge crime had she committed in her last life? And why was she not normal like all the other ghosts. The small terrified girl was someone who could go down to mortals, and have a physical body unlike most. But here, here she was a dull grayish black color with yellow beady eyes. Just as always though, her ankle's were wrapped in an old fashion white bandage. Where the ends dragged on the ground. She was not very big, and had the appearance of a two year old, the same as when she had died, despite being one hundred years old after all. Summit remembered almost nothing of her past life. It was bits and pieces of flashbacks, but the most vivid, was the most horrible, and the most painful, death she had experienced. She had amnesia, and she didn't know how she had gotten out of the Tenshin Ruins, after all everyone else was trapped there. She was deeply afraid of this place, and the darkness. She wasn't on one of the levels, but right after the cross over bridge, where a large intimidating gate stood.

Summit had lodged herself in one corner of the stone structure, her two front paws shielding her head as she shivered pathetically there. The souls, the souls around her, at least the one's deep deep into hell, could sense that she was different. No one could tell what, but they tormented her, the voices wouldn't stop. As she stayed where she was, hoping someone would come and comfort her. In which she almost thought was impossible.

[BRUTIS]

Aria didn't normally go around visiting the Underworld. After all, it was a scary, gloomy place. Spirits kept reaching through cages, trying to pull her in permanently, which weren't anywhere near as horrible as all the voices, saying a bunch of things at once. It was enough to give her a headache.

Still, there was a very specific reason she came here. She needed to go through the Underworld once more and see what her punishment would be if she kept her promise to Deimos. Not that she'd need to, of course...hopefully. She crossed the bridge, making sure to keep herself looking confident and brave. After all, if the spirits sensed fear, they only made sure to get louder, making things worse.

She came to the huge gate, staring at it for a moment. What was the point of making the gate so big, anyway? She got the intimidating part, but really. Size wasn't everything. And that was when she saw a little spirit, shivering in the corner. Aria couldn't just leave her like that. It wasn't in her nature to. So, despite her better judgement, she walked up to the Summit.

"Hello, there," she said, putting a tiny bit of gentleness into her otherwise dull voice. "There is no reason to be frightened. Those spirits cannot do anything to you, much as they threaten to." She paused, trying to come up with something else to say. Maybe the best approach was to get the spirit's mind off of what was going on. It couldn't hurt, at least, right? "I'm Aria. What is your name?"

[Rivaxorus]

Summit usually in these situations would stay where she was, then due to her mental instability would wander off, until of course she ended up in the mortal world again. This time though, someone spoke to her, and Summit looked up, to see another female spirit, but one that didn't look like any of the others from the underworld. The large gate, it flickered in the dark green and red light of the slums of the underworld. Long since forgotten had wolves been that their gods were much larger then them. They had mortal bodies to turn into, but then turned to be as large as fifteen to twenty feet high. Summit remembered, because she had died, ninety eight years ago, and remembered all the gods. She also knew a little birdies secret, but in the back of her mind. She herself knew nothing to it of that knowledge. As she pulled her paws to the side and tucked her elbows down she looked up at Aria but did not move, and her shivering did not stop. "M-my name is Summit ma'm" She answered, her tiny innocent voice hitting the air. Summit looked around with her small yellow eyes before trying to stand, but the pain in her ankle's hit her in a wave as she came back down to her position with a whine. Yup, that was definitely nothing a normal spirit would do. In this world, the only pain caused, was the pain by other spirits, or the gods. Other then that they never got hungry, or thirsty. But Summit's body needed these things even in death it seemed. And the intense pain was just a reminder, that she was different from the rest. After the pain had subsided, just as it always did, the pain never stopped, but she dealt with it, she stood up and walked a little bit away from the corner.

"I-I don't....want to be here" Summit said with a bit of a cry. She hated dark places, she was deeply afraid of them, and she was afraid of being left alone....her friend had left her alone. She had died, alone, afraid, cold, and in pain. It hurt, It hurt so much, but she couldn't stop it. Summit could only take her mind off the pain, and live as if she was alive. Who was she, what was she, Summit began sobbing once more like a small child, sitting on her rump.

[BRUTIS]

"It is nice to meet you, Lady Summit."

Aria couldn't help but notice Summit's whine as she tried to stand, and she now saw the bandaged leg. Hmmm...so, she kept experiencing pain even after death, but how? It made no sense. Maybe Aria was just imagining it. The spirit then walked a little bit away from the corner, confessing she didn't want to be there. Aria wasn't exactly sure how to respond to that, but she gave it a go, anyway.

"Most don't," she said. "But there are worse places to end up than this one."

[Rivaxorus]

Good, the other spirit had not seen her. As Summit looked at the ground for a moment, oh right, she was here, this wolf obviously thought Summit was one of the wolves being punished. Well, it was all that came from an accursed place, that not even the gods could touch. A place that was between space and time, and the horrors that unfolded there, like a reoccurring horror movie over and over again. The messages scratched into the wall, 'it hurts, it hurts onii-chan' the painful death of being hung, thrown against a wall at un-wolf like speeds. It was a place worse then here, that was for sure. Summit was happy to be here, instead of there, but since she could live in the mortal world, she didn't like it here. Summit looked at the bridge, why couldn't she pass into the heaven's. What had she done, or was it....was it because of her secret? Was that why she was not welcome there, and was that why not even the lowest of scum from this place accepted her. It had to be, but it wasn't like she had a choice. It was like asking her to suddenly become a koi fish. That was for sure.

"Y-yeah, but....just the fact that I could be in a better place, makes it just as terrifying." Summit shivered and shook her head before walking up to the gate. She had never gotten to be judged by her dear god, which ever it had been. With no re-collective memory of her magic, when she used it, she had no idea what was going on, and often blacked out. The ancient engravings upon the wall told her that this was a holy place, no matter how unholy is was. Summit looked at the fog, were the spirits here really unhappy. They had no idea what it felt like....to have died in a legend only told in children stories now. They had no idea, how much pain could be caused. "W-why...are you here miss Aria, you don't belong here, judging by....how you crossed the bridge." Well, it was obvious Summit didn't belong her either, or did she?

[BRUTIS]

Aria considered this. Of course knowing there were places that were worse wouldn't bring comfort. Then, a thought crossed Aria's mind: maybe this spirit was scared of this place because it was so dark. Aria smiled very slightly.

"Do you want to see something cool?" she asked. Without really waiting for a reply, she started to make herself warmer and glow a little. But then spirits started flocking toward them and the gate, attracted to the little bit of light from Aria's fur like moths to a flame. She stopped the glow, and the spirits started wandering away.

"Sorry about that," she said. "I didn't realize it would attract so many spirits to us." She looked to Summit and answered her question, "I came here to remind myself what this place is like." That much certainly was true, though she might have to bend the truth a bit if the Summit asked her why she wanted to do such a thing. She wanted to ask Summit what she was doing down there, herself, since she seemed so different from the other spirits, but since she couldn't think of a way to word the question without making it seem offensive, she refrained from asking it.

[Rivaxorus]

Something amazing, that Aria began to glow. Though the spirits were attracted by it, all the same Summit was amazed with the sight. As she turned off the glow Summit gave a chipper smile and wagged her tail like a small puppy would when excited about something. "That's amazing Onee-san" Summit exclaimed. Once the girl felt comfortable she was a lot more cheerful. Almost like that of the innocence a child had. After all, she had never gotten a chance to grow up. She had died in the middle of training, and to top it off, the Inu pack no longer existed on those islands. So she couldn't even go there in the mortal world to feel as if she was home again. Going there only brought more painful memories back, because it hurt to try and fill the blanks in her memory. Then Aria answered her other question, Summit tilted her head with a strange expression. What did she mean, reminding herself.

"Onee-san....yo-you aren't thinking about doing something bad are you?" Only Summit. Would show such concern from a complete strange she had just met. But that was her child like nature for you. She did sound soundlessly worried after all. Summit had no idea what was going on, she was mortal bound. She only just popped up in the underworld every now and then after falling asleep. And nobody knew about her because she had never felt that honest to god comfortable with them. Not to mention, how she would probably be hunted down with no remorse from the others.

[BRUTIS]

"You think so, do you?" Aria asked, pleased with herself. Summit certainly seemed much happier after she did that and Aria was quite relieved about it. But the relief didn't last long. Summit asked her another question, which was very difficult to bend the truth on.

"Yes and no," she answered, trying to choose her phrasing delicately. "You see, sometimes one must do something 'bad' for the greater good." She frowned. "Besides, it's only a matter of time before I end up here, regardless. The one running the heavens right now seems to have it out for me." Everything she said was true. Eiyuu badgered her about her meeting with Deimos practically non-stop ever since she had it, seeming eager to catch her doing something wrong. But since she hadn't officially done anything yet, refused to tell him what she was planning, and even said her promise to Deimos was to comfort him, nothing more (she found it odd she could lie like that to a god, but didn't mention that), he decided to leave her alone about it for a bit, but she felt like he was always watching her.

"There is no need to worry about me, though. You could say I've been here before," she added. She did assist Darlos in his death lands back before the gods disappeared, which was very much like the Underworld, if not even gloomier.

[Rivaxorus]

Running the heavens? Who? Wasn't Eranis here yet, sure she knew that the gods had to be given some time to piece themselves back together, but was he really taking that long as to let someone else take over their heaven. Not to mention the other gods, were they stuck, hiding, or perhaps watching, and waiting for them to prove themselves. Summit wondered about this as she looked into the underworld. It seemed like she was the only one, who truly knew what happened to the gods. Summit's tail flicked as she looked at Aria. Was Aria....an important someone? A frown came over her face. "No, that doesn't sit right with me, even if you'd been here before. No one deserves to be pushed into a cruel fate that they have almost nothing to do with. Even if they are afraid." What was Summit saying, she was blurting all her feelings out at once. Maybe, it was the atmosphere. She just wanted to go back, to the forest. Summit's stomach growled with hunger......shit, Aria would notice that she was different. Summit groaned and flopped down on her stomach.

"Ullghhh" She complained ruffling the top of her head with her front paws. Why did it have to be now, of all times. The scraps in the underworld weren't exactly delectable. And she didn't know how to control the power of switching from the heavens to the mortal world yet. One of these days she'd get stuck in one world or the other and just suffer her entire life. Not like she wasn't already, with her ankle pain and all. Who the hell, would do such a think. Her ankles had been cut, so badly, she had bleed to death that way, who the hell had done it. Why couldn't she remember either!

[BRUTIS]

"I accept whatever fate befalls me, regardless of whether I deserve it," Aria said. "Because I have been helping others get what they deserve, no more, no less, for a long time. I am afraid, but that doesn't mean I'll run away." She got the feeling Summit wasn't necessarily talking about her for the last couple of sentences, but she felt she had to respond somehow. And then she heard it: a sound she hadn't heard since she was a mortal. A stomach rumbling. Then, Summit flopped down on her stomach, groaning. Did that sound...come from her?

"Are you okay?" Aria asked. "Is there anything I can do to help you?" She was very worried, almost panicking, but she didn't let that show in her voice, she hoped.

[Rivaxorus]

Wait for your fate? What kind of bull crap was that. Summit wouldn't be able to have someone think like that. Was that....how Yumi thought before she died. And it was all her fault as well, if she hadn't said such mean things, if she hadn't left her in such a place. Suffering, she wouldn't haven't been forced like that. Summit stood up with a determined expression on her face. "No, everyone should get the chance at the fate they want, you can't just accept it. You fight against it at all costs, no matter what, even if there seems like there's no hope. You have to fight for what you want, not what someone else wants, it's just not right." Summit stopped for a moment and then lowered her dark tinted ears, her yellow eyes looking away. As she shyly took in deep breaths to calm herself. "I-I'm.....sorry. Just, I can't bear to see people in pain, not anymore at least." Summit shook her head. Then looked at Aria, though she avoided eye contact.

"I'm fine, just, hungry is all. I haven't eaten since this morning." Well that cat was out of the bag. She was hungry, and if she had been a new spirit, it could have just been the memory of being hungry, no, she needed actual food. Summit was afraid of what would happen if she actually starved or died of thirst, she was already dead right? So why did she have to keep living on as if she were alive, and live with a constant pain in her ankle's. And have a physical body capable of doing mortal things in the mortal world. It all didn't make sense to her.

[BRUTIS]

"No, everyone should get the chance at the fate they want, you can't just accept it. You fight against it at all costs, no matter what, even if there seems like there's no hope. You have to fight for what you want, not what someone else wants, it's just not right. I-I'm.....sorry. Just, I can't bear to see people in pain, not anymore at least."

Aria didn't say anything for a few moments.
"Fight against it at all costs, huh?" she asked, then smiled. "It's funny you should say that. I'm afraid I wasn't clear before. I'm really just trading one fate for another. You see...there is a fate worse than winding up here that I'm trying to avoid. In fighting against that one, I may well end up in this place as a consequence of my actions. As for the...minor god having a grudge on me and possibly planning to throw me in here whether or not I do anything wrong...Well, that's an action he could not get away with." She considered telling her about the army she and Deimos were trying to amass, but when Summit said she was hungry, Aria decided to save it for a better time.

"Oh. Hmmm...Well, I can try to bring you food from the heavens, but I don't know if it'd dissipate before I got back here with it. Still, it's worth a shot, if you'd like me to do so," Aria explained. She waited for Summit to tell her whether to attempt nabbing food from the heavens or not.