Stephanie's Heart: The Archive

[reading_rainstorm]

In your dreams you are in a thick and foggy forest. It could be mistaken for the woods around Tributary if you don’t know your plants. You are on a trail leading into a clearing, in the center of which is a simple, concrete structure with a single door. A chaos star has been spray painted on it with a stencil.

You approach the structure. Looking over your shoulder you see a large shape lurking in the fog, obscured by the foliage. Two shining Feline eyes peer at you from the brush. You feel your heart rate spike as you turn the knob and find an old fashioned elevator tucked neatly inside with an accordion grate standing between you and the ornate, gilded interior. It creaks open as the presence behind you steps into the clearing. It is a sphinx, an eight foot tall lioness with the face of a woman and the large brown wings of an eagle on her back . The feminine face and olive skin tone of a Greek woman from antiquity smiles as she readies herself to to pounce, the wings on her back stretching and give a few readying flaps.You back into the elevator and close the gate with shaking hands as the sphinx leaps at the elevator. Her claws twisting and shearing the metal of the grate slowly, but she is too late. The elevator springs to life and you descend.

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A small light above flickers on as it illuminates your view outside the exposed elevator as you sink into the concrete structure. You descend for a few moments before an opening in the concrete gives you the view of an observation deck on a hill, looking down on the sprawling suburbs and campus of a college town. The elevator continues downward. The concrete gives way to old, dusty marble as you continue sinking. You see a vast maze stretch far and away that gets nearer and nearer. This has to be it, right? Your destination? No. You plunge further down, past the walls of the maze and the marble is replaced again by well polished wood. Beautiful stained mahogany rises past you as your descent finally starts to slow. You are greeted by another grate that creaks open for you. Entreating you to enter.

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[maskformask]

Ohhh. You were right. I did like that.

[pats the wall, then goes for High Priestess]

[reading_rainstorm]

Opening the door you see the main chamber of a temple. A black and white pillar suspends a floral patterned cloth behind a throne. On which is Stephanie adorned with fine red and gold robes, headdress with a Chaos star like a halo behind her head. There is no trace of her usual cat features about her, but she wears a golden gorget around her neck that is chained to a headless winged lion that sits at the foot of her throne. She looks up from the book in her lap. Smiling.

"Louis! You did it. Holy shit, you went through it all."

[maskformask]

[Beams at her, coming over to reach for a hand]

It felt only right. Everything's intertwined in here. I mean, I suppose for everyone, but, well. You know. I hope it's okay?

[reading_rainstorm]

Fuck a hand, Steph is going in for a hug.

"More than okay. It feels like I have all my pieces put back in place."

[maskformask]

[hugs her hard]

I'm so glad. I've been on the other end of it and it can be... odd, but... good, too. I think.

[reading_rainstorm]

"Odd for sure. I don't think I was...here until you actually opened that door? I was all out there."

[maskformask]

I suppose it can be hard to see the whole for the parts.

[leans down and offers his hand to the kbitty]

[reading_rainstorm]

"O-oh I don't know if-"

The winged lion, even without her head seems to be able to acknowledge you. She rubs up against your hand, asking for pets.

"HUH."

[maskformask]

She's not a bad girl. But she's been in a carrier a long time.

[gives her a scritchie]

[reading_rainstorm]

She flaps her wings happily and sits by you.

"Y-yeah? What...happened in the cabin? Between you going in and getting the memory to play...I actually couldn't see in there, you were in there a long time too."

[maskformask]

Oh! I was going to tell you outside but I guess it makes more sense in here since the paper probably won't come out with me. We chatted a bit, we talked a lot about her needs and wants. She's struggling because she can't communicate with you but does have needs. I wrote them down. Here.

[Hands her the paper, which reads:

- The Sphinx is frustrated at the lack of open lines of communication and since she can't talk directly she's being forceful instead, because the only other option is total silence.
- But she doesn't actually want to work against Stephanie. She has the same goals and sees the same things as Stephanie, the two of you just have different perspectives and ideas on how to get them.
- She doesn't wish Stephanie any harm and you hold the same things dear. It's not just a body you share, it's a mind.
- The Sphinx DOES sometimes want to eat people, but only if they annoy you or are hiding things. It's not a general case.
- She's distressed. She feels trapped in a corner and like she has no control.
- She's always hungry, because she requires knowledge to live. Stephanie's been starving her because she can't survive on mana alone. Reading enough would do it, though.
- She doesn't have to be Stephanie's enemy. She wants her own name.]

[reading_rainstorm]

Steph reads the note with a bit of a worried frown. She glances back at the winged lion she is chained to as she reads.

When she is done she puts the note into the book she was reading as you entered.

"That is...a lot to consider. I can't say it isn't...a little distressing."

[maskformask]

I think it's understandable to be distressed by it. If you do act on it, it means changes in your life to try to accommodate something else. If you don't, you'll feel guilty. But... I thought also you'd rather know than not know.

[reading_rainstorm]

"Thank you Louis. Really. It complicated things, but I'm glad you told me. It's better to know, right?"

[maskformask]

I think so. All not knowing lets you do is be not responsible for whatever happens.