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 Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 6:39 am
Personal 'lairs' had begun springing up inside of the Sahara lately, spinning ever skyward like an ant mound, windows facing outwards to look out over the endless expanse of sand. The promise of a home away from Halloween - or perhaps some of those within it - had become quite the motivator for a home at all for Shehk, and it was that day she'd opened the doors for a small shop of sorts. Well, less of a shop, and more of a workshop. There were not really 'wares' to be purchased for immediate gratification.
It wasn't anything really 'fancy', per say, but it was enough for her. Her wares? Custom made knives - there were a handful of them decorating the walls of her workspace, each given a long amount of attention with careful detail, but they seemed to be fully functional as well. She wasn't sure why she had the skill for it, but ever since she'd first tried her hand at the skill, she'd been rather good at it, thus it had become a sort of twisted hobby. After all, there was something therapeutic for someone angry, sad, unhappy to imagine putting such blades to use.
Yet, her mind kept wandering to that collage of newspaper and magazine articles on the wall of her private quarters, her post it notes of thoughts she'd put down on them to hold onto the notion before she lost it again. But the thoughts were becoming more and more concrete, the longer she worked on them and there was a full idea now.
One that she was practically bursting to share with someone.
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Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 7:32 am
The Sahara was exactly how Ren had thought it would be - hot. Though he couldn't say he disliked it; warmth had always been his better season, and he did not like or do well with the cold. The hot sand swept across his feet, and he wondered, not for the first time, what exactly he was doing here.
He wasn't certain. Especially since, as usual, he had not told anyone where he was going, or what he was doing. His wings lifted and fell, then lay as flat against his back as he could make them, his tail curling around one of his ankles as he made his way silently through the blazing heat and the sun.
He found the little "lair" a few moments later.
It was a small place, half buried beneath sand, but it looked comfortable enough. Ren stepped down towards it, his eyes shaded against the brightness as he scanned the entrance, gaze tracing over the appearance until -
- he knew that face. Not as well as he should have, considering they had been at school together for the past three years, but well enough. Ren tilted his head to the side, one of his ears flicking back against his hair.
"Shehk?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 1:14 pm
"Mmm?" Shehk barely looked up from her work when she heard her name, continuing to carve into the clear stone she'd been shaping. When she held it up to look through it to get a better sense of how the pattern looked, she paused, slowly looking around her handiwork to look at who her visitor actually was.
"Ren?"
She didn't seem startled, but he clearly wasn't who she had been expecting. "I see you've found my humble abode." Shehk mused, gesturing with her free hand before she set the knife she was working on down. "Come to enjoy some downtime away from the ever watchful Amityville?" She inquired as she pushed a seat away from her workspace, inviting him to take a seat with a silent gesture of one hand.
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Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2013 12:13 pm
He slipped his hands into his pockets, rocking back on his heels as he surveyed the little place. Shehk wasn't, perhaps, a close friend of his, but from what he knew of her, she was a good person.
"Hey," he said, lifting his hand in greeting before giving a small nod in thanks and taking the seat indicated. A small laugh escaped his throat as he shook his head, his short, golden hair falling around his shoulders.
"Sort of, I guess," he replied. "I found myself wandering, and, well...there you have it."
He glanced around the place. "So what are you doing here?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2013 5:29 pm
Shehk motioned to the interior of the den again. "Humble abode. This space belongs to me." she clarified. "So that's what I'm doing here." leaning back in her workchair, she picked up one of the knives she had littered about, holding it out, by the blade, for Ren to look over.
"And this is what I'm doing here." her ears flicked back. "I've found that I get a lot more...soul searching done here than when I'm in Halloween." she explained, as if further clarification was needed.
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Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 7:25 pm
"Oh, really?" said Ren, his eyes moving around the small enclosure. He gave an approving nod, his wings rustling as he reached out to take the offered blade, turning it over in his fingers. "It's very nice. I didn't know you had a place out here, but it seems like it would be...you know, a good escape."
His brows drew together, Ren tilting his head. "Looking for some meaning in life?" he asked lightly, and leaned forward in his chair, sighing a little. "I could use some of that myself. Got any suggestions?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 8:04 pm
"It is nice. Especially when you decide that how you think you should live your life doesn't really.... line up with the views of Halloween." Shehk made no motion to take the knife back from him.
"Found a lot of meaning in many things, actually." she polished at the glass blade she'd been working at when he'd poked his head in. "But what I've mostly found is that I keep making my little motions," she motioned with one hand, "to protect people and it feels like it doesn't do anything." Looking to Ren, Shehk leaned on her desk. "Can you think of how many times you've dissipated for someone else? Doesn't it feel a bit like a waste and you just..wish there was a more productive use for all your will to save people?"
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Posted: Wed Apr 03, 2013 8:59 am
One of Ren's ears swiveled towards Shehk, his tail curling around his ankle. "...too many times," he said finally, his voice low and quiet. "Too many times I've dissipated."
It was like she was reading what was in his mind, what he had held so dear to his heart this entire time, afraid to let it be shown. Ren's eyes flickered towards the ghoul.
"All the time," said Ren. "But," he added, blowing out a breath of air and staring at the little knife in his freckled hands. "There's nothing I can do. I'm not strong enough."
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Posted: Thu Apr 04, 2013 6:34 am
She reached out slowly, putting one hand on the Gryphon's shoulder sympathetically. "What if I told you there was something to be done?" Shehk's eyes looked slowly towards the next chamber of her lair, before she got up slowly to walk towards it, lingering in the doorway.
The other room clearly displayed a mix of obsession and desperation - ripped newspapers, which a quick glance through would name various human cities as the origin of, and other published volumes littered the floor. Across the walls was where the ripped pages had been rehomed, articles bunched together, handwritten notes from Shehk attached to each group like a giant web of knowledge.
"This is my project." Shehk explained. "Go ahead. Take a look."
Each group of articles explained some new disaster that humans were creating for themselves - wars, lack of food supplies, the rich taking advantage of the poor and more.
There was one note that stood alone: 'OVERPOPULATION: TOO MANY HUMANS WILL KILL THEM ALL'
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Posted: Thu Apr 04, 2013 10:47 am
He gave Shehk a grateful look, sighing. They had both been at school for years together now, but he had rarely spoken to the ghoul, in spite of that. Now, it seemed though, they were of the same mind - a fact that Ren appreciated greatly, because it meant that he was not alone in his way of thinking.
He blinked up at Shehk, eyes narrowing slightly. "But there isn't," he said slowly, but stood and followed her towards the door, peering into the other room with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension.
His fingers moved quietly across the papers, the articles, the notes, splaying momentarily on one particular piece of paper, Ren's brows drawing together in mild bemusement.
"What is all this?"
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Posted: Thu Apr 04, 2013 4:59 pm
Shehk watched him in silence until she was asked what all the articles were. "Evidence." she answered, stepping into the room. "There are not enough resources to keep the number of humans that exist currently alive. Those that can, hoard them. Others will start wars over them - and have, actually." tilting her head, she glanced towards a few articles that outlined details about poor people selling their only food source to those who didn't need it to simply try to survive, all caused by vanity.
"With a visual surplus of humans, picking off some of them wisely would be a mutually beneficial situation for both Halloween and the Humans as a whole."
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Posted: Thu Apr 04, 2013 7:13 pm
Evidence? Of what, Ren wondered, as he traced a few words on the papers. He pressed his lips together thoughtfully, his brows drawing downwards the longer he listened.
"So...what you're suggesting," he said, now turning to face Shehk. "is a solution to the excess of humans. Getting rid of the surplus to benefit everyone."
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Posted: Fri Apr 05, 2013 4:57 pm
Shehk didn't smile, nor seem proud, about the conclusion all of her 'evidence' had boiled down to.
"Yes, that's exactly the conclusion I've come to."
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Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2013 7:10 pm
Ren could almost hear his heartbeat, it was so quiet. He stood silently, looking at Shehk with an inscrutable expression, his lips pressed together in a thin line.
After a moment he said softly, "And how would you propose doing this?"
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Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2013 7:13 pm
Her ears flicked backwards. "Very carefully." she answered initially, lightly pressing one knuckle against her lips in deeper thought. "First research where the greatest monopolies in resources are, then go in from there. Certainly I would have to work on being as unpredictable as possible as to keep from.. problems in white coats from getting too far up in my grill..."
She tilted her head slightly.
"To be honest, I feel like it would be ideal to find the most plausible way to... frighten them to death to keep from leaving any real physical trace on them as well."
She dropped her arms, crossing them behind her back. "It would require more than just myself, unfortunately, to iron out a foolproof plan."
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