SPECIAL EVENT: The Flower Oracle

[polymods]

✖ Meet The Oracle

A low thrumming sound builds in the background noise of the raised village, starting so softly that it would be easy to mistake it for the ever present hummingbirds. It keeps building slowly, somehow managing to be both a sound and to bypass the ear as it hums in the bones. The local Temple Guardians bump heads and brush against each other, quietly affirming their bond as they divide their duties: one staying with the local Temple and the other winding through the paths of the village down to the bud of the Flower Oracle in its place of honor in the city center.

The villagers stop what they’re doing, not quite in a panic, but their speed is deliberate and definite. They gather things on their way, flower wreaths, fish, beautiful food, sharp knives, until everyone has something in their arms. There is an ecstatic tension in the air, after all, the time has come when these people will yet again see substantial proof of their god, and it seems they have forgotten all about the Travelers who might have joined them. There is plenty of room for everyone to gather in a circle around the green bud that has grown even larger.

The thrum rises until it is hard to breathe, until some of the structures around begin to groan in the onslaught, and then it stops, suddenly. In the vacuum of silence, there is a wet and meaty sound as the bud begins to open, a first hint of things that look like red lips and white teeth. A canny Traveler might be forgiven for running at that point. The visceral sound of the splitting, of this birthing, continues as the bud splits, then splits again as the four sepals fall open, exposing an inner surface that glistens red and is lined at the edges with white sharp growths that may be fangs. The villagers ignore the implicit threat. They have eyes only for the structure in the middle.

Who can blame them? Translucent petals form a breathing tower, curled tight and perfect as a seashell. A glow pulses like a heartbeat as the petals slowly unfurl, collapsing elegantly to reveal the Oracle and provide protection against the threat of the sepals. The Flower Oracle is beautiful, glowing, soft and round. She is initially surrounded by four guards, each masculine and clearly dangerous, but they move aside to leave a clear path. The villagers line up with their sacrifices, and there is ritual patience in the act. Everyone will have their time with the Oracle, and anyone must be allowed their time alone within the petals.

Notes:
Characters who wish to approach the oracle need to respond to the thread titled ‘Meet the Oracle’. After they get their response, they can post a separate reaction thread to play out some of the consequences of the event.

Responses to the Oracle Thread should include: a short description of their IC reaction/actions, a description of what they bring for a sacrifice, and their question for the ancient. Villagers will have let them know that traditional options include: fish, flowers, art, blood, secrets, or memories. Characters/players may come up with their own sacrifices. Please include a note if the character helped decorate the local temple this month.

WARNING: Contacting the Oracle may result in negative IC results for characters, and there is a degree of randomness in how the mods assign results.

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Comments

[assemble_the_lovbacken]

[Thor's face falls into a flat line.] Are you really suggesting that an Oracle is not to be believed? Given all we grew up with on Asgard?

You're dodging the question, Loki. What are you protecting me from? You know how annoying I can get. I'll keep asking you until you answer me.

[dothelokimotion]

As if I would protect you from any — [ and immediately, his chest contracts as he starts coughing, the surge of flower petals rushing up his throat. he wheezes, struggling to catch his breath. ]

[assemble_the_lovbacken]

[Thor takes an immediate step back to avoid being covered in the flowers. Are they also coated in saliva and bile? Where did they come from? Has Loki turned into one of those strange flower insects he fought?] Oh, that is—Hmm. Not what I—What's happening?

[dothelokimotion]

I — The Oracle cursed me somehow.

[assemble_the_lovbacken]

.. That's why you vomit flowers now?

Wait, why do you vomit flowers? It's not happening now.

[dothelokimotion]

[ obviously, it's because loki is lying. he's too smart not to put the pieces together. ]

How should I know — [ nope, he's immediately down, clutching his stomach and mouth, struggling to breath. ]

[assemble_the_lovbacken]

[Thor widens his eyes and a gentle laugh rumbles through his body. He vaguely points in his brother's direction.]

Ah, yes. I see what's happening. You can't lie to me. You become the worst kind of flower girl whenever you try.

So, then, Brother. [His expression settles into something more intense, more sincere, more focused.] What are you protecting me from?

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki wheezes, spitting out flowers petal. his head is spinning from the constant cutting off of air to his lungs. his fingers curl into themselves. ]

I don't — [ nope, more flowers. this is no longer feeling like an inconvenience and it's starting to feel painful. ] — Brother, please.

[assemble_the_lovbacken]

So it must be terrible if you're willing to deal with your current torment in order to continue to shield me. [Thor is torn; on the one hand, he wants to know what exactly lies ahead of him and how bad it will be, but on the other hand, he doesn't want his brother to suffer needlessly.]

All right, I will relent—for now. But do not think me stupid enough that I will let this curse of yours pass without trying to reveal what it is you're so desperate to hide.

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki coughs a few more petals, curling a hand over his stomach. he failed. completely. he couldn't even manage to do this one thing. he chokes back a sob. ]

Why is it so important?

[assemble_the_lovbacken]

Perhaps—whatever it is, whatever it is you've been carrying, perhaps I can change it when I leave here. Maybe I can .. fix those wrongs. Do something differently to avoid whatever future you know of.

[Thor reaches out to place a gentle, soothing hand on Loki's shoulder. It's full of brotherly affection and love, the way it was when they were young.]

But I can't do that if I don't know what to expect.

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki has to laugh, though it devolves into a brief hacking cough. fix things. of course if anyone could, it'd be thor. loki can't fix things. he can just delay the inevitable. isn't that why they cursed him? to show how impossible it was for him? ]

I just wanted to do it right.

[ stopper the pain. even if it was selfish, he didn't want to hurt thor. he didn't want to be the cause of his suffering. ]

[assemble_the_lovbacken]

Dear Brother, you don't get it. By telling me, you are doing it right. You don't need to carry whatever's weighing down your heart.

[He gives him a gentle tug so that he can catch his gaze.]

I'm right here. .. Is that what you're afraid of? That I'll disappear if you tell me?

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki swallows tightly, looking up at thor. ]

I'm . . . I'm afraid you'll want nothing more to do with me.

[assemble_the_lovbacken]

[Thor's entire facial expression softens, knits itself into worry and concern. It's the most emotionally honest his brother's been in many years, and it simultaneously feels a bit like a sucker punch to the gut and a soothing hand to the heart.

It takes him a few moments to gather himself, and when he does, he lets out a bit of a scoff.] All these years together, Brother .. over a thousand of them .. and never once have I completely abandoned you. [He winces.] Okay, so maybe there was a bit of that on Sakaar, but as I've said to you, it was never that I stopped believing in you; I had to force myself to walk away in order to save our home and people and hope that you still had the good in you that I've always known was there.

[He shakes his head, putting his other hand on Loki's shoulder.] I can't imagine what you could've possibly done that would make me do what you fear.

[dothelokimotion]

[ no. thor could not. but loki could, in vivid detail. but this was the end of the line. there's nothing he could say that would deter thor. the truth would come out. he might as well take control of that choice instead of this place taking further control of him.

he swallows tightly. this is the end. ]

We . . . were attacked. On our way to Earth.

[ his breath hitches. ]

I managed to save as many as I could. And you. But I — I didn't make it.

[assemble_the_lovbacken]

[Thor's hands slowly fall back to his sides as the ground slides out from underneath his feet, the peripherals of his vision going black. A wayward hand goes out to try to find something solid to cling to, but failing to find anything, he instead takes a step back, stumbling a bit to finally take a clumsy seat on the ground.

He can feel the hot prickling at his eyes, the heat emanating off of his body, bleeding up to his neck, his ears, his head. It feels like he's oozing into lava, freezing into ice, crumbling into earth.

In the distance, there is the sound of rolling thunder and the crackling of lightning striking the water.[]

I don't understand. [Thor's gaze falls somewhere in the middle distance, mind still furiously working to process the information.] You survive. You always survive. It's what you do, Brother. You're a god. [A cavernous crack begins to form in his chest.] I don't understand.

[dothelokimotion]

[ the heaviness in his chest seemingly dissipates. speak to him. that had been the requirement of the curse and loki had. but he feels the regret of saying it at all seep into his bones. he manages to pull himself together, the ache in his throat fading. ]

Thor.

[ carefully, with shaking fingers, he reaches for thor's face. ]

Brother.

[assemble_the_lovbacken]

[Thor can hear Loki's voice, but it is as though it lies on some distant part of the Bifrost, murky and scattered. He fumbles for it in the darkness of his mind, but all he comes up with is ash.]

I don't understand. [He repeats, murmuring the words to himself as he tries to reconcile the engulfing wave of nausea that overcomes him. His head is spinning, his body trembling. He no longer feels like the mighty God of Thunder; he's nothing more than a tiny speck, floating in space.]

Loki—

[dothelokimotion]

I'm here.

[ his voice is little more than a whisper, but loki grounds himself, makes it stronger. breathes it out like a benediction, to make it real. for what is loki but a person who shapes his own reality? he takes thor's hands, pressing them against his face. ]

I'm here.

the icon ;_;

[assemble_the_lovbacken]

[Thor suddenly comes back to himself, eyes furiously searching for his brother's face. Thor feels Loki's touch, feels the warm beneath his fingers, but it takes him a few moments to realize that what he sees, what he feels is real.

The ultimate and absolute devastation of learning of his brother's death is beyond Thor's comprehension. He can feel a part of his brain switching off, unable to process or deal with the weight of the knowledge.]

You're here. [Thor lets out a laugh of relief.] I believe I'm supposed to say that to you, Brother.

;;;;;;;

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki sighs in relief. for a moment, he had become unbearably frightened, as if thor was falling down a dark hole and loki had no way of reaching him. he sags briefly against thor's hands. ]

Does it matter who says it? I'm here. We're here.

[assemble_the_lovbacken]

But not forever. [Thor can feel the gravel in his throat, the rock that forms as he tries to swallow. The heat of repressed tears floods him with nausea.

Thor and Loki: brothers, side-by-side, until the end of their days. That's how it was supposed to be. He cannot imagine a world, a life without his brother.

He grabs Loki and tugs him into a fierce, desperate hug, as though Thor feared he would disappear if he should let him go.]

When I leave here, I will do everything, everything in my power to change this. Perhaps we go somewhere else in the universe to escape whomever attacked us. Or perhaps I can destroy them before they ambush us. Whatever it is, Brother, I will fix it. I have to fix it.

[dothelokimotion]

[ what is loki supposed to say? you can't fix everything. loki in particularly is not a fixable thing. many have tried, all have failed. but loki had managed to do what's right for thor. to ensure thor's continued existence. because there is no point to a universe without thor. he would have let everything burn for it.

and yet, he just wants to believe that thor can fix it. that if anyone can, it'd be thor. his older brother who chased away loki's monsters and fought loki's nightmares. he presses his forehead against thor's shoulder with a quiet sob. ]

You'd come with me?

[assemble_the_lovbacken]

Loki, I would go with you anywhere. Everywhere. [Thor closes his eyes, wills his heart to slow, to relax. It seems and feels an impossible task given all he's just learned, but slowly, it seamlessly falls in time with his brother's.

He steadies himself and scolds that he must be strong. He must be the shining example of a resolute, tenacious older brother who can bear the weight of the world and all of its sorrows on his shoulders without faltering. He is Thor, God of Thunder and Lightning. He cannot fail.

He cannot be less than.

He must not be less than.

He exhales a small laugh.]

There's no one else who knows what it was like to be raised by our parents.