[adelyne] the murmur

She made her choice, and the golden fruit weighed heavily inside her satchel. It was clear she'd have to keep it hidden... possessing an item like this...

Well, it certainly wouldn't put her in good graces with The Weaver. Yet, what business would The Weaver have with a lowly elysiphim like herself? She would never get to see The Weaver, let alone get in any particular good graces with them.

In fact... she had no idea how Marley would take this information. Did he know of the tree? Was it a test to see what she would pick? Would he be disappointed that she chose not to pursue the knowledge? Would disdain fill him when he finds out that she brought one of the fruits back with her?

As she flew, the soft clouds brushed along her wings, gently caressing her as if to soothe her concerns. Seeing the gates of the City Centre made her feel a bit more steady. The golden skies, the tall, white buildings. This was her home. This was what she knew.

She planned on returning to the tall, white tower that Marley lived in, but on her way there, she heard a bunch of voices. She could hear many people crying out in outrage and anger. Adelyne changed the direction of her steps until she could see the crowd gathered in front of the throne room. Then, one more step and she sees.

The Weaver.

A gasp comes from Adelyne, her eyes widening at the sight. They stood tall and angry, practically radiating wrath. It was enough to make Adelyne want to scurry away, yet in front of The Weaver stood a particularly bold elysiphim. They were pale with six pairs of wings, and his gaze was fixed on the deity as he challenged it.

"There you are." A calm voice speaks from behind, and she whirls around, her fur sticking up. She is relieved to see the soft blue eyes and brown fur of Marley. Red, her kitsune pet, isn't far behind him, though his gaze stays fixed on the commotion as he moves to Adelyne's side.

Adelyne lets out a breath, and she swallows grimly as Marley walks towards her side. "I came back. I wanted to talk to you," she starts, looking down at Red as he sits next to her side.

"You saw the creature, the tree, the fruit," Marley speaks as though he is stating facts, rather than questions, but Adelyne nods silently. "You made a choice." His voice is quiet, loud enough for her to hear him but quiet enough that the others in the crowd don't. Marley's gaze slides to Adelyne, and she can feel it burning into her. Shakily, she meets it and nods once more.

"And you chose...?" He asks, and when Adelyne doesn't immediately answer, he clarifies. "Devotion, stability in what you have? Or knowledge and change?"

"I chose..." she trails off, thinking about the fruit in her bag. "Neither." To this, her mentor raises a brow, seeming genuinely surprised by the response. She takes this moment to clarify. "I did not eat the fruit. Not because I was scared of change or the knowledge. But because I was not sure if I could trust the creature for what it said. That it was telling the truth. I want more time and information before making a choice."

Marley was silent for a moment, an appraising look in his eyes. It is the same gaze he uses when he looks at spell components or magical items. Weighing their properties, their use, and their cost. Then, a sparkle in his eyes appears, and Adelyne blinks in surprise. A small smile breaks out on his face, displaying almost as a smirk. "You brought one back, didn't you?"

Her jaw drops slightly, but she closes it and nods. He smiles larger at this, then nods towards the commotion in front of them. Her gaze turns towards them, right as the multi-winged elysiphim accuses The Weaver of lying, of being a creature of deception.

Her eyes widen at the disrespect shown towards The Weaver, yet she says nothing as Sebastian steps forward and pushes a claw into the dissenter's chest. She is angry, rightfully so, and Adelyne here's a name: Luciel.

She gasps, looking at Marley, who wears a look of non-expression. He knew, Adelyne realizes. He knew that was Luciel. She pauses, as she thinks more. He knows more than that. Marley holds her eye contact a bit more, before dipping his head in a small nod. As if he knew her thoughts, and was confirming them.

Regardless, the scene continued to unfold in front of her like words poured out on a page. Luciel and Sebastian talk longer, Luciel's tone seeming to change to pleading. He was exasperated, trying to get Sebastian to understand. When Sebastian snaps and returns the gesture with anger and judgment, Adelyne is shocked by his expression.

Rather than respond with anger or confidence, like how he faced The Weaver, he seemed quiet against Sebastian. Sad and defeated. He wanted no power or position, just the truth.

Yet, The Weaver was not interested in giving it. The light it radiated made tears well up in Adelyne's eyes. Its voice boomed, reminding Luciel of their place. The Weaver did not care for Luciel's demands, finding their rejection of paradise insulting.

A shiver ran up Adelyne's spine as The Weaver called forth the tapestry. Such an effortless display of sacred power stunned Adelyne and a hasty glance at Marley seemed to confirm the fact that even though he had seen this before, he was still amazed by it. Red moved to hide slightly behind Adelyne, clearly intimidated by the presentation of authority.

Adelyne turns back forward, not wanting to miss a single second as The Weaver pulls a string, snapping it. The sound of it seemed to reverberate along the walls, and a dark swirling pit stood in front of Luciel.

He beckons for one to join him, and a few come forth. They say they have seen the truth, and it is not The Weaver. The words would seem strange to Adelyne if she hadn't had the excursion she had today. Others had gone before her and had longer to dwell on the knowledge and the choice. Yet, it all reached a climax today.

She watches as many elysiphim walk forward into the pit. Shock fills her as she witnesses their willingness to do so. She is initially shocked by their blind faith in Luciel, this knowledge that they claim to have found, and this portal. Yet, she supposed to stay meant to have more faith in the Weaver than this knowledge, and there was no proof that the Weaver was not a liar, either.

From Luciel's pained, sad expression to The Weaver's disdain and disinterest in saying the truth, Adelyne hesitated. If The Weaver was truly not lying, wouldn't they say it? What did they have to hide if they were innocent? And yet, was it right to question their deity at all?

The questions swirled in her head, and she wished that she had heard the whisper ages ago, if only so she could have more time to decide. Red peered up at her, tilting his head to the side as if he was also wondering something.

Indecision strikes her limbs, and she stands frozen in place as she watches the event unfold. She feels the attention of Marley and turns to face him. He is studying her once more, tilting his head.

"You are wrought with indecision. You've always been like this, ever since I took you in," Marley says, tilting his head.

"You always told me it was better to think things through than to not think about them at all," Adelyne says, a bit defensively.

"True, in the right amounts. But overthinking can be just as dangerous as under-thinking."

"I hardly think this is a situation where one can under-think. This is a huge deal," Adelyne whispers harshly, and Marley smiles grimly.

"It is, certainly." He pauses, looking forward to the dark pit. "You waited to make your choice for more information. You see others, they know what you do not. They seem to believe that it is genuine enough to leave what they used to know to seek this freedom, this truth. So now, my apprentice, you must make a choice. What will be your truth? What you know now? Or what more there could be?"

Adelyne looks between him, the portal, and Red. "What about you, Marley," she asks, her voice pleading.

"I will go with you," Marley responds, offering a nod. "You have hardly met my training, and I know that if I chose, you'd just choose what I did. To not choose either is an option, as well. You can just watch this unfold, but do not regret it later."

For some reason, Adelyne feels as though his words were from experience, and she looks at him for a long moment. Instead, she excuses herself to find an alley away from the commotion, and she pulls out the golden apple and bites into it. Red sniffs at it, licking part of the juices that leaked out of it. Then the two look at each other, as if waiting for something. Yet, there is nothing different, and she laughs, putting the half-eaten fruit back into her satchel.

What a strange thing. Why was everyone acting up over nothing? And yet, as soon as that thought formed in her head, it was met with many others. Revelation, strange, and heretical. She felt dizzy, and she closed her eyes and saw stars. Like how she read about them in fairy tales, sparkling high and unreachable in the sky. How they were used to navigate during the dark of night.

She returns to Marley with Red, shaking slightly. She hears a voice in her head, one that sounds like home, and the walls around her look treacherous and foreboding. "I want to go."

It may be a trick of the mind, as her head swarms with unfamiliar thoughts and emotions, but it seems like Marley smiles. "Then we will go."

Together, they step up, moving towards the pit. Red seems hesitant to go even close to the swirling dark pit, but when Adelyne beckons to him with a smile on his face, he pauses. He takes a moment to compose himself, even seeming to take a deep breath before charging towards it. Adelyne and Marley step into the unknown, and she closes her eyes, praying that she made the right choice.

And yet, she finds herself praying to The Weaver. She realizes, belatedly, how stupid that was. What she had just done was surely treason. She would never be allowed home again. Despite this, she doesn't feel too afraid. A fake paradise was just that--fake. Besides, she had Marley and Red!