THE SORTING PATH

[peckishmods]

the sorting path

you have found him

A burst of hot steam stymies any immediate charge down the stairs into the Sorting Path, but with each second that ticks by, the white cloud thins and the temperature drops. Unbearable becomes nearly tolerable, and so long as you can stand it, you must press forward.

The Sorting Path is not silent. Hot, wet air moves in and out like the wheezing breaths of some wounded creature. Water evaporated when the Path's falls were boiled away by the nightmare tree's birth now drips from ceiling to floor where it pools in two inch deep puddles, making the trek somewhat more precarious than usual.

You have arrived in the belly of the beast. Keep pushing, keep fighting, no matter how hard it gets.

he is everywhere

Here, the walls are overgrown with vines, purple flowers bloom mere inches from your face, ready to shake their sickening pollen with the merest brush. The chirping of birds and the buzzing of strange bugs makes talking at anything quieter than a yell almost pointless.

You've only been here once, but even so it's unrecognizable. Murals destroyed, magic gone, replaced with something deeply sinister. The last time you walked this path, it was to find your place within Peckenpaugh. This time, you walk it to make sure Peckenpaugh is still a place once you leave.

Chin up. Be brave. Let's get this sorted.

but he is not infinite

TO ELSEWHERE
| TO OUTSIDE | TO THE BASE OF THE TREE | TO THE UPPER LEVELS |

IN THIS HUB
| THE SUMMER ROOM | THE AUTUMN ROOM |
| THE WINTER ROOM | THE SPRING ROOM |
| THE ROOTS |


OOC POSTS
| OOC ACTION HUB | OOC CHATTER - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS |

Comments

MEMORY: An Eye for An Eye

[crowhop]

Mary Grace blinks hard as things bend. Even lying face down on the ground, hands clutched around the rope to her hogtied history textbook, she feels a little fucking dizzy.

She rolls on her back and sits up straight and it just seems to get worse. Hm. Maybe she should drink more.

"Lookin' sharp 'n' soggy, Promsley," Mary Grace says, shooting Pres a fingergun and a wink as she scooches over to the hole in the floor. "I'll spot for y'all on the other side." And with that, Mary Grace disappears into the ground. With any luck, she'll never be seen again.

MEMORY: An Eye for An Eye

[infamously]

Looking at the homemade bracelet in Aris' hand, he thinks of what Viola said earlier. He thinks of caring for someone and making mistakes, and to have the world punish you for those mistakes by ensuring you never see that person again. The world isn't fair—it's never been fair—but it does strike him for the first time as unjustly cruel.

Presley gives Mary Grace the middle finger before she disappears, and bends down to retrieve the Omamorning Star. Not only a powerful weapon, but one crafted from his father's gift. It was truly, incredibly bone-headed of him to drop it. He turns back to Winter.

"Carmichael." He can feel the wizFrosted Flakes stuck to his hair, in addition to all the horrible monster fluids and viscera. His hand is still numb. "After this is over... want to go on a date with me?"

MEMORY: An Eye for An Eye

[damnnearkilledem]

Winter's grinning at the exchange between Presley and Mary Grace, quietly amused and plainly caught off guard by Presley's next question, directed at her. Her gaze cuts left, then right, but there's no one else here named Carmichael, Winter, you dope. "I..."

She thinks of El Qualls, and the way he saw Pocket. In this dark basement bathed in flame, she was something transcendant. A beacon, a goddess. It had seemed a tad over the top to Winter when they'd stepped in, but now, looking at Presley, soaked with milk, flecked with cornflakes and muck, she can kind of see where El Qualls was coming from. Maybe not quite so grand. But, sometimes, someone's just exactly who you want to see. A light in the dark.

She picks a cornflake from his hair and flicks it aside, her lips parting into a a grin. Bright, bashful bashful laughter chases that smile, wholly inappropriate for their current setting. "I... absolutely do." She tips her head toward the portal. "Let's go save a party bug."

MEMORY: An Eye for An Eye

[arisahn]

Aris, now making an effort not to smile too wide, glances at Viola before averting his eyes. This is sweet, right? But they shouldn't interrupt, right?