And the wind smells slow and sour when it blows

[whichwayyoulean]

Who: The Once-ler and YOU!
What: Nightmares
When: Friday
Where: HIS MIND
Rating: Uh PG/PG13.


[You'd be forgiven for thinking you've entered a pleasant dream, rather than a horrific nightmare here. You've arrived in Truffula Valley, a peaceful, wonderful place that almost puts Paradisa's created beauty to shame. Forest creatures are scurrying about, singing and playing and generally going about their business.

The sky is bright blue, the sun is shining and the waters of the nearby river and pond are crystal clear. And most importantly there are miles upon miles upon miles of Truffula trees. For anyone the Once-ler described these trees to, he wasn't kidding. The touch of their tufts really is softer than silk and that comforting, wonderful smell? Fresh butterfly milk baby.

Nothing good lasts forever, and there's a general unease about the place. A disjointed sort of feel, like someone's putting on a play and you've already been told everyone dies at the end]

[[ooc: Sections: Pretty Valley | Dying Valley | Dead Valley ]]

Comments

All that was left 'neath the bad smelling sky

[whichwayyoulean]

[Another scene change, another skip in memory, and it's all gone. The valley is a husk of what it once was. The smoke in the sky blocks out the sun, leaving an ever present darkness. Breathing too deeply will bring on coughing fits, and the water is an undrinkable black mess. You're going to have to find shelter soon, or you'll die from exposure. There's a long winding road you can follow. Dotted along it are reminders of what happened to this place.

And just at the end of the road, overlooking a cliff, is what remains of the Once-ler's factory. The Once-ler is standing outside of it, watching the sky intently, beside him stands a stone with a certain word on it.

Go too near and be hit with an overwhelming sense of loneliness and failure. If you were travelling in a group, you're suddenly alone. Well, alone except for the Once-ler, who right now doesn't seem to be paying you the slightest bit of attention at all]

[wilder]

[Zelos is following the road, he probably stands out a great deal with how brightly colored he always is. He's looking around the scenery in a bit of horror and shock. He's seen battlefields, too peaceful fields riddled with bodies and blood. He saw the ruins of Ozette - rubble and scorch marks, a quiet village now a mass grave. ]

[But neither, no matter how horrible the sights, were like this. No battlefield, no ruined cities, no massacres- was ever enough to blot out the sun or the air so dirty it's nearly impossible to breath]

[He coughs, his hand going to cover his mouth. He attempts to call out]

Anybody out here?

[whichwayyoulean]

[The Once-ler had been staring intently at the sky, at that place in the clouds where the only friend he ever had vanished from him forever. A small part of him was willing the Lorax to return, knowing it would never happen.

The voice drags him out of his thoughts, and as he turns in the direction of the sound for the first time since his nightmare began, he actually recognises someone]

...Zelos?

[His brow furrows. This isn't right. This is Truffula Valley, not Paradisa. There shouldn't be anyone else here but him, and definitely no one from that magical castle. Did he go home and somehow drag Zelos with him?]

How did you get here?

[wilder]

[He feels relief when he hears Onceler, moving his head to spot him.]

Once-ler! Yo!

[At the question, he doesn't know the answer. He just was here. But he just gives a cocky smirk, hiding any feelings of uncertainty ]

Please, I'm the great Zelos Wilder. I come and go where I please.

[whichwayyoulean]

[The Once-ler's confusion seems to grow. Zelos no that's not an acceptable answer]

I'm pretty sure that's not how it works. You get sent home and that's it, right? You don't bring along guests. At least no one's mentioned bringing home guests before.

[Unless of course Paradisa has decided to make a vacation of Truffula Valley. In that case, it could have picked a far better location]

[courageous_wit]

[Hermione doesn't know how she managed to get here. Or where here is, exactly. All she does know is that she can hardly breathe and the more she walks, the more the place chills her.

Something terrible happened here. That much she can tell]

Hello..?

[whichwayyoulean]

[Hermione's words are enough to cause the Once-ler to look up. Oh man, something weird is happening here, first Zelos and now...

Hermione doesn't know what he'd done. She doesn't know this was his fault. A part of him selfishly wants to try to keep that as it is, but he knows he can't do that. Not here. Not for long]

...Hey.

[courageous_wit]

[it's all so horrible and sad, and when she sees him she knows she should say something]

Once-ler.

[whichwayyoulean]

[He'll just try to play this as naturally as he can. Maybe this is just some...stupid castle thing and this will all be over soon]

There's some pretty weird stuff happening today, huh?

[That's an understatement]

You should probably get inside. It's cold out here. [That's what happens when there's no sun, you jackass]

[ino]

[well this is .... super gross. she's definitely not used to anything but clean air, which means she's coughing up a storm, here. she's not even looking in once-ler's direction when she stops to lean against a rock and catch her breath from all that walking it took to get here]

[whichwayyoulean]

[Her coughing catches the Once-ler's attention, and he turns to- oh no. No no no. Not Ino. Anyone but her. He almost considers making a break for the Lerkim, but given the fact he thought it was a good idea to keep his stupid name on the door, it wouldn't be the best hiding spot.

He walks over to her, shoulders hunched, head bowed, sheepish. This was his mess, after all]

Shallow breaths. It'll be easier. [That was kind of like hello]

[ino]

[she almost flinches in surprise when he approaches, because -- well, that overwhelming feeling of loneliness and shittiness kind of had her thinking no one else was here but her. she totally ignores what he says and jumps up to hug him]

Oh, my god. I thought I was -- [alone, but she just cuts off, not wanting to say it out loud, and tightens her hold on him]

[whichwayyoulean]

[He really, honestly wasn't expecting the hug. It startles him a little, but eventually he awkwardly wraps his gangly arms around her and gives her a gentle squeeze]

It's okay. I think the castle's doing something weird.

[heal_theworld]

[Martel has been walking for a while, picking her way between old, dead stumps and puddles of noxious water. She finally gets on the road, and follows it for a while, a factory looming up in front of her and a tiny, tiny figure in front of it. She makes her way over there, and then she recognizes him from a distance. She coughs a bit, and then raises an arm, waving it, calling out as loud as she can with the smog clouding her lungs.]

...Once-Ler?

[whichwayyoulean]

[He turns at the sound of her voice, his expression dropping to one of even deeper sadness. His head hung low, he makes his way carefully over to her. Seems Paradisa isn't done making him suffer just yet]

...You got trapped here too, huh?

[heal_theworld]

Yes, it seems so. [She looks around.] Is this your world...?

[cyan_maid]

[What was there before this - her room in Paradisa, curled up with a cookbook - and now she traverses this frightening place. It reminds her a little of the Land of Crypts and Helium with how desolate it is, but at least there she could tell life was just waiting to burst forth, and the water and air were clean.

It's also not too fun to be alone here.

Coughing, the collar of her shirt pulled up over her nose in a feeble attempt to filter the air, Jane wanders down the winding path, past the horrors, to the sad and precarious tower - and then she spots the first person she's seen this whole time.]

Once-ler!!

[She starts to run towards him, but ow, hacking cough ow. Yep, running is a bad idea here.]

[whichwayyoulean]

[Oh damn it's the kid. The Once-ler glares up at the smog-ridden sky, as if mentally berating something (or more likely someone) for making all this happen. They didn't need to live through this. It wasn't THEIR mistake.

Sighing, he walks over to her]

Take it slow, okay? You can't breathe the smog in too deeply.

[cyan_maid]

I'm - trying-

[With every coughing fit she tries to take a deep breath, and with every deep breath she coughs. She's going to lean on you while she gets her lungs under control.]

Where is...what's happened?

[hedonic]

[ This is disgusting, and mildly horrifying even to someone like Echidna. She's a forest elf, and despite having no problem melding into human culture, she knows her roots and respects nature and it's bounty (and challenges).

But this is unnatural. She can't help but be reminded of the Swamp Witch's influence as she tries to regain her bearings, ignoring the loneliness that comes from being without her pet snake. No doubt he would die from this exposure, anyway.

Coughing against the back of her hand, Echidna squints at seeing the figure in the distance. As she gets closer and recognize the form, a hand immediately goes to her sheathed sword. ]

You. At the center of all of this?

[whichwayyoulean]

[The Once-ler startles as he hears her voice. Welp, he's certainly screwed now. He glances at the Lerkim, trying to judge if he has enough time to run into it before she decides to murder him. Still, he's not going to deny anything. He was done with that lie once the last tree fell]

I'm not looking for any trouble, okay?

[hedonic]

Oh, no?

[ She looks over her shoulder, waving an arm out. ]

And what do you call all of this?

Finally made it here. :)

[ninjainviolet]

[Sheena has no idea how she got her, and it's really not important as she travels down that winding road, despair washing over her with every step farther into the gloom surrounding her. On either side what appears to be nothing more than land covered with tree stumps stretches for miles, making her wonder about the forest that had been here and what could have happened to it.

Up ahead, she spots the sign, barely able to make out the brightly-colored "thneed" that happily shouts to her through the murky air. Her brows knit as she tries to recall where she had heard the word before, nearly colliding with a huge machine with several axes attached to it.

Well, that answers one question, and as she looks from the machine to what was once a lush forest, she sighs a shaky sigh as she realizes that once again, man's technology forgot to take the world into consideration before being put to use.

She continues on, her despair deepening as she draws closer to the strange little building ahead, her voice shaky with that emotion as she calls out.]

Hello? Is anyone there?

awww yis

[whichwayyoulean]

[The Once-ler turns at the sound of her voice, another one, great]

...Hey. [His response is quiet, as if he doesn't even want her to really find him]

:D

[ninjainviolet]

[Sheena starts upon seeing the familiar figure.]

Once-ler? What's going on?