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

[ino]

... [she glares at the wall before looking at him]

Well, if it's an illusion then I should be able to dispel it. There's -- [she moves a hand to her mouth to cough into it] There's something off about all this.

[cyan_maid]

[She follows his gaze, and then looks around. It's not like she hadn't noticed some of those weird signs while walking here, she knows Once-ler has something to do with all of this, she's just not sure what - or if she really wants to know, or if she could find it in herself to believe it.]

And...what happened to him?

[whichwayyoulean]

[That doesn't ease the Once-ler's fears at all]

Uh, no. I will worry about it thank you, I'll worry about it a lot.

[whichwayyoulean]

I'll say. For a start the smog doesn't move in here all thick like that. [He gestures to where it's seeping in under the doorway]

[whichwayyoulean]

[He yelps as he's dragged to his feet, but hey, at least she hasn't tried to kill him yet. That's something]

There is no way out, not for miles.

[whichwayyoulean]

It's doesn't matter. [He won't be coming. Not for years] And you think inside is puppies and rainbows?

[whichwayyoulean]

[He should have known those stupid billboards would come back to bite him in the backside eventually. He doesn't want to talk about this. Not even a tiny little bit]

He got what he deserved. Everyone and everything that ever mattered to him left him.

[cyan_maid]

[She lets out a hard breath, her jaw set firmly. They are tiptoeing around the issue, and she doesn't like to do that, but then again attacking the issue wouldn't be smart either. She already feels like she's stepped into something she shouldn't have.]

I don't think it's a good idea for us to stay here, Once-ler.

[whichwayyoulean]

[He'd tell her he has nowhere else to go. That this wasteland will be all he'll know for fifty long years, but his voice fails him. She doesn't need to know that, she's just a kid, regardless of how together she is. She needs to know there's still SOME joy to be found in the world somewhere]

...I don't think there's a way out of here just yet.

[ino]

[OKAY THAT IS KIND OF ALARMING. she's covering her mouth and instinctively getting between the smog and him protectively]

[courageous_wit]

[she nods, her eyes moist but she doesn't try to hide them] I know it's not the same as this, but... I hope you know I won't think less of you for what happened.

[whichwayyoulean]

You should. I did this [he gestures to the general area of destroyed valley around them] out of my own selfishness and greed. I did it because it made me rich and powerful, and I didn't care who I was hurting on the way up.

[He looks at her, PROPERLY looks at her] I don't think your actions were due to that at all. You're not that sort of person.

[cyan_maid]

What do you mean? [She turns to the path.] Can't we just go back?

[circleoflife]

[I'll agree the mustache could be pretty terrifying, Once, but the Lorax didn't have claws, or sharp teeth, or easily a few hundred pounds on the man.]

Where I come from and who I am associated with is completely irrelevant. You are destroying these lands. For what purpose, I cannot imagine, but I do not doubt it to be malicious.

[whichwayyoulean]

[He shakes his head] There's nothing for miles and miles.

[cyan_maid]

[She whips around to face you.] Nothing? Not even a town, or - or a way back?

[Not that she's particularly keen to go back to the castle. It did this to them, whatever it is, and she'd sooner give it a swift kick to the cornerstone than go back.]

[courageous_wit]

[no, the situations aren't the same at all. Hermione knows people who would do this same thing if given the chance. And yet....]

Do you care about what you've done now?

[wilder]

Please, people don't worry about the great Zelos Wilder.

And maybe we'll get out of here before that happens.

[whichwayyoulean]

Yeah well this person worries about the Great Zelos Wilder.

I really hope so. [His guilty burden is big enough thanks]

[whichwayyoulean]

[He'll just kind of roll his eyes a little]

Ino, don't be dumb. It's not going to hurt me

[whichwayyoulean]

[Whatever bro, you're still an animal. Shoo]


It's not malicious. Can you hear me having an evil cackle here? No. It's just business, nothing more. Can you get out of the way now? You're in the way of my aforementioned business.

[whichwayyoulean]

There's a town. [He waves a hand in a generally southwards direction, down that little road]

But it's not friendly. At least not to outsiders and definitely not to me.

[whichwayyoulean]

Of course I care. [He cares a whole awful lot, but he knows it's not enough that HE does. He has to wait for someone else to]

If I could undo it all, I would in a heartbeat.

[cyan_maid]

Alright, so we won't go there.

[She sighs and looks towards the tower. She'd suggest going inside, if it was farther away from this spot...]

[ino]

How do you know? You just said this wasn't normal.