paradisalogs | And the wind smells slow and sour when it blows

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And the wind smells slow and sour when it blows

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 ]]

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[Sheena's a little surprised at the source, since part of what happened occurred after Martel's death. Her eyes narrow with the emotion as she repeats what she thinks he said.]

She told you about the world being split in two?

[He nods]

Yeah. I didn't understand it all, but I got the general idea of it.

Oh. Maybe I can help.

Mana is the basis of all life and magic on my planet provided by the Great Tree. Thousands of years ago, there was a horrible war, and the weapons made from magitechnology drained the mana faster than the tree could make it.

[She pauses, waiting to see if he's following along.]

Right, I got that part. And there had to be a great sacrifice to keep the tree alive...or something. And Martel...

[Well. She died. Simple as, really. It's not his most favourite of things to dwell on, not after all she'd done for him]

I know. [Her voice is soft.] And that might have been the plan when she was alive, but that's not what happened.

[She turns and looks at the wasteland.]

The world was split in two to end the war--becoming the planets Tethe'alla and Sylvarant--and to force those two planets to share what mana was left. It became a cycle of one planet flourishing while the other suffered and parts wilted and died without mana.

She mentioned that, too, yeah. About the segregation and... well out of context here but all the Sneetchesque behaviour.

[She becomes confused.]

I'm not sure what you mean. Maybe it would help to know what a "Sneetch" is.

They're this bird race in my world, live on beeches, mostly. Anyway, some have stars on their bellies and some don't. The ones with stars on their bellies used to treat the ones without stars like dirt. Because...I don't know, I guess they thought the stars made them superior or something.

Oh. You mean the way elves and humans treated half-elves, right? Or, the way elves treated everyone.

...Something like that, yeah.

Anyway. Eventually some guy invented a machine that added stars to Sneetches. The ones without took it up and soon all the Sneetches had these stars on their bellies, right? So everyone was equal.

But the original star-bellied ones hated that the plain-bellies suddenly rose up to equal status. The guy made a machine that took stars away, so they did that, and started to claim the plain-bellies were the superior Sneetches. Which the new star-bellies didn't like.

It's kind of complicated and weird, but eventually the Sneetches kept switching between stars and plain bellies so often that they weren't sure who was an original star or an original plain. So they ended up being equal that way.

...There's a moral in there somewhere. Probably. [Pause] My world does that a lot for some reason.

Unfortunately, the discrimination never ended--laws were even passed against half-elves. [She steps forward and turns.]

A rather skewed form of optimism led to one planet being split into two separate world that fought for the mana that was left. One planet always thrived and was green, but at the cost of the other wilting and dying.

It was another form of optimism that reunited those worlds so they could survive together. [She steps back to him and grabs his arms.] Don't you understand? If being optimistic could do that, then it can fix this! [She points to the devastation for emphasis.]

[Sheena no that's invading his personal space. He frowns, stepping back a little]

And it will be, but there's nothing I can do about it until it's time. I already know the future and...well, that's that. No amount of optimism is going to change what's... [his eyes fall to that stone circle again] to what's already carved in stone.

[Sheena lets him go and takes her own step back, shaking her head.]

You don't see that as a form of that dreaded optimism, Once-ler? [She's looking at the carving as she speaks.] And I'm not asking you to change that because, like you say, you can't.

But, knowing the future is one thing; accepting it is another. But that's not the real problem, is it? [She looks at him with a gaze of experience.] You can't forgive yourself for this mistake, can you?

[He'd been staring at that stone, only partly listening to her. That last comment make him turned, however, expression hard]

It's not like I forgot to turn the lights off or burned someone's cake here, Sheena. [He gestures to the mess around them] I've destroyed everything, made it so people have to pay for the luxury of breathing air that won't make them cough so much they could hack up a lung. Nothing can grow here, very little can live here. It's a wasteland.

[He glances beyond her, off to that point in the distance where he knows Thneedville lies] So no, I can't forgive myself for this mistake.

[Through the silence comes a simple--yet not-so-simple--question.]

So, how many people have died because of you?

I...well none. [He pauses, frowning] I don't know if the animals survived. But I wasn't aware killing people was the bar we were setting on who's allowed to forgive themselves or not.

It's not. But people, once they die, can never come back. You know that this will one day.

[Her voice is soft as she remains turned away, hiding the tears that even she can't explain.]

[He realises this is probably a sensitive subject for her and he should probably...comfort her or something]

Speaking from experience?

[That's sort of comforting right? Right?]

[Oh, Once-ler, at least you try.]

[Her answer finally comes out as a hoarse whisper.]

Yes.

[He's quiet for a moment, before sighing]

...I'm sorry.

[And he genuinely sounds it. He might be all his own suffering, but he'd rather not see his friends suffer]

[She's surprised at the genuine sentiment, since up until now, all he's ever been is sarcastic with her.]

Thanks, Once-ler.

[And she means that, even though it sounds trite, but sometimes a simple "thanks" is more than enough.

Especially since they share the same belief about not being a burden to others, but not wanting to see their friends in pain.]

Yeah...well. No one should have to go through that.

[Of course he tries to brush off the sentiment. After all, the reason he keeps people at a distance in the first place is to keep himself from inevitably hurting them. Still, he can't hide the honesty, she's a decent person]

No. No one should suffer at all. [That includes you, Once-ler.]

[How ironic, she just usually kept a lot of things inside, yet remained friendly--being careful of what she did so others wouldn't get hurt, but she would.]

Well, we all know my views on that, so let's not to the circle dance again.

[They win at irony]

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And the wind smells slow and sour when it blows

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