Aria awoke with a start, fumbling over the edge of the branch. She let out a surprised squeak as she tipped away from safety, her body beginning to free fall. She acted, twisting in the air and catching the branch with the pit of her left knee. The momentum swung her around, leaving her dangling upside down in the air. Aria’s hand snapped out, barely missing the fruit as it fell past her. She could only watch ruefully as the fruit fell, plummeting to an early grave not in her stomach. “Damn.” She clicked her tongue.
In the periphery of her sight, Aria caught a sight of her hair dangling in the gravity. To her shock, several strands of the sticky and gnarled nest seemed to be colored pure white. She grabbed some in her hands, inspecting the mess she called hair. The hair she held in her left hand seemed to be pure white, making the horrible amount of grime stand out like a streaker at a funeral. The hair in her right hand was black as ink, deeper than it had ever been before. The shade almost swallowed the grime, covering the strands. I wonder… Aria mused, flexing her stomach to lift her head. Still just black, alright.
Aria chuckled as she relaxed, letting her body hang in the air, her left leg the only thing between her and almost certain doom.
A serene smile bloomed on her lips, stretching the corners of her mouth. “Man, the afterlife is weird. Hey, World, do I have any new notifications?” Aria willed open her tablet as she asked the question.
New Skill Learned: Meditation.
New Skill Learned: Soul Sense.
Skill, Soul Sense has leveled up!
Skill, Soul Sense has leveled up!
Soul Sense is level 3.
So, was that weird noir space my soul? That’s kinda weird, but also kind of cool. But then, what was up with that weird figure? Does it have to do with the Twilight? Well, of course it does, but what does it mean?
“Argh, so many questions.” Aria grumbled, still swinging slightly. She’d loved swinging upside down since she was a little kid, she used to always swing upside-down on the monkey bars. It would always fill her sister with panic, making her kick up a fuss. The memory of her sister brought a sad smile to Aria’s face. “I’m sorry, Joey. Your unruly sister finally bit it.”
…
Joanna paced the carpet of their living room, her phone to her ear. The ringer played for several grueling moments, filling her heart with anxiety before a familiar voice came over the phone.
“You reached Ari! If you’re related to me, leave a message. If not, I wouldn’t bother. And Joey, I’d better not have a thousand messages when I get back to my phone. Bye-bye!”
“At the tone, please rec-” Joanna hit the red button, cutting off the robot before immediately pressing on her little sister’s contact again.
The ringer immediately began buzzing again, not helping her pacing in the slightest. “Come on, Ari! Pick up the damn phone.”
“You reached Ari! If you’re-”
Joanna cut the message off, throwing her phone at the couch with a growl. “Dammit, Arienna. I pay for your service so that I can reach you.”
“Still nothing?”
“No!” Joanna snapped. She sighed deeply, her shoulders slumping as she deflated. “I’m sorry. It’s just… just…”
A calming warmth bloomed in Joanna’s heart as her wife’s arms wrapped around her waist from behind. Jacquie set her chin resting against Joanna’s shoulder. “Joey, she’s gonna be ok. That girl is impossible to lock down. She’s probably just somewhere without reception.”
Joanna felt tears coming to her eyes as Jacquie began to slowly move her hips, making her sway slightly to an inaudible melody. “That’s what you get for getting Verizon.”
Jacquie’s joke made Joanna let out a choked giggle. Joanna felt Jacquie’s chin lift from her shoulder, replaced by Jacquie’s lips against her neck.
There was silence then. The two of them rocked gently to an invisible harmony as Jacquie gently kissed Joanna, holding her tight in her embrace.
Joanna was the one to break the serenity, slightly leaning her head back against Jacquie’s shoulder. “I’ve only ever felt like this once before. When my Grandad disappeared. Something’s wrong, Jac. I know it. It feels-” Joanna choked up. “It’s like I could always feel her. Like there was a little spark burning inside me. And now-” She choked. “Now it’s gone.” She closed her eyes letting her exhaustion in. “It’s never gone before.”
Joanna felt Jacquie’s strong arms tighten around her. And she sobbed.
…
Aria stood on another tree branch as high in the tree as she could go, but the tree wasn’t tall enough to break the canopy, making her just see more damn trees.
Aria sat with a huff, taking another bite from the Ocia fruit in her hands. That pleasant sensation spread over her tongue. She’d already eaten three of the fruits and her tongue was basically numb at this point, but she did have something to show for it, besides a full stomach that is.
Skill, The Flames of Twilight has reached level 2
Skill, Poison Resistance has reached level 3
With the level up in both skills, it had become easier for Aria to combat the poison hiding in the flesh of her new favorite fruits. She cycled the flames right as she’d swallow the fruit, practically completely negating the side effects of her new snack.
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Aria stretched, arching her back with her hands high above her head. She groaned in satisfaction before tossing the pit of the fruit off to the side. Aria started as she heard something cry from just beneath her. She jumped to her feet, glancing over the edge to see a large half monkey-half tiger creature clawing its way up the tree’s trunk.
The creature was horrific, easily five times Aria’s size with massive furred limbs. It was a dark brown with dark green stripes running horizontally over its body. It had two pairs of eyes over a snarling maw, showing off its knife-like teeth. The creature snarled, a low growl rising in its throat.
“Oh yeah, that’s right. I’m in hell. I almost forgot.” Aria mumbled, turning away from the horrible tiger-monkey-thing. Ya know, if it was a little, well a lot, smaller, it’d actually be pretty adorable. Better see what it’s called so I can kidnap adopt a baby.
Thylamon, Level ?
Skill, Inquiry has reached level 2
Oh, that’s so nice of you. Aria mocked. At least I got it to level 2 before I died. Again.
Aria looked around, grasping at anything she could use. She was surrounded by other trees, but jumping between them was a bit risky. The closest branch that looked like it could hold her was at least fifteen feet away but slightly beneath the branch where she currently stood. “Haa…” Aria sighed. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
By the time Aria finished her sentence, she was already gaining speed, running along the thick branch, well, more like shuffling quickly. The branch was hardly large enough for one of her feet. She ran across it like it was a balance beam before hurling herself off the edge. There was no hesitation. Hesitation is what kills people. Aria had always just acted on instinct, and training with Pierce had beat any hesitation out of her. She saw a way forward and she took it. There was fear, there was always fear, but there was no hesitation, never hesitation.
Aria was airborne, the wind whipping her ratty hair as she flew. Aria fell, her feet hitting the hard branch and making a crack sound from where it connected to the trunk. Aria grinned, continuing her run as she jumped down to another branch.
The thylamon stalking her roared loudly, its call sounding in a haunting mix between a monkey’s scream and a tiger’s roar. It made Aria’s skin tingle. She looked over her shoulder just in time to see the creature use its powerful hind legs to propel itself from one trunk to the one she was on, only losing a sleight height as its claws held it in place. Aria’s jaw fell open in shock as the thylamon climbed from beneath her.
Aria’s heart pumped in her chest, pushing adrenaline through her veins. Despite her dire straits, she grinned. “Let’s see if you can keep up.” And then she was gone, jumping to another tree and already running for the next.
The thylamon roared its anger, jumping after the annoying little gymnast, but it fell several feet every time.
So they continued, a naked girl jumping and running through trees like Tarzan as a beasts chased her, smashing apart branches and tearing into the tree’s trunks.
Aria laughed, running and swinging through the trees. Her muscles burned and her heart pounded in her chest. She felt alive. Aria didn’t know how long she continued, falling into a sort of trance, only looking for the nearest branches and the best way to get to them. She only came to as the branch she jumped for snapped beneath her weight, sending her in a free fall. She smashed hard on a thick branch, her shoulder taking the brunt of the damage. She reached out instinctively with the same arm grabbing the branch.
A scream ripped from Aria's throat as her shoulder was ripped from its socket, no doubt tearing muscle along with it. The pain shocked through her arm, releasing her grip on that lifeline and sending her tumbling once more. She fell, hitting and bouncing around the branches like a ragdoll; whenever she could, she’d attempt to orient herself, but every impact had her mind spinning. She was already exhausted from all the tree running and every time she impacted her body would cry in anguish.
Finally, the terrible tumbling routine came to an abrupt end as Aria fell twenty feet, hitting the soft grass with a thud. She was exhausted, battered, and bloody, but she was alive.
Aria coughed, gasping while she lay there, her breath had left her more than once on the fall and it wasn’t coming back easy. Everything hurt, ached, and the world was spinning. She rolled to her side, retching up everything in her stomach, her precious fruit was lost again.
Finally done expelling her hard won food, Aria fell onto her back, feeling the cool grass prickling against her skin.
Skill, Pain Resistance has reached level 3
New Skill Learned: Falling with Style
Despite her pain and shortness of breath, Aria laughed loudly. “Argh, holy… fucking shit.” She cursed, groaning and fighting for breath. “Can’t say… that wasn’t… exciting.” Aria grinned, her teeth red with blood. She could feel blood running from several places on her face, especially her definitely broken nose.
Aria coughed, the noise gurgling slightly with the blood that ran down her throat. “Alright, heal me up.” She spoke softly, but the world heard her, the power within her flaring under her control.
Ethereal white flame covered her body, flowing across her skin like a wave. Everywhere the flame touched, the ache faded. Aria sighed in relief, trying to focus the flames on what she assumed were the most dire injuries. Aria heard a sickening crunch as her shoulder reset itself, but the pain she expected never came, only the pleasant cooling breeze of the fire.
Aria let her head fall against the grass, her eyes closing lightly. “Best. Superpower. Ever.” But Aria had to keep an eye on what she was calling her super reserves. There were no definite numbers or quantities, but she had a decent grasp on when the tank was getting low.
Much to Aria’s surprise, it only took about a fifth of what she assumed was her max to heal all of her injuries. Something else she noticed now that she was focusing was that all of her previous injuries from throughout her childhood were. Scars had vanished, aches were gone, her broken bones felt better than ever. “Shit. Maybe I’m not in hell.” On queue, a terrifying roar resounded through the forest.
“Nope, definitely hell.”
…
Aria was once again sitting on the branch of a tree, Ocia fruit in hand, juice all over her chin. She sighed in delight, leaning against the trunk. “It’s the little things.” With a bit of mental gymnastics, something she was gaining proficiency in, she had a familiar screen floating before her.
Skill, Meditation:
You have somehow managed to find zen. Find peace to increase recovery. Recovery increases with level.
Skill, Soul Sense
Truly a mystery as to how a primate like you managed to learn about their soul. This skill allows you to feel and to some extent see, souls. Extent and clarity increases with level. Increases energy reserves with every level.
Skill, Falling with Style:
You have no wings, but you can’t keep your feet on the ground–this inevitably leads to harm, purposeful or not. This skill will increase your chance to survive the next time you fall. Increases safe-fall height with level.
Aria snorted at the skill descriptions, the last getting her to laugh. The afterlife is so odd. Even the screen is trying to cut me with words.
Arienna spit out the seed pit she’d been sucking, jumping to her feet and patting her bare thighs. “Time to take a fucking bath.” She smiled, looking at the river she spotted from her perch. With a deep breath Aria stopped off the branch.