sixthiterationlogs | 001 - Adding a bit more Flourish to it

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001 - Adding a bit more Flourish to it - [OPEN]

WHO: Clary Fray
WHERE: Fountain & Village & River
WHEN: August 1st to August 6th
OPEN TO: EVERYONE
WARNINGS: Drowning? (Note: Scrub color is black.)

Fountain: Arrival [Aug 1]

Clary inhaled, feeling a cool rush of water fill her lungs. Her chest burned while panic tightly constricted around her heart. She flailed wildly in the water, kicking her arms and legs out in a futile effort to swim. The water stung her eyes when she tried to open them. Clary had always hated opening her eyes underwater but she needed to see.

'I need to breathe! She thought, forcing herself to calm down enough to escape a rather pathetic watery death. After everything she's been through, she's not going to have 'death by water' on her tombstone. Clary saw a blurry smudge of light in the distance and swam towards it.

She broke the surface of the water, coughing and gasping for air. Bright orange hair plastered to her cheeks and neck as she made her way to the fountain's ledge.

It was only when she was pulling herself over the edge of the fountain that she felt the weight of the pack on her back. A groan of complaint vibrated through her torso, even as she managed to tumble herself and the backpack onto the pavement. Clary was laying on her back. The backpack was a surprisingly comfortable pillow though that might have just been in comparison to the water. The sun shined pleasantly in the sky, warming her limbs and face.

Clary decided that it wasn't worth getting up. She'd happily lay there until someone told her to move. Maybe she was in central park? That's the only place that she can think of with a fountain. Either way, Clary knew that someone would find her and she'd sort it out then.

Around the 6I Village [Aug 2-4]

Clary really didn't know what to think of this place. She had named the village Salem in her mind, the broken buildings and dreary feeling reminded her of a town where hundreds of girls burned at the stake. It probably wasn't the best name but the village was surprisingly less daunting with a name attached to it.

She wound her way through the houses, inspecting the ones that were broken and then knocking at the homes that looked like someone lived there. If no one replied, she'd peak inside to see what was there. Clary was naturally curious and not at all shy or hindered by the unknown. This wasn't nearly as scary as trying to get Simon out of the Hotel Dumort.

Clary would take the time to stop and stare at the houses or setting around her. She tried to figure out how she'd draw it: what colors she would use or how certain objects might appear out of focus. At the end of each day, she'd find herself at the inn, usually hungry and sitting at the bar like a ghost might come and take her order.

She was new at this whole survival thing and Brooklyn had pizza. She really missed pizza.

At the River [Aug 5]

Clary was both happy and sad to see Izzy in the village with her. She was happy to see her friend and to know that she wasn't alone but it also made her think about home. How was her mother doing? And Simon? What about Jace? She wondered if any of them missed her. She didn't particularly worry about Alec missing her; he was with Magnus and starting towards his happiness.

She missed her sketchbook. It gave her the ability to get all of her worries out of her head and onto a piece of paper. Without it, her thoughts jumbled together in a messy knot that she didn't know how to untangle. A groan pulled from Clary's lips as she took a seat near the water's edge. She watched the waves for a few seconds before pulling off her scrubs and jumping in.

Clary hadn't been in water since almost drowning in the fountain a few days before and as much as she wanted to avoid it, she felt gross. She had never gone this long without a shower. After drenching herself in water, she floated lazily on the surface of the river.

"This place feels too much like the Twilight Zone." She mumbled to no one in particular.

The Breach Between 6I and 7I: Small Earthquake [Aug 6]

Clary first heard about the mysterious second village at the inn, when she had eavesdropped on two people discussing their plans to cross the breach. She hadn't asked about it then but she couldn't stop thinking of the possibilities that lay on the other side of the ridge. Peeked by her curiosity and her ever-rampant thoughts, Clary decided to head to the breach to check it out for herself.

She wasn't completely unfamiliar with bouldering but the path was not as clear as she thought it would be. She took careful steps over small rocks and then slipping between larger boulders that stood like giants in the path.

Clary was halfway through the breach when the earth began to shake. She'd gotten used to the small tremors over the last few days but she hadn't been standing in a small crevasse in the ground back then. A surprised scream tore from her throat as she ran back the way she had come. Peddles and rocks loosened from above her, falling on her head like rain drops falling from the sky.

She ran out of the breach, stumbling to the ground as the earthquake ended. Clary's head was shaking as she tried to regain her balance. She tasted blood in her mouth and felt a soft sting along her cheek. If she had managed to get out of that with a bloody lip and a few thin cuts then she was happy.

"Okay. Maybe I won't go that way." Clary was talking to the rocks and seriously hoping that they could feel her displeasure.

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Every day, he gets closer and closer to the breach. He circles it, wary, similar not to a predator but instead prey. He looks not because he wants to attack it or explore, but because he finds it unsettling.

An entire village, apparently abandoned. Apparently rich with things the other does not. Not exactly a utopia, either, but Credence is still convinced it's a trick of some sort. Everything is, every little kindness the villagers are given turns into ash. It's a matter of time.

So he walks, and he stares, and sometimes he thinks and sometimes he doesn't. As he approaches it, he notices someone disappear into the small crevasse--only for the ground to rumble and for Credence to momentarily tense, crying out in fear and shrinking as small as he could as a knee-jerk reaction to it. The three days spent in a cave in peppers his mind, and he's learned to fear even the faintest of shaking in the ground.

When he looks up from his hunched up position, the girl is there again. Closer, with honeyed red hair stark against pale face. The red on her lip, too--

--he gasps, concerned, moving towards her, his normal self kicking in.

"Miss! Are you hurt? You're bleeding."

A few different thoughts skittered through Clary's mind when she heard the unfamiliar voice. The first was, 'what blood?' which made her lick her lips and think, 'blood tastes really coppery and kind of gross'. The final thought was something along the lines of 'who is this?'

It was then that Clary finally looked at Credence. He appeared rather skittish, polite but also a little withdrawn. Maybe she was imagining it? Clary tried to picture how she would have drawn him in her mind. It was always easier when she did that but for the moment, nothing inspirational came to her. He'd be in sharp focus, that much she knew, and it would be a drawing of his whole body but the rest of the page would be blank. Maybe his shadow but nothing else.

Clary blinked at him before realizing that she should really say something.

"Yeah, I've had worse." She shaken but Clary rolled with the punches as they came at her regularly. "You okay? You weren't near the rocks were you?"

I've had worse is a rather alarming thought to Credence, casually said or no--but the stranger seems pretty fine with it, and Credence's worries are temporary mollified. Enough that he's able to look at her for three whole seconds before hunching in on himself again, his gaze fixed on her left shoulder instead of making eye contact.

Baby steps. He can at least hold a conversation now.

"I'm fine, miss, thank you for asking. I just saw you run in, and--well, there have been problems like rocks falling. I'm pleased you're only bleeding on your lips."

Oh. Wait, no--

"Not that I'm pleased you're bleeding, I'd prefer it if you weren't, but I mean that you seem like you're okay."

She should probably be more alarmed after facing off against an earthquake but a bloody lip didn't feel that important with her mind preoccupied by other thoughts. "I get what you mean." She forced her lips into a smile, hoping that it might help the boy relax some. He didn't look like a bad guy. Shy and definitely out of practice when it came to talking to others but she could hardly fault him for that. People generally sucked.

"I will heal." She pointed to one of the tattoo's that littered her skin. It was a swirling shape on her arm that looked like two interconnecting circles. "See this. It hurt a lot more than a broken lip." Clary wasn't going to say what the tattoos meant in accordance to being a Shadowhunter but tattoo or mark, she figured they both hurt about the same. The only difference was that her marks burned the skin.

Clary wasn't sure if that set him at ease or not. She hoped so…

"So," She spoke, looking back towards the breach. "Where does that lead anyway? Or is it just a random cave?"

Oh, tatoos! Credence hadn't noticed them before, more panicked about the blood, but she points them out. He decides it's not rude to stare once someone draws an eye to it, and he shuffles just a little bit forward. They're beautiful. There's someone in the village he's seen before with something similar but had been far too shy to approach. This girl, though, she seems nice, and sweet, and comforting.

Credence nods.

"It leads to another village we just found--not me, but the rest of the village. I hear there's peaches if you can get to the other side. I've never had a peach before, but I hear they're delicious."

Clary loved the marks of the angel. It wasn't just because they were a part of her now but she'd seen them in her dreams for as long as she could remember. They became a doddle that she'd scribbled in her notebook through grade school and eventually became a predominate piece in the comic she drew for Simon. They were also the tipping point to get her accepted to an arts program in New York, one that she realized she'll never get to attend.

She didn't know the full extent to her connection with the angel but Clary loved the marks that were painted like a find brush stroke across her skin.

Clary looked back at the breach and then grinned at Credence. "Guess we need to get to the other side then." He had given her a goal and now she wanted to complete. "Let's go."

"Wait--" Credence's alarm is etched all over his face, lines of worry creasing his brow, eyes wide with sudden panic. "--Me, too?"

It's awful sudden. This girl's definitely an adventurous sort, a kind sort, but impulsive and reckless. A bit like Kira, but with beautiful hair and a different type of smile.

His first instinct is he's going to ruin it, and his second is that it's terrible to assume she wanted him to come with, instead of someone else. But it's just the two of them, all alone. She has to mean him.

"I'm not--I've never really crossed, miss. This is the furthest from the village I've been."

Clary paused long enough to turn and look back. "Of course, we're going to get you a peach. It'd be easier if you came with me." She supposed she could go through alone and come back with peaches except that she didn't really know where she would be going on the other side. It made more sense for Credence to come with her.

"Think of it as an adventure." This couldn't end as badly as some of her other ideas. Plus, she wanted to see what was on the other side of the breach anyway, Credence was a helpful catalyst towards that.

"If you're scared…" That's all Clary can think of that might stop him from going through. " You can hold my hand. Once we find peaches we come back."

She's definitely making it sound easier that it's going to be.

"What?" Credence says, because that's all he can say, most of him left completely and utterly confused by the whirlwind that seems to be the girl with red-gold hair. He's not really sure he has a choice, and peaches do sound nice. Awful nice, really, a treat. Adventures were never really a good thing here, he wants to say, but he keeps his mouth shut.

She seems like she could be happy here. That's why Credence doesn't say anything, though he feels a pang of envy.She even offers to hold his hand, and Credence lets out a small noise of alarm and panic that makes him sound an awful lot like a startled parent, cheeks red and flushed.

"I--it's alright," he manages. Peaches it is. "I hear it's not too far to the grove..."

Clary jumped at his startled cry, quickly retracting her hand. "Sorry." She didn't know what she was apologizing for but it felt as if she had done something wrong.

It seemed odd that he'd want to come along with her after that but then, maybe he didn't like touching people... It was strange and for once in Clary's life, she didn't feel like she could question it. "No hand holding then."

She turned and headed towards the breach, glancing over her shoulder as she reached the rocky canyon wall. It looked as if the last tremor had put a sizable bolder in the path, it wouldn't be to hard to climb over but she kept her pace slow for Credence's sake.

Whenever it looked like he might have trouble she'd pause, make sure that he was okay, and then continue forward. "So, do you not like touching people?" Okay, maybe she couldn't hold back her curiosity.

"No, it's okay, I'm just not quite used to it." No one would dare hold his hand, not at home. Besides, his palms are ugly, scraped and rough with scars upon scars from a belt and an unloving mother.

Besides, they can't dwell on that--there's a boulder to climb. He carefully begins his ascent, careful not to get too close to Clary, as he doesn't want to be rude.

"Touching, too, I like it, but, uhm... I wasn't really allowed, growing up. Does that make sense?"

Clary waited until he was to the peek of the boulder before climbing down the other side. "Sort of." She wasn't going to lie and said that she understood. She had grown up holding Simon's hand and even sleeping in his bed during sleep overs. While Clary knew that they had just met, touching hadn't ever been something that she shied away from.

"I'll be careful." It was the most she could promise him. "Except if you fall, I'm going to catch you, even if it's uncomfortable."

She slid down the last couple of feet, landing on the other side of the large rock. It hadn't been a bad climb down or up. Her head tilted up to watch Credence, while also giving him room to get down. She could see the end of the break and on the other side looked to be water.

"I'd like that," he assures. He'd rather not fall, not climbing over steep rocks and boulders. They do so in silence, and even though it lasts only a few seconds it seems to stretch like hours.

Credence is very proud of himself. He only hesitates ones, and that's at the bottom, but all it takes is a little jump and a slight stumble and he's done it. He can't hide the smile on his face, even if it's a shy one, and he actually looks at Clary, making eye contact.

"I don't think I've ever been on an adventure before," he confesses. "Thank you for taking me along."

"Thanks for coming along."

Clary's smile widens when she sees both his smile and meets his gaze. "Good. We'll have to go on more. Looks like we're almost out of here." She turned back towards the path, walking slow enough so that Credence wouldn't have any trouble keeping pace with her.

"Hopefully we'll be high enough that we'll see peach trees. I can see water." She was growing more excited by the minute.

More adventures sounds terrifying. Terrifying, and a little daunting, but fun. Fun in the weird way, like when it's cold in New York and kids dare each other to touch a metal pole with their tongue.

Clary walks slow, probably for his sake, but Credence has a long stride--and being near her makes him feel just a little more confident. It's refreshing, and he has to tell Kira and Mr. Graves.

"I miss the harbour back home." he confesses at that, but Clary's right: water.

"Goodness, it's so big!"

"I'd say it's the ocean but I think there are lakes that big too. I can't see the other side." She looked over at Credence with a bright grin. She preferred to walk at peoples sides, it was more like they were doing it together than it was a follow-the-leader type deal.

"The harbour? Where are you from?" She missed Brooklyn and pizza and her mom and Simon and pizza. Clary really missed pizza. It was startling how much she missed it when she had only been in the desolate town for a few days.

She was following down the cut path though her head was swiveling from side to side, looking for a group of trees that didn't look like the surrounding trees. That was the most that Clary knew about the foliage of peach trees.

Credence follows, though instead of a few steps behind it's only a little bit. Clary naturally inspires confidence in him, something he wasn't sure was even possible.

"Manhattan. Um--New York City. Have you heard of it?" There's always a chance she hasn't, always a chance that she's from a different world. Or a different planet. Or maybe New York hasn't been its own thing, and she's from the past. His mind is running wild.

Clary turned towards Credence while still managing to keep a steady pace forward. "Of course! I grew up there. Brooklyn." She knew that there was a chance that timelines were different but she didn't care. It was nice to meet other people from New York.

"Hot dog stands and pizza. I miss all of it." She couldn't help the wistful inflection in her voice. She turned back towards their path and then pointed off to the left.

"I think the peaches are way over there." Clary might be wrong. "Think you can make it that far?" She hoped they'd have time to get back before nightfall.

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001 - Adding a bit more Flourish to it - [OPEN]

The Breach;

The Breach;

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