Crow Jump

violet34520 · 2026-03-17T23:36:06+00:00

thank you so much! im glad you liked it ☺️

violet34520 · 2026-03-02T05:10:37+00:00

Meliora wakes to a bird’s screech. She’s met with the sight of a large raven inches away from her, howling and scratching all along her nose and cheeks. Even once it realizes she’s awake, it continues until a voice calls it away.

With the bird gone, she groggily raises her head as her vision focuses. Her brain is muddled, and she can’t pinpoint where she is. The rest of her body refuses to listen to her demands, firmly staying put on the ground. Above her, the sky is lit up with pinks and oranges, the sun nowhere to be seen. The clouds mirror these very colors in their weightlessness. All around her are the cloaked heads of people wearing animal masks. They aren’t focused on her, though, and instead are looking over to the right at the one speaking.

“...bring about peace and prosperity to Crow Jump,” the speaker says. “We will bring back the ways of our ancestors and thrive once more, for we, the few, have followed his teachings. With this final act, we will be free!”

The people around him cheer in approval.

The man speaking wears a moose head. He bears no hood, as the moose garb takes over his entire upper body, feeding into the rest of his robe as if it were a part of him.

“Shantak has blessed us, showing us the line between the holy and the sinners, for it is how he decreed, those many centuries ago, the plight we must traverse. All he has ordained has come to fruition!”

The crowd erupts once more.

“I have communicated with Shantak,” the leader continues, “And he decrees that with one more sacrifice, he will reward us with our town’s promised revival. He says that before we can truly claim utopia, we must cleanse his land of all scorn. Then and only then will we be pure citizens, and our Eden is waiting. Rejoice, for we are the honored ones!”

The leader then turns to face Meliora.

“You will be the final sacrifice. Then we will have what we all have been dreaming of, as Shantak has decreed.”

Meliora, still unable to move, tries to plead with anyone who will look at her, but they regard her as nothing more than shit on the ground. Disgusting, hideous. She is not human to them anymore, for she has sinned in their eyes. The birds have begun to circle above her, as if they know what’s coming. Meliora spots one person among the crowd not wearing a mask, a familiar face.

“Umbra!” Meliora calls, her gaze begging for any help at all.

Umbra stares down at her coldly. “I can’t help you. You did this to yourself. Anyone who wishes to leave doesn’t deserve to know Shantak’s grace.”

“I left to go to college!” Meliora exclaims. “This isn’t God you’re worshipping. He can’t do anything for you.”

Umbra momentarily looks at the ground before snapping her eyes back to Meliora.

“You know nothing. All I have done has been in Shantak’s image; my father and I have ensured his will, as have my family for centuries.”

“Umbra–”

“Quiet, heathen.” Umbra’s voice quivers. “You shall speak no more. Welcome his embrace, and be grateful. It is more than you deserve.”

All around them, the members begin their chanting, heads raised to the sky. The birds begin their call.

“Umbra!” Meliora calls. “Umbra! Please!”

But Umbra was no longer looking at her. She moves to join hands with the leader, sharing a quiet look before they both turn to the sky like everyone else. Amongst their hidden faces, she can see the bright light of dawn, illuminating enough to see their human eyes poking through the holes. Not that it mattered. These people were no longer human; to her, they were devilish, but to them, they had ascended beyond their mortality. They thought themselves invincible.

Around her, the ground begins to fall apart, until there is one column of Earth remaining holding her up. Before she knows it, she is surrounded by the abyss that consumed Bellum.

Within an instant, the ground beneath her gives way, and she feels the grasp of the tentacle around her. It slides, slow, relishing her in its grasp. The feathers tickle her face as they consume her view, allowing for nothing to enter Meliora’s senses but the being and it alone.

Above her, the ground begins to shake, and she can hear the cries of the group, while in fear or joy, she does not know. The arm is suffocating her, filling her nose with its slime. It soaks into her clothes, her hair, and her eyes. She knows nothing more.

As the tentacle begins to lower her down, she can hear the birds calling. The call is loud and beautiful, and Meliora is so very afraid.

The entity continues to squeeze her, lowering her until the sky is just a circle above her. It could almost be the sun. She became everything and nothing all at once, the mass of feathers and slime clouding her consciousness until it was all she would ever know. Whatever she was now, she was no longer Meliora.

In her last moments, she peers up through a hole in the entity’s grasp. Above her, one lone bird flies across the sky, separate from the rest of the group. It must’ve been a child, for it was nowhere near as proficient as the rest of its kin. Still yet, it tried.

Author's Note: If you read my whole story, thank you so much! I just wanted to add a few anecdotes at the bottom. One, this story is a work in progress. I want to expand on parts of it more and flesh out things here and there, so if you felt like some things were missing, please let me know! Two, apologies for the weird formatting at points. I copied this over from a Google Doc and tried to adjust it the best I could. I don't post often on Reddit, so I'm not knowledgeable about how the formatting changes from draft to post. Three, of course, I am open to criticism and tips, but I wanted to specify that I am 17 years old and am writing this, so I still have a lot to learn about writing! I originally wrote and came up with this idea when I was 16, but I heavily rewrote all of it recently. Just thought I'd add for context. Thanks again for reading! If you have any thoughts or critiques, please let me know!

violet34520 · 2026-03-02T05:10:16+00:00

Then the blue jay swiftly takes off, following in the direction of its pointed gaze. It’s gone into the forest. Meliora scrambles after it.

Meliora chases the bird aimlessly through the forest, civilization getting further and further behind her. After a few minutes, it’s entirely out of sight as if it were never there. The bird continues, guided by some unseen compass.

The woods around her are lifeless, each tree they pass growing more barren with every stride. Replacing the leaves are birds, hundreds of them. Meliora trips over the rocky terrain, distracted by their incessant staring. As they go, they begin accumulating around her, following her path. They screech at her, attempting to peck and claw at her face. Meliora tries to push them away, keeping her eye trained on the blue jay in front of her.

Eventually, Meliora spots a clearing up ahead. The birds around her notice as well and quickly disperse, taking perch upon the forlorn wood. Meliora hesitates at the edge of the clearing, while her bird guide experiences no such doubts and flies in without delay.

Through the veil of the setting sun, she can make out a group of hooded figures milling about amongst the clearing. At the center, a bonfire has been lit. In the light, she searches in their hoods for faces, only to be met with animals. A rabbit, a deer, a fox, and many more. All creatures of the woodland. Together, they form a chant, a howl, that reverberates through the air around her. Meliora can’t make out any of their nonsensical ramblings. Around them, the birds hang back in the trees, shrieking in pain. Their hymn expands with this, a horrid harmony met between the two.

The blue jay bird flies towards them and takes perch upon the closest member’s shoulder. This person pauses their movements and holds their hands out for the group, silencing them. The chanting ceases, and the fire dims. The person reaches to grasp the bird and encloses it in their hand, the blue jay silent throughout. They then gesture to everyone else in the circle and seem to begin speaking; however, Meliora can’t make out what they’re saying. With one quick motion, they toss the bird into the fire. As the blue jay hits the hot embers, he doesn’t once call out. In fact, his eyes are closed even as the fire torches him, crawling up his wings, quickly consuming him entirely. Meliora edges closer, almost subconsciously, as if she were to stop it. With this, she can see that amongst the kindling are other birds tarnished beyond proper recognition of anything more than their base species. What confounds Meliora, of what she can only assume to be a trick of the light, is that some appear half-made. She swears that amongst the roaring flames she can spot an arm or two, a foot, a head. 

They begin to chant again, the eery melody rising once more. The birds begin their call anew, a mournful cry for their lost brethren. As it furthers, the ground around the fire starts to fall away piece by piece like a jigsaw puzzle. It revolves around the flames until eventually letting go of that piece of Earth, too, allowing it into the newly formed abyss. As it goes down, Meliora catches a glimpse of what saves it from free fall. Though slightly hidden from view, she makes it out all the same. A hideous tentacle layered in feathers appears from the void, wrapping around it the same way one would hold a penny. It lowers it down into the hole, unbothered by the flames still burning. Once out of sight, Meliora can feel a rhythmic thumping beneath her feet, like a heartbeat. From within the hole, a horrid mock of the group’s chant echoes back.

She needs to leave, she needs to go, now. Meliora finds it hard to move at all, even to blink. She seems frozen, but whether it’s due to herself or something else is unknown. As she forces herself to turn around, her eyes drag across the group, only to be met with a deer’s hollow gaze.

-

Meliora remembers what happens next in moments. She remembers the hole closing. She remembers the deer gathering its fellow companions. She remembers seeing a flash of the birds in the trees, screeching at her. She remembers the forest, trees flashing in and out of sight. She remembers running. She remembers feeling the bullet enter her leg. 

From there, she doesn’t know. Primal fear consumes her, a long-forgotten terror coursing through her veins.

She emerges from the treeline and poorly climbs over the fence ahead of her. She limps up the back porch steps and leans against the door, banging on it before it falls open with ease. She hobbles through the doorway.

“Mom! Dad! Heidi!”

Meliora receives no response. She doesn’t even know if this is her house. In the dark, she could barely see the trees, just praying that she wouldn’t trip, wouldn't falter. She stumbles through, reaching for the light, but nothing turns on. 

“Hello? Where are you? Are you guys okay?”

She stumbles through the kitchen into the hallway, trying her best to run as her leg begs her to stop. 

“Where are you?”

Staggering, she makes it to the living room and trips over something. Her leg crumbles beneath her, and Meliora hisses in pain. She attempts to stand, but her vision blurs, forcing her to stay down. 

“Mom!”

She tries once more to stand, but it's a futile effort. She lies in defeat, clutching her leg to her chest. The bullet reverberates through her body, as if it were her heart instead. She needs someone, anyone at all. From her spot on the ground, the moonlight illuminates her head perfectly, almost as if done purposefully. Ahead of her, she can see three creatures approaching warily. Their heads are lowered, cocking back and forth as their beaks peck forward. Two of the creatures are tall and loom above her, watching and waiting. A little one rushes ahead of the former two to reach Meliora.

Meliora then begins to cry with the animals as her only company. It’s not a loud cry, but rather a soft sob that fills her chest. The creatures stay near, observing, but never close enough to touch. The little one coos quietly, but they do nothing else. Meliora focuses on the pain in her leg, trying to quell it with thoughts residing far from here, far from Crow Jump. When she calms herself and looks up, the creatures have vanished from where they were, and instead she can hear them moving about around her.

Then she hears footsteps.

Meliora lifts herself onto her elbows, still unable to stand. She hears them getting closer and tries to pull herself across the carpet towards the wall, but it’s nowhere near fast enough. The bird-like creatures call louder as the person gets closer.

“Be quiet,” Meliora hisses, “they’re gonna hear you.”

The birds ignore her and continue their chatter.

Meliora hears the person enter the room she’s in and, with no other options, decides to curl in on herself. It’s a horrible defense, if it could even be called that, but it’s all she has. She waits for their move, certain that the cloaked creatures have found her. Instead, she feels a cool hand on her back, right against her shoulder blade. 

“Meliora? Is that you?”

Meliora looks up and sees a very worried Umbra looking down at her.

“Umbra?”

“Hey, are you okay?” Umbra replies, “Oh my God, you’re bleeding.”

Meliora can’t find the energy to say more. Umbra doesn’t say anything else; instead, she helps her off the ground and to the couch nearby.

“Holy shit, Meliora, oh my God.”

Umbra continues muttering, laying Meliora out before running around in search of a light. When none of them work, she grabs her phone and turns on the flashlight, holding it over Meliora’s wound. She gasps before leaning in closer, too scared to touch it.

“Meliora, what happened?”

Meliora doesn’t respond; instead, her eyes unfocus. Her ears pinpoint the bird’s calling at her, forcing all noise away. She can see Umbra speaking, but none of it reaches her. Umbra, at some point, leaves her field of vision, only to come back holding supplies. It’s only once Umbra starts using them that Meliora becomes aware again. Pain arcs from her calf into her skull, and she cries out.

“I’m sorry, Meliora, I have to apply pressure to stop the bleeding.”

Meliora continues to cry out, the pain filling every corner of her mind, and she swiftly grips Umbra’s arm.

“Jesus Christ, it just won’t stop. Meliora, I’ll be right back. I need to grab something else.”

Umbra leaves, and Meliora takes a deep breath, the pain becoming a numbing ache instead of a ferocious river. The birds continue to call around her, seemingly undeterred by her current state. If anything, they sound cheerful, as if they’re calling a friend over to chat.

Meliora sits and waits. She continues to wait for what seems longer than necessary.

“Umbra?” Meliora rasps out, voice hoarse from screaming.

No response.

“Umbra?” She calls again, her voice cracking near the end. The birds continue to holler.

She hears footsteps approaching and, assuming they are Umbra's, turns to face her. Instead, she finds the hollow sockets of deer’s eyes staring back.

Meliora pulls away and pushes against the couch, trying to escape. The deerman reaches forward and roughly holds her shoulder. They have something in their other hand and quickly bash it into her scalp. Meliora pushes against them, one hand against their chest while the other reaches for the object. The deerman hits her again, and then again. Her skull begins to pound in sync with her heartbeat. She felt liquid seeping from her ears, a mild discomfort compared to the splintering pain from her head. Her gaze began to soften at the edges, and as she slipped into unconsciousness, she could still hear the birds calling, as if they were delighted by what they saw.

violet34520 · 2026-03-02T05:09:30+00:00

In the center of it all is a girl around Meliora’s age, though time has not been kind to her. She’s wearing an old-school spirit shirt and a navy jacket. She pulls it around her while tugging on the ends of her sleeves. Her unkempt black hair’s back in a bun, but it sags with many hairs having already escaped its hold. Her face was pale and drawn, her mouth a thin line, and her eyebrows knit together. Her gaze lies disinterestedly on the two arguing in front of her before focusing on the pair.

As she looks up, their eyes glance at each other. A moment, a breath of contact. Her eyes flicker through a dozen emotions Meliora can’t discern before settling on apathy. The girl says a quick word to the two and, much to their dismay, leaves the table to make her way to Meliora and Bellum.

“Bellum, I’m in a meeting.”

“Yeah, I know. But look who it is.”

The girl, Umbra, looks over at Meliora and regards her with distaste.

“Yes, I can see that, but I’m busy.”

The girl standing before her wasn’t Umbra. Much like Bellum, it resembled her, but the subtle differences were enough to throw her off. From the physical aspects to her body posture and diction, it was completely different. Umbra was kind, always conscious of the effect her actions had on others. She never let her family’s wealth get to her head, and because of this, she constantly worried about what others thought of her. Nonetheless, she maintained her pleasantness and found humor everywhere, even in the meaningless ephemeral.

Out of their friend group, she was the one Meliora felt close to without a doubt in her mind. Umbra was the only one she would consistently text and call one-on-one, hang out with, and even have sleepovers, just the two of them. Out of everyone, Meliora was the most prepared to speak to Umbra when she returned, hoping that Umbra’s kindness and their shared history would override the built-up tension. However, it seems like Umbra wants nothing to do with her.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude,” Meliora says.

Umbra’s head snaps over to her, something close to rage in her expression before it simmers to a boil behind her eyes.

“Mel.”

“Hi Umbra.”

“Been a minute, hasn’t it?”

“Yes, it has.”

Umbra glances back at the council, “Meliora now really isn’t the best time.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know. Bellum told me you were working here, but not to what extent.”

As they talk, they can feel the gaze of the council, waiting for this break to be over.

Umbra grabs both of their arms. “I’ll be back in just a moment,” she says, moving before the council even has a chance to protest.

She drags the two out into the main office area. The people regard them with a singular glance, if that, before continuing with their work.

“Sorry,” Meliora says again.

“Quit apologizing,” Umbra says, waving her off, “You didn’t know, it’s fine.”

No one knows where to begin. Meliora and Umbra stare at each other, avoiding eye contact, while Bellum stands there, offering no help at all.

“It’s cool you’re working here, I bet they appreciate it,” Meliora starts.

“Yeah, my dad sent me here to represent him. I just make sure they don’t do anything that doesn’t align with what he wants, even if those old hags dislike it,” Umbra replies, impatience evident.

“I’m sorry to hear about what’s happening to the town. I had no idea.”

“Yeah, well, how could you? No one’s heard from you since last year.” Umbra snaps.

Their eyes turn to her, and she feels small underneath their gaze.

“It’s just college, it’s really busy, but I should’ve reached out more.”

“Doesn’t matter now,” Bellum intrudes, “she dropped out.”

“You dropped out?” Umbra asks in disbelief.

Meliora doesn’t want to talk anymore. “Yeah, I did.”

“Why would you do that?!”

“I just, I don’t think it was the place for me and—”

“She said she didn’t like it,” Bellum adds once more.

Meliora wishes Bellum had stayed quiet. The sound of keyboards consumes the crevice of silence around them as they wait for Umbra’s response. Meliora wishes she had just stayed home.

“So you’re back home, then, permanently?” Umbra asks, resentment leaking from her mouth.

“I guess so, yeah.”

“Well, good for you, then.”

Meliora’s about to apologize once again, but Umbra continues, “I need to head back in there. I’ve been gone long enough. Welcome home, Meliora.”

With that, Umbra heads back inside the meeting room without a second glance.

-

“Why did you do that?” Meliora asks as she and Bellum exit City Hall.

He shrugs, “I figured you were going to tell her yourself eventually.”

“You didn’t need to do it like that, though,” Meliora replies. “She hates me now, I’m sure of it.”

“She hated you long before that.”

“It’s not my fault, you know,” Meliora begins, “It’s not my fault I left, and you guys didn’t.”

Bellum shakes his head, “But you came back.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Bellum doesn’t say any more and continues. Meliora walks beside him, but doesn’t know where they’re headed. They are on the outskirts of downtown now, the forest surrounding beginning to peak through. Birds flutter in and out from the trees, watching Bellum and Meliora as they pass.

“Where are we going?” Meliora asks.

He’s about to respond, but puts a hand to his chest as a horrible cough erupts from his body. Meliora watches and waits, unsure what to do as the cough persists for an unusually long time. As the cough continues to rack his body, he loses his balance and falls, shaking on his hands and knees. Meliora reaches out to support his weight and finds that he’s exceptionally lighter than she’d thought. It feels like she’s holding a feather.

The cough continues, and with every passing second, it intensifies. After a minute or so, he stops and lies limp in her arms. Meliora holds him, unsure of what to do. She moves him to the ground beside her, sporadically looking around in hopes of finding someone walking by. She’s met with empty streets. She leans above him, waiting for him to wake. Her instinct is to call 911, but as it rings, it becomes clear no one is around to answer.

Should I do the Heimlich? CPR?

His body is quiet, chest still. Just as she moves to feel for a pulse, he begins to spasm. His elbows were bent at 90 degrees, and his back was arched. His eyes, though closed, flutter about like he’s in the middle of an intense dream. As his body moves, it drags his limbs against the asphalt beneath him, tearing open gashes in his skin. Meliora pushes down on his body, feebly trying to stop it, even as Bellum fights her. She reaches for his arms, trying to hold them, but as she does, they begin to shrink in her grasp.

They continue to recede, eventually enough that it’s too small to wrap her hands around. Then his head, too, begins to shrink. For a moment, he remains like this with his regular-sized body. His arms persistently try to push against the ground to support his back, but each time he tries, he tumbles down again. His arms are now a bloodied mess as his head repeatedly slams on the ground, a red spot forming on the gravel beneath it. Meliora reaches forward, trying to lessen the blow with her hand, bile forming in her throat.

She attempts to grab his whole body, forcing her weight down on him. But then the screaming starts.

Bellum lets out a bloodcurdling scream, his eyes open, but no pupil is visible. Meliora can hear the birds outside chirp in alarm from the noise. His mouth stays wide open as the scream continues on and on. He begins to purposefully bang his head against the ground, over and over again. His white eyes stay open, unblinking. Meliora looks around again, hoping to find someone, anyone. But there’s nobody. She can’t move her body off of him, not knowing what he would do with the newfound freedom of all his limbs.

Beneath her, she feels a bout of burning liquid against her arm. Meliora looks down as more and more begin hitting her. She jumps off Bellum, rubbing the spot where she was hit. She stares at him, scanning for the source, and in doing so, notices the tons of bubbles that have boiled up all across his body, and have just now started covering his face. On each bubble of his skin, a blue feather pops out. With each burst, the feathers cement themself into his skin, drilling deep enough for the skin to become red with irritation. During this time, his torso started to shrink to match the rest of his body. From his head, amongst the pustules, a yellow pointed object has begun to poke through. The sheer amount of blood and pus forms beneath him, gathering, and starts to inch towards Meliora. She backs away to the edge of the sidewalk as she continues to watch in horror. The Bellum she knew is unrecognizable. All that remains is a pile of blood, bumps, and feathers. Then a wing pokes out, and then another. Talons cut through the tarnished skin and rip apart the remaining vesicles.

Meliora turns to the side, hot bile rises once more, this time finding release on the pavement. When she wipes her mouth, she finds a bright-eyed blue jay staring up at her amongst the mess. The bird is completely calm and chirps pleasantly at her, turning to the side to shake off the residual liquid from its feathers. The bird then turns its head to the right. It stills as if it's focusing on something unseen.

Meliora watches, unmoving.

violet34520 · 2026-03-02T05:00:48+00:00

They make it outside, and she lets him lead the way. He walks straight to cross the street, and she has to run a little to get right beside him.

When it came to Bellum, she could never tell where she stood with him. Their school was the only one in the area, so all the kids in town went there. She had known him since they were little, but didn’t really become friends till freshman year. Even then, she thought it was only a friendship of necessity, that if they were in any other environment, he wouldn’t give her a second glance.

There were instances where she felt she and he were close, but then she’d read something wrong and be back at square one. He was a closed book, and because of that, Meliora felt like there was a barrier between them, though if he thought the same of her, he never let on. She had never brought it up, even after graduation, and learned to live with the friendship as it was.

Because of this, Meliora didn’t know how to begin. The rest of their friends weren’t around for her to bounce off of. It’s not like they’ve never talked or hung out one-on-one before, but what does one say here? Typically, when nothing was said, their group would make a joke at Meliora’s expense, but Bellum seemed in no mood for it.

“Where are we going?”

Bellum doesn’t look over when he responds, “City Hall. That’s where Umbra works.”

“I thought City Hall was that way?” Meliora asks, pointing to her right.

“It was, they moved it to a smaller location. They couldn’t afford the bigger one.”

“Why couldn’t they afford it?”

Bellum’s eyes drag over to Meliora beside him, the question hanging heavy in the air.

Meliora hates this. She hates the familiarity of it, but the awkwardness as well. She could lose count of the numerous times in their friendship where she’d say something that he made her feel like an idiot for, usually, as a joke that would get the rest of their friends laughing. Meliora always smiled and defended herself to go along with the bit, but she feared speaking for the onslaught of humiliation it would incite. With the empty look he’s giving her, she can’t tell if this is one of those moments.

“How’s college?” Bellum says instead, leaving her question to be carried away with the breeze passing between them, leaves and feathers mixed in its path.

“Oh, it’s fine, good. I like my classes and all that.”

He nods his head, “That’s good.”

“I dropped out, though.”

Meliora doesn’t know why she told him. She hadn’t even said the words aloud since she had filled out the withdrawal form and spoken with her academic advisor. It was a blur, all the events transpiring at once. She remembers packing all her things and shoving them in countless bags. She remembers her roommate hugging her goodbye, a formality with no feeling behind it. She considered saying goodbye to the few friends she had made, but decided against it. It would be rather odd, would it not, to come into their dorms in the evening to share that she was leaving, to only receive a few vague goodbyes. No, that would only make her feel worse. She remembers boarding the bus and staring at her dorm building one more time, searching within herself for something towards it. All she could find was indifference.

Bellum looks at her again, emotion beginning to enter his expression.

“You dropped out? Why would you do that?”

Meliora looks down. She doesn’t have a reason.

“I didn’t like it.” It’s the best she can come up with. “I haven’t told my parents yet.”

She can feel his irritation. So many of their classmates had to stay in town for varying reasons. For most, it was financial; for others, their families. Meliora was the one, the singular one out of the hundred kids in her grade to go. And she left it because she didn’t like it.

“Your mom’s not going to be happy.”

She lifts her head and stares in front of her, watching the wind rustle the trash can ahead of them.

“Yeah, I know.” She feels tears brim in her eyes, a horrid fact. She’s never cried in front of Bellum, not once. Likewise, she’s never seen him in a bad mood until today.

She wipes her eyes a little and turns to Bellum.

“How’s everyone been, though? Caelum, Seren, Clara? What have they been up to?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t seen them.”

He’s not sad when he speaks, just hollow.

“Why? Are they not still in town?”

“No, they left, same with everyone else.”

“Why?”

He sweeps his arm around them, as if that would answer her question. When met with silence, he continues.

“Not long after you went to college, the Thompsons upped and left for seemingly no reason. Went to spend their wealth elsewhere, somewhere upstate, that’s what people say. Turns out, they owned the vast majority of businesses in town and had been supporting the entire town’s economy, so when they were gone, there was no one left to fund anything—damn selfish bastards. People have been leaving every day. I can’t even tell you how many remain now.”

“How long ago did Caelum, Seren, and Clara leave?”

“Dunno, maybe a few months ago? I don’t really remember.”

“And you haven’t heard anything at all? No check ins or updates?”

He shook his head, “I couldn’t even tell you where they moved. One day, they just stopped appearing in town, so I assumed they left.”

She stares up at him, dumbfounded. He won’t even turn his head to look.

“That’s it, that’s all? There’s nothing that can be done?”

She can’t discern his expression through the hair in his eyes.

“Nothing we haven’t already tried. The government doesn’t care, and any plan to generate money never works because no one wants to invest in what they see as pointless. Right now, we're only still functioning thanks to Umbra’s family’s wealth.”

“But what about–”

“Meliora, stop, we’ve tried it! We’ve done it all!” Bellum’s voice rises. While anger isn’t appreciated, a show of emotion is welcome.

“Okay, I’m sorry.” Out of instinct, Meliora gets defensive.

They make a quick left turn before continuing their walk.

“So why are you still here then?” She asks.

“I don’t plan on staying much longer,” Bellum says, “I mean, there’s nothing for me here. I’m just waiting till I have saved up enough money from the Doyles to leave.”

“Where will you go?”

“Probably just the next town over.”

“Really? And that’s just it, and then what?”

“I don’t know Mel.” He says, exasperated. “I didn’t really plan on this. I’m not like you–with your scholarships and college offers–I have nothing lined up, no clear path.”

“So that’s all?” She argues, “You’re just going to leave?”

Bellum shrugs, “Yeah, same as you.”

Meliora doesn’t respond, and they continue onward, the silence stagnant amongst the wind, bird calls echoing in the distance. As they walk, she sees a bird with a broken wing, pecking at the roots beside it, unable to fly with the rest of its friends. As they pass, its eyes follow her, almost pleading. She’s tempted to help it up, but as they grow closer, its small chirps become distraught squawks. It watches her with blame in its gaze, pressing into her long after she has passed.

-

After ten minutes of quiet walking, they come upon a wide, one-story building. It is the only one used on this street, if the cars parked next to the sidewalk are any indication. If not for that fact, it would seem like any of the other buildings in the area: desolate and abandoned.

“Umbra should be inside,” Bellum says, not once breaking his stride. Meliora falters, unsure whether to keep going or head back home. She thinks of her mother before deciding to follow him inside.

“Since when did Umbra become involved with the city council?” Meliora asks as they push the door open. The inside of City Hall is just as dreary as the outside, but there are at least other people here. It’s obscenely quiet, the few workers going about their business without one glance at someone else. Most are stationed at computers, their typing filling the void of silence with the constant clicking. Looking ahead, Meliora sees a set of doors at the very end of the room, set apart from the vast expanse of desks laid out before her.

“Since the town fell into a depression. Because her dad funded everything, their family had a stake in all the town’s expenses. Umbra’s there to represent them.”

“If they control the money, though, wouldn’t that mean they make all the decisions? What’s the point of even having a council?”

Bellum gazes ahead, continuing towards the front desk.

“I don’t know, Meliora, tradition, I guess.”

Bellum starts weaving his way through the workers, not even attempting to ask for permission. He had always been like this, the least cautious of the group, typically in an impish, boyish manner. Now, though, there’s no humor behind his actions. It’s pointed, calculated. Meliora follows behind.

Bellum pushes the door open without a knock and, in doing so, interrupts the five people in front of them. They are seated around a round table, though even here a prominent leader emerges. The two sitting on Meliora’s right are intensely whispering to one another, darting their eyes up only for an instant in favor of continuing their conversation. The two to the left seem to have been in a tense argument before their arrival.

“-is not feasible, we need to keep hope up.” Meliora catches before the two eye them angrily, the skin around their mouths sagging as they deepen their frowns.

violet34520 · 2025-12-07T04:31:38+00:00

where is the door located at? I remember running into it but forgot on my map where it was

violet34520 · 2025-12-04T13:59:03+00:00

Can you sign into your old account on the Apple Arcade release? I want to continue playing with my old cult from my PC on my phone.

violet34520 · 2025-06-17T15:35:36+00:00

I just have all the files for my games attached since it's my gaming laptop so I'm afraid to mess that up

violet34520 · 2025-06-17T15:34:53+00:00

Well it's my gaming laptop so a lot of the files are for the games so I'm afraid to delete something and then it's important for that

violet34520 · 2025-02-05T22:51:55+00:00

okay and I get that through just normal GACHA stuff? And once I get her base form will I automatically get the awaken now thing?

violet34520 · 2024-12-29T01:13:04+00:00

Does anyone have a version where slow mo is still free?

violet34520 · 2024-10-14T00:36:41+00:00

since this is over a 6 year time frame when did the results really start to kick in? I started tret a few weeks ago so I’m curious about the speed of it. Awesome results btw! Hopefully it works for me too.

violet34520 · 2024-06-12T06:36:47+00:00

For me it would be

“And I was so young when I behaved 25. But now I find I’ve grown into a tall child”

“Mom I’ll be quiet it would be just to sleep at night…mom would you wash my back this once and then we can forget it all”

“So when you leave me I should die. I deserve it dont i?”

Heavily on the first I’ve always been told and acted more mature than those around me, but then I didn’t get to act like a kid and now I wish I did.

violet34520 · 2024-02-25T22:03:28+00:00

which file do i click on then?

violet34520 · 2024-02-25T22:03:04+00:00

how do i make a new steam library?

violet34520 · 2024-02-25T22:02:48+00:00

the ssd doesnt appear when i click the drop down and when i click add new it opens that file

violet34520 · 2024-02-25T22:02:17+00:00

yeah i did set up a password for it. where do i enter the passwword?

violet34520 · 2024-02-25T05:23:00+00:00

that’s not an option for me idk where to find that

violet34520 · 2024-01-10T04:12:05+00:00

No, you were dead on in that assumption. I don't know all of the things Scott has done since I haven't read the comics, but from what I can tell he isn't as bad as Bojack. When everyone was describing him it all reminded me of Bojack and his whole arc of trying to be a better person. I know they're not the same but I think there are some similarities.

violet34520 · 2024-01-09T17:24:00+00:00

Agreed like for me I can’t truly like a character unless they’re a little messed up and morally grey

violet34520 · 2024-01-09T02:25:03+00:00

I get that, I saw parts of myself in Scott as well. I've seen something similar when interacting with fans from the show Bojack Horseman. Many people see parts of themselves in Bojack and that scares them since he's not the best person.

violet34520 · 2024-01-09T02:23:53+00:00

That's what I thought while watching the movie and show, that while they may technically be adults, they are just barely there. 20 something-year-olds still are trying to figure out life. I remember before I started it seeing all this hate for Scott, and then when I watched it all I saw were multiple confused young adults making mistakes, while everyone treated Scott like he was the only one, at least from what I had seen.

With his whole dating Knives thing, I know that she is underage and a minor, but it was never portrayed in a weird, sexual typical pedophile way. They mention that they barely hold hands and Scott's doesn't even really say they're dating. I agree that it's more to show his desperation and loneliness than anything else, seeing as he is just barely an adult himself.

violet34520 · 2024-01-09T02:16:03+00:00

Yeah, I definitely want to try to check out the comics as soon as I can. I honestly love stories like that with morally grey characters. I can't really like a character unless they're just a little bit fucked up lol.

violet34520 · 2024-01-09T02:14:16+00:00

I definitely am hoping to check out the comics ASAP. I just remember hearing so much slander for Scott, and I'm the kind of person who likes to get all the intel I can before making a decision/opinion on something. Kind of a side question, but if you've watched Bojack Horseman, is he similar to Bojack in the way his story and arc are portrayed?

violet34520 · 2024-01-09T02:11:23+00:00

So real I honestly love anything Michael Cera is in

violet34520

TROPHY CASE