On finally owning a copy of the comic...

[ladyunicorn]

I can feel this body dying all around me. Already it begins to rot. What good can come from a creature who is meant to die?

Whispering iron bars are not so cruel as this!

[She shrinks back and clutches a hand to her chest.]

Send me not in this form to another world. I know what awaits me.

Comments

[lifewithnoconsequence]

Everything grows old and decays under the power of time.... Or so the saying goes.

[ladyunicorn]

Not me; never before.

[imvho]

The fear of death... eternally we must question, is this foolishness or the truest wisdom...

[Zhen Chan, in total opposition to her, exudes an absolute sense of calmness and certainty. His tranquillity extends to his surroundings, small flowers blooming spontaneously around his feet.]

But perhaps the greatest question is what measure of control do we allow fear of our actions?

[ladyunicorn]

I do not understand. [Amalthea possesses the eyes of a unicorn - eyes that reflect the forest and creatures within. She does not see with mortal eyes - not yet.] I cannot help my fear. I have never encountered mortality. The cycle of life and death has never touched me.

[imvho]

It is not shameful to not understand something that has not been contemplated thoroughly.

[Even for a God, he possesses an astounding proficiency for Eternal Life- so much so, it grants life to all around him should he choose to. There are limits, of course, but all the same just by standing he is slowly transforming his surroundings into a peaceful meadow. Butterflies in particular are starting to flutter about.]

Shall we discuss it? I would like to ease the suffering that strains your heart.

[ladyunicorn]

[The sound of butterflies reciting bits of poetry and songs heightens her confusion. Their short lives are even more inconsequential than the life of a human. What is their purpose?]

I was given immortality. I have lived for many years and watched those around me grow, live and die. Their journeys never concerned me. It was a play.

[And now it's her reality.]

The Wizard Schmendrick changed my form. I do not know who I am.

[imvho]

[Wanting somewhere to sit, he moves into the position to do so, just as a sapling grows to provide a perch for him. Fist on chin, he contemplates for a while. No instant answers from him.]

The events of this world are no more real than the reflection of a moon upon the water. The past nor the future exist. Even the present is an illusion. All that is worth thinking of is our own thoughts.

You changed your mind because your perspective changed, but does that change the truth? Therefore there is no need for you to be hurt by your fear- things continue as they always have.

[ladyunicorn]

If that is so…

[Her terror turns to sorrow.]

There are no more of my kind. With my death, unicorns will cease to exist.

[Is there anything sadder in all the world?]

The others are trapped in the sea by the Red Bull. I cannot free them.

[ladybedlam]

Ah...

[She offers her hand, gentle and coaxing.]

An invitation.

[ladyunicorn]

[She eyes the hand inquisitively, her eyes reflecting nothing but her domain - the forests and the creatures within.]

For meeting?

[ladybedlam]

[This one's eyes show the age of the Isles of Britain and it's people. Their history. Their culture. Like yourself, they betray her age and shows her to be one of the old walkers of the land.]

[She smiles and the hand persists.]

I would like that.

I am Lady Alice Kirkland, should you wish to know the one who invites you.

[ladyunicorn]

[The age she senses calms Amalthea in the end. She gently lays her hand - a strange limb - on Alice's hand.]

They call me Amalthea. I did not have a name before.

[ladybedlam]

[Please let me know if this is not okay and I will change it!]

Yes, I would imagine so.

I did not know of many Unicorns to take names.

[lifewithnoconsequence]

If that's what you want to believe, then in I won't stop you.

[ladyunicorn]

[Her brow furrows, but it's a relief to be recognized.]

I do not know of any. I lived my life in one forest. My meetings with others were fleeting.

[She doesn't even realize how old she truly is, but now that her life might come to an end, she fears death.]

[ladyunicorn]

I was immortal. I have not known another existence.

[ladybedlam]

By choice?

[lifewithnoconsequence]

Well this is a good learning experience then.

[ladyunicorn]

Are you so heartless?

[ladyunicorn]

We live long lives. I thought I would see them again in time.

[lifewithnoconsequence]

...I can't tell anymore.

[A seemingly disinterested shrug was also given.]

[ladyunicorn]

Then you lack empathy? I have met men like you before.

[lifewithnoconsequence]

Who knows, maybe...Have you now?

[ladybedlam]

[The woman smiled sadly. Yes she too thought that once. And then...]

It is a sentiment which heralds regret. Though we don't realize this truth until what was expected no longer is.

There is a quote, "Wish not for tomorrow, for all you will be left with are empty yesterdays."

[ladyunicorn]

Most men are that way. That's why they hunt and kill.

[ladyunicorn]

No unicorn alive has felt regret. I am already unlike others of my kind.

[And that's frightening too.]

I feared changing, but I have. This is a road I must travel down; I cannot look back.

[lifewithnoconsequence]

Perhaps, though perhaps not. It would all depend on the person.

[ladybedlam]

[She nods and pauses. For the longest time it seemed as though she wasn't going to say anything at all. Then, she offers a smile. Warm, yes, but also a little sad.]

Welcome to mortality.

[She then offers this.] It is not so bad. Living with the knowledge with the day that you won't. Many others have done and will do the same. As one of your kind you yourself would have seen life rise, peak, and decline. It is a cycle as timeless as the ages. You could lament your loss. And you could also take joy in knowing the path before you was not a path worn by you alone. Even though this may be true for your people.

You now live with the pulse of the land. [She arcs her hand up.] The sun is your heartbeat. [She raises her hands to the side.] The wind is your blood. [The lowers to the ground.] The earth is a cradle, your bed now, and, one day, a tomb. You will see brambles and darkness. You will also see flowers and sunlight. Yet if there are any words that I would want you to take to heart most of all:

Your time is precious, and it is uniquely yours. What you choose to do, ensure that it is what you want. I would hate... [she pauses... looking up to the sky solemnly] That the fear of what may be is what will deny you to embracing the moments you have.

[imvho]

Cannot...

I say so long as something is conceivable in the mind, it is creatable in reality. By closing your heart to the possibility, you are denying yourself the ability to achieve your goal.

[In short, he is asking her to believe in herself.]

[bringerofthestorm]

[The not-quite-human boy stares a her, watching without word for a moment. Quietly, in a voice that doesn't have much emotion to it, he asks,] Are you in pain like this?

[wizardofharmony]

Oh Maeghan's Horn, you poor creature.

...My experience may actually be the precise inversion of yours, o immortal one.