... One person, once. [ It takes her a moment to say that much, reaching back through memory; she had traveled here for other reasons than then, but that guy was the only other human who crossed over. Her lips purse. ] By force, with cruel intentions. I managed to force him out, though, before he was killed.
[ His heart had taken damage, she knew that much, but he left with his life. She never saw him again after that, so there's no telling if he ever recovered from it, but... she doesn't want to know what would have happened if she hadn't stopped things.
It was a long time ago, though, and she can't feel regret for a man being punished for his own actions; Jaime won't hear any guilt in her voice. ]
I only came here a couple times, though, so I don't really miss the place. The spirits could cross back and forth pretty easily, though, and a lot lingered in the human world anyway, and partner themselves to humans. I never met anyone else who could ever see them, so they were always ready to talk to me. I learned a lot from them. The histories of the spirits, and human magics, and how to play different games, and all about the people I met. Stuff like that.
I was too sickly to go out much, or go to an in-person school, and we didn't live around many other kids, so I didn't have any human friends growing up. But, the spirits kept me company, so it wasn't so bad. I could always hear their voices. I was never alone.
[ The thicket of the trees grows thinner and thinner as they walk — Ruka doesn't turn around, but she does stop her backwards walk. As Jaime and Khaji cross the edge of the treeline, they'll find themselves on a short, grassy bank; just a few yards behind Ruka is the near edge of a wide river, moving swiftly. Across the river is a wide meadow of long grass and wild flowers, growth vibrant and green right up until butting against the high, rocky walls of a cliff.
The cliff itself is striking — the face is flat, like a stone cut open, but there is the large hollow press of something having once been embedded in that stone and no longer residing there, like an emptied-out fossil. It looks like a pterosaur of some kind — but not like any, at the same time.
But, still on this side of the river, Ruka leads along the bank downstream to ... an empty archway. There's no path running to it and none running from it, no building or doors or anything connected to it — just a large, hollow wooden arch, in the middle of the grass, seemingly leading only to more grass. Ruka stops beside it, arms still behind her back and looking exceedingly pleased with herself. ]
no subject
[ His heart had taken damage, she knew that much, but he left with his life. She never saw him again after that, so there's no telling if he ever recovered from it, but... she doesn't want to know what would have happened if she hadn't stopped things.
It was a long time ago, though, and she can't feel regret for a man being punished for his own actions; Jaime won't hear any guilt in her voice. ]
I only came here a couple times, though, so I don't really miss the place. The spirits could cross back and forth pretty easily, though, and a lot lingered in the human world anyway, and partner themselves to humans. I never met anyone else who could ever see them, so they were always ready to talk to me. I learned a lot from them. The histories of the spirits, and human magics, and how to play different games, and all about the people I met. Stuff like that.
I was too sickly to go out much, or go to an in-person school, and we didn't live around many other kids, so I didn't have any human friends growing up. But, the spirits kept me company, so it wasn't so bad. I could always hear their voices. I was never alone.
[ The thicket of the trees grows thinner and thinner as they walk — Ruka doesn't turn around, but she does stop her backwards walk. As Jaime and Khaji cross the edge of the treeline, they'll find themselves on a short, grassy bank; just a few yards behind Ruka is the near edge of a wide river, moving swiftly. Across the river is a wide meadow of long grass and wild flowers, growth vibrant and green right up until butting against the high, rocky walls of a cliff.
The cliff itself is striking — the face is flat, like a stone cut open, but there is the large hollow press of something having once been embedded in that stone and no longer residing there, like an emptied-out fossil. It looks like a pterosaur of some kind — but not like any, at the same time.
But, still on this side of the river, Ruka leads along the bank downstream to ... an empty archway. There's no path running to it and none running from it, no building or doors or anything connected to it — just a large, hollow wooden arch, in the middle of the grass, seemingly leading only to more grass. Ruka stops beside it, arms still behind her back and looking exceedingly pleased with herself. ]
Here you are.