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[Having returned to the Pagoda after the Doctor left, Kariya wasn't aware of anything strange at first. She was often alone at the Pagoda, except for the dogs. But days passed, and the once lively Vine was still and silent. There were no messages. Hour by hour, she began to feel more alone and more puzzled.
So she left the Pagoda and the dogs that followed her like attendants while she was there. Surely someone was still around? Her shuffling, limping gait was unhurried. She'd been healed somewhat by the snakes, but the worms continued their interior assault, and she was growing worse again, day by day. There was another way to assuage the pain and halt her deterioration, but that wasn't an option she'd chosen to take, so this was her lot. She could bear it. If she died again, she'd be revived again, and it would continue until she was able to find her way home, back to the War. It was odd, to have such a distant feeling about her own death, but things were different here. Death was different.
It was so quiet in the Gardens. Among the trees and flowers, she heard birds calling but no human voices. She felt like the last person in the world. It was an odd, lonely feeling. Kariya made her slow way to the orchard, to the silent arcade, to the lake of blood, and finally, found herself at the pale crumbled ruins at the center of everything. She rested a hand on the cool, white stone to hold herself up. Where was everyone?
And last, she reached out for a tendril of Vine and asked:]
Hello, is anyone there?
So she left the Pagoda and the dogs that followed her like attendants while she was there. Surely someone was still around? Her shuffling, limping gait was unhurried. She'd been healed somewhat by the snakes, but the worms continued their interior assault, and she was growing worse again, day by day. There was another way to assuage the pain and halt her deterioration, but that wasn't an option she'd chosen to take, so this was her lot. She could bear it. If she died again, she'd be revived again, and it would continue until she was able to find her way home, back to the War. It was odd, to have such a distant feeling about her own death, but things were different here. Death was different.
It was so quiet in the Gardens. Among the trees and flowers, she heard birds calling but no human voices. She felt like the last person in the world. It was an odd, lonely feeling. Kariya made her slow way to the orchard, to the silent arcade, to the lake of blood, and finally, found herself at the pale crumbled ruins at the center of everything. She rested a hand on the cool, white stone to hold herself up. Where was everyone?
And last, she reached out for a tendril of Vine and asked:]
Hello, is anyone there?
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