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Description

Apathy: A lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern. Like the edge of a cliff that separates the calmness of the earth and the darkness of the seas, Apathy exists in the space between emotions. When nothing else is felt, Apathy reigns free, greying out the world to walk the thin line of hope and pain. Just as the absence of light gives form to shadows, the absence of emotional guidance lends itself to apathy as it wanders through the fabric of the mortal realm. Of course though, a lack of concern can mean a lack of morals, and a lack of interest can bring time to a standstill.

Tiny flakes of white snow drifted peacefully down onto the ground. The plants and trees had all been blanketed in a thick layer of the stuff that had been steadily growing over the cold of the night. Now though, dawn was breaking over the horizon; a mixture of pinks, oranges, and baby blues painted the sky as it rose to greet another day. Most of the mortal realm were still asleep. Even birds hadn’t fully woken up with their chirping yet. There was no one out and about to greet the colours, which was a rather strange occurrence. Birdsong was what usually greeted the sun, and yet the world was eerily silent. No one was watching the beauty of the morning sun, except for one very reclusive girl…

Out the window she stared at the world. Every morning she woke to watch the dawn rise but, unlike most, she found no solace nor happiness in its presence. The sight was exceedingly pretty, and yet it had long lost its glow to her eyes. With each minute that passed the snow would shimmer more and more, along with the flakes that fell gently from the sky, but it all looked grey to her. How long had she been standing there? The crackles of her fireplace had begun to roar louder, one she had only sparked about half an hour earlier. Had it been earlier than that? The clock that hung on her wall had stopped working years ago. She could never find the energy to fix it. To her, time was an unnecessary constraint of the mortal realm anyway. It didn’t matter to her whether it was the middle of the day or the dead of night, she found that it couldn’t look any less interesting to her shadowed eyes.

She was only standing, staring out the frosted window, for lack of anything else to do. It had been a routine for her for the last few years to watch the dawn, something that got her out of bed for the day, even if it was the only thing she could do. Leaving her home was bad. She had learned that long ago. Whether it was because they were scared or whether they were disgusted, no one wanted to know her. No-one talked to her, nor even acknowledged her existence. They seemingly didn’t want to associate with a feeling that fed off of the lack of all others. Not that she had the choice. The other feelings thrived on finding the things they loved, the things they lived for. But instead, shadows of emptiness would find their way to her, slipping through the cracks of her small home and becoming yet another drop of darkness in her head. She couldn’t control it and the very nature of her existence robbed her of the life she watched everyone else having.

She didn’t care though. Not anymore. It had been a long time since she had felt anything a all, at least other than feeling bored. ‘Heartless’. It was what a lot of people called her, their hushed whispers they thought she couldn’t hear from the confines of her small and grey cottage were never ignored, and she knew they meant it quite literally. The hole in her chest, taking a form of a love-heart, showed that inside she really was just a mess. Inside it dripped darkness and nothing else. Strands of pain and apathy were constant reminder that she was lacking the most important thing of all, and it made her very obviously not-human. By human standards it was positively grotesque. Those strands and drips would run through her and eventually fall from the bottom of her dress and onto the ground below. The droplets drained colour wherever they landed, an obvious problem looking at the home she stood in. Years of living with the shadows that fell had rendered most of the inside and outside of her home grey, literally. The fireplace was the only real source of colour in the room, bathing the living room in a warm, orange glow, growing brighter and warmer with every long and arduous minute that passed for her.

Despite the time seemingly slowing to a crawl, light was definitely getting brighter outside the dark cottage as the sun rose over the horizon. It had been a long dawn. She pondered what to do with her time. To stare into the fireplace, or to go and sleep another day away? ‘At least the fireplace is warm’, she thought to herself. But as she was about to turn around to lose herself yet again to the flames that twirled and crackled, a small sound outside caught her attention. Stopping in place, Apathy turned to look at the front door as the sound grew louder, coming towards her house. It was a hum? Upbeat and chirpy it grew louder and louder until it was right outside her door. Frozen, with no idea what to do, Apathy just waited. No one had come to her home in years. Not even Reflection had paid her any visits recently. Whomever it was though continued humming away, clearly none the wiser that Apathy stood just a few feet away.

That tune… she had heard it a few times over the past few years. She assumed it was just a passerby of the human world going about their daily business, but they couldn’t see her cottage. Humans couldn’t see nor interact with any of the homes of the emotions, or spirits of her domain. They existed on a whole other plane of existence and yet this being stood outside her front door, and then, a few small knocks sounded upon it.

She was confused, well.. as confused as she was able to be. Other emotions didn’t care for her, and humans wouldn’t know she was here. The droplets from her dress stopped falling as she focussed on the humming that still continued. Her hands fiddled with themselves in a tell tale sign of anxiety, and her eyes darted around the room looking for an answer she knew wouldn’t be there. Who would knock at her door? She couldn’t bring herself to move. She was stuck and rooted in place. A couple more knocks happened upon the door, carefully kept in beat with the child-like tune that was still being hummed, yet still she couldn’t do it. She didn’t know why. A being incapable of caring and yet she found herself caught completely off guard with this visitor.

A few moments later there was the sound of shuffling in the snow, and the person seemed to be turning around. The hum was broken very briefly, the sound of a small sigh escaping whomever it was before restarting the tune. Not long after, the humming starting going away. It never faltered again but it grew quieter and quieter, disappearing into the distance until once again she was left in silence. She finally took a step towards the door. No one was there now, and she didn’t have to face anyone, but she still remained apprehensive. Building up every ounce of effort she turned the handle to opened up the door.

The cold chill of the outside blew in as the creaky wooden door swung open. Poking her head out quickly she looked around and found nothing, and then she looked to the floor. All that was left was the small, child-size footprints in the snow left behind from whomever the visitor had been, and a small carefully wrapped box that had been left in front of her doorstep. Picking it up, Apathy studied it carefully. It was wrapped up nicely in silver packing paper, with a dainty little pattern depicting snow flakes printed on its surface. Around that was a purple ribbon, ending in a big bow. It matched rather well with the colour of her long and messy hair. A tag sticked out from the bow’s side with the word ‘Apathy’ written solely on it’s front, the writing quite childish and uneven but still easy enough to read. Not the kind of writing you would expect along with a box so precisely wrapped. It was a present?

Looking one last time to her surroundings, she found no indication of whom her visitor was. Confused yet curious about the present she held in her hands she turned and made her way back inside. The cold had made its way in but the fire still remained, and began to warm up the living room once more as soon as she had shut the cold out. Making her way to her greyed out couch that sat in front of the fireplace, she eyed the box more. It shimmered in the glow of the fire, and for a moment she found herself thinking it pretty. Prettier than the dawn. She sat down, beginning to tug at the ribbon, and then when that was off, she unwrapped the paper carefully so as to not ruin its patterns. Inside was just a simple cardboard box, and upon opening that up, she found the gift. It was a headband. Matching the colour and patterns that adored her dress, it sparkled as she turned it in her hands. An intricate, and lightweight, metal carving of a heart with a black, opalescent centre was on its side, sewed and stuck on with so much effort that it looked like it wouldn’t break nor fall off anytime soon. From underneath the design, large black feathers poked out. The entire headband was made so meticulously, with so much effort and craftsmanship she couldn’t help but feel impressed with whomever the maker was. It was the first thing she had actually found beautiful in a very long time. She actually regretted now not opening the door to whomever it was.

But just inside the box, along with the headband, was piece of paper too. A note that had a message upon and also addressed to Apathy. She looked at it, reading carefully the lines over and over again. The words of it sat strangely in her mind, like she couldn’t believe what was written and yet couldn’t get over the first sentence. It filled her with… something. For the first time in a long time she just felt… and she couldn’t even tell what it was. Excitement? No. Happiness? Not quite that, but closer. No, what she felt was something that she had lost long before anything else. It was a sense of… Hope.

Struggling with her messy hair that had prior just ran wild from her head, she managed to wrestle the band into place. It was a snug fit, likely because of the mess itself, but she liked it. It… suited her, She thought while looking in the mirror that hung above the fire. Looking down at the box and the paper that had been lain on her couch, she decided again what to do with her day. She looked back out at the morning sun. She wasn’t ready for the outside, but maybe now she could work on finding the courage on perhaps stepping out for a bit. In the end she decided on going to bed instead. This morning had been heavy; feeling things she hadn’t felt for so long, was exhausting. But before that, she picked up the wrapping paper, and decided to keep it; popping it in a cupboard and saving it as a small momento. As for the note, she decided to place it on the fireplace mantle, but of course not before reading it one last time…

“You matter just as much as everyone else. I know it’s difficult for you, but please don’t be afraid to come out and join everyone sometime. I’d love for you to spend time with us again. Happy Holidays! x”

-------

This took so long to write lol, I did about 4 drafts before I was happy but it's all good practise I'm getting better and writing more and more with every emotion I do, so I'm happy with the progress i'm making. This one is more of a story though, than an introduction. I wanted instead to show this emotion through interaction rather than explaining what they do like appreciation and reflection. Apathy is more defined by how she acts around her environment, and I wanted to show that through a story. I hope you enjoy it ^^

I might change the original title of Feelings of fall to something else now as it's now winter I might do Earth's emotions or something like that :3

Feel free to check out the rest of this series so far! They all have transparent versions
Appreciation - www.deviantart.com/auragoddess…
Reflection - www.deviantart.com/auragoddess…
Apathy (transparent) - www.deviantart.com/auragoddess…
--------

Apathy design, concept, and description/story is by myself and all original. Do not attempt to steal or claim design and/or artwork as your own. Do not use this design without my permission. It belongs to me; AuraGoddess.

Description

Apathy: A lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern. Like the edge of a cliff that separates the calmness of the earth and the darkness of the seas, Apathy exists in the space between emotions. When nothing else is felt, Apathy reigns free, greying out the world to walk the thin line of hope and pain. Just as the absence of light gives form to shadows, the absence of emotional guidance lends itself to apathy as it wanders through the fabric of the mortal realm. Of course though, a lack of concern can mean a lack of morals, and a lack of interest can bring time to a standstill.

Tiny flakes of white snow drifted peacefully down onto the ground. The plants and trees had all been blanketed in a thick layer of the stuff that had been steadily growing over the cold of the night. Now though, dawn was breaking over the horizon; a mixture of pinks, oranges, and baby blues painted the sky as it rose to greet another day. Most of the mortal realm were still asleep. Even birds hadn’t fully woken up with their chirping yet. There was no one out and about to greet the colours, which was a rather strange occurrence. Birdsong was what usually greeted the sun, and yet the world was eerily silent. No one was watching the beauty of the morning sun, except for one very reclusive girl…

Out the window she stared at the world. Every morning she woke to watch the dawn rise but, unlike most, she found no solace nor happiness in its presence. The sight was exceedingly pretty, and yet it had long lost its glow to her eyes. With each minute that passed the snow would shimmer more and more, along with the flakes that fell gently from the sky, but it all looked grey to her. How long had she been standing there? The crackles of her fireplace had begun to roar louder, one she had only sparked about half an hour earlier. Had it been earlier than that? The clock that hung on her wall had stopped working years ago. She could never find the energy to fix it. To her, time was an unnecessary constraint of the mortal realm anyway. It didn’t matter to her whether it was the middle of the day or the dead of night, she found that it couldn’t look any less interesting to her shadowed eyes.

She was only standing, staring out the frosted window, for lack of anything else to do. It had been a routine for her for the last few years to watch the dawn, something that got her out of bed for the day, even if it was the only thing she could do. Leaving her home was bad. She had learned that long ago. Whether it was because they were scared or whether they were disgusted, no one wanted to know her. No-one talked to her, nor even acknowledged her existence. They seemingly didn’t want to associate with a feeling that fed off of the lack of all others. Not that she had the choice. The other feelings thrived on finding the things they loved, the things they lived for. But instead, shadows of emptiness would find their way to her, slipping through the cracks of her small home and becoming yet another drop of darkness in her head. She couldn’t control it and the very nature of her existence robbed her of the life she watched everyone else having.

She didn’t care though. Not anymore. It had been a long time since she had felt anything a all, at least other than feeling bored. ‘Heartless’. It was what a lot of people called her, their hushed whispers they thought she couldn’t hear from the confines of her small and grey cottage were never ignored, and she knew they meant it quite literally. The hole in her chest, taking a form of a love-heart, showed that inside she really was just a mess. Inside it dripped darkness and nothing else. Strands of pain and apathy were constant reminder that she was lacking the most important thing of all, and it made her very obviously not-human. By human standards it was positively grotesque. Those strands and drips would run through her and eventually fall from the bottom of her dress and onto the ground below. The droplets drained colour wherever they landed, an obvious problem looking at the home she stood in. Years of living with the shadows that fell had rendered most of the inside and outside of her home grey, literally. The fireplace was the only real source of colour in the room, bathing the living room in a warm, orange glow, growing brighter and warmer with every long and arduous minute that passed for her.

Despite the time seemingly slowing to a crawl, light was definitely getting brighter outside the dark cottage as the sun rose over the horizon. It had been a long dawn. She pondered what to do with her time. To stare into the fireplace, or to go and sleep another day away? ‘At least the fireplace is warm’, she thought to herself. But as she was about to turn around to lose herself yet again to the flames that twirled and crackled, a small sound outside caught her attention. Stopping in place, Apathy turned to look at the front door as the sound grew louder, coming towards her house. It was a hum? Upbeat and chirpy it grew louder and louder until it was right outside her door. Frozen, with no idea what to do, Apathy just waited. No one had come to her home in years. Not even Reflection had paid her any visits recently. Whomever it was though continued humming away, clearly none the wiser that Apathy stood just a few feet away.

That tune… she had heard it a few times over the past few years. She assumed it was just a passerby of the human world going about their daily business, but they couldn’t see her cottage. Humans couldn’t see nor interact with any of the homes of the emotions, or spirits of her domain. They existed on a whole other plane of existence and yet this being stood outside her front door, and then, a few small knocks sounded upon it.

She was confused, well.. as confused as she was able to be. Other emotions didn’t care for her, and humans wouldn’t know she was here. The droplets from her dress stopped falling as she focussed on the humming that still continued. Her hands fiddled with themselves in a tell tale sign of anxiety, and her eyes darted around the room looking for an answer she knew wouldn’t be there. Who would knock at her door? She couldn’t bring herself to move. She was stuck and rooted in place. A couple more knocks happened upon the door, carefully kept in beat with the child-like tune that was still being hummed, yet still she couldn’t do it. She didn’t know why. A being incapable of caring and yet she found herself caught completely off guard with this visitor.

A few moments later there was the sound of shuffling in the snow, and the person seemed to be turning around. The hum was broken very briefly, the sound of a small sigh escaping whomever it was before restarting the tune. Not long after, the humming starting going away. It never faltered again but it grew quieter and quieter, disappearing into the distance until once again she was left in silence. She finally took a step towards the door. No one was there now, and she didn’t have to face anyone, but she still remained apprehensive. Building up every ounce of effort she turned the handle to opened up the door.

The cold chill of the outside blew in as the creaky wooden door swung open. Poking her head out quickly she looked around and found nothing, and then she looked to the floor. All that was left was the small, child-size footprints in the snow left behind from whomever the visitor had been, and a small carefully wrapped box that had been left in front of her doorstep. Picking it up, Apathy studied it carefully. It was wrapped up nicely in silver packing paper, with a dainty little pattern depicting snow flakes printed on its surface. Around that was a purple ribbon, ending in a big bow. It matched rather well with the colour of her long and messy hair. A tag sticked out from the bow’s side with the word ‘Apathy’ written solely on it’s front, the writing quite childish and uneven but still easy enough to read. Not the kind of writing you would expect along with a box so precisely wrapped. It was a present?

Looking one last time to her surroundings, she found no indication of whom her visitor was. Confused yet curious about the present she held in her hands she turned and made her way back inside. The cold had made its way in but the fire still remained, and began to warm up the living room once more as soon as she had shut the cold out. Making her way to her greyed out couch that sat in front of the fireplace, she eyed the box more. It shimmered in the glow of the fire, and for a moment she found herself thinking it pretty. Prettier than the dawn. She sat down, beginning to tug at the ribbon, and then when that was off, she unwrapped the paper carefully so as to not ruin its patterns. Inside was just a simple cardboard box, and upon opening that up, she found the gift. It was a headband. Matching the colour and patterns that adored her dress, it sparkled as she turned it in her hands. An intricate, and lightweight, metal carving of a heart with a black, opalescent centre was on its side, sewed and stuck on with so much effort that it looked like it wouldn’t break nor fall off anytime soon. From underneath the design, large black feathers poked out. The entire headband was made so meticulously, with so much effort and craftsmanship she couldn’t help but feel impressed with whomever the maker was. It was the first thing she had actually found beautiful in a very long time. She actually regretted now not opening the door to whomever it was.

But just inside the box, along with the headband, was piece of paper too. A note that had a message upon and also addressed to Apathy. She looked at it, reading carefully the lines over and over again. The words of it sat strangely in her mind, like she couldn’t believe what was written and yet couldn’t get over the first sentence. It filled her with… something. For the first time in a long time she just felt… and she couldn’t even tell what it was. Excitement? No. Happiness? Not quite that, but closer. No, what she felt was something that she had lost long before anything else. It was a sense of… Hope.

Struggling with her messy hair that had prior just ran wild from her head, she managed to wrestle the band into place. It was a snug fit, likely because of the mess itself, but she liked it. It… suited her, She thought while looking in the mirror that hung above the fire. Looking down at the box and the paper that had been lain on her couch, she decided again what to do with her day. She looked back out at the morning sun. She wasn’t ready for the outside, but maybe now she could work on finding the courage on perhaps stepping out for a bit. In the end she decided on going to bed instead. This morning had been heavy; feeling things she hadn’t felt for so long, was exhausting. But before that, she picked up the wrapping paper, and decided to keep it; popping it in a cupboard and saving it as a small momento. As for the note, she decided to place it on the fireplace mantle, but of course not before reading it one last time…

“You matter just as much as everyone else. I know it’s difficult for you, but please don’t be afraid to come out and join everyone sometime. I’d love for you to spend time with us again. Happy Holidays! x”

-------

This took so long to write lol, I did about 4 drafts before I was happy but it's all good practise I'm getting better and writing more and more with every emotion I do, so I'm happy with the progress i'm making. This one is more of a story though, than an introduction. I wanted instead to show this emotion through interaction rather than explaining what they do like appreciation and reflection. Apathy is more defined by how she acts around her environment, and I wanted to show that through a story. I hope you enjoy it ^^

I might change the original title of Feelings of fall to something else now as it's now winter I might do Earth's emotions or something like that :3

Feel free to check out the rest of this series so far! They all have transparent versions
Appreciation - www.deviantart.com/auragoddess…
Reflection - www.deviantart.com/auragoddess…
Apathy (transparent) - www.deviantart.com/auragoddess…
--------

Apathy design, concept, and description/story is by myself and all original. Do not attempt to steal or claim design and/or artwork as your own. Do not use this design without my permission. It belongs to me; AuraGoddess.