Leysos

[Leysos] Dragged into the Darkness [IceHeart] - A Modern Fantasy

Saria could tell he was embarrassed, making her feel a little bad. She'd probably try to apologize later, but she just wanted to lighten the mood a little. After his reassurance, she nodded to him and followed close behind.

She did well to soak in all of the sights and heed Joshua's advice. While she didn't get the chance to have an official tour of the campus like most of the other freshmen were smart enough to do, she figured this was much better and more informative than a scheduled tour by a staff member. Student intuition proved to be much more accurate than a staff member's sugar coating, and Saria made sure to express her gratitude whenever Joshua would tell her the places to avoid and the like. Whenever the boy passed by what she assumed were his friends, she couldn't help but shy away from them, but she still at least made sure to wave with a faint smile on her face.

The tour took a little longer than expected as the sun was beginning to go down. Joshua had stopped in front of a fountain, which had Saria slightly confused, but it all made sense when he eased into a question. Crap, so he did notice. Her comfort was quickly plucked away and she looked at the ground away from him, clutching the strap of her bag and fidgeting at the opening of her pants pocket. "So you noticed, huh...?" she sighed. "I thought that was the case..." she remained silent for a bit as she gathered her thoughts, the water crashing in the fountain mixing with the ambient tension that had suddenly arised as the result of his question. What was she even going to say? She didn't want to lie to him; he'd been so kind and she felt he didn't deserve it. Maybe a half-truth was in order... but did she really want to open up to him yet? They'd only just met after all. She could continue struggling with this for hours, but she felt that there was already enough tension in the air.

She shook her head slightly and met his gaze once more, her eyes now reflecting the conflict in her head. "Sorry... It's not something I want to talk about just yet," she explained, then quickly gave him a smile of gratitude. "but talking with you today really helped me out, so... thank you." Ending her day with Joshua on a sour note was something she wanted to avoid at all costs, so she mustered up all the courage she could to thank him sincerely at least once. She wanted to ask him if they could meet again potentially, but she could still feel the tension in the air. She found herself glancing away from him again.

[Leysos] Dragged into the Darkness [IceHeart] - A Modern Fantasy

Saria couldn't help but notice Joshua's little mannerisms; he seemed to be quite forward with her, which made her chuckle happily to herself. Her brother warned her about guys who would possibly try to take advantage of her, but she was just too happy that a boy was talking to her and he didn't seem like the type who would do something like that. Besides, it was still daylight out, so they wouldn't be walking alone in the dark or anything. She figured she'd at least try to get to know him more before deciding to go on the defensive. Still, it'd make for a nice joke.

"You're not trying anything funny, are you?" she teased, then giggled a little after waiting for his reaction. "Just kidding... Yeah, I've never been here before. I wouldn't mind a tour guide, if you're not too busy." Saria was baffled at herself. Normally she'd be a nervous wreck, but most people would be comparable to brick walls. Joshua was more like an open door, which made it easier to open up herself. Did everybody feel this way around him? She silently wondered to herself how many friends the man had, or even if he had a girlfriend yet. She wasn't interested in him like that yet, but still, she would be shocked if he wasn't taken yet.

"I finished moving a little while ago," she reassured him as she shut her laptop and put it into her bag. "Into a solo dorm nonetheless, so I don't have any roommates to meet up with or anything." She rose from her seat and swung the bag over her shoulder, giving him a warm smile. "I should be free for the rest of the day. Also, I don't know what to do with my major either, if it's any consolation to you." She wasn't lying either. Trying to think of what she wanted to do when she was older proved very difficult when she wasn't even sure if she would survive for such a length of time.

[Leysos] Dragged into the Darkness [IceHeart] - A Modern Fantasy

Her long swig was interrupted as a boy greeted him. A boy. ... A boy? She blinked and did a double-take, just to be sure. Nobody usually bothered to greet her, especially not a boy as good-looking as he was. Her heart rose a little, and she suddenly forgot about all that was troubling her. The black-haired girl had to calm herself down, but she couldn't help but give a faint smile out of appreciation. She just silently hoped that it wasn't the tear that brought him to her.

"N-No, it's fine... H-Hey," she audibly muttered while averting his gaze and tripping over her own words. She needed to calm down, but the man really had caught her off guard more than she expected. "Ah, I'm Erin. Nice to meet you," she greeted and looked back at him with her sapphire eyes, finally starting to calm down. She was curious as to why he approached her, but didn't want to ask it outright as she might come across as rude. Instead, she opted for a more simple question to try and get some sort of conversation going.

"So... are you new here, too?" she asked. If so, the two of them could have some common ground to stand on. If not, then maybe she could ask him to show her around a little. She mentally patted herself on the back for what she thought was exceptional social skills, snrk. Although, it might have worked a little too well. If Saria knew that getting close to the boy would make him another target for the purists, she would have pushed him away in a nanosecond.

[Leysos] Dragged into the Darkness [IceHeart] - A Modern Fantasy

Move-in day was a complete pain. While the black-haired girl opted for a solo dorm, the mass influx of freshmen coming in and out with their essentials made it unnecesarily difficult for her to move in her own things. The solo dorms were begrudgingly small, so it wasn't like she could afford to bring much, but carrying a sizeable mattress up some steps with her brother wasn't easy when fifty others were doing the same thing.

It was all over now, though, and Saria was unwinding in the student lounge that connected the dorms for males and females. She'd brought her desktop with her, but there was something oddly satisfying to her when it came to sipping a drink and tapping away at her keyboard in a lounge. It wasn't like she had a roommate either, so being able to scout a fairly-filled lounge for a potential friend was nice. A little on the hopeless side, but nice nonetheless.

She couldn't help but stare at her drink as she remembered her brother's desperate tone when it came to maintaining her facade as Erin. Having to respond to an unfamiliar name had been difficult to her since she grew up as Saria, but she was used to it by now. There was nothing for her brother to worry about. Still... she always felt like she was lying to everyone she met, and it didn't sit well with her. She silently cursed the purists for robbing her of her parents, her magic for showing up at the worst of times, and her parents for refusing to tell her about it for so long. Before she knew it, a tear streamed down her face, but she quickly wiped it away with her sleeve before she thought anybody could see. Maybe being in the lounge was a bad idea, but she disregarded the feeling and sighed before taking another swig of her drink.

[Leysos] Dragged into the Darkness [IceHeart] - A Modern Fantasy

Name: Saria Swann (known as Erin Veith)

Appearance

Age: 20

Personality: Saria's not the best with people, but she tries her best to become friends with others. It hardly ever works out in her favor, though. She feels lonely more often than not, but she's very knowledgeable and can react quickly to most situations. She doesn't work well with others unless they're really close, which rarely happens with people other than family.

Abilities: Saria can completely control the darkness and shadows around her. She can blind enemies by concentrating the amount of darkness around someone, or she can solidify shadows in order to attack (spikes, tendrils, etc). The latter is much more draining, and she experiences crippling headaches and loss of vision when she's forced to overuse her power.

Background: Saria comes from a family of shadow magic users like herself, but her family neglected to tell her about it to maintain secrecy from the purists. She found out about her ability by accident during recess in the 5th grade, however, which caused widespread panic. The following week, her house was targeted by the purists. She only barely managed to escape with the help of her older brother, but her parents were unfortunately killed in the incident. Saria and her brother, both under new names, promptly moved in with her aunt and uncle in an attempt to maintain normality. Her brother taught her how to use her power so she could learn how to control and suppress it properly. Eventually, she graduated high school and was able to make it to college. Whether or not the purists will be able to track her down, though, remains to be seen.

[Leysos] Dragged into the Darkness [IceHeart] - A Modern Fantasy

Dragged Into the Darkness

While ghosts, vampires, and werewolves remain myths, tapping into the world's energy in order to use magic is a largely unknown, yet very real practice. Within the dwindling magical community, there are those who utilize magic for their own personal reasons, but there are also those who believe that the world's energy shouldn't be tampered with. These people formed a group of purists who wish to eradicate all who would use magic for any reason.

This is the story of Saria and Joshua. One a user of shadow magic being targeted by the purists her entire life, and the other a normal boy whose curiosity of Saria thrusts him deep into the quarrels of the magical community.

What Is The Avatar Above Thinking?

"If you're ever sad, remember that Patrick Stewart's twitter picture... is this."

Well. It IS in the picture.

In light of recent events in the US, someone decided to make a flag that could offend everybody at once.

<Snipped quote by Leysos>

Adachi's better.

@TP

Is that all? I expected the Shin Megami Tensei master race. 1/10.

Wait, what would offend the anime audience? Hmmm..... put a picture of Pico on it.

<Snipped quote by Leysos>

Well. Now you learned two things: The Amish use electricity and you can't make The Amish apart of comedy.

@BrobyDDark

You're hired.

In light of recent events in the US, someone decided to make a flag that could offend everybody at once.

<Snipped quote by Leysos>

Wrong. They do have electricity and stuff, but for convenience instead of leisure. You'll find a shitty, cheap phone, but you won't find any video games. You'll find radios, but no television. They use it to keep in touch with the modern world so as to not get completely caught off guard if a disease breaks out or a war starts.

Although, the chances that an Amish person would see that are slim.

@BrobyDDark

Don't worry, I was only stereotyping them for a pathetic attempt at comedic effect.

Of course a person with Shitlord Narukami as their avatar would know about this.

@TP

It's working.

In light of recent events in the US, someone decided to make a flag that could offend everybody at once.

<Snipped quote by Leysos>

It's not about the availability meine freund... it's about the sheer fact that it exists.

@Loud Angry Dead

You do have a point. I'll have to think of something for that.