shylarah

Enigma: Dawn Of The Rebellion [Sci-fi/Fantasy]

@SleepingSilence @Jewels

Terrence shook his head in response, ignoring what had happened and putting it in the back of his mind for the time being. As he saw Cas get up and leave the restroom. Watching her sit down on his sofa in his living room. “You should still wash the cuts even if they didn't cut through the skin,” he insisted, never taking chances when it came to health, beside his experiments, but now wasn't the time he was thinking about that. Terrence quickly ran to his kitchen which was the room across to soap up a rag, turning on his sink to dampen a rag. He let out a deep sigh as he was listening to what she was saying, coming back with the rag as he looked at her. “I do wish you would've stayed around until he left but I understand why you felt the way you did,” he stated and he smiled at her. “Don't worry dear, you didn't do anything that I can't fix. You’re my friend, your burdens are mine too,” he assured her trying to cheer her up a bit, seeing her troubled.

“I was afraid you’d end up hurt,” the girl replied softly, taking the rag and using seeing to her cuts as an excuse not to meet his gaze. “If he wasn’t your friend, I would have gone somewhere else, and...and if he’d ended up hurt trying to hurt me, I wouldn’t mind so much.” Her breath hissed through her teeth as the soap stung the lacerations on the back of her hands. “But...as things were, I needed somewhere I knew nothing would happen. Somewhere with no shadows.” She glanced at the watching creature. “I didn’t run. I chose my battlefield.”

Terrence did his best to suppress the various opinions and emotions he had, that he didn't want to be expressing, thoughts accumulating in his mind, right now he just wanted to be kind and show sympathy, watching her closely. He had things he wanted to say but he kept them in the back of his mind. “I told Mason, to leave you be. If you have any worries you may hurt someone else. I'd prefer if you'd come to me than inflict any harm, and get yourself in danger,” He spoke up. “I only have your best interest, if it puts you in danger. That's a problem...I know you've said before he won't hurt you, but I'm honestly rather doubtful and you should be questioning if it's really safe,” he continued, referring to the demon, pacing around the center of the living room giving her some space.

Cas’s expression darkened, and she started fussing with the strap of her messenger bag. “I do my best to avoid hurting people, Terry, you know that. If I’m able to escape the situation, that’s what I do. It’s just not always possible.” She gave him a crooked smile, but it took effort. “And I certainly can’t bring all my troubles here, though it’s a nice thought.” Her gaze strayed back to her watching Shadow, and she shook her head. “It’s a menace, I know that. I’d get rid of it if I could, but...well, particularly after today, I think nobody else would be safe near me if I tried.” A haunted, guilty expression flitted across her face. “But it won’t hurt me. It needs me, though I don’t really understand why.” She looked back at the doctor. “I’m not in danger from it, just everyone else.”

“I understand you try your best, but for this semi-symbiotic relationship, I'm concerned this thing is being reckless and endangering your safety. It needs to learn a little self restraint if it doesn't want to be seen as a threat.” Terrence responded seriously as he watched carefully. “If it tries to attack what you and what it shouldn't see as a threat, it's the kind of hostile I'm very uncomfortable with.” He continues expressing concern looking at her. “I'm certain I could get rid of it, but I wouldn't want to risk it in how dangerous my idea currently is but, I may end up having no choice if it keeps acting on seemingly insatiable blood lust,” he thought in his head his eyes shifting away from her briefly, while rubbing the back of his neck. As he curiosity suddenly reminded for all that she had told him about her shadow as she referred to it, he didn't actually know that much about it and after what happened he only wanted to know about it more. “So, what's exactly the full story about your...shadow?” he asked her, forcing himself to speak the last word.

“It’s better than it was,” she protested, though without much conviction. “...I never did tell you how things ended up this way, did I? I told you what I’ve learned, but not how it started.” The girl’s voice turned pensive. “Honestly, the only reason I was okay telling you at all was because you have demons of your own. And if you hadn’t seen it yourself the day you found me, I’m sure you would have thought I was insane. Even I thought so, for a while.” Cas looked down and sighed. “It’s hard to discuss. That’s why I’ve never brought it up. Remembering hurts, even after all these years...but I don’t much believe in keeping secrets from friends, so I really should.” She looked off into space as she focused on the memories she tried so hard not to think about. “It was the week of my eleventh birthday. This group of...I don’t even know who or what they were. They grabbed me and my parents. I had to watch while they killed them, and it wasn’t done quickly. I’m sure they would have done the same to me, but something interfered. I passed out, and when I wake up, everyone else is dead. Torn apart.” Her tone went flat as the girl starting closing up inside, trying to separate herself from events that had left deep mental and emotional scars. “I leave as fast as I can, and find my cousins’ house. When I wake up in the morning two, three days later, they’re dead too. A neighbor I know finds me and gets me out of there, but the next night, when his wife tucks me in and puts out the lights this.../thing/ comes out of the shadows. It slices her open, and I start screaming. I throw my little knife at it, but I’m not sure what I expected to accomplish, especially since I couldn’t use it well at all back then. The thing turns toward me, and it gets in my face, before just vanishing. That was when the hallucinations came for the first time. My neighbor shows up -- he must have been too far away to reach or something, because my Shadow didn’t kill him. He sees what happened, and doesn’t want anything to do with me anymore.

“A group of thieves pick me up several days later, and by then I’ve got no clue what’s real and what’s not, because I’ve been seeing things pretty much constantly. They were really nice kids -- didn’t mind that I was just this side of a raving lunatic, didn’t mind humoring me when I didn’t want them standing too close. They even let me keep a lantern on at night -- until we forgot to make sure it had enough oil to last, and I wake up to chaos and screaming.” The girl covered her face with her hands. “You know what happens after that, more or less. It takes some trial and error to figure out what my Shadow can and can’t do, but the rumors that start spreading help some.” The words came out slightly muffled. “It didn’t occur to me that it was trying to protect me until you told me it dragged you in order to get your help.”

Enigma: Dawn Of The Rebellion [Sci-fi/Fantasy]

@SleepingSilence @Jewels

Cas listened to the Chaos leader head down the fire escape, wanting to wait for him to be all the way gone before heading down herself. Her Shadow's assault upon her senses had not ceased with his departure, and her stomach was telling her in no uncertain terms that it wasn't going to let her keep her lunch down much longer. As a result, she only gave the man a small head start before she too made for the stairs. The girl slipped back in the open window and made a beeline for the bathroom, discarding her bag on the way. She made it just in time, not even bothering to turn on the light. It was fortunate she'd not eaten much, she reflected, feeling oddly detached. It wasn't an unfamiliar sensation, sometimes coming along with anxiety, as if distance would make the situation less nerve-wracking.

Terrence had returned to clean his lab and organize what he left out during repairing Mason, under the assumption both were already long gone. Terrence pondered what he read this morning and what just transpired. Terrence then wondered what he'd do now. He refused his desire to keep on his experiments wanting a mental break even if he knew he had even less time to prepare what he had planned. “I should get back to reading my books, in the next few days I should be able create something potent enough to start what I have in mind,” Terrence thought to himself. Walking out of his lab to grab the book he had left in the kitchen too read it further, but his plan was abruptly interrupted at the sound of the window being opened and hearing someone had returned. Terrence could tell who is was from her fragrance with a whiff of his nose as he went to find where she was, hearing her running through the apartment. Terrence stepped to the front door of the restroom seeing Cas was there, he saw her looking quite tired and rather nervous.

The girl started to turn around, but her attention was caught by the demon that haunted her. Since she'd moved out of the bright sunlight, it had been prowling around in the shadows in restless anger, but now it was regarding the approaching doctor with fierce intensity from near the door of the dim room. It had learned -- Cas thought it had, at least -- that the doctor was a friend, and would never harm her. But the way it had gone from enraged ranting to soft words she couldn't make out was concerning, and the way it was watching him...it worried her. She started to warn him to stay back, but she'd not realized what was going on swiftly enough. Terry stepped into the shadows of the doorway, and the creature rose up from them to leap towards him. "No!" Cas cried, "Stay away!" Lunging desperately for the door, she flung it shut, even though it would hit him as it closed. That was far better than letting her Shadow attack him. Instead, it slammed into the door with a loud thud, and howled at being thwarted as it attempted. The cry rang through the apartment.

The girl moved back to the wall away from the door, so there was no way it would be able to emerge outside the room. She thought that would be the end of it, but she was mistaken. Instead the creature shrieked in fury, slashing the door and splintering the wood where Terry’s face would have been, then tore through the small room, destroying whatever it could reach. The young lady yelped, ducking down and using her arms to protect her face as she heard something smash to pieces on the floor. Though she was fairly certain her Shadow wouldn't deliberately hurt her, even if it didn't come after her directly there was still the danger of flying bits of glass and other debris. It was some time before the crashes and yelling at last subsided, and quiet took their place. Cas lowered her arms and looked around, searching for the glow of her Shadow's eyes. She located them, and was relieved to see that it seemed to have settled down.

“Cas, are you alright? Is something the matter?” Terrence asked softly concerned smiling at her. Although he already knew the answer to that question, being mindful feeling her demon's aura anger figuring it be best to not get any closer. But he noticed it starting to approach with a rather vicious look. He remained undeterred and stood there perhaps too confident that he wouldn't be attacked. Seeing it lunge at him, Terrence had almost changed forms to defend himself from the attack but instead the door slammed into his face, hearing her yelling to stay away. The door hitting his forehead and knocking his glasses of his face, falling onto the floor next to him. Sighing he reached down to pick up his glasses, having the door shake loudly. As he waited there a few steps back still listening intently to the other side of the door and the commotion it was making in the bathroom. He was grateful that he didn't have much stored in there, hearing the mirror shattering. He was hoping that she was doing alright as he almost had half a mind to say something but his better judgment kept him from saying anything to possibly endangering them both. He was patiently waiting there until the figurative storm died down, figuring that what it would look like took place there, listening still as he could barely make out the words coming from the bathroom, hearing Mason's name which made him a little concerned exactly what happened. She seemed mostly out of danger but she was glowing blue for several albeit small cuts on her skin, likely from the scattered glass, but that only made him wonder if Mason was still alright. Letting out a deep breath awaiting for a sign that he might be able to open the door.

"Are you done?" the girl asked the monster, speaking softly.
I’ll slice him from gullet to gut the next time you cage me… The thought hissed into her mind as if it belonged there, the normally pure shafts of light that formed the being’s eyes tainted red for a moment as though emphasizing the blood it had no fear of shedding. She shivered under its gaze, but didn’t look away. “I couldn’t have you going after Mason with him there. You know I don’t like people getting hurt,” Cas responded aloud, though she was doing what she could to keep her words from reaching outside the darkened room. “You’re not the one that has to live with the results when you go after people!”
I watch over us both without rest. You flirt with danger every day. I do what I need to do to get your attention.
“Your choice of methods is awful. You show me terrible things -- and you hurt people that don’t deserve it.”
You place too little value on your life. You would protect others, even at cost to yourself. That is unacceptable.
“I’d rather die than bring harm to an innocent!” she snapped back, angered enough that she didn’t watch her volume as closely as perhaps she should. “I’ve told you what I’ll do if that happens. Don’t test me; I’m not bluffing.” She took a deep breath to steady herself. "Terry?" The girl lifted her voice so it could be heard clearly beyond the dark bathroom. "I think it's safe now...." She was audibly uneasy, but at least she hadn't completely panicked.

Overhearing her seemingly angry words confronting her demon, he didn’t want to respond just yet figuring he’d only cause more conflict. He heard her speak up as he responded. “Yes dear?” as he put his hand on the doorknob and turned it. “Alright, I'm coming in,” he warned as he was preparing himself in case the demon wasn't calmed down, opening the door and seeing the damage, looking down at her. “Are you okay? Careful, there's a lot of glass around you.” Terrence stated sounding sympathetic though he couldn't help but be a little miffed, though not so much because of the damage or caring about his bathroom. The cost for repairs was money, and money was something he needed as much as he could to complete his plans effectively. On the other hand, regardless of what just happened he still was genuinely concerned as he carefully stepped over the glass shards. “Let me give me you a hand,” he offered as he went to pick her up and take her out of the bathroom safely.

“I’m alright, just a couple scratches. I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it would -- it’s never done something like this before.” Cas looked back at the trashed room and winced. “If you need me to help get things fixed, I’ll do what I can.” She was ashamed that she’d caused such trouble. She made her way to where she’d dropped her bag, and picked it up before flopping on the couch and rubbing her forehead with one hand. “I’ve never deliberately put myself in danger like I did today. I mean, I chose the roof specifically because it meant my Shadow wouldn’t be able to get at Mason. He’d already threatened me once, and I didn’t know if he would again. Even if he didn’t follow through, it would be perceived as danger, and...I didn’t want to risk that.” The girl gave a wry smile. “Apparently that’s not an acceptable option.” She sighed, her gray eyes troubled. “I made a proper mess of things, didn’t I?”

Shard Seekers

@Sodium *squees* I like your style~ Also I think you're going to have a fun dynamic, with those two.

Shard Seekers

Val Kyran woke with a start. He sat up and looked around the room he'd purchased for the night, but nothing seemed out of place. It was still the dead of night, so the man turned his thoughts back to the dream that had propelled him back to wakefulness.

He'd started out in darkness, unable to see anything. That was actually a bit unusual, as regular darkness wasn't too much of a hindrance to most of his kind, particularly those who possessed shadow magic, like himself. But the dark where he found himself was completely empty. Something was calling him, urging him forward, and without even meaning to he followed the feeling. Sudden, blinding brightness hit him and Val shielded his eyes. That was where he normally would wake, but this time the dream continued.

He stood on the shore of a vast lake that stretched away before him, reaching beyond the horizon. The midmorning sun reflected off it, dazzlingly bright. The water swirled, and a vortex formed, turning into a tunnel that held a worn stone staircase leading down into the lake. He followed them, looking around at the fish and underwater plants that he could make out through the distortion of the magically formed tunnel. The stairway curved, and eventually he came to a pair of columns covered in glowing runes, set in a mostly vertical wall of rock. A veil of water poured between them, and whatever called him lay somewhere beyond it.

Val was not particularly fond of water. He hesitated before the waterfall, running a hand through his hair. But he couldn't ignore the summons. He stepped through. Around him, the world blurred, and he had the sensation of moving very fast. Then he found himself in a room whose walls were covered in more glowing runes. He could see that the bluish light they shed rippled faintly, and the light seemed to flow through the patterns. Near the far wall was a small pool of water with a pedestal rising from it, and upon the pedestal lay a small crystal. That was what Val sought, he knew at once. A fairy sat beside it, and when she saw him, she pushed off and flew to circle around him.

"You must be the hero I seek," she said, tossing white hair over a tiny shoulder. "Hurry! You need to find the shard of water, and unite it with the others, or the world we love shall surely perish. We are counting on you." A blur of images filled his mind after the fairy spoke, and he fell to his knees, overwhelmed, only to wake up in bed.

He turned the strange dream over in his head. He'd had the first part of it before, several times over the past few weeks. But the lake and the room with the pedestal were new. He wasn't sure how he felt about being a hero. That sort of thing tended to be dangerous, with a high chance of serious injury.

And yet...

The man sighed and rolled over, but sleep did not return for some time. Come morning, he packed his few belongings, and after buying breakfast and some supplies for the road he made his way out of town. It was about time to be moving on anyhow, and towards Impetia Lake was as good a direction as any. He didn't /have/ to take the quest -- he'd not promised anyone, and was free to do something else at any time. Val had a weakness for the promise of adventure, and a keen sense of curiosity, and he couldn't really let it go without at least doing a bit of digging. It was part of the reason the man lived the life of a wandering musician and jack-of-all-trades. And if nothing else, following the mandate of his dream certainly promised to be interesting. For now, he'd see where it lead him.

Shard Seekers

Definitely going with water shard, but I still can't decide between shadow mage, Bard, or fire-wielding songstress. Input is appreciated, even if I don't necessarily decide to go with the suggestion. *rolls over*

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

Very interesting. *wiggles*

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

It took a bit of determined ignorance on the part of Nymira and the others, but Amuné's struggling and loud wails subsided after a while. One of the biggest reasons she quieted was because she was simply worn out, and temper tantrums were draining. Eventually she just rested her head against the Dimuran's shoulder, only bothering to look around once they reached the mayor's home.

That proved to be a mistake. The sight of the shrivelled man made her gasp. She'd never seen anything like that before, and it was awful. When Bernadette confronted Zander about it, she realized it must be a Seal Paper, like Zander had mentioned using earlier. And he said he'd done something to the mayor, hadn't he? She thought she'd heard something like that, though she'd not been paying particular attention at the time. So when the guard accused Zander, she accepted it as the truth. "Why'd he kill the mayor?" she murmured softly to Nymira. The woman had barely managed to answer the question when an agonized scream split the room.

Machina were attacking. They were obviously Machina, though humanoid ones. Amuné had never seen so many in one place -- and she'd never seen any Machina, with the exception of Cecil earlier -- attack someone. This time it was the Machina starting the fight, though, and that made even less sense. The girl whimpered, her hand tightening on a fistful of Nymira's shirt.

Wyth bristled and snarled, but he didn't go to attack. There were people fighting far more effectively than he could. The attackers smelled a lot like the strange boy travelling with his girl, and his paw still ached from when he'd struck the boy's head. He didn't have a good way to take them down, and certainly not with several of them.

A window shattered, and Amuné shrieked as more machines tried to enter the room that way. She blanched when the guard that went to deal with the ones coming in the window was run through, starting to shake. When Nymira tried to give her to Ethan she went willingly, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her face against his shoulder. This day just kept getting worse. She heard another scream -- that sounded like Cecil, and she couldn't keep from looking to make sure he was okay. Despite everything the boy had done back on the ship, she still felt sorry for him when she realized he was frightened by how a couple attacking Machina had just been melted. She knew exactly how he was feeling. "Let me down," she told Ethan, as they waited for everyone else to get out the window. "I can climb and run on my own." She might not be as fast as the adults, but if Ethan was all worn out from carrying her that would make them even slower.

Enigma: Dawn Of The Rebellion [Sci-fi/Fantasy]

@Landaus Five-One All I know is it's about 5000 years since the downfall of humanity. We don't know when that occurred. I'm in favor of the demons coming up with a different year system than the Christian one, because I figure they'd see that as an arbitrary date. Actually, we don't even know if this world has Christianity, since we have proof of multiple gods, so that'd make using the Christian calendar strange to begin with.

Shard Seekers

@antman0623 Ah, alright. If you need to wait a while, go ahead. I was just a little worried because you completely vanished!

Shard Seekers

@antman0623 *pokes*