shylarah

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

@Mogtaki Ooh, grats to your sister~ Yeah, that definitely takes precedence. ^.^ Oh, and Amune is clinging to Cecil still, unless he's pushed her away. Even if she's hindering his ability to fight.

Fire and Ice: The Ghoul Wars

Jareth felt his face heat as the gorgeous woman slid her arm around his. It was impossible to catch his breath with her so close, and his heart felt like it might burst right out of his chest. Gods, but he was hopelessly lost. It took a massive wrench to pull his attention away from Lya, and it was with a belated protest that he saw the mass of machinery hit the wall. The young man wanted to go to it, see if any of the components might be recovered, but he couldn't bring himself to pull away. It was a few moments more before he managed to notice Victor with his artificial eye, and the holoscreen. Questions bubbled up inside him, but he was unable to turn them into words. Curse it, he was probably gawping like a fish. Another flush, this one ashamed, reddened his face. Why did a crush have to render him so totally useless?!

---

Amuné listened to the explanation of symbiosis, but shook her head. "The idea of my thoughts and wishes being identical to another's, even if they shared a part of myself is...not one that sits well with me," she admitted slowly. "The thought of not wishing them to be is even worse. If you are truly of one mind and of one body, I do not understand how you are still separate people. If you are separate people, then even if both influence the outcome, there should be a difference." She paused, considering. "I seem to sense a difference of some sort, but...I don't know. Perhaps this is simply something I have yet to comprehend."

His laughter was surprising, and his words stirred anger in her heart. The woman's eyes narrowed, her jaw clenched. Serving an angel of death...interesting, yes. But that was a separate issue. "Perhaps saying they do not exist is inaccurate," the Seer allowed. "They are merely concepts, words to describe a thing. But I would argue that the concept is inaccurate, compared to what is being described. Divinity, an absolute right and wrong, unchanged and unwavering: these are the things I question. The Christian concept I reject completely. The beliefs of religions with pantheons, perhaps those I might accept, but I will not worship, nor give unquestioning obedience. 'God' is merely a statement of power." Amuné focused again on the demon, no longer so evident, and addressed him. "Power beyond comprehension no more makes someone right than it does at the level of humans. I don't think it possible to be right beyond question; if someone was, it would take self-determination from others, and I feel that would itself be wrong. A different level of ability, a different kind of morality perhaps. Even the concept of death, the afterlife, and heaven: if I still have awareness, why would I call that death? If I do not, how could I consider that life? And if no one suffers, either they have lost the ability, or others are restricted; I could not accept that as a utopia. Not caring that there is no choice is worse than having no choice." One hand curled into a fist on her knee. "Any existing god is flawed and imperfect; angels and demons are no more absolute good and absolute evil than anyone else. Predisposed, perhaps, but that is true of all things. Truth is merely perception, and reality itself is mutable and flawed. My criteria for holiness most likely cannot be met, and so I say gods are not real. I will use the word to be understood, but nothing further."

---

Cera was not expecting an attack, but while Orion was beyond swift, she was not precisely slow by normal standards. Nails dug into his hand and wrist as he shoved her up against the wall, snarling. She'd liked him -- she'd thought he was pretty okay. Where had this come from?

Concern for her, apparently. The hug so soon after the grab startled her, but the vampire returned it, squeezing him tightly before letting her grip loosen. "Sure, I can do that," she said, trying not to get too hopeful. Then again, she'd never seen a problem with mixing business and pleasure. "But you know, Orion, I'm not going to stop having a life just because someone nasty came through." She used his name to make sure he realized she was serious. "There's no point in being around if I have to stay holed up all the time. C'mon, my truck's across the street."

Her duplex was pretty nice, a comfortable size for a single woman who might throw a party now and then, but she'd had years to make it her own. The furniture was the eclectic mix of someone who'd lived a long time, and the pictures on the walls showed an interesting aesthetic sense, with classic reproductions and modern abstract art mixing with Edward Hopper's Nighthawks and a couple framed copies of Norman Rockwell's work. "Have yourself a seat, cutie," she said, waving at the couch as she went to put her purse in another room. When she came back she settled next to him. "So okay, the Royals, that'd be Queenie's top dogs. Wolf, and whoever else. I haven't turned up anything new, but I'm keeping an ear out."

@TheMinorFall

Fire and Ice: The Ghoul Wars

Also I dun wanna but I really gotta go to bed now. But I'll be able to reply again as soon as I wake up tomorrow~ *snugs* Nini~

Fire and Ice: The Ghoul Wars

@TheMinorFall gonna hold off on Seeing anything, actually, so we can have a bit more conversation first. At least, I'm guessing you're showing Kabuto because Amuné might See it, since no one else seems to be around there right now. ^.^;;

Fire and Ice: The Ghoul Wars

"Ah, well...that makes more sense, I guess." Jareth made to follow Valkyrie, interested in watching what she was going to do, but a nudge at his side made him jump. "Ah! Oh, hey Lya." He'd totally forgotten she was there! Ashamed, his cheeks turned red. "And what's wrong with being a grease monkey, eh? It's not like being a circuit monkey is any harder." Still, he was more than happy to follow her just about anywhere. "See you later, um...." He realized to his chagrin that he didn't know the mechanic's name. And she was immersed in her work anyhow. He hurried to catch up to Lya. "Hey, what was her name? I don't think she said."

---

The blue flames that clung to Tsitua flared brighter, and she realized that they were actually visible now, instead of only in her mind's eye. Power poured off of him, enough that she winced before adjusting. She'd never encountered anything like him before -- well, save that one time, but it had been a reality that might have been, or the lingering effects of insanity twisting her perception. As the man of fire leaned closer, she thought she could feel the heat spreading from him. "So you stay with him and just...what, watch?" Her brows drew together. That sounded awful. Able to see, yet bound to another's wishes. The demon didn't seem upset by it, but she couldn't hide her shiver, nor the shift in her magic as she automatically started to defend herself simply because she'd thought of it. A moment later and it was gone, smoothed away. "How...how did he end up broken? What happens to you when he is once again whole?" Another thought sprang to her mind, something she'd not really noticed at the time. "Oh...and what does it mean, that you serve death?"

---

"She's off today, but I can totally text her for you. Just a tic." Bart pulled out a cell phone and turned it on, quickly sending off a message. "Royals...ugh, you don't mean that group with the nutcase, do you? I heard he'd as soon rip you to shreds as look at you." A ping announced Cera's reply. "She'll be here in two shakes, and if you two are gonna talk business, I should scoot. ...May have skipped out on the clock, I was pretty stoked to meet you properly." The ghoul smiled, ducking his head. "It was nice talking, Orion. Thanks so much for the mask. Come by again, yeah?" With that, Bart put his phone away. His kagune snaked out from under his shirt and shot up to wrap around the balcony railing, and he used it to pull himself upward and back over, and moments later he'd vanished inside again.

Cera was more than merely two shakes, but twenty minutes later she rounded the corner of the building. "Hey, cutie, heard you were looking for me~" The vampire favored him with a wide grin. She had her shades on, and possibly some minor magic to hide her nature, for her fangs didn't seem as sharp as usual. "So the prey bit back, and now you want to talk teaming up, huh? I'm game, but not here. Got somewhere better? If not, the road is as good as anywhere else, and you could see some of the area while you're at it."

@TheMinorFall

Fire and Ice: The Ghoul Wars

@TheMinorFall Chakra supports that, I thought? Whatever, going with it~!

Fire and Ice: The Ghoul Wars

@JackInTheBox ACK! *hides*

@TheMinorFall hey, would the room block out any outside influences that might trigger visions as well?

Fire and Ice: The Ghoul Wars

@TheMinorFall Indeed!

Fire and Ice: The Ghoul Wars

@TheMinorFall FYI, it's Jack's birthday today~

Fire and Ice: The Ghoul Wars

"Atoms aren't held together by chakra, they're held together by the strong nuclear force. That is what creates energy in nuclear fission and fusion," Jareth grumbled. "The standard model doesn't cover everything, but claiming that people can fission atoms at will is rather bogus. If we could, we wouldn't need power plants." He gave one of the wheels a gentle spin. "Alternating charges...so like the accelerators at CERN and Fermi, but for a wheel..." he mumbled, thinking. "Y'know, Amuné and I got into a discussion of how magic works. She says it's an extra layer on things. I think it's just another type of energy, carried by bosons that stardard physics isn't able to detect yet. And that would mean that, based on what you said, atoms can carry a charge in addition to the strong force -- and it's /that/ you're using. Maybe even converting it, somehow, if you're really effecting fission, though I do wonder what you're doing with the waste products. Say, couldn't you set up some sort of shielding? Then you'd only have to worry about metals underneath -- though there's pipes and girders and stuff in a lot of roads and bridges. Mmm...if you had a way of containing and directing it, maybe. I dunno if that's something you guys have figured out how to do." He tapped the magholds in the seat, watching the way they moved. "Of course, if the parts aren't actually attached, you're going to have a problem if anything exerts a stronger force than the magholds do...."

---

The Seer refrained from commenting on how much she believed anyone wouldn't harm her. She'd said she'd try to trust, and she'd meant it. Tsitua told her to focus only on them, so she drew her senses inward until they centered on the man before her. But she didn't look too closely, for if she did she'd risk opening the door to visions, and that wasn't the idea for the moment. Especially the way she kept trying to catch hold of things, with so little around. The ship was too quiet. It felt sparse, and beyond there was nothing as far as a thought might fly. "'Us'...two distinct entities?" she asked, considering the odd nature that had puzzled her since she'd first seen it. "How does that even work?"

---

"I know -- I work here, don't I? But being wrong doesn't make what you've pulled off any less awesome. Besides, the CCG, they're worse." Bart look shocked when Orion introduced himself. "Orion, huh? It's...it really is an honor. I'm Bart. I'd heard you dropped off the grid after you split from that one group, but I knew they'd not gotten the best of you." The man smiled, rubbing his dark hair and messing it up in the process. "Cera said something about tracking, but she was skimpy on the details. So why'd you come by? Anything I can do?" The thought of being of use to someone he admired made Bart's eyes shine.

@TheMinorFall