Character Lounge

[Boog]

Of course fact is stranger than fiction. Fiction is ordered to make sense. With facts things just happen.
"Hey E? Someone says that there's some barriers to be taken care of. And I never said I wouldn't help figure it out; just that I wouldn't do it. Of course I'll help. First off, know anyone good at ferrying souls around? Thoughts and personalities are easy, but for souls it's best to get a specialist." Boogey looked up from the PDA and crossed his arms, thinking. "Anyone come to mind?"

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha watched as Mel checked on the angel girl, curious and yet eager to just find out what was wrong.  Her knuckles were clenched over her sword's hilt, strained and as white as they could appear under her dark fur; a reaction that came to her naturally.  So long as one weapon was easily in reach of her hand, the huntress could compose herself until the time came to act...

After a second, Mel was trembling.  Aisha started to reach out to her, but she didn't need any comfort...the dragon came to and muttered a chain of words that Aisha had to piece together.  "Calm down...what are you saying...?"

Nobody needed to answer Aisha's inquiry.  It was the word "feral" that clicked in her head, and among it, the rest of the words pieced together like the puzzle pieces were there under her feet the whole time.  Her gaze was wide and even just a little scared.  There was a pause of heavy suspense, so heavy and intense that it could be cut with a knife.

Then it was broken by a large metallic SHING as Aisha drew her sword and finally rushed for the elevators, uttering a string of low curses.  "Let's get down there NOW!"

Please let this be just me jumping the gun...and not that this happened again...not again...

[Gareeku]

Looking on as Stygian dodged his attack and began an attack of his own, the transformed wolf snarled menacingly once again as he saw the tentacles close in. When Stygian reappeared beind him, he could sense the darkness behind and, his hands burning violently with a dark flame, slammed them into the ground, creating a cyclone of dark soul energy that easily spanned the width of the alley, causing the ground to shake violently as cracks appared in it as well as the walls on either side, bricks being blown away from the sheer force of the attack.

[Stygian]

The monstrous darkness slammed into Gareeku from all directions, and he could feel teeth and claws digging into his skin, Stygian pushing through the dark storm out of sheer stubbornness. And that was not all they were doing either. As Stygian pinned the wolf against a wall again, he could feel them almost crawling around under it, a horrid chill spreading through his body. Stygian growled as the wolf continued to burn him with that raging energy, but with shadows to draw upon and unleashed in his full fury, he did not doubt that he was more powerful up close. One might have thought that the darkness inside Gareeku might have aided him in dealing with the wolf, but it was furious and senseless much in a way that a caged and rabid beast was. Stygian could see the wolf's problem in dealing with such a thing. He had repressed it so much that he even held back part of himself, it seemed. But the circumstances were entirely to Stygian's own favour. He had made sure of that with what power he had over this simulation.
   Stygian drew on more of his power, passing the point where the pleasure of being darkness mingled dangerously with the pain of reminder...

   Gareeku stood in a dark forest. It was night, and the moon shone down from above, making the blood on his fur glisten with a metallic tone. He held up his hands before him. They were wicked, sharp claws dripping red. The sweet, metallic taste of the blood mingled with the scent of ash and death in the wind. He looked around.
   Around him were strewn the corpses of innumerable men and women, the end to them not visible through the dark under the trees. Everyone he had ever known, everyone he had ever loved, was there. His mother and uncle. James. Paladin. Gabi. Xzelia. Mel. When he turned, he even saw his father, propped up against a tree. Everyone was dead, some of them so mutilated that they were barely recognizable. And in the air there was an unnatural chill. Not just one of cold, but of emptiness too. As if all the magic and life had been drained from the place. That chill...
   He heard footsteps staggering from behind, and turned. Aisha. She was walking against him, her grace and beauty marred by her fear and hesitation. Her fear of him, he realized. He knew he should have felt something at seeing her like that, but he didn't. Curiously, he looked at her.
   "Gareeku?" she almost cried.
   "Yes," he answered vacantly, looking at his hands again. The scent of blood was so sweet. But there was something even sweeter to the air now, to the whole world.
   "Gareeku, please... You have to come with me. You have to stop this!" She stepped closer, her hand on the hilt of her sword. The feeling grew sweeter. He chuckled.
   "I might have, Aisha. Once. But now I've found something else I have to do."
   "Gareeku, please!" she said, raising her sword. The sensation pulsed now, throbbed in the back of his mind, craving attention. "Don't do this!"
   "Heh." He laughed slightly. The next second he had struck the sword out of her hands, and pressed her up against a tree, holding her by the neck.
   "You know, I still love you, Aisha. It's so good then to know that you will stay with me forever." As the panthress cried, wisps of light and smoke started trailing from her and into him. Her eyes grew more glazed by the second.
   "Forever..."

   Gareeku awakened from the nightmare, thrown into a corner of the dark alley. His feral side still burned ever as strong, and it seemed no more than a few seconds could have passed. Yet still, the memory would not go away.
   "Is that all you are? Is that all you can do?" Stygian hissed before him, his dark shape almost at one with the shadows of the buildings surrounding them. His voice was reek with disdain and loathing. "I do not believe so. I will not. But it is what you will end up one day, if you continue on this path. The darkness will grow like a boil inside of you. And as long as it remains untouched, it will stay that way. But some time, sooner or later, that boil will wound and open. And then you won't even have time to wish you never had."

[Aisha deCabre]

The elevator couldn't go down quickly enough.  Had the panther no sense (though from worry she was perilously close), she would have just pried the door open and jumped the rest of the way.  Her eyes were closed, and she was silently muttering to herself...whether it was a mantra for comfort, or a prayer, nobody could be sure, if anyone were there with her.

Soon, the doors opened in their slow and calm way, allowing anyone who wanted in and anyone else out.  Her eyes shot open; a millisecond her feet followed and she dashed out of there with no other focus but the path ahead.  There were a few people still on this level walking around, and no doubt she got a few strange glances, but nothing mattered to her...nothing but to make sure that her hunch was either wrong or right...

There was another wrench in her gut.  This one almost threatened to make her fall over...though a felid's balance wasn't easily challenged.  Her grip only tightened on the hilt.  Eyes narrowed to pierce the darkness of the alleyway in which she turned with a skid.  A creeping feeling made her heart pound furiously.

Rounding the last corner, her nose caught various scents: refuse...garbage...Stygian and Gareeku...

...Blood...

The panther finally came upon them and stopped cold, mouth agape.  Gareeku was indeed transformed, as per her fear...but that's not what made her stop cold.  It was Stygian, and the hideous monster he had become.  Her mind flashed back to the fight with him.  She grimaced, her face filled with sudden anger, frustration, and fear.

"What do you think you're doing with him, hombre!?" she snarled, her voice cracked and derailed by her emotions...

[Gareeku]

Getting to his feet, the transformed wolf snarled with rage. However, he then quickly fell to his knees, clutching his head as he tried to shake off the vivid nightmare, but all in vain. It was then that, slowly but surely, the magic-composed wings began to dissolve into thin air as his eyes slowly reverted back to their original blue colour. As this was happening, the wolf's face turned from one of a feral rage to one of sadness, then a look of sheer horror and grief.
"Oh god...no...no...no!!....oh god...!" the wolf murmured to himself over and over as he remained there, hunched over on his knees, tears streaming down his face as he stared into space, his body trembling with horror and fear at himself...

[Stygian]

Stygian turned around and eyed Aisha with a stare the coldness of which was beyond describing. Some of his form, mostly the torso and the head, had regained some sort of ashen excuse for skin, still cracked and scarred over the darkness that flowed from him. In the shadows around him she could see other smaller eyes as venomously green as his own, peering at her. His face was human, and yet not, dark openings with green irises for eyes over black fangs and under those devil-like black horns coming out from under silvery hair.
   "I understand now," he said, and turned to look at the wolf. "It wasn't his to begin with, but it is his now. It is him now." His face was unreadable, but those eyes... However they looked, they seemed to hold pity somehow. Then, he turned, and started walking to the opening of the alley, against Aisha. The darkness around him started to recede, the eyes dissappearing pair by pair and the shadows slithering back into him. His skin began growing back, and the horns and tail receding, clothes forming on his body from the dark. When he reached the panthress, he turned to her.
   "I wish that I could show him anything but misery, but I can't," he said, his voice having returned to his normal one. "This was not something he chose, nor even something he was born with. It was simply his fate, and there is nothing for him to find with me before he accepts his darkness, and he never will as far as I can see. I am glad he has you." Stygian looked down on her, his eyes now filled with sadness. "Please talk to him, and then ask him to talk with me when he's ready. I haven't given him a proper apology yet," he said, and then started to walk off back to find the elevator.

[Gareeku]

Still murmuring to himself over and over, Gareeku held his knees to himself as he curled up, leaning against the wall with his side as he continued to stare into space, tears continuing to trickle down his face. No longer was he the seemingly fearless warrior that people, especially Aisha, were used to seeing him as; now he was small and frail; wanting to shut himself away from all civlisation, extremely vulnerable like a terrified child...

[Mel Dragonkitty]

As Mel regained her composure she found herself torn. Sathariel was in need of care but from what she had seen while in contact with Sath things below were even worse. But their earlier experience had shown that the girl couldn't be left alone for even a moment in this city. Mel braced herself and returned to Sathariel. "Sorry kitten. I don't normally do this but I think you need some help."

Mel touched and entered Sathariel's memory. The terror of the last few minutes she simply removed. Then she went further back. The memories of their time in this city were softened. Not removed but smoothed off, the sharp edges of her fear softened so they wouldn't tear at the girl so badly. Then Mel sat back and waited to see if she had done any good.

[Aisha deCabre]

The panther felt like darting to Gareeku's aid as soon as his transformation ceased...desperately, but she couldn't yet...to say the least, the creature that Stygian had been was intimidating, holding her feet in place.  For some odd reason, she couldn't even find the incentive to attack yet...

Aisha still faced Stygian with apprehension, her sword held if only for defense.  She listened to him speak, and the tone of his voice made her hesitant, though her pulse was still coursing with the fight chemicals in her system.  She was hyped...angry...but slowly it was fading as he started towards her.

The panther didn't know what to say back to Stygian...but an eyebrow quirked, her mind trying to dispel the sudden rage and instead trying to comprehend him.  He was...trying to find about about Gareeku...?  Her mind formed the words.  Her mouth almost opened to speak the question.  But her voice was never heard.

So, curious even as to the actions herself, she straightened up and sheathed her sword as he walked on past, though her hand rested on the pommel as her eyes followed his back.  The tone of pity in Stygian's voice echoed in her head.  With narrowed eyes, she turned her head away finally.  Yeah...talk...not a good time now, perhaps...

With a soft sigh, Aisha stepped up towards Gareeku, watching him for a second as he huddled into his fears.  She had seen these kinds of effects in others before, sometimes brought on by herself, and the huntress always treated them with neutrality.  But, looking at the wolf...she couldn't help but have a couple of tears in her eyes at the way he appeared...so afraid, so vulnerable...

Just what happened...?

Then, Aisha dropped onto her knees in front of him and placed her hands on the wolf's shoulders, looking into his eyes and trying to draw him out of whatever space he was looking into.  "Gareeku...I'm here..." she whispered and embraced him softly.

[Gareeku]

Not noticing Aisha approach, he flinched and yelped quietly when he felt her hands rest on his shoulders, slowly lifting his wet eyes to look into hers.
"M-m-monster..." he stammered in a whisper, another tear trickling down his cheek. "I'm...monster..."
As Aisha held him in a gentle embrace, he whimpered softly, before burying his face in her shoulder, sobbing his heart out as it all became too much for him...

[Stygian]

Stygian was almost out of the alley when he heard something he definitely did not want to hear as a start of that conversation. He turned back against them, and looked at the wolf both angrily and worriedly, sparing one last comment.
   "Yes, and does that make you less of a person?" he said angrily. "You're only what you make of yourself. I didn't believe that once, but now I do. Thinking anything else..." He stopped, and then turned, pacing off.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel knelt on the ground watching Sathariel and tried to be patient. Except that she now had her own form and magic she was once again abandoned in a strange city and gathering a crowd. "Filming a movie folks, would you mind getting out of the shot. Thanks a lot. See the film when it comes out," she smiled and waved at the group, disbursing the latest bunch. The Admiral and the bunny-girl had wandered off so now it was just her and the shocky kitten. She put an arm around the girl. Her shaking seemed to be slowing a bit, hopefully that meant she was coming around.

Mel dropped the illusion of their former human looks back over them hoping to keep from drawing another crowd as they waited. Just two girls waiting for someone. Mel wondered if she ought to tweak her illusion a little but no one else seemed to get as freaked out as Stygian by her looks. Must have been that awful outfit she picked up down in the slums. Her illusion was now wearing a neat and fitted outfit much like what Aisha had on except in shades of grey. She didn't want anyone to think they were dangerous like the people from the slums and move them along. Staying near the car seemed like the best idea.

[Joat]

*OOC: May wandered off? Well, I suppose that is a good explanation of why she had done nothing in the past few moments. I like it.*

Meanwhile, May has cast “Prolong Form”, which maintains her human form. “If I were to go back to bunny form, I’d get a LOT of stares.”

She then wanders just a little way away and sees a young man walking around. “Stupid supposed friends won’t even let me go to the concert with them. I want music, for crying out loud,” the young man thinks aloud.

May shrugs. “Why not? I have a bit of time.” She takes a deep breath and begins to sing.

“We sit here beneath the stars
Though I have no idea where you are
Staring up at the twinkling sky
Will we ourselves ever fly so high…”

The young man hears May and stops walking. She is also getting a few stares from other people. May, who tends to have her eyes closed when singing, doesn’t notice.

“We’ve been friends for quite some time
But there’s still so much that you hide
I’ve opened up my door for you
You’ve tightened you locks and hid the key…”

*OOC: Don’t hurt me, Dan Shive!*

[Aisha deCabre]

Not helping, Aisha thought with slight annoyance upon hearing Stygian's last comments.  She knew that he was trying in his own way...but a mental punch was one of the last things Gareeku needed at that moment.

She held her gentle emrace steady and warm, allowing him to cry upon her shoulder.  Her hand brushed through his hair softly; and the panther only wanted to cry herself at his tear-ridden statement.  He had been distraught about this before...but as far as she could remember, not to this level.

"Ssh...no, you're not..." she admonished back in a whisper, her cheek nuzzling his.  Determined to bring him out of this realm of thought, Aisha dove with surprising ease into the comforting role she was to him as a fellow adventurer...friend...lover.

"You're not a monster...believe me.  I should know...I've fought monsters; we both have...I know one when I see it.  But you know what I see when I look at you?"  The panther's voice held its gentle tone while holding him close.  "I see courage and strength...kindness and selflessness.  Mi amor, from what I have seen, you get yourself hurt on a regular basis and save more than enough lives to atone for any that are lost."

With a smile, Aisha leaned her forehead upon Gareeku's, looking into his soft azure eyes closely.  "That is you, Gareeku Manoko, and I dare you to tell me you're a monster now."  Her eyes started to close, a tear of her own finally released to stream down her cheek.  "I only wish I knew what happened to scare you so badly."

[Stygian]

Sathariel seemed to have calmed, but she was still sitting and holding her knees with a vacant stare that did not seem to fix on anything. A group of young people, obviously on the way from or to some party, passed them by, and a few of the young men gave them interested looks, but didn't stop, perhaps on account of the way they seemed a bit upset. Or maybe it was the car they were standing by.
   "He's lying again. And he's angry," Sathariel said, her voice muffled by her arms. "The wolf is crying too."

   The slow ascent of the elevator was something Stygian really didn't need to bother with. He could have just stepped into the shadows underneath the edge of the buildings that supported the platform above, but he wanted time to think, so the smooth movement up and the view felt nice. And it was about the only thing that did right then.
   He hadn't bothered to light up again, simply because he would barely have felt the taste of the cigar even if he had wanted to. He had wounded the body he had taken badly by letting his power out in the first place, and the wolf's attack had burned off nearly all of what was left. Small trails of ash drifted off him, crumbling and falling to his feet. He lifted a hand, and looked at it. Small lines crossed the parched, greyish skin, which threatened to crack at any moment. It was just as well that he leave it behind.
   Monster...
   When Stygian stepped out of the elevator at the top floor, there was a large pile of ash left inside. The last thin streams of grey he dusted off and let fall to the ground when he stepped outside the lounge, and then made his way over to the girls and Karl.

[Joat]

“Open the door! Let me inside!
Can’t you see there’s no need to hide!
You’re here for me. Let me be there for you
Don’t leave me shut outside!”

Some passerbies are beginning to form a small group around May, listening to her song. Still with her eyes close, May doesn’t notice.

“I come to you with my hopes and fears
You listen, however strange they are
You’re always there to give a hand
But never keen to take one back.

[e_voyager]

Of course fact is stranger than fiction. Fiction is ordered to make sense. With facts things just happen.
"Hey E? Someone says that there's some barriers to be taken care of. And I never said I wouldn't help figure it out; just that I wouldn't do it. Of course I'll help. First off, know anyone good at ferrying souls around? Thoughts and personalities are easy, but for souls it's best to get a specialist." Boogey looked up from the PDA and crossed his arms, thinking. "Anyone come to mind?"

E concentrates but all he but the only people he can remember may or may not be real. He probes harder only to fine and image form arson 20 years ago when he first enters this area. It is the Image of a green rabbit in a brown shroud and a scythe that's looks like a blade on a twig. " sorry but this is the only one I can remember. " E says as he beings the memory image forward in the form a snapshot projection. "I don't know his name but maybe we can find him again" Eric how ever has server imagers that appear in his hand on of with is a holocard that shows a classic human death and is replaces it with the image of a man in his 20's " this is Xane he lives a ways away but I'm sure he would help us. He has both the power and experience to do so." E looks at Boogey. "Do you know of anyone that can help us?"

( OOC Sorry but babysitting has kept me very busy lately)

[Boog]

At the sight of the green rabbit, Boogey's eyes widen and he makes chopping motions with his hands.
"Ix-nay. IX-NAY! I thought that guy was a myth! Then again, that hasn't stopped any other mythological figures I've met. Beside the point. Either way, he tends to keep bad company. Do you really want to deal with angels after a day like today? I hear that the real deal can be pretty nasty."
Looking at the image Eric brought up, Boogey held out his hand for the holocard and scrutinized the image. "Xane, huh? Would you say he has any affiliations that could influence his behavior? I personally find that it's better to have an impartial individual transporting souls than someone religiously or morally motivated," Boogey handed the holocard back, "As for myself, I know a few other thought-entities that have aspects of mortality or the grim reaper strongly incorperated, but none of the trustworthy ones would be residing in a universe like this. This place has kind of a bad reputation. There might be a few hanging out in your head if you've done the travelling you say you have, but getting them to get off their metaphorical asses and help would be like finding a needle in a haystack, and then dragging it out when it's glued to the bottem of the haystack."

[Joat]

*OOC: Wow, I was thinking she might be interrupted or something, but it looks like May will have enough time to actually finish the song.*

“We’re driving down a one way road
I’d favor a path that gave us two
We might collide, but that’s okay
Wouldn’t have it any other way”

The gathering is forming into a crowd. Again, May does not notice.

“Open the door! Let me inside!
Can’t you see there’s no need to hide!
You’re here for me. Let me be there for you
Don’t leave me shut outside!”

[e_voyager]

Eric explained "aside form being the grim reaper of his Earth Xane is also a mortal man. he is currently in his 60's and has stood against and defeated the apex of evil. he is neutral by nature and has spent about 40 years as the reaper of souls ever since he killed his predecessor. it's kind of like Pan is dead long live pan kind of thing. i'm sure he can help us abut once he removed me and Starlight this would get complicated."

[Boog]

"Complicated how?" Boogey raised an eyebrow.

[Stygian]

  "It's merry go round
   you can never get off
   it's merry go round
   it will never stop..."

   Stygian sang to himself after having watched May a bit. His eyes turned to Mel, again studying that face that was so similar to the one etched in his memory. For a few moments he stood like that. Then he recollected himself, and thought about what he had just been singing.
   I guess that it really is time to get off. I'll give Aisha and Gareeku a bit more time, and then... He put his hand into his pocket, and then turned a whiter shade of pale.
   The controller was torn apart right in the middle, wiring and metal broken and torn off. Some of them must have fallen out in the alley below too.
   Fuck. I never should have opened my mouth...

[e_voyager]

"We're talking and entirely different reality with it's own afterlife. it's own versions of heaven and hell. even if we  he  simply extracts us we would be drawn toward one of the poles of good and evil unless we visited him in his home in purgatory. and then we would have to leave purgatory strain for this reality and E lacks the experience and skills to do so. his travel has been random at best." said Eric. " in my own defense i have simply been exploring not looking for anywhere special" "Do you think you can master the skill in a few minutes?" E looked cringed. " No but maybe i wouldn't have too" Eric shook his head.  still Xane was sounding like their best choice. "either way the travel has to be physical. E physically has to go there for Xane to help us."

[Joat]

“Just open the door and let me inside!
There’s no lock that can keep me outside!
You’re here for me, but it’s not enough
I care too much for your silence to work!

Lying here beneath twinkling stars
I’m still wondering where you are
In the end, we’ll always be friends
But it’s up to you whether we will fly

After a short pause, the crowd that has gathered around May bursts into applause. May opens her eyes and looks quite surprised at what she sees. “Wow, I knew I was good, but I didn’t think I was THIS good.”

[e_voyager]

( ooc . say Boogey this little side quest is getting a bit involved.  wold you like to end it quickly and return to the main Rp)

[Gareeku]

((damn it, i'll post up a bit later >.<))

[KarlOmega1]

*Karl notices the look on Stygian*

Karl: What's wrong? *looks at Styg's hand in pocket* Did you lose it, or...oh heck no! It's broke, isn't it?

[Joat]

“You just have to be the center of attention, don’t you?”

“Do I really need to answer that one?” May whispers in response.

[Gareeku]

Listening to Aisha's words of comfort, Gareeku returned the embrace, holding her tight as he began to cease his sobbing.
"I was in some sort of forest...you were all dead..." the wolf began, looking into her eyes. "My mother...my uncle...even my father...and then...I killed you..."
He had always known of the possibility that he could bring harm to those he cared for, but seeing it so vividly...so real...seeing their bodies, seeing the fear on Aisha's eyes as he mercilessly killed the one he loved...looking her eyes, Gareeku's were filled with fear for her.

"Aisha, if anything ever happened to you..." the wolf began, wiping the tear from her face before shutting his eyes at the thought of him harming her, trying to shake it from his mind. "...you don't deserve someone like me..."