[IC] Fire and Ice: The Ghoul Wars

[TheMinorFall]

@shylarah"You misunderstand," Tsitua said to her as he took grip of one of the handholds, "Angels, Demons, God, these are all simple words we use so that you understand the gravity of what we are talking about. The entity known as "God" is simply the source of all energy, including space and time. This 'God' whatever it is, is the origin of all things. The. Big Bang, for example. It's an ultraplanar force or entity that we can't define or begin to understand. Mouse was generalizing the human race as a whole, not specifying you. Please, we don't have time to start dividing now. Just roll with this, it is pertenant knowledge. We are an autonomous team, assigned to police angelic and demonic activity. Sometimes Angels get overzealous and cause turmoil for us physical beings, other times demons get riled up and cause havoc. Ever heard of the dark ages? Angels and demons caused that, Death himself had to send his reapers to clean up the mess. The Roman Empire, the two world wars, the Cold War, terrorist organizations in the Middle East and across the globe. All the result of demonic activity. We resolved them all. Now the demon Kabuto wants to get his hands on you, and I can only speculate as to what he intends to do with you. So if you've accepted my deal, then we can tell you what we know." He looked to Lya, who was checking a pistol discretely. She nodded and looked into space as of concentrating on something. After that the train began to move forward.

The civilians faded from view, a magic projection for social camouflage.

Tsitua continued, "First, out secure location is best described as secluded because it's currently in a wide orbit of your planet, using the shadow of the moon as cover to avoid detection by human governments. We've let your supernatural leaders know of our presence. They've been briefed. We will be heading to a secret subway station only accessible by those of use with the mark. I am acting as this whole group's escort. From there we will be teleported to the ship by this city's mate guild. Is that clear?" He let her respond before continuing.

"Most importantly you need to forget anything you know about religion or science, or even Magic for that matter. Be a sponge. If we are telling you something that contradicts what you know, it's likely just a different perspective of the same thing. As far as religion, it is a farce, but do not be mistaken, angels and demons exist. Call them puffballs and bunny rabbits for all I care, but they are here and both sides are equally dangerous. Right now, demons are your main concern. There are many kinds and not all are bad or good, but hopefully we can protect you from the bad ones without causing too much damage to this planet." He let that settle before adding one more thing. "Thirdly, and this is a little unrelated, but important all the same, Do NOT stare at Marcus. It makes him uneasy, and you don't want him to be uneasy. I'm talking to you, human boy." He pointed at Jareth.

As he finished, they came to their destination and the doors slid open. "Any questions? Last chance to roll the dice on your life and the lives of all humans on this planet for the next thousand years by bailing out of distrust."

[shylarah]

When the people faded, the Seer’s eyes widened. That explained why they felt empty: illusions. Jareth looked confused. “Holograms?” he asked. He was close enough that she didn’t correct him. The news of a space station was a surprise as well. Jareth lit up at the idea, while Amuné turned thoughtful. She’d seen stars, countless stars, more even than were visible from the clearest sky in the remotest corner of the earth.

Amuné pursed her lips. There was a lot she wanted to say. A lot. His tone in general rubbed her the wrong way, even though she knew he had valid points. But there were also a number of things she disagreed with. If something truly contradicted something else, almost always one of the two things was wrong. There were exceptions, but they were beyond rare. The trick was to know that many truths were not actually true, merely perceptions of it. “It’s reassuring to know that the human race isn’t as hopeless as I thought,” she said at last. “If all the major conflicts are a result of meddling, well, that means there’s far more good in them than I believed.”

Jareth was shaken at the thought of all his science being wrong. It wasn’t wrong, that wasn’t how science /worked/. There might be a new model, but the idea was the same. And yet...he was going to be going to space! Who knew what kind of tech he’d get to see? His fingers itched just at the thought. The young man’s focus returned abruptly when he was addressed directly. “Um. Don’t stare, don’t make him uneasy. Right, got it. ...Who’s Marcus?”

“I shall ask as things occur to me, but at the moment, no. Nothing comes to mind.” Amuné got to her feet and retrieved her luggage. “Making a choice is always rolling the dice, Tsitua. You are every bit as much a gamble as going it on my own. It is merely a matter of better odds. Not even Seers know everything that will happen. Things are gained or lost at a moment’s notice. ...I would think you, of all people, should know that.” Her final words came from somewhere deeper, though whether they had their source in something that had actually happened was debatable.

@TheMinorFall

[TheMinorFall]

@shylarahTsitua huffed through his nostrils, but didn't react to her comment in any other way. To the boy he answered, "You'll know when you see him." He led the entire group out of the train car and onto an old, abandoned-looking platform. It was dusty and dirty and dark. "The human race has never been hopeless. Since day one demons have been making a fuss around here. Our job is to make sure it doesn't get out of control." As he said that, people that were cloaked and shadowed stepped out from the darkness. There were five of them, and they convened in a circle in the center of the platform.

They began to chant in unison an incantation that caused a pentagram to form on the concrete floor. The black symbol soon began to glow an eerie green as more symbols and runes formed as part of the circle. When the circle was complete, a mark burned itself into, or rather out of, Tsitua's forehead and the backs of his hands. It was a circled, quartered "z" surrounded by markings of both angelic and demonic language.

"Vassal of Death, step forward." One of the cloaked figures said. Humans and their ceremonies.. Tsitua thought to himself. He looked at Lya and rolled his eyes. She gave him a playful slap on the rear as she laughed silently to herself. He stepped up and let the man bless him or something. There was some hand waving and incantation before they allowed him to step into the circle. The green glow became small, green flames as his own chakras activated the magic runes. "Now you may all pass through the circle and be transported." The same cloaked figure said.

[shylarah]

Jareth watched the mages work with wide-eyed interest. It served to keep his gaze off the gorgeous woman next to Tsitua. He’d been hard-pressed not to gape at her when she stepped on the train, but he doubted a bombshell like her would even notice someone like him, and it wasn’t like he was going to be staying more than a couple days anyhow. The magic was interesting, at least. He’d seen a few minor spells, hanging out as he did with Amuné, but nothing like this.

It was the symbols on Tsitua’s skin that held the younger student’s attention. Opposing but balanced, each needing the other half. Much like Tsitua himself. Odd that they called him a Vassal (did you mean vessel? I can’t be entirely sure) of Death, and she might ask why later. The magic seemed needlessly ritualized, but Amuné didn’t comment. When told they could come forward, she started right away, but her friend hung back, uncertain. “Cold feet?” she asked him, amused. Her variety of magic was not very obvious, and he’d never been around any of the flashier mages. “C’mon, I’m sure it’ll be fine.” The young woman offered her hand and then together they strode into the mages' gateway.

@TheMinorFall

[TheMinorFall]

@shylarahWith a flash of light and a chill up the spine, they were ported into the hangar bay of Tsitua's ship. There were personnel skiffs, a few cars, and one motorcycle that Valkyrie was working on. Valkyrie was of a similar build to Lya but taller by a few inches with golden yellow hair that was almost too curly to deal with. She had it all pulled back into a poofy ponytail to keep the molten metal kicking off her welder from getting in it. She paused to lift her mask and look over at the group. "Hey what's with the Blood Demon in my hangar?!" She shouted across the room. Ziik smirked.

"It's temporary." Tsitua said back. "Lya, you take Amuné and her friend to medical. Get them checked out for corruption or chakra trauma. I want a full blood panel and diagnostic. Everyone else with me." With that he led his group down a passage way.

Lya turned to Amuné and the boy. "Don't worry, this is routine stuff. We just need to test your blood for bad stuff and your blood type and stuff just in case anything should happen to you. We don't expect it to, but Tsitua doesn't like to take chances." She said with a generally cheerful air. She smiled extra for the boy. He was cute in an innocent, intelligent kind of way, and she could tell he was trying not to gawk. She bite her lip slightly in an apparent yet subtle flirt and led the way toward the med bay.

[shylarah]

((Is Lya still a princess? I see she’s not still first mate, at least. Also no Shiva, or is she elsewhere?))

Jareth shuddered when they arrived. “Man, that felt weird,” he murmured, looking around. The sight of someone with a blowtorch intrigued him. What was she working on? Could he take a look? No, better leave that until later. The girl beside him turned in place to take in their new surroundings. It felt open, for the most part, but if she was being honest with herself, the idea of being on a space station with /no/ escape routes bothered her considerably.

She was not enthused about being tested. The young woman was fairly certain she’d be able to tell if there was an untoward influence on herself, at least, and she knew her blood type, but she nodded without protest. But the young man grimaced. “Ugh, I hate needles,” he complained. “Do I really have to?” The beautiful woman’s smile did a lot to make him feel better about it, though.

@TheMinorFall

[TheMinorFall]

@shylarahThey came to an infirmary with a small area where some one seemed to have been living. It was a corner with a cot and a nightstand. Lya pulled a makeshift curtain and changed out of her tactical gear and into a tank top and leggings. She threw on her lab coat and stepped out from behind the curtain. "Don't worry, tough guy, I'll make it as fast and painless as I can." She said, taking his hand and guiding him to a chair.

****

Orion waited outside the building and its dampening field. He didn't like being warded, especially without knowing why. He decided waiting outside for Cera was the safest option.

There was a scent in the air, like something bad was brewing to happen. He didn't like that either. Wolf had to be found and muzzled before he could make whatever his next move was. He checked his neural clock for local time. Fifteen minutes past. He hoped she wasn't standing him up. She had seemed nice.

Nice? Ha! As if you deserve "nice" a voice said. It was Aurian's voice again. Orion popped a finger.

"She'll be down here soon. She's just wrapping up her work." He said to himself.

[shylarah]

“Well...Alright. Let’s get it over with.” Jareth sat down, nearly tripping over his own feet on the way, and rolled up his sleeve for her. He’d not wanted to let go of her hand, but managed to do so all the same. Amuné waited quietly. The Seer had carefully noted the path, and the various other turns along the way, and now was looking around the infirmary. She’d been afraid of such places once, many years ago. Even now they reminded her of things she’d rather not think of. She’d been a child then, just a child, but that hadn’t made any difference.

The young woman drew herself out of those thoughts with a mental shake. Jareth had fallen hard for the other lady, she could tell. He had that look, and he was being awkward as only a pretty girl made him. Amuné turned away to hide a smile.

---

EARLIER

Cera had sent him outside while she did a few final things at the end of her shift. When she emerged from the restaurant, she flashed him a smile. “Sorry for the wait. You ready? My ride’s around the corner.” She took the stairs in twos, putting on her sunglasses before she was out from under the overhang. The vampire lead the way to a parking lot with a handful of cars, more now that the restaurant was starting to get busy, and opened the door of a burgundy pickup that sported a couple places where dents had been inexpertly repaired. She pulled her seat up so she could stuff the case she was carrying behind it, then shoved it back into place and slid behind the wheel. “The Tart’s a decent place, for what it is. That is to say, somewhere they don’t ask questions and don’t much care what you do.” She shifted into gear and drove out of the lot.

The place was several miles away, and the neighborhood was old and working on run-down. Overgrown lots, untrimmed grass, boarded up windows and the occasional sag in a building, it was a place that had seen a larger population once, and then fallen into disrepair as people and money found other places to be. The layout of the streets bordered on ridiculous. More than once Cera had to go a street over or around a block to reach an intersection where she could turn the way she wanted to go. “Word to the wise, don’t try driving around here without a map until you know it. You’ll end up completely turned around.”

At last she reached their destination. The buzzing neon sign said “Starlight”, but only four of the letters were lit, and one of those flickered occasionally. “Here we are, cutie. Remember, cash or check, and try not to get caught poking your nose into things. Someone might decide it looks tasty and take a bite.” She gave him a wink. “Somehow I don’t think you need any help here, but I’ll stick around if you want me to. Or let me know when you’d like me to show up tomorrow. I’d rather be inside eleven to one, but I’ll forgo that if you ask nice~”

((@TheMinorFall off to bed, but if there's a post when I wake up I'll try to reply either before work, or as soon as I get there. <3))

[TheMinorFall]

@shylarahThere are a lot of ways to help patients through blood draws, and Lya had a way of utilizing each person's behavior to determine the best method. For Jareth, she kept her touch light, smiled bright and leaned over just enough to let her shirt drop just enough for him to be distracted. She wasn't sure why Tsitua had allowed him to come, but he could see things that none of them could. She had Jareth stay there so she could make sure he wouldn't get light headed or dizzy and sat Amuné down.

Part of he reason Lya was he medical officer was that she was able to detect physiological abnormalities with her chakras. Amuné had a steady, but slightly elevated heart rate, and almost deliberate breathing. Her hormones were heightened as if ready to enter a state of fight or flight at a moment's notice. She was on edge, but why? When Lya thought about it, she realized that no one could react any other way in the girl's situation. Hell, half the crew had been recruited in such a way. The thing was, the last person recruited from earth was now their leader.

"All done." She announced, removing the needle and pressing gauze to the girl's arm. She allowed Amuné to take over holding the pressure as she took all the blood tubes to the bioscanner, winking at Jareth as she passed. As she placed the tubes in their respective slots, she sent a neural update to her leader and the other lieutenants.

The scanner returned its results in an instant. "Looks like you two are clean!" Lya said cheerfully just as a message reached her neural interface (NI) from Eric.

show them to their rooms. Debriefing starts in two hours.

"Are you guys ready to see your rooms?" She asked seamlessly at the same time as winking a green light to her brother-in-law.

[shylarah]

Jareth had his own method of distracting himself, and calculating the motion of a double pendulum sufficiently occupied his attention that he didn't notice the breathtaking view until the bite of the needle broke his concentration. After, there was room for very little additional thought, save for the knowledge that he really, /really/ ought to look away but couldn't quite manage to do so. By the time Lya finished he was as red as a beet, and immediately stared at his shoes when she moved away.

Amuné, by contrast, held herself still and acted as if she didn't even feel it. She'd learned to distance herself from pain, and something so small was hardly enough to be felt in the first place. Still, her heartbeat spiked as the needle pierced her skin. She was not frightened of needles, or rather not this one. It was the other ones, filling her blood with things that made her burn, or coating her mind in darkness. The ones that kept her alive when living was a burden, and the ones that had brought death to others. All of them gleamed in the short length of sharp metal, and when Lya was finished the Seer let out a breath slightly longer than the other ones.

They were given a clean bill of health moments later. When asked if she wished to see her room, Amuné nodded, and Jareth agreed as well. "Won't bother you lot for more than a couple days, though," he added. "I've got class on Monday -- and Tuesday's a lab, so if I'm not back by that afternoon for sure I'll be in trouble." The girl beside him didn't even roll her eyes at his carelessness for coming without making sure he'd be back in time. Instead, she was watching Lya. "What is Tsitua to you?" she asked suddenly. "What do you think of him? What kind of a person is he?"

@TheMinorFall

[TheMinorFall]

@shylarahLya shed her lab coat and draped it over the back of a chair as Jareth made his case about timing. She flirtatiously made a pouty face and made a playful plea, "What? You don't like us?" She asked, switching to a warm smile.

She was caught off guard by Amune's questions, looking to the girl suddenly. "Well, um," she said, regaining her composure, "There was a time when I would've said a lover, but that was a long time ago. Nowadays, he's like a father to us all. He's a mentor, and truly the bravest, most selfless person I know. He saved all of our lives more times than we can count. I would die for him right here and now if I had to."

She looked at the floor, smirking with nostalgia of days when she used to pine over their leader. Those days were gone. She had made peace with the fact that he would never have her. She paused for a moment, then led the way out and into the hall. Cain passed them as they walked. The man was like a living statue. He had no emotions, including fear, and no regard for the value of life. He simply killed whoever Tsitua told him to. If he was geared up, their leader had something serious planned.

****

Cain was already fully geared up when their leader sent him a 'ready up' from the hangar. He was headed toward the war room with the faceplate of his helmet in his hand when he passed Lya and two others. A young man and a slightly younger girl. The stone cold killer's heart fluttered slightly and a strange, warm sensation went through his chest. He wasn't able to deduce its origin, as it ceased upon passing the girl. There wasn't time to even acknowledge the feeling, though. He had orders. He placed his face plate when he came to the hangar. It pressurized and locked in place. "Valkyrie, set the bay window to one-way." He stated without inflection. The girl popped up from behind her bike and hit a button on a remote controller.

Cain simply walked through the window as if it were suspended water, pushing off on his last step with enough force to launch him toward earth with intense speed.

[ you can refer to the Artanis thread OOC for the armor look. I believe I posted it there a while back.]

[shylarah]

"N-no, I like you just fine, I just...college, y'know? If I'd known it was way out here I might have thought twice before coming...though I'm glad I did all the same." For more than one reason, too, Jareth added silently, glancing at the woman as she turned away.

Lya's glowing praise of her leader eased some concerns for Amuné, but raised others. If it sounded too good to be true, it often was, and she wondered if Lya was trying to deceive her, or if her impression was skewed. The awkward fondness made her believe the woman was being genuine, but if she once -- possibly still -- loved Tsitua, her view of him might not be completely accurate.

She was still pondering how to weight the response when they passed an impassive man in armor. Her eyes locked onto him as he passed, and her pace slowed, head turning to watch him head away. "Who was that?" the Seer asked, once she'd regained her composure. He'd dragged at her, pulling her gaze as a planet pulls a passing meteor and leaving her off-balance. Tsitua had done the same, when she'd first encountered him, but with far less intensity. For a moment, it had seemed like she was looking up at the armored man, suddenly much taller. Then flashes of other things, though none clear or familiar enough to distinguish. There was a sense of...safety? But also danger. The apparent contradiction was hardly unusual, but in this case she was at a loss for what it meant.

@TheMinorFall

[TheMinorFall]

@shylarahLya gave Jareth a bright smile. He had said he liked her, not them. His social awkwardness was growing cuter by the minute. Looking back to Amuné as they walked, she answered, "That was Cain. He's on the assault team. A stone cold killer with no feelings." She said with a hint of disapproval. How could someone with no sense of love or caring be trusted? But it wasn't her place to question Tsitua, not anymore.

They came to a hallway of doors, behind which were everyone's quarters. A few doors were open. One had music emanating from it, along with a female voice singing along. An apparantly blind man with long whit dread locks and downward angles tattooed on his face walked past, effortlessly moving between the three of them as if he could see. Amuné with see a staggeringly massive amount of energy radiating off him in all directions. He sauntered down the hall and into the musical room with only a towel around his waist.

"Your rooms are separate, but they're right next to each other. Rooms fifteen and sixteen. They'll open automatically since your DNA is in our system." Lya said, "Let me know if you need anything." She added, focusing her eyes on Jareth. She reached up and lay a hand on his arm with a smile, then let it slide down to his hand and off as she turned and walked back the way they had come. She looked back once, smiled again, and turned a corner.

****

Nunque sat in his room. It was in the same hall as everyone else's, but his door was thick and locked with a window. The light was dim, and all the walls were padded and white. White as his clothes. He was carving words in demonic into the back of his hand with one of the fingernails he had ripped off moments ago. The words were near-jibberish, as were the ones he was muttering... until he felt her.

"Amuné..." he whispered after a sharp gasp. He turned slowly to face the window in his door. She was going to pass by it in a moment, and he wanted to see her eyes. "Big sister..."

[shylarah]

Jareth watched Lya go. How could he not? But as soon as she was out of sight he looked at his friend with a distressed expression. "Dear gods kill me now." He'd realized what he'd said moments after he'd finished saying it, and was completely mortified. He covered his face with a hand. "Ohmigosh, I am /such/ a dweeb." Amuné snickered, then burst out laughing, pulling him close enough to wrap an arm around his shoulders for a moment. "She's not exactly discouraging you, y'know," she replied. The laughter had served to ease a good bit of the tension she felt, though the young lady was still wary. They'd just passed another man with a powerful feeling radiating off him, though this was connected to his power, like with Mouse, as opposed to rooted in her own. A glance at the numbers said they needed to continue down the hall a way, and the girl started that way -- and then stopped dead. This wasn't the pull she normally felt. Nor was it the flash of insight she experienced when she encountered another Seer, though it held both. No, it ran far deeper than that, a bone-deep recognition that had always been waiting.

As if in a trance, Amuné stepped for the door, reaching out to open it. She was bewildered when it wouldn't open. That was the way she was supposed to go, so what was preventing her? A look through the little window resulted in nothing seen, but rather Seen, a pair of eyes burning into her mind. Her breath caught in her throat and she stumbled back from the door, colliding with Jareth. "Hey, easy! ...What's wrong? Amuné?" The younger student looked up at him, her expression tight with fear, then closed her eyes and pressed a hand against her head. "The other Seer," she said. "I didn't know it would be like that." She didn't explain further, but she was shaken. She'd never encountered this, the sense of /knowing/ so strong it overwhelmed her, and the idea was frightening.

@TheMinorFall

[TheMinorFall]

@shylarahNunque slowly, deliberately stood and walked over to the door, pressing his forehead against the glass and gazing at Amuné with bright yellow eyes. He had frightened her? "You See so little." He spoke softly, but she could hear him.

He hit her, not with force, but with vivid, detailed vision. He showed her Tsitua, kneeling in rubble with Lya's lifeless body in his arms as he shouted into the raining sky. Agony, saddness, and regret were all over his face as he lay her down gently and glared across the field of ruin. There stood a figure dressed in a grey, pinstriped suit. Nunque filled her mind with knowledge of that being Kabuto. The pure truth was like a tidal wave. Next he gave her vision of Lya coming back, revived by Gabriel, but she was different. She had no memory of before, only a strong admiration of a now melancholy Tsitua. He shifted the vision one final time to show Zeela, filling Amune's mind with the knowledge of her being Tsitua's adopted daughter. She was a similar age as Amuné... and looked very much like her.

He pulled the vision back and stepped away from the door. "I See you sister... Amuné..."

[shylarah]

((@TheMinorFall sorry for the delay._))

Somehow she heard him. His voice was in her head, invading her mind. And then the images were flooding her Sight, battering at her. She tried to block them out. She was stronger than she had been, and quickly rallied her scattered thoughts, turning them to slice and stab at the one who violated her so. Yet he was stronger, older, and had caught her by surprise. Her defenses crumbled under the onslaught. Distantly she felt someone near her physical body, someone safe, shaking her and asking what was wrong. Amuné tried to tell him that they'd found her again, somehow, that Kel was dying -- no, that was before, this time it was Lya, the one she'd just met. They were forcing her to See, using her gift for their own purposes, pawing through her thoughts and twisting her perception of reality. Terror clawed at her. No, not again, she'd rather die. She had to fight, had to get away. No! Stop, get out, get out!

Jareth hadn't expected his friend to back into him, and the fear in her eyes worried him. She'd started to pull away, and then suddenly stiffened with a soft cry before starting to fall. It'd been easy enough to catch her. "Amuné? Amuné, what's going on, what's wrong?" He shook her gently, not sure what was going on. She was fumbling for her knife, obviously not seeing anything of their surroundings. A shriek tore from her throat. "Get out of my head!"

[TheMinorFall]

@shylarahEric, now wearing pants, felt a huge spike of chakras that surprised him at first, but suddenly knocked him literally to the floor. He collected himself and darted out into the hallway. The new girl was in a kind of daze in front of Nunque's room.

"No." he whispered, sprinting to her. He was about to cleanse her chakras when Nunque's door suddenly ripped off of its hinges in shards. The torn metal flew into the hallway with enough force to lodge into the walls and floor. One of them nailed Eric to the wall by his abdomen. He let out a stifled, gurgle of an effort to regain lost air when he realized what had happened to him.

Nunque eerily stepped out of his room, unblinking yellow eyes locked on Amuné. "Don't interfere, sightless one." He said without facial expression despite a face laden with pain. It was like he wasn't enjoying what he was doing, but felt he had to. He got close to her and suddenly laughed hysterically for a monent, but stopped just as suddenly before entering her mind again. They were both standing in a void of mental space.

"Amuné? Is that you?" He asked.

[shylarah]

His impossible luck saved them both. A sense of unease suddenly hit him, and Jareth decided that they'd be better off handling whatever had caused his friend's terror in her quarters. No sooner had he started down the hall than a twisted hunk of metal slammed into the wall where they had been, quivering with the force that propelled it. The young man yelped, ducking into the slight shelter provided by the small indentation of the next doorway. "What the hell! I thought you lot planned on protect in her, not trying to kill her!"

The man with the dreads had not been so lucky. He'd been rushing towards them at the explosion, and now stood pinned to the wall, another chunk of shrapnel running clean through him. Jareth's face drained of color and his stomach churned uncomfortably. When the one with yellow eyes approached them, he tried to get in the way. Amuné was sobbing in near silence, and he didn't think he'd ever seen her look so broken. One hand dug painfully into his arm for security and support, the other held the knife she'd manage to pull from its sheath. The older student didn't have a weapon of his own, but he turned so he was between the girl and the others. "Don't come any closer!" he demanded, in a voice that shook only a little.

The visions pressed into her thoughts might have stopped, but they had caused her own magic to respond. Now the careful, controlled pattern she never stopped maintaining, even in sleep, was unravelling. Her thoughts fluttered about in a panicked swirl. "No, no, no!" The world had gone dark -- or was it her mind that had fled to darkness? "Get out!" In the void, her form wavered, reflecting an unsteady mind. Light rose from her in spiralling streams, but when she spotted Nunque the young Seer clung to the training she'd carved deep into herself. Presented with the source of the invasion, the misty swirls contracted, solidified -- and shot forward in a shower of spears, seeking to destroy.

[TheMinorFall]

@shylarahNunque felt the mental spears tear through his mind and rip it apart. His lifeless body in the physical world drained of color as his eyes rolled back. Nunque's corpse fell to the ground in a heap as Tsitua and Lya arrived. Mae came out of the room emanating music with horror on her face. Her husband was pinned to the wall, half-dead. The hall was still for a moment.. frozen.

Nunque took a sharp breath. He was still in his padded room. The door was still there. "So, that's what happens if I show her." He muttered as the girl looked into his door's window.

Only three seconds had passed, and his vision of what would happen if he took that route had encouraged him to continue carving demonic symbols in his hand. He grinned widely, followed by a chuckle that turned into casual laughter at what others would perceive as nothing. He would wait for now, at least until she was ready.

****

Eric, now wearing pants, poked his head out into the hallway. He had sensed a rise in chakras that felt like Nunque, but more. There was some kind of intermingling energy that he didn't understand at first, but then he remembered the new girl was a Seer. Tsitua had to have planned for her to pass by Nunque's room. He liked to do things like that. Thankfully, Nunque was rather peaceful. It was like he knew what would happen if he acted out..

The blind man called out, "You guys okay over there?"

****

Tsitua got a strange feeling, like something had happened. No one had connected on the NI, so he shook it off. He trusted Nunque, it was Amuné he was worried for. He NI'd Eric to keep an eye out, then laughed silently to himself. pun intended he added.

[shylarah]

As the Seer regained her balance, assisted by Jareth, a sudden and pervasive sense of someone preparing an attack filled her. Tsitua had claimed she would be safe here, but she believed her senses far more than she trusted him, and Amuné had her knife in her hand moments later. The threat fragmented into images that flitted past her eyes. The man with the towel, dying on a twisted spear of metal. Pain exploding through her head as chunks of metal tore through it. Jareth, a look of shock on his face as he looked down at the blood welling around one through the front of his ribcage. His luck had failed him, and he'd been run through as he tried to move between Amuné and whatever it was that brushed threatening fingers across the edge of her mind. And when she tried to catch herself as she slid to the ground, she discovered the lancing agony in her arm was because the hunk of shrapnel had cut it clean off.

When Eric checked on the pair, he found her with the knife held at her side in a firm but casual grip. She was trying to disentangle her perception from the unusually strong influence her Sight had abruptly exerted over it. Amuné turned toward the sound of his voice, but the first words she spoke came before she was fully grounded. "A horrid fate," she told him, then frowned and gave herself a sharp shake. She'd learned not to speak visions aloud years ago, now, so why had she slipped? "Sorry. Ah, did you say something?"

Jareth didn't know exactly what had just transpired, but at least she seemed alright. "...I'm not sure," he said after a moment. "Something happened, I just don't know what."

@TheMinorFall