Tales of Symphonia: A New Tomorrow (FULL)

[Fedora Warrior]

Rhone sighs and looks down.
"Down on my luck...yeah, that's a good way to put it. Alright, perhaps I'll tell you about what's ailin' me...but in exchange..."
He looks back up at her with a confused expression.
"I can see the life forces of people...the person that taught me how called them 'auras'...You've got three of 'em. A regular blue, a dark blue, and a light blue...s'why I call you 'Blues'...also, right now it looks almost like the dark one's trying to...er...eat the other two, and you've got some serious darkness-element mana emanating from you.."
Rhone opens his palm and creates a sphere of mana, which quickly turnes into a dark-elemental sphere.
"And trust me...I know what darkness feels like."
He dissipates the sphere, stands up, and offers her his hand to help her up.
"So...if you tell me what's up with the whole three auras thing, I'll tell you about the recurring nightmare I've been having based on my past. Deal?"  

[Princess Seven]

((Uh...he had already helped her up. ))

Azriel stared curiously at the dark element Rhone conjured, then up at him, eyes widened. Before she replied, there was a pause in which she blinked a couple of times. "Uh...wow! You've caught on to more than we thought you had. If you can see that much, then things can only snowball from here." She scratched her head. "So it's a deal. I don't really have much of a choice, now."

She squeezed her left eye shut for a second. "I really think you should go first, though, if that's alright. I do promise to hold up my end of the bargain, but you'll see why I don't exactly want to spill first. " >_o;;  

[Fedora Warrior]

Rhone nods in agreement and looks her in the eye.
"Very well...here."
He touches her forehead with his right index finger, instantly transferring a series of memories that play out in her head. The memory is in first person, as a young boy, around age 12, looks down at a dagger in his hand, made of a simple leather binding wrapped around a shaped piece of stone. The boy holds it in his white hand for a few moments before looking up at a younger girl, who looked about 8 years old, with silver hair down to almost her feet, wearing a simple green robe.

"You...made this?"
"Yup! I thought it would help big bro out on his first hunt! And I'll be there too in case you hurt yourself."
"Oh, don't worry so much! I've practiced with wooden weapons, I'll be okay."

the memory skips forward to the boy sprinting through a forest, dodging branches of large trees as he attempts to catch up to a deer. As he gains on the creature, he suddenly leaps into the air and tackles it to the ground, swiftly slicing its throat for a fast and clean kill. As he slowly stands up and turns around, he sees the girl running as well, only barely behind him.

"See? I told you I could do it! The dagger really helped, though...thanks Meridae."
"You're welcome! I'm glad I made it right. Dad showed me how to do it!"

The memory and seeing her smile caused a sense of warmth in the boy...he was happy with how the day had been going. Suddenly, however, several howls could be heard nearby...the sound of them getting closer by the second.

"...Wolves? I don't like wolves..."
"Don't worry, the wolves here are just as afraid of us as we are of them. They probably just want what I leave behind from the deer. There's nothing to wor-"

The boy is cut off by a wolf pouncing from a nearby bush, pinning him. He holds the beast's head above his neck to keep it from being bitten as the girl rushes over and hits it with a large rock that was nearby, killing it. The boy moves the wolf off his body and stands up.

"Are you okay, big bro?"
"Yeah, I'm alright..."

The boy looks over at the dead wolf and sees something escape it...like smoke, only it was purple and reeked of magic.

"Something's wrong...Meridae, get behind me!"

The girl stands behind the boy as wolves begin rushing the two. The boy manages to stab the first one in the neck and kicks it away before slashing at the eyes of the next. As more and more wolves attack, the boy begins sustaining injury. First his leg is swiped at with a claw, his shoulder gets bitten, but he fights them all away.

"AAAAAAAH!! BIG BRO!!"

The boy turns around in horror to see the alpha of the pack picking his sister up by her side and start to shake her violently. He jumps on top of the wolf and stabs it in the back, causing it to yelp in pain and drop the girl. He continues to stab the wolf, screaming in frustration and hate until the beast drops, releasing more purple smoke. The boy rushes to his sister and picks her up, noticing a horrid gash on her side. She was still breathing, but not well. He begins running as fast as he can, ignoring the pain in his body from his injuries doing his best to get himself and his sister home.

"Don't worry, Meridae! I'll get you home! Mom will heal you, I promise!"
"Big bro?...I....I'm feeling cold...I'm scared..."
Everything will be okay! I'll fix this! I'll get you home! Years from now we'll be able to look back on this...i promise! I'll protect you!"
"Brother.........thank you......for not leaving me.....I....Love...."

The girl closes her eyes and passes out...her breathing stops very shortly afterward. The boy sprints even faster, desperate to make it home.

"No! Don't do this! Wake up!! Mom will help you...I'll get you home!! Please...Meridae!!!!!"

The memories abruptly end as Rhone rests his arm back at his side.  

[Princess Seven]

Throughout the whole viewing of the memories, Azriel was staring off all glassy-eyed, unblinking. It wasn't terrifying to her—she had seen far worse images when she was getting acquainted with Oscuro, but it was saddening nonetheless. Once it was over, she finally did, and a couple of tears trickled down the sides of her face. Remaining wide-eyed, she put her hands over her mouth in a gesture of shock.

"Man...words would've sufficed, but still... I'm sorry for your loss. I can't imagine what that...kind of grief is like. I'm an only child."

Not knowing what more could be said or done, she just suddenly hugged Rhone quite tightly.  

[Fedora Warrior]

Rhone places a hand on Azriel's shoulder.

"Relax, Blues. It's something I've been dealing with for a long time. I appreciate the sentiment, but I'll be fine. Honestly, I decided to show you that memory because of my sister. Truthfully, you remind me quite a bit of her. Same exact personality...and I'll tell ya right now. What happened to her won't happen to you or anyone else in our little group. I've already had two important people taken from me, and I won't have any more."

Rhone tips his hat up slightly and grins at Azriel.

"Alright, Blues...your turn. Why the whole having 3 auras...thing?"  

[Princess Seven]

Pulling away from the hug, Azriel gave Rhone a look that was between confused and amused. "I'm...exactly like your sister? Really?"

After saying that, her expression abruptly shifted—she narrowed her eyes and smirked. Once again, a different voice came out of her mouth with a teasing tone. "And what do you take her for, a pipsqueak? Ain't nothin' gettin' past us. You're just backup." >:D

Azriel planted her face in both her hands and dragged them down her face in exasperation. "Fffffffffff—Oscuro, will you PLEASE give it a few min—"

"Seconds."

"MINUTES."

"...fine."

Azriel pinched her brow. " ...I hardly have control over that. If they have something to say, they'll go right on and say it. Now you know what the voice changes are really about. Oscuro does that moreso than Chiaro. A LOT more." Realizing how that came out, she made a perplexed expression at herself. "...Ah. I probably should start from the top."

She took another moment of silence, gathering her thoughts as she stared at the ground while stroking her chin. When she was ready, she looked up and began to explain, starting off by pointing at the jeweled collar on her neck with her thumb.

"I found this on a relic-hunting run for the Palmacosta Museum about three years ago. I was faced with a thief who had followed me into the assigned mausoleum in the hopes of killing me off and cashing in on my finds. Well, I had this in hand at the time, so I got the bright idea to put it on so that I wouldn't drop it while defending myself.

I learned immediately that it was an enchanted collar. It split my soul into three, giving me two 'other selves'—one made of the 'light' of my soul and one made of the 'darkness'. That's reflected in my wings. They used to be just plain feathery like all the other Wingfolk, and as blue as my hair, but were transformed to symbolize that. And I can't take it off; it's bound to my soul. It can only be removed when this body no longer houses a soul which means...I'd have to be dead for it to come off.

My 'light self' is named Chiaro, and my 'dark self' is named Oscuro. They actually have minds and personalities of their own. They take over sometimes, and they actually have their own unique forms that my body transforms into when they fully take over. So what you're seeing isn't Oscuro trying to eat us; it's her just ready...well, more than ready to manifest. Night is the time Oscuro feels strongest, for obvious reasons."

"Yeah, what kind of metaphor was that? I can't eat them, that's like trying to eat myself. O_o Though if I could, Chiaro would make me vomit into the next century anyway."

Shaking her head and clearing her throat, she continued, "Anyway...I haven't 'fessed up about it to the others because...well...it's not as simple a secret as the Werefolks'. Oscuro's form..." She creased her brow, bowed her head, and wrapped her arms around herself tightly and hunched over a bit, appearing tense. "...Oscuro's form...would..."

Those last words were uttered rather airily. Azriel was looking glassy-eyed again, turning a zoned-out stare straight into Rhone's eyes; the sclera finally shifting from white to black. Her arms dropped to her sides and her mouth hung slightly open, showing some of the teeth that were extending into fangs.

Her skin went from a normal color to a shade of slate blue, and her nails extended into black claws. As she took a couple of steps back, much of her body became enveloped in a black smoke, which her clothing seemed to be shifting into. Behind her, the feathered wing was shedding and changing shape until it exactly matched the black, batlike wing. A black, pointed devil-like tail extended from the base of her spine. Her height also rose to about half a foot taller than Rhone, and her figure filled out to be more voluptuous. Upward-curling horns grew from the top of her head, and her hair practically quadrupled in length and turned completely black, save for the bangs and ear-tails turning just a slightly darker blue.

Finally, the black smoke shaped and solidified into...a rather showy-looking jacket with detached sleeves and blue and silver trim. On her legs were black, knee-high, heeled boots.

Oscuro placed her hands on her hips and tilted her head slightly."...All this talk about the demon-y Yokai sure paints me a suspicious, untrustworthy figure, don't it?" She was smirking, but her tone had a hint of bitterness to it. A very short pause followed, as she wasn't really waiting for Rhone's answer. With a sigh, she continued, "Well, storytime's over. If you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go perform my...duties before daybreak. 'Ta~♪" ;D After a dismissive wave, she sidestepped for some room then started to glide toward the forests lining the western wall of Sybak.  

[Fedora Warrior]

Rhone scratches his head for a moment before laughing quietly to himself.
"Oh, come on...you can't just do something like that and then just fly off..."
He begins sprinting after her, holding his hat onto his head with one hand, with the other hand at his side. As he picks up speed, he begins emitting pulses of mana from his feet as he runs, accelerating him to Oscuro's speed to pursue.  

[Princess Seven]

Reaching the edge of the forest, Oscuro stopped and looked back to watch Rhone catching up to her. She raised a brow, not knowing what to make of the development. Once he was just a few steps behind, she turned and walked deeper in at a casual pace, her tail swishing behind her in figure-eight motions.

Knowing he could easily trail her, she didn't turn her head back when she called out, "Why are you following me." Her tone sounded dry and demanding, but it also sounded as if she did not mind either way whether or not Rhone was following her.

All the while, she was heading toward a way to walk parallel to the western wall of Sybak.

In the mindspace, Azriel was biting her lip with crossed arms, while tapping a foot. "...Don't think I was quite finished yet." :T

Oscuro chuckled. "You said minutes. You didn't specify how many." ;P  

[Fedora Warrior]

Rhone slides past Oscuro, grabbing onto a tree with one hand and swinging around it to stop, landing a small ways in front of her with his arms crossed.

"Since you haven't tried to kill me yet, I'm gonna guess you're benevolent...but still, I can see why Azriel worries about people seeing you. I'm not just talking about the horns and wings either. You basically overpowered your host against her will and then took off into the night...that's some sketchy behavior. Honestly, I don't think you're up to anything bad, but damned if it doesn't look like you are."

He lifts his hat up, showing his horns again and scratches his head for a few seconds before putting the hat back on.

"The real reason I'm tailing you is because no one should go off alone at night. I've seen too many good people get injured or worse because of this sort of thing. Not that it doesn't seem like you can't handle yourself, but I'm gonna guess your current look doesn't gather any kind eyes...and this way, if some more...intolerant...people show up, at least you're not alone, eh?"  

[Princess Seven]

Oscuro also stopped when Rhone had, before her. Looking rather nonchalant about his actions, she casually put her hands on her hips again and stared down at him, chuckling a little in amusement. "You think I don't know that? Three years we've been a part of Azriel, and you've never heard of me. I'd say I've been doing a damn fine job at keeping myself hidden."

In the pause that followed, Oscuro eyed Rhone's horns and wondered how that came to be, seeing that she sensed Elven blood in him through and through. But that was a question for another time, as the night wasn't getting any younger. She then started to walk around him, finding the wall shortly and running the claws of her left hand against it as she walked along. The gesture and prolonged scratching noise were intentional, though the latter of the two wasn't all that necessary. Again, she was going at a slow, casual pace that Rhone could easily follow.

"Azriel's traveled alone for a good majority of the last three years, and if I had ever been caught, I knew how to weasel my way out and fool the senses. Of the average person, at least. But whatever puts you at ease." She shrugged. After several steps, Oscuro abruptly stopped, making one last click of her claws against the wall and grinning. "Aha. That's the ticket. Behind this part of the wall is the cemetery. As for what I'm about to do...sketchy's a good way to put it, I suppose. But it also depends on how you look at it. I have my reasons."

After turning to face the wall, she took a few steps back while keeping her eyes trained on it. "Do you believe there are people so unrepentantly evil that they ought to have their right to exist revoked?"  

[Fedora Warrior]

Rhone cringes a little at the noise of Oscuro's nails on the stone wall for a few seconds before getting used to it. He walks alongside her and places his hands in his coat pockets when he hears her question.

"Not really my place to say. Whenever someone in this world dies, they're gone. I won't be seein' 'em again. My appearance isn't just for show. Something...happened, and now my entire body chemistry is all messed up. Mana courses through the bodies of all things, but my body specifically is made up of mana. It's why I'm so light. Because of this, I haven't aged in over 400 years, and I'll never age. Unless something actually kills me, which is pretty damn hard to do, I'm never gonna die, so once someone else dies, they're just gone to me. Killing someone is effectively removing their existence to me, so personally, as long as they're bad enough, I don't really care. Start messing with someone I care about, though, and we're gonna have a problem."  

[Princess Seven]

Looking aside to Rhone for a moment, Oscuro gives him a quizzical look.

"I see. But...you've never thought about what souls go through? Physical death is not really the absolute end of existence. There is the afterlife—Heaven and Hell—from which there supposedly is no chance of return. And then...there is reincarnation. Even though souls can be born into a second life with their memories completely wiped, history has that funny—and sometimes, not so funny—way of repeating itself.

What I do not understand is how souls that should plunge straight into Hell are able to avoid such a fate and become reborn...to commit the same crimes to mankind all over again. But this is where I can come in. I have the ability to seek out the souls of the remorselessly evil...and devour them. That way, the next generation they might have been born into may not fall victim to their atrocities.

Ssssssooooo...yep. That's what I'm up to, here, where there's a great concentration of lingering souls. I'm gonna get my snack on. It's routine, but I could also daresay it's become a duty."

Looking away from Rhone, Oscuro materialized a scythe in her hands. It had a black, jagged handle and a large blue blade.  

[Fedora Warrior]

Rhone chuckles for a few moments before shaking his head.

"I get it...although, I do have to ponder something."

He tips his hat down and grins.

"I wonder...are you devouring the souls of those who are evil because it's the right thing to do?...or are you just choosing them so you won't get chastised for your interesting taste? Personally, I'm leaning towards the former, since you don't seem to care what people think. I hope I'm right about you."

Rhone leans on a large grave marker nearby and crosses his arms again, leaving his hat tipped down.

"Alright, do what you're gonna do. I'm quite curious to see how things turn out. If my hypothesis is correct, it's gonna be *record scratch*-ing weird."  

[Princess Seven]

((They're not in the cemetery, they're next to the part of the Sybak perimeter wall it's behind. ^.^;; ))

Suddenly, Oscuro started to look pensive. Lowering her scythe, she stared back at the wall for a second, thinking about her answer. When she was ready, she turned her glance back to Rhone.

"You're right, I have no f@#%s to give regarding what people think about my devouring of souls. mrgreen

It's more that...I was taught it was the right thing to do. You're familiar with darkness; you should know that it's like it can have this desire to consume, and consume, and consume. Eons ago, when I was first awakened and was just starting to develop this thing called a mind, my taste in souls was indiscriminate. Good or evil, I craved them all. Fortunately, before I could act on those whims, my creator 'fixed' me. Showed me what I'd be destroying by feasting on innocents. And then did some elaborate magic...enchantment thingy...so that through that understanding I became repulsed by the scent and taste of souls with even the slightest bit of good left in them."

When Rhone at last spoke of giving her due leeway, she made a mock sigh of relief. "Finally! If you were to prod any more, I'd have to smack you because I still have this setup to do and it must be so damned close to morning." e.e

For the next handful of minutes, she proceeded to draw on the ground a considerably wide set of a few concentric circles with the blade of her scythe, then fill in details like symbols and ancient-looking lettering with the bottom end of it. Once she was done, she stood in the center of the pattern she carved out and held her scythe before her like a staff, starting an incantation.

"I must shut out my prominent sense of the living, so that I may focus on my weaker sense of the dead.
I must surround myself with pure nothingness and reach out into the abyss, pulling from it what I must seek.
From my sight...and smell...and touch...and hearing...everything, begone!
Souls of the fallen, reveal thyselves to me! I am here to gauge thy sins and reap!"

After Oscuro ended her recitation, the surroundings seemed to fade completely into black, and it was if she were standing upon invisible ground. The pattern she carved out was glowing a dim purple beneath her feet. Floating all around were several balls of flame in many different colors—only these weren't exactly flames, they were the lingering souls themselves. As she raised her scythe, the souls began to cluster closer around her. Once as many souls as possible were drawn in, Oscuro lowered her scythe and freed a hand to start sifting through them. She would swat away those that appeared quite pale and near-white, but pull closer to her the ones that were a lot more saturated in color.