Heartfelt Adventure : Active Time Event Thread

[AldrickZearse]

[ATE: The Bright Side: 4]
[Joe: Bobbi's Heart: Station]

As Joe plummeted, a small breath escaped him. It wasn't his first time doing this plummet-and it definitely wasn't his first time falling-but it still felt almost overwhelming.

Of course, when he landed, he blinked a few times. The light show threw him off. He figured it would be different from Kyle's, but he guessed he wasn't expecting this kind of different.

Still, he saw the throne, just sitting there with Louis in it. And Bobbi talking to him, Kyle looking around with magic, and Joe...felt a little out of place. So he went for a 'casual/menacing' look. His staff appeared, resting horizontal on his shoulders with his arms wrapped around it, resting there with it as he watched carefully.  

[RhikoDemson]

{ATE .:. The Bright Side .:. 5}
[[Louis? : Bobbi's Heart : Station of Awakening]]

[[BGM: Leaves of Confusion from Drakengard 3]]

Louis, who was pleasantly distracted by the singing, perked up on the shouting of his name. His body froze from a moment before he rolled his head to look at his most gracious host, "Bobbi-neesan! You're back," he noticed the others and kicked his feet up, sitting upright then leaning forward balancing on his hands which gripped the forward edge of the chair, "And who's this? Friends? Ehehe! Two boys and another girl, aww, so cute. The glasses look good on her."

While he talked, Kyle's clarity allowed him to see the world of magic around them, and in particular, Louis. Louis was as a black mass, a blood or ink stain on a pristine, fresh piece of paper. He sat upon his throne, which itself gave off a black, malevolent presence but rather than a throne appeared closer to that of a massive rose, from which a multitude of lines spread out from, crisscrossing and wrapping around each other... very akin to a web. At second glance, that's exactly what Louis appeared to be... a glossy black spider, sitting upon a rose trapped in the center of a web that extended out over the entire platform.

Louis grinned deviously at Bobbi, "Sooo," he paused looking Kyle, Joe, and Kyla up and down once before glancing back to Bobbi, "Do any of theeem strike your fancy?"

He left it at that for a moment, letting it sink in, "Hehe~ Personally, think the blonde, curly haired one is kinda cute, bit on the dorky side in comparison to the other guys you were hanging out with. Still something in his eyes tells me he's a good guy. I'd ship it... though on a side note he reminds me of someone. I cant' put my finger on it though..." He trailed off, staring blankly for a moment, mouthing 'Ajora', before blinking once and continuing, "Not sure about the one with the eye patch, can definitely pull of the tough guy look if he wants, but... I dunno... something about him," he paused again and lifted a hand to his chin, wrapping his thumb under and his index finger over his bottom lip, as he rolled his other fingers into his palm, "something about him annoys me. I don't ship it."

As he spoke, Kyle's observation through clarity progressed. From the back of the rose was a single string of the web trailing back and up diagonally, exiting the far reach of the spell's vision. Above them, however, or above Louis more accurately, was another mass of magic, similar to Louis, lines extended out from it, only less in number than from the boy and his throne.

"Hmm," Louis mused and glanced at Kyla, "Suppose I shouldn't just assume. She's cute too, if you're into the small, librarian type. She's got nice hair, bust is nice, not too big not too small, and her outfit is awesome. Girl's got style. I'm just sayin, I don't judge nor discriminate. If you're into that, Bobbi, that's your thing. I'll still support you no matter your preferences. She looks nice though... I could ship it."

Above all the rest of Kyle's observations, he might notice one minor disturbance. Everything he saw, seemed to shiver, vibrate, or ripple, like staring through clear water that keeps getting hit by raindrops.  

[Enji_Chou]

{ATE .:. The Bright Side .:. 6}

[[Kyla : Bobbi's Heart : Station of Awakening]]

Normally Kyla was afraid of falling, which was odd, if one considered how much she liked to climb trees. And yet- plummeting into the heart wasn’t like falling in real life to her. It was like soaring with unseen wings. She didn’t have any control of it, but the artist didn’t care- Perhaps it was Kyla was safe in the knowledge that this wasn’t the physical world and so her instincts of self-preservation didn’t kick in.
She just focused on the dazzling sight of the platform below, and flew towards it like it was the sun.
She quite liked it actually. Eventually the girl would feel her body turnabout in space before landing safely on her feet. For a good long moment Kyla was awe struck by the sight of it all. The prism pattern at her feet, the streams of light- even the eerie music suit her fancy. Truly as a work of art Kyla appreciated everything about it. Know she understood a bit more why in contrast, her stations dimness worried James and Bobbi before.
Yet there was strangeness to this beauty. Something dangerous lingered in the stillness of this moment, and Kyla looked around for it even as she lifted a hand in awe as the particles of streaming light swirled around it. The flowing light dispersed and flowed together again, like sticking your hand in a stream. And just then as Bobbi stiffened- and barked his name Kyla also turned toward shim. Spotting the figure so familiar sitting on that strange throne, and for just a second- she thought it looked… familiar. The throne that is- Where had she seen?
“Louis!” She called- as he sat up and regarded them.
Kyla couldn’t be sure if this a truly separated piece- She always held space for a doubt ot two, but according to what Kyle said, fi he was a shard- then what he knew in comparison to the other pieces would be different. Clearly he didn’t know Joe, Kyle or herself.
She went pink in the cheeks as he began to assess them; remarking on her glasses and then began what appeared to be something she’d seen those very strange people do in anime conventions. Shipping?
It took her a good year or two before she ever understood the concept of Shipping- and even now, there were still some terminologies she could not understand. Ad she continued to twitter on, Kyla glanced at Kyle, wondering if the dragoon had picked up anything yet before suddenly being brought back to Louis’s gaze just as he commented on her rack!
She didn’t know whether to be flattered or not- was he joking, or serious- and if so, which was worse??
In a failed effort to say anything for Bobbi she just got reduced to sputtering flustered half attempts at talking, her cheeks turning from pink to red. She readjusted her glasses, out of habit.
“Erm…th-…thank ..you.?”
Clearing her throat, she thought may as well stall for time until Kyle returned to normal.
“-so… you… shipped Bobbi earlier then? Is that what you’ve been up to down here?”
Kyla asked for a few reasons, and his answer would give her a bit of insight hopefully as well.
 

[RhikoDemson]

{ATE .:. The Bright Side .:. 7}
[[Narration]]

"Pray ignorance be sin," these words whispered in Kyla's ear, a chilly breath running up her neck to her ear after she'd finished speaking. Her hand... her hand was numb, but not for long. Beginning with a prickling like thousands of mosquito bites, it sunk in. Fire, her hand was on fire. Pain, searing pain surged from her wrist to every fingertip. The surface was raw, as though someone had taken a cheese grater and scraped away at several layers of skin on every surface of the limb. Blood beaded to the surface turning everything red before it began collecting and dripping onto the glass floor. Why was this happening? What did this?

Her vision flickered for a split second, like a blink then it was gone. Red light, black veins, sticky pools midst a scarlet downpour. Back to normal. Drip. Drop. Drip. Drop. Her hand was still bleeding. Pain still surging. Nothing made sense. Why her? Why Kyla?  

[Enji_Chou]

{ATE .:. The Bright Side .:. 8}

[[Kyla : Bobbi's Heart : Station of Awakening]]

That voice, it snaked its way into her head, the hairs on her neck p***k.

Pray ignorance be sin?

What did that mean? Immediately Kyla began to tackle it, in light of what was going on, and what she had seen in the past- but all thoughts paused a moment as she felt strange all of sudden-
Her hand?

Why did it feel numb? As she raised it, she felt something like she was being bitten. This melted into the most fierce sensation of burning. It exploded from her writs to the tips of her fingers and caused the girl to cry out- This wasn’t right! It was bleeding! It looked ghastly and as blood dripped onto the surface of the station by her feet the girl began to panic.

My hand! My drawing hand! No nonononononononono!

Noo! no- wa- wait- WAIT, remember this isn't entirely real- it's not really happening to me REAL hand- common, focus!
What just happened?! Where- who did this?!?

Kyla looked around for some unseen assailant.

She looked to her companions, wincing as she clutched her hand which seemed to continuously bleed.

“D-Did you see anything- anything at all??” Kyla thought she saw something, but it was too quick.

The pain was agonizing and terrifying- for someone like her an injury to her most precious part of her body was serious!
Which made a terrible bit of sense actually, it was insidious- but effective if something was trying to cripple her.

But- was this even real? Kyla tried to rationalize it.
Maybe some classic, mind or matter would help- but oh God did it hurt! The blood- it wouldn’t stop!
Clutching her hand to her chest she tried to put pressure on the opening, but to her surprise it simply seeped through her fingers- yes- this wasn’t a normal injury.

Kyla wasn’t to summon Carbuncle but- she was afraid to.
Down here- in here- something didn’t feel right. And if something unseen could easily do this- would it matter? What would stop it from just redoing the damage- she'd waste energy.
Kyla tried to fix it herself, but just moving her hand to press it to the book was difficult.  

[phoenixianCrystallist]

{ATE .:. The Bright Side .:. 9}
{Bobbi .:. Bobbi's Heart .:. Station of Awakening}

When Kyle placed a hand on her shoulder, Bobbi looked back at him. She reached up to cover his hand with her own, gently clasping more as a reassurance to herself than to him. When he spoke, she nodded ever so slightly, and returned her attention to Louis.

Part of her was relieved that he was back to the teasing and the shipping, but that didn't cause her to relax. Though it was an effort not to roll her eyes, she kept her gaze locked firmly on the boy, intending to not be caught off-guard this time. Kyla seemed flattered by his assessment, though.

Her attention was caught by Kyla's shriek, and Bobbi whipped around. She saw Kyla, eyes wide in completely understandable panic, as her hand appeared skinned and oozed blood.

.:Kyle!:. she sent over the charms to hopefully bring him out of his spell, as he'd asked. At the same time, she flung her free hand out towards the pictomancer, casting Frost Balm and covering her friend's hand in a thin glove of ice. It wouldn't heal the wound, but it should at least stop the bleeding and numb any pain.

"What did you do?!" she snarled at Louis. It didn't matter that he hadn't moved or otherwise seemed hostile. She didn't trust him, Kyla's hand had been fine when they'd come in, and he was the only one in her heart that had ill intent towards any of her friends.  

[AldrickZearse]

[ATE: The Bright Side: 10]
[Joe: Bobbi's Heart: Station of Awakening]

Joe's face scrunched up at Louis' words about him. Right, Joe was the annoying one.... Still, he kept his stance. He even managed to keep it when Kyla screamed, though his entire body tensed, and anyone looking at him could tell he was ready to do...well, something at least.

He looked to Kyla, looking to the ice that Bobbi cast onto her hand, and then lazily, as if to appear absentminded about it, started twirling a finger in Kyla's direction, a small, barely visible unless you had good eyes or a sense of magic, spiral of wind seemed to come out of it and go towards Kyla's hand,attempting to heal up the hand(though, in his mind, it was helping along Bobbi's attempt at healing, which he didn't realize wasn't a form of healing persay).

He didn't move otherwise, though. Well, not entirely true. His muscules tensed, his foot shifting ever so slightly as if getting into a better position. He wasn't going to attack, oh no, not yet. Not when he wasn't quite sure what did that to Kyla's hand. But he was ready and his eyes open. He'd be ready to make a move when most opportune for him.  

[fractalJester]

{ ATE : The Bright Side : 11 }
{ Kyle : Bobbi's Heart : Station }

Admittedly, being that Clarity was not originally his spell, and further it was only perhaps his third time using it (give or take; all times before had been a matter of bored testing since his drive with Matthew), the symbolism took some acclimation. He was hesitant to interpret anything he wasn't sure about, because there was always that one question: were the symbols based on his own vision? Or were they universal? Was Kyle seeing the world of magic in his own perception, or would Matthew and Alan have seen the exact same things?

If the former, then the symbols became obvious. If the latter, though, something he would believe is bad could be indifferent or good, and vice versa.

Take, for example, the spider and its web now presented before him--that's what he felt it was, anyway. Was he right? Or was it something else--was the web simply a tapestry?

He decided to follow his gut.

"Guys, the streams of light--"

"Kyle!"

He brought his attention back to Bobbi, though he didn't even need to turn his head; before he could even let go of Clarity, he noticed her charge and let loose a spell--in his perception, a small flurry of warmth rushed over to the prism that was Kyla. The prism's light was flickering in darker maroons and crimsons.

Worse, he noticed a trace of foreign magic that he'd missed on his first glance--foreign, but not unfamiliar. It seemed to fester, like something corrosive, but he saw it for what it was.

He gave a small sigh, and noticing some warm teal breeze rush over from the twister to the prism, kept the Clarity up. "The aurora is filled with magic. As Kyla can now attest, it is terribly painful magic. Avoid it at all costs. Also... I think there might be a change of plans. Keep him off of me for the time being."

Louis... Man, I need to find a new name for you. Anyway, does any of this seem familiar? It's a stretch, I know, so don't feel bad if nothing comes up, but any insight would be great.

There was no response--not even a hum of thought.

... That's not concerning or anything.

He's... trying, but it's like he's being drowned out.

Kyle frowned. Try to find a work around.

He turned his immediate gaze to the thread closest to him and lifted his hand. However, instead of touching it, he balled his hand into a fist, stuck out the index and middle fingers, and let loose a thin, precise golden flame, about the length of his fingers itself, much like a blowtorch.

Making another small check on Louis, to make sure he wasn't moving toward them, Kyle cautiously brought the golden flame against the spider's web. If it could be cut, that would certainly make things easier. But he had a feeling that wouldn't be the case.

He hoped for luck, but prepared for pain.  

[RhikoDemson]

{ATE .:. The Bright Side .:. 12}
[[Louis/Narration : Bobbi's Heart : Station]]

"You're welcome," Louis responded to Kyla with a giggle and smile before she suddenly cried out in pain. Bobbi snapped at him, but he only shook his head in bewilderment, "I didn't do anything," Louis whined, "Why are you so mad at me? The game hasn't started yet."

[[BGM: Leaves of Confusion ~Utautai Mode~ from Drakengard 3]]

Kyle's assessment of the lights caused a stir. The glow moved about when touched by his light, swirling about like smoke when acted upon by a breath of air. It parted, mixed together, and parted again, only to repeat like this and twist the trail of light about to a different angle. It would seem, even if cutting it caused the light to separate momentarily, it was only temporary.  

[Enji_Chou]

{ATE .:. The Bright Side .:. 13}
{Kyla : Bobbi's Heart : Station}

“Tch!- thanks.. both of you…”
She replied, looking to Bobbi, then meeting Joe’s seemingly apathetic gaze as well.

The pain seemed to die away, and she could see her flesh reforming thanks to their combined efforts.
With that her panic subsided-

“Ugh.. I should really think about progressing a white mage tier in the future..” injuring her dominant hand was bad- her dominant hand.. wait- the one she used to touch the- and then Kyle voiced it.

She groaned at disappointment in herself. Curiosity killed the cat right?
Well then she was doomed.

But then that posed another issue- looking around seeing these streams all over the place-
‘this could be a problem…once the game starts.’ She voiced over the charms.
‘ Especially if he can manipulate where they flow.’
 

[phoenixianCrystallist]

{ATE .:. The Bright Side .:. 14}
{Bobbi .:. Bobbi's Heart .:. Station of Awakening}

Bobbi nodded at Kyla, acknowledging her thanks, but not trusting herself to talk. Already this was off to a less than stellar start, and she was afraid she'd start crying if she didn't keep a tight reign on herself. Louis' reaction puzzled her, though. He seemed genuinely confused, but she knew those aura streams were from him. She'd narrowly escaped them before, when Shiva flung her out of her Dive and back into reality.

Shiva… where was she now?

.:The lights must be the aftermath of the last attack he sent at me,:. the Archer sent via the charms, along with an image or memory of what had happened. .:Also looks like he reverted back to his playful self. Dunno how long that's gonna last. I prefer this Louis; can I keep him?:. The last she tried to send in a jovial tone, but it fell flat and sounded more exasperated than anything. Additionally, if the charms worked anything like the Mind Speech of her favorite books, her friends could probably detect overtones of stress and fear in addition to her words. If nothing else, her body language would have certainly conveyed her emotions very clearly.  

[AldrickZearse]

[ATE: The Bright Side: 15]
[Joe: Bobbi's Heart: Station of Awakening]

Kyla voiced her thanks, and Joe just nodded, eyes focused on Louis, when Kyle started talking to them...he could have sworn there was a moment before the 'event' that the dragoon tried to say something, but he got distracted.

The monk was chewing on the inside of his mouth as he took in Kyle's information. That would explain what happened to Kyla. Which meant he'd need to do something to protect himself. The guy could likely control the lights, after all.

He kept up the healing, but he also prepared another spell. Did he dare fire it off now? Or wait for a better time lest he provoke Louis now?

Bobbi's words in his mind helped him make a decision. Even if it might have been very, very stupid.

Bobbi, just remember. You're not alone. We're all here for you, with you. Also...sorry if this starts something. Hopefully he's distracted by me if it does.

Joe let his spell be cast, and suddenly he was surrounded by a wind barrier. He Levantera wasn't that strong, but he hoped it boosted his own wind enough to keep the brunt of the aurora off of him.

And then, he waited to see what Louis would do, ready to make his move if necessary.  

[RhikoDemson]

{ATE .:. The Bright Side .:. 16}
[[Narration]]

[[BGM: The Leaves of Confusion ~Utautai Mode~ from Drakengard 3]]

As the others spoke to each other mentally, Joe took action and kicked up a spinning wall of wind. It didn't do much at first, the breeze barely noticeable from a visible perspective, after all, the magic was just air. The reaction was slow, but soon the aurora around them was moving, it was working! Or... so it seemed. The lights moved with his magic at first, expending out, but soon, as though attempting to fight back, it moved it, and moved with his wind. The small, personal whirlwind became a wall of swirling lights leaving Joe untouched, but swiftly catching the other three who stood close by in the flow! His previously harmless wall to his allies had become a deadly weapon that would do to them what Kyla had done to her own hand after prolonged exposure!  

[fractalJester]

{ ATE : The Bright Side : 17 }
{ Kyle : Bobbi's Heart : Station }

Kyle hummed in discontent. He was severing it, but it was... well, for lack of a better word, healing. What was left would simply spread out as quickly as his flames passed through, only at a new angle. That made things difficult. If they moved, they had to move quick... or they could attempt to damage mass amounts at once and hope the angles it healed at would leave large enough openings.

In his frustration, Kyle was sorely tempted to just attempt the other point blank. He stretched his perception, taking in as much as he could in one sweep, trying to see the layout and what it would take--the less energy used, the better. In his sweep, though, he noticed Joe use his Aero-like buffer spell. Good idea, too, especially as the close-quarters combatant, he'd be dancing back and forth more than any--

--wait.

Kyle's glowing eyes narrowed, and his body tensed. The web... the wind...

Oh God.

"No!" Kyle shouted aloud instinctively, and with a flurry of motion, his arms let loose a wide, arcing wave of golden flame that blazed around and through all four of them--but not toward Louis. His second motion unleashed his classic Banish wave, imbued not with damage but with Dispel toward Joe, immediately cancelling out the swirling winds that altered the flow of the webs.

"Sorry, I'm sorry, just," he announced, back over the charms, his face contorted in heavy concern. "That would have ended badly. The webs heal and spread at new angles, we need to... find some way to keep them off of us without pushing them away. Damage, don't buffer... I think. God, I wish I had more time."

Even now, he kept his perception on the healing threads, trying to find out where they'd go, what they'd do. His Clarity gave him enhanced perception of their spread and potential, so he'd be okay, but the others...  

[RhikoDemson]

{ATE .:. The Bright Side .:. 18}
[[Louis : Bobbi's Heart : Station of Awakening]]

Louis watched their procession with deep interest. As Kyle panicked and cast dispel on his ally, successfully saving them and dispersing the light temporarily, the young man giggled to himself, "You guys are funny. So much more entertaining than Shiva-neesan. What are you doing? Is this a new game? Are we playing already? What are the rules? I can play, can't I? Please, I don't wanna be left out. Please let me play with your friends, Bobbi-neesan~"

[[BGM: Out Come the Crawlers ~Utautai Mode~ from Drakengard 3]]

As his string of excited questions prattled off, the voice's singing changed, faster paced, it was clearer now, but it seemed to also come accompanied by instruments. Was there an orchestra now? How? Where was it coming from? Then again, it was a heart right? Bobbi's heart. Was this normal?

Meanwhile, Kyle's vision grew blurrier, the ripples like falling raindrops on the surface of a pool grew bigger, more pronounced, this made it more difficult to see. Clarity, despite it's name, seemed less clear, yet, while the ripples grew they drew to be more uniform.