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 Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2005 9:42 pm
[All I Want is the Truth, Part 3 of 13]
The change in tune seemed to enrage the children and they broke the fragile bond between themselves and The Flute. Some of the weaker ones collapsed back into piles of bones, but the strong ones - the ones that had begun to remember with the aid of Chandra's lament - they took this time to advance on Chandra.
Crowding around the Legend, their voices unified once again as Chandra tried desperately to stop playing.
You won't trick us again. Where are the others?
Their bony fingers snagged in her hair and clothes as they tugged at her, searching perhaps for a sign of the people from their past.
"I do not know," Chandra breathed, finally freeing herself from the The Flute. "I just want to know what happened."
That seemed to be the right thing to say, as the children began to back off in ones and twos and regained their semblance of individuality.
The song called us here, one of the large ones sighed.
And they were waiting for us, another sobbed out.
There was fire, At that several of them shivered.
And someone began screaming for their mother.
The last comment was met with lowered heads and Chandra got the sense they felt both ashamed and guilty.
She came. The oldest one stated, with its arm again around a smaller one. Chandra thought perhaps they were siblings. The smaller one agreed, speaking up. She came when we called her, but it was too late.
"Who came?" Chandra asked, fearing that she actually knew the answer to that question.
Our mother.
This answer came from so many places and voices at once, if Chandra hadn't been expecting this answer she might not have been able to make it out.
"I see," she said, and indeed she did. Looking around at the children gathered in her vicinity, with their pitifully faded selves and tattered remains - she had a feeling she knew where the fire had come from too. And she intended to deal with that issue as soon as she figured out what to do about the children. She clearly wasn't going to be able to execute her original plan and make them march to The End with the aid of the treacherous Flute.
"You all dead," she said, rather unnecessarily. "I do not believe that I can help you."
This was met with stony silence from the children and fearing another crowding, Chandra continued.
"If you will follow the Flute..." She was cut off.
No. We will remain here, together.
And with that final word, they collapsed their physical forms - leaving Chandra to wonder just how much of her troubles here had been caused by their subtle interference. Had they perpetrated the deed she attributed to Fate? Had they been the ones who directed the Key and Flute to her hands?
There really was no way to answer that question, short of calling them out again. An act Chandra knew would anger them.
So instead, she addressed the next concern on her list - the only current possible target for her rage - the source of the fire.
Libitina.
Raising the Flute to her lips, Chandra demanded Libitina's presence. Anticipating a struggle, she was caught by surprise when the fiery shade appeared instantly up out of the red clay. As if, perhaps, she had been present all along.
With a derisive twist of her lips, Libitina set the world on fire. Chandra, the ends of her hair rising in the heat, did her best to ignore the flames licking their way up her clothes. They were slowly, despite her best intentions, burning their way through her clothes and revealing the blood red silk hidden below. That dress seemed always to lurk below the surface, symbolizing what Chandra wasn't sure.
"Were you listening?" Chandra said, letting the Flute fall into the folds of her dress - its usefulness (and probably its energy) at an end. "You were the fire," she accused. "You planned to harvest them, to make yourself immortal."
Libitina crossed her arms over her chest, her skin stretching disturbingly over bone.
"You would have done the same. In fact, I believe the little energy we were able to harvest before out plans were ruined was used to send you back with a body. A pity that is turning out to be a poor decision."
"You disgust me," Chandra hissed, pulling out the Key. "Who else was involved?"
Libitina snorted at Chandra's choice of weapon and the flames subsided slightly as she gathered them around her legs. She chose to answer Chandra's question with a wall of flame. The Legend could feel the heat of the wall before it crashed over her like a wave and engulfed her.
As her clothing, skin, and hair evaporated in the white hot heat - Chandra hid in her oldest form. An owl, slightly singed, flew out of the sea of fire and rounded on Libitina. The shade noticed the bird before too long and began gathering the fire around herself again this time like a cloak. As the tide pulled in on the flame, Chandra outpaced it with several powerful beats of her wings.
Everything human had been burned away and Chandra approached Libitina with her talons bared, the way she would snatch a mouse from a field. But this time her target was Libitina's eyes.
Libitina brought her hands up as the talons ripped into her, seeking purchase on the bone of her skull. The fire hadn't completely come back into her control, but enough of it came rushing up with her hands to drive Chandra back into the air - one wing almost useless. In exchange for that sacrifice, however, Libitina's face was scared by the presence of a hole where her left eye had previously sat. As Chandra circled, the hole began to leak fire in a thin stream down Libitina's face.
The shade, incomprehensibly, began to laugh - the fire rolling around her as it shared in her mirth.
"You forget the rules," she choked out, putting up a hand to cover her leaking eye socket. "Here, reality is what you make of it." She removed the hand and her eye was back and as good as new.
The Chandra owl shrieked in defiance and circled, avoiding the stream of fire Libtina raised in her direction. As it hit the ceiling and began to rain down in random drops, it became harder to avoid and her flight was driven lower. Finally she landed, remaking herself in bits and pieces - trying to shift herself out of both the owl shape and her wounds.
When she finally found her shape, she was dripping with fire - which quickly reversed the healing she had done through force of will. There was something about heat, about the way it reminded her of Life, which she couldn't resist. She envied it in others, even as it threatened to burn her away.
Raising her head, fighting to keep her eyesight - even as her hair gave way to bare skin - Chandra pulled out the key and leapt at Libitina. She grabbed onto the shade with her arms and legs, fighting to plunge the Key into the ghost's newer eye. When she succeeded, Libitina's chuckles transformed into a high pitched scream and the flames began to die.
Not content to let her be consumed the way Angerona had been, Chandra pulled the Key back out with a horrible sucking sound.
"Who was in charge?" She asked, calmly - her face a hideously melted parody of its normal self.
Libitina, the left side of her face turning slowly to ash, opened and closed her mouth wordlessly. Her remaining eye spun around in its socket, looking at nothing.
"Who?" Chandra asked again, plunging the Key into another part of Libitina's body.
That seemed to catch her attention, and as the ash spread slowly from her shoulder and up her neck to meet with the ashen circle around her eye, she looked at Chandra with her remaining eye. Through a ruined mouth, she whispered, "Her daughters."
Satisfied at receiving the answer she had expected, Chandra plunged the Key under and up to destroy Libitina's heart. She didn't have enough of a mouth left to properly scream, much to Chandra's relief, and it didn't take long for her to be reduced to a pile of ash - which a stray wind swept up and took away.
Chandra actually collapsed shortly before that, her spirit speeding back to where she had left her body in Life.
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Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2005 8:09 am
[All I Want is the Truth, Part 4 of 13]
When Chandra awoke, rolling over on the floor of her bedroom with a groan, she was unsure what day it was - or even, briefly, where she was. The room was blanketed in darkness, although a little light managed to slip in through the edges of the heavy curtain which had been pulled shut over her bedroom windows. There was several indistinct shadows in the room, which Chandra had trouble focusing on or even determining whether they were animate or inanimate. She had a feeling this wasn't the first time she had awakened, but she couldn't clearly remember any previous episodes.
"Hello?" She croaked, her throat feeling like it had sustained a bad sunburn. If someone was in her room, and she had to believe that at least Marx was present - it would serve her to be aware of that fact.
As an answer to her utterance, Marx swam into view in front of her face. The fairy was looking uncharacteristically concerned and pushed a glass of water into view. It had the tell-tale little bubbles along the sides of the glass that water which has sat out for a while often develops.
"You requested water the last time you woke up," he said, his voice seemingly ten times louder than usual. "Although I doubt water will heal whatever you have done to your throat. And it certainly won't help those burns down the left side of your body."
As he pointed that out, Chandra though he seemed to have a certain aura of grim satisfaction about him, but she could barely focus enough to pay attention to his voice - let alone accomplish the often confusing task of interpreting body language.
"The Book?" It came out as a barely intelligible whisper, but Marx nodded and then walked out of view. It occurred to Chandra to wonder how he had obtained a glass of water, but she pushed it out of her mind as he pushed the Book she had requested into her field of vision.
"Open." She said, wishing it wasn't necessary to speak.
Marx sighed, but did his best to try and leverage the book open. Unfortunately he was neither strong enough, nor tall enough to do so. When the Book snapped shut on him for the third time, Marx stepped back with a sigh.
"I can't open it, which I think you should have known. It isn't fair to ask me to do things you should know I'm not capable of. Or maybe that's just me." He slinked off in a huff, to climb back up onto the bottom shelf of the book shelf where he could watch over Chandra's almost prone form. On his way, he passed by the emaciated legs of one of his bond's least favorite people.
"Not feeling very well, are we?" Mictecacihuatl wheezed, her breath coming in short gasps and her cavernous rib cage heaving. "Why do you insist on trying to resist us at every turn?" The pale woman, although covered in shadow, was obviously not at her best. Huge bags hung under her dark eye sockets and her cheeks were sunken. Skin hung in folds off her arm bones.
At Mictecacihuatl's words, Chandra raised her head just far enough off the floor so she could peer into the darkness in the old woman's direction. She couldn't really think of anything she wanted to say to Mictecacihuatl however, so she simply laid her head back down and closed her eyes without a word.
Coughing heavily, Mictecacihuatl pushed herself to her feet, leaning heavily on the back of the chair she had previously occupied. "I don't care who is assisting you. Opposing us is a waste. When I'm back in power, you'll be rid of these silly urges to interfere in things that are none of your business," she said, her throat rasping. When she had finished, she used a bony finger to flick a bit of bloody spittle off the corner of her mouth in Chandra's direction. Then, with a sneer twisting her thin lips, she exitted - allowing light to stream in from the hallway, partially blinding Chandra.
That would have been a good moment for the Legend to lapse back into unconciousness, but her spiral back into darkness was interrupted by the words of the second sister.
"Your actions are so unexpected," Xochiquetzal burbled, her plump cheeks jiggling. Where Mictecacihuatl appeared to be wasting away and rotting from the inside out, Xochiquetzal appeared to be inflating like some sort of sick human balloon. Everything jiggled when she walked and the small patches of fabric that passed for her clothes appeared to be straining to contain her increasing mass. "Don't you want immortality? That's what you'll have," she giggled shrilly. "A forever in which to accomplish any goal you desire. You could become the most powerful necromancer who ever lived. You could rule Life, should you choose."
Chandra groaned and rolled so she was face-down on the carpet. "Lies," she whispered. "Broken promises. Nothing I want."
Xochiquetzal narrowed her eyes and waddled over to where Chandra was laying. "If you won't help us," she hissed, " we can take away the life we gave you. You should be dead, you ungrateful little piece of s**t." Her message delivered, Xochiquetzal kicked Chandra sharply in the side with one blood red stilletto. The kick was well-placed and Chandra gasped, all the air gone from her lungs - before her mind shut down again, sending her into oblivion.
From his perch on the bookshelf, Marx watched this all with the Black Pearl hovering in the shadows behind him. She, for he thought of the Pearl as female, seemed to be trying to get as far away from Chandra as one who was bonded to her could do. He, on the otherhand, was torn between the obligation he felt to help his bond and the satisfaction seeing her brought low gave him. It was a feeling, deep in the pit of his stomach, a mixture of guilt and pleasure - that ended up feeling pretty good. So, with a curl of his lips, he settled in to watch over Chandra's once again still form.
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Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2005 11:01 am
[All I Want is the Truth, Part 5 of 13] Quote: Shed no tears for broken me
With her injuries, it took Chandra several minutes to get into a sitting position - but she managed it eventually. The next hurdle to overcome was getting the glass of water, now older than before, to her parched lips. The majority of it ended spilled on the floor and Chandra's broken body, but some reached her mouth. Swallowing actually ended up being the most difficult task of all and she almost choked on the water, spitting a great deal of it back up on the floor. Had she realized the severity of her situation, even the level-headed Chandra might have cried - but she was inexperienced in knowing when she had reached her limit, so she just pushed her body to do as she required.
Pulling the Book heavily into her lap, the Legend pushed it open and leaned over so she could focus her eyes on the print that formed there. She had only one question in mind for the Book and although it tried several times to give her pages on alternate topics such as how to create a body from magic or how to steal one from one of the Living - displacing the resident soul - she persisted and eventually it gave her the entry she desired - "My Dear Daughters".
The Book of the Dead It is with a heavy heart that I write this entry. Normally this sort of communication would be impossible because of the rules which constrain the transfer of knowledge (and therefore) power between deities and mortals. However, my possession of this body will allow me to make this entry and give me a chance to right some of my past wrongs. I have turned a blind eye to the machinations of my progeny for far too long. I interfered once in the plans of my daughters and was sent to The End in punishment. My current freedom was hard-won and will be fleeting, although possibly the result of my daughters' attempts to erase their own sins. I doubt it though for several reasons I choose not to record here. It is a painful thing to find that the creatures you made of your own flesh have chosen to betray and reject you. And it is a personal pain - not a concern for posterity. After all, the things written here are recorded forever and unable to be erased or revised. I was once a much more powerful deity - born of the dreams of a now defunct civilization. The desperate need of mortals to explain their world has spawned so many of us with such varied powers and domains. I was their mother figure. The creation and destruction of life were both within my grasp. I could see the future strethed ahead of me, so that I might make the correct choices of who would live and die when. They had great faith in me, but I failed them. The effects of my actions were so varied and my sight not always complete. So, I made a poor decision - but one which I believed in the best interests of all at the time. I split my powers. The sight I kept because it seemed to dangerous to be used by anyone but myself. And I was unsure of my success. If something was to be kept, I selfishly desired to keep that. The other two sides of my powers I gave their own life. I pulled from my own center and split my energy into pieces. It is not an easy thing to do. Unlike the methods many mortals use to divide and cache their life force into other beings or objects, I did not invest my life force into objects - I made it into two seperate entities. I gave them Life, or more accurately a parody of it, and set them free from me. I believed that, unfettered by the belief they knew it all, they could make better decisions. Perhaps they would err on the side of caution instead of believing they always knew the best posible route. But - I was wrong. Instead Mictecacihuatl and Xochiquetzal were consumed by their powers. Twisted into the embodiement of all that was bad about their domains. Originally they were confined to their seasons. Mictecacihuatl ruled the winter - the time of death and decay. Xochiquetzal ruled the summer - a time of growth and birth. But they began to persist through the season that was not her own. (I still do not undertand how.) Worse, they began to lust for more than they had been given. They wished to escape their narrow domains - and because of the way they had been created they had that option open to them. They aren't deities nor mortals and so are unbound by the natural laws that bind both. I tried to counsel them and to lead by example, but they rejected my advice. Instead they began to gather a following of mortals who had similar aims. They promised them impossible things and had them perform horrific tasks. I should have nipped the entire scheme in the bud, but I couldn't take the betrayal. I buried myself in other concerns and allowed them free reign. It wasn't until the children called me that I found the ability to oppose my daughters. Those pieces of myself which had run free. Once I intervened, though - I was punished. It was not my place to stop them, nor was it within my power any longer. I had given the bulk of my abilities away. Someone needs to unite them - to nullify them with eachother. It is the only way, I believe, to stop their current scheming and the destruction it causes. It will not be easy to join them, but I believe they have done part of the job themselves - since they have enabled eachother to exist at the same time. Their bodies, which are products of some sort of necromatic art, must be uttery destroyed - and then The Flute used to force their "souls" into one entity. To avoid this more powerful being wreaking more havoc than they would ever do seperately, it must be forced beyond The End by the Key and locked from the inside. The Key, of course, must then be destroyed.
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Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2005 12:30 pm
[All I Want is the Truth, Part 6 of 13] "Interesting reading?" Mictecacihuatl asked drily from behind Chandra.
Closing her eyes, Chandra let the book close and pushed it off her lap to the side. Her body was stiff from the time she had spent reading and there didn't seem to be a single spot that didn't cry out in pain. She could feel her body failing around her, but she ignored it - pushing the sensations to some forgotten corner of her mind.
"Yes. I am sure you can guess the subject." Chandra pushed herself to her feet, her legs almost crumpling under her weight. On the side of her body covered with burns the bone peeked through in places and threatened to do more - but it held. She regarded Mictecacihuatl and the shadow of her more corpulent sister behind her calmly. "I am glad you are both here. I would hate to have to hunt you down."
Mictecacihuatl frowned, her gaunt face pinching in on itself - she opened her mouth to say something, her thin skin stretching painfully over her bones - but Xochiquetzal interrupted with a sick giggle. "You're going to die," she said, waddling into the room and elbowing her way past Mictecacihuatl. "And this time we won't be there to help you." She smiled, her cheeks dimpling deeply as her chin jiggled. She seemed winded by the effort of taking a few steps into the room.
"I do not require your assistance," Chandra said, her scars pulling as she stepped over to stand as close to Xochiquetzal as possible. "And it appears to me as if you and your sister are not doing very well either. Losing Angerona and Libitina appears to have taken a toll." She looked right into Xochiquetzal's eyes, unflinching. Every breath sent a wave of fire up her side, a reminder of this woman's cruelty. It seemed to be an adequate antidote to Xochiquetzal's natural charm.
With a sneer, Xochiquetzal broke eye contact with Chandra and turned to her sister. Mictecacihuatl pursed her thin lips before replying.
"We are having difficulty keeping ourselves seperated. Our recent attempts to gather energy have been thwarted. What does she counsel doing with us?"
Chandra backed up. She had not anticipated an exchange of information and it threw her off balance, which was probably the intended effect.
"Joining you and then banishing you." She shifted her attention to Xochiquetzal's face, feeling that more emotion would spill over there. Xochiquetzal simply turned her face away from Chandra when she noticed the attention, giving the Legend a view of her back and the rolls of fat which seemed to be dripping off her puffy body.
"We cannot allow that to occur," Mictecacihuatl sighed, looking more tired than ever. Her eyes had basically sunk completely back into their sockets, giving the illusion of two empty staring holes in her face. "I do hate to lose the energy we invested in you Chandra, but you have not turned out the way we anticipated. And if you are allowed to continue acting unchecked, I believe you might be capable of destroying us - especialy in our current weakened state."
Xochiquetzal turned back around, a sick grin plastered to her face. Speaking in a sing song voice she advanced on Chandra who took several painful steps backwards. "It is a pity Libitina got to start the job of dismantling you." Her eyes rolled upwards a bit and she began muttering under her breath and giggling again. Chandra didn't catch very many words, but the ones she did made her wish she hadn't.
"We don't have time for games," Mictecacihuatl said crisply, withdrawing her claw-like hands from the folds of her heavy black robe. As she held them up in front of her the nails grew into black claws and they began to frost - ice spreading all the way up underneath the voluminous sleeves of her garb. "We will freeze her heart and be done with it."
Chandra wasn't particularly prone to the emotion of fear. She had conquered it along with its cousins as a child under Mictecacihuatl's cruel tutelage. But something about this situation seemed to call for an end to her tight rein on her emotions and Chandra backed up again, stumbling to her knees over the Book of the Dead.
She stared wildly around her, her hair getting into her vision as she moved her head from side to side. There had to be something in the room she could use or some way to escape her rapidly approaching fate. Her heart was beating so hard and fast it drowned out whatever piece of nonsense dribbled out of Xochiquetzal's mouth as she leaned in close, her face inches from Chandra's panicked eyes.
Chandra didn't dare blink as Xochiquetal's face disappeared and Mictecacihuatl leaned in to stare at her. As the cold of Mictecacihuatl's claws began to crawl up between her ribs Chandra's mind did one last sweep of the room. There had to be something they could do to avoid this premature end, it insisted.
"Something," Chandra whispered, her eyes beginning to glaze over. "Anything."
"I am afraid," Mictecacihuatl said, ignoring Xochiquetzal's hysterical laughing from behind her. "That there is nothing you can offer us anymore." She shook her head a bit sadly. "I would not have thought you were one who would beg. I always believed you would take to Death silently and willingly."
"I am not begging," Chandra said, quite clearly despite the frost which was now crawling up and out of where Mictecacihuatl's claw-like hand was thrust in between her ribs. There was no blood flow at all out of the cavity and Mictecacihuatl's face started to fall. Something about this situation was wrong and she was trying to quickly figure out how badly she had miscalculated. "I was looking for a solution to my present problem. I believe," she whispered, "that I have found one."
Desperate for anything to halt her almost certain death, Chandra's hand had closed on the now empty water glass. As it was, it couldn't really help her - but as it could be, it could be just what she needed. As she spoke, she slammed the glass against the edge of The Book and as she had hoped, the rim shattered into a bunch of sharp pieces of glass. Grabbing one of them, she swung it up and sliced Mictecacihuatl's arm to the bone.
Mictecacihuatl quickly sucked in air in pain, her face wrinkling further. "A temporary measure," the shade said, frost already beginning to knit her flesh back together.
Xochiquetzal shoved her fleshy face in to see better what was going on and gave Chandra's chest a look of alarm. She appeared not to notice the piece of glass in their victim's hand. "Shouldn't she already be dead?" Her chins jiggled as she spoke and the Legend took the opportunity to slice through them with the jagged piece of glass which was now lodged firmly into the flesh of her palm.
Chandra had intended only for this to chase Xochiquetzal away while she dealt with the hand lodged into her ribcage, but it had far more interesting effects. Hot blood began to spill out of the wide cut under Xochiquetzal's chin and onto Mictecacihuatl's skin, where it cut through tissue and bone like hot water through ice.
"She cut me! She cut me!" Xochiquetzal seemed to be unable to do anything but scream and attempt to stem the flow of blood from her chin. She was oblivious to the damage she caused to Mictecaichuatl with every movement. To her credit, Mictecacihuatl remained calm. She pulled her arm out of Chandra's chest and reached up to grab her hysterical sister firmly by the arm.
"Stop it," she hissed. "Can't you see what you're doing?"
Xochiquetzal didn't answer, however, just gaped at where Mictecacihuatl had grabbed her arm. From under the cold woman's pale hand, Xochiquetzal's skin was slowly turning black and dying. The fat, panicked woman pulled her arm roughly out of her sister's hand, but the deadness continued to spread - just as the pockmarks in Mictecacihuatl's skin had continued to sizzle. Both of them were being eaten alive by the other's essence.
Chandra, watching, began to laugh, roughly and painfully. "It appears that I am not the only one who will die soon."
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Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 7:26 pm
[All I Want Is The Truth, Part 7 of 13] The advanced state of damage to her physical form and the certainty that the sisters would soon join her both conspired to push Chandra out of Life and into Death. It was not an entirely voluntary trip and when she arrived in Death, she realized that the feeling of being able to slip back out at any time - back to her body and Life - was missing.
She was Dead.
That knowledge probably should have bothered her, but it did not. Instead she felt a certain sense of relief filter through her. She could finally be judged and be done with Life.
It was a comforting thought and Chandra sat, letting the red dress fan out around her. She closed her eyes and began her silent waiting. Soon. Soon, the sisters would be here. She needed to rest, so that she would be ready for them.
The Key could not be removed from Chandra's possession because of the way it had bonded to her soul, but the Flute was not subject to any such restrictions. While the Legend had slept and partially healed on the floor of her bedroom, someone had snuck in and taken the Flute. It now rested comfortably on the top of a newly dug grave, soaking up moonlight and grief. A soft glow and a quiet hum of air signified to anyone passing by that it was more than its simple form suggested.
It was, in fact, destined to return to Chandra's side before too much time had elapsed in the gloomy forest of Death's first stage - despite Chandra's refusal to believe in such a force.
When Chandra woke, it was to a riot of sound and color. An impossible event in the Land of the Dead. Things here worked more slowly and less vividly, removed from the intense cares and brief lives in the Land of the Living. But still - it was if a firework had exploded in front of her.
Trees were falling, consumed by colored fire, and crashing loudly to the ground. The underbrush seemed to be infested with tiny animal spirits, mad with fear and something akin to hunger.
Hunger for the warmth of the Living, who they could sense through a weakened spot in the veil between realms.
That got Chandra's attention and she jerked herself back to full vigilance, only to be confused by the feel of cool silver in her palm. Glancing down from the chaos in front of her she noted with surprise that it was indeed The Flute - and empowered far beyond its previous capacity. This was The Flute that could be either a powerful tool or a dangerous enemy.
She would have to hope she could control it long enough to use it to control the Sisters - who were swirling in front of her. They didn't even seem to be aware she was there as she lifted The Flute to her lips and began a simple tune. They were concentrated on their concerted efforts to simply smash their way back out of Death and into Life.
The tune started out simple, Chandra's attempt to calm and control the chaos around her - to make it something she could quantify and influence - but it became more and more complex as she re-wove the strands of Death's reality. She played without pausing, concentrating on the resolving picture in her mind's eye. To control the sisters, to reconcile them, she needed a vessel - a container capable of restraining them for the journey through the Land of the Dead.
There was only one such container available to Chandra at this point in time and that was the Key.
Before the Sisters realized what was happening to them, they were trapped inside the Key, placed there by the Flute's seductive tune and Chandra was making what she believed to be her final journey through the Land of the Dead.
Through the dark wooden forests, humid jungles, and low-lying brush of the first stage.
Through the arid, whipping winds, drifting sand dunes, and mirages of the second stage.
Through the murky depths and coral reefs of the third stage.
And finally - through the frigid, unwelcome heights of the fourth stage.
Despite Chandra's wish to see it all once more, she passed through the stages in a blur. Her feet and occasionally wings moved of their own accord, hustled along by the half-remembered tune echoing around in her head.
And in an instant she was through the gates - and inside the Key.
She expected to find Kiran there, but didn't. Instead - she found her mother.
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Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 2:04 pm
[All I Want Is The Truth, Part 8 of 13] "You," Chandra said calmly, "do not belong here."
Her mother inclined her head to acknowledge the truth of that statement, but her words contradicted the action.
"The host body could not contain me much longer. I simply hastened the end and chose the instrument of my destruction."
She looked up, meeting Chandra's eyes. To the Legend it felt as if she was being judged, weighed in some way.
"You will benefit from all this death and gain the Life that you have never had."
Chandra tore her eyes away, only to find herself still looking into the eyes of the woman she could find no other name for than 'mother'.
"I don't want -" She started, and then was choked off as the Key exploded - pushed to it's limit trying to contain all the souls which it had recently been forced to swallow.
Chandra was carried out of Death by something other than the explosion and forced rather violently back into her own body. The pain and shock almost overwhelmed her, but then the remainder of the energy went to work - knitting bones and flesh back together.
It continued past the point where Chandra felt like herself, giving her true Life.
She awoke in her room to a determined knocking on the front door. As she pushed herself to her feet, she noted that the light streaming through the bedroom windows didn't bother her. In fact, it felt comfortably warm.
Barefoot, her clothes still torn and stained with blood, Chandra went down the stairs and opened the front door - to find an unfamiliar young woman with blonde hair standing there.
"Hello," Chandra said, noting that she felt an odd unsettled feeling in her stomach. It was similar to the one she felt around Dare, but not the same. "May I assist you in some way?"
Alena, feeling far more nervous than Chandra, squeaked a little before clearing her throat and starting again.
"You can't stay here," she said, shuffling around in her brightly colored message bag. She bit her lip and looked inside the bag, shuffling around for several uncomfortable moments before pulling out a small envelope. She held it out for Chandra to take.
"Your mother is dead and Zayne has been given a new home," Alena shifted uncomfortably. "The house will be sold off and I'm sorry to say - " She looked away, unable to meet Chandra's eyes. "I'm sorry to say that no provisions were made for you. You are on your own."
She turned, leaving Chandra standing in the doorway confused, and walked back across the front lawn to step into the waiting car. Chandra looked at the envelope in her hand and noted something very very odd. It was damp from where it had touched her palm.
She was ... sweating.
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Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 6:18 am
[All I Want Is The Truth, Part 9 of 13] A series of uncomfortable and confusing days followed Chandra's resurrection. The Key had been destroyed and the Flute lost, but it was the betrayal of the Book of the Dead that hurt Chandra the most.
She could open it without trouble, but the pages appeared blank. No more of that ancient shifting script she had grown to rely on.
In fact, without a sense of Death, Chandra wasn't really sure what to rely on. She had never been human before and the feelings it brought were unsettling. Heat was less of a deterrent, but now she was affected by cold as well - and the wind and rain. Everything seemed to require a different set of clothing to keep her body comfortable. She felt like a slave to every weather pattern which chose to drift through her new part of town.
Another change.
Despite Alena's statement to the contrary, Chandra had been provided for. At least in terms of some money which allowed her to put down a security deposit and one month's rent on a cozy (read: tiny) apartment in downtown Durem. It was small, but dry and clean - two things that Chandra had found difficult to locate for a decent price. OF course, the higher price meant she needed a job... or two.
Without any marketable skills or experience, Chandra got two jobs at the same filthy cafe she had spoken to child Dare. She waitressed by day and sang by night. The second job was an accident, a result of humming while working.
Oh yes, being human was slowly having an effect on Chandra. She was sweating, humming, even blushing - and worst of all, beginning to feel a bit of empathy and kinship for her fellow man.
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Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 6:19 am
[All I Want Is The Truth, Part 10 of 13] Chandra Trouble Chandra walked into the HQ without her usual wary sense of alertness. She hung her cloak on the coatstand listlessly and sat on the couch in the main room, folding her hands in her lap. She stared at the wall in front of her, at a loss. She had returned to the HQ for a sense of normalcy, but she still felt out of place.
Ever since the Key had been destroyed, the Flute lost, and the Book closed to her - she didn't know what to do. She had an apartment, a normal job, and she could venture out in daylight without any trouble - but she felt unfulfilled, like she was missing part of herself.
And so she sat in the HQ, looking at the wall as if searching for a way back in time. Kanth Loki slammed open the doors of the HQ, positively dripping in blood. He was breathing hard, and one of his ears was torn, no thanks to the demon he had fought beforehand in coming here.
He needed help, but he absolutely hated asking for it... unfortunately for him, there was no other choice.
Looking around frantically, Loki spotted Chandra and inwardly flinched; he had never met her before, and here he was, looking like a complete fool when he was supposed to beg for help.
He had seen her before, and didn't make much of her... but now, she seemed powerful - maybe powerful enough to help him.
"You," He muttered, walking forward and letting the door slam shut, "Would you..." He cursed, drawing in a breath. "Would you help me." It was more of a statement than anything, and his muscles tensed as he asked, as if he was expecting her to deny his offer. Chandra Trouble Chandra looked up at Loki with wide amber eyes and choked out a sad excuse for a laugh. It was harsh, a mockery of a true laugh.
"Help you?" She asked, "What is the exact nature of the help you require?"
Her hands fluttered briefly and then settled into her lap again. Her face flushed slightly as she settled them. Kanth He was not happy.
"Do I really need a reason?" Loki stated coldly, obviously put off by her response to him. He knew that if he'd ask for help from anyone, they'd laugh at him. He wasn't the most popular Legend, after all, even though he tried to fit in most times.
Calming himself, Loki bit his tongue and tried again, reaching up to rub a bit of seeping blood from his skull, looking at it with a bit of disgust on his face.
"I have an enemy that needs... vanquished, so to speak. He's dead, but not." The hyena boy was being vague, but he was also testing Chandra to see if she would take the bait, and if she really was as powerful as she felt. Chandra Trouble Chandra turned a little white at the sight of blood, but looked away to hide the automatic response. She wasn't yet used to such things and she wondered how humans lived this way, their every thought exposed to the world.
"The Dead I understand." She said, collecting herself and looking to him. "Your blood tells me that you are one of the Living."
She reached to the side far from Loki and pulled up the Book, stroking it's stitched skin cover as she laid it in her lap. Opening it to a random page, she held it out to him. The pages were aged and slightly stained, but empty of content.
"Blank," Chandra said, as if that explained everything. "But take a seat," she said, closing the Book of the Dead. "Tell me about this Dead, but not Dead creature that has injured you." Kanth Feeling a bit better about the situation, Loki walked over, but didn't sit, standing up for the moment. His white shirt was ruined, absolutely soaked in droplets of blood, and he noticed her looking away for a moment.
An eyebrow raised, but he said nothing, merely curling his lip.
"Soul Stealer is what he goes by. He... said he was an exorcist. Like me." The last part was a bit harsh, though not enough to condemn him; his eyes traveled over to the book Chandra held, a bit of interest held in those golden orbs of his.
His grip tightened on the staff he held. Would she think him crazy? About half the Legends probably would, had he gone to anyone else. The light in his lantern flickered dangerously, then faded quickly into a soft, crimson glow. Chandra Trouble "I remember you," Chandra said, studying the lantern. "But you were too young for me to realize why the flame from your lantern repelled me."
She almost laughed again, but swallowed the urge.
"He is, undoubtably, one of the Greater Dead. It is possible, if I had the right tools, that I could unravel his physical form - but binding the Dead is not my job. Nor, honestly, do I care to make it my job."
She looked down at her arm and then slowly cut herself with one long nail, producing a small trickle of blood.
"This," she said, "is what happens when you interfere in things that are not your problem. Someone does you a favor and makes you one of the Living, when you want nothing more than to be Dead once and for all." Kanth "How is it not your problem, when he calls himself one of the dead, and invades my world of spirits?" Loki glowered, glancing at his lantern as his eyes drifted away from her, to which he masked his expression, providing a blank stare. "What exactly is your job, since I know practically nothing about you? Not that I care to, mind you," Loki said the last part hurredly, and distastefully - he didn't want to give the impression that he cared, after all. Chandra Trouble "I have an affinity with the Dead," Chandra said by way of explanation. "Well, I usually do."
She knew her next words were probably best kept to herself, but it wasn't really Chandra's way to care about other's feelings.
"People who do not care do not ask. And," she added, slightly piously, "they do not get upset. The Living are so very loud and busy. It is so upsetting to find myself among you."
She stood, the Book falling to her side and rattling on its chain.
"And it is not my problem because I do not send the Dead back to the Land of the Dead. The one time I did so, I died. Punishment for doing something that is not in my nature. I can raise the Dead, find them bodies, and I know how to feed on the Living and their souls - but I do not know how to force them back to the Land of the Dead without divine interference." Kanth Silently fuming, Loki nearly broke the staff that Kanth had given him, and physically forced himself to loosen his grip.
"Upsetting? Then why are you even here?" Hissed the hyena boy, glancing down to her book again. Chandra Trouble "Because I am one of you, hopefully temporarily. Didn't you require something?" She asked, annoyed. Kanth "Yes, but I'm starting to have doubts," Loki growled, his ears pinned against his bloodied face. He thought for a moment, drawing up his lantern and staring into it, gathering his thoughts.
"What if... I made you a proposition?" He continued before she had a chance to consider, glancing at her with a bit of pride.
"Such as... I can offer you the spirits of my lantern, as well as the Soul Stealer... in exchange for your help." The hyena boy glowered at her, looking very unhappy. Chandra Trouble "I do not require souls anymore," Chandra snapped. "I will assist you, however, in an advisory capacity. Please catch me up on what has already occurred." Kanth "What if I don't want your help?" Loki growled back, finally glad at the chance of the possibility of ticking her off. "Perhaps you offended me by refusing to help earlier, and that makes you no different than the other Legends." He shot off like a cannon, ignoring the fact that he didn't know even half of the other Legends, but right now, he was aiming for something that would hit hard. Chandra Trouble Chandra colored, but her voice remained level.
"If you require assistance it is stupid to refuse it because of pride. You will simply regret it later. I am willing to overlook your rudeness based on your status as one of the Living - so if you do want my assistance I suggest you catch me up on the situation. I do not wish to go into something blind." Kanth Smiling for a moment, Loki seemed to consider, then let out a 'sigh', turning just slightly. "Why don't I show you... instead of telling?" The hyena boy grinned maliciously, reaching up to feel the blood crinkling on his face. "You might get a clearer example that way." His narrowed eyes glanced from whence he came, and he let his idle hand drop to his side, his other fingers still curled tightly around his staff. Chandra Trouble "Very well," Chandra said, her eyes narrowing as she clipped her words. She moved in Loki's direction, sparing his staff a sideling glance as she clutched the Book to her side. The chain jingled slightly as she pulled up the hood on her cloak.
"I should warn you that while I am not helpless, I am weaponless. Lead on." Kanth Going out the doors, Loki left the doors open behind him long enough for Chandra to get through, his lips pressing together in a fine line. "I am weaponless as well, in a sense. No other reason would I ask for help in such a way." His eyes remained narrowed as he walked, and as he spoke, it seemed that he refused to look at her. It was true that she was older, but he had just enough sense to keep it so that he didn't seem as young as he actually was, through the fact that he liked to piss everyone and everything off, to a point. Chandra Trouble Chandra trailed behind Loki like a pale shadow, listening to him silently. She didn't feel the need to speak when she had nothing of substance to say. She simply clutched at her remaining piece of security and tried to remember everything she had once been able to see in it. Loki's directionless rage seemed pointless to her and it irked her, interfering with her ability to think about the upcoming task. Kanth Dropping the subject entirely, Loki walked a ways in silence before coming to a halt, holding out a hand for Chandra to stop as well. He brought his staff up to an upright position, and turned his head just in time to see a giant wolflike creature hurtling at them both.
He wasn't pleased in the slightest.
Slamming into Chandra's side, he attempted to get her out of the way, while the creature slammed into him head on, it's attempt obviously directed at the necromancer.
With a mere grunt for the only sound, both Loki and the Soul Stealer disappeared into surrounding bushes, and all went quiet.
But if one listened close enough, quiet voices could be heard singing a sweet lull of a song.
"Hinei Ma Tov... umanaim... Chevet achim gam Yamhad..." Chandra Trouble Loki's shove caught Chandra slightly off guard and completely knocked the wind out of her. She had felt for some split second, the feel of the Dead, and it was a glorious feeling of pain and resignation - a feeling she missed desperately.
"I suppose," she said, picking herself up from the ground as her pupils dilated wide so she could peer through the dark, "that was our quarry."
She pulled up the Book and laid it on her palms. It began to bleed, slowly and sluggishly, and Chandra began to hum a half-forgotten tune as she ventured towards the bushes. If she could feel the Dead, she ought to be able to find them as well. Kanth The hyena boy hung in the trees, just starting to lift himself out of the branches, splayed there haphazardly. The Soul Stealer remained under him, grinning madly with its mouth wide open, tongue lolled out as if it had finally found its quarry from a long chase.
In a way, he had.
"Curse on you," Loki spat, now crouching within the branches, seeing Chandra out of the corners of his eyes. He knew better than to look at her; he could be the distraction for a while. He only hoped she had something up her sleeve.
"As long as you're up there... you can't go." The Soul Stealer laughed, showing his large fangs. Loki narrowed his eyes; just what was he getting at? Chandra Trouble Chandra was rapidly homing in on the Soul Stealer and the Book was not pleased. It was not only beading with blood, but it had begun a high-pitched screaming - only barely audible to the human ear.
"Come out, come out..." She whispered, looking about. "I want to talk to you."
One of the greater Dead wandering about had her wandering what she could do as one of the Living. The worst that could happen was that she would get what she really wanted. Kanth Loki's ears pinned flat against his head, but he grinned, just slight enough to mock the beast.
"What IS that awful sound? It's not nearly as bad as that damn song I keep hearing near the Church..." The Soul Stealer remarked, hissing as he turned, ears going flat against his skull.
"Hinei Ma Tov..." Loki murmured softly, making the Soul Stealer scream softly at him, red eyes glaring. The hyena boy chuckled, disturbed by him, but was still out of reach, and thus could mock to his advantage. Chandra Trouble "Book of the Dead," Chandra said, matter of factly. She stepped up behind the Soul Stealer and let said volume drop. The chain hardly rattled, but the high pitched screaming continued. "I'm afraid it does not react well to the presence of those who should have gone beyond."
She looked up at Loki and then stepped quickly to put the tree trunk between herself and their quarry as she addressed her fellow Legend.
"He's one of the Dead," she said. "But there is something more to him or I would be insensitive to his state. You will need to destroy whatever vessel holds his soul and then confine that soul to a new and more controlled space - possibly the Land of the Dead, although having escaped once, he could likely do the same again."
Chandra eyed the Soul Stealer warily, afraid suddenly that she would meet a fate other than the simple death she had earlier anticipated. Kanth "Destroy the vessel? I don't know what you're talking about!" Loki growled as the Soul Stealer slammed his fist into the tree, holding on tightly so that he wouldn't be shaken out. The only spirits he had ever dealt with had NOT taken over bodies in such a state as this - at this point, he couldn't even tell that Kanth within him.
"My business isn't with you..." The beast mocked, sinking down to eye level with Chandra. "I was never sent to the dead in the first place, and you have no control... I will become the only exorcist here!" Looming forward, his jaws opened wide to snap at Chandra, attempting to spill blood. Chandra Trouble Chandra quickly shuffled sideways to avoid the attack, keeping the tree between herself and the angry one. She continued speaking to Loki.
"A vessel is a physical anchor which holds the spirit in Life. Usually it is a body, but it could be an object which was capable of holding a great deal of energy. If you destroy the anchor, you gain access to the spirit."
She eyed the Soul Stealer seriously, her knuckles white and her amber eyes wide.
"Honestly," the necromancer said. "I do not understand what your business here is. You say you are not one of the Dead, but you feel wrong. I do not believe that you are one of the Living." Kanth "You're saying that I have to destroy my new guardian's soul." The statement was blunt, and harsh. The Soul Stealer looked up at the hyena boy and grinned.
"She was delicious, just as this nimble necromancer will be." The beast eyed Chandra, and then took a step back. "I never stated that I was living, now..."
Loki's ears twitched, and he winced as something tugged on his bitten ear, reaching up to brush it off. He stopped when something landed on his hand, and he lowered it to see something white and fluffy lingering there.
"Hinei ma tov..." Loki glared, and the thing hovered sporiadically for a moment, then sat on the back of his hand again, turning into a darker shade of grey.
"Behold how good..."
"What the hell is this?" Loki growled, shaking the thing off and glancing back down to the beast, who remained in his spot.
"He is guarding. Guarding, against!" The thing proclaimed again, to which Loki glared at, once more.
"Chandra... do you know what this... thing... is trying to say?" He blinked, then added, "I can't understand such a tiny thing speak." Bits of fur fell off, and the puffball turned a crimson color, from which Loki guessed was either anger, or embarrassment.
The beast, having heard enough, leaped up and snapped at the branch Loki was on, breaking it as well as puncturing through one of Loki's legs. The hyena boy yelled aloud, slamming to the ground and recoiling, slamming the palm of his hand into the Soul Stealer's nose. Yelping, the beast recoiled, but didn't have time enough to follow Loki as he darted off.
The Soul Stealer stood, ready to give chase, but saw Chandra standing within his path. "Move out of my way, toy." Chandra Trouble Chandra sighed, realizing that since he had just run off - Loki only had half of the information she had intended to give him. She regarded the Soul Stealer calmly, unnerved but too well trained to show it obviously.
"I am not in your way," she told the beast. "I have no quarrel with you. The boy asked for assistance and I attempted to give it. Now that it is obvious he doesn't want it - I feel no need to continue."
"I have other places to be," Chandra lied, and moved out of the path of Loki's retreat. "Besides, dealing with the Living is tedious. I would prefer not to be involved in such a futile struggle against the inevitable."
She shrugged at the beast and then began a slow walk back to the HQ, where she had been before encountering Loki. She wasn't sure why she was searching for normalcy there, but she didn't feel like going home yet.
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Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2005 7:13 pm
[All I Want Is The Truth, Part 11 of 13] quietsnooze "You, child, are not worth the trouble I have been suffering on your behalf." Head to toe in offwhite, designer clothing, the woman known as Ann huffs furiously as her body slowly dissolves into the scene of the Headquarters. A squirming blonde baby Legend tirelessly tries to leave her arms, biting at anything he can manage to reach. His efforts are in vain, for his mouth holds nothing but pink gums, hardly enough to cause damages. The concept, though, is lost on him, for he continues without ease to rip apart the woman's arm for the sake of freedom. Caught in the middle of the struggle and suffering the most of the three is the tiny rainbow creature bound to the Legend, who cries out in small squeaks as her skin is torn by the baby's nails. "Idiots," the fair woman hisses angrily, roughly giving her arm a shake. Dirty blonde curls bounce against her shoulders, the rest of her hair tied up with a silky cloth. "You do nothing but fight, and spare me not a moment of peace!" Chandra Trouble "I do not think it is good to shake a baby," Chandra remarked from the doorway. "I am told their necks are not strong enough to stand the force."
She pulled back her hood and removed her cloak, hanging it on the coatstand. She thought about offering her name, but did not. Instead she indulged her curiosity.
"The child," she said, peering at him curiously,"is he a Legend?" quietsnooze Ann raises her nose high in the air in a snuff in response to what she considered unwanted advice. "I am aware of the effects of shaking a baby," she sneers snobbishly. Ink raises a hand to his temple for a moment, his currently maroon eyes closed. Ann brushes hair over her shoulder and handles the baby dangerously with one arm, as if just to spite Chandra. She doesn't bother to conceal the fact that she looks Chandra up and down judgingly before replying to her question. "I don't see how it matters to a girl like you, but yes, the beast is what you call a Legend." Ink opens up his eyes to look directly at Chandra, revealing them to be a purple-red. His mouth is curled into a scowl, lower lip almost pouty if he wasn't clenching his fists hard enough to make his knuckles whiten. Blonde hair has fallen over his eyes, very fair but obviously unkempt, as the rest of the Legend seems to be, especially in comparison to the pampered Ann. Chandra Trouble "More and more new Legends everyday," Chandra remarked, oblivious to the social snobbery Ann was displaying. "Where do they all come from?" It was obviously a rhetorical question.
She stepped gingerly around the woman and child before sitting back on the couch she had previously occupied. Largely uninterested in such a noisy child, Chandra resumed staring at the wall. After a moment she realized this might be considered odd or rude.
"I only asked about him because I like to keep track of my kind." She blinked owlishly at Ann. "And because I dislike children, so if you did not belong here - I was going to ask you to leave." quietsnooze Ann gives an annoyed sigh. She crouches on the spot, prying Ink off her sleeve with great difficulty. Suds, clinging with her best efforts to her Legend's side, slips to the ground with a soft thud and an accompanying squeak of pain. "Are you the one who is in charge?" Ann asks hurriedly, disliking the aspect of making small talk. "I visited once before only to find another and their.. Legend." Ink babbles something sharply once he is finally torn from the woman's sleeve - torn quite literally, as the Legend grins brightly at his fists full of white material. The woman's face quickly reddens, which only heightens the sense of victory within the baby. Rolling up her damaged sleeve, Ann raises to her full height again, facing Chandra with impatience. The deadlines set out in the few instructions she received weeks ago have already expired, thus the stress levels have risen for the woman. Whatever her purpose, she isn't out to play games. "I require information. Please do not disappoint me, you do not seem to be one to hold a facade of intelligence.." Chandra Trouble "I am not in charge," Chandra replied, eyeing Ink. "I am simply a Legend - and I do not like being forced to give out information when I am to receive nothing in return."
She blinked in Ann's direction, studying the damaged sleeve. It seemed to cause the woman embarassment and Chandra wasn't sure why.
"What sort of things do you need to know?" quietsnooze Ink feels Chandra's eyes on him, and, with a blink, narrows his own now-fuchsia eyes in her direction. She doesn't seem as easy to push around as Ann or even the pink horror, but that isn't as strong a reason to turn his back than the strange, hollow feeling he gets when he looks at her. This isn't as startling as it is a source of frustration - no one should make him feel this way! Tossing her hair again, Ann masks her disappointment. She would have liked to talk to someone in an authoritative position, but this creepy girl would have to suffice. "I see," she begins, taking a seat adjacent from Chandra. She presses her gloved hands together with a sudden patience. "I would like to know about the Legends. I came into.. guardianship.. of Kevin under rather strange circumstances, you see." She seems to loathe the term guardianship due to its implications; she feels more a personal slave to the baby than anything providing guidance. Suds, exhasted and bruised, limps her way to her partner's side, resting her chin on his outstretched leg. He glares at her immediately, and it's only her large, watery eyes that prevent him from taking his hands to her neck. Instead, his hands disappear inside his pants, his storage compartment of sorts, in search of something. Chandra Trouble "I do not know much about the Legends. I believe most of us are here because of things incomplete in past lives, but I cannot confirm that. In general we are more individuals than a group, so it is difficult to describe us as some sort of category."
Chandra paused, gathering her thoughts.
"If you are this child's guardian, perhaps you have some connection to his past."
She had taken her eyes off Ink, having no reason to keep studying the child. quietsnooze Ann gives a sudden sharp laugh. Holding a hand over her mouth to partly conceal a smirk, she plays along and nods her head in understanding. "I see. The only thing holding them together as a whole is that they are being given a second chance, am I correct?" Ink slides something out of his pants, the item hidden from the direct line of sight of both Chandra and Ann. Suds gurgles softly in vague and fond recognition. Heavily out of place in the baby Legend's hands rests a silver and black Kahr pistol. It seems impossible he was able to conceal it, though maybe pointed down his pant leg there is a possibility he could get away with it. Nevertheless, it is certainly a wonder he has been able to keep it a secret. He acquired it a week earlier under mysterious circumstances that Ann would come to learn only after the fact. Suds nuzzles against Ink's hand for the slightest moment of affection, receiving just a flick of baby fingers at her face. He is far too distracted admiring the strange object and the magnetic pulling force it maintains on him to bother with the creature right now. Chandra Trouble Chandra colored at the woman's laugh. She didn't understand what was so funny and suddenly she felt very strongly about leaving.
"If you'll excuse me," Chandra said shortly, "I no longer wish to speak with you. I am leaving."
She stood, smoothing her skirt nervously and then hovered - unsure whether she should continue to leave or insist the woman leave instead. quietsnooze Releasing a snicker, Ann smoothes down the edge of her coat against her side. "Suit yourself," she replies, watching Chandra through the corner of her eye, paying no mind to the baby on the floor. Facination consumes Ink. After thoroughly chewing and slobbering on the barrel of the gun, he transfers the handle into his hand for further inspection. Suds receives a blow to the head as the front shaft falls forward; Ink, not strong enough to support the gun with one hand to bring it back up, lets out a croon of laughter. Overridden by the laugh is the soft click of the safety coming undone, the baby Legend having knocked it off with his free hand. The gun steadied now, he falls silent as the rush he experienced when first handling the gun returns to him. It's exhilerating, really, to hold this much power and to not be able to comprehend the extent of damage that power could be. Ann wraps a curl of her dirty blonde hair around her finger, falling into the seating space exactly next to where Chandra had been sitting. "It was nice talking with you, Miss..?" Suds lets out a low whine. Ink has already managed to lift the gun up again, his back still on both women. Though, again, the weakly supported weight of the gun forces the baby backwards, this time sending him onto his back. The pressure created forces his pudgy baby fingers to clench the trigger as he falls back. The moment he knocks his head against the floor, eyes closed from the impact, the deed is already done. The sound of gunfire, a single shot, rings out in the Headquarters. Chandra Trouble Coloring further as Ann snickered at her, Chandra opened her mouth to reply - and ended up letting out a weak gasp as her ears filled with a horrible sound and a sharp pain splintered through her stomach.
Her vision sank to a small spotlight that fell to where her pale hands clutched at the painful spot growing in her abdomen. Her ears were ringing and her world became nothing but the pain - the pain and the bright crimson color staining her fingers.
As the disgusting color leached out of her stomach and began staining her clothes, the natural flush drained out of Chandra's face. All she could see was that dress - that horrible, horrible dress - stretched out below her hands. It was stealing her life, she could feel it.
She could feel her life draining out through the hole in her stomach and staining the carpet. quietsnooze Ink opens his pale green eyes in a silent stare at the ceiling before beginning to bawl. The gun thuds onto the carpet, still warm and smoking slightly. Curled up, Ink hugs his hands, one bleeding from catching metal as the gun fired, underneath his chin. Beside him, his companion panics, her tears matching his twofold. Her skittish movements across the carpet reveal how useless she feels to, not able to comfort him while not even knowing what chaos is unfolding. The leeching pool of crimson is the final factor, forcing her to back into a shadow in distress. Ann's breathing is disturbed, a hand pressed against her chest and her position slouched. She instinctively slid and ducked at the alarm of the gun, but would have been far too slow had the gun tilted further to Ink's right. "Oh.." she finally breathes, stretching up and forward to peek at Chandra's damaged body. She wrinkles her nose at the sight. "O-oh dear.." Within an instant, the woman who called herself Ann is gone from the room. The Legend baby remains, sobbing, left to comfort himself. Chandra Trouble Chandra was unaware of Ann's exit or Ink's distress. Slumped over onto her side up against the couch, she was no longer in the Land of the Living.
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Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2005 8:09 pm
a flutter of wings and a turn of the wind leave something under your doorstep:
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Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2005 1:25 pm
[All I Want Is The Truth, Part 12 of 13] Wrensy~
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Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2005 1:26 pm
[All I Want Is The Truth, Part 13 of 13] Alena typically spent her free days outside of the Manor. This was for various reasons - one of which was the Manor's new youngest resident, Zayne Trouble. Alena had been appointed as Zayne's nanny, but sometimes it felt as if the girl was watching her instead of the other way around.
"Are you going out in that?" Zayne asked, sitting at the bottom of the staircase and playing with a small flower. "I don't think Aunt Lillian would approve."
Surprised, Alena paused with one hand on the door. She looked down at her clothes in puzzlement. A light green cotton blouse with a knee-length plaid skirt underneath an off white pea coat greeted her eyes.
"I can wear what I want on my days off," she said finally, unsure what about her outfit was so objectionable.
This response didn't please Zayne and she stood, frowning and tossing her dark hair over her shoulder.
"You have days off? How many?"
Feeling interrogated, Alena opened the door and ducked out - leaving her answer behind as the heavy doors slammed shut behind her.
"I'll be back tonight."
Several minutes of brisk walking later, Alena had reached her final destination - the library. Grabbing a couple mathematics books off the shelves, she made her way confidently to one of the many cozy private study rooms. Alena had no interest in mathematics per se, but the heavy volumes would serve as a shield to protect her from the prying of the other library denizens.
The privacy this gained her was key since Alena used the library as a place to practice her magic. Oddly enough, despite the fact that she belonged to a magic using family, Alena had received no formal training of her talent. Non-magical members of the family were simply cast off at birth, but members like Alena whose talents were considered an embarassment were kept in the family - just isolated from the main compound and the general public. Once sent to work for Lillian, Alena was all but forgotten by the main branch of the family.
Alena had been a very lively child and that continued outwardly despite a growing sense of despair and loneliness beneath the surface. The disturbances beneath the surface came out when Alena was alone and practicing her magic - the ability to shape magic out of everyday objects.
She had the desk and lamp singing a melancholy duet when she was interrupted by the presence of another person in her study room. When that other person cleared their throat from right behind her, Alena abruptly silenced the furniture and stood. Her eyes wide and worried, she steadied herself against the chair she had been sitting in and almost knocked over the lamp.
With a wry smirk, Kiran leaned in close to Alena and reached behind her to steady the lamp. He withdrew his arm slowly, letting the fabric of his coat rub against her arm. Resisting the urge to shiver, Alena opened her mouth to speak and was interrupted.
"Such beautiful magic," Kiran commented, his red eyes loking right through her. When he smiled, his thin lips pulling at the corners, her stomach flip-flopped. Because of her family's disinterest in her abilities, no one had ever watched Alena at work - and cerainly, no one had ever made a positive comment about them. This man had seen something private to her and he liked it. It made Alena feel attractive and oddly shy. She blushed and ducked her head to study her toes as she replied.
"Thank you."
Kiran smiled and offered his hand.
"Let me introduce myself," he said smoothly, taking her own hand in his own black gloved one, "I am Kiran. And you are?" He raised an eyebrow and raised her hand so he could press the back against his oddly cold lips.
"Alena," she said, mesmerized.
She followed him as he led her by the hand out of the library and into the light of day.
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Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2006 10:31 am
[ Part 13 Continued ] Lillian would never approve of her activities - Alena knew that for sure, but that only made the whole thing more exciting. A week had passed since the fateful meeting in the library (a memory that made Alena sigh) and that first kiss on the hand was as far as her relationship with the dark stranger (Alena found this a much more romantic notion than simply referring to him as Kiran) had progressed. Tonight she hoped for more. Some concrete sign that he felt the same butterflies she did whenever he was near.
Tonight Alena was sneaking out to meet Kiran after dark - much later than their other stolen lunch dates and casual meetings as she ran errands in town for Lillian. She was dressed scandalously in a red satin dress that clung to her like a second skin - a present from Kiran - and which made her blush when she first tried it on. This reaction, which Alena dismissed, had actually been anticipated by Kiran, who had engineered this evening as an experiment in how far out of her comfort zone he could push Alena.
The young adult had accessorized the dress with a pair of small white lace gloves, strappy black heels, and a casual updo. They minimized its impact, but she knew she would still be getting looks all night. And in the pale light given off by the partially full moon, the dress washed out everything else, almost glowing the color of fresh blood.
Kiran could see it from where he waited out beyond the manor gates and he smiled. From far away Alena could have been any woman in a red dress - and Kiran had a specific one in mind as he took a few calming breaths. It wouldn't do for him to be off balance - this evening was all about Alena. His lucky, lucky find.
It went without saying that his current freedom had come at a price. Even with the preparations he had put in place, he had virtually been destroyed. If someone hadn't called him back, he wouldn't have been able to return to Life on his own. He would have been pulled into the End and lost for eternity. Or rather, punished until he repented for trying to play God with Life and Death. Luckily, someone had called for him and him specifically - Kiran was amused to find he was not without allies. They had claimed a price for his freedom, though. And stumbling across Alena had been a stroke of luck that made the end goal not only possible, but plausible.
And in the meantime, he could enjoy this game with his sweet little Alena - who had reached the gates and was stepping through. Her stomach sunk a little as she met Kiran's eyes, seeing something in them she both liked and was wary of. Feeling out of step, she blushed and ducked her head - wishing that she had left her hair down so she could hide behind it.
"You look... delicious." Kiran said, stepping forward quickly to take Alena's hand. He kissed the back of it, looking up into her startled eyes, and then turned it over to n** slightly at her palm. The shock travelled all the way down her spine and she fought the urge to shiver.
"Thank you," Alena said quietly, her voice quivering. Smiling, Kiran slid one strong hand around the back of her waist - the touch on the thin fabric giving Alena the illusion she was naked before him. Before she could react and pull away, Kiran guestured to his motorcycle with his other hand.
"The red helmet," he said smoothly, withdrawing his hand slowly - letting it linger briefly at the small of her back, "is for you. I would prefer you rode in front of me, so I can keep an eye on you."
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Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2006 10:32 am
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Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2006 10:33 am
[ Jumping on the Bed ] Chandra Trouble It was difficult for Chandra to judge how much time had passed since the last time she had set foot into the Legends HQ. Her death and resulting resurrection had distanced her emotionally from the past. She regarded it largely as a dream, remembered vaguely upon waking. It didn't help anything that she was now inhabiting a new body made from her own abilities - a poor substitute so far for the one she had been given upon birth as a Legend. It felt tight, like the seams were constantly in dangering of fraying. Luckily, it was not a physical attribute - no one would be able to tell she had jumped bodies unless they had senses beyond the norm.
She wasn't sure why she was here since her memories of the place were less than ideal, but it was the only real home she had at this point. A place of familiarity and memory - she was drawn to it without reason.
The door had yielded easily to her touch, still left unlocked. Her cloak remained on even as she stepped inside, no longer a source of unwanted heat - now she was always cold inside as well as out. She glanced around the living room, remembering her last time here - the actions superimposed over reality - and then continued purposefully through the door into the kitchen. quietsnooze It'd been a loooong night. How he found his way to the Headquarters remains a mystery even to him, but he knew the night earlier he didn't want to come home in that condition. Eyelids still heavy, Dare presses his palms against his face and groans softly, labouring to pull his shoulders away from the comforts of the couch. Chandra Trouble In the kitchen, Chandra blew on her fingers the way she had seen others do outside when they got cold. It didn't help, probably because she didn't have the same sort of body heat. Her fingertips were constantly the slightly blue shade that signalled frostbite.
Maybe a bit of tea? She decided against it, pulling the feathers of her cloak in towards her chin - and moving to lean against the counter. quietsnooze Another groan follows the first as the onset of a headache. "Great," Dare mumbles into his collar, massaging his temples with his fingers. Within the kitchen, something knocks against a low cupboard. The sound raises Dare's olive green eyes in the direction of the kitchen, and providing him with a good look at.. Chandra? Chandra Trouble A low groan from the living room garnered Chandra's attention and she turned back to peer into the room. Her memories had clouded her vision - leaving her unaware of the body on the sofa.
It was a moment of weakness she couldn't really afford. Or maybe she could. As far as she knew, everyone who had ever wished her dead - was in fact dead themselves. It left her aimless ... and distracted.
"Greetings," she said mildly, her cloak slipping down to rest on her shoulders as she let her arms drop. "You look tired."
She moved to lounge in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen. quietsnooze Dare eases up considerably, though he quickly slumps his shoulders at the comment about his fatigue. "You look.. different," he comments lamely, running a hand through his own hair as he examines hers. Mentally, he gives himself a firm kick. Moving over on the couch, he silently offers her a piece of it, or at least a casual suggestion that she's welcome beside him. "Why're you here?" He reconsiders this quickly, nipping his lip. "I mean, why did you decide to drop by here..?" Augh, must I do everything wrong..?Chandra Trouble "Yes," Chandra agreed. "I do look different. I feel different."
She noted his movements and wavered on his intentions. Undecided, she moved into the room herself and then hovered by the edge of the couch.
Wrapping one pale cold and around the arm of the sofa, she answered his question as she studied him - her eyes flicking over his face and physique.
"It draws me. I suppose it is the only real home I know."
She was unnerved he had managed to touch on her own thoughts from earlier.
"I am surprised to see you here." She paused, weighing herself. "We do not meet often." quietsnooze "We don't," he agrees, nodding and quickly regretting it. He leans back against the couch, quickly feeling the need to fill the air with words to avoid anything awkward. "I'd have to agree with you; this building's the only familiarity I have anymore. 'Sides you, you're a sight for sore eyes.." Smiling easily, he ignores the hair that falls in front of his eyes. "Anything interesting happen on your side of life lately?" Chandra Trouble Chandra gave Dare a slow smile and then ran a hand through her shorter, darker hair in sympathy to the strands that obscured his face slightly.
"My side of life?" She said, giving it an ironic sound. "I am newly arrived back on this side after an unfortunate encounter with a bullet."
She looked down and then to the side, not wanting to look at Dare right this instant.
"I did not want to return, but I am now glad I did. It is nice to see you, Dare."
She moved to perch on the arm of the couch, leaving one leg dangling to the floor. Her toe pointed against the carpet, it served to keep her on the round surface. Not wanting to hear what greeted her admission, she continued on.
"Have you ever explored the HQ? I realized when I was in the kitchen that I have not ventured much beyond this one room." quietsnooze A pang of worry hits him as his seemingly innocent question went awry. His mouth opens to question what she meant, hoping it was something metaphorical, but he closes it again as she cuts him off. "Uh, no, actually, I haven't," he admits, moving his head to the side. Unlike her, he wants nothing more than to keep his attention on Chandra, her face most of all. "It seems big on the outside. The other rooms prolly serve some sort of purpose, too," he thinks aloud, shrugging. Chandra Trouble "Indeed," Chandra affirmed, wrapping her arms around herself and shifting off the arm of the couch and down onto the earlier proffered cushion. "Would you like to explore with me?"
She turned to look at Dare again, letting her eyes meet his as she reached to pull one shoulder of her cloak back up against her neck. quietsnooze "Why not?" Dare's smile widens at the prospects of a potential adventure. "We'd likely be the first ones. Who know what we might find?" He rises to his feet, stumbling once as his balance and head work against him. He chooses not to acknowledge it, continuing to smile while offering a hand to help her to her feet. Chandra Trouble Another small smile and Chandra lifted a cold hand to place in Dare's. She didn't need his help to stand, but she wanted to touch him - to feel his warmth.
"Where should we start? Beyond the kitchen or up the stairs?" quietsnooze He'd forgotten about her warmth - or, lack there of - and supresses a shiver. Instead, he slides his hand properly into hers, entwining their fingers. "Upstairs?" he repeats, hoping his voice hadn't faltered, preoccupied with their contact. Instead, he speaks without thinking, "There uh, could be something to explore there." His face grows hot rather quickly as the implications of his statement sink in. "Not -" he begins to say, but he just averts his eyes and grows silent. Chandra Trouble Using Dare's hand as an anchor, Chandra pulled herself lightly to her feet. She just watched in confusion as his face reddened and then felt her own slightly flush in sympathy as she understood - although the flush was something that shouldn't strictly have been possible.
"No need to be embarassed," Chandra said, reaching out to touch Dare's chin with her free hand. "I would not have thought that of you." quietsnooze Dare brightens up considerably, but a light blush remains on his cheeks. "Good!" He tries not to sound too relieved; anything could mess this up and from past experience, that anything was always his fault, somehow. "Upstairs, then," he directs, moving his jaw slightly to further the contact of her hand on his chin. Chandra Trouble "Yes," Chandra agreed, withdrawing her hand after letting her fingertips linger on Dare's chin. "Upstairs."
Would you like to lead?" She was loathe to let go of his hand, despite how cold she was probably making him. His warmth made her feel like one of the Living again, if only briefly - and she found unexpectedly that she liked it. quietsnooze He provides a smile as an answer, walking off towards the stairs. His hand slides out of hers, and he feels a mixture of regret and relief. "Does anyone actually live here?" he wonders aloud, taking the steps two at a time by habit. He glances over his shoulder to make sure she's still following. "I mean, wouldn't want to walk in and disturb someone, but it's not like anyone's ever told us certain places are restricted.." Chandra Trouble She tucked her hands into her sleeves as Dare left her and then followed. The bottom of her cloak thumped against the stairs as she climbed them behind him.
"I believe Chesai came down these stairs once. Perhaps she stayed here some of the time? There is always food in the kitchen, someone must keep it stocked." quietsnooze Dare turns as a curve is presented in the stairs, giving him the opportunity to slow and face Chandra. Another dozen stairs rest to the left. "Sai," he says slowly. He nods after a pause of thought, then rests his thumbs inside his jean pockets. "Sure, maybe she lives here with her guardian. In that case, anywhere that looks like a bedroom, I say we avoid." Maybe for more than one reason, he adds silently. Chandra Trouble Chandra simply nodded, looking up at Dare as he spoke. "Bedrooms are not very interesting. I agree we should avoid them."
She continued up the stairs, catching up with Dare. quietsnooze "What else is there to see upstairs?" he asks absent-mindedly, continuing up the last flight of stairs. With a short laugh, he adds, "Maybe you shouldn't let me decide what we should do." Chandra Trouble Chandra paused, feeling a little bit of worry. It was irrational - she knew - this was Dare.
"If you believed there were only bedrooms upstairs, why did you want to explore it?"
She started back down the stairs.
"Maybe we should explore the backyard instead. Nothing to worry about there." Dare Aspere "Worry?" he repeats, turning around on the second to last step. "Now, why would I ever worry? That never even crossed my mind!" he half-lies, smiling widely in the less than bright staircase. Reaching out to her, he catches and cradles her forearm gently, but awkwardly. "If you're worried, though, we can explore downstairs." Chandra Trouble The touch stopped her and taking a calming breath, Chandra looked Dare in the eye. Satisfied by whatever she found in them, she nodded.
"I am not worried. You are Dare and no one else. Besides, I have been in your bedroom before." Dare Aspere Dare pauses. I am Dare, and no one else? he thinks with hesitation regarding what this could mean. With Chandra, everything's a riddle or a mystery.He breathes out, letting her arm go. "Well, alright. But I don't make any more choices the rest of this adventure!" he bargains with another smile. Chandra Trouble Smiling a private little smile, Chandra leaned in close to Dare - the tip of her nose almost touching his.
"You want me to make all the decisions? That is a lot of responsibility."
As he breathed however, her nose wrinkled.
"Your breath smells less than pleasant." Dare Aspere He immediately brings a hand over his lips. "Had a rough night," he hesitantly explains behind his palm. "I crashed here, so you're probably right about the smell." The staircase had left little room to manovuer anyway, so he silently reasons that their closeness was an inevitable compromise. Chandra Trouble Chandra wavered on moving away from Dare, but instead lifted a hand to remove his.
"You should not drink so much. It is not good for your body."
She withdrew her hand and turned to face up the stairs.
"But I do not believe there is anything to explore upstairs. Let us go out back instead."
Chandra turned and started down the stairs. This was starting to go the way their interactions often did - but she didn't know how to change it. Dare Aspere He bites his tongue to prevent replying, not really wanting to get into a conversation about casual drinking, nor the reasons why he drank so much. Instead, he complies, saying, "As you wish. How about you take the lead this time?" Chandra Trouble "I am always happy to take the lead, as long as you follow." Chandra said mildly, taking the stairs quickly. At the bottom she paused, laying a hand on the railing, and looked back to see if he had obliged. Dare Aspere And of course he does, following her closely back down the stairs they had just climbed moments earlier. "Bet it's nothing but bedrooms anyway," he murmurs, more convincing himself than making a statement. Chandra Trouble "We can always explore that some other time ... " Chandra suggested before turning away. She stretched out a hand behind her tentatively, hoping he might notice. Dare Aspere "Huh?" Dare steps off onto the first floor, breaking away from his thoughts with a quick rebound. "Oh, right, right." Watching her for initiative, he instead notices her hand, causing him to blink stupidly. Usually it was him doing all of the suggesting, so this throws him off balance even further. Might not mean what I think, anyway. Either way, he "casually" slides up against her shoulder, his hand reaching around before bumping into hers. Smooth, he darkly critisizes himself mentally. Chandra Trouble Gripping Dare's hand, but not looking over at him, Chandra started back through the living room to the kitchen. As long as he didn't resist she intended to lead him right out the back door. Dare Aspere He grow silent, falling short on words. Typically, the lack of speech and the overall silence becomes unnerving for him. Instead, he focuses on the exchange of temperatures between their hands, hoping that will give him something to calm his nerves. So far, so good. But there's always, always bound to be something. Chandra Trouble "Do you think there could be a swingset in the back?" She was curious about what might occupy the backyard of a building like this. She hadn't previously even noticed the door leading out of the kitchen.
Lifting up her free hand, she twisted the knob halfway before looking back at Dare. "Do you need a jacket?" She blinked at him. "I know you get cold." Dare Aspere Dare laughs abruptly. "No, I'll be fine. This winter's been pretty mild, anyway." The backyard - more a field, from the lack of enclosures and the occasional hills - is covered in a light dusting of snow. Up ahead, however, is a tree Dare hadn't noticed during his arrival; actually, this didn't surprise him much, seeing how he hardly noticed anything when he stumbled in. Nonetheless, it's the main spectacle of the yard, on its own hill and untouched by the elements. Chandra Trouble "Odd," Chandra said, catching sight of the same tree. "It is like Spring has already started on that one tree."
She slipped her hand out of Dare's and began to approach the tree, one hand slightly lifted to touch the bark once she had approached close enough to do so. Dare Aspere "Weird," he agrees, following her at an arm's length. Copying her motion, he reaches over her shoulder and touches the tree's gnarled bark, wonder and adventure sparkling in his eyes. Finally, something intriguing without the added drama factor! Chandra Trouble "I wonder why?" she said, sliding a hand across the bark as she turned to face Dare. "I do not see how a tree could ignore the seasons. Unless... maybe it is a Legend tree." Dare Aspere The rough bark tingling his fingertips, Dare instead places his hand over Chandra's. "Perhaps," he once again agrees, raising his eyes to further examine the branches. "Only, I've never noticed it before until now. Why wouldn't we know anything about it? We're hardly young children." His statement hangs there, related but not to the subject matter. Chandra Trouble "We have not been children for a long time." Chandra said, looking up at the branches as well. "I would try to feel for the tree's life, but I have difficulty with plants."
She stole a look at the bottom of Dare's chin, studying the pulse that beat there. "Dare? Do you kiss other girls?" Dare Aspere The question takes Dare completely off guard. He finds some detail of the tree so interesting that he doesn't take his eyes off it, or that's at least what he tries to make it seem like. "No," he replies carefully. He attempts a joke, albiet a risky one. "None I can remember, anyway. Can't vow to what I can't remember." He smiles down at her, trying to affirm that he's kidding. "Why do you ask?" he inquries next, his voice lowering in volume. Chandra Trouble Chandra shrugged away the joke. It neither amused nor annoyed her - if he couldn't remember, it wasn't worth worrying about.
"I was curious," she said, quirking her head to the side. "Do you want to kiss me?" Dare Aspere "I.. I might," he admits quietly, scratching at the tree's bark absently and keeping his eyes anywhere but on her. He can feel his face grow hot again, much to his agony. Chandra Trouble "Why?" It seems Chandra is full of questions all of a sudden.
And while Dare tries to avoid looking at her, Chandra looks nowhere else but his face. She knows she can't, but she wants to be able to read him - to tell what he is thinking.
His discomfort swayed her a bit and she finally looked away from him to her feet.
"Nevermind. You are uncomfortable, which was not my primary intention." Dare Aspere "No, no," he quickly objects, giving in and looking directly down into her eyes. He pauses, taking in their unique qualities. Reaching out to her, he cups her face with a hand but dares not to make contact. Wordlessly he stands like this, across from her and adjacent to a wonder of a tree.. Chandra Trouble "I know it makes you uncomfortable," Chandra said seriously, pressing her face against his palm. "I was Living for a short while. You blush when you are uncomfortable."
She sighed, letting air out in a torrent. Explaining things was easier now that she had a small measure of empathy, but it was not easy in the absolute sense.
"You make me feel more like one of the Living, Dare. You make me feel warm and concerned. I want to kiss you. But I do not want to make you leave or make you uncomfortable."
It was perhaps the most complete explanation of her feelings she had ever been able to verbalize. It was possibly a product of her experience as one of the Living and possibly an effect of the tree beside her, which was blooming with such abandon. Dare Aspere Running his thumb across her chin, Dare simply smiles at Chandra's confessions. Something, other than her hair, must have changed profoundly in her, and he quite likes it. "You don't have to worry about that," he says softly, pulling a little closer to her. His thumb moves up to brush her lower lip. "I've disappeared countless times, and we always find each other again." Chandra Trouble Chandra narrowed her eyes slightly.
"But I do not like it when you disappear. It is difficult to know who you will be when I next see you." Dare Aspere He quirks an eyebrow. "Who I'll be? I've always been Dare." Chandra Trouble "No," Chandra said, shaking her head. "People change. Time passes and they change. Someday I could meet you again and you will not be the Dare I know." She pressed her lips into a thin line. Dare Aspere "Oh." He provides no more of an answer, a sinking feeling choking and overtaking the previous excitement he held. Chandra Trouble Feeling like she had lost his attention, Chandra lightly bit the tip of Dare's thumb - which had been brushed up against her lip. Dare Aspere Unvoluntarily, he pulls his thumb away from her lips. Next thing he knows, his own lips are the replacement. Chandra Trouble Huh. She hadn't seen that coming, although it had been something she had been hoping for. Later she would have to ask what had prompted this, but for now she enjoyed it - gingerly placing one of her hands on Dare's side by his waist and leaning into him. Dare Aspere Thankful she didn't object, and perhaps more thankful to quiet her from tossing him highs and lows, he presses into the kiss further. Her lips are no exception to being as cold as the rest of her body, though for Dare it makes it all the sweeter. Chandra Trouble His lips were so warm against hers. Chandra pulled on Dare's shirt, seeking to pull him closer - to make herself warmer. She pulled her face back from his for a moment.
"Maybe we should go inside." Dare Aspere He nods in agreement, afraid he'll be incoherant if he attempts to speak. He lowers his hand from her face, straying only to her shoulder. Chandra Trouble "I feel like the tree is watching us," Chandra noted, moving back in the direction of the HQ. "And I do not like being watced."
Looking at him, she added sincerely, "I also do not think I like being in charge.' Dare Aspere He has to laugh at this. "What? Why not?" Respecting her wishes, he leads her slowly off the grove and away from the tree with a hand still on her shoulder. Chandra Trouble "I am not able to anticipate what you wish, so I cannot decide on the best course of action considering both of our goals and outlooks."
This was a serious issue, although it did beg the question of whether Dare could anticipate her actions. She rather doubted it since she so often seemed to throw him off-guard.
"Maybe you would still like to explore the upstairs?" Dare Aspere Brushing stray crimson hair from his eyes, Dare continues to lead at the same pace. There is truth in her words, of course, and as always around her he's forced to think clearly. Unfortunately for that, being around her causes a strange smokescreen to cloud his thoughts. His headache had long subsided, so this is something different.. "What's upstairs that could keep us.. entertained?" he replies, drumming his fingers lightly on her shoulder to some obscure beat. Chandra Trouble "No way to know until we explore," she said, slightly absent-mindedly. She was trying to make the beat match something she had heard before and was relieved to find she could not.
"Do you still play the guitar?" She asked then. Dare Aspere "I do," he muses, continuing to drum his fingers. "Didn't bring my guitar with me out last night, so it's still back at my place." In one flowing motion he steps out in front of her and opens the door, holding it for her to pass through first. His famous smile lingers on his face. Chandra Trouble Chandra nodded to Dare as she passed through the door and back into the kitchen. "Thank you."
"It is a shame - I would have enjoyed listening to you play."
What could be fun upstairs? She was not certain of the definition of fun, but she thought of something she had once heard about.
"I have an idea for upstairs. Let us find a bedroom." Dare Aspere Shooting Chandra a sideglance, Dare isn't certain how to respond to this request. After a pause, he shrugs slightly. "Alright," he agrees, taking one of her hands in his much like he did earlier. Tugging her playfully, he makes for the stairs in long strides. "Come on!" Chandra Trouble "You need to be careful though," she said seriously, allowing Dare to pull her along. "We will have to take precautions." Dare Aspere "Of course!" he lets out in a hooted laugh. His prior excitement rejuvinated, Dare reaches the first landing in no time. "Wouldn't dream of doing that otherwise." Chandra Trouble Chandra noted that the stairs seemed shorter this time. She was wondering how Dare had read her mind, however. She had never mastered that art.
The top of the stairs in reach, she paused a bit.
"I hope we do not disturb anyone else. It can be loud." Dare Aspere "And who," he asks slyly, glancing over his shoulder at her, "will we disturb? But, if it makes you feel any better, we can close the door." On the top step, he turns on his heel and links his hands behind his neck. "What're you waiting for?" Chandra Trouble "We should close the door," she said, taking the last few steps to the top. "We would not want someone to find us. We could get in trouble."
She stood on her tiptoes and leaned into his chest to brush her lips ever so lightly against his. Dare Aspere Fluffing her hair lightly, he drags his fingertips across her cheek in one brief, tender moment. Without relishing in it, he opens the closest door, leaning inside to inspect it. "Bedroom," he confirms, craning his neck but still halfway through the doorway. "And the bed looks big enough," he adds as an aside. Chandra Trouble She slipped by him, peering in herself.
"Excellent. It would have been a shame if things were too crowded."
She took a few steps in and then turned back over her shoulder to look at Dare. Chandra beckoned to him with one slender hand.
"Come on in. Make sure you close the door behind you." Dare Aspere He grins at her, following as she requests. He uses two fingers to push the door closed behind him. Chandra Trouble If anyone had been in the living room of the HQ in the moments that followed, they would have heard the heavy sound of a bed hitting the wall and the odd creaking noise. They might also have overheard the sounds of general amusement and exertion.((And it must be said. You're all perverts. They're jumping on the bed. :3))
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