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 Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2006 10:34 am
[ A Rare Diary Entry ] Normally I dislike putting my feelings into writing, but I am confused. I must figure out my thoughts and I feel the most efficient way to do so is to write them down.
I saw Dare again. He is much the same as I remember him. He makes me feel warm and my heart races when he is physically close to me. I wish to kiss him and have him hold me - to make me warm.
These feelings interfere with my ability to think logically. I need to avoid having this happen, but I do not know how to end this infatuation. What if I harm Dare by this? I have a past.
But I do not want to not see him.
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Posted: Sat Mar 11, 2006 8:44 pm
[ Meeting Mme. Paestri ] kamtrouble Chandra had the day off from work and found herself drifting back to the HQ. The apartment she currently rented wasn't an environment she could call home, nor was it one that she felt comfortable in - which led to a lot of time spent out of doors. The HQ, a spot that held a lot of memories both good and bad, was the only place left to Chandra where she felt she belonged.
And so, as she pushed open the door and swept in, she was slightly annoyed to see someone else already present. She stifled the emotion and schooled her face into an impassive mask, pulling her hood away from her face. Her pale skin and shock of black hair exposed, she cleared her throat before speaking.
"Greetings." Huni Pi Oblivious to everything but the most obvious (and even that sometimes), Huni glanced back to see who the voice belonged to.
"Oh, hello." she waved warmly, "What brings you here?"
Paestri peered from her stroller, chubby fingers clutching the sides of the vehicle. Icing pink eyes stared at Chandra and was oddly reminded of Breena, she had the same paleness and dark hair as the younger Legend, but there was also a different feeling to her. She felt a little wary at the [removed](or rather lack of it) on Chandra's face. kamtrouble "I am Chandra," she said smoothly, unbuttoning her cloak. "I am a Legend. I assume this one is as well?" She guestured to Paestri and moved closer to the pair.
She wasn't sure what to think of the child in front of her. She generally felt uneasy about children, but this one so far seemed quiet - with a wariness appropriate to greeting a stranger. Huni Pi Paestri wasn't exactly a suspicious child, but she liked to see people's reaction to something, to anything before she would decide to risk tasting them. With Chandra's passive, almost uninterested, expression, Pae didn't quite know what to think yet.
Perhaps if she got a taste of Chandra she'd understand why the older Legend didn't smile or frown, or show any emotion. Slowly, almost hesitantly, she reached out with one hand.
"Hu?" she gurgled.
"Oh it's nice to meet you, Chandra." Huni smiled, "You're the oldest Legend I've met so far, no offense on being called old though." she added quickly, unsure of what would offend a Legend that wasn't a ball of sugary pink like Paestri.
"And yes, this is Paestri, she's a Legend as well." she nodded. "Can you say Chandra, Pae?"
Paestri seemed to ignore Huni, something most of those living in their house did often, and concentrated her icing pink gaze on Chandra. kamtrouble Chandra looked down at the offered hand and hesitated, she never knew what sort of response she would get to her very cold touch. The last thing she needed was a screaming child.
"I am indeed one of the most aged among the current Legends," Chandra greed easily to Huni's assessment. She was unconcerned with her age - and almost relieved to be beyond an age where others could push her around. "Hello Paestri," she greeted the child by name once she learned it. "I would touch you, but I am very cold - and I know most children dislike unexpected things."
Chandra looked to Huni, not knowing what level of comprehension she could expect from the young Legend. Huni Pi Paestri canted her head slightly, Cold? If the older Legend was cold, Paestri was more than happy to help warm her up. It seemed like an invitation for a hug, something which Paestri would gladly risk tasting something she didn't like.
She squirmed in her stroller, fiddling with the straps that kept her bound to the blasted moving chair. She still didn't like it very much.
Huni blinked at Chandra's words, not sure what the Legend meant by being cold. Was it an emotional coldness or a physical coldness?
"Paestri hugged Ning during Winter once and well, a fandangle is made of metal and was very cold at that time of the year. She didn't seem upset, so I don't think you should worry about being cold." At least that was how Huni understood what Chandra meant. Huni noticed how much Paestri was squirming and decided to undo the straps and held her in her arms.
"Here, she looks like she wants a hug." Huni grinned. kamtrouble "I see," Chandra said doubtfully, hoping this one didn't have sticky hands. "I suppose she will be alright. I just do not have the normal body warmth of one of the Living."
Awkwardly Chandra held out her arms to hug or hold Paestri. She wasn't exactly sure how this worked, since she wasn't big on physical conduct with others. Huni Pi Huni adjusted her hold on Paestri as she carefully handed her to Chandra.
"Hook your arms beneath hers, support her neck, that's it." she instructed.
So far, Paestri was adjusting herself to the change in temperature. Chandra was cold, and it seemed to the infant that it would take a long, long hug to warm her up properly. She embraced the older Legend by the neck, pressing her dark cheeks against Chandra's pale ones. And she got to taste Chandra.
Her icing pink eyes widened at the familiarity of the taste. She had gotten a hint of this before, and she began to shiver. She was scared, but it wasn't the same sort of fear she felt with Ink. This taste was natural, normal, almost as if it was a part of everything and everyone.
It wasn't pleasant, but it wasn't horrible either. She pulled away slightly to look into Chandra's eyes.
"Wai?" she whispered, wanting to know why she tasted the way she did. kamtrouble Robotically, Chandra did as she was told and found herself holding a child. All she could think was that it would be very unpleasant to have to cater to the whims of a child all the time.
"Yes," Chandra said to Paestri, "I am very cold. I am not sure how to explain this to one of your young age, but I am not like everyone else. I am not one of the Living - I am essentially Dead, but allowed to inhabit a body through certain inherent abilities."
She knew that likely did not make sense to the child, so she ruffled her feathered collar and looked helplessly to Huni. Huni Pi Too many words. Too many unfamiliar words at that! Paestri blinked at Chandra's explanation as to why she was so cold and tasted that way. She followed suit and turned to her mama.
Huni stared back at them briefly in surprise, why were they staring at her? Was there something on her face? Absently a hand moved to feel her cheeks and nose and mouth before realizing what was expected of her.
"Oh! Hmm, Pae, uh, Chandra's special, like Ning," she began "But, Chandra's always cold, because she's special." She looked to the dark haired teen, and shrugged, it was the best explanation she could come up with that Paestri would understand.
Lightbulbs seemed to turn on in Paestri's head as Huni explained that Chandra was special. It made so much more sense that the older Legend wasn't like her, and it made her taste much more understandable.
"Shon-du'la?" she spoke, obviously stumbling through the pronounciation of the older Legend's name. kamtrouble The explanation was incomplete and Chandra's forehead wrinkled to hear herself simply referred to as "special", but she had to admit the woman likely knew more about interacting with children than she did. She smoothed her face and looked again to Paestri who had just attempted to say something that sounded like her name.
"You can call me 'Sha'," she suggested. "A boy I knew called me that when we were both young. Do you like music Paestri?"
Her playing had served her well with children in the past. Huni Pi Huni scratched the back of her head, it wasn't possible to explain to Paestri what Chandra really was. At least, not when she was this young. She smiled back at the teen, as a sort of reassurance that when Paestri grew older, she'd re-explain what Chandra was. Or, have them meet each other again.
"Sha!" Paestri giggled, settling herself to the coldness of the older Legend's skin. Music? Music was something they rarely listened to, as her mama would often try to dance to it and end up breaking something.
But music was nice, and she nodded, wondering if Chandra was going to sing or had those little boxes where music came from.
"Ya! Ya!" she clapped in delight. kamtrouble "Excellent," Chandra said, relieved to find something she could do. "But I will require the use of my hands in order to play." She looked over to Huni and tried to pull Paestri off to pass the young Legend back to her guardian. Huni Pi At first, Paestri didn't want to let go because it seemed rude. Not to mention because she thought she'd be strapped back in that accursed stroller. But when Huni pried her from the older Legend, she settled back in her mama's arms. The warmth from Huni's body made her feel better.
"You play an instrument?" Huni ooh'ed, genuinely impressed. "Wow Pae, you get to listen to someone playing an instrument live! Like those people who go to concerts." kamtrouble "I am not so impressive as the people who give concerts, but I believe I am passable." Chandra reached into her cloak and removed a small silver flute - it was not the one she had played previously, but an uninteresting and totally un-magical flute bought from a neighborhood musical store.
She put it to her lips, arranged her finges and began to play - a lullaby was the first thing that came to mind. She was true to her word, she played passably well, but the tune didn't have the slightly disturbing and intriguing edge her performances previously contained.
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Posted: Tue May 02, 2006 11:35 am
[Fear] Limp, Fiona Apple You wanna make me sick; You wanna lick my wounds, Don't you, baby?
She whimpered a little bit and he made soothing noises, pulling her in close to him. Her lip was torn and bleeding from where he had bitten her and there was dried blood all down her left arm from a deep gash. When he pulled her close, Alena closed her eyes but made no move to get away from Kiran. Her face was covered in a thin sheen of sweat and her normally long straight hair was matted.
"You'll be fine," Kiran said, pushing the limp girl away from him and reaching for a tray of supplies for stitching up wounds. He was prepared, it was clear, for injuries. "You haven't lost much blood."
Alena opened her eyes as she was pushed away to droop against the wall and nodded, looking slightly feverish. Her eyes, although slightly glazed over, fixed on the needle in Kiran's hands.
"Yes," he said, grabbing her good arm and throwing her a little roughly into a chair beside the bed. "I'm going to sew you up. And then, my little nightingale," he stabbed the needle into her arm and her eyes rolled up in her head, "you're going to sing."
Chandra, currently working a short four hour shift at the dingy cafe she had once brought Dare to, shivered and almost spilled the contents of two coffee cups on her tray. One of the other girls came to her rescue, scooping up the tray deftly and carrying it where it belonged. When she returned to find Chandra still standing still in the middle of the kitchen, she put a hand on the odd girl's shoulder.
"Someone walk over your grave?" she joked, pulling her back her hand at how unaturally cold Chandra's body seemed. Chandra didn't smile, but answered quite seriously. "I doubt it, although I don't actually know whether my body was ever buried." She turned her unblinking predator's eyes at the girl, who shrunk back from her in fear, and then walked off.
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Posted: Wed May 03, 2006 9:42 am
[Control] Carrion, Fiona Apple My feel for you, boy, is decaying in front of me Like the carrion of murdered prey And all I want is to save you, honey Or the strength to walk away
Next her hand went to explore the area radiating pain on her other arm. Sliding her fingers across smooth skin, she encountered a series of thick bars marring the surface. The skin around them seemed to be slightly puckered and the whole area was warmer than the surrounding skin. A cut, she thought, he cut me... and she remembered, her face coloring in an odd combination of shame, embarassment, and arousal.
"Awake, are we?" Kiran asked lazily, perched on the side of the bed looking down at his prize. Suddenly aware of his gaze, Alena rolled over onto her side, ignoring the pain in her arm. She curled up away from him, pulling her head and knees into her stomach and wrapping her good arm around them. She was dehydrated and her lips were chapped, pulling and bleeding as she opened her mouth to speak. "I think I want to go home Kiran. I shouldn't be here." Her voice was hoarse and she couldn't stop the shudder that ran through her body when she said his name.
"Nonsense," Kiran purred, leaning over to run a fingertip against the mostly bare skin of her back. "We haven't even begun to explore your potential." He got up from the bed and crossed to the otherside of the room, flipping on the lights. Alena couldn't see much, but the extra light did penetrate. She uncurled a little and then pulled herself up into a sitting position. Blindly, she faced where she thought Kiran stood, only to be dazzled with light as he - kneeling silently beside her - removed the blindfold.
"We'll need to get you some new clothes," he said, studying the remains of the red silk dress he'd given her. Alena nodded, blushing and hugging herself. Kiran straightened and slid his hands into the pockets of his grey trousers. He had obviously showered and dressed while she lay on the floor. He inclined his head towards a pile of fresh clothes on a chair by the bed when she looked at him and then turned to open the bedroom door and slip out. "Clean yourself up, get dressed, and then join me."
Slowly and painfully - everything seemed to ache - Alena did as Kiran had commanded. The clothes turned out to be a comfortable pair of tan linen slacks and a soft, long-sleeved, cotton blouse in a pleasing shade of lavender. There was underwear and socks, but no shoes - a fact that did not go unnoticed by a now wary Alena. It would be tough to leave on her own without shoes. On the bedstand, stranded in the expanse of wood, was a hairbrush - which Alena used happily, smiling in bliss at being able to wrestle her hair into a more manageable state - and a hairclip. She secured her now clean and straight hair into a french twist and then looked at herself in the cracked mirror on the wall of the bathroom, which was just off the master bedroom. Slightly bruised, her lips swollen and cracked, she looked like hell - but clean and well-dressed hell. It was an improvement of sorts.
When she slipped out of the bedroom she was greeted with a sight Chandra would have found eerily familiar. She was in a Victorian era sitting room which was packed with furniture, the walls so cluttered with photographs it was tough to tell what colors the walls were swathed in. If it matched the velvet upholstered chairs, one of which was occupied by a smug looking Kiran sipping something from a delicate teacup, it was a dull blood red.
Setting down his tea cup, Kiran guestured for Alena to sit in front of an ancient piano. The varnish was scratched and the entire thing was layered with a half inch of dust. She had a feeling it hadn't been tuned in ages, but when she idly pressed a key - it played clear and true. "Not like that," Kiran said, crossing to her in a few short strides. He grabbed her arms and forced them painfully behind her back, wrenching her shoulders and forcing her to arch her back slightly. He openly took advantage of this to look down her shirt and leer over her shoulder at her while he handcuffed her arms behind her. The stitches on her arm pulled and a small bloodstain began to spread up the arm of the blouse. "Make it play without touching it."
He stood back and crossed his arms over her chest, watching her like they were playing a particularly deadly game of cat and mouse - and she was the mouse.
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Posted: Fri May 05, 2006 5:38 pm
[Balance] George Bernard Shaw Choose silence of all virtues, for by it you hear other men's imperfections, and conceal your own
Kiran stepped around behind her and laid a hand on her shoulder, using his fingers to softly caress the bottom of her chin. His fingers felt cold and alien against Alena's flushed cheeks, but she leaned into him anyway. "Play this," he said, whispering into her ear. "Play how you feel."
In some ways the task that Kiran had set her was an easy one. As the child of a family preoccupied with public appearances, Alena had been expected to play an instrument - and on the basis of her long fingers, the piano was chosen for her. Her talent, once she discovered it, had made cheating at piano lessons easy. It had even gained her a position of merit within the family for a short period of time. A concert pianist would have been an acceptable occupation for a girl of her position. Of course, one couldn't risk being accused of cheating at their chosen career - it would mar the family reputation. So, as soon as her little deceit was discovered, piano lessons were discontinued and Alena fell back into a position of disfavor. And it was the feeling of embarassment and failure associated with piano playing that made this situation even more difficult.
Haltingly, however, the piano began to play. The notes echoed around the room oddly, leading Alena to wonder what the walls were made of. She tried at first to play something innocent, something simple - something remembered from childhood piano drills - but the notes came in fits and starts. As Kiran's hand dug deeper and deeper into her shoulder, she let the tune drift somewhere darker. As she disengaged from the reality of the current situation, the song drifted on. It spoke of fear and of hope, of love and hate, of lust, desire, and pain. And when it ended, Kiran was kissing her throat - and Alena's confusion only deepened.
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Posted: Sat May 06, 2006 6:51 am
[ :: reserved for in progress Chandra/Lun rp :: ]
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Posted: Sat May 06, 2006 6:52 am
[:: reserved for in progress Demare/Chandra rp ::]
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Posted: Sat May 06, 2006 7:03 am
[Rage] Oh well, Fiona Apple What wasted unconditional love On somebody Who doesn't believe in the stuff
He grimaced, his hands curling into fists so that his long nails cut deeply into his palms. It would cost him to repair that damage to this body later, but the pain kept him focused on the here and now. It angered him that she was so useful, so essential to the nebulous plan coalescing in his mind. He would have to seek another victim tonight - some stupid, useless woman to vent his rage and frustration on. Someone no one would miss or mourn - he could not afford to attract too much attention to himself and risk having to move. While he was here, there was always a chance he would encounter her - the one he really wanted in his house - Chandra.
Smirking a bit as he fantasized about a chance encounter with his Chandra, Kiran pulled on a long black overcoat and slipped a long serrated knife into his pocket. Perhaps tonight it would not be used on some anonymous street walker, but the woman he pretended every victim was. Slipping out into the cool night, Kiran started hunting.
And unbeknownst to either of them, the odds were good he would encounter Chandra that evening. His hunt took him close to the dingy little cafe she worked at as a waitress - and tonight, she was closing up. Normally there was more than one closer, but the girl who was supposed to assist Chandra had not showed up to work. Everyone, including Chandra herself, had been confident she would be fine on her own. She had that look about her - the aura of someone who could take care of themselves.
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Posted: Sun May 07, 2006 11:38 am
[ Suspicion ] Garbage, Wicked Ways I tried hard to mend my wicked ways The damage's done, there's nothing left to save
Walking along the night city streets to her apartment, Chandra felt like she was being followed - but couldn't get her eye on anyone. In her world, however, that didn't mean someone wasn't there. Turning a corner, she dodged into a filthy back alleyway and pulled out The Book. One hand on it's leathery skin surface, she slipped sideways. She left her body standing in Life like an empty husk and plunged into Death.
It was dark there, and the trees around her were rustling with recent activity. Someone was following her. Someone able to move in Death. She dropped into a low crouch among the brush that blanketed this part of the first stage of Death and scanned the area. It was times like this her eyes came in handy, piercing the veil of night that surrounded her - but she still couldn't spot anything out of the ordinary. Something felt familiar. Turning slowly, Chandra's nostril's flared as she scented the light breeze whistling through the trees. A smell on the breeze made her think of the past - but she couldn't place it. And when she began to hear the baying of hounds in the distance, she pulled back into her body in Life with a snap.
Blinking rapidly to clear the frost from her eyelashes, she looked around and seeing no one, continued home. Perhaps she was merely being overcautious. After all, nothing untoward had happened since the destruction of the Key and her subsequent resurrection at the hands of Lafe's guardian. As far as she knew, her enemies had all been destroyed.
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Posted: Sun May 07, 2006 11:48 am
[ Anticipation] Garbage, Vow I came to cut you up I came to knock you down I came around to tear your little world apart I came to shut you up I came to suck you down I came around to tear your little world apart Tear your little world apart Tear your little world apart And break your soul apart
Hours later, his hands covered in blood, Kiran returned to Chandra's apartment building to look up at the many windows. He could feel her - she had recently been in Death - and he followed the scent up the fire escape to a set of windows on the fifth floor. He didn't dare stay by them long and risk getting caught, but instead marked them with blood from his fingers. When he was finished drawing symbols on them and muttering to himself, the marks faded into the glass. He couldn't be sure Chandra's wouldn't notice them - but it was unlikely she would be able to divine their purpose or remove them.
Smiling to himself, Kiran would have looked insane to anyone who spotted him in that moment. He was pleased with himself and life in general. He had a fantastic new toy in Alena and he had located Chandra. His plans for the future were coming to fruition.
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Posted: Sun May 07, 2006 11:49 am
[ Queen of the Dead ] Sitting alone on the bed as Chandra took a shower to wash away the smells of cigarettes and coffee - the only real drawback to her current job - The Book of the Dead opened. The pages flipped rapidly, as if being blown in the wind. The windows, however, were firmly shut. When it stopped, it was open to an entry Chandra had not yet encountered. It read as follows:
There is a Legend, handed down through the ages, about the Queen of the Dead and her role in the End of the World. It is said that there will come a day when the veil between the Land of the Living and the Land of the Dead will be irreparably damaged. The Dead will invade the Earth and as the Living fall prey to them, their numbers will swell until they have destroyed all Life.
When the last of the Living fall, she who broke the barrier between words will become their Queen and rule over the desolate wasteland that remains.
Who she is and where she comes from is never specified in the Legend, but she must have immense power to control so many of the Dead.
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