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 Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 5:58 pm
"I don't know where to go," he tells her, taking a step back from the edge. Kouyo watches her for a moment, then looks around again. Is he really hearing Ranko's voice coming from her, or is his madness returning again?
The priest shuts his eyes for a moment, holding his head in his hands. Tenran or Ranko? Either way this is not his dream? Can he change the outcome? Finally, he looks up at her again and asks, "If... if I help you fight, will you speak to me when they are all gone?" Perhaps he could try to win this warrior's respect somehow, like he continually tried to remain in the good graces of the necromancer.
But... his magic. He is still sick. He sees Ranko here in his dreams again - is he mad? Is this part of the dream? Is he sane enough to control his spells? Will they even work here?
... Either way, he already made the offer. And even if she does not desire his help, Kouyo worries that he may have to fight anyway, or flee from the cliff side.
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Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 6:06 pm
"If they will be all gone," she says darkly. "They never stop."
But she pauses, then turns to him again, wearing a much softer expression -- not quite a compassionate one, but at least not a cold one. She looks down at his feet and then scan slowly up his body -- she seems to be inspecting him for something. It isn't clear if she finds it, though, as after a moment she looks back across the water, and that softness fades.
"... So, sure," she says, again in that dismissive tone.
As she finishes speaking, a strange sound starts quietly but uncomfortably ringing in Kouyo's ears, a sound like some sort of chirping or many high-pitched voices talking at once. It seems the woman can hear it too, as her expression twists and she turns her head slightly. She doesn't seem too alarmed, though, even as the air slowly starts to feel thicker and heavier, and the clouds above finally begin to rumble with thunder.
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 8:18 pm
Kouyo falters as the woman's expression changes, and his brow furrows in confusion. "Who are you?" he asks again, pain settling into his heart again as he tries to tear his attention from the woman - whoever she is - to focus on the... the invaders.
... What was she looking for on him? Was it his Name again? If he could be sure it was her- no, this is just a dream. Or is she Tenran as she said she was?
He jumps at the sudden sound, cowering where he stands and looking around. Was that the ... the things coming up the cliff? "Where is that coming from?" he asks, not exactly expecting an answer. Kouyo glances warily at the clouds and takes another step back from the edge.
"Tenran...?" Should he stay away from her to allow her to fight, or is she his wife - should he be fighting to defend her?
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Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 8:28 pm
"Who are you," the woman suddenly snaps, as she whirls to face him, her face full of a strange and violent rage, "and why do you keep following me!? Get lost, I'm sick of you!" Having completely transformed in demeanor, from cold and bored to recklessly enraged, she seems a completely different woman. Even moreso when she clumsily pokes at him with the butt of the halberd, as if to push him away; those are not the firm and efficient movements he saw her use on the invading creature.
But just as suddenly she stops again, and looks towards the sky. "Move," she barks at Kouyo, and then swings the blade to slice one of the creatures in midair, it apparently having fallen from the sky.
"Stay away," she shouts at him as she turns back to the cliffside and the voices and crashes of the waves grow louder. A few beings fly up and land on the ground near her feet, unable to reorient themselves before she has slain them as well. Perhaps she now means to stay away so that she will not strike Kouyo accidentally with one of those large arcs.
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 9:02 pm
The High Priest staggers back, away from her, tripping over his robes and falling onto the grass again. "I said before, this little bird is Kouyo. And I don't know why I'm following you! I don't know what I'm doing here!"
He is just dreaming. Ranko is not here. Why such clumsiness when she struck at him a moment ago? Where had that cold grace gone in the way she handled the weapon, for that one second? He could not make the same mistake like when he ended up molesting his teacher. Kouyo shudders, crawling back away from the woman. Even if this is a dream, even if it looks like his wife, he will not touch her. Is it really her? Is she really sick of him? Ranko does not want him back, does she....
Kouyo remains seated where he is on the ground, once he is out of the reach of Tenran's weapon, settling into silence as he watches her slay the creatures.
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Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 9:21 pm
As the seconds roll by, more and more creatures surge up over the cliff, and as they are tossed higher, they find their footing faster and come rushing towards Tenran. But she, for her part, doesn't seem to panic at all, easily and uninterestedly cutting through them.
As the waves become higher and the noise becomes louder, more creatures begin dropping from the sky, thudding to the ground more like slain bats than raindrops and crawling towards the human. A few land behind Kouyo, but they seem to ignore him, and would even crawl right over him, paying him no mind, to get closer to the woman -- who simply slays them without alarm.
Not at first, at least. In one moment when the surge dies down, she glances over to look at him. "Move back," she says, loud but not yelling, "you're too close." She slices through a creature, and then looks back at him -- a sudden glint of madness showing in her eyes. "Get away, get away from here! Go back where you came from!
"Because I can't protect you," she whispers, suddenly melting from rage into an incoherent despair, and seeming nearly to collapse, as if she is no longer strong enough to hold up the weapon. But when another creature leaps for her arm, she suddenly stands up straight and destroys it, as if nothing happened.
"I need more space."
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 10:21 pm
As the creatures drop from the sky around him, Kouyo curls up, covering his head with his hands. He would leave this place if he knew how. Wake up, remove yourself. Leave her alone! What if this truly is Ranko? ... only a dream.... She knew what she needed to do, and he should listen to her, keep his distance.
"How long does this go on?" he calls to Tenran, shying away from the creatures as he moves backwards, away from her, along the ground. How many times has she had this dream without him? His wife or a total stranger... could Kouyo bring himself to leave either of them in danger like this? What can the mad priest do? You are no warrior and your magic fails you like your mind does. This is only a dream - does what happens here matter? Does it /not/ matter? Dreams can be very important. Is he here for a reason? To stay? To leave?
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Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 10:26 pm
"Forever," the woman grunts as she takes out three creatures with a slice. "--Until morning," she corrects, cutting down two more.
"You have to get away from here," she says softly. "You have to go back. You don't belong here. You're not part of this dream." Her mood changes from sorrow to blankness, and then suddenly back to sorrow.
"It was a long time ago..."
But as the waves become denser, she stops paying attention to him except for one brief moment: "--Go!" With the foam and rain of beings growing thicker and thicker, Kouyo will soon not even be able to see her through them.
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 11:44 pm
As the creatures grew more numerous, the priest's eyes well up with tears of worry and fear. Perhaps he is not supposed to be here, but what now? Could he just make himself leave, turn away without acting? Deep inside, he wished to be a man of action - effecting what changes he could after the power to change had been denied to him for so long. Kouyo's dreams had never meant nothing.
This woman is human; can the Name show you the affairs of humans? Is this Name's doing? Does it matter? Kouyo is here. And so is Ranko - is this a trick?
He climbs to his feet as the onslaught of creatures grows thicker. "Can you last until morning alone?" he asks quietly, brushing the tears from his cheek as the monsters ignore him to attack his only companion in the dream. "What happens if you fail?"
Kouyo turns his gaze to one of the creatures as it drops from the sky directly beside him. What are you doing? He reaches into his mind for his magic, which used to come so easily, before he started going mad. Is this something you /can/ do? The priest holds one hand out towards the creature, and wills the air to slice it in half before it can reach the woman. Not killing, just like slicing paper. ... only a dream....
He will not leave Ranko waiting while he does nothing for a second time.
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Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 11:51 pm
"Nothing -- go --" Tenran growls through her teeth. Somewhere in the darkness she must be cutting through the monsters, but their concentration continues to get thicker and thicker.
It's not likely that she got to see Kouyo's effort at helping. His spell seems to work far better than he could have expected -- the target seems to instantly explode into millions of microscopic pieces. Whatever the creatures are, they are not very formidable... at least in a dream.
Several of those nearby pause and turn their 'heads' towards Kouyo -- they have no facial features other than almond-shaped cut-out eyes, and to a waking Porcelain they would appear quite comical. They only inspect Kouyo for a second, though, before joining the whirlwind surrounding the human to be diced.
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2009 3:18 pm
Kouyo flinches away as the thing explodes, projecting his surprise at his success with spellcasting, at the effectiveness of the magic on the thing, and ... at the fact that he just harmed something, even if it was only in a dream.
He had not been hurt himself in hurting the monster, though. But they had not stopped their assault on Tenran or Ranko or whomever the human was. The priest still keeps his distance from the swarm of creatures attacking the warrior, and lets loose more of his magic to attack the ones that have not yet reached her. He still seems to almost anticipate pain with each one he attacks, but as long as he is here, he wants to do what he can - Kouyo shows this intention to the human: he will not leave her to fend for herself. Where could you go, anyway? So desperately hoping she is your wife, aren't you...?
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Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2009 4:52 pm
The creatures show almost no resistance to Kouyo's magic; they explode, shatter, split at their seams, or collapse into goo. It doesn't seem like his spells are doing much good overall, though; they only seem to arrive in greater and greater numbers.
For a split second, a wide slash parts the creatures, and Kouyo can see Tenran through the veil of creatures -- completely unbloodied, not even looking a little bit tired. Perhaps it is not due to her skill, though; Kouyo feels no exhaustion at all from casting his spells, perhaps because it is a dream.
For the moment he can see Tenran, she does not look at him; instead, her eyes point upward towards the sky, still full of dark, fantastically-colored clouds, which roll ever more frequently with thunder. And then she is hidden by the horde again, now growing so thick it takes a bit of effort to move through them.
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2009 5:32 pm
Slowly, Kouyo ventures closer, still attacking the things falling from the sky and swarming around the human woman. He still winces slightly at the death of each one by his own hand, but seems to gradually overcome the awkward feeling of killing them. Are they really even alive? Would it feel this easy to take life in the waking world, as well, with his magic? Did Kumoru also spend so little effort when he tried to suck the life from Kouyo?
The priest shivers a little, hesitating a moment in his onslaught as he asks the woman again, "Who are you?" He slashes at another couple of the creatures, flinching slightly again as he adds with a touch of uncertainty, "I can fight. Here, in your dream, at least."
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