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 Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2005 6:16 pm
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Don't take Your Red Ribbons Off
Out for a stroll and a bit of clean night air, Chandra stumbled over a small animal that squeaked and skittered for the nearest alleyway. Normally, she would have ignored it and continued on - but something about the way it ran in fear intrigued her. Her adrenaline level rising, she grinned ferally at the darkness and lunged after the fleeing shadow and into the alleyway.
About five minutes and a brief futile struggle later, Chandra had her prey. It was a struggle not to tear into the prone body in her hands, but Chandra contented herself with studying the weird angle the rat's head had taken on when she snapped it's neck. To have such power over another - it felt so good and yet tainted. With an expression of disgust Chandra flung the carcass against the brick wall of the alleyway. She was not Mictecacihuatl, she was not one to enjoy playing with the lives just because she could.
Wait. Had something else just moved in the shadows? Chandra whirled, crouching as the something seemed to move again in the edge of her vision. When nothing obvious materialized in front of her eyes, she decided to approach. There didn't appear to be anything there until suddenly the moon came out from behind a cloud. The moonlight made the alleyway as light as day, chasing out all the shadows except for one.
One right in front of Chandra. One that appeared to contain some sort of pearl suspended inside.
Despite her better judgement, Chandra reached out and grabbed the shadow in one balled fist. She was relieved when nothing immediately seemed to happen and stood, shoving the pearl into one of the many pockets in her tunic.
A couple steps to the mouth of the alleyway, however, and she was forced back to her knees as a wave of sadness and despair washed over her overwhelming rational thought. She wanted to bash her head against the brick walls of the alleyway until the pain just ended once and for all. Then, as suddenly as it had begin, the strange external emotions vanished.
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Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2005 3:49 pm
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Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2005 6:22 pm
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Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2005 7:31 pm
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Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2005 8:44 pm
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Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2005 2:26 pm
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Athan smirked faintly as he crossed his arms and watched as the small wisp flittered back towards the girl. "It means you're now responsible for her well-being.. don't worry, she's mostly self-sufficient," he told her, "It is a creature of darkness and will follow in your shadow almost constantly. It needs only it's link to you and a few shadows to hide in, preferably yours, to survive."
He seemed to drift backwards and his cloak whipped about him as though there were a sudden gust of wind even though the air was perfectly still. "It will attempt to communicate its needs and wants through the bond that is already forming between you too.. it's an empathic link as you may already know," he went on before a small, almost eerie smile pulled at his lips.
His eyes narrowed and fell quiet for a moment as though something or someone else had suddenly gained his attention. "I'm afraid I have other matters I must attend to.. I trust you'll take good care of her," he stated in a calm, low voice as he nearly faded completely out of view, "If you need more information about the creature itself, I suggest you contact a girl named Reyna Crelos. There's a jewelry shop in Durem. You'll find her there."
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Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2005 2:54 pm
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Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2005 8:21 pm
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Diary Entry
Quote: This book will be dedicated to my observations about the shadow fiend which stalks my every step. Since I found her in that lonely alley, she has rarely ventured out of my shadow for more than a moment or two - even in the darkness of the night. In fact, she even haunts my dreams, but I will get to that later. The first time I encountered Athan was when I had first found the pearl. In that darkened alleyway where I killed the rat he confronted me and explained about the shadow fiends. The second time I encountered him was when I made my way to the main "shop" of the fiends. The first time he struck me as one of the figures in my life whom I have come to hate. One of the figures who tells me only what they feel I need to know and limit my access to the type of information that allow survival to be more than just the act of barely holding on. Someday I hope to break through these people, to find myself in the possession of knowledge they do not have - but want. The second time I saw Athan he struck me as more like myself. One who has only enough information to know they need more. He asked me about a shadow. One that was no my own. I told him the truth - that I had seen no such thing and asked what I should do if I did. He told me to immediately alert him if such a thing should come to pass. I do not know what it is that he fears. I almost hope to see it for myself, so that I might know what would spook a man like him. The fiend itself puzzles me enough to keep my mind occupied until I have a better chance to unravel the mystery of Athan. Most of the time it is dormant, but every so often it seems to awaken. At these times it cripples with me with its emotions, projecting abject sorrow and despair into my mind. The reason for this sadness is unclear to me. The fiend appears to be unable to communicate in words, just emotions. Except perhaps in sleep. On several occasions I have had dreams which I believe may be related to the fiend. I do not often remember my dreams when I have awoken, so my recollections are fragmented at best. I will record what I remember here. Water. Filling my mouth, my lungs. Preventing any though but panic, preventing my screams for assistance. Resisting my frantic clawing. A current pulling me down, farther into the unknown. The darkness waiting below. Waiting to swallow me. To silence me forever. I have fallen from someplace greater. To crash into this liquid which fills my lungs. Seeping into every pore. Bloating me. Blinding me. I am dead, but I can see. In fact, I could not close my eyes if I wished. I see everything as a silent observer. No matter how I wish to warn, to scream and yell for release from this half life - I am mute. It is as if I am behind a wall of glass. I can beat on it with my fists and scream until I am hoarse, but no one can see me, hear me, or help me. The dream ends with me beating myself senseless against this wall of glass. Battering my soul until I am nothing and still getting no result. I die again, alone and forgotten. This time slipping into the silent darkness which awaits below me. Gasping for air. Buried alive by a group of faceless strangers who ignore my pleas to halt. They ignore my assertions that I am alive, turning their faces from me as I claw at the wood surrounding me. My nails snap off leaving my fingers bleeding and bent. Then I am out. Free to breathe the air again. But then I am grabbed, shoved down by an army of hands. Something is forced into my mouth and something else laid over my eyes. I am blind and mute again. All I can do is hear. Which is nothing at all because silence descends immediately, cutting me off from everything. All I have left is feeling. Pain. Nothing but extreme pain. I can think of nothing but the pain. My brain is in agony . Panic. What is happening? What can I do? The dreams ends when my thoughts shut down, trail off. The pain is too much and I give in. I allow myself to succumb. I give up.
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2005 12:35 pm
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Diary Entry
Quote: It all started innocently enough and for a few nights I even managed to delude myself into thinking the whole thing was, while elaborate, simply the product of my overactive subconcious. I can no longer believe, with any degree of certainty, that is the case. I will put things down here in the order I have seen them, even though I am reasonably certain the scenes have been appearing out of chronological order. I have numbered them for my own convenience, but I put no significance into the values themselves. As per the following scenes, the first appear to be an old, rather poor quality, clip from someone''s home video collection. Not only is the frame shaky, and has a limited field of view, but "dust" interrupts the picture quite frequently. And unfortunately, I believe for some yet unknown reason, the sound is greatly warped. It does not match the picture in many places, speeding along through dialogue during scenery shots, and then slowing to a crawl or even static while people actually speak. I say people, but truly there is only one character of note so far. Another appears infrequently, but I have never heard him speak - perhaps to compensate for his insistence on attempting to do so. But I am getting ahead of myself. The first scene conains no people at all, so the mood is more important than any discussion of the main characters, or lack thereof. (Although I do wish to note that I am not entirely sure of the accuracy of referring to them as "main" characters, since the whole of the narrative still eludes me.) It opened, silently, on a small cottage with an untended yard. As the camera zooms in, or rather walks up the small cobbled path, it becomes clearer that the yard has not always been in such a state of disrepair, but that it has recently escaped carefully tended bounds. The brightly painted front door, which is a particularly shiny shade of blue, is spotless except for a spot near the bottom left which has been recently painted over with a more sedate shade. As the camera (or eyes) moves through the door and into the interior - the picture fades out and a woman''s voice begins to speak in the darkness. Her tone is quiet and soothing, but with an undercurrent of fear which implies she may be trying to placate someone or something. She says a name several times while she speaks, but I can never remember it when I wake - a fragment of a dream it fades quickly in daylight. " , stop. Just stop and think. Can you really leave it like this? You have responsibilities - please just let me finish a sentence!"
When she stops speaking, the darkness brightens and I find myself awake.
Even though I have now seen several more scenes, I still am not sure where this one fits. Either beginning or end, but which is uncertain.
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2005 6:07 pm
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Diary Entry
Quote: I find the second scene heart-breaking, although I can find no rational explanation for the emotions it evokes. I sobbed after the first time I saw it, but when I re-read what I have written here, I can see no reason for this reaction. Perhaps when I have seen the scenes preceeding this or following it, since I believe all of the scenes to be part of a single fractured narrative, I will understand why it is so sad. The second scene opens and closes in a single room. It is uncertain whether this room is in the cottage from the first scene, but I think that plausible. The room is shadowy, but not dark. It appears to be lit only by some source of natural light, but I have no way of confirming this since the "camera" is not under my control. The walls, or at least the one I am facing, are papered with something that looks victorian. I do not know if this places the narrative at a particular point in time, since I am still undecided on whether I believe it to be a true tale or not. Tiny dusty pink roses climb a trellis all over the wall. Some are still buds and others are in bloom. The wall is not quite in focus for me and at time it appears the flowers may be growing and dying around the edges of my vision. I am standing, or the camera is standing - it is hard to think of it as myself, since I am not in control of the movement, in front of a small end table with an antique phone on top. (It could be that such a model of phone was not antique at the time, as it is in rather nice shape.) As I study the brass curves of the phone and the way the whole thing contrasts with the dull veneer of the dark wood underneath, a woman begins to speak. I do not know if it is the same woman as before. This time she sounds excited and genuinely happy, making the voices difficult to compare. "It''s true! I cannot believe it has finally happened, but it has. Oh, I feel like I''m living in a dream." And then the phone is falling as she giggles to her invisble conversation partner. No one has come into my field of vision, but the phone plunges to the floor and breaks into what seems like a hundred tiny mirror-like pieces. The table shudders, as if some strong force has just swept across it, but still I see nothing. As the phone sits there, I become aware of a new sound becoming louder and louder until it wakes me. The dial tone consumes me and I wake, tears in my eyes. This scene makes me feel like a voyeur, like I am peeking into something that does not belong to me. Something I should leave alone.
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2005 4:58 pm
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Diary Entry
Quote: Another scene is entirely cast in darkness. I do not believe the scene actually takes place in total blackness, but that the picture is missing for whatever reason. Perhaps it has been erased or the images are simply too intense. Regardless of the reason, the fact remains that this dream consists mainly of one disembodied voice. The fact that the voice is present without the distraction of a visual stimulus has allowed me to make possibly unfounded conclusions about the owner. It is a woman. She sounds young and inexperienced, possibly insecure - but very happy and excited. I think I may know the source of her excitement, but if so - it makes the other scenes even more heart-rending. It is possible of course that this is not the same woman who I have heard and seen in other dreams, but I think it best to make an assumption of simplicity - that the women are all one and the same. I can't remember exactly what was said, but I believe I have captured the essence of the message. "Are you sure?" She sounds nervous, as if she dare not hope whatever she has learned is true. Or perhaps she fears it is. It is difficult to tell without access to her facial expressions. "That's very exciting! Thank you so much." She sounds thrilled, as if someone has thrown a miracle her way. The sound of a phone hanging up and then dialing and ringing. Eventually someone must pick up because the ringing stops. Immediately the phone is hung up again and the woman softly begins to sob.
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Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2005 9:21 am
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Chandra's Feien Journal Feien ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^STARTE^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Deep in the recesses of the Battle Fleet Regional Gaia Headquarters something stirred. It was a small something, not immediately noticable to the general public, but this tiny stirring sent ripples of implication through the whole of the building and out into the surrounding streets. It began with the memory of a grumbling stomach. The memory happened to reside in the mind of Dr. (Jonathan) M. The stomach had long since been removed. Where it was now was anyone's guess; M himself did not know. Even without a stomach, the odd little man was subject to the mental pangs of hunger. He felt them now, pulling him out of his office and into the hallway. He checked to make sure he was not about to be ambushed, of course, and shuffled his way across the corridor to the kitchens to begin a pot of coffee. Feien The coffee maker was probably the cheapest thing in the entire office. Stained, cracked, leaky and several times repaired, it was held together more by the hopes of its devoted constituency of coffee-drinkers than anything else. There was one thing which could be agreed upon by everyone who partook of the near-mythical coffee maker. It made really, truly, horribly bad coffee. It also made coffee with far more caffeine than could be readily explained by the laws of physics, logic, or even Starbucks. And it made it really, really fast. The machine had been purloined from the offices of the Intelligence Division. By order of the Supreme Commander herself, it was supposed to be disposed of. By interpretation of the Intelligence Division, Gaia was a trash dump. So the coffee maker found itself a new home where it could be appreciated by the person who loved it the most. Dr. M leaned forward and stroked the plastic side of his coffee maker with his fingers, mindful not to agitate the tape holding together the large crack down the side. He looked deliriously happy as he admired it, breaking off his caress just long enough to drop in a new filter pack and turn the machine on. With a fizz and a sputter the water began to heat and the pot started to brew. kamtrouble After getting the location of the feien "store" out of her sister's rather disagreeable feien Sunil, Chandra had scooped up a bored looking Marx and set out into the night. Not only was his manner bothering her, but Chandra tended to be more active at night anyway.
And this was how she found herself at the door to the Fleet HQ with Marx lounging comfortably in the ruff around the neck of her cloak. She tested the door and was surprised when it opened easily under her pale hand. Shrugging and then enduring a sigh from Marx, Chandra slipped into the HQ.
Unlike her sister had done before her, Chandra didn't say anything to the empty hallway that greeted her. Instead she simply began to explore, looking for signs of activity - not that she expected any. It wasn't until she got close to the kitchen door that she heard the coffee maker begin to sputter. Poking her head into the room, she ventured a quiet, "Hello?" Feien Dr. M looked up at the voice, his face instantly settling back into its normal appearance of mildly distressed neutrality. As quickly as he could (and with a speed borne from hours and hours of practice) he shoved his hands into the oversized pockets of his lab coat and spun around. Antipov had taught him never to show your back to your enemies, and also that enemy meant anyone and everyone. Unfortunately, shoving his hands into his pockets did little to conceal their nervous shaking because his lab coat, previously spotless, was currently adorned with a combination of tears, rips, burns, and lots of dirt. It looked as if it had been in the middle of the arena at a monster truck rally. So too did Dr. M, his face covered in charcoal smudges, particularly around the area of his nose. M's mouth pulled into a tight little frown, lips pursing. He did not speak at first, merely regarded Chandra warily and waited for her to make a move. kamtrouble Taking the silence from Dr. M as a sort of default invitation to enter the room, Chandra stepped just inside the doorway. As she studied Dr. M, she suddenly was at a loss for words. His coat was filthy and so was his face, which made her wonder where he had been previously. However, she didn't like asking questions - and if he was anything like her, she had a feeling she wouldn't get any answers.
"I am Chandra and this is Marx."
After she had introduced herself, she decided to remark on something neutral.
"I see you are making coffee. Would there be enough for me to have some?"
Marx seemed content to simply sit in the comfort of his feathery perch and keep his silence for now. This trip, after all, had not been his idea. AthanShade Athan skidded to a stop on the street corner and tore a hand back through his dreaded hair a bit frantically. He grumbled under his breath when he caught sight of the fiend he'd recently awakened again, glittering darkly in the moonlight. His chasing after the little creature was rather comical to watch, and he was suddenly quite thankful that Reyna or anyone else he knew was there to witness it -- but particularly Reyna, and Wren. Yes. He'd be damned before he let either of the two demons see him chase after one of his own creations in such an undignified manner.
He nearly caught up to it once more before it darted away suddenly. "Oh come on," he murmured, glowing green eyes narrowing in a tic of irritation, "This little game has grown quite tiresome. If you don't come back I shall send you right back into the abyss you were locked into!"
The shadows around the orange piece of coral quaked visibly at that threat and he sighed as he was hit with a sudden wave of fear through his bond to the fiend. It skittered away quickly and dashed in through a door that had nearly closed behind someone.
He frowned and pressed a hand to his face in an effort to suppress a groan. Great. Feien Dr. M began to buzz. "Eeeeeeeee," he went with that peculiar vocal vibration of his, his mouth slightly open. He broke easily into speech: "Eeeee, I suppose so, it makes about ten cups. That leaves two I won't drink." His head nodded jerkily. He seemed not to notice that he was so terribly dirty or even that he had yet to introduce himself. kamtrouble "It would be polite to introduce yourself." Marx finally spoke up, standing and looking down at Dr. M. He let the end of the statement trail upwards a little in tone, making it half a question. Perhaps he shouldn't have spoken, he thought - sitting back down.
Chandra simply blinked at the odd little man in front of her. She couldn't believe he was going to drink eight cups of coffee. It appeared to her as if he had already had too many.
And then she felt a little tug from the wisp currently hiding in the shadows under her cloak. In the past this had signalled another one of her kind somewhere around - and Chandra studied Dr. M even more curiously as if he might be the source of this disturbance. Feien "You," croaked Dr. M, staring at Marx from across the room. The coffee maker let out a brokenhearted chirp; it was done already. "I'm Dr. M." A hint of annoyance crept into his voice. He backed up towards the brewed coffee, still keeping his eyes on Chandra and Marx and his shaking hands in his tattered pockets. It was probably going to be fairly hard to pour out the coffee standing like that with his back to the counter. AthanShade He sighed and tentatively slipped inside the building and hoped desperately that the fiend hadn't created too much mayhem already. Truly, he was thankful it was no more than a mere wisp at the moment. He peered inside of the room he entered, quietly scanning the area for signs of other people or the wayward wisp.
If he could get away without encountering anyone or being accused of theivery, all the better. He took a few steps forward when he saw the little wisp dart around a corner, nothing more than a flash of orange and dark shadow. He tried to focus on his bond to the creature in an effort to pinpoint its location exactly, but found that instead of one, he felt two different wisps.
"Impossible," he muttered before falling silent when he heard voices. So much for not coming in contact with anyone. "Hello?" he called quietly, truly not wanting to disturb anyone or really draw a lot of attention to himself. He continued onwards before pausing in the doorway of the kitchen. Chandra was there. That would definately explain the second presence he felt. kamtrouble Chandra took a step towards Dr. M as he backed himself into the counter.
"Would you like some assistance?" She asked mildly, quirking an eyebrow in his direction. He didn't appear to be quite right, or particularly capable of pouring the coffee himself - even though he must have started it brewing earlier.
Marx resisted the urge to say anything at all. If Chandra was taking care of things, it really wasn't his place to say anything. Even if he did think she could be handling things better.
And then as she felt the tug from the black pearl, which was now peeking out from under the back of her cloak, and heard someone familiar say hello - she turned her head away from Dr. M and stared at Athan.
"Hello, Athan." She managed. She hadn't expected to see him here. AthanShade "Hello," he replied with a sort of strained smile before his green eyes flickered towards Dr. M. He was quite the character, and not the sort he'd imagine seeing Chandra associate herself with. Then again he had to admit that he didn't know her that well. He frowned nonetheless as he realized his thoughts were straying just as the little coral fiend had. It left him distracted and fidgeting a bit nervously.
"You.. haven't per chance seen another wisp.. other than Pearl?" he asked, brow furrowed in worried lines, "I'm afraid it might have followed you in the door." kamtrouble "I have not," she said, looking down at her own wisp. "But I have been preoccupied with interacting with Dr. M." Here she turned to look at the odd little man again. "Dr. M, this is Athan. Athan, this is Dr. M."
Introductions produced, she really wasn's sure what to do next and fell silent. Feien "I see you have... reinforcements," said Dr. M. he sounded quite unhappy about this revelation. His right hand dug through his pocket for something which must have fallen out through the large hole there. For the first time he looked down, realized he was missing a large portion of his pocket (not to mention the rest of his coat), and that if this was an enemy it wouldn't matter if he was facing the person or not. He was completely defenseless. While a greater man might have panicked (for surely there was no man lesser than Dr. M) the little man merely shrugged, pulled his hands from his pockets, and turned away from Chandra to retrieve the coffee cups from the cupboard above his head. AthanShade Athan fell quiet after that and found himself simply staring at Dr. M quizzically. "It's.. a pleasure to meet you," he finally spoke up when he remembered his manners. His head tilted to the side slightly as he squinted over at the man as he reached for cups out of the cupboard. Strange, strange little man -- though who was he to talk? He was chasing a floating stone into buildings he likely had no place being.
As though beckoned the wisp in question appeared, swirling about his feet in small circles before drifting up to eye level. "Tired of playing hide and seek?" he hissed as he reached to snatch at the fiend before grumbling when it darted just out of reach. Feien One, two, three. M lined the coffee cups neatly in a row. He reached over for the pot, gently eased it free, and poured out three perfectly equal servings of coffee. He completely missed the sight of the wisp. kamtrouble "Reinforcements?" Chandra questioned, giving Athan a confused look - to see whether he knew what the odd man was referring to. "I do not understand. I simply came here because I have a feien." She guestured to Marx, who was blatantly staring at Dr. M.
"Sunil said this was the equivalent of a feien headquarters." Feien Dr. M took the first two cups of coffee in his hands and turned back around to face them, saying as he did, "Yes, we are considered a sort central agency for the monitoring and--" He nearly fumbled the cup as he spotted the strange anomaly in the air. His mouth fell open with curious surprise. AthanShade Athan merely shrugged at the look Chandra shot him. He had no idea what the building he was in was about, nor what a Feien was. He speculated that what she was referring to was the small fairy that was sitting on her shoulder. He squinted at it for a moment curiously before turning his attention back towards the wisp that was skittering about. Perhaps if he didn't move as though to snatch it up he could catch it off guard.
"It's a Fiend," he informed the other man at his look of surprise. Feien As quickly as he could manage without spilling any of the precious liquid, Dr. M slid the mugs back onto the kitchen counter and freed his hands, never taking his eyes off the wisp. It wasn't easy. The small thing moved quite quickly and M's eyes had to dance a jig behidn his glasses to accomplish the feat. Tentatively, he took a step in the wisp's direction. kamtrouble By now, the black pearl had crept its way up the back of Chandra's cloak and appeared to be watching the other fiend as it teased Athan.
Marx was staring at the cups of coffee Dr. M had turned around with and wondering whether it was his place to aks whether one of those was the requested cup of coffee for Chandra.
Chandra, noting the look on Dr. M's face, looked to see Athan attempting to catch a fiend she hadn't seen before and turned back around to make the best explanation she could offer to the odd little man.
"It is a shadow fiend," she said. "I have one. They appear to be spirits of some sort which have been trapped in gemstones." AthanShade He watched with a vauge look of amusement as Dr. M gazed at the fiend dancing about in the air. He hoped quietly that the creature would decide to behave itself. He could feel waves of curiosity filter through his bond to the creature, and despite his best efforts he couldn't suppress the small smile that tugged at his lips at that.
"Perhaps.. you can catch it. I've been trying to all evening," he said quietly as though he were afraid he'd cause the creature to skitter in fear at the sound of his voice. He had threatened it previously.
Feien "I see," said Dr. M, lying through his teeth (but convincingly). "A form of energy-based life?" He edged closer still. "Intelligent?" kamtrouble The Black Pearl, which had been encroaching on Marx's shoulder space - skittered back down to vanish under Chandra's skirt at Dr. M's movement in Athan's direction. With a sigh, Chandra tried to radiate comfort down the bond that fed back only some sort of regret and fear.
Marx stood and balancing against Chandra's neck, turned so he could watch Athan - even if Chandra was going to watch Dr. M.
"I assume so," Chandra said in response to Dr. M, blinking. "The Pearl acts of her own accords if that's what you mean." Feien Dr. M frowned, tilted his head to the side, and immediately scurried back to his coffee cups. It looked as if he had abandoned the effort, but then he held out one of the cups towards the fiend in the air. "Would it like some coffee?" AthanShade "Yes. They're quite intelligent," Athan added to what Chandra had already stated, "This is their most basic form. Once they've been bonded to a guardian they're then capable of taking on a more humanoid form." He crossed his arms over his chest and watched as the fiend floated midair, tentatively moving a little closer towards the doctor out of curiosity. "They're quite inclined to create mischeif and general mayhem, as well," he added with a frown as he stared pointedly at the creature as though to admonish it with his own feelings of irritation.
His frown washed away at Dr. M's offer of coffee. "It's actually incapable of eating or drinking much of anything," he told the little man with a faint smile, "They are sustained by energy from their bonded."
kamtrouble "Like feien," Marx observed. "We don't have to eat."
Chandra had been wondering why Marx had been bonded to her, but it had seemed like a rude question to ask since it carried the implication she didn't want him around. This comment cleared things up and she started to wonder if Marx would be bound to the same rules as the Pearl which seemed to stick to her like glue. Feien Dr. M immediately began to rattle off a stream of information. "The juvenile feien perpetrates an electrical connection between itself and a larger creature, thereby removing the necessity of food consumption as a way of energy procuration. The juvenile feien has a fully developed digestive system and can eat if it chooses. In its adult form, however, the energy field is insufficient to maintain the feien and traditional food sources must be sought. There have also been noted certain benefits to food consumption with regards to magical ability and power." He continued holding the coffee cup up in the air in the fiend's direction. AthanShade "Interesting," Athan replied as his gaze drifted away from the fiend that was now buzzing about the offered coffee cup curiously and settled on Marx. He'd known of the existence of fairies and the like, but he was not familiar with this particular breed, for lack of a better term.
The coral wisp bumped tenatatively against the cup with a small 'clack' as it's carved surface met against the ceramic cup. The small noise attracted Athan's attention back towards it and he smiled faintly as he realized it was preoccupied. He reached out with one hand and snatched up the creature with a triumphant smirk. The inky darkness that surrounded it swirled in protest about his hand as the stone quivered against his palm. "Serves you right," he muttered out loud. kamtrouble "Fascinating," Marx said, his tone making it questionable as to whether he actually meant what he said or was just being polite. He did however, tuck the information away.
Chandra also tucked it away for future knowledge, but supprssed the desire to ask more questions about feien. And noticed, for the first time, that Dr. M didn't appear to have a feien with him. Feien "Hmm," hummed Dr. M, and put the coffee mug to his lips. He drank. And drank. And drank. And in the space of about fifteen seconds the cup was completely emptied. Dr. M went back to the pot to pour himself another. "Are there many such creatures here on Gaia?" he asked. AthanShade "Thirteen so far, this one included. Their number will continue to grow as I awaken them," he replied simply before falling quiet with a troubled frown, though he didn't voice what it was that bothered him aloud. "The stones that contain them are spread across several different dimensions," he spoke up after a moment, "It makes finding them a little tricky... and a bit of a hassle." kamtrouble Marx, obviously starting to get bored, settled back down into his nest and leaned back.
Chandra, feeling her own energy start to wane, bobbed her head at Dr. M and then Athan.
"I believe I need to be going. It is late."
She attempted to slip her way past Athan and back out into the hallway. Feien "Ahh, I specialize in dimensions," said Dr. M, turning about with a fresh cup of coffee. He headed for the round kitchen table. "It's a fascinating line of research. Have you encountered many problems with the instability matrix of portals?" Apparently the good doctor assumed that anyone who spent time finding stones across several dimensions must be as vested in the technical science of dimensions as he clearly was. Feien M let out a small, contemplative hum at Chandra's departure. His mind was on the other two cups of steaming coffee still sitting on the counter. AthanShade Athan nodded his head towards Chandra as she headed towards the door. He glanced idly over his shoulder as though deciding that perhaps he should leave as well. He felt a bit out of place. His attention was quickly caught once more by Dr. M in reguards to traveling through demensions.
"I.. am afraid I'm not so familiar with any of the technical aspects reguarding the instability matrix of portals, but I have encountered a few.. problems when traveling through them," he replied cautiously, "Most of those problems consist of accidentally losing small items when passing through them." There was also how taxing it could be, but his health generally wasn't at the top of his list of things to worry about. Feien "Hmm, sounds like you need to adjust the frequency range of your transportation unit, or perhaps your personal harmonics." Dr. M nodded sagely and downed the second cup. The act of drinking coffee gave Athan enough time to escape. AthanShade "Perhaps," he replied before glancing down at the fiend in his hand that had resumed its futile struggle at escaping. "It is rather late," he commented in a distracted sort of fashion, "I best be heading home now that I've caught my wayward creation." He inclined his head slightly and left the good doctor sitting at the round table with his coffee. He'd certainly had quite the evening. Feien Noting that his audience was gone but more importantly that he was in need of more coffee, Dr. M rose from his seat and went to retrieve one of the already filled mugs. It was gone in an instant, its identical companion following a moment later. M paused a moment mentally check his consumption. Four cups. He eagerly refilled all three of the cups in front of him as an an afterthought grabbed one more mug from the cupboard and filled that, too. Gripping the four steaming cups carefully in his hands he headed back for his office. Thankfully there was no one around to observe the trick of how he managed to open his office door while carrying two cups of coffee in each hand. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ENDE^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2005 7:33 pm
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[Shopping]
Reyna Crelos Reyna sat behind the large desk, pencil idly tapping against the smooth surface as she gazed down at her sketch. She forgot just how boring tending to the shop could be, or perhaps it was simply because she felt as though she ought to be doing something else. She'd been going nonstop from one crisis to another for what seemed to be weeks on end. The sudden lack of general mayhem and mass chaos was like being splashed with a bucket of ice water.
She frowned and rested her chin in one hand as she fidgeted restlessly. Mystic had volunteered to stay at home with Sam so she wouldn't have to drag the baby into work with her. Being there by herself made the shop feel utterly empty, and she had to admit it felt a little strange to not have her Shadow at her side at all times anymore. He was slowly distancing himself from her, though Athan assured her it was to be expected. He was a teenager afterall, and was growing up quite quickly.
kamtrouble Wandering around town with a backpack of heavy books wasn't Chandra's idea of a fabulous day. In fact, what little strength she had was fading quickly in the sunlight. She didn't get hot, but something about daylight seemed to really sap her strength.
Looking for a place to rest, she spotted the fiend store and veered in that direction.
"I need shade and a place to rest," she told Marx, who was sitting in the shade under the hood of her cloak. The fairy didn't respond, but privately felt this was a bit of an inconvenience since he couldn't read until they got home.
The Black Pearl hadn't been active since the previous evening, but likely would appreciate shade - since it seemed to share Chandra's aversion to daylight.
"Hello," Chandra said wearily as she entered the shop.
Reyna Crelos She looked up from her sketchbook at the faint chime that sounded when someone opened the door. She offered the young woman a small smile as she continued to idly play with her pencil rather than putting it to good use. "Hey there," she replied. The girl looked familiar. Hadn't she seen her before..?
Yes! It had been when Athan had been spazzing over his old buddy making his presence known. She shuddered at the thought of him and was quite thankful that Doran had been dealt with accordingly without too much trouble -- at least mostly. "You look a bit tired. There are drinks and stuff in the backroom if you'd like," she offered as she pointed towards the door that was off to the side against the back wall, "It stays cooler back there, too, since it's relatively dark."
kamtrouble "That sounds perfect," Chandra said, removing her hood. This had the dual effect of probably making her more recognizable and exposing Marx to plain sight. "I do not know if we have met," she continued, approaching Reyna's desk.
And then introductions became a bit superfluous as the Black Pearl chose that moment to skitter back up Chandra's cloak and hover somewhere below her left ear - as if imitating an earring.
"I am Chandra," the Legend said, trying to look at the Pearl out of the corner of her eye. "and the fairy on my shoulder is Marx."
Reyna Crelos "I believe we did briefly, but we weren't properly introduced," the silver haired woman replied, "I'm Reyna." She smiled faintly when Pearl floated into view. She definately remembered her. She was one of the first handful of wisps she'd seen. She could still remember Mystic's reaction to how small she was.
She stood from the desk and moved to head back towards the back room. "This part of the shop is always available to guardians," she explained, "It's a safe place." Athan had spelled and warded it more tightly than even she did her own house -- which said something. She could only assume it was due to his own paranoia concerning old comrades of his.
kamtrouble "Thank you," Chandra said, heading for the door. She already felt better being in out of the sun, but the heavy backpack was stil weighing on her. The minute she could put it down, she would.
The Black Pearl followed behind her, maintaining its perch. It apparently also found this building to be a safe spot, as it didn't usually exhibit so much activity.
Marx gave the back room a disgruntled look before saying, to no one in particular.
"No one will mind if I read, will they? I had hoped to get home with my books before this. Or that Chandra wouldn't have to trouble herself to go to the library, but when one doesn't have a library at home - one has to look elsewhere."
Reyna Crelos "If I can sit and draw in here most of the day, you can surely read," she answered the little fairy as she hovered near the sink and bar area before taking down a couple of glasses, "The lighting isn't the best for such things, but it's not too awful." She'd curled up on the couch and read a book or two when she was taking a break from monitoring the front end of the shop.
"Anything in particular you'd prefer to drink?" she asked as she rummaged through the small mini-fridge that was cleverly disguised as a cabinet.
kamtrouble "It is satisfactory," Max said, hopping down as Chandra knelt to place thebackpack on the couch. He had already begun tugging at the rope by the time she stood back up and would likley have the bag open in a couple minutes.
Chandra also removed her cloak, resting it over the chair of the couch. "Water would be fine," she said to Reyna. "I do not like anything sweet."
Reyna Crelos She broke up some ice cubes to put in one of the glasses before filling it with water. She handed it to the girl with a small smile before moving to sit down on the couch as well after glancing at her watch. She could afford to abandon her post up front for the time being. It generally wasn't until later in the evening that she had any customers if at all.
Generally she wasn't much of a conversationalist, but she was quite bored seeing as she hadn't had her own Shadow to keep her company throughout the day, nor had she had Sam to worry over. It made her work day rather long and tedious, really.
kamtrouble Chandra took the glass and then sat on the arm of the couch she had draped her cloak on. Taking a small sip of the water, she looked around at the back room. The Black Pearl, probably influenced by the previous evening, clinked against the edge of the glass a couple times. This reminded Chandra of the night before, which probably made for a decent conversation topic.
"Last night I saw Athan catching another fiend," she said. "It seemed very mischevious."
Marx, who had pulled open the top to the backpack, was inside - probably trying to figure out how to pull out a novel when he was barely over 3 inches tall.
Reyna Crelos Reyna's visible red eye widened slightly at that admission. "Oh really," she murmured with a broad smirk, "He was trying to catch it?" She snickered behind one hand before running her fingers through her short silver hair. The image that immediately sprang to mind was more than just a little comical. She'd definately be giving him a hard time about it next she saw him. "Do go on," she urged as she scooted forward a bit to rest her arms on her knees.
kamtrouble Chandra wasn't sure why Reyna found that piece of information amusing, but she was used to not understanding the humor others seemed to find so easily. Blinking a couple times, she took another sip of the water - while the Black Pearl still seemed to be trying to find a way into the glass.
"I was visiting the feien headquarters." Chandra stopped. "Marx is my feien and I had just received him earlier in the day."
She took that moment to reach down and pull the mouth of the backpack open wider. Marx poked his head out and sighed.
"I didn't want to trouble you, but I can't seem to get the book out on my own. If you'd thought about it, you'd have probably realized that earlier."
Chandra nodded peacefully and pulled a book out of the backpack at random. Marx gave it and her a look, but held his tongue. Good enough. He began trying to get it open.
"While I was at the headquarters Athan came in. He was in search of a wisp that had escaped him. He said he had been trying to catch it all night."
Reyna Crelos "Ahh.. I wish I could've seen that," she grinned as she leaned back against the cushions with a rather pleased look on her face. Oh how she did enjoy torturing that man! He had his moments where he was quite the gentlemen, but his buttons were rather fun to push. She decided that she very well might call Wren when she got home to inform him of Athan's losing a wisp.
On that thought she broke her moment of silence, "He did catch it, though.. right?" She didn't really want to think about the mayhem a wayward wisp could cause if it decided to bond to some unsuspecting victim without anyone there to explain what was going on.
kamtrouble "Yes," Chandra murmured, absently flipping the book open for Marx. "Dr. M asked if it wanted some coffee and while the wisp was hovering around the coffee cup, Athan was able to grab it."
The Black Pearl had given up on the cup of water now and was back to hiding by Chandra's ear.
Reyna Crelos Reyna couldn't stifle the giggle that escaped her. "Coffee? A guy offered a wisp coffee?" she replied, voice cracking with her amusement. My goodness. That was perhaps more comical than envisioning Athan chasing down a Fiend with his robes flying about him. She sighed faintly and reached for her own glass of water and sipped at it idly.
Silence filled the room for a long moment before Reyna squinted over at the little wisp that was hiding about Chandra's shoulder. "Has she given you any trouble yet?" she asked curiously as she idly pointed towards Black Pearl.
kamtrouble "Dr. M is a bit different." Chandra admitted. "And no," she said mildly. "The Pearl tends to be very shy and spends the majority of her time hiding. She occasionally sends me emotions when she feels stressed, but largely is dormant."
Chandra drank some more of her water, looking down to where Marx was still reading the first page of his book.
"Sometimes I dream," Chandra said. "The dreams are not the same quality as my own, so I think they might come from the Pearl."
Reyna Crelos "I've been having strange dreams here recently, though I don't believe they're Mystic's fault," she replied as she idly pondered the strange, almost lucid dream she'd had the other night. "Sometimes Fiends display powers early on. Perhaps that could be what it is? Or maybe suppressed memories.." Her own memories liked to crop up every once in a while in dreams. It always left her rather flustered once she woke.
"Either way, it's quite possible that they belong to her and not you," she went on, "A friend of mine has a Fiend who's a Seer. Occassionally they both see visions."
kamtrouble "I have not decided whether the dreams depict real events or not. But I am almost certain that they form a complete story if pieced together in the correct order."
It felt good to discuss this, to get it out. Of course, knowing it was the topic of discussion, the Pearl had buried itself into the feathered decoration of one of Chandra's gloves. The Legend avoided the subject of seers however, still not comfortable mentioning her own experience with them. Her mother was still mostly absent from her life.
Marx grumbled and turned the page.
Reyna Crelos "Dreams are interesting things. Funny how they reveal things to you occassionally. Things your mind has hidden away," she replied thoughtfully as she crossed one leg over the other and casually leaned back against one of the pillows.
"Perhaps the events aren't real, but are only a representation of something that was real.. if that makes any sense. Like a metaphor or something of the like," she offered up as her fingertips idly toyed with the edge of her eyepatch in an unconscious sort of way. Most of the time she forgot that it was there unless she happened to see her reflection.
kamtrouble "Possibly," Chandra said. "But the more I see, the more I believe it's real. But warped. I do not know from whose point of view the whole thing is told, but I am curious."
Dreams had always been dangerous for Chandra, giving her an all too easy portal to Death. The ones she attributed to the Black Pearl were a welcome escape.
Reyna Crelos "Athan has mentioned that it's possible for Fiends to recall memories of their past lives.. before they were trapped inside stones and gems," she stated softly as she mulled over her own thoughts, silence spanning for a brief moment, "Maybe that's what's going on."
She reached for her glass of water and took a sip of it before smiling faintly when she felt a faint tug on her bond to Mystic. He nudged against the edges of her mind, simply checking up on her in a mother hen-esque way that was quite typical of him. "You might want to ask Athan about it," she suggested, "He might know something that could be helpful to you."
kamtrouble "I will," Chandra said, looking down as Marx abruptly shut his book with a sigh. "I believe that is my cue to continue home."
She finished the water in her glass and then stood, placing the now empty glass on the counter. She picked up her cloak and shrugged it back on while Marx waited patiently. When the book had been replaced and the backpack closed, Chandra scopped Marx up and placed him on her shoulder.
"Thank you for the hospitality."
Reyna Crelos "Not a problem. As I said, guardians are always welcome here," Reyna replied with a small smile. Chandra seemed like a nice girl, and she rarely thought anyone to be all that nice. Most people came across to her as overbearing or simply downright annoying.
"Take care," she murmured as she followed her back towards the front of the shop to resume her post perched behind her desk.
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