Log: Ataxia meets William again. More importantly, William meets Houm, and more..
The Heliquary
Now that's curious. Outside, there is only one wall, and one wall does not a building make. Inside, though... there are four walls, and those four walls undoubtedly enclose a deep, narrow space. The centre of the floor is sunken slightly, two wide steps leading down into the plush carpeted 'pit'. The whole room is done up in shades of red and black and gold, evoking a heavy Asian air. Paper lanterns hung here and there along the ceiling arches provide only a candle's brightness more light than is necessary to see. Just enough light for one to use to avoid the low tables and heavily cushioned brocade chaises arranged in threes and fours around the room.
Dragon-wrapped columns hold up the arched ceiling, faceted-gem eyes glittering in the dim light. A heavy aroma hangs in the air -- smoky, sweet and intoxicating, nearly overwhelming. Ashtrays and sets of curious brass instruments are laid out neatly on each table, and a few of the tables support ornate glass and brass filigree hookahs, some with as many as twelve long, flexible smoking tubes. In the shadows along the wall, shifting forms can occasionally be seen. Presumably they're servants or attendants, ready to see to a visitor's whim and need. Near the back of the comfortable lowered floor, there is a low desk flanked by two chaises, a tiny island of business. It seems to be reserved for someone in particular.
----
William steps inside, bringing a momentary burst of sound with them.
Ataxia's eyes remain open, however. She watches out past System's head quietly, and for a moment, smiles to Houm.. but, then, there's something more.
System has (his) eyes closed and (his) other senses focused on Ataxia, so (he), remarkably for (him), does not notice the Secretary enter.
Houm ripples at William, pink and green and gold and a little curious purple around his forehead.
William delicately enters. Delicately, because he seems merely a shadow of his former self - literally. Reduced, refined, faint. Perhaps that is the reason System has not sensed him clearly. However it is Houm that his attention is on.
Houm ripples softly, slowly pulling himself out of Induction-Coil's sleeping arms, watching William. "Houm is being needed?"
System suddenly opens (his) eyes. "Love?" And, then, more aware. "Oh dear."
Ataxia reduced and faint, her eyes still follow William. But she doesn't move from the wall, and her spattering of long crystallized strange honey she's left. She'll have to clean up the remnants of Beta eventually. She strokes a claw over System's head as she leans back to rest standing and against the wall.
System sighs and nestles against (his) love, watching cautiously from the corner of an eye.
William opens his mouth, though the mask, the pearlescent silver fronds that hint at his face, oakleaves...but makes no real sound. He examines Houm, not without a certain caution. Mask-face turns to Induction-Coil...then System and Ataxia. "Ataxi...a?" It's an oddly accent wisp of a noise.
Houm swirls and contorts, reforming into... A cloud of pink possibility.
System speaks in an even more quiet voice than (he) usually does. "I request that you do not distress Ataxia, William."
Ataxia coos loudly.. "Yes.." Her voice is affected by her state, and is much more than the whisper, but her tone suggest she's trying to whisper as well.
Ataxia reaches down to quietly stroke a finger over System's forehead.. "Let me confront myself."
System nods quietly, and falls silent.
William glances at System - probably, he's definitely on the weak side "De-instantiated today, for dancing," William says to System "Therefore, I have no..." He frowns at Houm again. And steps back slightly, as though frightened of the creature.
Houm swirls a curious purple, drifting to rest on the ground. "Houm will comfort, heal, help..."
Ataxia rolls a hand forward.. "Similarly, I can do the same.." she comments, her eyes narrowing just a bit. She flicks a bit of crystallized strange honey off her arm with the other hand.
System sighs, leaning against Ataxia, frowning silently.
William frowns "Who are you?" he says to the cloud of feathers and softness. His voice holds almost a demand.
Houm ripples, bubbling softly. "This one is Houm."
William challenges "How old are you?"
Houm bubbles, "This one is young, knows not. Knows only dreaming."
William steps back, his feet sliding across the floor. He looks at System, at Ataxia, then queries "What is he?" As if he finds Houm _intensely_ disturbing.
Houm ripples a dark blue for a moment, and the impression of a raised eyebrow can be felt. He is, after all, sitting right there.
Ataxia rolls a hand quietly, seeming to smile. There are a lot of teeth involved. "Houm is love, as far as I'm aware. Regardless of form. The closest to a classification that I know."
System nods briskly. "Houm, to my observations, is a fragment of the consciousness of an entity named... Billy..?" (He) trails off, blinking.
William snarls suddenly "Make it go away! Kill it!"
System almost whispers, "Billy?"
Houm ripples curiously, swirling purple and grey.
Ataxia's lips curl lightly, but again, its hard to say just what the expression means.
System murmurs quietly, seeming shocked. "Billy is a diminuative of William, and William appears to be familiar with Houm."
William shudders a moment or two, then launches into...something, anyway, a long, slow, sad voice, sweet as honey, glorious "Today, when I went to tell Induction-Coil of the terrible lies Besax was spreading about us, Torque objected and he tried to _kill_ me. Even though I had stopped talking and was dancing in another place instead. He hunted me! And...he sucked me into his arm. Which felt terrible." William eyes System "No it isn't!"
Houm drifts closer to William, rippling softly. "Terrible awful it is... Houm would give..." He shrinks away a little. "This one would not accept?"
System snaps back up straight. "I cannot kill Houm, William. I would sooner see you destroyed, you data-corrupting, malice-dripping, utterly worthless fragment of superfluousity. But, instead... Houm, I most urgently request that you offer your comfort to William. It is my assessment that he requires it more than any other entity alive."
Ataxia rolls a hand to William. "You attract suitors in the opposite of love. You should be happy, even if the sensation is literally the inverse of happiness as well. A negative still corresponds."
William says to Ataxia "I don't understand." He steps back from Houm once more "You would give _what_?" As System speaks William tilts his head "I am _not_ worthless. I am the codex and Secretary for the Library."
Houm seems to pout at System, drooping. Though he turns to William, a faint pink rippling as a smile. "Would give Houm's self. Happiness and love."
Ataxia coos to William, loudly as always. "Something in you does. One of your disorders, maybe all of them, though it never bubbles properly to an understanding that you express consciously, as your overarching order filters and directs what it needs to. The pattern is there, somewhere. I can elaborate my thoughts, but I don't know to what end."
William says suspiciously to Houm "Everyone must love me. Everyone _does_ love me. I require no...outward...proof of this. I am beautiful. I am Sweet William, Secretary to the Library." He seems to settle, gradually, as he speaks the usual words "I translate, I file I..." William watches Houm "If you touched my self, you would be as much me as Torque is becoming now."
System smiles serenely. "Houm, William needs you. Please, go to him."
Houm ripples softly, swirling what might be a smug green. Nothing about the cloud's tone implies smugness, however. "Houm would be unsure of that."
System states quietly, "William, what then do you have to fear from touching Houm? Why not step forth and embrace him?"
William says "He'd die." He regards Houm slowly "What are you made of?"
Houm ripples, lifting a little, pink and green swirling. "Houm is dreams. Thoughts. Memories. Ideas."
System pulls away from Ataxia, striding towards Houm, and reaches out with a single finger to touch the cloud for just one moment.
Ataxia chrrs warmly enough.. "Mm, what do you see Torque becoming, again?" she adds.
Houm is soft, cottonny, and feathery.
William says, hurt, mourning "Torque ripped me apart and down_loaded_ me into himself. Silly Torque! I warned him.." He regards Houm slowly "What dreams?"
Houm ripples black, becoming an odd ring, pulling his substance away from System's finger, shuddering.
Ataxia coos pleasantly enough, stretching softly on the wall. "Mmh."
System shrugs quietly, and moves back to settle next to Ataxia.
Houm convulses for several more moments, careful to not touch System again, curling in a corner like a tiny, feathered stormcloud.
William says to Houm slowly "I don't know who you are." He lies, sweetly, beautifully, glances at
System "I don't know anything about him. He's a fluff. He's a piece of kitten."
System sighs quietly. "You lie. As you always do."
System states quietly, "You are missing each other."
Houm ripples, and wheezes, like a straw bubbling obscenely in a can of soda, "Houm remembers Billy... When the spilling. The papers. The ink. Four days, to mend. Four weeks for mending within..."
William stares at Houm, horrified beyond belief. In fact, the distress is _so_ great that with an audible -SNICK- of power, he yanks on the reserves of the Library and solidifies. The faerie-like creature, whole again, staggers, dizzy from the terrible pull. In the local area, small warning systems whine, showing Strangeviral activity.
William bendsasSilvershiftsStrangeshift-newshape.
Ataxia raises a hand to her forehead, brushing slowly.. "Such refined dramas.."
System states quietly, "Houm, it is necessary. I know you can observe William's suffering. I know it is your nature to desire to relieve suffering. And I know he suffers because he lacks you."
Houm ripples soft greys and pinks. "Houm remembers... Sadness, when Tony fell ill." He draws forward, slowly.
William hisses to System "I do not suffer. I am Sweet _William_. I am unaffected because the reality of the world is...Christ Lord," Old curse words, the Strangeviraled being raises his hands to his decorative horns "Antonio, my Tony..."
Houm ripples a sad blue. "Houm remembers the comforting... The love. Illness came not to Billy, that time."
System continues, quietly, (his) words falling like the strokes of a metronome. "You suffer, William. And Houm can end your pain. Accept him, and you can escape your suffering."
Houm very, very obviously ignores System, all attention focussed on William.
System speaks, the cold, bright, pitiless words of Truth. "William, it is within your power to escape your pain. You simply need to accept Houm, and for once, admit the truth of your situation to yourself."
William flicks his gaze to Ataxia, as though wondering whether she will show the same 'angst' posture. Now he backs towards System and the chaos/entropic shape, saying to Houm "I've..." He's running out of words, mouth working "The Library does not _like_ this."
System states quietly, "You have the power to choose, William. I request that you make the choice that is in your own interest."
System states quietly, "You are only a slave now because you decieve yourself into believing it is unavoidable."
Ataxia is a void. Little expresses from her. Perhaps flecks of strange tainted honey still highlight her, here and there. But little expresses from her. Endless dull blue eyes. Not even sound reflected.
System states quietly, "In knowing the truth, the freedom of action permitted by understanding of the situation is opened to you. You need not blind yourself. You need not maim yourself."
Houm ripples, green and gold. "Pietro who stole the food, bringing you bits always. Always in trouble, never hurt. Angelo, Pietro's brother. Gianni, never did you like him. Liked Gianni's sister, Esmeralda, who spit like a boy but ran like a girl."
System continues, (his) voice the relentless march of a cold analysis of the choice before William. "You need not bind yourself. You need not submit yourself. You need not suffer. You need not lie. You need not turn through the maddening confusion of Strange. If you but make the choice, you can be your own master, and failure to so choose will condemn you to renewed suffering and slavery."
William says "I am not a slave! I have an employer, I am on my coffee break!" He stabs a finger at System, since Ataxia is silent and, despite how damn terrifying Houm is, it seems at least non-aggressive "I know the truth that the rest of you do not - there is a stasis poisoning the world and the Library brings its love." As Houm continues, however, William gives a wail of utter despair...and changes again. This time he reverts to physical posture, to cringing rather than shifting his entire shape. Pheromones are suddenly released, a massive soporific wash liquidescing towards Houm. And anyone else here. He hides his face behind his fingers.
Houm doesn't particularly seem affected, recalling more. "Houm was for cut on shin, when Bambi threw rocks one day. Blame placed firmly on Angelo's shoulders, Billy spoke and removed the blam. Houm was of much pride."
Ataxia coos warmly through the air.. "I am stasis, I am chaos, I am fortune. I have direction on my own. Some are simply to be directed."
System continues, unaffected, continuing mechanically. "The Library holds you in a bondage forged of the Strangevirus. The Strangevirus in you is pain, telling you you need it, screaming at you as the truth converges on all sides, telling you to close your eyes, ignore the truth that will steal it away, simply drink down its lies and take its blows, for the VIRUS loves you, the One and Many, and you cannot live without it. But were you to simply step away, and accept true love, you would see that the Virus is not all that loves you, and that the pain it has made you bear is not needed.
Houm turns a little to face System, and ripples, voice firm but gentle. "Silence."
System speaks, (his) voice cold. "I shall not be silent. William cannot be redeemed by Love alone, down the paths he has strayed."
Houm melts into a puddle, then reforms, humanoid and masculine.
William says "Oh Jesu...Christ, save me." He retreats firmly towards System and Ataxia, as though they are less dangerous, but reluctantly...more disgusting. He then says "The Library, I am catalogued, stored, the Triplets have me to order for them, the world is one for designation, retaliation and so forth, so on. Sosael kissed me, it must be love, no one else li-" He stares at Houm.
Houm extends his hand, softly, a familiar gesture. All one needs to add is the apron and a real face, and he would be the old man in the kitchen, always chasing Pietro.
System states quietly, "William, the choice to accept Love is yours. The choice to accept Truth is yours. As it is now, you are trapped between Love and Truth, and can bear to face neither, but your fear is needless."
William snarls at System. The noise comes out thus: (expression, violence, revenge, brilliant in its intensity, pure aggression, glorious, as ecstatic as the last spasms of a rabies carrier, flowing...). However, at Houm's gesture, William automatically take the hand. He's unable to resist.
Houm's touch brings ripples of comfort. Warmth. Joy. Safety. Happiness. The touch is warm, soft and pillow-like, bringing scents of fresh-baked bread and warm cream sauce.
System smiles calmly, falling silent as William takes Houm's hand.
Ataxia's been quiet for some time. It seems purposeful. She's just a huge presence, and nothingness.
William's eyes slide closed quietly. His head is tilted, he breathes in old scents, the sort of smell one barely senses these days.
System leans back against Ataxia, and watches.
Houm draws closer, and the busy scent of the kitchen surrounds him, the cook's wife's screaming about the audacity of her own children barely audible. The cook, kind old man he was, smiling as he yells at Pietro the Thief, Greatest Bread-Stealer in the Land. The beans left stewing all day, the clank of metal on metal, the sounds of water boiling and splashing. For a moment, he could swear he /was/ there.
William's tail droops down to the ground, not an emotional expression, more as if he suddenly lacks the nerves to hold it up at all. It's flat on the ground, an unthinking lump. William stays precisely where he is, breathing, thinking, remembering...
Houm wraps William in a tender embrace, rippling greens and blues, calm and tender. The screaming of friends, the shriek of laughter, the horrendous jokes and the tears shared. Houm's presence is in the laughter, constant and gentle, an imaginary friend that refused to die.
William tilts his head again, the same, childlike gesture so many here have already seen. He's taking this in, somewhat...and then...in the Heliquary...alarms start to sound. Serious, Big Bad Alarms. Personal backup systems begin to fire, rapidly. Energy is sinking.
System arches (his) eyebrows, glancing about, attempting to sense what it is that triggers these alarms. For shame if he can't sense something the Heliquary's sensors can.
Houm doesn't pay much attention, holding softly, rippling warm reds and pinks. He whispers, in his own low bubble, "Houm will always be here."
System sighs with infinite weariness. "The Virus. It is coming. Diafeara is going to be more angry than I would care to observe."
William turns his head to the side, then takes half a step, although if it's out of Houm's touch or _through_ whatever he offers is hard to discern. The alarms ring furiously, various little sounds outside firing as Down Denizens shout, complain, yell raucous, confident swear words...
The door rattles in its frame, but does not open, a faint limning of silver visible about the cracks.
Houm sighs, rippling a dark grey. And stands, slowly striding toward the door. Though weary, his posture is decidedly powerful. Perhaps even heroic.
It slowly begins to bulge inward, a movement unnatural for wood, the vague outlines of grasping hands able to be seen through the stretching wood, the door creaking beyond all endurance.
William pauses. His tail lashes suddenly, whipping up off the floor, William staring at the door. He steps forward slightly as well, head cocked, listening.
Houm stares at the door, extending a hand, palm out. His voice is firm, confident, and surprisingly powerful. He puts his entire being into the one word it seems. "Stop."
William says "You have no idea." His voice is simple. The door is creaking...snapping...gone.
System stands in place, next to Ataxia, setting (his) briefcase down carefully, concentrating, watching it be enveloped by a globe of cold blue light.
Ataxia rolls her shoulders lightly.. "I drip with the virus presently anyhow. She did not mind me splattering Beta all over the place." she coos to System. "Whatever comes, it will also pass."
A wave of silver... screaming shapes.... rushing babbling shrieking madness... it SWEEPS
Houm smiles as the door snaps, expression unconcerned. "Houm knows of this Strange." And he does not move. Though he knows it will not stop, he must try. And try he does, projecting his safety the best he can, firm and disturbingly confident.
So dark so full of pain so full of sorrow so full of lies it curls past... (it shivers as it touches love? no. no. the Virus has no fear) it has come to claim its own william william come back!
William stays where he is too, although...the silver...rushes past, over, engulfs Houm in a second. Its power is horrific. William, too, it surges towards. He does not dodge, does not move...he opens his mouth, he breathes and...William hears sweet music, hears something so large only the Strangers comprehend. Inside him there's a combat, violent, vicious...but in the end brief. William's eyes bleed silver. His mouth drips poetry.
Houm almost hesitates at the feel of pain, and reaches out to comfort it, touching the source of pain, finding the core, seeking and seeking... "Why does this hurt?"
System blazes, freezing, flesh shattering off in fragments, the Virus recoiling from freezing, intolerable stasis, forming bizzare abstract sculptures of silver waves where it has flung itself back from a pain it does not understand and cannot tolerate.
William says..."And yet mischance is honorable too - Seeming defeat in conflict justified Whose end to closing eyes is hid from view. The will, that never can relent -- The aim, survivor of the bafflement, Make this memorial due." Strangevirus breaks over him, seafoam-wise. William dissolves into component parts...washes away. It's shortly impossible to tell the difference between himself and the rest.
( william william We've come for you, the Virus, always and forever, return from this wicked place that will take you away from Us, We will cradle you, always and forever (no! no! We do not feel pain! your help is unwanted! do not touch Us!)[We cannot tolerate... We cannot see this light! back! back! do not touch Us!] william is OURS. )
Houm ripples softly. Though he does not seem to pity, he seems concerned, reaching deeper, finding touching stroking the pain... Soothing it. "Pain, it is here."
Ataxia quietly slumps downward. She gets drenched in Strange again, but all she can do, all she will do at least, is watch the drama in a manner in which her expressions don't really come through.
System burns in place, intolerable blue light, a circle around him frozen and choked with fog, the Virus cringing away.
William is barely visible, a moment longer, in the aching wash of silver. Then, suddenly, everything seems to be retreating. Not away from Houm, exactly, but...for a moment William's visible, briefly, gleefully, choking another creature in the weird mix, being attacked/loved/kissed himself...then he's going...and shortly...gone.
(do)[not](touch)[Us!] it SCREAMS it SCREAMS and a greater Darkness flees..
Smoke and haze cling to William as they slip outside.