2nd l o s t s o u l ~ [Voice]

[mmmfilletofsoul]

Greetings, residents of Luceti. I am called Cheyenne, and there is something I wish to ask of you all.

By tomorrow, it will have been a month since my arrival in Luceti. I have, for the most part, remained unseen. I would have continued such a manner of living for the benefit of others here, but circumstances make such a lifestyle impossible for a

Comments

[ voice ]

[hakoiri]

I see . . . so it's a generally harmless process.

[ A beat as he slowly takes all of this in. He doesn't have a reason to doubt her. ]

I'd be happy to aid you, Cheyenne.

[ voice ]

[mmmfilletofsoul]

Were I unable to continue to survive in this world without bringing constant harm, I would have made sure to put as much distance between myself and the village as possible upon arriving. Thankfully, that is not the case.

[A smile.] I am very grateful for your offer. Is it possible for me to meet you in person anytime soon so that I may better explain the process? And, of course, making sure that it would be safe for you.

[ voice ]

[hakoiri]

I'm glad that secluding yourself from the village won't be necessary.

Of course! I should be able to meet with you anytime -- even now, if you'd like.

[ voice ]

[mmmfilletofsoul]

I am available now, yes.

Would it be all right if we could meet near the fountain? It is easiest for me to locate given my limited vision.

[ voice ]

[hakoiri]

Yes, we can do that. I'll head there right now, in fact.

[ Voice > Action ]

[mmmfilletofsoul]

All right. I should be rather easy to spot, seeing as I will be the only one wearing a blindfold.

[When Alf arrives at the fountain, he'll likely spot Cheyenne before she notices him. Although that's mostly because, having never met him before, Cheyenne isn't sure how to distinguish his soul apart from the others in the area. If only journals supported soul-o-vision...!]

[ Action ]

[hakoiri]

[ Clearly the Malnosso should install a soul-o-vision feature. But while the fact that she's wearing a blindfold puzzles him somewhat, he starts for the fountain. She's right -- it is rather easy to spot her, and Alf quickens his pace to greet her. ]

Cheyenne!

[ Action ]

[mmmfilletofsoul]

[She turns and looks over at Alf, a small smile appearing across her face.] You are the one I spoke to over the journals, yes? My apologies, but I don't believe I had the opportunity to ask for your name...

[ Action ]

[hakoiri]

I am. [ Whether she can see it or not, he smiles, too, as he closes the distance between them. ]

Ah, pardon me -- I'd forgotten to introduce myself in my haste. I am Alf.

[ Action ]

[mmmfilletofsoul]

Well then, Alf, now that I have met you in person, I can see that your soul is certainly capable enough to be fed upon.

[A pause.] That is to say, I see through the manner in which I can see anything. Although I may be wearing a blindfold, that is merely out of convenience. My "sight" allows me to sense creatures based upon their soul, whereas my eyes are merely tools for creating illusions and feeding.

[ Action ]

[hakoiri]

[ He nods as she explains, taking in every word for future reference. ]

I think I understand. You don't necessarily need to "see" me since you're capable of sensing my . . . soul -- and it's by that that you deduced whether you could feed on it or not.

[ Action ]

[mmmfilletofsoul]

That is correct, yes. With that, I believe now is a good time to explain exactly how the process is performed?

As I just mentioned, I feed by drawing out portions of the soul by creating illusions using my eyes. It is through the use of these illusions that the soul of a creature becomes vulnerable to an illusionist, making it possible for the soul to be removed. The only way an illusion will be seen is through direct eye contact, and once eye contact is broken, the illusion vanishes. And without an illusion, I am unable to feed.

[Her hand hovers over her blindfold.] And as for this, while I am capable of controlling the sorts of illusions I produce, I am unable to control the production of illusions themselves. The blindfold is more convenient, and far safer, than merely walking around with my eyes closed.

[ Action ]

[hakoiri]

[ Once she finishes, Alf lets out a low "hm" as the process becomes clearer to him. ]

Thank you; that was very informative. I think I understand, especially in regards to the blindfold.

[ Action ]

[mmmfilletofsoul]

[A smile.] You are a fast learner. I have only one more thing I would like to do, and that is give you first-hand experience in dealing with my illusions.

I wish to state once more that the process is harmless. Particularly in this run, as I will merely show you the capabilities of my illusions and will not feed more than a few moments.

However, you should still be aware that just as I am incapable of controlling whether or not an illusion will be created, I am also incapable of preventing myself from feeding while creating an illusion.

[ Action ]

[hakoiri]

All right, I'll keep that in mind. I fully understand and accept the consequences of being shown your illusions.

[ He raises an arm to complement the next words, ] Shall we?

[ Action ]

[mmmfilletofsoul]

[With a nod, Cheyenne takes a quick glance around; the square is rather empty today, so it wouldn't be a problem to do this here. It will only take a few brief moments, after all.] I'll need to you sit down and keep your eyes closed. It is absolutely imperative that you do not open your eyes until I say so.

Under no circumstances can you open them until I tell you. That is most important. [After repeating those instructions, she reaches up and starts to untie the blindfold around her eyes.]