[Are you the sort of person who would approach a strange wingless little girl who looks to be in need of assistance? Then you might be unfortunate enough to come across an illusionist
( Read more... )
[Mental torture is a good way of describing it. At their strongest, sometimes the illusions don't even seem to be illusions. This illusion in particular takes the form of a graveyard, filled with tombs bearing the names of everyone Giles has ever known and cared about. Their unanswered cries for help still resound through the night air. There's blood on his hands
( ... )
[Lina is on her knees, whimpering and sobbing and trembling like a leaf, utterly oblivious to the small child standing before her and its lack of eyes.]
[Cheyenne wasn't sure what she noticed first: the familiar presence of a nearby illusionist or Lina's screaming.]
[...slugs, huh.]
[Cheyenne doesn't think much of it, knowing full well the different sorts of things creatures could find fearful. But there was something... upsetting about seeing Lina like that. She couldn't explain why, though she didn't really have the time to process it either.]
[The other illusionist doesn't react to Cheyenne at first, but once it notices she isn't being affected by the illusion, it starts to back away. As Cheyenne rushes forward to push it to the ground, the illusion ends.]
[Without any element of surprise in this case, it takes a few moments for Cheyenne to wrestle the other girl down, eventually pinning her down with her face angled into the ground. She doesn't say anything yet, still trying to think of how to deal with this. Whether it was just part of the experiment or not, it was still dangerous to have a wild illusionist running around...]
[The lightning within the illusion crashes loudly overhead, each flash reaching closer and closer to Dhaos until they are mere inches away. The thunder booms louder, echoing as if it came roaring from every direction.]
[It doesn't even last a full minute before it it suddenly disappears. Though what appears in it's place may be just as disturbing for Dhaos as the lightning.]
[The little girl from before was now being pinned by a girl much older than her. Paying no mind to Dhaos, Cheyenne holds the other illusionist down by her neck, her other hand covering her eyes. If this simulated illusionist is anything like the real thing, it shouldn't be able to die this way...]
[Once it's clear she has the illusionist pinned, Cheyenne finally pays some notice to Dhaos. A child... she's more curious that he didn't run away out of fear than she is feeling pity for his situation. Perhaps he was simply too scared to move...]
Hooopefully okay? D:semper_cogitansAugust 2 2011, 13:45:30 UTC
[Hello, little girl. Robert is exactly the sort of person who would help a little girl who appears to be crying - it evokes strong memories of the one day with Vivi.
He approaches slowly, feeling the familiar anxiety of dealing with new people bubble to the surface. He doesn't realize there's anything odd about it, after all. He's used to being anxious around strangers.]
D-Do... do you need help...?
(OOC: Unsure if the simulation would be able to affect Robert due to his lack of soul... I guess it depends on how accurate the simulation is. I'll go either way, or Cheyenne can stop the illusionist before anything could happen...)
Yep! I just kind of worked around it for now... xD;mmmfilletofsoulAugust 3 2011, 08:07:18 UTC
[There's good news and bad news for Robert. The good news is Cheyenne has spotted the illusionist before it had a chance to open it's eyes. She starts running over as soon as she sees it and assumes it's alone.]
[The bad news is, well, she's assuming it's alone. There's something in her vision... an animal of some sort perhaps? Maybe another simulation. She can't tell. But she needs to get to the illusionist quickly, therefore pay no mind to the fact that she's about to brush past Robert, knocking into his arm for a moment. But that's not the big deal, here. The big deal is that she just touched him. Soul or not, intentional or not, the touch of an illusionist can be rather terrible. It makes a person feel cold and can drain them of every positive emotion in an instant... and then bring them all bad in the next. Hope he doesn't mind a bit of emotional whiplash to go alongside that aura of anxiety
( ... )
[That sudden touch of shocking cold when Cheyenne brushes past him causes Robert to cry out a moment, more from surprise than anything - and then it turns to outright, blinding terror for a moment as his emotions are essentially ripped from him. The coldness wouldn't have bothered him - after all, he's comfortable with Helios - but it's that sudden despair that grips him in icy fingers, like he should give up and throw himself at the mercy of whatever will inevitably kill him, that really hurts.
It feels much like he felt when he stared down Kusanagi's blades, and he actually sobs before his emotional state lashes back towards neutral. But his rationality keeps him from completely breaking down, and in the meantime he watches just long enough to watch Cheyenne smash the little girl to the ground.
... Yeah, that's horrifying-looking. As is the snap of bone breaking. It's enough that Robert would've vomited if he didn't realize that the figure lacked wings.]
[The voice throws her off. Cheyenne's head whips around to where Robert is standing, her mouth slightly agape as if she were about to gasp. The illusionist beneath her starts trying to move again, but Cheyenne manages to feel for it's eyes and hold it down. Though the arms, still free, began to scratch and claw at her arms.]
[Cheyenne paid it not mind. Her voice was calm, cold, and steady.]
[Vash should know better. He really should. For all the wingless bandits who had tried to claim his bounty and had vanished when knocked out seeing a wingless girl should have clued him in.
But she looked so upset. Those warnings flew out of his mind.] Are you alright? Kid, are you h-
[But as she looks up, the hand he had out to touch her shoulder suddenly his gun in it. The top pops open and a bright light starts to spill out of it. He can hear his brother's laughter echoing in his ears.] No! Not the light! Please not the light!
[He can see his house. The one where all his friends - his family - are. He can see Rem coming out the door. She looks so disappointed in him as he can feel his arm beginning to transform.]
Not again! No please! Not again! [He can't watch her die again, but oh god, he can't control it!]
[In that moment, all rational thought is gone. She knows, knows, his soul isn't being touched. She can see it herself; his emotions are changing, but his soul isn't passing to the illusionist at all. She knows this... and yet there's a feeling creeping up in the back of her mind that she had to stop this, now, and make sure it couldn't happen again. Make sure it could never happen again
( ... )
[A shaking hand grabs at Cheyenne's wrist, trying to stop her from landing anymore blows. He holds tight with his left, mechanical arm. Maybe a little tighter than he means to as he's still not exactly over what he had just seen, but he's never needed much wits about him to try to stop people from hurting each other.]
Enough Cheyenne, it's enough. [He's pale, but he's remembering what he's been told as he slips his sunglasses on.]
[Cheyenne doesn't fight it when she feels Vash grab her wrist. This illusionist was hurting Vash. But if Vash is touching Cheyenne's wrist, he should be feeling the same cold, chilling effect caused by touching any illusionist. That on top of what he had just been forced to see...]
Release my hand, Vash.
[Below her, the illusionist's face quickly begins to heal, the girl's eyes staying open and staring blankly at the two of them. With her free hand, Cheyenne gently covers her eyes, still unaware that Vash had his sunglasses on.]
Comments 53
Especially because said strange, wingless little girl could very well be a vampire, and it wouldn't be the first time he had to stake a child vampire.
She lets him get right up close before lowering her eyes and looking right at him.
...and at that point, it's all over but the mental torture.]
Reply
Reply
Sluuuuuuugs! Get them off of me!
[Lina is on her knees, whimpering and sobbing and trembling like a leaf, utterly oblivious to the small child standing before her and its lack of eyes.]
No, sis, no more slugs, I'm sorry....
Reply
[...slugs, huh.]
[Cheyenne doesn't think much of it, knowing full well the different sorts of things creatures could find fearful. But there was something... upsetting about seeing Lina like that. She couldn't explain why, though she didn't really have the time to process it either.]
[The other illusionist doesn't react to Cheyenne at first, but once it notices she isn't being affected by the illusion, it starts to back away. As Cheyenne rushes forward to push it to the ground, the illusion ends.]
[Without any element of surprise in this case, it takes a few moments for Cheyenne to wrestle the other girl down, eventually pinning her down with her face angled into the ground. She doesn't say anything yet, still trying to think of how to deal with this. Whether it was just part of the experiment or not, it was still dangerous to have a wild illusionist running around...]
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
[It doesn't even last a full minute before it it suddenly disappears. Though what appears in it's place may be just as disturbing for Dhaos as the lightning.]
[The little girl from before was now being pinned by a girl much older than her. Paying no mind to Dhaos, Cheyenne holds the other illusionist down by her neck, her other hand covering her eyes. If this simulated illusionist is anything like the real thing, it shouldn't be able to die this way...]
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
Are you all right?
Reply
He approaches slowly, feeling the familiar anxiety of dealing with new people bubble to the surface. He doesn't realize there's anything odd about it, after all. He's used to being anxious around strangers.]
D-Do... do you need help...?
(OOC: Unsure if the simulation would be able to affect Robert due to his lack of soul... I guess it depends on how accurate the simulation is. I'll go either way, or Cheyenne can stop the illusionist before anything could happen...)
Reply
[The bad news is, well, she's assuming it's alone. There's something in her vision... an animal of some sort perhaps? Maybe another simulation. She can't tell. But she needs to get to the illusionist quickly, therefore pay no mind to the fact that she's about to brush past Robert, knocking into his arm for a moment. But that's not the big deal, here. The big deal is that she just touched him. Soul or not, intentional or not, the touch of an illusionist can be rather terrible. It makes a person feel cold and can drain them of every positive emotion in an instant... and then bring them all bad in the next. Hope he doesn't mind a bit of emotional whiplash to go alongside that aura of anxiety ( ... )
Reply
It feels much like he felt when he stared down Kusanagi's blades, and he actually sobs before his emotional state lashes back towards neutral. But his rationality keeps him from completely breaking down, and in the meantime he watches just long enough to watch Cheyenne smash the little girl to the ground.
... Yeah, that's horrifying-looking. As is the snap of bone breaking. It's enough that Robert would've vomited if he didn't realize that the figure lacked wings.]
... Wh-what...?!
Reply
[Cheyenne paid it not mind. Her voice was calm, cold, and steady.]
Who or what is standing there? I cannot see you.
Reply
But she looked so upset. Those warnings flew out of his mind.] Are you alright? Kid, are you h-
[But as she looks up, the hand he had out to touch her shoulder suddenly his gun in it. The top pops open and a bright light starts to spill out of it. He can hear his brother's laughter echoing in his ears.] No! Not the light! Please not the light!
[He can see his house. The one where all his friends - his family - are. He can see Rem coming out the door. She looks so disappointed in him as he can feel his arm beginning to transform.]
Not again! No please! Not again! [He can't watch her die again, but oh god, he can't control it!]
Reply
[In that moment, all rational thought is gone. She knows, knows, his soul isn't being touched. She can see it herself; his emotions are changing, but his soul isn't passing to the illusionist at all. She knows this... and yet there's a feeling creeping up in the back of her mind that she had to stop this, now, and make sure it couldn't happen again. Make sure it could never happen again ( ... )
Reply
Enough Cheyenne, it's enough. [He's pale, but he's remembering what he's been told as he slips his sunglasses on.]
Reply
Release my hand, Vash.
[Below her, the illusionist's face quickly begins to heal, the girl's eyes staying open and staring blankly at the two of them. With her free hand, Cheyenne gently covers her eyes, still unaware that Vash had his sunglasses on.]
...please.
Reply
Leave a comment