+ZincAboutIt Posted March 22, 2022 Report Share Posted March 22, 2022 On 3/20/2022 at 6:59 PM, Voidus said: "Something Stranger?" Laurelai said at last, her voice felt small and near ready to break. "You don't mean..." Even with Tin raging like a fire within her, Lita could barely hear Laurelai's words over the pounding of her own heart. Memories bloomed in her mind, bleeding into one another like droplets of ink on wet parchment. Versions of the same event competed for her acknowledgment. Under the onslaught of disparate recollection, the world seemed to warp around her, shadows in the corners of the room trembling and stretching. Then, one of the shadows on the ceiling detached itself, dropping to the floor behind Laurleai with a heavy, wet sound. It lay quivering on the rug for a moment before it began to surge upwards, building upon itself until it formed a vaguely humanoid shape, too-long arms reaching for Laurelai just as the young woman screamed and pointed - behind Lita. Lita ducked, one hand reaching for the miniature stiletto she kept in her pocket, the other hand reaching into the fire for a handful of smoldering coals. She grunted at the sudden flare of pain, lowering her Tin and immediately beginning to siphon the heat into her brassminds. Then she turned, flinging the embers as she got her first look at the thing that had appeared behind her. Her first thought was of the legends of mistwraiths from her youth. It's body was long and sinuous like a snake, rising up from the puddle of black, glistening ooze and swaying slightly. It's skin - if it could even be called skin - looked like wet tar, though the handful of embers Lita had thrown were simply absorbed without a trace. Hell, Lita thought, her mind too busy watching the thing to donate any energy towards screaming. As the coals hit its body, the creature seemed to lock into place with a sudden, predatory keenness. The blunted end of it boiled and bubbled, one of the bubbles growing and swelling until it formed the shape of a human head. Lita watched in fascinated horror as it opened its slick mouth and unhinged its jaw. More shadow ran out of its mouth, dripping across too many teeth, as it lunged for her. Lita did scream then, throwing herself backwards and slashing across the tarry hide of the creature with her stiletto. The blade passed through almost too easily, parting the "skin" and causing some of the shadows within to begin eating their way up her arm. The corners of her vision began to darken, and in a panic, Lita plunged her hand back into her pocket, seeking something, anything -- Her fingers closed around the familiar smooth circle of the Coin, and she pulled it free, gripping it in her palm like a talisman. The shadow had coated the entirety of her right arm, an eerily cold and invasive sensation. She could almost feel it pushing its way into her skin as it worked its way towards her neck. "Help me!" Lita shouted at the Coin, even as it pulsed with a weak heat. The shadow continued to flow upward, pouring into her right ear, covering her right eye. The darkness deepened, smothering her terror, rubbing out the incongruencies in her memories. She dropped to one knee, her left hand still clutching the Coin, fighting the shadow, fighting to cling onto the memories - her memories. They were her memories... weren't they? Lita felt her cheek hit the soft surface of her rug as the shadow poured over the rest of her face, running down her throat like black blood, coating every instance of dissonance, stealing her secrets. She would have wept in anger, if the shadow had not already covered her eyes. You promised me secrets, she thought, whispering the accusation into her hand and sending it into the Coin, even as her mind forgot the reason why. You promised me power. Liar. @Fatebreaker Quote Tagging you Fate, in case you want the Stranger or the Shade to hear Lita's thoughts via the Coin. Your choice! 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatebreaker Posted March 25, 2022 Report Share Posted March 25, 2022 18 hours ago, ZincAboutIt said: Lita felt her cheek hit the soft surface of her rug as the shadow poured over the rest of her face, running down her throat like black blood, coating every instance of dissonance, stealing her secrets. She would have wept in anger, if the shadow had not already covered her eyes. You promised me secrets, she thought, whispering the accusation into her hand and sending it into the Coin, even as her mind forgot the reason why. You promised me power. Liar. The shadow fed upon Lita's dissonance, like a wildfire on a forest. It's cold touch moved like a slime mold across decaying matter. It's coldness felt so alien, so distant, with none of the heat and vitality a living creature. Inch by inch, it crawled across her body, searching for memories to consume. And then the Coin pulsed. A faint ripple of energy ran through the room, seeming to freeze everything in an endless moment. There wasn't a sound, neither breath nor heartbeat could be heard. The two women were frozen, locked in struggle with the shadow creatures that had attacked them. Lita could see nothing, her face completely covered by the monster's dark ichor. An eternity seemed to pass, the entire world holding it's breath. Then she heard a voice: "I never break my promises." The voice was soft, yet firm as iron. It was a whisper in a cave you thought was empty, a shadow at the end of a long hallway. A spot between two of her ribs ached, like an old wound remembered. Lita felt the coin grow warmer, as if responding to the voice, even as the ambient temperature dropped suddenly. "He may have given you that promise, but I gave you that Coin. Do you remember, Little Lita? A small room, with tea in the kettle and a pale blue door? No, you don't really, though the fragments might be there. It was a lifetime ago." There were no footsteps, but the voice seemed to move around her, circling like a shark. "You told me you hungered for secrets. You were so hungry, so angry. And so I gave you a spoon to eat the world. A coin, to remind you of the first lesson every denizen of the Alleys knows. There is always..." "A Price." The world seemed to tremble at those words, a tremor felt even in that moment of perfect stillness. Suddenly Laurelai could hear the voice, like a whetstone on a blade. "And you, Forgotten Daughter. You have always had power, but you sought something more, that which you had lost. And now you have it. You made a bargain and gained your hearts desire at the cost of the world, though you did not know it. I think your price has been unjust, but would you have paid it anyway? Could you possibly bring yourself to do anything otherwise?" It felt as if the forces of gravity had increased tenfold, and yet had lifted entirely, both oppressive and weightless at once. The shadow creature were still moving, ever so slowly. The light was fading, and the room felt cold and damp. Like rain in an alleyway, or a fountain in a cavern. "You are once again faced with a choice, the two of you. You can have your heart's desires, and let these creatures grant you that blessed ambrosia of peace. Or you can face the darkness from which you're awakening, and claw your way into the bloody realm of truth. You can have your wishes, or you can have what you lost. Are you willing to pursue this path and the secrets that await you? What are you HUNGRY FOR?" Like the build up of electricity before a lightning strike, power surged through the room. The current of it could be felt to the bone, a raw energy that was filled with the anticipation of a well used guillotine. Both women felt something graze their fingers, cool metal that they could almost grab ahold of. The voice spoke again, growing fainter till it was a whisper from a setting sun. "You can reach out and seize the truth, or you can let go and let peace overtake you. There is always... A CHOICE." @ZincAboutIt @Voidus 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZincAboutIt Posted March 25, 2022 Report Share Posted March 25, 2022 (edited) "I never break my promises." In that space between heartbeats, Lita heard a voice. It was a chill on the air, a breath on the back of her neck, cold despite the accompanying warmth in her left hand. Pain pierced her, that familiar phantom wound. She clung to it, grasping for that voice despite - or perhaps because - it terrified her. "He may have given you that promise, but I gave you that Coin. Do you remember, Little Lita? A small room, with tea in the kettle and a pale blue door? No, you don't really, though the fragments might be there. It was a lifetime ago." The image faded in and out of focus, a blurred evanotype. A young woman at a table, and a shadow at the door. Little Lita. A name that belonged to someone she knew. The darkness surrounding her made to brush it away. My name, Lita thought, and that thought was the smallest ember floating through a cavernous void. She was not alone in that darkness. Beyond her sight, a predator moved in the deepness, its voice like smoke. It twined about her, ephemeral, yet somehow it felt more real than anything in the world. "You told me you hungered for secrets. You were so hungry, so angry. And so I gave you a spoon to eat the world. A coin, to remind you of the first lesson every denizen of the Alleys knows. There is always..." "A Price." The ember caught, and Lita felt the world vibrate like a plucked string, humming a dischordant note. That voice continued, but Lita was caught up in its previous words. The image in her mind sharpened slightly, and the shade resolved itself into the shape of a stranger. A wild tangle of black hair, a white slice of teeth bright against brown skin, and a pair of mismatched eyes. The Steel, and the Void. Lita felt reality grow heavy and taught, a seesawing feeling that threatened to rip her apart - one force pulling her down, the other lifting her up. The shadows crawled across her skin. She could feel them twitching, reaching out towards her newest dissonant memories like rats swarming over rotted scraps. They were hungry. "You are once again faced with a choice, the two of you. You can have your heart's desires, and let these creatures grant you that blessed ambrosia of peace." Her heart's desires. Was this life truly what she wanted? It seemed perfect, a place as Department Head of Counter Intelligence, all the city at her disposal, and no one to answer to. Finally, a place of power that existed apart from someone using her. A chance to be the one holding all the cards. The shadows whispered all this into her ears as they crept across her thoughts, snuffing out the candles of her memories with clammy fingers. "Or you can face the darkness from which you're awakening, and claw your way into the bloody realm of truth. You can have your wishes, or you can have what you lost." What I've lost, Lita thought, barely daring to whisper her own thoughts in her head. She huddled there in a corner of her mind, eyes blinded, caught between terror and desire at that voice that paced in the dark. It would be so easy to let go, to drop the Coin and surrender. To awake as though nothing had happened. To live a perfect fiction, a beautiful cage built of everything she'd ever yearned for. It pulled at her like sleep pulls at the drowsy. It was a lullaby, a warm murmur and a soft bed. But is that what she wanted? Did she want her wishes granted like gifts she'd never earned? Placations in exchange for the theft of something far more precious - her life. Her real life. Her secrets and her sufferings. The blood on her hands and the blood on the cobbles of that alley in the storm, when a dark and pitiless god had killed the girl she was to birth the woman she could become. Are you satisfied, Little Lita. A whisper like a knife in the dark, a smile like a scythe blade. Or do you crave yet more? The precision of steel sliding between her ribs, pain so intense it may have been ecstasy. Tin and blood and rain on her tongue. The sharp crackle and ozone flare of lightning rending the sky. "Are you willing to pursue this path and the secrets that await you? What are you HUNGRY FOR?" Lita could feel it again, that static build as the world held its breath. A deep gasp before the plunge. Something brushed against the fingertips of her right hand, cold metal that beckoned her touch. The voice faded until it was barely a whisper. "You can reach out and seize the truth, or you can let go and let peace overtake you. There is always... A CHOICE." As the moment-between-moments ended, Lita flexed her fingers and grasped the metal. Anger flared within her, hot and bright, twinning with the pain in her palm as whatever she held sliced into her skin. She drew the blade over the front of her body, hoping to connect with the shadow and get it off her face. As the blade touched its skin, the creature recoiled, almost seeming to suck inward, wrenching its tendrils back into its center. Lita retched as the shadow pulled out of her throat, eyes watering when the low firelight of her office hit them. She rolled instinctively away, still coughing, and pushed herself up onto all fours, getting her first good look at the weapon in her hand. It was slender and razor sharp, about as long as her forearm, with a tiny ring handle at the end. It looked almost like a bayonet, and Lita shifted her hand downward, gripping the handle and leaving a smear of blood on the blade. As she stood, she wiped a trail of bile off the corner of her mouth, and gave the writhing shadow worm a jagged snarl. "Get the hell out of my office." @Fatebreaker @Voidus Edited March 25, 2022 by ZincAboutIt 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voidus Posted March 26, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2022 Something grabbed her by the waist, darkness woven into limbs and surrounded by chitinous armour. Laurelai screamed as she felt them, then screamed again as they pulled her backwards. She could see nothing of the creature itself, only feel as she was grabbed by innumerable insectoid claws. They restrained her limbs with a thousand tiny pincers, grabbed her torso with a larger pair and then she felt a million tiny claws digging into her skin, every strand of her hair clamped by another limb. She felt tiny legs crawl across her face reaching down and across until they hit perfectly painted red lips and began to pry them apart. A freezing pulse of energy ran through her, extending the time she had to feel the horrifying sensations into an eternity which was finally, blissfully broken. Though when she heard the voice it occurred to Laurelai that many would prefer the grasping pull of the insects to this voice, a voice like impending danger, the creak before the sky fell and the world plunged into endless nothing. "And you, Forgotten Daughter. You have always had power, but you sought something more, that which you had lost. And now you have it. " Forgotten Daughter? Laurelai thought, no that wasn't right. She knew her parents, even if she'd lost one of them. Neither had ever forgotten her. So lonely. Why did they leave? Nobody else in the house when they found me. Why did they never come back for me? Nobody even asked if I was okay. "You made a bargain and gained your hearts desire at the cost of the world, though you did not know it." The Voice continued, seeming to speak to both Laurelai's at the same time. No. Said Doctor Esserethel. I wanted to see, to know the deep secrets of the world. I wanted to know the secrets of myself. The Forgotten Daughter countered. I found the heart of the world and only used it to fill in records. "I think your price has been unjust, but would you have paid it anyway? Could you possibly bring yourself to do anything otherwise?" Yes. I love my family but the hidden truth that I had is worth so much more. No, I finally have the answer for The Question, to finally have that answer and know who I am is worth the price. The light was fading, and the room felt cold and damp. Like a silent gentle rain in a cavern far below that whispered of secrets answered and truth unveiled. "Are you willing to pursue this path and the secrets that await you? What are you HUNGRY FOR?" They both stilled, feeling the damp and remembering the silence of falling water. And then something else, a louder pour of rain falling from above, the heavy sleet of an Alleystorm. A quiet Alley waiting to be pierced by the sound of spike meeting flesh. And a question, not meant for her but she had often wondered at her answer. “Then I offer you a Choice. Would you have Power, or Subtlety?” Laurelai had often considered what it would be like to have the powers of a Radiant or a Twinborn, to fly through the air or carve flesh apart with your bare hands. But she had never sought to gain a spike for either. The utility and practicality of Forging, the awareness of ones self had been worth any price. But what did this new Laurelai think? I think that Forgery has uses far beyond healing. She replied. I think that the practice of studying everything and everyone distances us from them, even when we have a family. I think that we consider ourselves separate from other people even as we understand more than almost any others how similar we are to them. I think that we choose Subtlety, and I think that there is one thing mightier than any sword. Laurelai's hand clutched a smooth metallic surface, comfortably positioned in the fingers of her right hand. With a swift motion she pulled her arm up and stabbed it into the creature behind her, and as she did an image rose to her mind, a maze of twisting patterns constrained by a circle. Such a simple thing to channel rivulets of power and yet so powerful as to rewrite reality itself. One of her eyes was already covered by shadowy material but the other, even half-lidded, could see Lita slice a section out of the shadowy creature that had grasped her with a metallic flash. Poor creature had certainly gone after the wrong denizen. Laurelai smiled, the pen in her hand twitched slightly. The creature behind her reared back as a nearly-identical slash tore across its own torso, its history rewritten so that it had been the one to try grabbing a department head. Laurelai took a moment to review herself, the scratches all over her, the oily material which clung to her skin, the tatters of fabric where claws had torn apart her dress. "This." Laurelai said, whirling around to stare the creature down imperiously. "Was designer." A carpet of lavender flowers appeared underfoot and trailed Laurelai as she moved, not entirely suited to the seriousness of the moment, nor entirely intentional but she smiled at them nonetheless even as they tangled her feet. "I'd forgotten how inconvenient that could get." @Fatebreaker @ZincAboutIt 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZincAboutIt Posted March 26, 2022 Report Share Posted March 26, 2022 (edited) Lita felt a singular moment of pure, untainted joy when she saw Laurelai - really saw her this time. Not a promising new acolyte, or an interesting conversationalist. She saw Laurelai. Her colleague. Her friend. Then, the writhing, glistening shadow before her let out a low, menacing hiss. Lita increased the burn of her Tin, watching for the moment when the thing would strike, gripping her silvery bayonet blade with far more confidence than she would have expected. No Pewter, she reminded herself, the two dissonant lives in her head warring for focus and blurring distinctions. This is no time to play Ascendant Warrior. "Laurelai," Lita called, her eyes still glued to the creature as it coiled inward, its jaw hanging low, ropes of black ooze dripping onto the floor. "On my mark, get out into the hallway!" The creature shot forward, unnervingly quick for a thing of its size, and Lita stepped to the side just in time to bring the edge of her blade across the neck of the worm, right below the disjointed jaw. As before, the metal passed through with disturbing ease. But this time, the vile shadow-stuff arced away from the weapon as the slick, tarred head of the worm dropped onto the rug with a sound that turned Lita's stomach. The body spasmed, sinking inward, and Lita took her chance. "Now!" She cried, darting past the headless worm and following Laurelai out into the Alley beyond her office. Barely thinking, Lita slid the Coin back into her pocket and grabbed Laurelai's hand, not even looking backward as she bent reality and began to Alleytravel. She took them to one of the more deserted Acquisitions Alleys first, still moving at a speed just below a run, then turned a corner and Alleytravelled again. Lita connected them to three more completely unrelated Alleys before linking them up somewhere in the R&D department. The cobbled ground was slightly sticky beneath her the soles of her shoes, and it was with some surprise that Lita realized she was still wearing her stilettos. "So, Department Head. Quite the promotion," Laurelai said, speaking for the first time since they started their flight, her voice somewhat strained from their run. "Seems to have been less painful than your last one." "You haven't seen my in-tray," Lita said, smiling despite the pounding of her heart. She flared her Tin, looking behind them for any signs of shadows behaving oddly. Rusts, this whole damned guild is full of odd shadows. They needed somewhere predictable, somewhere normal, to regroup and figure out what to do. "One more jump." Lita gripped Laurelai's hand tighter and wove a new path, taking them clear across the city into the very outer Alleys, where the sky was no longer a boiling Void but blue and clear and real. The two of them stumbled out onto a wide, clean thoroughfare directly opposite the polished facade of the Grand Hotel. They immediately began to garner looks, covered in black ichor as they were, Lita still clutching her ring bayonet as they fairly sprinted up the steps and into the lobby. The young man at the front desk stared at them, mouth slightly open, as they crossed the spacious entryway and blessedly caught the first elevator Lita called. The golden doors slid closed, and Lita pressed the button for the eleventh floor before leaning against the wall of the elevator and looking over at Laurelai. "Well, you look terrible." Lita grinned, then began to laugh. @Voidus Quote Let's move to the Alleycity Thread, yes? Edited March 26, 2022 by ZincAboutIt 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voidus Posted March 27, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2022 Whisper had not even had the chance to take a deep, comforting breath of Alley air before realising her mistake. Someone had followed her into the alley. Sometimes that was intentional, when R&D wanted some more subjects but in this case it had simply been her own foolishness. A rookie mistake of the sort that so often caused her to deride others for lack of forethought. She stopped in the Alley, thankfully one of the less horrifying, and looked back to the individual who had chased her here. Disposing of him would be the simplest solution but she hadn't researched him at all, it was possible that he was well known or connected, possible even that some had seen him chase into the Alleys. And that could cause an unfortunate amount of attention for all of them. Ordinarily she would lead him to Acquisitions who could spike the memories of the Alleys from him, but he had followed her while she was on a mission which Lita had explicitly told her not to discuss. "How odd." He remarked, looking around with curiosity. Her head tilted reflexively at his response. He was shocked understandably but other than that seemed more curious than terrified. And as she studied him closer she realised something else, the man was quiet. The ringing in her ears had finally stopped and she could hear once again, though there was little to hear in this particular alley other than his speech. But other than the actual words he spoke the man was utterly silent, she could not hear even the faintest of whispers from him. How odd. She mentally echoed as she studied him. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was not an illusion, nor did he think this was the cognitive realm. The Professor was quite familiar with both from previous research, but this seemed to be something else entirely. Something rather strange and oddly comfortable about the space, the walls were not close enough to induce any claustrophobia and there was a dim light which provided illumination. It might even have been peaceful if it weren't for the sky of tumultuous darkness that felt like it were ready to reach out and engulf him. "Don't look up." A hollow voice called out, echoing strangely in the space. He looked towards the only other person nearby, but his mouth was not moving and the gravelly disjointed tone did not match his appearance. In fact from how he had pointed out the scars on his throat, the Professor had assumed him mute. "Yes, I speak." The voice called out, and by the boy's facial expressions it did indeed seem to be him. "Can I convince you to leave and forget you saw this?" He looked at the boy with some amusement at that, as though he could simply forget what appeared to be a trans-dimensional alleyway. Perhaps if he had his daughters talents he could craft a stamp to force himself to forget himself, but he was unfortunately unInvested. "I'm not typically in the practice of lying so I'll have to say no to that." He replied. "But given that question and our environment, I can only assume that certain rumours about the darker alleys of the city are true? I owe my daughter some apologies." 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacThorstenson Posted March 27, 2022 Report Share Posted March 27, 2022 On 11/25/2018 at 6:55 PM, Voidus said: Jeffrey marched along the halls, a pile of Koloss head in one hand, some silvery tinsel in the other, and a ladder in the other other. He hung the tinsel up, using a touch of Adhesion to ensure it stayed there if any of the experiments escaped and tried to tear it off, then balanced a Koloss head in the middle where the tinsel bowed, adhering it in the same way. He'd never been entirely sure why festive decorations fell upon the decontamination department and not the department of festivity, but the organization of departments in the DA had never made a whole lot of sense. Johnson stood with a look of defeat on his face, as he stared down the seemingly endless hallway covered with tinsel and decaying Koloss head. He had been in charge of cleaning out Jeffery's desk after the poor man had lost it and tried to decontaminate a black hole. In the midst of cleaning out the various papers and calendars, he found an old to do list. On top of which lay the task of pulling down the holiday decorations from years gone by. He grimaced. It was forgotten hallways like this that made decontamination in charge of decorations. He carried is bucket of bleach, aluminum powder, and garbage bags to the left side and started the cleaning. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voidus Posted April 8, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2022 Good or bad? Whisper wondered as she looked at the strange man. Bad that he won't let this go at least, but the whispers... The silence was very odd, once she'd noticed the whispers she'd become accustomed to seeing and hearing them everywhere, little fragments of messages that she could almost but not quite make sense of. Most were quiet, little more than the equivalent of an absentmindedly hummed note. Others were louder, and some, like Lita when she had seen her could barely be called whispers at all. And then there was that screech from the earthquake. But nobody was completely silent, nobody until now. Does this mean he is favoured by Them? Or that he is despised? She wondered. Either way, this must be a message from Them. Now it's just a matter of deciding what to do with him. She turned on her heel and began to move through the Alley, habitually veering towards the shadows at the side. Unsurprisingly the man followed her, after a small delay, and equally unsurprisingly began to question her almost immediately. "These would be the so called Dark Alleys then. But how does that work precisely? No Fabrials here to warp the space, nor Aons to create gateways." He began, seeming to create and dismiss a number of theories. "That sensation didn't quite feel right either, not quite the same as Transportation. So not us that moved but the region around us?" Whispers step faltered at that. It was a remark dangerously close to realising one of the essential tenets of Alleytravel. Others might liken it to some of the other transportation based abilities in the cosmere, but it was fundamentally different than most. Even the most seemingly instantaneous of Alleytravel required a passage, an Alley with zero distance was no Alley at all. True that distance travelled might be miniscule but it was this realisation that kept many from truly understanding how it worked. "Yes, the Alleys move." She reluctantly confirmed. "Stay close, most are not safe." He hastened his step a little to catch up with her, leading her to quicken her own stride in turn until he was nearly jogging behind her and had less energy to ask further questions. She valued curiosity greatly, especially when correctly applied. But this was quickly growing dangerous, and she was now certain that at the least she could not allow him to wander back out into the city. They must want me to kill him. She thought. A dangerous man who cannot hear Them or even hear their whispers but wishes to gain the secrets of the Alleys? Far too dangerous. "Ah. There it goes again." The man said as she moved them into another Alley, altering the path to lead them deeper into the Alleys. "But you don't seem to be consuming or expending any kind Investiture." Of course. She thought derisively. No level of Investiture could move the Alleys, they are only moved by Their will, and sometimes we servants are able to shift some pieces of that grand design. "So these passages themselves. Alleys? They must contain the power to do so, some new form of Investiture." Whisper felt her heart briefly seize, and her uncertainty only grew. Surely this level of understanding could be nothing but a blessing from Them, how else could an unremarkable mortal from the city pick apart the Alleys secrets so quickly? "Yes." He said as they shifted once again. "Definitely different from any other Investiture I've seen, the walls have neither Light nor Aons nor any other telltale sign." She felt the Alleys begin to fumble in her grip as her panic grew, and her pace slowed as she struggled to regain control. But that only gave the Professor more time to think, and if she'd been shocked before his next words very nearly brought her to the brink of fainting. "And controlled through an exercise of will was it? Like this?" The Alleys twisted and broke free from Whispers grip as an assortment of others was shuffled into their place at random, an experimental exercise of curiosity with absolutely no regards to the consequences. Which of course meant that the Alleys chosen were not safe, and the next in particular... "Not that one!" She screamed hoarsely, voice barely audible as the Alleys shifted again. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voidus Posted April 12, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2022 Whisper felt the immediate pain in her throat as she screamed, even a whisper was painful for her, this kind of hoarse vocalisation could well tear her throat apart. But she felt one of the forbidden Alleys shift in front of them, Alleys so dangerous and unknown that not even the foolhardy members of R&D ventured into them, or at least those who did did not come out alive. She could still remember what they'd found of the last person to try that journey, what remained of them was enough to turn the stomachs of the most hardened of denizens. She closed her eyes as she felt the shift, her mind reached out to try to grab something else, anything else to put in their way but she was too disoriented, too panicked to be able to begin the dangerous and methodical work of Alleytravel. She understood at last why others sometimes expressed difficulties with the task, heightened emotions made it nearly impossible. She clutched onto the sleeve of the man who was bringing them to their doom, wondering if perhaps she could at least twist his neck before she was killed in the Alley, but then, mercifully, she felt a sudden shift as another Alley jittered into place instead of the forbidden Alley. "What an odd sensation." The man commented drily, voice a little shaky but seemingly unaware of how close they had both come to catastrophe. "My apologies, I seem to have disrupted what you were doing. Bit of an unfortunate habit of mine actually, I'm often told to be more careful at the lab." More careful? Whisper thought with incredulity. I can't even conceive of an action less careful than that. The Alley they'd arrived in was thankfully cool and dark, a comfortable, soothing atmosphere. It helped her head cool and her impulse to dispatch of this man immediately subside. Dangerous he might be but he was also clearly skilled, and it would not be worth throwing away a tool that may still have some use to it. "Never do that again." She said, illusory voice echoing around the Alley. "That was dangerous beyond your ability to understand the meaning of the word." Shaking her head she tried to figure out where they had ended up so she could find a safe route back but she was quickly distracted by the Alley itself, the walls were natural stone rather than brick or concrete, not all that unusual as Alleys go but the atmosphere certainly was. It felt peaceful here, beyond the usual comfort Whisper found in the Alleys. It felt like safety, even though none of the Alleys should ever be considered that. Most distracting however, was as she examined the Alley and found a small depression in the stone, a natural pool had formed. And from above a silent, and gently falling rain continued to fill that pool. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voidus Posted April 21, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2022 Professor Esserethel was not what one would call a cautious man, certainly working in a laboratory meant he was aware of and adhered to numerous safety standards, but he had always had a habit of getting a little carried away with research. Sometimes that meant forgetting that the beaker next to him had been filled with a pewter solution for testing Allomancy and not, as he had thought, his coffee. Other times that had meant leaning in too close to an Aonic rune as it activated. It was with this same sense of wildly driven curiosity and lack of attention to safety that he had inadvertently seized control of the method of transportation that the young person accompanying him had been using. But even he felt a twinge of caution as he looked around his surroundings and noticed a pool of water that seemed to be beckoning him with a silent siren's song. He wasn't entirely sure what it was about the pool that looked so alluring, only that it seemed somehow to promise calm contemplation of all the world around it. Here was a place that answers could be found. Not Allomancy. He noted curiously as he began to circle the pool at a distance. More specific than a Soother can manage, and even with the intensity of the emotions it feels oddly natural. Emotional Allomancy tended to be less effective the more obvious it was, but even being fully aware that there was an unnatural influence on his mind, the Professor found his gaze drifting back to the pool time and again. "What do you make of it?" He asked, quiet voice echoing in the stone cavern. With some effort he pulled his attention away from the pool and towards his companion who stood staring at it with just as much rapt attention as he had. As he watched their figure distorted slightly, from a young boy to a girl, then a woman before finally settling again. An illusionist then? One of the Lightweavers unless he was much mistaken. And one who was now struggling to keep their attention on what they had already woven. "Perhaps we should leave?" He suggested in a slightly worried tone. "Ordinarily I'm all for exploring curiosity, but this seems..." "Yes." The hoarse voice spoke again, seeming to emanate from the stonework around them. "Perhaps we should." But rather than retreat the figure stepped forwards, towards the pool. Like iron to a lodestone they moved steadily and inexorably towards it until they were almost close enough to catch the falling droplets. The Professor felt a momentary terror at that, he was not sure what would happen to someone standing underneath that water but he doubted it was pleasant, usually pleasant things did not need to mentally manipulate people into interacting with them. "I think that's close enough." The Professor said, moving suspiciously in her wake and placing an arm on her shoulder to prevent her taking that final step. ------------------------------------------------- Whisper could feel something from that pool, a voice not dissimilar from the whispers but thousands of times clearer. A voice that promised her answers, the solution to all her problems and the revelation of all that she wished to know. She would finally be able to not just hear but to understand. She could hear the words of her gods and know their will at last. "I think that's close enough." A voice said, it felt distant even as her mind recognised the speaker as standing only a foot behind her. No. Another voice whispered to her. Not close enough. So close, so very close. But not close enough. One more step and she could bathe in those calming waters and hear what they had to tell her. Could hear everything they had to tell her. "Not close enough." She muttered in agreement. She tried to step forwards only to be stopped by a steady pressure on her shoulder. She spared it the briefest of glances to identify the hand before looking back to the pool and the waters. "Let go." She said calmly, using her own voice this time. The hoarse whisper still audible in this place of silence. "I'm not sure that that's the best idea." The man said, hand tightening on her shoulder. "I think that we should-" In a smooth motion she ducked under his grip, grabbed his hand with hers and bent the wrist back on itself, forcing the man back a step as he yelled in surprise. And that moment was all she needed to take that final step into the waters and feel the rain washing over her. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZincAboutIt Posted April 27, 2022 Report Share Posted April 27, 2022 There was a light smell of smoke in the air as Lita entered her office, and she paused in the doorway, holding her hand up to keep Laurelai from walking into her back. Lita burned Tin, green eyes sweeping across the room, catching small details that felt…wrong. Her chair had fallen backwards, and there was a scattering of cold embers across her rug. That explains the smoke, she thought, walking into the room and crouching down to inspect the rug. The embers had fallen in an arc well away from the fireplace. Like they’ve been thrown. Lita flexed her left hand unconsciously, almost recalling the sensation of heat against her skin. There was a slight discoloration on the rug, and Lita passed a finger through the stain. It came back slick, almost greasy, and slightly dark in color. Had one of the Strangers gone through and trashed the place? The thought raised a wave of goosebumps over her arms, though Lita had no idea why. Besides, that was entirely unlike them - they delivered mail and occasionally did Acquisitions work. Lita didn’t even think they had real interests. Why would they scatter ashes and oil all over her rug? Lita stood and shook her head. “Rusting R&D interns,” she muttered, tipping her chair back onto its feet with the toe of her shoe. “Never can keep them out of my things.” She sat down, placing her chin in her hand for a moment before looking back towards Laurelai. ”I don’t know about you but I am knackered.” Lita pinched the bridge of her nose and extinguished her Tin, trying to stave off a rising headache. “You’re welcome to go home, or if you wish to try your Forgery method now you may use the laboratory over there.” She waved to a door on the far side of the room. “It should have all you might need. Tomorrow we investigate that tailor. Tonight, I have some things I need to get done.” Lita stared at her in-tray with mounting distaste, then pulled the first memo off the top. ”And Laurelai,” she looked up, giving a small, yet genuine, smile. “Well done today.” @Voidus 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voidus Posted May 2, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2022 Laurelai had many years of practice trying to recreate a scene from small details, but as she arrived in Lita's office once again she had to stifle her confusion. For one the room did not appear as it had earlier that day, there seemed a moderate amount of chaos to the otherwise orderly room. She noticed the scattered ashen material when Lita bent to examine it but couldn't place why it would have been spread in such a pattern. There was no blood, no bodies, no signs that anyone had been struggling in the room but why then did she get the impression that there had been a fight? “Rusting R&D interns,” Litamuttered, rearranging her seat before settling in again. “Never can keep them out of my things.” Laurelai gave a small smile, though she was unsure exactly what an R&D intern entailed. It seemed to be another department but she was still discovering the exact nature and hierarchy here, so she simply noted the comment mentally and vowed to perhaps steer clear of any R&D interns should she meet one. She was on the verge of replying when a shiver went down her spine and her attention snapped to the ceiling. She scanned the roof carefully, trying to identify the cause, but the sensation faded as quickly as it had arrived and with no further explanation. Perhaps she'd simply become too tired, she felt oddly exhausted still even after apparently sleeping during a discussion with her new boss. ”I don’t know about you but I am knackered.” Lita said, echoing Laurelai's feelings and prompting a somewhat more genuine smile. “You’re welcome to go home, or if you wish to try your Forgery method now you may use the laboratory over there.” Laurelai glanced at the door, curiosity briefly warring with her exhaustion before finally she shook her head. It was late in the day and she had supplies in her apartment, along with somewhere comfortable to sleep once she grew too tired to continue. Better to rest properly tonight to prevent any embarrassing repeats of what had happened earlier. As she crossed to the door back towards the Alleys she was about to wish Lita a goodnight when the other woman spoke. ”And Laurelai,” she looked up, giving a small, yet genuine, smile. “Well done today.” "Thank you." Laurelai said, matching the smile and suppressing a small blush of pride. "I'll get started on the Forgery at home and meet you in the morning then." They were such simple words. Laurelai reflected, closing the door gently behind her as she left the office and began to walk back along the quiet, eerie Alleys. But even those simple words had felt somehow very encouraging coming from Lita. Perhaps that was simply one of the many qualities that made her so suitable for leadership, an innate charisma that made one feel as though they had been friends even after just a brief acquaintance. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Professor Esserthel winced as the small figure stepped into the water. Instinctively he started to move the rest of his body back even as he stretched one hand out to grab her but before she sidestepped his clumsy attempt to grab her effortlessly and moved beneath what was clearly some form of dangerous trap before standing still in the water. Her form shivered and melted away again, revealing what he assumed to be her true form of a young woman of short stature and somewhat ratty clothing. Cleaner than she had first appeared but somewhat gaunt and malnourished. Miraculously the water seemed to be neither poisonous nor acidic as the Professor had feared, at least he assumed not by the way she stood underneath it without further complaint. Was it simply some natural effect that it played on curiosity? He supposed not everything with such a luring effect was inherently dangerous, just more likely to be so. But he could not deny the evidence in front of him, that this appeared to simply be water. "Are you alright?" He asked. "Did it hurt you? Is it safe?" He stifled an urge to ask other clarifying questions about the nature of the water to try to identify it, but preserving her life and well-being should be the priority for now he thought, watching her expectantly. But no reply came, either from her own hoarse voice or the strange sourceless one. Instead she stood calmly in the water, staring ahead with unfocussed eyes that seemed to momentarily dart from place to place, never quite resting. "Can you hear me?" He asked again, waving a hand in front to see if she tracked the motion. "Are you alright?" Still no response, she didn't even follow the movement. He reached out to one of her arms that was outside of the downpour to try to see if tactile sensation might work but the instant he started to reach for it she had already retracted the hand. Even without paying any attention she seemed to have remarkably quick reactions. Perhaps this water was some kind of creature which now controlled her? Using senses other than her own to perceive his movement. "Well this is something of a problem." He mused, looking sternly at the woman in the rain. But he could not quite hide the small smile that rose to his lips at the puzzle. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZincAboutIt Posted May 2, 2022 Report Share Posted May 2, 2022 Quote This thread has now time-skipped ahead one week, except for the isolated Professor/Whisper scene in the Chapel. In a small room behind a pale blue door, Lita dreamed of a storm. Icy rain poured down in sheets, whipped into her eyes by a wind that turned the droplets into freezing lances. Lightning cracked in the sky, the bright white flare contrasting with the ruddy glow of firelight. All around Lita, the city screamed and burned. In her sleep, Lita turned, curling inward as though in pain. She winced, giving a soft cry, the phantom wound in her right side nearly waking her as another crack of lightning illuminated a wide, white smile. Lita hovered there on the edge of wakefulness, eyelids fluttering once, before her breathing steadied. She nestled into her pillow as sleep dragged her into another dream… … “Lord Montrell,” Forian called, his voice a charming baritone pitched just right to cut through the low buzz of conversation. Lita watched as a man in his middle years detached himself from a small knot of guests and made his way over to them. “Forian Tekiel, as I live and breathe,” Lord Montrell Hasting grinned and took a careless sip from his wine glass. A little wine leaked out into his beard, red staining the salt-and-pepper strands. Been drinking a bit too much already, my lord? Lita thought, making a note of it. That kind of information made all the difference in their line of work, and it was Lita’s job to find it. “I thought you’d left the city,” Montrell continued, still grinning as the three of them walked further into the ballroom. This was Hasting territory, and despite Montrell’s jovial tone, Houses Hasting and Tekiel had been waging a silent trade war for the better part of a year now. And Forian’s little smuggling gang was about to try and play both sides. “Monty,” Forian chided, snagging two glasses of wine from a passing server, “I thought you were above that sort of petty gossip.” He pushed one of the glasses into Lita’s hand, meeting her eyes for a fraction of a second. Lita had to resist a sigh. She already knew she wasn’t supposed to drink this evening. Too much depended on this event, and Lita needed all her wits about her. Lord Montrell gave a hearty chuckle. “Well then you don’t know me at all. Gossip is what I live for, my boy! Rumors are their own kind of currency.” His eyes flicked from Forian to Lita as she pretended to take a drink. Tin let her catch errant fragments of other conversations as they passed. “- the gall of the outer cities to propose tariffs on Elendel goods -“ “Have you heard Lady Ereinne was caught with the -“ “-won’t believe what they’re charging for a gown this season -“ “I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced, my dear,” Lord Montrell said, stopping at a high top table and leaning against it with only slightly more weight than necessary. “Forian, who is this delightful creature?” Forian slid his hand around her waist, coming to rest far too close to her bust than was proper for a Lord of means. “Just a little something I picked up in the Sixth Octant. Amazing the jewels you can find just lying around in the gutter. All they need is a bit of polish, isn’t that right darling?” Lita pulled the first stirrings of heat in her cheeks back into one of the brass cuffs in her ears, then gave Lord Montrell a soft smile. “Forian is well-practiced at polishing his jewels, my lord,” she said, keeping her face carefully blank. Montrell, who had begun to take another sip of wine, sputtered half of it back into the glass as he gave a belly-shaking laugh. Not a few people glanced over, and Lita couldn’t help but give the tiniest smirk. “Harmony’s Bands, but I like her, Forian,” he said between coughs, mopping at his cravat with a handkerchief. “Everyone here’s so rusting stiff all the time, I haven’t heard a proper joke in ages.” Lita chanced a sidelong look at Forian, whose amiable grin had fractured slightly into something much more sharp. There were two spots of color high on his cheeks, and he clenched his wine glass with white knuckles. Rusts. Wrong move, Lita. “Bring her round after the dancing and we’ll talk business, eh?” “Of course, Lord Montrell,” Forian said, taking Lita’s arm in a vice-like grip. “Now, do excuse us.” Forian tugged her through the crowd, and Lita had to nearly run to keep him from dragging her, dodging around guests and murmuring apologies as they went. She could hear the light ‘clack clack’ of her heeled shoes against the fine wood floor, along with Forian’s angry, huffing breaths. They arrived at the dance floor just as the string quartet was beginning a new song, and Forian pulled her close, his mouth inches from her ear. “What the hell was that?” He hissed, as they began to dance. Lita moved through the waltz mechanically, trying to stave off a rising tide of fear. Tin let her smell the wine on his breath, and the brandy from earlier. A vein jumped at his temple, nearly concealed by his thick black hair. “Lord Montrell is infamous for being irreverent, and he’s already three quarters drunk,” Lita whispered, hoping that if she could just get the words out fast enough, she could stem the tide of Forian’s fury. “I thought a joke might soften him up, and I was right. He invited -“ “What,” Forian said through clenched teeth, “did I say about thinking, Lita?” “You said-“ Lita swallowed a growing panic. She could fix this. She just had to give him what he wanted. “You said to-“ “To leave it up to me,” Forian finished. The music swelled, and he spun her before pulling her back in, gripping her right wrist instead of her hand and beginning to squeeze. Lita winced, biting her tongue to keep from whimpering. He knew she’d be burning Tin. That was the only time he ever hurt her. “Forian, please,” she whispered, the lights of the ballroom blurring as her eyes filled with unshed tears. “You’ll leave a mark.” Forian growled softly, but let up a bit. That would draw the wrong kind of attention, and he knew it. He took a deep breath, seeming to calm slightly. “Lita, Lita, my little dove,” he said, voice smoother but no less dangerous. “One would think you’d be a little more grateful, after I plucked you out of that hovel your father called a Soothing parlour.” Lita clenched her jaw at his mention of her father. “My father is a good person,” she whispered. Better than you’ll ever be, Forian Tekiel. Better than me. Forian laughed, all derision. “Your father is a fool. How long have we been using his basement to hide our wares? A year now?” He scoffed. “Just goes to show that emotional Allomancy doesn’t account for brains.” “Forian,” Lita gave him a warning glare. “I’m surely not the only Tineye here. You don’t know who could be listening.” “It seems to me,” Forian moved his hand up her back to rest at the nape of her neck, sliding one finger beneath the beautiful emerald and pearl choker he’d given her as a gift, “that this Tineye needs to listen a little better.” He tugged at the necklace, pressing the center stone ever so slightly against Lita’s throat. Lita stared back into his grey-blue eyes, feeling a seething anger building within her chest. “I’m not your whore, Forian,” she whispered. “You’re whatever I want, you little gutter rat,” he spat, leaning close enough that she could hear his pulse. “You slum-trash are all the same, desperate for a lick at the scraps from our table. I know you’d do anything to be where you are, you hungry little wretch. And you have.” There was a smug smile in his voice; Lita hated him for it, even as she loved him. The music was swelling to a crescendo, and as Forian spun her one last time, she felt a single tear trace down her cheek. “Now,” Forian said, his hand back on her waist, every inch a gentleman. “Are you going to be my good little Tineye?” Lita nodded, forcing herself to smile. “Of course, Forian,” she said, her voice small. “Whatever you want.” Forian returned the smile, reaching up to brush the tear away. “There now,” he said, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Lita shook her head as the music began to change keys. The conductor called out the next dance, which would mandate a switch in partners. “Be good,” he whispered, kissing her cheek as he squeezed her wrist just once more. She winced, and he was gone. The new song began, and Lita stood dumbly for a moment before someone lightly took her hand, resting the other at the small of her back. She began to dance, still staring at nothing, until she realized how out of place she would look. Pull it together, Lita. This is no time to come apart. “My apologies, my lord,” she said, sniffing once and putting a smile back on her face. “All the excitement of this evening has me—“ Lita looked up, and her words died in her throat. The man before her was tall, cutting a fine figure in his black suit, deep purple waistcoat and matching cravat. All those deep colors were offset by a gold watch-chain that disappeared into his suit pocket, and a row of bright golden buttons on the waistcoat that reminded Lita of coins. A flash of gold at his wrist hinted at similar cuff links. The dark colors were a bit out of season; most of the attendees had dressed in greens, like Lita herself, or blues. But the deep shades seemed right on him. They accentuated his rich brown skin and tight black curls, which he had pulled back into a short tail. Some of the curls had escaped, giving him a slightly wild appearance that was furthered by his smile. It was white and sharp, and Lita was immediately reminded of the stories of sharks out in Hammondar Bay. He moved with all the casual grace of a practiced dancer, but somehow every inch of the man radiated danger. And then Lita looked into his eyes. She felt every hair on her body stand on end, and a deep instinct screamed at her to run. But Lita did not run; something held her there, drawing her like metal to a Lurcher. There was something so terribly familiar about this stranger, an assurance that she knew him. But Lita would have remembered a man like this, a man with one eye so black that it seemed to be sliced through reality itself, and the other replaced with a single silvery spike driven point-first through his skull. His smile widened, and Lita half-remembered curling shadows and whispered secrets, a white smile behind a pale blue door, a golden Coin in her hand. A stranger in her doorway. She shuddered, fear mixing with something hotter and sweeter. “I know you,” she breathed, and as she spoke it she knew it was true. The music swelled, and the man’s grin stretched even wider. “Good evening, Little Lita.” @Fatebreaker 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voidus Posted May 4, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2022 Bleary eyed, Laurelai set a cup out for her morning coffee and started preparing breakfast. She felt unusually irritable that morning but as she mechanically consumed toast and caffeine she gradually awoke and managed to shake some lingering sense of irritation. Habitually she combed a hand through her hair and almost instantly shuddered at the sweaty mess of tangles it had become. She scowled at it before resigning herself to a long morning of preparation and headed to her bathroom to shower. Must have left the heating on last night. She mused, dragging a hand through the tangles again. I should really ask dad to fix that Aon sequence at some point so it turns itself off. Towel in hand she turned the shower on until it hit a perfectly warm temperature, and was about to step in when on impulse she turned it down a fraction to a little cooler. Reasoning that it might help cool her down after what was presumably a night of tossing and turning from the heat. As she stepped under the waters she sighed almost instantly, feeling the anger at the state of her hair, the lingering irritation from the morning, the stresses of the day all washing away. She stood there for some minutes without moving before even reaching for soap and shampoo, and when she finally stepped out from the shower and headed to her wardrobe to select clothes for the day she was shocked to notice that over an hour had passed already. "As if I wasn't already going to be late enough." She cursed, irritation returning. "Need to get this mess sorted with as well." She attacked her hair with a fury, wincing a little as the fine hairs caught almost instantly in the brush. With a little more patience and another 15 minutes she finally managed to return it to its usual state. By the time she'd dressed she was even more tense and irritable than she had been before the shower. She opened the door with a deep preparatory breath, and shot a longing look back towards the shower, wishing that she could just return to those relaxing waters where she didn't have to worry. She hesitated in the doorway, teetering for a moment before finally and reluctantly stepping out onto the streets. "Are you alright miss?" Someone said nearby, ignoring her attempt to sidestep them and reaching out a hand to her shoulder. "Day's just started, you should try to start it with a smile." Laurelai recognised the tall, heavyset man as one of her neighbours, though she couldn't at that moment bring the name to mind. She shot him an icy and withering glare, causing him to flinch back before his hand could quite make contact and she used that moment to step past him without a word. With steady but long steps she swept her way into a nearby Alleyway, giving a half glance behind her to check that he hadn't followed her and breathed a sigh of relief. No need to go off at him like that. She chided herself. You're acting like a child throwing a tantrum, deep breath and get a hold of yourself. Nodding in affirmation she took a second to breathe deeply, trying to relieve some of her tension. The cool darkness of the Alley helped a little, and she felt her shoulders loosen a little bit, her muscles just slightly relax enough that she could recover. Satisfied she checked quickly to see if she had received any messages, gave a frown that nearly turned into another scowl as she saw that her father still hadn't replied to her but decided to ignore it as she stepped into the Alleys proper. Time to get to work. @ZincAboutIt 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatebreaker Posted May 9, 2022 Report Share Posted May 9, 2022 "Good evening, Little Lita." The stranger grinned down at her as they danced in graceful circles around the room. They were going opposite the flow of the other dancers, yet they never so much as brushed another person's sleeve. He led them through the maze of dancers with careless ease, his step unnaturally light, like a shark swimming through the water. The gold on his clothes sparkled in the light, but not so brightly as the spike through his eye. "I do hope I'm not cutting in?" Lita startled at the words, seeming to remember where she was. She did her best to regain her rapidly fleeing composure and respond with a demure smile, "I'm sorry my lord, you seem to have me at a disadvantage, please remind me of your name?" Rusts, why did she just admit she didn't remember his name? That could be perceived as a slight, or even as deliberate rudeness. Lita cursed mentally, she was all thrown off. It must have been her argument with Forian, that's what was throwing her off. She needed to rally, to pull herself together. She couldn't let Forian down, that would only make him angrier. "Indeed, I do." the stranger replied, nodding his head in acknowledgement, "An old habit, regrettably, one that is deep set and hard learned." He spun her out unexpectedly, then quickly back in again, holding her a little closer than before. " In fact, were we to meet on equal footing I would be quite worried for my safety." He winked, or was it technically a blink? Lita's mind was reeling, this conversation was nothing like she was prepared for. The sheer amount of impropriety should have been drawing glances and comments, but not a soul seemed to notice. She tried to catch her breath as she struggled to decipher what he could possibly mean by that last comment. "My lord, I'm not sure what you're implying but..." He cut in before she could finish her thought, "Oh, I'm quite sure you do, even if you don't know it. But come, I am spoiling the mood. I must thank you for my invitation, this is not at all what I expected when you bid me to join you. This is quite a different setting from our usual rendezvous'." The stranger looked at her intensely. "And you seem to be different as well. A sheathed blade, rather than a fixed bayonet. Tell me, Little Lita, where is your fire? is your spark in need of," he leaned in and whispered in her ear, his voice deep and full of unspoken promise, "kindling?" @ZincAboutIt 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZincAboutIt Posted May 10, 2022 Report Share Posted May 10, 2022 His words sent a molten current coursing through her veins, hot and keen as a Tin flare, and Lita felt her nerves ignite like a magnesium match. She could hear her own heartbeat like thunder and feel every thread of her silk shift against her skin and each fiber of fine wool on the stranger’s suit coat beneath her fingers and his breath on her neck was as hot as a forge and — Lita tried to think through the wave of sensation, to regain some measure of her composure. The light in the room reflected off the spike in his eye, and the gold of his buttons winked at her. Golden writing on the wall, all the secrets of life itself scrawled in a master’s hand. “My lord,” she managed, trying to banish the odd thought, “you speak as though we have some sort of history.” “Quite,” he responded, and Lita could hear the grin in his voice. “Then,” she continued, sure that her ear cuffs would melt off from all the heat she was storing in them, “I’m afraid I’m not in on the secret.” Lita forced herself to think clearly, to replay the man’s words with a spy’s trained clinical analysis. It was like trying to see through dense fog; shapes loomed just out of her vision, and no amount of Tin would let her pierce the veil. The stranger chuckled deep in his throat, leaning back slightly to flash her a slice of teeth. “I would never deprive you the pleasure of hunting down a secret on your own, Little Lita. Besides,” he spun her again, still moving counter to the rest of the couples, before pulling her back into place. His voice was like the finest port - dark, sweet, and heady as sin. “You’re already so close.” Lita shuddered. So close. Lita was surprised she hadn’t already caused an open scandal, dancing so intimately with a complete stranger. Forian would be furious, though for some reason Lita was no longer very concerned with Forian. This stranger though… Lita was growing increasingly sure that she did know him. There was something in his voice, that prickle that ran across her skin, the way it stirred something in the core of her to rise, to seek, to take. The promise of knowledge and the power that went with it. ‘I never break my promises.’ The half-recalled words quickened a sudden pain in her right hand, and Lita slid her fingers from the stranger’s shoulder to glance within. A single red line ran diagonally across her palm, a slender scar made by an equally wicked, slender blade. Not a sheathed dagger, but a bayonet. Lita felt the world slide by slowly as a sudden wave of vertigo crashed over her. Her fingers scrambled for purchase, clutching at the stranger’s lapel as she felt her knees weaken for a moment. He supported her with ease, not even breaking the rhythm of his effortless waltz. “It’s right there, isn’t it Little Lita?” He said, voice low and tinged with amusement. “The answer. The secret. Right on the tip of your tongue.” Memory surged through Lita, plunged like metal into her blood. He was indeed a stranger, but a Stranger she knew. Lita stared into that deep, endless eye and heard herself exhale a single broken note. He grinned jaggedly, clearly enjoying her turmoil, and Lita’s ravenous desire tangled in the snarls of a sudden fury that nearly blinded her. Two opposing hungers warred within her. She wanted to cut her throat on the edge of that smile; she wanted to tear him apart. She tilted her head towards him, carving that smile into her memory. “More like the tips of my fingers,” she whispered. Then she drew her right hand back, palm open, and aimed all of that new fire right at his cheek. @Fatebreaker 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voidus Posted May 18, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2022 Professor Esserethel studied the water for some time, along with the figure inside of it. The young girl barely moved, numerous times he was concerned that she'd stopped breathing entirely and her corpse was simply being puppeted but her colour did not pale and she continued shallowly breathing. He tried on multiple occasions to retrieve her or push her away but she reacted instantly to each attempt and seemed much faster than he was. "Well what are we going to do with you now?" He wondered. He pulled out his pocket watch, a recent Fabrial design that he was quite fond of. Startlingly it had been several hours already, and given that he was in an unknown dimension right now that could cause additional time dilation. Jumping several years into the future was certainly an intriguing scientific prospect but he did have people he cared about to consider. The pocket watch slowed and stopped as a stream of tiny light drifted from it towards the figure in the water. He watched the thin lips part to breath the Light in as it reached her and with the faintest of smiles she finally met his gaze. Thinking that this might be a single opportunity to try to retrieve her and find out what exactly was happening, the Professor approach and reached a slow cautious hand towards her. This time the figure did not instantly pull away, it allowed him to get close until his hand was almost touching her before in a sudden burst of movement the figure reached out and pulled his hand into the rain. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Whisper was floating in glorious, infinite knowledge. She had the comfort of knowing her gods were real, knowing that one stood in the room with her, slumbering though he may be. She wasn't sure what to think of that, that one of her gods had effectively caged another. Simpler was the realization that her entire life had been manufactured by one of these gods, that her very worship of them was itself an artificial construct. Beautiful. She thought as she looked at the broken spiderweb of Investiture that flooded the planet, subtly tweaking its history in a million different ways. Beautiful purpose created by their design. Even sped up as her thoughts were, it took her time to process the vast flood of information that she was receiving. She quickly realized she had spent far too long selfishly digging into visions of the past where she could see her gods in their full glory. She needed to understand the now, understand what they needed her to do next. Beginning with finding a way to awaken the one who slumbered. In slow motion she saw him, chained to a mortal body. He was concerned for her, trying to save her from the waters. The thought made her happy beyond anything she had experienced but she also knew that it was a desire born from ignorance and this false body. This was not who he really was. The true Lonely God was dark and terrifying as the Void. As he pulled a watch from a pocket Whisper smiled, she had been waiting for this eventual moment since the waters first whispered to her of the watch. She had burned through all of her own light when she entered the rain, but now she had a new source. Smiling, she took a long, steady intake of breath and willed the Stormlight from the gemstone in the watch to flow towards her body. She felt the familiar rush of energy at the Light, now feeling so dim and distant compared to the bounty that the water offered her. The Light already flickered within her, unable to sustain itself for long. Perhaps only for a single weaving. Then we'll have to let the waters show him what he needs to see. She thought. In an instant the waters showed her the outcome of that plan as clearly as if it were happening already. The Professor reached forwards as she knew he would, and just as he hesitated at the boundaries of the rain, unsure how tou grab her without exposing himself, she moved in a sudden flash and pulled his hand forwards. Not enough to trap him here or fight her for the waters, just enough to give him a glimpse of what was and what will be. ------------------------------------------------------ Voidus froze as the water touched him, unlocking memories that had been sealed away and burning bright pathways of knowledge into his mind. He saw the Stranger at work in his forge, resolute expression as he set to change the world itself for a friend. He saw the changes in those around him, the daughter who he could not openly acknowledge, the acquaintance who became a friend even while she was trapped in a mental hospital. He saw a burst of crimson from a wrist, saw a sad, painful smile form on her face as she looked for a friend she could no longer see. Saw her body lying on the ground, letter beside her. He felt a burning sensation grow within his chest, felt himself reach out for something, for nothing. He tried to feed his anger into the Void to draw on it but the rain washed the feeling away as quickly as he could summon it, trapping him in an endless loop of eerie calm followed by mounting rage. He felt stifled, he wanted to pull away but couldn't move. He wanted to stop seeing but the waters showed him whether he wanted to or not. Showed him that sad smile, the hope of what she wanted. Showed him what she sacrificed and just how painful that decision was for her. Again and again he saw the splash of crimson and felt his chest tighten a little more ----------------------------------------------------- The Professor wrenched himself back from the water, gasping for air like a drowning man and clutching at his chest. Tiny flashes of memories still struck him with the weight of a truck but even those dim flashes were fading now until he could not even remember what it was that had startled him so. Something about a friend? Some kind of danger? 'Bring more Light.' A hoarse voice whispered from the walls around him. 'Tell no one else.' He stared at the young girl within the rain, her tiny smile seemed distinctly more sinister now as she slowly retracted the arm that she had used to pull him into the waters to show him... something. "What did you do to me?" He asked, his own voice cracking as he found his throat suddenly parched. "What are these waters." 'Bring more Light.' The voice repeated, growing fainter already. He stared a moment longer as he caught his breath, and then ran from the terrifying cavern and its new, malevolent resident. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatebreaker Posted May 20, 2022 Report Share Posted May 20, 2022 (edited) Lita's hand flew through the air in what felt like slow motion. Almost instantly she felt a surge of panic. Oh Rusts, what am I doing? But the fire was stronger than the fear and she followed through with the blow. And as she did, the Stranger held her eyes, as if he could read the thoughts behind them. Her hand connected with a resounding slap, turning the Stranger's head with the force of it. For an instant it felt as if the world held its breath. Fear threatened to overwhelm Lita, but her rage was yet stronger still. And then the Stranger turned back to her, and his smile was wicked and pleased. "There it is." Lita felt her cheeks burning as if she had been the one to receive the slap. This man showed not even the slightest sign of discomfort, which was so much more frightening than rage or shock. Then, to make matters worse, he began to laugh, rich and deep, throwing his head back as it rolled out from him in waves. Lita felt the anger overtaking her fear, and she spoke with simmering rage, "Do I amuse you, sir?" The Stranger looked down at her, "Indeed you do, Little Lita, and I am sorry for that. Because if you didn't your life would undoubtedly be more pleasant, and less full of fear. But I think that isn't what would make you happy. Because you," and his grin was deadly sharp, "are hungry for more. And that hunger is what drew me to you, and now you to me. What a delightfully insidious cycle we find ourselves in." This was too much, and Lita let her hand fly once more, feeling her indignation feeding her rage. But this time the Stranger spun her even as her hand flew, using her own momentum to send her in a dizzying spiral. Just as it felt like she would crash to the floor, he caught her, one hand around her waist, the other caressing her face. Lita felt her heart pounding like thunder, surely loud enough that the whole room could hear it. The Stranger was watching her, the mirth evident in his expression as he leaned into the dip till their faces were almost touching. “You really do look ravishing. I’ve never had the chance to tell you just how striking you are, have I? Or rather, it’s never been the right moment.” He lifted her out of the dip into a spin across him, then held her at arm's length, taking her in with his gaze. “But tonight we have all the time that we could want. So I will take this opportunity to tell you that you look stunning tonight. With one exception…” He spun Lita back in till her back was up against him. She felt his hand trace a line along her jaw and down her throat, till it rested on her collarbone. Then, with a sudden twist he snapped the emerald necklace and held it up to his eye level. “I never cared for collars.” The green jewels caught the light of the chandelier, glowing softly. “This is a chain around your neck, Lita Attar, as sure as a slave collar. It robs you of choice, binds you to that cremling of a man. I don’t use collars, I like people to make choices. So now you have a choice, Little Lita.” he tossed the necklace casually away. Lita reached out for it instinctively, making to step forward after it, but the other hand held her close against her dance partner. His voice was a blade, the tip tracing lightly against her skin, “you can choose that collar and the dream will go back to what it was. I shan’t trouble you further. Or you can stay,” and his voice took on a velvet undertone, “and you will remember that which will allow us to talk in earnest. What do you choose?” Edited May 20, 2022 by Fatebreaker 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZincAboutIt Posted May 20, 2022 Report Share Posted May 20, 2022 Lita watched the necklace sail through the air until it hit the floor with a light clatter. Immediately it was swept underfoot of the other couples, and she lost sight of it for a moment as a pair moved in front of her. But she did not miss the sickening ‘crack’ that echoed seconds later. The Stranger was still holding her close, her back to his chest, one hand curved around her ribcage. She could feel the rhythm of his heartbeat in counterpoint to her own, pulsing against her. So much slower than her own racing tempo - yet still slightly elevated. “What do you choose?” His voice was night in summer, warm and deep and full of every promise. Lita could still feel the burning trail of his fingers along her jaw, down her throat - a line of fire that smoldered distractingly as she tried to think. “I -“ she whispered, then faltered, her voice catching in her throat as the dancers before her parted to reveal Forian’s necklace where it lay on the floor. Tin allowed her a perfect view of the cracks that had spiderwebbed throughout the gorgeous center emerald, and the soft dust on the dance floor that had come from one of the crushed pearls. Except emerald didn’t crack, and it took more than a careless heel to crush a pearl. Lita’s mouth tightened into a silent snarl. It wasn’t even real. The flawless emerald, the strings of delicate pearls - they were nothing but tinted glass and painted plaster. And despite all her metal, she, little slum girl that she was, could not have told the difference. Lita felt a well of shame open up within her, the knowledge that she had been bought so cheaply and been so grateful for it nearly made her sick. The Stranger waited silently for her answer, holding both of them still as the rest of the room spun about them like figures in a wind-up box. She turned her head slightly, letting her hand, once outstretched towards the necklace, drop to her side. “Surely,” she spoke, feeling the heat of both anger and anticipation on her tongue, “you already know what I will choose.” “Do I?” He answered, lifting her arm upward with a feather’s touch until it arced backwards, her fingertips meeting the side of his face. She could feel his smile. “I cannot read your mind, Little Lita, and even if I could, the choice is still yours to make.” He ran a single fingertip down the inside of her arm, then down her ribs, pausing between the last two as a bolt of pain seemed to rise to meet it. “You always have a choice.” Lita bit her tongue to avoid crying out, though whether from pain or something sweeter, she didn’t know. She felt like a fiddle tuned too tightly, every string at its breaking point, and the Stranger was preparing his bow. “I choose to stay,” she whispered, the words tearing out of her mouth before she could catch them behind her teeth. Her head tipped backward of its own accord, still listening to his heartbeat. “Good choice,” he breathed into her ear, then spun her back to face him, pulling her so close that she could feel the buttons of his waistcoat through the silk of her gown. “I do hate to cut a party short.” The music shifted slightly, tempo sliding upward even as it became more sinuous, and for a moment they said nothing, learning this new melody. “I know what it is you want,” the Stranger said, voice slicing through Lita’s reverie with surgical precision. “Because it is also what I want.” Lita felt her fingertips bite into his shoulder where she held on; her mind felt like it was on fire. “And what is that?” She said, pleased at how steady her voice sounded. “Why, secrets, of course,” he responded, smile sweet and sharp as honey on a blade. Lita did her best to conceal her disappointment, but felt her cheeks grow hot. He laughed softly. “Isn’t that what you told me you hungered for, the day we first met? Do you remember it, Little Lita?” “I…” Lita felt her eyes flutter closed for a moment, and as she did she saw the scene as it was. Her at the little table, a spoon in her hand, and a shadow in her doorway. “Yes,” she murmured. “I do remember.” “All the truth of the world,” the Stranger whispered, and Lita saw golden script behind her eyes, gold and shadow and a bright Coin in a dark hand. “And you wanted it. You had tasted a sip, but you wished to be drunk. Look at me, Lita.” She opened her eyes, the sudden raw edge of his voice catching her off guard. He stared into her, light from the chandelier glinting off of his iron eye and disappearing into the darkness of his other. “There is a storm within you, there at the core of your eyes. Do you remember the storm? The night the city tore itself to pieces. Rain in the alleyway, tin on your tongue, steel in your blood. Do you remember? Do you remember breaking apart even as you were remade?” Lita felt the Stranger dip her backward, leaning with her, and the dissonance of two lives warred in her mind and crackled for a moment before one shook - then shattered. Lita’s breath caught as the full force of that memory - all the pain and glory - hit her at once. She gasped. He pulled her back upward, turning her so her back once again pressed against him. This time he kept dancing, his voice low and insistent against her ear. “Do you remember the Chapel, Lita? The cool blue lure of it, the silent siren’s song of boundless knowledge? Do you remember stepping beneath that water and tasting a secret so sweet you thought it couldn’t be real? The outline of a plan so audacious that it could only be executed by a madman? Do you remember how close you came to your death, dancing on the knife edge?” He took her left hand, bringing it up towards his face, before softly kissing each fingertip. His mouth was lightning against her skin. Lita felt her heartbeat accelerate to a speed that nearly frightened her, even as her mind accelerated faster, memories blooming like drops of blood into water. “Do you remember how your fingertips on the back of a cold hand stilled the wrath of a mad god, Little Lita? Do you remember what he asked of you?” “My memories,” Lita said, turning her head to try and see the Stranger’s face, but he held her fast. “He wanted my memories.” “Indeed,” came his voice, tinged with something jagged, slightly bitter. “A hypocrite, to speak so often of price, then demand such a gift for nothing. Rather like your lordling, I think.” Lita blinked, missing a step in the dance. “Forian?” “Tell me about him,” the Stranger continued, turning her around to face him. His smile was back, that familiar blend of predatory and amused. Lita raised an eyebrow. “You want to know about Forian?” “I wish to know about you,” he said. “I have given you plenty of secrets this evening, Little Lita. Heady truths. It is only fair that you should give me some of your own, so I might also get drunk.” He winked, and Lita knew it for such despite his only having one eye. Lita scoffed, but she found herself speaking nonetheless. “He used to frequent my father’s soothing parlor, him and his gang. My father was a fool, always being swindled by his customers despite his Allomancy. He was overjoyed to have some ‘noble patronage,’ never mind how suspicious it was that a group of lords met in a Sixth Octant slum. I used to eavesdrop, til one day I realized I could get more than just information if I proved myself useful enough.” She heard some of the edge in her voice, and looked over her shoulder at the ruined necklace. The collar that was nothing more than a cheap trinket, the sort of thing you would give to a street whore. “Useful, like a tool. A tool who thought itself a person. Silly me.” The Stranger’s fingertips grabbed her chin with surprising force, dragging her face upwards. It didn’t hurt, but the fervor in his black fathomless eye frightened her. “The only thing that suits you worse than a collar is self-pity, Lita Attar,” he hissed. “You may be used like a tool, but that does not mean it’s what you are. You are a fire, and however useful a fire might be, it burns for its own sake.” “Why are you saying this?” Lita demanded, confusion curdling into ire at his words. How dare he lecture her, tell her what she was and was not to feel? “There is still a collar around your neck, Little Lita. One I cannot so easily snap. A Forgery far finer than glass and plaster. A gilded cage built from all your heart’s desires.” He leaned close enough that she could count every eyelash framing his black, endless eye. “Do you remember?” Lita felt a tremor move through her, an echo of confusion and horror as reality tore like wet paper. “Shadow on the ceiling,” the Stranger said, voice growing softer yet more sonorous, like he was speaking in a vast, vaulted cavern. Lita remembered the hanging jaw of the slick, tarry worm before it shot towards her. “Shadow covering your eyes.” He reached up, passing his fingertips over Lita’s eyes, closing them. She remembered the alien chill of that shadow moving over her skin, pouring into her mouth and commanding her to forget. “And a Shadow at your ear,” he whispered, tracing one finger along her palm, where the slender red scar sliced across her skin, “offering you a way out, if you were willing to pay the price. Do you remember?” “Yes,” Lita breathed, eyes still closed, fire on her skin where he touched her, and icy horror everywhere else. “I remember everything.” And she did. She opened her eyes to find he had leaned back slightly, grinning at her in a way that sent a shiver up her spine. “Who are you?” “The Stranger sees nearly everyone as a tool,” he said, seeming to side-step the question. Then, he brought one hand up to his chest. “Even his own Shadow.” Lita looked at him for a moment, baffled, before a hundred tiny pieces fell into place. His talk of choice, his bitter disdain for the Stranger, the seemingly pointless exercise of helping her and Laurelai escape the shadow creatures. Lita felt the room spin around her slowly, and she willed herself not to collapse onto the floor. This was not the Stranger - it was the Shade. “I told you Truth was a heady thing,” the Shade said, voice dark with amusement. “But come now, tell me Little Lita. Have you drunk your fill of it? Are you satisfied?” He cupped her face with one hand, running the edge of his thumb lightly across her lower lip. “Or do you crave yet more?” @Fatebreaker 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ElephantEarwax Posted June 7, 2022 Report Share Posted June 7, 2022 Not plot here, but I didn't know where to put it. From the depths of the archives comes an ancient document. Lost for the last few hundred years it just turned up behind a cabinet in the R&D lab. The original recipe. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatebreaker Posted June 14, 2022 Report Share Posted June 14, 2022 Lita felt her pulse thundering like a runaway locomotive as she met the Shade's eyes. What did this mean? The Shade was helping her, betraying the Stranger's will? Could she even trust him? Was this all an elaborate ploy of the Stranger? Did anything even make sense? She managed to form words, though they seemed insufficient to properly communicate her confusion, "What are you doing here? What do you want?" The Shade leaned in close, his hand still cupping her face, "I am here at your invitation, of course. And what I want, is you, Little Lita." For what felt like the hundredth time, her breath caught in her throat and her heart beat even faster. She felt herself leaning in to him, as if their bodies could merge in to one form of heat and shadow and glinting metal. Her mouth opened slightly, and she felt her eyes locked onto the void and spike before her. And just when their lips were about to touch, he spun them both in a flurry of movement, resuming the dance. "I want you to break free of the collar put upon you by your oh-so-generous patron and help destroy the world in the process. For in doing so we shall save the lives of everyone on the planet, and more importantly set me free." At the last word his voice took on a hunger deeper than anything Lita had ever known. It was like standing at the precipice of an oceanic trench and hearing a rumbling roar from within. She felt cold fear creep down her spine like the touch of a shadow creature. Whatever this creature may say about helping her, this was his true purpose. And she knew if it came to it he would devour the world, and her as well. And she both loved and hated him for it. "How..." her voice came out as a hoarse whisper, her voice not wanting to finish the sentence. The Shade grinned, and the expression was both an invitation and a warning. Lita swallowed, then spoke again, "How am I supposed to do that?" The Shade's grinned widened even further, "Oh I was hoping you'd ask that." He spun her suddenly, then brought her close again. His voice was lowered to a whisper, and he glanced around the room as if he was looking for someone. "In this Lita we must use subtlety, and not power, for there is no power that can match him as he now is. And so we must be both patient and quick, aimless and focused, so that we don't draw his gaze." His gaze seemed to sweep over her briefly, and his grin took on a different quality, "Though in this dress, it would be difficult not to draw the gaze of every soul in the city." He swept her into another dip, and his face lingered over her for a moment longer than expected. "Tell me, Lovely Little Lita Attar, which knife is the sharpest?" Lita felt her mouth open, and then close as she thought about the question. After a moment she met his eyes and said with more confidence than she felt, "The one you don't expect." The Shade laughed delightedly and Lita felt a smile of her own begin to form. The sound was tinged in madness and hunger, but there was more to it. The Shade was indeed strange and alien, but there was something more human about him. Something knowable, something she couldn't fully explain, but she could almost grasp it. And if he had any humanity, he could be manipulated. Though of course it was not something to attempt lightly, not something of this magnitude. This was another knife's edge, but maybe, just maybe, she could be the one holding the handle this time. She just needed an opening. The Shade collected himself and spoke again, "Indeed, the unexpected blade oft cuts deepest. And so, you, Laurelai, and I are perfectly poised to wield the blade that will undo him. The One-Eyed God has faced heroes and villains, monstrous hordes and mighty armies, what then could a tineye and a forger do? Nothing. The key then is not to focus on him, but on that which he has made. And so all you need to do is pull at threads, hunt for secrets, let your Hunger run wild." Lita felt herself thinking about things she was hungry for and the heat in her responded. Stay on top of it, she told herself, use it. She leaned into him, and let the heat flow through her body, strong enough for him to feel it. "Any threads I should pull on in particular?" her hand toyed with the golden buttons on his waistcoat as she spoke. The Shade watched her fingers for a moment, then spoke, "Well, I know some that you might find of particular interest. You could talk to a young man who will come seeking your guidance, desperately seeking dark secrets he knows not of. He needs to be shown enough to reach his own conclusions, but not enough to draw the attention of our humble deity." Lita raised an eyebrow, "Passing me off to another man? Can it be you tire of my company already? Surely there's something I could do to hold your," Her fingers loosened his cravat, then traced down his chest, "interest?" The Shade held still, seeming to contemplate her words, before answering her. "You are not mine to give, Lady of Flame, you are your own. And I am more envious of that than you know." His tone was sincere, almost sad, and the ever present grin was gone. He lifted a hand and traced the line of her cheek, beneath her left eye. This is a Secret worth knowing, Lita thought, and she held his gaze so as to remember every detail. Then the Shade seemed to remember himself and the grin returned "And I'm quite sure you've held my interest since the day we met, and it hasn't wavered since. After all, I don't get all cleaned up for the dreams of the uninteresting." Lita felt a wave of pride at those words, and resented how much she enjoyed hearing them. She spoke with feigned innocence, "So, this is my dream then? Does that mean I'm can make it do what I want?" The Shade grinned wider at her words, "Indeed. You could make the ballroom a forest, you could turn the guests into birds, you could even make Forian your servant." Lita smiled, then snapped her fingers. The Shade's collar and the first three buttons popped open. He seemed taken aback, opening his mouth but unable to form words. Lita snapped again and her dress became decidedly more interesting, with tighter curves and an open back. Her hair was braided with fine golden chain and at her throat she wore a golden coin. "I think," she said languidly, "That I've had enough of waltzing through my memory. I'd rather go somewhere a little more," And she snapped her fingers a third time and the ballroom faded away, and they were standing outside a blue door in a little alley. She grinned and turned towards the door, placing her hand upon the knob, "intimate." The Shade stood there for a long moment, his expression held carefully neutral. Then at last he said, "Well, I wouldn't mind a cup of tea." And they both grinned and slipped inside without another word. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZincAboutIt Posted June 15, 2022 Report Share Posted June 15, 2022 Lita woke slowly, feeling the dream slip away like the last grains of sand in an hourglass. The warmth of rich brown skin beneath her cheek shifted to linen, the rhythmic beating of a heart against her ear melted into the ticking of a clock. The clever fingers running through her hair disappeared, the contented, lazy grin fading into nothing. A black, endless eye, half-lidded in satisfied exhaustion, lingered just long enough to wink. Wake up, Little Lita. And Lita opened her eyes. She gave a tiny groan and stretched languidly, feeling both sore and impossibly relaxed. The bed was in complete disarray, sheets kicked onto the floor in a heap, pillows shoved halfway into the headboard. Lita sat up and ran a hand through her hair, which snagged almost immediately on a snarl of knots. She sighed, rolling her neck, and was pleased to find the knot of tension that had been plaguing her for weeks gone without a trace. Lita stood, and an echo of the dream shimmered across her memory, heat and shadow and a hunger like the void. Fingertips along her spine and her mouth on his neck and the white-lightning lance through her vision when — A shudder ran through her, enough to nearly cause her to fall, and she gripped the bedside table with a whispered curse. Her fingers brushed the cool, smooth edge of the Coin, which sat in a blackened ring on the wood tabletop. It was lucky the whole thing hadn’t caught fire. Lita picked it up; one side bore the Sun, the other the World. Subtle, she thought, then remembered the first part of the dream. It had been, arguably, the more important part. The part full of dangerous secrets, of information she’d have killed to know just a day ago. She held the image of the Shade standing before her, running his finger along her cheek, face filled with a melancholy longing that ached even now. “You are your own. And I am more envious of that than you know.” He wanted to help her - he wanted to help them all. But deeper than all of that, he wished to be free. Lita could still feel her own simmering rage at the Stranger, at how he’d moved her around like a piece on the board, stolen her life, built her a cage of dreams. But that was nothing compared to the Shade. She tried to imagine it, shackled to the whim of his creator, never completely free. Never able to slip the leash, no matter how much slack he was allowed. A nightmare - living forever as the shadow of another. Lita ran a hand along her ribs - nothing. Nothing but the faint pain of metal that should be there. She looked at the copper bands on her arms, all too aware that she must have tapped the memories in her sleep. And if she had them back, it was only a matter of time before the shadow creatures would come to fix the aberration. She would have to forget again. Damn this rusting game, Lita thought, slipping out of her shift and turning on the shower. At the last moment, she slid the bayonet off the bedside too. It felt ridiculous to shower with a bayonet, but she’d be damned if some black goop worm got the better of her while she was washing her hair. Lita sat on the floor of the shower, letting cool water run over her skin, and thought. She needed to leave herself just enough information to help unravel the Stranger’s world, but not so much as to alert his attention. And this young man she was supposed to wait for… “Rust and ruin,” she breathed, giving a tiny mirthless laugh. It was Reshilore. Of course it was him. He looked almost exactly like them both now that she thought of it. A bit softer in the jaw and cheekbones…softer in all respects, really. Sweet and harmless as a child. And Lita was supposed to… what. Unravel him? The thought gave her a cruel little thrill. Yes, she could do it. She would do it. She’d pull at all the loose threads she could find, unleash the hunger that the Shade found so compelling. And when he was free, perhaps he’d visit her again. Outside of a dream. Lita leaned her head back against the cool tile and felt a wicked smile spread across her lips. She’d have to forget everything to fill her Coppermind. But first, she’d have to remember it. …… There was something different about today. Lita had felt it as soon as she’d woken up, a sort of shimmering, liquid grace to the world. She’d felt it in her fingers as she plaited her long auburn hair over her shoulder - something she’d never done as far as she could recall. But today it felt right. She’d felt it as she selected her outfit, hand reaching instinctively for the deep purple dress she’d bought on a whim and never worn. Somehow it came as no surprise when it slid over her like a glove, back cut a bit too low and kick pleat cut a bit too high for a business dress. She grinned at her reflection, teeth white against lips red as claret, and stepped into her heels. Black today. Black and purple and the flash of gold as she slipped her coin into a hidden pocket. Mmm, yes. Definitely the right choice. Lita made herself a cup of tea, then stepped out of her little blue door and began to Alleytravel. The door to her office seemed to spring open at her touch, and Lita glided in on a cloud, setting her tea down and not even minding the stack of paper mounted in her in-tray. Then she picked up a little silver pen, glanced at the clock on the wall, and sent her newest agent an Alleycant message. “Good morning, Laurelai. Are you ready for your first interrogation?” The pen spun across her fingers perfectly. Lita arched her back in a luxurious stretch and smiled. Such a beautiful day - and it was about to get even better. It was time to go hunting. @Voidus 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voidus Posted June 17, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2022 It was sometimes strange how familiar the Alleys felt to Laurelai, how comfortable they were to walk through even knowing their dangers. In a sense, she supposed, she had been walking through them her whole life, the very periphery of them at least. The sections where the strange eldritch dimensions of the deeper alleys melded into mundanity until they touched upon the city proper. I wonder how many people have wondered in by accident. She thought, tracing one hand along a brick wall. How many citizens of the city took a wrong turn one day taking that step over the border between the ordinary streets and the unknowable horrors and never came home? At the very least she hoped that it was not so many that she bumped into one today, she wasn't even sure what the protocol would be if she found someone in the Alleys who didn't belong here. And given that she'd been sorely tempted to murder someone simply for blocking her path that morning, it was quite possible that she'd act first and question protocol second. Enraged murder would probably be less of a problem here than it was in her other job but it was still not a good impression to be setting. And that simply wouldn't do. We need to make sure that we're accepted here. Finally we have what we've been looking for within arms reach, don't go and ruin it now Laurelai. For a moment Laurelai felt a disquieting sensation that the voice she heard was not her own, or not entirely anyway. But she quashed the feeling and proceeded down the next Alley, doing her best to maintain regular breaths. She could feel her irritation still there, below the surface, but at least for now she should be able to remove all traces of it from her face and expression. After all, she'd made arrangements to stop by one of the other departments this morning and familiarize herself with them to better acclimate herself to her new role. Lita had mention what seemed like a dozen departments since Laurelai's recruitment, but as of yet R&D was the only one she'd been able to actually find. "Good morning." She said with a smile as she wondered in through a doorway which she was very concerned to discover wide open given that it was made of a half-foot of solid steel. "I hope you're all doing well." She was greeted with varying levels of enthusiasm by a number of individuals of even more varied appearance. From a 12 foot tall Koloss wearing glasses to what could perhaps best be described as some sort of higher-dimensional crystalline prism that seemed sharp enough to cut through that steel door like butter. It hummed in what she hoped was a friendly manner when she greeted it but made no moves of its own to greet her beyond that. Several of the denizens however were more than happy to return her greeting, discuss their research and prototypes and make requests for her to act as a test subject for new research. All of those requests she declined as politely as she could manage, though when someone asked her for the fourth time in a row she could feel herself growing increasingly harsher in response. Others were happy to simply bask in her astonishment of projects which had already been tested, or to offer her an array of tools and spikes that dwarfed what any university she'd ever heard of had access to. If she'd taken all of them up on their offer she felt like she probably could have given the Ascendant Warrior a run for her money in a fight, but personally Laurelai hoped to do as little fighting as possible. So she listened to descriptions and held weapons, and put on and tested so many unkeyed metalminds that she was tempted to keep the Zincmind just to prevent her brain from overheating. But after a heady rush of power, and a few introductions made that she hoped to leverage if she ever needed anything, Laurelai made her excuses to leave. After fending off a couple more requests to test something experimental the researchers all lost interest and returned to their own work with a singlemindedness that made her wonder if they would even notice if she stole something from under their noses. But she gathered she did not want to experience the consequences of that particular piece of idiocy, so she left the experimental chambers, moving to close the large steel door behind her. A simple copper band still gleamed on her finger, she didn't remember putting it on but given the nature of copperminds that was quite possibly the point. It was certainly not one of her own, Laurelai hadn't worn copper since she'd had a bracelet when she was twelve that stained her wrist green. She felt her heart seize for a moment when she realized that she had indeed almost stolen something. But as she stepped quietly back into the room, nobody seemed alarmed or made note of anything as she gently placed it back into the tray of metalminds that waited to be sorted back into storage or distribution. "Thank you again for your time." She said, finally closing the door behind her and feeling some of the stress leave her, even if that lingering feeling of irritation remained. The pen twitching in her pocket nearly gave her a second heart attack before she translated the message from Lita. “Good morning, Laurelai. Are you ready for your first interrogation?” Well she seems in a good mood today. Laurelai noted mentally, trying not to grow jealous of the woman's fortune in contrast with her own morning of stress and irritation. "Absolutely." She sent in reply, hoping that her annoyance did not show through the message. "I'll be at your office in two minutes." Squaring her shoulders, she set off once more down the strangely familiar alleyways. @ZincAboutIt 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZincAboutIt Posted June 17, 2022 Report Share Posted June 17, 2022 It shouldn’t have felt so good to spin the heavy gold coin between her fingers, but it did. Lita watched the light slide across its face like water, winking at her as she walked it across her knuckles, flipped it once, and caught it in her other hand. Her unoccupied fingers toyed with the end of her braid. The cup of tea sat at the corner of her desk, steam long-since cooled. There was something she was forgetting, she was sure of it, a blank space in her mind. It left a slight shape with its absence, the outline of something sweet and wickedly scalding as molten sugar. Lita wanted to chase it like fire chewing through a line of blasting cord, and if it killed her at the end then Ruin but it was a death she wanted. Lita sighed and set the coin down on the table as she noticed her silver pen twitch slightly. She picked it up, smiling at Laurelai’s prompt response, and then looked over at her now-cold cup of tea. That won’t do, she thought, standing and walking over to the little wet bar in the corner of the office. Laurelai would likely wish for a cup of tea as well, and that called for fresh leaves and more water. Lita took down the copper pot from a shelf and filled it with water and two scoops of tea before she set out two new tea cups on the desk. Then she walked over to the fireplace and reached her hand into the freshly-stoked embers. Her fingers curled around metal, and Lita smiled before drawing out a glowing length of iron bar. She rapidly stored the heat in her brass ear cuffs, but even so she felt the whip sting of a burn whisper on her fingertips. With little ceremony, she plunged the glowing metal into the pot of water. Iron met water with a scalding hiss, and steam instantly began to billow out of the top of the pot. Lita forced the lid on, and with nowhere to go it continued to pour through the spout, emitting a manic, high-pitched scream that seemed to fit perfectly with Lita’s mood. The door opened, and Laurelai stood at the threshold, face pensive and slightly alarmed. ”Ah, Laurelai,” Lita said over the din, still holding the now-dimming poker in one hand. God Beyond but today it felt like she could melt the sun itself. “Good, you’re just in time for tea.” @Voidus 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voidus Posted June 20, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2022 ”Ah, Laurelai,” Lita said, greeting her at the door. "Good, you’re just in time for tea.” Lita stood at the door, smiling with some hidden radiance. Dressed in a stylish purple dress and with a red-hot poker in one hand, she looked to be energetic and happy. She looked, at the least, to have had a rather splendid morning. She looked precisely the opposite of how Laurelai felt. "Morning Lita." Laurelai said, forcing a smile herself. "Tea sounds lovely." She didn't try too hard to conceal her tiredness or irritability, there was little chance of actually hiding it from Lita's keen senses. And on top of that there was some kind of unholy wail of the damned echoing inside the office that had given her a migraine the second the door had opened. Perhaps she had enough energy and skill to keep herself polite and professional, but she stood no chance at all of pretending to match the redhead's energy levels. Turning to close the door behind her she used the chance as her body shielded her from Lita's direct view to wince in pain and close her eyes. She stayed at the door for a fraction too long to be natural, briefly fighting the impulse to simply lean against the cool wood and collapse rather than work for the day. But her sense of duty propelled her back, helped her to turn around and gratefully take a seat at Lita's gesture. A copper pot in the center of the room revealed itself to be the source of the wailing as steam escaped from its spout. Laurelai found herself incredibly grateful for the Aonic kettle her father had given her which was both quick to use and much quieter. Laurelai stared at the pot with deep hatred until the noise slowly began to quiet, allowing her to actually hear again. She was glad once again that she had remembered to take that copper ring off back at R&D, if she hadn't she might very well have hurled it across the room now due simply to the shared metallic coloration with this infernal kettle. "You're looking good today." She commented, wishing that there was some professional way for her to rub at her temples and ease her headache. "Slept well?" @ZincAboutIt 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.