illusional | 10th l o s t s o u l ~ [Action]

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10th l o s t s o u l ~ [Action]

[Cheyenne was hungry.]

[It had only been a few moments since she awoke, resting in the snow and shivering, and she was already on her feet and walking. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she realized where she was. This wasn't the desert anymore. No, this place was still familiar... Luceti. But the name held no significance for her yet. Her mind was racing. For the first time in what felt like forever, she could actually think. The hunger was still unbearable, but the shift into the barrier was enough to give her some control.]

[She needed to figure out what to do before she froze to death or gave in to temptation. She didn't know why, perhaps her mind wasn't clear enough to understand, but she knew she couldn't go into the village yet. She needed to wait... but for what? Waiting wasn't going to make things better. Perhaps, if she could find just one person, she could pull herself together long enough to feed without putting them in danger?]

[But did she have the self-control to do so?]

[She was so hungry...]

--

[Much later in the evening, Cheyenne will make her way around the village in an attempt to refamiliarize herself with the setting, this time wearing her blindfold. It hasn't changed too much since she was last here, thankfully. She'll grab a few things from the item shop to bring back to her apartment before finally stopping by Seventh Heaven for dinner. Her memories of Luceti place are still coming back in bits and pieces, but at the very least, she remembers she ate here often.]

[Feel free to run into her at any point, though she'll probably be a little unresponsive until after she's eaten actual food.]

--

((ooc: Okay, so! Cheyenne here is an illusionist. Normally she's much more in control of her powers, but after a month and a half of not feeding at all, she doesn't have a very strong hold on mind right now. The powercap brought back some of her sanity, but until she can manage enough to go into the village without eating every soul in sight, she'll be wandering around the forest just outside the village. Unfortunately, she's doing so without her blindfold on, which means anyone who happens to see her is at risk for being fed on.

If you want your character to run into her in the first part, please fill this out! And keep in mind she might avoid your character in the future if they didn't already know each other from her last stay here. Basically, when someone looks into her eyes, they will be trapped in an illusion of whatever it is they fear the most. Only your character will see the illusion, and they won't be able to move until freed. If your character wears sunglasses/goggles/anything that obscures vision, or is blind, they won't be affected by illusions. And don't worry, she won't feed long enough to leave any damage to your character's soul.

And of course, she'll be completely sane for the second part!))

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[Luke's soul doesn't call out as loudly as Vash's would, but the use of her name, the name that only she knows back home, is enough to give her pause. She stops walking and nearly turns around, but stops herself. When she turns again, her eyes are closed.]

[She doesn't say anything, instead focusing on looking over his soul... so potent despite being so young. How strange.]

[And as with Vash, her voice is entire devoid of emotion.]

"Came back"?

[Luke stops a few feet away, slowly, his smile fading when she answers. She sounds... kind of creepy right now. Not that she's never been like that, but... more than usual. And... the fact that it was a question. Did that mean she didn't remember this place?

Luke makes his eyes look at something else. The tree behind her, not her, nor her eyes. It was too risky right now.]

Yeah... This is Luceti. You were here before. You don't remember?

I believe I would know what it is I remember and what it is I do not. After all, I would be the one needing to remember it, and only I know what I am capable of remembering.

[She takes an unsteady step closer, opening her eyes.] Unless I forgot.

[But she's not making any effort to jump into his line of vision... yet. Best be careful not to let your eyes wander, Luke.]

[He's doing a good job so far. His eyes very nearly stray, but he squints them and keeps them on the tree instead. He can see the whites of her eyes, and that is not a good thing. He remembers from long ago her telling him that he should never look into her eyes. It's why she has the blindfold...

The blindfold.]

That sometimes happens to people when they come here...

[He's slowly taking off the haramaki Miyabi got him the Christmas before last. It's not the best substitute, but... Maybe he can get it around her eyes.]

My name is Luke. You told me not to look into your eyes once.

Luke? [That name. There's something about it that feels familiar... which is strange in and of itself, given she's never been the sort of creature to keep track of names. What was the point? She was a monster. When would a monster need to call someone's name?]

[And yet there it was, in the back of her mind.]

Luke. [She grins. Though he probably can't see it, it's a strange, twisted grin. Not the sort of expression she made often, if at all.]

Do you mean to say you know what I am? Of course. You won't look at me. You know what I am. You know what I do.

[She reaches out quickly and grabs onto his coat. Unless he pulls away quickly, feelings of anxiety will strange rushing into him.]

You know what I'm going to do to you and yet you don't run. How strange...

[She starts leaning a bit to the left, then a bit to the right. It would only take an instant, a single glance, to trap him.]

[And he does feel that anxiety, and it makes him squirm and cringe. It makes him want to force himself away and run, but he doesn't give in to it. He just stares at the tree like it's his lifeline: studies the bark, the way the lines run down and side to side like a river within it, and he slowly takes the ends of the haramaki with both hands.]

I'm not going to run. You're my friend, Cheyenne. Maybe you don't remember me, but... I know how horrible you'll feel if you go through with what you want to do to me.

[He suddenly lifts the haramaki up, aiming for her eyes, hoping that he can be quick enough and that he can do it properly even without looking straight at his target. If he's successful, he'll move his arms around to tie the ends behind her head, and try to explain further. That she can feed on him, but not like this.

Hopefully it'll work...]

Edited 2012-01-06 09:15 (UTC)

[He was successful, all right. And for the moment, she doesn't fight it. She lets him begin tying the haramaki around her eyes.]

[But while his arms are up and busy doing that, she takes a step forward and wraps both arms around Luke, giving him a hug.]

[A hug from an illusionist.]

[Her whole body feels as though it were made of ice, and not just because she's been out in the snow for so long. The coldness is penetrating, giving off waves of anxiety even stronger than the only other time she embraced him like this. That time had been brief, had been an accident, and had been while she was his friend.]

[This time is intentional, and the effects of Cheyenne's insanity are making the negative emotions stronger than they would be normally. She's not strong enough to hold on should he try to push her off, but it doesn't matter. The effects should be felt instantly.]

[At first, Luke thought he could do this. He got the haramaki over her eyes, and he starts to tie the ends together -

But then he feels her arms around him, and the effects are instant. He feels dread, anxiety and insecurity, and he feels far more alone out here than he really is. Why was he alone out here? Why wasn't anyone with him? Everyone back there must -

He cringes and squeezes his eyes shut. No, no, people love him! He knows it! Xion, Tear, everyone from Auldrant, all the friends he made, they wouldn't -

But why? Everything he did... He shouldn't have so many friends. They should be Asch's. He's a thief. He's nothing but a piece of trash who stole the lives of thousands, including his own original. He should be locked up and he should pay for his crimes; the nightmares and flashbacks aren't enough.

All of this makes Luke take in deep breaths, and he keeps shutting his eyes and opening them, shaking his head, then repeating the process. His hands shake, and he tries desperately to keep that blindfold around her head. He knows, he knows that if he lets it go, it'll be far worse than this. And he knows... When she comes to her senses, she'll awful for this.

He lets out a small cry of fear, protest, despair, and his arms waver. He can't, he can't, he...]

[Cheyenne can sense that change in him. She can sense the anxiety wash over as his soul begins to waver from the sudden burst of intense emotion. She's so hungry, so hungry, that it's almost enough to make her forget the well-being of the person in her arms altogether and simply tear out his soul here and now.]

[Almost.]

[But despite the negative feelings she can sense coming off from him, there's another feeling inside herself. She doesn't quite understand it. It feels so familiar... has she done this before? Impossible. The only person she's ever hugged like this was--]

Luke. [Quickly, all too quickly, she drops her arms and forces herself away from him, knocking herself down to the ground in the process. The haramaki falls beside her, but it doesn't matter. Her eyes are closed. And the moment she's no longer touching him, those negative feelings disappear.]

[It feels like a wave just crashed over him. All of the negative emotions were washed out as a result, though a few lingered, as he was prone to such things in the first place. The force of it makes him fall heavily to his knees, one hand moving to catch himself and the other pressing against his forehead. All of it gave him a headache, almost as bad as a migraine, though none could ever be as bad as the headaches he'd have back on Auldrant.]

Cheyenne...? [He lifts his head and opens his eyes, and he's just about to look away when he realizes that her eyes are closed. Maybe... she remembers now.]

[Her eyes are closed, but after a moment of so, she clamps her hands over her face and arches forward, her shoulders shaking from more than just the cold now.]

[When she speaks, her voice sounds much less monotone than it had before. It sounds strained, almost as though she were in pain. Everything considered, she practically is. Just trying to keep hold of what's left of her sanity is taking so much effort...]

...I don't understand. I don't want to hurt you, Luke. But I don't understand. I'm so hungry I can hardly think.

[It wouldn't do to ask "what happened". If she can't think, then she probably doesn't have the energy to recall why she's so hungry. He's never starved before; he's a rich boy who always had his filling of food, and if not, it wouldn't be long until he had some. But he can imagine the pain she must be in.

He shifts his hand over his eyes and turns his head away to face the forest ground instead.]

Can't you feed on me the way you did it before? I know it won't be much, but maybe it'd help some...

[For a moment, one of her hands suddenly shoots out towards Luke, but stops halfway, and is quickly redirected and punched into the snow. She shakes her head. She's trying so hard, so hard, to hold on to herself right now. She knows she wouldn't be able to muster the concentration needed to adjust which part of the soul to feed from.]

[Her voice, while still strained, slides back into being more monotone.]

Get away. Get away from me, Luke. I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to... I can't think...

[Her other hand falls from her face, but her eyes are still closed. She lets out a sound that from anyone else might have sounded like a laugh. But from Cheyenne, it comes out forced and cold. She looks back up again, a strange grin on her face that doesn't look the least bit happy. Something isn't right.]

[She's gone.]

[He'll have a few seconds to escape, but that's the only opening he'll get before she jumps out and pulls his arm away, with full intention of looking into his eyes by force.]

[Luke didn't look at her. He couldn't see her smile, or the way she reached out to him.

But he heard her warning and her laughter, and it makes him tense. Right now, Luke knows that he's in danger. He has to escape, or else she'll look into his eyes and -

He gets into a standing position, at least. Maybe he can talk to her, or let her at least touch him again, to try snapping her out of this. It wouldn't be that easy and he knew it, but there was something else at stake for him. Mainly, the fact that there were still the others in the village. She could outright attack them, without her knowing who they are. Luke, at least, had the luxury of her recognizing him. If she fed on him, or looked at him...

That's about all he can think of. His hand is still over his eyes, but they're also tightly clenched shut, as if he knows what's going to happen to him. He takes a step back, but even if he wanted to run, he wouldn't be able to see, knowing that she might be there in his path.]

Why are you walking away, Luke? [She's close. Though not touching him, he should be able to tell by her voice that her face is only inches away from his. Reaching up, she runs her hand over his, not pulling it away from his eyes but keeping the contact on it. She's using her curse to her advantage now.]

Luke. Why won't you look at me. Are you afraid? Is that fear I see? I can see it in your soul. Such a pretty color... [That laugh again. It's completely hollow, and even more mechanical-sounding than before.]

Do you know what it's like to starve to death and never die? Do you? Do you want to know? I can show you. Open your eyes. I want to see them. I want to see your eyes, Luke.

[Those feelings came over him again. Fear and despair and self-hatred. He shuddered, but he couldn't move away from an illusionist's touch. What he could do, however, was dig his fingertips into the sides of his face in an attempt to keep it there.

His mind was racing. He didn't want to know what it was like - he can only imagine that that was what she felt like. But... the more Luke thought that, the more he shook and let out a small whimper of fear.

For all he knows, he ought to feel this. What had he done to deserve any more than that? Nothing. He destroyed thousands of lives, he's stolen everything from someone, he nearly destroyed his world, all because he existed. The more she touches his hand, the more he feels like he can see them - People with miasma coating their hands reaching out to him, crying out to him, trying to drag him into the endless sea with him - ]

Sh-Shut up, shut up! [His voice shakes, but it's forceful.] I won't - I'm not - You can't see them!

[She had heard something moments ago, but it wasn't until she heard the sound of someone screaming-- and that someone sounding very closely to Luke-- that Noel took off in the direction of the source. Every alarm in her head was going off, and Luke or not, she felt that someone was in danger.

Honestly, Noel had no idea what she was seeing when she turned up at the scene. She never met Cheyenne during her last stay in Luceti, so she didn't know who the girl was, or what she was doing. All Noel assumes is that this girl was doing something to hurt Luke, and she wasn't going to stand by and let it happen.

So in an attempt to break apart the two, Noel lunges toward their direction and yells--]

Stop! [Running, running.] Let him go! [If neither of them moved quick, Noel will be attempting to shove Cheyenne away, and hard.]

[Cheyenne makes no move to try and escape Noel's charge. Why would she, after all, when she's used to being more or less untouchable in her own world. But Luceti is much different from her own world, and not only does her curse not extend as far, but her body cannot regenerate from wounds while inside the barrier.]

[Cheyenne is thrown to the side and lands in the snow with a soft cry, her eyes snapping shut to protect them in case she landed on her face. She's still only wearing a new feather dress, and she's not exactly immune to the cold. The more she's knocked down, the more it's going to start effecting her. Not that she's in the right mind to care about such things.]

[She starts trying to get back up, but it might take a minute. Insane or not, that still hurt...]

[Again, Luke falls to his hands and knees thanks to the force of all that negativity leaving him for the most part. His eyes fly open, and he ducks his head and turns it to look back at Noel. He can't look at Cheyenne - who knows if her eyes are open now or not.]

Noel, don't - don't look at her eyes! [He gets to his feet, his knees shaking as he does so. He looks up at Cheyenne, but only at her stomach. Even with her eyes closed, Luke knows that he can't look at them, seeing how they could fly open any second.]

We... We have to get out of here. [It's mostly because of the fact that now Noel's thrown into the equation. If it was just him, he'd still fight against Cheyenne. But he can't put Noel in danger...

So, with images still flashing through his head, he forces himself to turn and take Noel's arm. Come on, before she gets back up...]

[Noel's heart was racing; even more so after she had separated the two. Moreso than what had happened to Luke, something... something didn't feel quite right. When Noel touched her...

Thankfully, it's when Luke yells that her attention returns to him.] H-Her eyes? What?

[What does that even mean? Before she has a chance to question him, though, he already has her by the arm and is trying to get her to leave with him.

...for now, all she can do is to trust Luke. To be honest, she'd rather get the hell out of here with him than to stay and wait to see what she does next. If Luke runs, she'll run.]

[Running is a good idea. Cheyenne turns to the two of them, eyes still closed but fully able to sense where they are regardless. She's hungry. There's two of them... and the new comer feels powerful. If she could get them both... if she could get even just a little...!]

[But when she tries to take a step, her legs refuse to move. Her whole body is trembling from the cold, and as much as she tries to ignore it, her body isn't capable of handling the drop in temperature.]

[She tries to force herself to take a step. She falls over again.]

[And then she starts to "laugh" again.]

[They'll likely be long out of sight before she even tries to move again, at which point she'll return to her internal struggles with her own mind and try to head deeper into the forest, hopefully further from the village.]

[As soon as Luke knows that Noel's following, he starts to run. He has to get them in the clear, especially since he's sure Cheyenne saw them both. He doesn't even look back at her, even if his concern for her makes him want to. He'll just regret it if he does, and he'd be useless to Noel.

It's only when they break through the forest and end up in the square that Luke stops and looks back at the treeline, breathing hard and moving in front of Noel just in case he needs to urge her to go on again. Now he just hopes he didn't lead Cheyenne right to the village...

But after a few minutes, it's clear that Cheyenne didn't give chase. Now, Luke can finally relax... sort of. He feels unsteady, and he sways slightly before he presses his palm into his forehead, then moves to lean against one of the shops, his hands and arms shaking. He can still see those images surfacing in his head - bodies everywhere, his friends walking away, Asch... a replica...]

Are you... okay, Noel? [He does, at least, have enough semblance of mind to keep looking out for Noel. If he could just suppress the rest of the memories, he'll be fine.]

I... [She stops, wanting to catch her breath first before continuing. It feels like they had run forever. When Noel turns her back and scans the forest... she can't see that girl anymore. They must have been able to escape.

She's glad they're out of there... and that she found Luke before something really bad happened.

The blonde turns her head back to him, taking a shaky step forward towards him.] ...I'm okay. Are you okay? Who-- Who was that girl? Did you know her?

[Luke raises his head a little to look back at Noel, though he turns it back to stare at the ground just a moment later. It's too hard to try concentrating and stay calm when all the worst memories of his life keep playing for him.]

H-Her name's Cheyenne. She's an illusionist... She isn't usually like that.

[He won't answer that part about himself being okay. Saying that he was would be kind of a lie at the moment.]

An illusionist...? [She doesn't think she's heard of the term, but her next question is thrown into the water when she takes a better look at Luke.

He doesn't look like he was injured, but... something doesn't seem right. Not in the least bit. That much should have been obvious, considering his screaming back in the forest.

Now she's worried. Convinced that something terrible must have happened, she edges on closer to him.]

What did she do to you? [...] You... You don't look well at all.

Edited 2012-01-06 21:47 (UTC)

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