Multiple Settings Anima Studies

[Yakov011001]

"No. No, no, no!"

As Marianne reached deep into him in an attempt to pull that wretched creature free from him, there was a rejection. Like a magnet that repulsed her in a way that made it clear no matter how hard she reached, she wasn't going to touch that vile, vitriolic ichor. Nikklaüs' grip tightened on her collar, and his face grew desperate and panicked. If it wasn't clear just before, it was now—

"That's not what I need you to say!"

—whatever had taken hold of Klaüs before was long gone, leaving behind a hole that desperately ached to be made whole again. Suddenly he recoiled back violently and dropped Marianne, retreating in a stumble until he fell over to be at a kneel facing away from her. His clawed hand coming up to clutch his mouth in that same grip he had on Marianne's throat, cutting into his face from his own grasp. The temperature in the air dropping much more drastically than it had before, the frost began to overtake even more than his arm. Spreading across his whole body, the ice threatened to freeze him entirely; including over his mouth and nose.

Everything we do is for you, Nikki. Why are you fighting us!?

Nikk, I don't have the time to go to this damn arcade, or that fucking rink, or the card store! I'm not doing all that with you.

I just feel like they took something away from you, Syn. I feel like I lost you to them.

There were tears that threatened his eyes, but he could not cry when they froze over the near instant they appeared. Trembling from the fire that burned in him again: that rage, that wrath; he knew better than anyone that he could never in a million years point that at Marianne. The way he'd lashed out at her already, it was fit to see him executed by the jury of his mind. Yes, that would do. What was he suppose to do with all of this anger and hate, and with no one deserving of holding it? He wouldn't wish it upon anyone in a million years,

no one except himself.

Juju

 

[Verite]

Valerie Vu - It Takes Two to Tango
Interactions: seasonedcat

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"Eek--!"

Despite the pretense of a brave and resolved face, that expression quickly crumbled as Valerie found herself the sole target of Aries's ire. Well, she always wanted to be the center of attention in everyone's eyes, but perhaps this was a bit too much heat to handle for her. Eyes widening as Aries began to charge at her at superhuman speeds with lethal intent, Valerie listened to the gut instinct screaming at her from within, and her body practically moved on its own. She moved to evade the berserker's horns, leaping and rolling to the side and spinning around to keep herself facing his direction, but indeed, the maneuver caused her to let go of the anima lasso in the heat of the moment, the rope uncoiling from its target like a reeling snake and letting him free as it began to shoot back and disappear into Valerie's hand within a matter of seconds.

Okay, this was getting pretty tense, but this was hardly any time to lose nerve. She still had options, and wherever there was a will, there was a way. Valerie began to stand back up again after her hasty roll, but remained in a hunched over posture for a moment, hand still pressed against the ground as she eyed up Aries. Green eyes darted about as it frantically scanned all over his form to ascertain what she should target next, before making a snap decision.

"Alright, fine. You wanna dance? Then let's tango!" She exclaimed, forcing a degree of bravado into her voice as she stood upright again. It was good that she was blissfully oblivious to the full extent of rage burning within Aries, lest she might sunk to her knees from the sheer storm of emotion. Even so, she persisted. Her hand moved up now to hover over her hip like a cowboy preparing to draw, as she looked at Aries and grinned.

In a flash, she thrust that hand forward, making a finger gun as she began to shoot her signature fireworks straight at Aries, specifically his feet.

"One, two, three, four! Make peace, not war!"

Pew pew pew pew! Pew pew pew pew!

She fired a projectile for every syllable she cheered, hoping to blast Aries off his feet and hit the ground, or maybe at the very least, literally keep him on his toes and make him do a little jig on the spot. Whichever kept him occupied longer. Leveling up since the first day didn't just mean developing her new handy lasso, but also that her little light projectiles packed a prettier punch than before, with a tad more concussive force behind them, but to what extent, even she found it hard to gauge for now. Hopefully, her training sessions with Cobalt would pay off any time now!

 

[Juju]

Words Unsaid Yakov011001
It was no use. The anima was too stable, her own too weak. It repelled her every effort, and even had she been in full health, Marianne realized that there was nothing she could do to pry the filth from her friend. In every sense of the word, her efforts were futile. Hope sputtered out like her vision, strangled with the tightened grip, but in the flickering mess she saw something shift in Not-Nikklaüs’ expression. Something had changed in his anima too.

What was that look? Fear? Hopelessness? It pleaded for something Marianne couldn’t quite grasp. In all her eloquence she had never known the right words to say, especially when they mattered most, like now. It seemed impossible; how could she soothe another heart when hers was left to rot? She didn’t know how, or even where to begin. In every attempt, her words only left wounds.

Marianne tried to apologize to him then, but what spilled from her lips was another ragged cough. It was getting difficult to breathe, let alone speak.

Like a marionette cut free of its strings, she crumbled to the ground after her release. The best she could manage was to land in a strained crouch, her arms and legs shaking with effort as the jarring motion wracked her side in a new wave of pain. She swayed, vision flashing white, but she forced herself to look up.

If he didn’t kill her, maybe not all was lost. As she often reminded her classmates, so long as she was alive, there was little to complain about.

Using the last dredges of her strength, Marianne crawled closer to Nikklaüs. Each movement twisted the pain in her side ever deeper, but her state of mutilation was of little consequence to Marianne. She knew that when the staff arrived she would be healed, but Nikklaüs’ fate was unknown. Would it be a swift solution, or agonizingly drawn out? There was some semblance of control, of something beneath the rage, but Marianne knew better than to hinge her hopes on that.

The one small comfort she could take in all of it was that at the very least she was here this time. Perhaps it was born of selfishness, but she could be here with him, wishing on words she couldn’t quite say. It was more than she had been given last time.

Marianne wasn’t entirely sure what it was he wanted to hear, but she had something she had been meaning to say to him the evening prior.

“Wanted…to tell you…” Marianne wheezed, each word a slow and labored battle. “Last… night. Waited… couldn’t… sleep.”

Unable to crawl much farther, but finally arriving at her destination, she collapsed on the frost-ridden leaves beside him. Laid on her unbroken side, she panted with shallow, rapid breaths. No matter how much she breathed, it was never enough. She coughed again, copper thick on her tongue. Her lung would likely collapse if she was careless, but some things were more important.

Marianne understood that she was the absolute worst person for this, no matter what Leif told her or how much Mariana and Valerie tried to convince her that she was worth the time and effort they wasted on her. Even now, the bloody handprint lingered on her wrist as a reminder, just like the lingering touch of Mariana and Valerie when they had taken her hands and tried to calm her.

It had worked, loathe as she was to admit it, but it left her confused. How could they provide comfort like second nature? Share tears like those that froze in Nikklaüs’ eyes? Marianne would never know. She could never be like them, but maybe just once she could try.

Shivering from frost and pain, Marianne reached out a shaky hand and grasped for Nikklaüs’ free one. She whimpered as broken bones moved beneath her skin, though for once she didn’t care about the pathetic slip in composure. Her fingers curled around his frost-covered hand, holding it even as her skin numbed and ached. In the end all she could hope for was to be a bit of warmth when winter was closing in.

“Nikklaüs….” she choked out between breaths.

Unfocused eyes searched for his, trying to convey sincerity beneath the haze, to let him know that regardless of what happened or what he was, she wasn’t leaving. There was more than one monster here.

Marianne had thought a lot about what she had wanted to say to Nikklaüs last night, but there were too many words and too little breath. In the end she only really needed two. As she finally uttered them there was a ghost of a smile on her face, one that was tired and rusty, but natural.

“Thank you.”

 

[November Witch]

Crimson & Mariana
~{Divided}~
Status: Interest & Worry
Location: Forest
Interaction(s): Solirus Juju Yakov011001 Verite

Everything happened so fast, it was hard for Mariana to keep up from within her own body. But thankfully, Crimson still had control, and her experience in fights led her to keep her cool and collected. Her eyes followed the many moving parts of the scene and she took stock of the situation. Aries was acting in a predictable manner, but Crimson didn’t know if Valerie would be able to handle him alone. But Marianne would most certainly not fare well against something that fast and unknown. Whatever was happening with Klaus, she assumed possession, made him unpredictable. He was definitely the bigger threat.

“You’re good with lassos, so use this!”

Crimson told Valerie as an anchor was summoned, but still halfway in the ground. There was no rope or chain connected, giving Valerie the chance to attach her own anima lasso to it, or pass it through the hole. Partially embedded in the ground, the anchor wasn’t going to go anywhere. She could use it to anchor Aries in place if she could lasso him again. Well, hopefully. Or maybe she could use it in a way Crimson wasn’t thinking of. Either way, she felt like she shouldn’t be sticking around here for too long.

“I’ll be back if you need any help.”

All her previous tendrils, damaged or not, had no more purpose for the moment. So, they retreated back into the ground. One large tendril was summoned, and Crimson grabbed onto it tight before it spun her once, twice, then let go, sending her soaring off in the direction Klaus had taken Marianne off in. Below her, she saw Annamarie rushing through the trees in the same direction, and it wasn’t long until she saw the two below her, Klaus holding Marianne by the neck. Mariana gasped, eyes wide and screamed out.

“Marianne!”

But velocity was something difficult to overcome. Crimson landed gracefully a few yards beyond the two, made a 180 turn, and ran towards the two at a breakneck pace. It only took another few seconds, but when she arrived, it seemed Klaus had finally calmed down. At least, compared to earlier. He wasn’t attacking anyone, and Marianne was holding his hand. It seemed whatever had happened, things were well? Crimson was confused, but somewhat thankful no one seemed to be lethally wounded.

But totally eclipsing Crimson’s relief was Mariana’s. She ran forward towards Marianne, leaving Crimson no time to protest or grab her. It was jarring, as Mariana had never essentially stepped out of Crimson’s control like that before.

“Hey-!” Crimson tried to say, but Mariana didn’t listen. Instead, the girl ran towards the possible danger with reckless abandon and fell to her knees between the two. Crimson closely followed up, keeping a close eye on Klaus. “At least get her away from Klaus. He could still be dangerous.”

Mariana didn’t say or show that she had heard Crimson. “Are you okay?!” She asked both of them. Instead of responding to Crimson, she began to look for injuries on the two that might need treating immediately. Marianne seemed incredibly pained and her movements made it seem like she was pretty hurt. Her neck obviously, but the remaining ice helped to keep the blood from flowing.

“S-Stay still!” She told Marianne, panicked, and looked at Klaus quickly. Although she seemed more hesitant, and maybe even fearful, she still did so. Some bruising and cuts to the face, but he didn’t seem to be in nearly as bad a state as Marianne. The girl moved with incredible speed and deft and confidence in this situation. Like the opposite of what she normally did. Perhaps she was one to thrive under pressure? Mariana, feeling panicked and with adrenaline flowing, felt the aching from her body dissipate mostly. Enough to feel comfortable sliding her hands under Marianne, and lifting her up, ready to head back. Marianne was surprisingly light though. Lighter than Mariana expected. Was all her physical training finally paying off?

Crimson, still weary, stepped between the two girls and Klaus, just in case. She looked down at him, her interest piqued, but with her usual gaze. There was no fear, hate, or pity for him, as some others might feel after seeing that. If anything, she thought it was pretty cool to fight the other students. Not like she’d ever say that. “Fight club’s over. Let’s head back.” She extended a hand for him to take.