Fantasy Children of Villainy

[Spazzycat101]

Era​

Once the boy with the blood-magic-problems had calmed down enough to return to the rest of the group, Era approached them. As she did she took quick stock of them before she asked in an almost commanding tone,
'Is everyone else alright? Was anybody else hurt?'
She directed it a bit towards Jessie and Anya, seeing as they were sitting on the ground by each other and had been shouting in fear while Era had helped Santo.
'Was there something here? Where's your dog?' The mage turned her gaze into the forest, and to a track of rustled-up brush by the edge of the road.

Yatasal Eliasdagood

 

[Lost]

Leon stood slack-jawed for but a moment longer, his eyes never leaving the feline, before the girl's words finally registered. His stupor broken, he could do little other than shake his head and sigh. "I'm not sure why I'm still surprised at this point," he muttered as he seated himself on the grass next to the girl. He began to reach a hand out to pet the animal, but hesitated, drawing his arm back to his side. He'd not seen many cats, and the few that he had were less than friendly; the many scratches he had received as a child were a testament to that. The pet before him seemed fairly docile, however, and at length Leon caved, tentatively reaching out again to pet the beast. It came as a relief when the cat purred rather than bit him, and Leon allowed himself a small smile.

After a little longer, Leon pulled his hand away, and returned his attention to the girl as she asked what he had been about to say. "Ah, nothing important, really. I was just curious how far we'd moved from the tavern." He hoped it was still close by; his belongings were sitting out in the open, after all, and while they weren't worth a lot, he'd rather not lose what little he had.

As he finished speaking, a flicker of movement caught his eye, and Leon looked down to see the girl's pet stretching out on her lap. It seemed rather peaceful, considering it had recently materialized from the void, and he could help but smile at the ridiculousness of the situation.

"So... you can summon cats, huh?" he asked in partial jest, an eyebrow raised quizzically.

|Interacting: AgWordSmith |

 

[Yatasal]

Jessie moved through the trees slowly, waiting for Anya to follow her steps. Which confused her, since Anya was blind and couldn't possibly see where Jessie was. And yet, Anya made it out of the trees without looking worse for wear. Granted, they hadn't gone very far into small thicket of trees, but still.
Jessie found Rico and sat by her. A black cat--the same black cat Mumble had run eagerly towards before--sat purring in Rico's lap. Another teenager had joined them, this one that Jessie recognized... The boy from her dream. Jessie stared at him, unsure of what to say. Normally she wouldn't hesitate to ask him question after question, but after the events of the night she wasn't in a talking mood. She was all "peopled out" like her ma used to say.

'Was there something here? Where's your dog?'

Jessie shrugged. "I don't know ma'am. She ran off when... when everything happened. She'll come back, though. She's loyal, she is."
She glanced Anya's way, knowing full well it was her display or her spirits that had made Mumble run off. Maybe part of her would blame Anya for that. Maybe not. She went back to the ground, staring at her still-numb hands. Her fingers were slightly blue now, and she still could only barely move them. It should've worried her, but it didn't.

Eliasdagood Spazzycat101 Lost AgWordSmith Randomfella

 

[Spazzycat101]

Era​

'Whooooooaa okay how did that happen?' As soon as Era noticed the girl's frozen fingertips, her mind raced with confusion. There was no reasonable way Jessie could have gotten frostbite at all here, much less so quickly. Did she have... ice magic, or something? She let the though go, that wasn't as urgent. She spoke to Jessie as she retrieved the crystal again from her bag and gave it a had tap with her fingers.
'Okay, I'm sorry but you've got no choice this time.' The crystal began to glow with a soft reddish-orange light this time, and when Era wrapped the child's hands around it, it felt pleasantly warm.
'Don't set this down.'

Yatasal

 

[AgWordSmith]

[class=Lines] border-top:1px SOLID #680b0a; margin-bottom:5px; margin-Top:5px; [/class]

Ricollete Salida I Interacting: Lost I Mentioned: Yatasal Eliasdagood Spazzycat101 I Located: Sitting in the grass;talking
[div class="Lines"]

"Ah, nothing important, really. I was just curious how far we'd moved from the tavern." He hoped it was still close by; his belongings were sitting out in the open, after all, and while they weren't worth a lot, he'd rather not lose what little he had. As he finished speaking, a flicker of movement caught his eye, and Leon looked down to see the girl's pet stretching out on her lap. It seemed rather peaceful, considering it had recently materialized from the void, and he could help but smile at the ridiculousness of the situation. "So... you can summon cats, huh?" he asked in partial jest, an eyebrow raised quizzically.

Ri took note of Jessie and Anya returning, along with Era worrying about frostbite on Jessie's fingers. Really? Frostbite? Weird. Turning back to the boy she chuckled. "No I don't only summon cats....honestly I haven't tried to make anything alive that was new other than a plant. I just left Nera at the inn and I really wanted her with me right now so I jsut...sorta transported her here with my ability. I make words come true." She explained simply and casually. Nera looking up at him like 'why did you stop petting me?' a small, 'brrrp' sound escaping her as she looked. Ri chuckled at Nera. "I need to summon up the rest of my things, oh! and I told everyone else I'd get their stuff too... guess I'Ll be really tired at the end of the day huh, using my power so much." [div class="Lines"][/div] [/div]

 

[Lost]

Leon couldn't keep the fascination out of his gaze as he listened to the girl speak. "Now that's something else," he said as she finished. "A step behind summoning cats, mind you," he continued with a playful smile, "but impressive nonetheless." He reached over to pet the feline -- Nera, he thought -- as he finished, taking note of her displeasure, and as he did he spotted movement. Another, younger girl had joined them on the ground looking more than a little exhausted, though Leon had hardly noticed that. She was someone he had met before, he realized; she was the one from his dream.

"Huh," the young man muttered as he eyed the girl curiously. He certainly hadn't expected to see her again.

|Interacting: AgWordSmith Yatasal |

| Sorry for the rather small post today >_< |

 

[Fletchawk]

[div class=mainBackground] [div class="header headerCustom"]

Deryth​

[/div] [div class="info bottomBorder"] [div class=infoBox] [div class=infoLabel]Location:[/div] [div class=infoText] The Depths of Thicket [/div] [/div] [div class=infoBox] [div class=infoLabel]Interaction:[/div] [div class=infoText] Mumble [/div] [/div] [div class=infoBox] [div class=infoLabel]Tags:[/div] [div class=infoText] Yatasal [/div] [/div] [/div] [div style="font-family: 'Raleway', sansserif; font-size: 0.9em; letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); white-space: pre-wrap;"] As Deryth waited for the dog to come towards him, he was starting to feel the toll that the physical and psychological exertion have had on him. The hand that was outstretched was shaking slightly and his mind felt sluggish from the adrenaline wearing off. Still, Deryth was no stranger to the feeling and took a deep breath as he made the extra effort to focus on the dog. The dog's movements didn't seem to be largely impeded as it made its way towards where he was crouched down, but did seem a little stiff. Once he was sure the canine wasn't going attack, he placed one hand on the side of the neck and scratched a little while his other hand ran along its body. His jaw tightened a little when it came away wet and smelling of slightly rusted metal. He would have liked the blood to belong to the Lynx, but the dog wincing from the slight pressure told him otherwise. "Well, shit..." he stated unenthusiastically as he moved to sitting position. After wiping the blood off on his pant leg, Deryth closed his eyes to conserve what little energy he had left while he thought about what to do next. Even now, he could hear the echoes of the song pull at him and it vexed him terribly. Although the resonating verses and foggy head made it difficult, Deryth came up with what boiled down two plans. One was to ignore the dog, skin the lynx, and try to get some extra sleep before daybreak. He liked this plan because the lack of meaningful rest he's had in the past couple of weeks. The other route was to take the dog back to the road and see if he could broker some sort of arrangement. Deryth was obviously not fond of this idea because of having to deal with magic wielders. Either way, he knew he wasn't going to find his pack in these unfamiliar woods until the sun came came out. Opening his eyes, Deryth could see the dog's silhouette clearly in front of him while he remained somewhat undecided. One plan was easier, but the other held more potential rewards, along with more potential danger. Standing back up and making his way to where the Lynx lay dead, Deryth pulled the arrows out of his kill and picked up the still warm body slung across his shoulders. Having finally made up his mind, he whistled for the dog to follow. "Alright mutt, let's go see if your owner is still looking for you," although the tone was tired and slightly commanding, it wasn't hostile. He knew the dog was injured but he figured it could probably make it back to the road unassisted, albeit slowly. [div class="mainText" style="width: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 10px; font-size: 0.6em; text-align: center"]Like this code? Check out Lex's Codes to get your own![/div] [/div][/div] [class name=mainBackground] background: rgb(40, 40, 40); box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 10%; padding-right: 10%; padding-top: 5%; padding-bottom: 5px; [/class] [class name=header] display: block; postion: relative; box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 5px; font-family: 'Share', sansserif; font-size: 3em; text-align: left; [/class] [class name=headerCustom] background-color: #004200 ; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); [/class] [class name=bottomBorder] margin-bottom: 10px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.5); [/class] [class name=info] display: flex; width: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; padding-bottom: 5px; flex-flow: row wrap; justify-content: center; align-items: center; align-content: center; font-family: 'Raleway', sansserif; font-size: 0.9em; letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify; margin-top: 5px; [/class] [class name="info" maxWidth=1000px] display: block; width: 100%;[/class] [class name=infoBox] display: flex; flex: 1 0 50%; width: auto; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; flex-flow: row wrap; justify-content: center; align-items: center; align-content: center; overflow: hidden; [/class] [class name=infoBox maxWidth=1000px] display: block; width: 100%; margin: 5px; [/class] [class name=infoLabel] max-width: 80px; flex: 1 0 auto; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 3px; margin-right: 3px; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(40, 40, 40); [/class] [class name=infoText] width: auto; flex: 5 0 auto; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); [/class]

 

[Yatasal]

'Whooooooaa okay how did that happen? Okay, I'm sorry but you've got no choice this time. Don't set this down.'

Jessie could hold the crystal in her open palm, but she couldn't close her hands around it. Reflexively she wanted to jump back from it, to throw it away and run from such magic. But in the light of the crystal, her bluish fingertips were that much more prominent. Jessie awkwardly cupped the crystal in her hands, if only to please Era. In response to her question, Jessie shrugged. "It happens sometimes. Usually its just my fingertips, though. Lordy, It's never been my whole hand."

AgWordSmith Spazzycat101 Lost Eliasdagood

 

[Yatasal]

"Alright mutt, let's go see if your owner is still looking for you,"

The dog mumbled its bark, and stood by the new human. He was tired, Mumble could tell. World-tired, as well as physically tired. Mumble had seen this in Jessie's pa and ma. They too had often been world-tired.
Mumble want Jessie. Hurt. Hurt.
The wound on her side continued to bleed, although the gash wasn't deep enough for it to bleed very much or very long. Still, it hurt with every step the dog took. She didn't limp, but she couldn't run without making the injury worse. Mumble stayed close to the new human, wondering what his name was.
Mumble like him.

Fletchawk

 

[Spazzycat101]

Era​

It happens?
'What do you mean by "it happens?" You suddenly get frostbite and there's not even snow on the ground?' This is a common occurrence?'
Era's voice was absolutely fretful now. She sighed and held one hand up. The light down the road suddenly muted to a pinprick, which flew back to Era, who caught it in her hand.
'Okay let's actually regroup this time, organize ourselves, and get going. Unless you want to wait for a little while more for you dog?'
In the gradually brightening dawn Era could still easily make out all the children.
And, good news, since the surviving bandits had fled, they had some horses to help them on their trip. Although Anya had seemed pretty attached to hers specifically...
That was alright. One thing at a time.
'EVERYONE! PLEASE COME OVER HERE, LETS REGROUP!'
Yatasal @ everyone else

 

[AgWordSmith]

[class=Lines] border-top:1px SOLID #680b0a; margin-bottom:5px; margin-Top:5px; [/class]

Ricollete Salida I Interacting: Lost Spazzycat101 I Mentioned: Yatasal Eliasdagood I Located: heading closer to Era.
[div class="Lines"]

"Now that's something else," he said as she finished. "A step behind summoning cats, mind you," he continued with a playful smile, "but impressive nonetheless."

She watched as his gaze went over towards Jessie, seemed like he knew here, maybe? Oh well. "What would i do if i could only summon cats? its not like they'll listen and attack my enemies." she chuckled and smiled at Nera. "They seem to do what ever they want and get away with it." Ri laughed softly.

'EVERYONE! PLEASE COME OVER HERE, LETS REGROUP!'

Ri turned her head. "You should regroup with us, Era seems keen on making sure all of us are ok, I'm sure she wouldn't mind adding you to her list." The girl smiled and scooped up the cat in her arms, heading over to Era but stopping and waiting for this guy to join her. "Oh my name is Ricollete, incase i forgot to mention it haha." [div class="Lines"][/div] [/div]

 

[Randomfella]

Santo Guineth
The Road West​

Santo looked over at the yelling old woman from his distance. Who was she to start telling them what to do? At least the time he had taken had done some good, he mind now as clear as it was prior to the fighting, then again... That isn't saying much.
All of them seemed to be heading west, it clearly had something to do with these strange powers, Santo just couldn't put his finger on what, and the thought of it began to eat at him. He wanted to know what it was all about, to know why they were all called by this voice, and why he was cursed to be like he was.

The boy ignored the woman's words, instead simply watching from a distance. They would be moving soon, and so would he.

 

[Yatasal]

'What do you mean by "it happens?" You suddenly get frostbite and there's not even snow on the ground?' This is a common occurrence?'

Jessie nodded. "It ain't frostbite, ma'am. My hands just feel numb an' cold, that's all."

'Okay let's actually regroup this time, organize ourselves, and get going. Unless you want to wait for a little while more for you dog? EVERYONE! PLEASE COME OVER HERE, LETS REGROUP!'

Jessie sat still as the group came together. In total, Jessie counted four: Anya, Rico, Era, the strange young man from her dream, and if Santo decided to join them, five. Four kids and strange witch. It seemed a funny situation to Jessie, that all of them would have been led here together by some music that they all seemed to here. Lordy, there had to be some reason why. And it definitely had something to do with this music.

I am the voice in the wind and the pouring rain...

Jessie turned to stand up, before sighing and turning back to face Era. She was curious to see what the music meant, but she also wished it wouldn't make her do things without her say so. She glanced at the warm crystal in her hands, and it occurred to her that she was just as magical as the crystal. And she wasn't a bad person. Neither was Anya or Rico. She didn't know about Santo, but he didn't seem like a bad person. Magic was still something that was evil, but maybe the people who used it didn't intend for it to be so. Jessie certainly had never been given a choice... Although she didn't know about Era. But for now, it was nice to have someone mother her so.


Svisttt Spazzycat101 Lost Eliasdagood AgWordSmith

 

[Yatasal]

Two months later...
The roads winded about the country side, and for the most part were uneventful as the small band of strangers-turned-friends continued westward towards an unknown goal. The days bled into weeks, and they rarely met any travelers or encountered any other troubles on the road. The bandit crew had had a choke hold on this road. With them gone, it was taking awhile for any other criminal group to want to pick up the profitable but clearly dangerous route.

Era continued to guide and teach the children as best as she could. The more she learned about their powers, the more curious and confused she became. The common factor between all of them was that they all had had these powers since birth, practically. Almost all of them had been raised in small villages, and therefore had been taught to shun their magic. Era was working on changing that mindset, too. Eventually, after speaking with Santo about his anxiety concerning his own powers, the answer fell into Era's head. Blood magic. It was rumored but never proven that using and continually using it could pass on strange effects to children. Not only that, but some blood pacts were rumored to have lasting generational effects. They were still a good two weeks away from a library, but Era had her answer as far as she was concerned.

That left the question of who their parents were. Era had her suspicions, but nothing could be confirmed. They needed the Orphan Records. On some children, specifically children of soldiers (which would include military witches and wizards), they would keep the records of the children's names, who their parents were, and where the children went. It wasn't much, but it was something. The records were kept in one of the smaller cities, fortunately on their way west.

Arinzye was a small city, barely fifty thousand people, and still rebuilding after the war had ended. Arinzye wasn't the capital or even the epicenter of the war, but it was where the sick, injured, maimed, and refugees went. Which is why it kept the records of the orphans; the orphans usually became orphans in that city, watching their parents die. Here, Era hoped to find out which group of wizards and witches had passed down to their children some unintended abilities.

"What business have ye in Arinzye?" The door guard droned. It was late, and the door guard was already exhausted. He barely glanced at the strangers before letting them in, not even waiting for them to answer his question. Not much of a door guard. The strangers walked through the city before coming on a small inn. The owners gave them all rooms at a discount because of their large group, and they all ate and went to bed. Knowing their penchant for sleepwalking, Era locked their doors from the outside, and made sure the windows were locked and unbreakable as well.

Satisfied, Era went to bed, promising herself that she'd sleep after she finished reading the few manuscripts of blood magic she had found in the inn's library. She had already drunk the last of her energy potion a few hours ago, and she could feel the effects start to wear off. It had been a small problem, the consistent use of the energy potions, but the children were safe and that was what was important. Tonight she'd be able to sleep, really sleep, something she hadn't been able to do for two months.

That was until she heard Anya screaming.

((OOC: Boys in one room of the inn, by my estimation that'll be Lost Fletchawk Randomfella , and girls in another adjacent room: AgWordSmith Eliasdagood and Jessie. Era ( Spazzycat101 ) is in her own room studying. As soon as we reach the next night, we'll probably do another dream sequence. I'm taking the RP in a slightly different direction, I hope you guys like it!))

 

[Eliasdagood]

Anya had gone to sleep early, or at least tried to do so. The whispers in this city are stronger… larger groups of people tend to attract more powerful spirits, especially in places close to disaster. Anya doesn’t know if that’s the case or not, but currently she’s in a psychic wrestling match with some variety of demon.

She’s thrashing in her bed, all tangled up in the blankets as she screams in pain and fear. The whispers of the spirits have turned to shrieks, and those supernatural winds are starting to gather around her again, as both friendly and unfriendly spirits battle over her. Hopefully no one else is in the room with her, or they could be in danger.

 

[Spazzycat101]

Era​

Sure, she should get to sleep. It was a very, very long time since she had even had the opportunity to really rest, and energy potions did not taste particularly nice. Sleep was important.
But so was figuring who these kids’ parents could be.
Era readjusted her cloak, having been using it like a blanket, as she continued to turn pages detailing the differences between ‘blood magic’ and ‘magic blood.’
The combination of sleep deprivation and focus on the subject caused a sort of delayed reaction to a scream in the room beside hers. It took her almost a whole ten seconds before she suddenly scrambled to set the books aside and slam open the door. When Era burst into the room from which she heard the scream, she immediately summoned a bright flash of light--a different kind that what she usually manifested, more powerful, but less sustainable.
Over the past two weeks, they had gotten straight that Anya could see and interact with spirits, presumably dead. And with her light, Era was able to catch a glimpse of what was happening, in the same way lightning will show you everything around you for no more than a moment.
What was happening was almost impossible to interpret, especially since a wall of wind had suddenly hit Era as soon as she stepped in to the room. But it definitely looked violent.
‘OUT! EVERYONE OUT! IF YOU’RE DEAD YOU STILL COUNT!’
It had been a long while since Era had done any magical work with souls, and running on sleep deprivation and energy-potions certainly didn't help her critical thinking. The best thing she could think to do was get everyone out of the room, and then scoop Anya up into her cloak. Even better if that woke Anya up; then she might have some conscious influence over what was happening.

Eliasdagood @ everyone else in that particular room

 

[AgWordSmith]

[class=Lines] border-top:1px SOLID #680b0a; margin-bottom:5px; margin-Top:5px; [/class]

Ricollete Salida I Interacting: Uhh N/A I Mentioned: Spazzycat101 Eliasdagood I Located: outside the girls room of the inn
[div class="Lines"]

‘OUT! EVERYONE OUT! IF YOU’RE DEAD YOU STILL COUNT!’

Ricollete was awoken by Nera digger her claws into her chest rather than the screaming Anya. Holding the cat close and detaching the class she shot up and heard Era yelled. Ri had only a long shirt on to sleep in, it was easier that way since she could just write pants back onto her in the morning. But there was no time to pick up a pen, girl took her cat and zipped right out the room so the woman could do her thing. "Words" [div class="Lines"][/div] [/div]

 

[Yatasal]

Jessie was grateful to have Mumble back. Ever since Deryth had brought her back, Jessie had stuck by his side, asking him questions and trying to get to know who had rescued Mumble. Mumble liked him as well, even though she was clearly loyal to Jessie. The past two months had been full of ups and downs. She'd become good friends with Anya, and Rico too--Mumble liked Nera, but Nera very clearly didn't like Mumble. Except for Deryth, she hadn't really gotten to know the other guys in their strange group. Deryth seemed to be the most guarded of them, but none of them were much willing to discuss their pasts.
Jessie rolled over in her sleep, her fingers tangled up in Mumble's fur, who slept besides her. She dreamt that she was back on the farm, except something had turned all of their cows to gold, and her ma was getting mad at Jessie, thinking that Jessie's magic had somehow done it. Jessie just kept shaking her head, and tried to explain that that wasn't possible...
A sudden scream jolted Jessie awake, and she burst upright. Mumble hopped off the bed, and was shaking but didn't run this time. Anya and Jessie were trying to get Mumble used to the spirits and ghosts that were so often around Anya, and for the most part it had worked. But Anya was usually in control of the spirits, and they weren't supposed to be in a storm, not like this. Winds whipped around the room, and Jessie saw Anya's back arch in sudden pain. Mumble whimpered and scooted backwards as Jessie's feet touched the ground. She tried to walk to Anya's bed, but the winds knocked her off her feet. Jessie landed on her hip, and Mumble was at her side, despite the winds and the shrieks of the spirits. Jessie grabbed onto Mumble and made herself get onto her hands and knees. Together the two inched closer to Anya's bed.

‘OUT! EVERYONE OUT! IF YOU’RE DEAD YOU STILL COUNT!’

Jessie pushed her dog towards Era, and Mumble eagerly complied. Jessie fought against the spirits, and reached Anya's bed. She grabbed the blanket and hauled herself to her feet. A spirit cut her cheek, and Jessie ignored it as she grabbed her friend's shoulders. As soon as she touched Anya, a spirit grabbed her ankles and lifted her off the ground. Jessie refused to let go, and gripped Anya's nightclothes tighter. "Anya! WAKE UP!" The spirit tugged on Jessie, but it wasn't strong enough to rip her off. That was good, despite Jessie nearly being upside down. She was wearing some long underwear, and the wind was cold and sharp and went right through her clothes. "ANYA!" Jessie screamed as the spirit pulled her away, throwing her to the ground. Jessie landed on her hands and knees, and backed up as Era came into the room.

AgWordSmith Eliasdagood Spazzycat101 ((OOC: Boys you're in the room across the hall, just FYI.))

 

[Eliasdagood]

Anya’s eyes snap open, the same solid black as when she killed the bandit, and gasps, stretching, and breathing deeply. “Alive.” She whispers, seeming stunned, before she starts laughing, long and loud. “I’m alive! Oh, finally! I have a body again!” She focuses on Jessie, and smirks, looking into blank space, probably at the spirit holding her. “Aww, Morgan, you brought me a present! So very thoughtful.”

So… it’s fairly obvious that this isn’t Anya anymore.
Yatasal Spazzycat101

 

[Randomfella]

Santo Guineth
The Road West​

After their run-in with the bandits, Santo kept his distance from the rest of the children, even more so than he would have usually. He continued to stay with them, however, against his better judgement, despite what he thought he might end up doing to them... There were still questions he needed answers to, the thought of it ate at him almost as much as his desires. What was his connection to these people? Especially to this blind girl that seemingly invaded his dreams? It wasn't just that, there was a strange feeling that came with her, a flow in her body that was all too familiar.

Despite his distance, the boy was far from left alone. Most respected it, if they were not concerned. As for Anya, she seemingly did not wish to let up. Of course she spoke to all of them, yet Santo couldn't help but feel singled out for some reason. Still, he barely said much, clearly not wishing to talk about his condition bar the obvious factors... If she only knew half the truth. Still, though her inquiries may have been for a differing reason, Santo couldn't help but understand her interest. After all, his own desire to understand the other children's abilities only grew with time, to say they were interesting was an understatement.

Santo's eyes opened wide to the sound of Anya's screaming in the distant room. Saying nothing, the young man leapt up from his bed, bursting through the door with a slam, rushing over toward the girl's room. "W-What's happening!?" He asked as he noticed Ricolette, eyes darting around her, though in his concerned state he didn't even think of the possibility that the shirt she wore was all.

His stare moved from the girl, into the room, caring little for the implication of it. "Anya?" He questioned out-loud as he noticed the girl's strange state, confusion covering him entirely. His expression turned toward Era, hoping she had some idea of what was going on.

Spazzycat101 AgWordSmith Eliasdagood Yatasal

 

[Lost]

Leon watched from his seat upon the wide-rimmed window sill, wooden flute in hand, as rain drizzled down upon the town of Arinzye. It was a light shower, comparatively, though it certainly didn't help dispel the dreariness of the night as it pattered down upon small piles of rubble and run-down buildings. The destruction had been because of a war, Era had said, one that had come and gone long before their time. The town was a small one, and it appeared that, despite the conflict's end being several years ago, progress had been slow.

Leon felt a pang of pity for the people of Arinzye. It wasn't hard to imagine Cynta in its place; cold, desolate, and seemingly forgotten, ravaged by a war that few could remember. He shivered at the thought and tried to push it out of his mind, but the image stuck, vivid in spite of his attempts.

"Don't be a fool," he muttered, scowling. "It's as Era said. The war is long over, the tyrants dead." The words sounded hollow amidst the silence, and Leon felt his face grow warm. What a child he was, talking to himself in the middle of the night.

He shook off his embarrassment as best he could, turning his attention back to the object in his hands: his flute. He had been waiting for the others to fall asleep before he practiced because frankly, he wasn't very good. Back home, it was custom for the children to pick an instrument to master, and during their coming-of-age ceremony, they were expected to play said instrument in front of the entire village, among other things. The flute hadn't been Leon's first choice, but, easy as it was to make, it had been the only one he had been able to trade for. He had hoped that his playing would endear him to his foster father, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. If he had to describe his first performance, Leon would liken it to the piercing squeak of a wagon wheel, the screech of nails on a chalkboard, or anything in between. Perhaps he was exaggerating, but the look on his father's face that night had led him to believe otherwise. Granted, he had come a long way since then, as a result of many, many hours of practice, but he was still a long ways away from what anyone would call good.

And thus, Leon had elected to practice in private. He resolved to master the flute, even if it took years.

He brought the instrument to his lips and slowly, he began to play. It was rocky at first, punctuated with various pauses as Leon tried to remember the rhythm, but soon the tune grew steadier, more melodious. All was silent, save for the soft, dulcet hum of his flute. That, and the high-pitched scream that suddenly rang out from the hallway.

Wait, what?

Leon's music trailed off, and his eyes darted to the door. Had he been hearing things, or had someone just...

In a flash, Santo leapt out of his bed and through the doorway. That being the confirmation that no, he hadn't imagined it, Leon quickly fumbled his flute back into its case and stumbled after the boy.

The scream, it seemed, had come from the girls' room. Leon hesitated only a moment before he followed Santo to the doorway, and peered inside. In one of the beds sat Anya, with the wind swirling around her and her eyes black once more. At the sight of her, the same as she had been in that fight two months ago, Leon stiffened. He could remember all too well what had happened the last time she had gotten like this. He certainly hoped the same wouldn't happen tonight.

Out of the corner of his eye, Leon noticed two figures still in the room: Era and Jessie.

Instinctively, Leon took a step past Santo and closer to the three, though he caught himself before he went any further. What am I doing? With a frown, he forced himself to step back and take a breath. He had gone to great lengths to avoid Jessie over the past two months for this precise reason; he often seemed to move without thinking, trying to help even when he shouldn't, all because of some stupid dream. And now, with Era attempting to control the situation, he'd only get in the way. As much as he worried about Jessie, irrational though said worry was, he'd have to trust Era to take care of it.

Somewhat reluctantly, Leon stepped away from the doorway. Era likely needed space, and he wasn't exactly helping by blocking the only exit.


Spazzycat101 AgWordSmith Eliasdagood Yatasal Randomfella

 

[Spazzycat101]

Era​

As soon as the wind stopped, Era let Anya fall back into her bed. She immediately noticed then that instead of leaving, more of the kids had gathered in the room and near the door. She gave a heavy sigh before turning her attention back to Anya, who stared blankly with black eyes, speaking to someone of a name they didn't know. There was certainly someone else, maybe multiple people, in the room with them that they couldn't see. Of course, they had established that was not a very uncommon thing, because Anya frequently interacted with disembodied spirits. Era made a cautious ‘shoo’ motion with her hand at everyone in the room.

The possessed girl seemed like she was looking toward Jessie, so quietly, Era stepped behind her and took her by the shoulders. With a muttered ‘’scuse me,’ she guided Jessie a few steps to one side, and then to the other, watching to see if Arya’s head moved with her.

Interacting: Yatasal Eliasdagood
Mentioned: @ everyone else present

 

[Eliasdagood]

As soon as this new version of Anya properly notices Era, She hisses through bared teeth, seeming disgusted by her presence. “Tch. Pathetic. To have such magical potential, and use it for such petty gains. I suppose I will forgive you, since it’s you that’s cared for this lovely body.” She mutters, standing and stretching.

She sees Santo, and gasps, striding toward him. “Ah! And you as well! Ah, I see both of you have my hair.” She purrs, twirling one her own white strands around a finger. “Hm, I could try you as well, the familial connection would help… but I do prefer a female form. And I think her abilities suit me better.”

She grunts, putting a hand to her head. “Might give me less trouble though… circles below this child is stubborn!”
Yatasal Randomfella AgWordSmith Spazzycat101 Lost

 

[Yatasal]

Jessie let Era move her about, but as soon as Anya... Or Anya's body got off the bed and moved towards Santo, Jessie got behind Era and noticed the shadows begin to twist away from Anya. Anya's own shadow began to enlarge and shrink, twisting slightly. Jessie took a shuddering breath and the shadows melted back to normal. She had been doing that, every time something scared her. And it needed to stop.
Mumble whined as Anya got closer to Santo, and bravely stepped in front of him, making her loudest sound: a mumbly bark. Mumble liked Jessie the best, but Jessie had seen Mumble get attached to all of the people in their group, and wasn't the least bit surprised when Mumble stood in front of Santo like she did. Jessie also knew that Mumble wasn't very brave and it wouldn't take much to send the dog scampering away. She watched from behind Era, shaking from the cold winds earlier. They had stopped, but Jessie had yet to stop shaking. "Era, make her come back. Make Anya come back," Jessie told Era quietly.

 

[Spazzycat101]

Era​

Era’s eyes remained narrowed as she watched Anya cross the room, talking about familial connection. She nodded at Jessie’s fearful request and quickly moved in front of her. In already a few moments, her mind was racing, stumbling over sleep deprivation. Anya’s abilities suited her better?

It was like a bell tolled in her head when she recognized the puppeteer’s pattern of speech and registered the twisted, loathsome look on Anya’s little face.
Fury and curiosity clashed for a moment. Only one.

‘Oh, YOU,’ Her words were snarls, until she ended clearly on the word ‘LICH!’
‘Release Anya! Right now!’ Era knelt at eye level. ‘I know you don’t have more than half a shred of decency in you, but that’s still enough to leave a child out of this! Meet me face-to-face or not at all! I’m sure you could possess some, some,’ She waved her hand suddenly through the air. The other was still held protectively in front of Jessie. Era's eyes also flickered through a phase of anxiety, not being in a position to come between Anya and the other children. ‘Some mounted elk’s head! That’s fitting for you!’
Regardless of her rage, the back of Era's mind made note of the next avenue of research to start investigating.
Interacting: Eliasdagood
Mentioned: Everyone Else Who Is There