[Episode 2] Two Minds, One Body

The story unfolds around Osaka, Japan, with the unlocking of one girl's hidden potential, and a gathering of Young mages whom are destined to change the fate of the Earth.
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Straken
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Re: [Episode 2] Two Minds, One Body

Post by Straken »

"Of course we did, silly," Willow affirmed through a strained winced as she turned her face away from her roommate. The Brit already looked worse for wear, no need to make the triclops worry any more. She could feel blood trickling from the bite on her neck, her arm was aching something awful, and Drysi was pressing on one of the bruises on Willow's chest. While she wasn't worried about dying thanks to her pewter, she was looking forward to getting treated by someone; in part hoping her knocks on the cottage door earlier had woken up Miss Laoise, and in part really wanting to keep what had happened under the rug.

Willow looked back towards the rest of the group if just to see if anyone was coming to lend a hand, but also to see how everyone else was fairing. That was when she saw the portal and the individual that stepped out of it. Comedically, in a way, she thought to her first day at Safeholme when Miss Riley had appeared looking like Mister Flynn from the future. The tattered robes looked like her master's but from a Darkest Timeline event; there was even a raven instead of a dove. Soon enough though a shiver ran through her as she took in just how much this man differed from Mister Flynn. The man was looking at the group of kids like a person might look at ants that had found their way into their house. His eyes. The expression he wore. The sheer aura he gave off.

Instinctually Willow tried to sink down into the ground; out of sight. Putting her good arm around Drysi, Willow began to burn Copper. She had no experience using it since the first practice she'd had with Miss Caoranach, but the fey had said Willow could use it to avoid detection and right now that is what Willow really wanted.

"No," she thought suddenly. Tensing her broken left arm, a streak of pain snapped her mind back from intimidated stupor. This dark looking guy with the face was directing all of that malicious gloom at Johann. After that big spell he used the boy was looking tired, and she couldn't let her friend potentially get hurt by some stranger. She began to burn Brass.

Initially, she'd been in favor of leaving brass and zinc out of her vials. They were the emotional manipulation metals, and they didn't feel right as a concept to Willow; to say nothing about them being terribly vague while also numbingly complex. To that end, she'd never practiced them much either, but remembering what Miss Caoranach had said made the young girl regret her negligence. Feeling the Brass burn, will subconsciously reached out in a way she'd imagined telepaths doing. She couldn't read minds, but Brass allowed her to suppress or sooth emotions. Right now, she willed disparately that the man would not want to hurt Johann.
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Mr. Blackbird Lore
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Re: [Episode 2] Two Minds, One Body

Post by Mr. Blackbird Lore »

Johann sighed, his exhaustion finally catching up to him. His eyes drifted down and landed on the bottle that twitched and shook of its own volition. He would need to secure it somehow.

That train of thought was suddenly and violently detailed by the arrival of a portal and a dark and terrifying man stepping out of it. He gestured and Johann instinctively turned to put his body between the bottle and the stranger.

Chuffy stood between the boy and the man, issuing a low growl. While it faced the stranger, it had an eye for the raven.

"No." The words sounded infinitely more certain than Johann felt. His mind was racing for a solution, a defense. The suddenly still bottle... He was holding a battery that could supercharge him for a day straight.
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Kokuten
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Re: [Episode 2] Two Minds, One Body

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Johann's answer registered no response in the man. The glow of glaring eyes remained perilously vibrant in the full light of the night, and the light of the wight's rift. He began to pace, with the systemic movements of a predator, without malice or joy.

"Alexei."

The name dripped like the blood from Drysi's mouth, her three eyes wildly wide in fear. "He's the man that killed gram. He killed gram. He killed the living body of the thing we just fought."

Willow could feel the fingers digging into her arm, reflecting the same fear she felt.

"Greetings, my good man," Manon said with a stark lack of cheer, putting herself between Alexei and Chuffy. Her stance was stiff, but gracefully confident. The blanc clown held up a hand, "I'm quite fond of that boy, and would like to speak on his--..."

Faster than they had ever seen a mage move, the bearded man placed a hand over Manon's face, a rune in his palm. With barely a whisper, a spark erupted from the small space in between, and Manon's mask exploded into a violent font of ether. Her clothing shifted many colors, into many shapes, before her shuddering body fell limply to the ground, shards of her former face-covering littering the battle-scarred glade. The cane she held fell and dispersed into nothingness before it could clatter to the ground.

"Manon!" screamed Eryk, tearing his feet across the ground with his sword up. Alexei's fingers plucked another rune from the belt at his chest, charged it, and darted it at the hexer.

Eryk stopped in his tracks to deflect the projectile, it sparked against his silvered blade and then it exploded in a massive conflagration that consumed him in a blinding ball of fire and smoke.

The force shook the ground and the trees. Alexei's robes billowed upward against his form as he continued a slow approach to Johann. In a calculated, methodical motion another rune was in his hand. Right as he entered into Chuffy's threat range, he charged it, crushing the undead pup with a gout of wind that sent Johann's dog right into him. Sparking lines of primal magic tested an energy that kept the blow from being fatal to the both of them. The potency was enough to nearly split the boy in two, to send his possessions flying, his book, anything loose, including the bottle.

Alexei stopped, standing over the glowing container. He spoke softly against the dark, with a voice of granite. "You have evaded me long enough Bleddyn. Do you think I would not anticipate you forcing the rite of inheritance on your grand-daughter? You may believe death absolves you of our contract, but I am draped in magics much more ancient and binding, librarian."

Stooping now, he scooped up the bottle and turned. He made his way back to the rift, and stopped short. There was a moment, a tense one, where the man seemed to consider what he was leaving in his wake, but it passed, an so did he, with the rift closing behind him.
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Straken
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Re: [Episode 2] Two Minds, One Body

Post by Straken »

Once the attack began, Willow reacted on instinct. Willow rolled to the side as she put herself between the newcomer and Drysi, or so she would tell herself. This man scared her. Drysi had called him Alexei. She was able to recall hearing the name a couple weeks prior when Mister Flynn had been visited by that Silas guy. He was a druid, or at least used to be a druid. She wasn't certain, but Flynn had sounded like he genuinely hated this Alexei. Now she could see why. He had attacked teenagers without hesitation, and by the sounds of it he's done far worse. After an unnerving fight with a horror movie monster, she was broken, bleeding, and too tired to contend with someone even her master had trouble with.

Mercifully, the man got what he came for and left. A few beats later, Willow pushed herself up with a strained wince. Placing her good hand on Drysi's shoulder, she gave a comforting squeeze. "It's okay, he's gone now, but we should get moving. Can you stand?" the British girl asked ash she pushed herself to her feet. Everyone was in varying states of disrepair, which meant triage. "Kat can you check on Johann? I'm going to check on Manon, if someone could check Eryk."

Relenting given new circumstance, Willow withdrew her second and last vial of metal, popped the cork, and downed it. Flaring pewter, she sighed in relief as she was almost able to ignore the broken bone in her arm, and according to Miss Caoranach pewter can apparently keep her from dying from anything too minor. Which meant she could push herself down the triage list.

Approaching the downed clown, Willow knelt to inspect her peculiar classmate. "Manon, are you conscious?" she asked as she inspected the other girl for injuries.
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Mr. Blackbird Lore
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Re: [Episode 2] Two Minds, One Body

Post by Mr. Blackbird Lore »

Johann almost immediately regretted his words. The stranger blew through two of his peers without an ounce of effort. Before he could shout or even warn Chuffy, a rune had blasted his undead friend into the air. The bottle was wrested from him by gale forces. This he hardly noticed: the winds had also wound their little fingers into his turban.

Both hands were clutching at his head when Chuffy slammed into him. Concern for his dearest pet made him cling to the good boy. They tumbled over each other several yards, gathering minor cuts and bruises along the way.

By the time Johann sat up, Alexei was already gone. "NOOOO!!" The shout was nearly a shriek. Anyone who looked couldn't miss the unraveled turban. Much of it still draped around his skull. Where it was amiss, however, was a ghastly sight. Stitches like the aftermath of some frankenstein surgery held together purple flesh on the right side of Johann's head. A dark, fire-shriveled eye socket loomed empty.

Hastily, Johann turned his back to everyone and began rewrapping. He was crying and muttering to himself under his breath. It was the mantra of a ruined child. What thunder his success had born evaporated with the bottle; any joy had been blown away with his secret; his confidence was crushed to a familiar, dismal level.

Chuffy curled around the weeping boy and pressed his nose between Johann's knees. Tears washed dirt from the snout of bone.
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Kai
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Re: [Episode 2] Two Minds, One Body

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Even if Kat hadn't been completely exhausted, what happened next had her frozen regardless. The Blonde couldn't get her arms or legs to move, and she could only watch in horror as her friends were taken down with such ease. First Manon, then Eryk, and finally Chuffy and Johann launched as if they were a pair of ragdolls. Her breath caught in her throat, and she dared not breathe while this monster, Alexei Drysi called him, continued on his rampage. Once he had finally left, the Japanese girl came to her senses when WIllow shouted for her to check on Johann. She gasped, suddenly inhaling after having held her breath in fear for so long. She realized now that she was shaking, but the temporary paralysis had worn off and she was coming around, with enough strength back to get on her feet again, albeit in a bit of a labored manner.

"O- On it," she answered the Brit's call, making her way to Johann as quickly as her beleaguered limbs could convey her. "Don't worry, Johann, I'm here for yo-" She stopped for a second, as she saw for a moment what was under the boy's turban, but she knew now wasn't the time to dwell on such things, and after that momentary hesitation, she leaned down to provide aid to the boy. Remembering the bag she had brought with Mana potions in it, she pulled out two, handing one to Johann and downing the other for herself.

"Are you hurt, Johann?" she asked again, placing her hand on his shoulder. "I don't know any healing magic, but I can do first aid."
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Re: [Episode 2] Two Minds, One Body

Post by Mr. Blackbird Lore »

Up close, Kat could see the small boy's shoulders quivering with his sobs. He failed to see the potion with his eyes squeezed shut against the tears. All his energy and focus was directed toward covering up again. When Kat laid a hand on him, he did shriek, and scrabbled away on hands and knees, undoing much of his work. Chuffy jumped to his feet and warned Kat with a bark before following Johann.

He came to rest curled against a tree, shaking hands slowly winding the turban back on. Chuffy rested his chin on Johann's knee, trying to reassure his boy.
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Kokuten
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Re: [Episode 2] Two Minds, One Body

Post by Kokuten »

Manon was laying flat on the ground, wearing her polka-dot pajamas as they saw her in the first hour of the night. Her face was darkened by the flash of mana that had erupted from her mask when it broke, but otherwise, she was breathing.

A small article of paper was lying next to her, free of a pocket that had disappeared with the clown's power. It was folded twice, and written in a small flourish was the name Johann.

"She's fine," said Drysi, somewhat gruffly and abruptly; at first the mutated girl had been docile when Willow was asking after her, but then became more fiery when the wounded girl began moving around. "You are worse off."

Willow could feel the girl's hand tighten around her good wrist, her blood smattered face concentrating on the broken arm. What remained of the notebook began to unfurl and reshape around the extremity, before hardening into a cast. Another shred of material flattened against her neck, staunching the blood.

"How..."

The smoke began to clear from the blast that had consumed Eryk, and the young man was already pushing himself off of the ground. He was covered in scratches and bruises, but more miraculous was the blade he he held. It was much shorter now, shattered halfway, exposing the steel core. Shards of metal littered around him in a crater where he sat, "How am I alive?"

Clink.

A sound of glass touching on to a rock resonated in the glade, and those who bothered to look could see a couple of sprites setting some small bottles out. The fae froze, realizing the noise they had made. They looked at the children, abandoning their gift, and fled into the woods with trails of orange and silver sparks flowing behind them.
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Straken
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Re: [Episode 2] Two Minds, One Body

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Licking a finger, Willow cleaned some of the blood from Drysi's face to return the favor. Her normally boisterous and bright grin was replaced with a more subdued and gentle smile. With her long blonde hair tangled and matted with leaves dirt, blood in various locations and states of coagulation, and a general aura of ache; Willow looked a right mess, but she kept smiling. Straightening, the Brit seemed to shed layers of heavy clothing and looked more refreshed, but her expression winced slightly. She had begun burning off excess metals so that there was less to do before bed.

"And you got possessed, worried me sick, and use to much teeth," Willow jested as she lay her good hand on Drysi's shoulder, giving a reassuring squeeze. "I've got enough pewter to keep me moving. We could all use some R and R, and when we rest up, you and I are having a cocoa date."

Her expression sank ever so slightly.

"I'm sorry I wasn'tae more attentive roommate. I should've spoken up when something seemed off."

At that point, the commotion with Johann had caught her eye. See something. Do something. Grinning anew, the fledgling allomancer was already burning Zinc and Brass, and saw a chance to use them to do some good; with Zinc Willow pulled up a sense of comfort and relief, while with Brass she tried to subdue feelings of worry. Although splitting her attention between both the push and pull emotional metals along with a number of different emotions felt like it would take practice, and as a result she was unsure of how good of a job she was doing. Moving and collecting her light jacket as well as one of the bottles the fae had left behind, Willow carefully approached Johann.

The sight was a rough one to see, and she could only imagine how Johann was feeling. She burned more Brass to sooth the boy's anxiety and sadness, but was unsure of what else she could do. On a hunch, she burned Zinc and tried to lift Johann's humor, and possibly trust; honestly the entire premise sounded obnoxiously vague and the only real advice she received was buy a dictionary and learn different emotions, so there was a lot of throwing out attempts and seeing what worked. As she drew closer, she made her presence known and continued forward more gingerly. "It takes a lot of commitment to be a group's hat guy. Colors, styles, coordination, to say nothing of needing to remember to grab it every morning; but even if you forget your hat, or it gets blown off in the wind, your friends like you just the same."

As Willow drew closer, she raised her unzipped jacket and spread it wide, wincing slightly as her broken arm stretched a bit with the motion. Back in boarding school, she had witnessed all manner of wardrobe malfunctions. A handy jacket or blazer could cover a good deal, and this would give Johann a bit of privacy.
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Mr. Blackbird Lore
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Re: [Episode 2] Two Minds, One Body

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No no no no no no no no-
His mind was a broken record, fixating on that one loop while his hands worked vigorously. He wasn't worried anymore- they'd already seen everything- but he was afraid of what they would think and the questions they would ask. The was a small comfort in knowing that it wasn't a secret anymore. Wait, no! This is horrible! Now all his friends knew he was a monster!

But he'd run his tears dry. He finally opened them and flinched at the sight of legs. Looking up, however, he saw she was shielding him from view. He relaxed slightly and got back to work. She- Willow- had been saying something but he missed it.

He finished his wrap after another minute or two, then pulled his sweaters hood up for added assurance. Fingers skimmed over the turban to check for openings. There were none. Timidly he murmured, "Thank you," from behind the jacket.

He couldn't meet anyone's eyes, though, as he stepped back into view. His eye locked into his book and looked nowhere else as he crossed the lawn to retrieve it.
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