spellbinders | [WORLD ONE] AIMINTAS (INTRODUCTION)

[WORLD ONE] AIMINTAS (INTRODUCTION)

Who: The coven & Palai people
Where: In and around the city land of Aimintas
When: Days 13 & 14
Open/Closed: Open to All

The initial setting information found here should be utilized for threads here.

There's no official OOC account for the Palai people. You're free to roleplay their actions and reactions on your own, as in depth as you want -- asking questions, hand-waved interactions, becoming best friends. The new world is your oyster!

Just like how you arrived, the process of leaving the hub and reappearing somewhere else is quite quick and uneventful. Brie and Genette gather as many people as possible so that everyone can explore the new world together in a group, which is where they all land once Qri has worked her magic. If you weren't in the vicinity, or thought that not being social meant you'd get to stay on the island, you come along as well, though you didn't exactly show up with the group.

The sun sets while the coven is busy trying to get through the craggy infrastructure (at least, that's the fate of those who don't find a quicker way to get into the city). Brie locates a large cave in one of the rocks, and that's where everyone sets up camp for the night. If you want to carry on, that's your choice...but who knows if anything that goes bump in the night is out there bumping in the night time?

C ▢ What will your character be doing tonight? Sleeping on a hard rock? Stuck awake? Even if they do manage to fall asleep, they may be haunted by the occasional high pitched screech that comes through the night, though the location of the noise is unknown as of right now.

It takes about a day to travel to Aimintas, climb through the rocks and come into the city. Thankfully the city hub is close to the side of the city the coven managed to climb through, so civilization is awaiting. That civilization is decently modern, lizard-like and very, very nosy.

Even outside of interacting with the Palai, there's quite a bit around here to look at. Genette can be found in the middle of one of the parks, handing out the stored supplies to their owners. (Don't worry, she'll tell you where she is with a little telepathic poke. Your supplies will give you access to shopping and bartering...your status as a magical humanoid thing will only get you so far.

It can be easy to get overwhelmed within the Palai marketplace, so no one will blame a coven-member for escaping the city for a bit.

On the outside of the marketplace is a very large house with dozens of Palai congregating -- and my dozens, we mean at least 200. A Palai mate triangle just committed to each other, and this is certainly worth celebrating.

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[that ... gives Madoka pause. she can't help the look of horror on her face either, though she almost immediately presses her lips together in an urge to flatten her expression.]

[Dirk has already shown her kindness, even if it was unconventional. and even though it sounds terrible ... she has no reason to suspect — she doesn't want to believe — that he would regularly do something so cruel.]

... Have you ... ever done it before?

[He won't lie. He won't act like he doesn't deserve that look. But he won't hide the circumstances either.]

I tried once. I was trying to save my friends. But the magic failed, and so did I.

[He was left alone. Completely.]

It isn't something I'd use lightly. Taking a soul out of someone is cutting off everything that makes them what they are.

[And Madoka is holding a Soul Gem in her hands.]

Who made that Soul Gem?

[she almost can't bring herself to speak. there's a part of her that takes comfort in the fact that Dirk takes his power as seriously as he does.]

[but failing to save his friends ... why does that story sound so familiar? why is it that, despite the happy life she's living, despite how hard she's worked to protect her home, it feels like she's watched someone's magic, someone's wish, backfire on them a hundred times before?]

[and why is he fixated on the Soul Gem?]

It's ... Kyubey. He's — he's this cat creature. He's the one who gives magical girls their power.

And he told you nothing about how it works.

[The creature did not tell her what he had done to her soul. He hates it instantly, with the hate he reserves for injustice and cruelty. He hates it for twisted betrayals of the kind at heart.]

... What are you saying?

[It is a heavy thing to say. There is a war in him between telling her truly or sparing her that knowledge.

But Dirk has always believed it is better to know. Still, he has to ask.]

I told you my aspect is Heart. I can tell you what I sensed of it if you're sure you want to know, but it might be better if we pull away from the group for a moment. It's probably a private matter.

[there's no turning back now. if ... if Dirk's found something, it's important that Madoka know, so she can relay it to her friends if she manages to find her way back home. no matter how afraid she might feel, she owes them that much. right?]

[wordlessly, she nods, and turns, ready to step away from the others. she'll hear what he has to say.]

[He walks with her, wearing the weight of this knowledge. He fears giving it to her. But he can't turn back, either. She deserves to know if she chooses. He waits until they are away, out under the eerie seaswept skies. He stops, and turns to look at her.]

I can sense souls, where the essence of a person is. I didn't notice at the island without my powers, but I realized what was happening here, when I saw your Soul Gem. [The name is a sick joke. It's like giving the girls everything on a platter and then pulling a veil over their eyes so they can't see it.] I could tell that your soul is located inside that gem.

[Madoka's hands tighten over her Soul Gem, and instinctively, she brings it to her chest.]

Y-you can't be serious, right? I'm ... [but she doesn't feel any different than she's felt her entire life. why would Kyubey — how could he have done something so cruel? do the other girls even know? is "girl" even the right word? if their souls aren't even in their bodies, that makes them...]

[has ... has she been using her literal soul as magic this entire time?]

[Madoka nearly buckles under the weight of her thoughts slamming down on her, but she manages to keep herself steady. she doesn't look up at Dirk, though, she only stares down at her hands.]

... I don't want to believe you. [her voice shrinks as she speaks.] But ... but I don't think you would lie to me, either.

Is there a way I can be absolutely sure? [because she desperately wants him to be wrong. a misunderstanding, or something. anything.]

[He is still, not sure if he should go closer or keep his distance. He feels his title ringing in his ears: Prince of Heart. Destroyer. She is uncertain and frightened, he can tell, but she keeps herself steady. It isn't fair.]

Using my powers to confirm it would probably hurt you.

[Tearing out her soul. Aranea had been in pain.]

We could try moving the Soul Gem away from you. Test if physical distance makes a difference in the soul's ability to animate your body.

[He wants to say, I'm sorry. He doesn't think he has a right to say it.]

Edited 2017-07-23 16:14 (UTC)

[the way Dirk describes it is so nauseating to her, even if what he's saying is exactly how she is. but it's that tiny glimmer of hope that maybe this is a misunderstanding that moves her forward. or is it her Soul Gem? she doesn't know anymore.]

I could try hiding it back at the cave, then see what happens when I walk here. [said almost absently, as she turns to head back.]

[He pauses.]

Okay, but I'm stickin' with you.

[If she collapses, he's going to be there to catch her. He started this, and he is going to be there to the end.]

Okay. [she even tries on the tiniest of smiles, but it's a poor effort and entirely unconvincing, and she can't seem to wear it for very long.]

[she's quiet for the entire walk back to the cave, and when she gently sets the Soul Gem down next to an inconspicuous rock near the cave's entrance. what could she say? she's standing on the brink of her own humanity, and Madoka is terrified of what they're going to find, when they leave her Soul Gem behind.]

[it isn't until they're about a football field away, and the Soul Gem's gentle pink glow is well out of sight, that she finally speaks.]

How long do you suppose we should walk?

[Dirk won't get a chance to answer, because not even a few steps later, they cross the threshold and, much like snipping the strings of a puppet, Madoka's connection to her body breaks.]

[it's instant. it's as if a flip were switched, and she's suddenly gone, the light in her eyes suddenly extinguished. and down the body goes.]

[It's a flashstep forward and he grabs her in his arms. He feels the soul still humming gently, in the cave. He feels that Madoka does not bear that soul in her. It's like a tether pushed too far. Dirk pulls her up, into his arms, and quickly moves back, waiting to feel the link snap back into place.]

Madoka?

[it takes a minute or so, once they're back in a range that her soul can reach. and just as suddenly as she left, she snaps back with a gasp, unconsciously gripping his shoulder tightly as she tries to regain her bearings.]

What —

You collapsed.

[He keeps his grip steady because they both know that it means he was right.]

I'm sorry.

But ... But I ... [that's all Madoka can manage before she breaks down, shaking, tears flowing freely.]

[it's too much. it's too horrible. it feels like she can't even tell whether the pain is coming from this zombie body, or if it's off in the distance where she actually is.]

[It's unfair. He hates this—he hates seeing this, that she's like this. He hates that he was the one who forced this on her. Prince of Hearts rings in his head, a miserable truth.

Dirk picks up her Soul Gem, so that she can continue to live, and carries her outside of the cave, away from anyone else's hearing.

He doesn't say anything. He doesn't know what to say. He just knows that it would be unfair to leave her alone. So he lets her cry and shake and he stays there, not letting go.]

[Dirk might be here a little while. every new, awful question that occurs to her knocks the wind right out of her; she can only make tiny, pained little sobs.]

[how could she go home and face her family and her friends? how could she even bear to tell her friends the truth? that this is what it really meant when they exchanged their lives for a wish, and became magical girls?]

[is ... is she even alive right now?]

[when Madoka finally does say something, it's not much better.]

How could he do this to us? I just ... I just wanted to help everyone...

I don't know. Wanting to help everyone ain't a bad thing. Sometimes, people take advantage of it.

[He tries to draw away, not so far as to let her go, but just so she can look at him face-to-face. Shades or not, he wants her to be able to see the sincerity here.]

Listen, Madoka. Like I said, this is my aspect. I'm supposed to be responsible for this. So... ask the questions you want to know, and I'll tell you the truth.

[Madoka trusts him entirely, perhaps in spite of it all. at least Dirk was brave enough to tell her the truth, even though it's nearly shattered her. she trusts him not to lie to her.]

[it's obvious, somewhere behind the miles of pain in her eyes. Madoka doesn't say anything for a while — most questions she has ... she doesn't know if she wants the answers.]

It can't be put back ... can it?

[He doesn't answer immediately. He knows, with the instinctive understanding that let him know he could rip out souls, that this is within his power. He remembers the feel of Aranea's soul in his hands (a ghost of him, his soul splintered) and he knows that if he chose, he could have ripped it free without breaking it. He knows on instinct that he could have taken that soul and pushed it into some object, trapped it there. The reverse, then, must be possible.

But.

His breathes are quiet, paced and measured.]

It should be something that I'm capable of. I've never tried it. I've only tried to pull a soul out once, and that was right after gaining that power. So it's possible, but it would be a gamble to do it right now. I'm unpracticed. I don't know enough about how your Soul Gem works.

The safest route would be to wait until I'm better at using my aspect before we tried.

[The offer is implicit, but he doesn't think it needs to be stated. He is willing to practice and learn. He is willing to work on it. In a way, he considers it his responsibility. Isn't he supposed to be a God of Heart? Helping Madoka seems like the best thing he could do with his supposed divinity.]

[she would lose her magic, if he did it. she would be relegated to the sidelines while all of her friends fought — with the exception of here, when she would step in occasionally to heal someone.]

[the only thing that may make Madoka feel even worse than she does right now is if she retreated. if she left everyone else to do the fighting for her. it goes against everything she had hoped she could do for the world when she contracted to begin with.]

[it's that line of thought that prompts her next question.]

This ... it's supposed to be the source of my magic. Does that mean when I'm using my magic, I'm... [using her soul? what she really wants to know is if this is going to kill her, but she can't bring herself to ask.]

[He can complete the thought. Dirk 'reaches out' with his senses. He tries to feel the gem and understand it. But it still isn't totally comprehensible to him, or perhaps it is his powers that aren't.]

I can't tell right now. I might be able to, if you used magic in front of me.

[But it could hurt her. He won't ask her; he'll leave it as her choice.]

[she can do that. Madoka nods, moving to stand, and taking several steps away from him. she feels heavy, like a burden far bigger than herself is pushing down on her shoulders. but she can do what she had intended to show Dirk before this started — her magic — if it'll help at all.]

[in a flash of light and a blast of air she transforms, and the Soul Gem reforms into a teardrop fixed on her chest. her dress is pink. it suits her. the defeated expression on her face does not, not really.]

Um. This is the usual magic that I use... [she turns to the side, a gnarled bow that looks awfully similar to a branch materializing in her hand. and in one swift, fluid motion, she summons and fires an equally pink beam of energy toward a rock some distance away. the beam slams against the rock, crackles as it splits into several smaller beams, then dissipates.]

Edited 2017-07-24 22:11 (UTC)

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