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 Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 11:40 pm
Tasma washed her neck in a pool of clear water. It was soooo hot. She had been flying up above the clouds, bearing the full brunt of the sun on her back. But now she was tired. She wiped her face. "Mmm." This was a nice place.
Neviah was standing beneath the trees. The dragon had landed quite surprisingly close. She watched the other female, appraising her. It probably wouldn't be best to play too much of mind games on this one.
Tasma glanced around. She felt eyes on her. No, it was probably nothing. She was probably paranoid. She sand deeper into the pool. Maybe a short relax.
Neviah tentatively reached out to portray an illusion, but the halted herself. She wasn't sure that she wanted to...which was odd, because she always liked to play mind games. However, her last run-in with a dragon had left her a little wary of crossing them without certain assurance. Walking out, she said nothing but moved closer making herself visible.
Tasma looked up and nearly inhaled water. "There you are," she said. She noticed the marking on the girl's flank. "You... you wear the Millennium Puzzle..."
Neviah furrowed her brow as the girl spoke to her. "Yes, I do. What does it mean to you?" She tilted her head to convey interest, something she seldom did.
"It's the mark," said Tasma, rising from the water, "of my father’s most hated enemy. The mark of the Pharaoh. But yours is upside down for some reason..."
Neviah nodded, "Well I'm not your enemy." She didn't know how else to say it. She wasn’t' very concerned with history, she was too much concerned with games and minds. When they intersected, it was all the better.
"Which is nice to know," said Tasma. "I am Tasma."
Neviah reached out again, and felt the same sort of resistance. It wasn't tangible or even projected, but it was like a wall around the other girl's mind. It was something she had seldom experienced. I'm Neviah." She approached the girl closer.
"Are you related to the Pharaoh?" asked Tasma awkwardly. There was not much talking to this girl.
"Uhm...maybe?" She kept pushing at the girl's mind, but it was protected like with some kind of...bubble wrap. She could feel the sweat on her back.
Tasma felt something press on her, like a pillow in front of her nose. She frowned. She let go of her shield for a moment and felt an intruder, then pushed her shield back up, forcing the intruder back. "What are you doing to me?" she growled slowly. Suddenly her appearance looked very much like Brittania.
Neviah tilted her head as if it were a very interesting question. "I was testing you, but you're very much not weak. Worthy of more than just idle chit chat, I think." She tossed her hair, "It was very rude of me. But you're sense of self, your resistance to me. It's fascinating."
Tasma's eyes relaxed but she was still very angry. "You're disgusting. How dare you assault me and then call me fascinating! How dare you intrude on my MIND! Don't you have a soul?"
Neviah tilted her head again, anger....that was interesting reaction. She would have thought she'd be pleased to be found interesting. "Well, I mean. I'm not sure? Can you see a soul? If not, I've not seen mine so...no?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 11:41 pm
"I mean," hissed Tasma, "don't you have a conscience? Do you not feel shame for how you treat people? Their mind is their scared place, that which lives on beyond them- you invade, it’s like attacking someone!"
"It is?" Neviah looked genuinely shocked. "I never thought of it that way...I guess that was very rude of me then." She paused and tilted her head again, "Why do you want to hide your mind? I bet it's beautiful."
"But it's mine," said Tasma sadly. "Mine to keep to myself and mine to show to someone. If I choose to show it."
Neviah looked a bit sad, "You don’t' want to share it with me? But I bet it's so lovely, the guarded ones always are. It could be the most beautiful I've ever seen!" She took a tenative step closer, "Just a little peek?"
Tasma showed her fangs and roared, flinging up her shield against Neviah, aiming for her. "It is MINE to show to who I WILL! If you ever try that again I WILL kill you."
"Fine," Neviah sulked as she tossed her hair. "I'll play nice. Friends?" She tilted her head and smiled.
"You are a parasite," said Tasma, relaxing again. "I'm not friends with parasites. You're a leech. A louse. No, you're worse, because those parasites only feed on others to survive. You do it for fun. I pity you."
"Well, I'll take what I can get for now," Neviah shrugged. Most fascinating this Tasma was. She had spunk, a lot of spine. She would be interesting to know better.
Tasma frowned. "Do you understand at all?" She sighed. "No I guess not." She smiled. "Maybe one day someone will do it to you and you'll know how it is to be so violated." She wrung out her mane. "So where do you come from that you have that marking?"
"Oh, my parents? They gave birth to me, so from them?" Where else would her marking have come from? She tilted her head again and smiled, "I only hope my mind is that interesting."
"I meant to say, who were your parents that you got that marking," said Tasma, keen to get off the subject of minds as this girl seriously didn't understand the sanctity of bounds.
"Oh, Yami Bakura and Merritt." She nodded. "But I stay with Queen Aeronwen."
"That must make you related to Akane and Yuzuki?" asked Tasma curiously.
Neviah fidgeted a little, "Yes....Why?"
"I just never heard them talk about a demon sister. And I've never seen you before. So I guess that explains where you got the Pharaoh's Mark from," Tasma smiled awkwardly.
"I guess so?" She hadn't really ever been around them too much; most of her memories were with Aeronwen. Her overpowering presence seemed etched into so many memories. "What brings you here?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 11:45 pm
"I was just exploring," said Tasma tiredly. "Trying to get out of the rut I'm in."
"A rut?" She walked closer to the girl she could feel the girl's presence of mind. She wasn't reaching; it was just there--pushing out on her. "What's the matter?" Her voice was soft, interested.
Tasma smiled. "It's not something someone like you can understand. You don't live with your family- it's a... hierarchy and expectancy thing. My sister is..." She sighed sadly. "I was fine with being the protector of my sister. But now..."
"What happened?" Neviah pushed back her hair, "I live in a Coven, we all pledge allegiance to Queen Aeronwen. She's not to be disobeyed. It's not tolerated...I know of hierarchy."
Tasma smiled sadly. "But because you're adopted in, your options of ascension are limited. I have lived my whole life as the second born, the never-to-rule. Now my sister, the heir, is abdicating and that leaves me... unprepared... to rule and expected."
"Why don't you want to rule?" She shrugged her shoulders, "There's never been hope for my place. Though I am respected, I'll never be become more than advisor."
Tasma's face crumpled. "I never had the... ferociousness for the job of head of my clan. I was always protecting the others from my sister. I just want to rest."
"Rest is...well, it's nice. But after awhile, it gets tiring. And lonely. Rest is all I've been up to lately."
"I would like to feel how it is to rest, though," said Tasma. "I was always following after my sister in case she did something irreparable... or hurt someone. And now everyone is trying to get me to fill her place. I was never raised to be the heir; I was raised to be number two."
"Well, tell them that. Tell them you refuse. She did, why not you?"
"Because she was strong," said Tasma. "She was raised to believe in her decisions. And I was raised to believe that my duty was to her and to protect my family. I don't want to lead our clan, but maybe... I have to."
"Maybe? But why not wait until it's time. You could be good, you won't know until you try."
"I need to figure out if it's what I want. I mean... you never know. I might be skipped over..." Tasma smiled hopefully. "Maybe there will be another."
"Maybe, more heirs...more choices. It's nothing you have to decide now," she shrugged her shoulders gently. "When it's time, you'll know." For a moment, she considered. "Do you know...a blue dragon?"
"A blue dragon?" asked Tasma. "There are a few... Tranquility, who I've heard tell of. But you probably think of Mikuko, yes? My stepsister?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 11:47 pm
"Mikuko, yes." Neviah's face paled for a moment, then brightened. "She killed Fanta. It didn’t take, but we did get a day of peace."
"Kill?" asked Tasma in horror. "Mikuko killed?"
"Well, kind of?" She grimaced. "She said it was for her family. To protect them, but it didn't take. Azrael had to bring her back."
Tasma looked sick. "Looks like the one I should have been protecting us from is Mikuko... Rage would never... rage is my sister. She might... hurt accidentally but..."
"But for safety?" She tilted her head to look at Tasma. "Besides Fanta gets killed once a week."
"Who is this Fanta?" asked Tasma. "I feel like I'm not getting all the facts...?"
"Oh, she's a witch. A very bad one. She likes to torment people, make them do things they don’t' want to do. Steal their abilities and make them do horrible things in the process. No one likes her, we just...tolerate her."
Tasma gasped. "How terrible. But... Mikuko killed her? How did that happen?"
Neviah shuffled her feet a bit. "She...did something for Fanta once. Brought someone to her, in exchange for a potion to help...well, she knew that Fanta would be after her then. Knew that Fanta would come for her and everything she loved, so she stopped her. Queen Aeronwen has forbidden her to go after Mikuko or her family for now. Or else she'll let her stay dead next time."
"Oh," said Tasma. "What an awful thing."
"I guess so, but it means you’re safe from her. Being safe from her...it's a blessing."
"I suppose that's true," said Tasma. "Looks like Mikuko would have been the better choice..."
"If she's gone, then maybe it wasn't the choice she wanted."
"It seems like it isn't a job anybody wants, but I have to do."
"Then why worry about it." She shook out her hair again, "If you're stuck with it no sense in worrying."
Tasma felt herself crumple. "It seems so. But I don't want it."
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 11:48 pm
"Alot of things, I haven't wanted to do. But I had no choice, so I did them even if I hated myself for doing them.
Tasma frowned. "But do those things chain you to a mountain for the rest of your life? Making decisions for others that take over their lives? So much responsibility..."
"Yes, we...can only do what we ordered to do by our leaders, or else we become them."
"That's exactly my problem. I'm being lead to be the leader. But I don't want to be," said Tasma.
"Then be lead, " she really didn't understand. It should be nice to have choices.
"I wish I knew how..." Tasma felt defeated.
Neviah approached her slowly, "Let me lead you?"
Tasma looked at her witheringly. "You are not strong enough to lead me."
"No, no," Neviah shook her head. "I mean, let me show...." She shut her eyes, "You're being lead to be something, but everything I do. I'm lead to do. The reason I'm here. I want you to understand that leading and being lead. It's all a...choice. Some of us don't have a choice."
"I don't have a choice. Rage had a choice. I don't. But I wish I did. Unless I can figure out... another way."
"Leave? Run away? Join your sister? Produce an heir better able to lead, better willing to lead?"
"And I would be taking away the choice of my own child," said Tasma sadly. "I was raised to honour my responsibilities... even when I don't want to."
"Then honour them. There's nothing left to do." Neviah splashed a hoof in the water rather offhandedly.
"And if I don't like my choice?" asked Tasma very quietly.
Neviah lifted her head and looked at her a bit alarmed, "We can like our choices?"
"I would prefer to like my choice."
Neviah shrugged, "I've never enjoyed my choice. Just hated one a little less than the other."
Tasma sighed and pressed her lips together. "That's a sad way to be..."
Neviah shrugged then laughed lightly, "I didn't want to come here, but I was told to. And now I'm happy, I did." She smiled brightly.
"Why were you told to come here?" asked Tasma curiously.
"I wasn't told why exactly, but Azrael said to look sharp and be nice." She shrugged her shoulders, "But I do look nice, I think?" She looked at her reflection in the water.
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 11:48 pm
"You look pretty nice to me," said Tasma, a little put on the spot to be asked such a question.
"Well good!" Neviah smiled, "I can tell Azrael that I did look sharp. I have been nice haven't I?" She tilted her head to look at Tasma.
"I wouldn't say someone who tried to invade my mind is nice," said Tasma drily.
” Oh, well there is that...." Neviah grimmaced. "Still one out of two isn't bad."
"Depends what the one is," said Tasma brightly.
"True...." Neviah shrugged. "Do you swim? Wanna go somewhere? I haven't got to do something this fun in a long time."
"I prefer to fly but, yeah, I can swim," said Tasma with puzzlement. "What's something fun to do in the water?"
"Well, we could fly if that's what you wanted...There's lots of things, like swimming and splashing. Diving and...I don't know."
Tasma blinked. "What...ever you like?"
"You don't care?" She tilted her head, "Aeronwen said we were alike."
"I don't mind," said Tasma. "And she did?"
"Yes, she did. She told me to come here."
"Why did someone like that want you to be here?" asked Tasma curiously.
"She didn't tell me. She just said go, and Azrael said to look smart. So I did."
"Well," said Tasma shortly, "why do you think she sent you?"
Neviah shrugged, "I really don't know. I learned long ago not to question her. I was sent here, and I've come. I've done what I'm supposed to do, so now I can do what I like. And I think I'd like to swim."
Tasma smiled. "Sounds like fun. Enjoy your swim." She laved her claws one last time in the water.
"Oh, you're going to leave?" Neviah looked disappointed.
"You haven't given me a reason to," said Tasma tiredly. "And I came here to be alone. So I'll go be alone elsewhere." She shook off her claws. "See you, I suppose, Neviah."
"I like you. I don't like...well anyone really. No one gives me a chance to. Is that reason enough?" She looked at her pleadingly.
Tasma sighed. "Maybe another day, Neviah. I need to go... brood. If you find me again, we can do something."
"Okay, If I'm ever free again--I'll look for you." She looked away sadly, it had been a long time since she'd got to talk or well anything with anyone outside the Coven.
Tasma smiled again and shot up into the air, beating her powerful wings. She rose above the tips of the trees and eventually settled on the tip of a mountain peak. She turned her face to the wind and let it tangle her hair into a mess.
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Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2011 10:54 pm
Eerinna kissed Zared goodbye and pulled her hood up. No, no, don't be silly, darling, I don't need you to work weather magic just so I can visit my sister. I can deal with a little rain. She said. After she got behond the sight of home, she really grasped the chill in the air and wondered if it was worth visiting at all.
Neviah had been watching, waiting for a sign of Tasma. And her waiting in the torrential downpour was rewarded. A slow moving, cloaked figure was walking away, and Neviah followed behind, unconscious of the torrential drops that pelted her, and the shivering, teeth chattering cold it inspired in her. When her mind was occupied, it was whole-heartedly, and finding out all about Tasma, why she thought her poor…she needed to find this out. She didn’t care about the sniffles, or freezing…instead she followed behind the veiled figure, hoping that she would learn something.
Eerinna rubbed her hands together for warmth and was aware of the twilight that surrounded her for lack of sun. She glanced around, the hair standing up at the back of her neck. It was creepy. She thought about starting a handheld fire for warmth but was unwilling to draw attention to herself.
Neviah watched the figure, it wasn’t Tasma though….For a moment, she considered going back, waiting on Tasma to show. Then, something occurred to her. Maybe, she should follow this pony and see what she knew of Neviah, to find out how Tasma interacted with others.
Eerinna's breath rose before her in a mist. "Okay, that's it!" She snapped her fingers and purple flame licked up her palm painlessly. She held the purple fire between her two hands and warmed herself as she lit her path.
Neviah felt herself jump as the light of the purple flames flickered suddenly in the darkness. It was a bit frightening to see it appear so suddenly. She felt herself drawn to it, and the light colored face she could see beneath the hood. For the first time, she felt conscious of how cold and wet it was. She was out here in this miserable weather… Without though or hesitation, she ran to catch up with the figure.
Eerinna swung around at the sound of the heavy damp foottreads. She held the fire away from here, ready to use as a weapon if necessary. "What do you mean by following me?"
Neviah looked taken back, “Do you know Tasma?” She chattered out, her teeth knocking together in the cold.
Eerinna blinked water out of her eyes but without a free hand to right herhood, she dealt with it. "Who are you?" she asked again, in a curious tone.
“Ne-Neviah Ba-Bakura,” she was shivering now, hungering to approach the flame more. But she knew others were more wary than her, and that she shouldn’t’ push it.
"Oh!" said Eerinna. "Your brother is Akane?" She chuckled. "My sister is..." She looked up. "This really isn't stopping, is it? Come over here." She drew away from the road and set the flame amongst the trees where it swayed in place, impervious to the rain. Eerinna tossed her cloak in the air and it hovered, providing a cover. Eerinna swept the damp ground clean of rocks, drying it with a movement of her hand and sat close to the fire. "I'm Tasma's sister Eerinna."
Neviah nodded her head and followed her. She could feel herself warming a bit in the shelter, “Oh--her si-sister?” She hadn’t really expected that. But then, this would be most helpful. “I don’t think she likes me, but I don’t understand why I’m so bad. She said she pitied me.”
"Tasma is a very caring person," said Eerinna. "She tried to take care of everyone, whether she likes them or not. So..." Eerinna smiled. "Whatever she's said to you, you should pay heed to."
“Oh, well that’s good then.” She could still feel herself chattering still in the cold, “But I’m not sure…well how to fix myself. She said I didn’t know boundaries or decency, but I wasn’t taught. I want to be taught.”
Eerinna blinked. "Oh," she said softly. "Well to be honest, the best teacher in the cases of decency and boundaries is yourself. If you think about how you'd feel about some things, you can see how others feel."
“But I have,” Neviah felt a bit confused. “I didn’t think they were wrong, but she did. So I don’t know if I’m the best judge.”
"Ah," said Eerinna. "I'm afraid that this conversation is a little vague for me to really have any... concrete answers, Neviah, was it?"
“Yes, well…I tried to examine her mind, but she said that was bad. Because I have power, doesn’t mean I should use it. But they …my Coven, they taught me that. But Tasma sad that’s bad, so I don’t understand.”
Eerinna nodded. "I understand. I myself have great power. I have the power to make this rain stop and turn th sky upside down. But I don't because I shouldn't. If the rain stops, the plants will die. If you... examine someone's mind, something bad might happen."
Neviah smiled, “I understand that. But is that the only reason I shouldn’t?”
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Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2011 10:59 pm
Eerinna was shocked. "Isn't that enough?"
“Well , yes,” she shuffled her feet a bit. “But she said something about sanctity, I don’t understand. There are things others don’t want others to know? The only one who keeps secret is the Queen, and those secrets..usually they’re bad.”
"Everone has the right to privacy in their own mind," said Eerinna uncomfortably. "My grandpa... and my father, too, I suppose, they had penchants for screwing with people's minds. And I know that my father, at least, regrets it."
Neviah nodded, she’d never really had much to keep to herself. Everything was pretty much open with the Coven. Some things were not discussed, but they were known. “What’s it like to have secrets, thoughts to yourself?”
"It's like," started Eerinna awkwardly. "Like having a world to yourself where you can be yourself without restraint for propriety and you can think things and imagine things..." Eerinna blushed and she remembered what she liked to imagine between herself and Zared.
Neviah considered for a long moment, “That must be nice, but isn’t it lonely?” She noticed Eerinna’s blush, “Is it embarrassing?”
"It's only one's mind," said Eerinna cheerfully. "You have your whole life to spend with others."
Neviah smiled, “That must be nice.” She’d never had a chance to be alone, to have friends, to well anything. “Do you think, she might notice that I’m trying to change? I want to understand, I don’t want her to pity me. I don’t want to be who I was.”
"Well," began Eerinna cautiously, then the paused and stuck her head out of the shelted she had constructed. "Rain's easing," she said. "See? Sometimes without you doing anything at all, things you want can happen. Maybe just try and talk to her again?"
Neviah smiled, “Okay, I will. Thank you,” it wasn’t something she could really remember saying before. It hadn’t been something they particularly observed. It was more a nod of obedience or gratitude, but this was what others did, what was polite.
Eerinna smiled. "You're welcome. Well." She took down her cloak and draped it over herself and scooped up her violet flame. "I should be on my way. I'm visiting today."
“Blessed be,” it was how Queen Aeronwen always bid them safe journey when she sent them out. Turning, she headed back to wait for a glimpse of Tasma.
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