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 Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2015 7:07 pm
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Xiu remained completely silent as AJ told her his story, every single one of her senses focused on the boil. She could tell from the amount of care and detail that was on the vision that appeared--down to tiniest features on her clothing--that she precious to him even from the get go, something that only became increasingly clearer as he continued on. She appeared to be a beautiful young woman, elegant and graceful, and yet was clearly quite the character if AJ's recounting of her was of any indication.
She found herself smiling when the boil told her about the fight between the two of them and then of their relationship. It seemed so incredibly sweet--almost like two people who had been family for years rather than those who had started as strangers. Xiu's smile only grew when she realized that his own lips had unconsciously begun to curve as well.
Unfortunately, it didn't last long. The baku bit her bottom lip when he told her of the woman leaving, only to perk up in surprise at the faraway voice that took over. A memory?
What startled her the most, however, was the words that left AJ's lips then. "Me?" she asked, eyes widening as she looked down at herself. Indeed, the woman in the vision had been wearing clothing similar to the ones that she did and appeared to have Japanese roots if the "shishou" was of any indication, and she supposed that there were some similarities. A part of her wondered if AJ's subconscious knew that it was her--after all, she hadn't bothered to mask her voice--and was therefore making a connection.
Deciding that she had little to lose at this point, Xiu lifted her hand and pushed her hood back slightly, knowing that she may very well wake the boil up by doing this if he were to recognize her and realize that he was dreaming. Although it was dark, her pink eyes gave off a dim glow and there was enough light to illuminate her face.
"...Did you ever look for her?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2015 8:11 am
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He was staring at her as she put the hood that blocking her facial features down, the boil scrutinized her appearance with a stern face, he didn't say anything but glazing at Xiu. "......I know it." He closed his eyes and made a long sigh. It was hard to tell what his realization is, was it that AJ knew he was dreaming and Xiu was in his dream or it was something else? He gave no clues for that.
"Why?" The serpent-dragon asked. "Why I have to find her? If she wanted to leave, it's no use I go to find her." Her question brought him temporarily back to the moment they said goodbye -
His hair was rubbed into a mess, his fists were holding tight and put straight besides his body. He swung the hand on his head away. "Don't touch my head." The warning was plain and dull. "Smile boil. We will meet again in the future. One day you will be alone on your way anyway. It's just one of the farewells that will take place in your life." She said in a playful but serious tone. He didn't say a word. Silence was retained for a while before a sigh could be heard. "it's time to go. Don't forget what I taught you, I believe in you." She bowed down and wrapped something around his neck. "Treat it as a souvenir. When you grow up and take your adventure, one day we might meet again. See you then, don't miss me!" There was a kiss on his forehead.......
- Xiu couldn't see it, the memory only played in his mind, broken. "Like she said, I will be alone on my way." He pulled the red scarf around his neck up, which was the only one thing not touched by any bloods. The crimson beast eyes looked at her and AJ said, "It's strange, you look familiar but you're not her......Do you know her?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2015 5:37 pm
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Xiu tilted her head and gazed at him quizzically. What did he know? Had he realized that he was sleep now, or was he unaware that this was a dream but had known who she was? With no indications to work off of either way, the ghoul dropped the matter.
"You don't have to search for her," Xiu agreed quietly, "I was just curious if you did. If someone close to me had just left one day, well...I feel like I would have gone after them eventually. Not immediately, but maybe after three years, five years, ten years--"
Cutting herself off, she shook her head. "The only thing that was familiar about her to me was her style of clothing and the language she used. My uncle used to travel and has a lot of connections, so if anyone connected to me would know her, it's him, but..." But even then, with all the people in Halloween, it wasn't necessarily a very good chance that the two had ever had a run-in with one another.
"Did you...want me to ask him? What kind of creature is she?"
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Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2015 12:03 pm
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The boil frowned. "What if they don't actually need you? What if they already forgot you?" he huffed weakly. He'd followed her if she wasn't the first one that he actually relied on, he'd went out to search for her if he wasn't afraid of the possible result. He only had her, but she had a world of her own, he wasn't the only one she cared. He was so insecure about it, when he was loved for the first time, he had no idea what to do, he was that helpless and unnerving. He wanted to hold his head for the answer he couldn't acquire, the more he thought about it, the more painful he struggled.
He had no idea if he could fit in her world, even though he seemed not caring the insults, it left marks on his soul. They were like invisible tags hung on him but he couldn't get rid of. He memorized. Misfit - it seemed to be his destiny. Even at Amityville, despite he looked he enjoyed every moment, he felt he was the one left out when they talked about their families. While he tried his best to work out the ties with creeple he regarded as friends, like the demon, he didn't seem to care. He felt like a dog tag along, he used to not bothered by it. Yet, when he saw the demon was surrounded and cared by the others with that bad attitude notwithstanding. He felt he was just one of them, jealousy, something that only raised with the presence of his sister overthrew with the power of the bracelet.
He just let it control him, he vented out at the creeple he used to smile at because he was done. Especially when Xiu, the one he had weird feeling for, liked the demon so much. Family was such a strange word for AJ.
With her words, he gave her a thorough glance. "Are you come from the East too, Aria?" Her offer however made him turned his head away, pressed his lips tightly until it showed color of white. ".......Only if you want." he whispered grudgingly. "I dunno," said AJ honestly. "She has a pair of feathery wing, a powerful tiger-like striped long and thin tail-" It used to wrap around his arm or swat his butt. "And-and fluffy round ears, a pair of glowy beast eyes. She said she came from the East." He dug out information from the memories too hurtful to recall. "She's fierce and aggressive, like a predator." AJ gritted, seemed frustrated for knowing so little about her. "I just knew she's a mythical creature from a group called the Four Fiends. That's all." The boil got miffed over himself, how can one trust she was so crucial to him when he can't even give what species she was.
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Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2015 6:07 pm
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"Maybe they don't need or forgot about you," Xiu replied carefully, "Or maybe they do need you and have remembered you after all this time. How are you supposed to know for certain if you don't talk to them though?" She wondered if the uncertainty of it all was what was stopped the boil from trying to seek out answers for himself. Was he scared because he might learn something bad--something he didn't want to hear--if he were ever to meet the woman again?
Perhaps that was just one way the two of them thought differently. For Xiu, it was the issue of not knowing that would have driven her mad. Maybe the other person thought nothing of her, but the possibility that they did think of her and miss her would have been enough to urge her to follow. She was well aware that that was just how her own mind worked, however, and that AJ had his own personal feelings on the matter.
"Yes, that's where my family--and my kind--are from," she nodded at his question, "And...your description isn't familiar to me, but I'll make sure to remember every bit of it. I'll ask my uncle and let you know what he says." Which meant that she'd have to openly reveal that she had been lurking about in AJ's dream, but at this point, she didn't think that it would matter.
The ghoul bit at her bottom lip as she memorized and silently recited as much information as she could. Feathery wings. Tiger-like tail. Glowy eyes, round ears, the four fiends--
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Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2015 9:53 pm
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Uncertainty was a scary thing, like the Achluophobia or Altophobia, it had the ability to drive you crazy. It wasn't other things that stop the boil, but his own self-esteem. There was a saying that the environment one grows up with has a great influence to one's personality and behaviour.
Imagine when you grew up with everyone looking at you with an expression you didn't understand, your family - supposed to be closest to you didn't concern you at all. You had no idea why they treated you like that, you tried to win their liking and proved you can be a good kid but it never work. The mystery being unsolved until one day you bursted out and punched the kid that never stop taunting you. That kid cried with insults, told you that his ignorant mother said you was defective. Like you broke a sphere painted in jet black, you finally saw what was inside. Mystery solved, but you didn't feel relieved at all, your world collapsed.......
What Xiu said echoed and repeated in the boil's mind, why, she said. Wasn't the answer simple enough? He was the misfit, he born with defects, he didn't have the wings he expected to have. As if a creepson lost his arm or leg, it was obvious his handicap. Somehow she knew she might be right, but the notions built all the years were not easily shaken. "She flew away, how I suppose to know where she go? She didn't leave a trace." He asked, avoiding her question.
They were very different, he had a self-destructing core that lured him to perish if there wasn't someone helping. He was a born loner but he couldn't left alone. Trouble maker, a nickname given by his neighbours fitted him so well in this sense.
He chuckled short, didn't sound a happy laughter but more like just making a sound. "If that's that easy to guess, she won't frankly confide anything about her." He remembered the vain lopsided grin bloomed on her face when she asked him to guess what she was. "Anyway thank you Aria, and your uncle too." He paused and mused, "You're saying you'll come back again?" AJ looked surprised, even his eyes widened with inexplicable sentiment when he looked at Xiu. The oasis wasn't a tourist attraction, it was just a self-sustained city surrounded by sands. He first asked if she was a tourist was a mocking because not much creeple would be interested in a place like theirs.
He just called her "Aria", no idea if it was a sarcastic implication from the AJ the Baku knew or a calling from the young AJ not conscious of his dreaming.
Kaiyumi Guess which AJ it is now ;3
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Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2015 10:37 pm
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There was no denying that Xiu, coming from a rather fortunate background, could not even begin to imagine the amount of prejudice and feelings of inadequacy that AJ had grown up with. However, she could at least try to empathize, and this little journey into his dreams had allowed her to come away with far more understanding than she had initially possessed at the start. Suddenly the way he had been acting was starting to make a little more sense.
But for a ghoul like Xiu, just knowing wasn't enough to make her content. She wanted her friend to be able to recover and move on, to be happy--that was her greatest wish for him. "It might be difficult to find her," she admitted, thoughtfully lifting her gaze upwards, "But again, there's only one way to find out how easy or hard it is: you have to try."
Which was exactly what she intended on doing. If there was anyone who would know of this woman, it would have to be her uncle. Aside from the fact that he had been uh...quite the womanizer a few years back, he had also been an extensive traveler. The likelihood that he had run into AJ's acquaintance was unlikely, but the tiny possibility that he may have was good enough for her.
She wasn't sure what to make of the fact that he was still calling her Aria--did he realize it was her or not?--but she offered him a smile nonetheless. "Yes, I'll be back. Take care until then, okay AJ?"
Meegane idk if you actually want her uncle to know anything YOU CAN TELL ME IF YOU DO if you want to use it as a way to further your personal plot idk biggrin D
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Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2015 11:53 pm
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The boil shook his head and made a laugh at himself, "I can't go." He didn't say he isn't brave enough to find out the truth and hurt for a second time, he won't be able to remain normal, he had a premonition. His body visibly twitched when he heard she was coming back and couldn't hold himself for an emotion agitated within.
He didn't say anything in response.
The street lamps flickered, blinked frequently several times before they were all gone. The bodies on the ground quietly vanished when one wasn't looking. Strong winds like sandstorms blew from the boil's back, his short spiky hair danced in the gust. Everything suddenly became too difficult to see and the hollow sandstorm wailed. Through the sand squall, however, a male voice was audible.
"You shouldn't be here." It was stern and very clear, as if directly delivered into Xiu's mind. Then, she was pushed away by a force followed by the sound of heavy gate closing. It echoed in an empty void. The force disappeared and it was the sound of water when she moved.
It was an indoor area, spacious and grand yet dark and unsettling. The floor was soaked in a liquor of red, ripples slowly extended outwards with her movement. There were no windows but sumptuous curtains in red, cages of different sizes hung from the ceiling at varied height too dark to view clearly, covered with red fabrics with tassels. On the throne sat the boil, legs crossed and laid back. "Can you explain why you're here, Miss Xiu?" That was AJ, with long hair, he was the AJ that Xiu knew but yet differed. "This is my place, and I don't remember inviting you?" The gentle pleasant voice drawled leniently, shoulders relaxed covered by floor-length elaborate silk velvet robe. His body covered by almost a set of armors in black, one of his arms rested on the armrest to support the hand beneath his chin. He looked at the Baku with a wry smile, the one when a feline wanted to play with its prey.
One of the cages swayed and the cloth dropped a bit, revealing a flailing feather wing. Behind the throne was a giant red gem on the wall, glowing and lighting the room dimly.
Kaiyumi Yes, I'd like to have Xiu's uncle knowing what she is, is he a NPC?
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Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 7:01 pm
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Xiu went from relaxed to tensed in an instant, throwing her arms up to shield her face as the sandstorm suddenly kicked up. She narrowed her eyes into slits and tried to make out the changing surroundings, but otherwise made no other move to act. In a normal situation she probably would have devoured or dismissed the storm, but this time Xiu wanted to let the whole dream go on uninfluenced--with the exception of her presence, of course.
She heard the voice loud and clear, but was unable to answer before she found herself being thrust into another place, this one somehow more elegant but decidedly more unsettling than the last. The baku took a quick scan of her surroundings before letting her eyes fall on AJ. Noting that he looked more like the self that she was used to, Xiu cleared her throat.
"That's because you didn't invite me," she admitted, outright stating what they both knew, "And I hate to intrude without permission, so I'm sorry about that." Xiu gave a little bow of her head, but then lifted it and looked straight into his eyes.
"I was worried about you, though. That's why I'm here."
Meegane He is a NPC yisss ovo We can either just...do another PRP with Xiu, her uncle, and AJ after or something idk aldfkjasjfh
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Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2015 2:54 am
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Xiu could try to dismiss the storm, but she'd found the harder she forced it, the greater the resistance was. The storm was not anything but reflection of the monster, he wished not his past being peeked at. The throne room didn't exist in reality, it was the domain of his imagination, consisting of his emotions and sensation. It felt suffocatingly perturbed merely standing there and the deep crimson of the liquor thicker than water reminded one of bloods.
"I figure." He closed his eyes and smiled. The boil in royal wear exclude the crown opened his eyes and looked at Xiu, then chuckled low at her words. "First-" He raised a finger, "- he won't know our conversation here, we're dif~ferent." The smile cracked in a greater extent. "Second, where you're is the deeper consciousness of AJ, like unwanted memories, this place had been locked up. Welcome to my domain."
The boil opened his arms and Xiu could realize the chains and cuffs when they clanked, he grinned brightly but wicked. He didn't seem to be bothered by the shackles, the chains looked rusted and the manacles had big cracks over them. His eyes glowed with an eerie red, widened as he spoke with a smirk. "I only appear when he needed me, the gentleman ego hosted the body majority of time. I used to be the host of it, until he restrained himself for that woman. I appeared once as a horseman, so - I'm gonna use that name to distinguish me and the normal one, you can call me Chase."
The hands put down and dropped onto the armrest again before he talked again. "As for your purpose.......I can't see why and what you're worried about?" He said with confidence, tone playful and relaxed, leaned against the throne in a comfortable way.
Lock the beast, chain it down.
Shut the gates closely and put lock on.
Sink it down.
Don't ask about it and keep it a secret.
No one should dig into the crack.
Thoughtlessly.
Heedlessly.
Lightly.
It would become a wreck.
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Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 1:32 am
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...Different? Xiu frowned at that, a hand coming up to grasp lightly at the front of her dress. That was odd--although she had encountered many "personas" of the dreamers in past dives, this was the first time she had run into someone who seemed like a completely different person in the same body. This boil, "Chase", appeared to be conscious of the fact that this was a dream, but he didn't seem like the AJ that she knew. At least, it didn't look like he was just AJ putting on an act, but like he was genuinely a separate entity.
...But was that even possible? Then again, considering the fact that her friend had a second head for a tail, there were firsts for everything. The more he talked and explained his role, the more things seemed to make sense. A...suppressed side, then?
"I think it's only natural to worry about a friend," Xiu answered, clasping her hands together behind her back as she peered up at the boil on the throne, "He's been acting...different, which I noticed in particular during that incident at the school the other day."
She shifted her weight from one foot to the other and let her gaze flicker towards Chase's bound wrists, the lines between her brows deepening. "Was that you at that time then? Because that defensive, aggressive AJ wasn't the one that I was used to knowing."
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Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 4:28 am
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The chains clanked again when he changed his posture and laughed. "Why frowning? You should know well I've nothing similar to that boil. Always smiling in a gentle way, even if you treat him badly; have a liking towards baking and enjoy making friends with everyone."
Chase laughed more at her questions. "Do you want to know him more or me more? How can I tell that to someone who didn't even know his real name?" He taunted aggressively, as if he didn't care if it hurt anyone. The boil on the throne switched the legs he crossed. "Never mind, you're the first visitor in these years, I think I can make an exception just for you."
"I guess you can tell the difference between us, after all, you saw his past. I always exist, just sleeping until I was awaken. Then, the boil who wanted to impress the creeple he loved hid my existence. Those dreams, I bet you had them too, the forces or entities too powerful to be unaffected. I gained bigger control thanks to that." He mused. "Legacy....Destruction....it is really a good thing." He licked his lips. "Of course I enjoy that time being a horseman, the power, the ability that you can do as you wish." His glowing red eyes revealed the coveting for power and destruction. "You're right, because of -" he took a side glance at Xiu and smirked, "you and the smell of blood. the lock loosened." He didn't tell the bracelet helped to disturb AJ's judgement as well, he felt he need that bracelet to do more.
As the train of his robe dragged down the stair, Chase sauntered like an aggressive feline in an grateful way. "How much do you know about AJ?" He stopped right next to her, leaned forward and purred closely against her round ears. Then he withdrew himself. "Question, does AJ acting different or you, as a friend, not knowing him well enough? He used to think he understand the definition of friend, but after that incident, he didn't know anymore."
"You said you're a friend of him, are you trying to save him? Let me tell you in advance, you or anyone, even himself can't get rid of me. He needs me." Like an evil existence, his arrogance and destructiveness matched his image. "Do you hate or scared of that side of him? Of me?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2015 6:32 am
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Jack, Xiu had had no idea that this is what she would find by diving in AJ's dream. The bit about his past, although unexpected, had at least been in line with what she was used to learning about, but a whole other personality? That was definitely a new one, and she wasn't entirely sure how to react.
So she settled for taking a deep breath in an effort to relax herself, shaking off his taunting as best as she could. The baku held completely still when she was approached, trying not to instinctively flinch back when Chase leaned in to speak. Xiu's gaze slid to the side to regard him in a calm manner.
"Well I know more about AJ now than I did before," she answered quietly, hands still behind her back, "And now that I might understand where he's coming from a little more, I feel like I might be able to support him all the more." The first step would be to talk to her uncle about that woman that she had seen in the dream, and she and AJ would have to have a serious chat about...well, everything after that.
Her eyes became sharper then, her voice growing even quieter but also firmer in tone. "I"m not scared of you," Xiu declared, steadily meeting his gaze, "And I don't hate you either. If what you say is true, then you're just a part of AJ, and I consider him--all of him, good or bad--to be a friend." Wasn't that in part what friendship meant after all?
But whether or not AJ really needed Chase as claimed, Xiu thought, had yet to be seen. She didn't want to immediately condemn the hidden side that was lurking within AJ's consciousness, but she wasn't about to allow her friend to walk down a self-destructive path either.
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2015 10:05 am
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Which was his true personality? The gentleman one? The aggressive one?
Chase was amused by Xiu's reaction when he approached her. It was what he wanted, he cackled low. The boil squinted his eyes, "Really? You're that confident about it? AJ is a more difficult guy than you can expect, he is not honest but it's hard to tell whether he's lying because he wants to be a good kid." He states with a teasing tone. "I won't stop you from trying, but you'll see what I mean. Through those years, he is no longer the kid that would share his story with a stranger."
The widened glowing eyes met with Xiu's pink one. "I can be part, I can be all, who knows. Remember what you've said and keep your words, Miss Xiu. Once he is betrayed, he won't trust easily again and it's much harder to open his heart." He smiled while spoke very slowly, "Like. that. demon." the change of shape of his mouth became so clear. Then the speed resumed.
"I'm so glad you're not afraid of me, I think AJ too. After all, he has been restraining so nobody would find out." Chase put a finger in front of his lips. "Shush. He would be so frustrated if he knew all this. That someone he had complicated feeling on entered his dream and prying about." He chuckled happily. "Are you gonna tell him the truth?" An eyebrow was raised. "Do you think he can take that? He looks more fragile than you see. He had been hurt deeply."
He turned around to look at the cages covered by the red clothes, "You can't treat him the same way you treat someone from a healthy family. That stupid demon had used the worst way and I hope you don't." He put his hand on one of the corners of a cloth and let his arm drop, the cloth slid down and fell into the red liquid. An empty cage revealed, made of Obsidian. Chase realized he had been given information to Xiu, it was suggested that AJ's sensation had connected to his and affected him.
"Xiu, come back again when you acquire his full name. It's the lowest requirement for me to tell you more about him. Comparing two of us, I'm the easier one because I don't care. I don't envy and I won't feel uneasy when you care about a demon more. Oops, divulge too much." He turned back to say, "Pretend you've never heard that~"
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Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2015 6:23 pm
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