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 Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2012 10:43 pm
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Wandel did indeed note the change in her speech patterns. He prided himself on being observant. Hmm, his poor subjects must be absolutely terrified to be having such a powerful effect on the Beholder. "Only if I let zhem get out." He said, chuckling a bit.
"Oh yes, very close." He said. Indeed, it as only a few more steps and a turn of the spiral staircase, and there they were, outside a metal door. Wandel pressed his palm to it in a depression as invisible as the one on the wall upstairs, and it swung open. "It requires a key and zhe touch from the inside, but only my hand from zhe outside." He explained.
Inside, it looked like a mad scientist's lab...from hell itself. There was a table, shining clena and immaculate, but a pile of bloodied sheets in one corner suggested that it was not always so. A second table held various vials, tubes, and bubbly, strange liquids. And the cages. Everywhere cages, some empty, some containing Faes. There was one odd touch-a framed note on the wall. It read,
"My dear Wandel,
I finally have news of my sister's location. If I can ferret her out, you may soon have that demon subject you've been wishing for.
-Terra"
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Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 11:52 am
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Voudoun inhaled deeply as she stepped into the underground lab. "Blood, plenty of it, cold steel, chemicals, but most importantly, fear." She snapped her fingers, and the trailing lights exploded outward in a silent wave. Within seconds, one was hovering over each occupied cage, and the sounds within the steel confines quickly died away as she began to draw on their deepest fears.
After several minutes, the lights began to slowly burn out, one by one, until only one remained. That lone trailing light floated through the air, much like an insect gorged on too much food, to land in the beholder's outstretched hand. She clapped her over hand over it, then slowly drew her fingers apart, a shiny pin appearing in it's place. With her grotesque, scarecrow smile, she stuck it into the heart on her chest.
"Ahh, much, much better. My thanks, good sir, for a meal most enjoyed." She chuckled as she began to walk around the lab, inspecting it slowly. "Difficult not to just suck them dry for all they were worth, but they will recover within a day or two." She glanced over her shoulder at the patchwork faenix with that smile. "After all, I wouldn't want to deprive a scientist of such zeal into the mysteries of life the minds of his subjects."
As she completed her circuit, she frowned at the lone letter hanging on the wall. "Terra? Mm... the demon, Terra, perhaps?" |
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Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 12:33 pm
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Wandel was content to simply watch her work, a rare genuine grin on his face. Of course, on the patchwork Faenix it looked creepy as all hell, but there was very little about him that wasn't creepy, so.
"You are very velcome, mein liebe." Wandel said. "I shall refrain from experimenting on zhem further until zhey are recovered, but I suppose zhey needed a break anyway. Cannot push the subjects until zhey break, because zhen you have no subjects." Wandel found her smile rather pretty. He found everything about her both beautiful and fascinating, actually. Silly as that was.
"Yes, her." Wandel nodded. "You have met her? Or dealt with her?" He chuckled. "She sends me subjects, sometimes. Zhose zhat fail her, or whom she does not like. Zhe promise of her sister, a demoness, to experiment upon, to push and prod and poke to breaking? Mmm." He looked positively delighted at the prospect.
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Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 12:47 pm
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Voudoun chuckled in amusement. "Met her? No, even in my more... 'feral' states, I know well enough to stay away from demons. A beholder must be either very powerful, very brave, or more often than not, very stupid to try and feed on a demon's fear."
The beholder walked over and leafed through one of the journals on the table. "Hmm... 'Designations of emotional responses and the theoretical placements of origin'... If I may, I would move 'impulse control' more towards the front, and the 'fear center', as you so deliciously call it, more towards the center and underside of the brain." She looked up with a wicked, skin-tingling grin. "That is, for most faes, anyways. Some have rather... 'peculiar' set-ups in how their brains are."
She dipped her head, but continued to watch Wandel from just under her eyebrows as she pretended to continue reading the journal. Mmm... fascinating creature, she surprised herself thinking, and one not repulsed by the monstrous creature I am.
She looked up again and smiled. "Question, dear heart, have you heard of the faelon, Lysergia? She might be able to help you with your studies, at least, in regards to procuring plant-derived, mind-altering chemicals, anyways." |
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Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 3:25 pm
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"Oh? Very vise," Wandel agreed. He walked down the row of cages until he came to an empty one, and performed the complex series of inputs required to unlock it, then seposited the bag he still carried inside. The Faefox slowly wiggle dout and immediately huddle in the far back of the cage. He locked the door.
"I have been trying to observe vich parts of zhe brain react to certain stimuli, but it is difficult to find a reliable method." He shrugged, but grinned ack at her. "I vill take your advice, men liebe...I suspect you have at least a fair grasp on how fear, especially, vorks..." He picked up a pencil off one of the other tables against the wall, going over to where she was and pulling the journal over, making notes in the margins to correct the diagram with her indications.He was at first not conscious of how close they were.
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Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 4:30 pm
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Voudoun chuckled as the Eye hovered in front of the cage with the captive faefox. "Tsk, it should know better, she needs time to recover. Sadistic little viewer." The beholder back to find Wandel standing next to her, and she found herself smiling down at the slightly smaller faenix. "A fair grasp, yes. I can help you with your studies, Heir Wandel. I can show you some of the knowledge my kind have gleaned over generations with your subjects here."
That grotesque smile again. "That is, as long as you don't mind losing a few in the process." The beholder tapped the journal, her finger brushing up against his. "This area here, we think may control memories, particular those memories that seem to be... what is the saying? Passed through ancestors, yes?" She trailed her finger lightly over his, and perhaps sensing what it's mistress was up to, the Eye floated up and turned around, watching them. Voudoun's smile slowly turned into a blood-chilling grin as she nodded ever so slightly in it's direction. |
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Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 7:36 pm
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Wandel chuckled quietly. "I vould hate to have her break on me before I get the chance to properly poke and prod." He admitted. He returned her smile easily. "I am never one to turn away aid. Zhough I cannot ever seem to keep assistants long. My experiments...put zhem off." He looked into her eyes. "You...you are different, zhough. I doubt zhere is much I could do to frighten you away."
His smile became wicked, to match her grotesque grin. "Oh, in zhe pursuit of science? I do not mind, ve shall simply leave them for zhe FaeGami to put back together..." Briefly, he pondered what it would be like to capture one, or a pair, of those to study. Perhaps he ought to set a trap...but no, that was for later. "Ancestral, or genetic, memory, yes." Wandel nodded, making the note. He felt a small shiver as her finger trailed over his. 'Silliness. Silliness and distractions...' But distractions were not always bad...
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Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 6:54 am
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Voudoun grinned back. It has been sometime, the thought crossed her mind, even longer since it was with someone who wasn't terrified out of their mind... The beholder tucked that thought away, though she found she enjoyed what it slowly stirred within. "A shame, it has been sometime since I have worked in a laboratory, and truly never one as... 'grand' as this one!" She chuckled as she encompassed the massive lab with a sweep of her arm. "I was a scientist of sorts. Well, what passes for a scientist within my kind. I was... what do you call them? We studied the other races, though for entirely different reasons than they would study each other."
The look in her eye said plenty what that reason was, as did the tongue slowly passing over leathery lips. "It was actually my studies that were the... 'cause' of what I have become." The beholder held her arm up, showing the stitched-together, canvas-like skin under the harsh lighting. |
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Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 3:20 pm
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Wandel chuckled. "Grand? You flatter me, mein liebe." His tailfeathers twitched ever-so-slightly. "You know, it does not surprise me to hear that you have laboratory experience. And you are all zhe more...valuable to me because of it." His eyebrows flicked up. "Oh, is zhat so? An...anthropologist?" He suggested, "one who studies cultures and peoples...searching out zheir greatest fears, I imagine..." He gave her an absolutely wicked grin.
"Vell, I would say zhat you have become..." He drew a finger over her arm, from elbow to fingertip. "Somezhing quite...beautiful." He chuckled. "Ozhers might disagree, perhaps, but I do not care."
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Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 3:52 pm
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Voudoun chuckled as she teased her fingers along the underside of his arm. "Yes, anthropologist, that is the name. There are some... fascinating fears and history behind them out there."
The beholder took a step towards him, closing the gap slightly. She could smell the various chemicals that had seeped their harsh scents into his feathers and skin over the years, could still feel the fear that ebbed through the air from the cages. "You flatter me, heir Wandel." She smiled. "Perhaps... you must be hungry, I would think, after hauling your subject around all day. Might I have the honor of preparing a meal, tonight?"
Her eyes twinkled with promised mischief. "Unless of course, you've already conquered that pesky little thing called hunger?" There would be plenty of time for what she was planning. |
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Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 4:13 pm
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Wandel felt a pleasant chill run through his patchwork form, and for once was quite glad that his nervous system repaired itself no matter how much damage was done to it. "Fear is a fascinating zhing, men liebe." He said. He felt his heart pick up a bit as she moved closer. (Hmm, he could add that to the list of involuntary responses that still worked perfectly, an oddly detached part of his mind noted.)
"I vould appreciate that very much," he said. He let out a small sigh. "Alas, I have tried, even tried going vizhout a digestive system, but it always seems to repair itself. Verdammten Leben Magie." He let out a bit of an annoyed growl, but even his particular peeve with Faetasia's brand of magic could not completely distract him from Voudun for long.
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Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2012 4:39 pm
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Voudoun grinned as she teased a finger down his spine slowly, then placed her hand on the small of his back. "Then come, my friend. Let us see what you have, and I will prepare a meal that will have you appreciating such... petty annoyances." She chuckled as they started up the stairs, her Eye following a few yards behind. "Though my kind has little need for eating, since we feed on fear, I developed a fascination for physical foods. Some of them are quite tasty."
She smiled down at Wandel. "Though, nothing ever quite fully equals fresh, unadulterated terror. I think the equal would be a fine, crisp wine, yes?" Her tail lashed slowly from side to side, occasionally teasing across the back of his legs. |
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