|
Post by Steinerman on Apr 10, 2010 16:47:47 GMT -5
Joe had retrieved his rented horse from one of the stables, and had then led Dara out past the boundaries of Minervum, into the beautiful countryside of The Commonwealth.
They had ridden for almost an hour before a small shanty appeared in the distance. Once within earshot of the ramshackle building, Joe slowed, his eyes wary for signs of danger. He motioned for Dara to do the same, "My partner is a little on the paranoid side, and she really doesn't like strangers. Just keep relaxed and we shouldn't have any problems with her."
With that, he spurred his horse, closing with the shack. He didn't see Laramie (his partner) and that meant one of two things. Either she wasn't back from her own mission yet, or she was nervous about his riding companion, and wasn't showing herself out of fear.
He kept his emotions calm and soothing, knowing the best way to reassure her fears was by doing just that. Idly he mused on how she'd react to Dara, a woman who could project emotions mixed with a girl who could feel any and all emotions with painful clarity.
This could get dicey in a hurry if something goes wrong. He thought with annoyance.
|
|
|
Post by sentranicia on Apr 11, 2010 19:05:08 GMT -5
Zandara matched Joe's pace on her own horse, her eyes scanning the forest for signs of danger. It was dark under the shade of the trees, and even Whisper could tell that Dara was uncomfortable. Finally a small camp appeared just within view and the pair slowed down. She listened to his words and grinned broader than she was already, "I am the epitome of relaxed, Joe." But on the inside, Dara was incredibly nervous. She sensed that Joe's statement had been less than truly telling, and that something bad might soon happen.
He certainly seemed jumpy enough for that to be the case. Nevertheless, Zandara followed him to the shack and looked around. He seemed confused and irritated, making for a rather strange feeling in the air. She wondered briefly why he was so concerned. The woman was his partner after all. It wasn't as if she would just attack..
|
|
|
Post by Steinerman on Apr 11, 2010 19:30:28 GMT -5
Joe nodded, reassured by Dara's proclamation of her calm. Maybe this will go better than I thought. He thought, pleased. He slipped down off his horse and started walking with measured steps towards the shack.
Meanwhile, inside the shack, young Laramie Wish was nervous. Well, no, she didn't think she needed to be all that nervous. Her partner would never try to harm her, but his new friend might. And Laramie was quite positive that the young woman riding on the odd horse was nervous. And thanks to my idiotic ability, I'm nervous too. Thanks ability... Laramie thought sourly, trying to calm herself.
But it was no good, as the young woman drew closer, the nervous feeling grew stronger inside Laramie's hungry stomach. She had Joe's pistol with her, and it was currently aimed at the young woman. The young nervous woman, Laramie corrected herself silently.
She frowned and concentrated, focusing her will into trying to calm herself. To block all emotion coming from the newcomer. But the nervousness continued, growing slowly and surely. Laramie wanted to scream, it was so infuriating how her mind seemed a weapon against her.
And then, without even bothering to consult her brain, her body acted on the tense fear inside her and pulled the trigger of the pistol. Laramie squeaked in surprise as the gun barked harshly, bullet flying straight and true, passing within inches of the newcomer's head.
"Oh Crap!" she hissed as she realized the bullet had nearly hit her unintentional target.
Outside of the shack, walking towards the door, Joe ducked for cover as he heard the gun fire. In an instant he realized what had happened, and turned, hoping his partner hadn't just killed Dara.
|
|
|
Post by sentranicia on Apr 12, 2010 9:33:15 GMT -5
((If you're going to do a color I recommend white or something along those lines. That orange will blend completely with the orange skin.)) Zandara heard the shot, maintained her seat through her horse's startled jumps, and took the bullet directly into the calf muscle of her leg. Pain shot through the right side of her body and she bit back a cry of pain. Looking toward the shack, she spotted a woman with a pistol, looking rather nervous. Cocking her head to the left, she smiled and said clearly but quietly in as sweet a voice as ever, "Pain." She forced magic through her every being, building it and building it to a higher level than she had used in quite some time. She sensed a tad of the feeling, more like a biting cold than anything to her, but she focused all her attention on the woman in the shack, ignoring the blood that dripped down her bare leg and forcing more magic out and into the hostile body. Awaiting the inevitable scream of agony, still she wore her sweet smile, hair falling perfectly over her shoulders and giving her a rather angelic appearance.
After a few moments that she deemed to be enough to perhaps put the other person out of commission for a while, she realized that Joe was likely not very happy with the situation. Turning her eyes away from the woman, she lifted her spell and focused her gaze on Joe, "If you would, some cloth please? I fear I'm not much for bleeding." She looked down and recognized with some relief that the bullet had not hit Whisper at all, but she could not tell if it was still inside her or not. Sighing, she gingerly dismounted to check things out. Putting weight on the limb produced a searing pain, but she limped silently to a nearby rock to inspect herself.
|
|
|
Post by Steinerman on Apr 12, 2010 12:41:12 GMT -5
((aight, trying for blue. Does that work?))
It all happened too quickly for Joe to keep track of it all. The bullet had whizzed from the shack and had hit Zandara's leg, causing blood to spurt forth. And then...Zandara's eyes had narrowed and he recognized the build-up of any extremely unpleasant emotion, most likely aimed at Laramie.
Expecting to hear a scream for the shack at any moment, Joe was surprised when not a sound came forth. He assumed Zandara had either only given Laramie a taste of it, or Laramie was far stronger than he in defending her mind.
He nodded towards Zandara as she limped, quickly going over to aid her.
Laramie felt pain, lots and lots of pain. And the trouble was it hadn't even hit her yet. She wasn't quite sure what was happening. In her mind, the other woman lit up like a mental fireworks show, pain building up inside her body. But it wasn't the woman's pain, not all of it.
And then suddenly Laramie understood what was happening, the woman must have a power, the ability to project emotions upon others. And, (Laramie realized with a start of fear) she was about to throw a very large and painful emotion towards Laramie herself.
"Oh double Crap!" She hissed silently to herself, feeling the pain come towards her like a mental thunderbolt. It hurt, a thousand times worse than when Laramie had merely sensed its coming. Every part of her body felt like it was on fire, burning alive and forever in a pit of hellish fire.
But...without thinking about it, Laramie's mind had thrown up every trick she had painstakingly learned in blocking emotion. And suddenly, her mind was her own again. The pain was still there, oh it was still there. But for a few moments, while her mental barrier held, it wasn't in control of her body.
With a sob of pain, she stumbled forward, the pain slowly seeping through her barrier. With a small effort she pushed open the shanty door, the hinges creaking fiercely as she leaned heavily against it for a moment.
I have to get out there, save Joe from that monster. She thought violently to herself. Stumbling forward, as-of-yet unseen by Joe and the woman, who'd gotten off her horse and was limping towards a rock to sit upon.
It was about this time that Laramie realized the pain had stopped increasing. It was still there, but it was like a pressure had been lifted and the feeling slowly began to melt. Carefully she lifted her mental barriers, raising the gun as she did so.
"Joe!"She called out, "Get away from that thing!"
As she called out those words, Laramie thought for a moment. Holy carp, I must look odd. A half-crazed crying girl holding a gun and shouting. I'm going to die, aren't I?
|
|
|
Post by sentranicia on Apr 12, 2010 15:11:44 GMT -5
Zandara's head swam with the pain in her leg as she inspected. She couldn't tell on her own if the bullet was still in her body, but judging by the fact that her horse was still standing, it must have been. She groaned, her smile faltering and a grimace of agony taking its place. Fortunately, she had little time to linger on her own pain before she was distracted once more by Joe's partner. A gun pointed at her face, Zandara zeroed in on the crying, screaming woman and once more focused an immense amount of magic toward her, this time with little build up at all, but rather all at once, "Pain." The word sounded again, though was distorted slightly through clenched teeth as she bit back the urge to cry herself. But it was sound enough that she felt an explosion of magic between the two women, felt the cold sensation leave her body and channel directly toward the other.
Holding pressure on her bleeding limb, she glared fiercely at the woman, all hints of her usual smile drained completely, replaced with the grimace of a woman in pain. Her magic flooded out of her with such intensity that she could feel the cold throughout her whole body. Eyes locked in place, narrowed with intensity, she poured her magic into the assailant, not caring to hold back in the slightest. This woman was a danger to her, that much she knew, and until something was done to prevent her being harmed any further, she would hold this spell without relent.
|
|
|
Post by Steinerman on Apr 12, 2010 15:28:29 GMT -5
Joe watched, horror and mild annoyance mixing in his mind as Laramie came stumbling from the shack, gun in hand, tears streaming down her face.
Though his back was turned to Dara, he felt her anger, and realizing what she was going to do, acted on a hunch.
Laramie tried to block the pain again, and succeeded. For almost a whole second before her concentration failed her. She shrieked in pain and fell to her knees, her sight going black out of sheer agony. And yet, her ability assisted her for once, for even in agony she could sense the woman still. With the last of her will, Laramie aimed her gun and fired.
Joe's hunch turned out to be correct as he stepped straight in front of Dara, blocking her line-of-sight to Laramie even as he heard Laramie scream pitifully in pain. And then suddenly his world was on fire as Dara's power shifted focus to him. He grimaced but kept his feet, holding out both hands (one towards each of the women) in an motion meant to signify that they should stop.
So it was a complete surprise to Joe when he heard the gun crack again and distinctly felt a bullet smash into his back.
"Well..." He whispered, voice filled with the pain of Dara's ability combined with the bullet now lodged somewhere in his back. "This was a bloody brilliant idea."
|
|
|
Post by sentranicia on Apr 12, 2010 15:46:18 GMT -5
Zandara pulled her magic back in the second she heard the gunshot, watching the blood blossom over Joe's shoulders. Anger filled her and she screamed at the woman, "Wonderful job, you've shot your partner and his traveling companion!" Grumbling angrily to herself for a moment she took a deep breath to calm herself, the smile returning to her face, "You would be very helpful to everyone if you would go find some cloth to bandage these wounds. Both of us are going to need to have bullets removed, and I can make the process go quite smoothly. But you're going to have to stop trying to kill me." She stumbled over to Joe, helping him to the ground. Focusing her attention on him, she began to wrap her magic up into a bundle, preparing to direct it into Joe's wounded body.
"Pleasure." The word sounded as a gentle whisper in the air as she held Joe gingerly in her arms. His wound was worse than hers, it appeared. Much worse. She locked her eyes on the man's body, channeling intense magic into him, forcing away every ounce of pain that the bullet might be creating in him, ignoring the pain that still coursed through her from her own wound. There was blood everywhere now, all over both of them, and covering the ground beneath.
Keeping her gaze locked on him, she idly wondered what he was feeling right now. She knew that each person took her power in different ways. Some took the pleasure as simple relief, others felt it in ways that created lust for her if they knew where the feeling came from. She was certain Joe would not attempt to assault her when he was at his best, and certainly not while he had a bullet in his body, but she was prepared for anything.
The day had, after all, been interesting enough already.
|
|
|
Post by Steinerman on Apr 12, 2010 16:05:31 GMT -5
Laramie's vision cleared a few moments after the gun fired. At first she assumed she'd hit the other woman. But then, a feeling of absolute horror overcame Laramie as she realized Joe had stepped in between the two of them and had taken the bullet meant for the woman.
Her sobbing returned with twice the power, the pain was back as well. Not directed at her this time, simply her mind gleaning the feeling from the others near her. "I'm s-s-s-orry..." She sobbed, speech stuttering. "She was nervous, and I pulled the trigger. And then she tried to hurt me, and I thought you were in danger." The words came tumbling out of her as she realized she'd just hurt the only friend she'd ever known.
Slowly, however, her own vicarious pain lessened as Joe laughed lightly. She stared oddly at him, unsure of what was happening.
Joe's laughter continued, soft and kind. The wound wasn't too bad, and he healed extremely fast. "Wish," he called out softly. "This is Zandara, she's a friend. Well, not an enemy right now. Do as she asked, There's bandages in my pack in the shack."
He coughed laughter for a moment, Hey, I just rhymed, He thought absentmindedly.
And then a true calm filled his world, a calm so peaceful and gentle that he suddenly wanted to cry out of sheer wonder. Belatedly he realized it must be Zandara's power, and his minded reacted with sadness. This feeling was happiness, it was glowing mornings in Rondon with his mother cooking the deer his father and he had brought in from their hunt.
It was a family outing with Anthony and his wife...what was her name? He couldn't recall. And it was Valerie, his beautiful sister, laughing and playing beside him. Watching over him as an older sister.
And then all that he could see was Valerie's dead face, staring up at him from her lifeless body on that bloody day in Ginther's Rift.
"Zandara, you're trying to help, but please. Stop. If you're going to use that power of pleasure on anyone, use it on Wish. She could do with a little calm in her life. But don't use that on me, not right now at least." He half-whispered, eyes filling with tears of unwanted memories.
|
|
|
Post by sentranicia on Apr 14, 2010 23:44:22 GMT -5
Dara watched Joe for a moment more after he told her to stop, reluctant to pull back but unwilling to use her skill on him without his consent. Finally, she let her spell drop off of him, averting her eyes to see where Wish had gone. She whispered a soft apology to Joe, leaving him to his tears as she quickly walked off to see what the other woman was doing. The girl seemed to be searching for bandages, running about in somewhat of of a fuss. She could tell that Wish really cared about Joe, though she wasn't quite sure why. They were military partners, not spouses, and to be so attached... It intrigued the young woman.
Remembering Joe's words, and recognizing that he wasn't screaming in pain or terribly wounded, she reached once more for her magic, saying in a soft voice as she released it, "Pleasure." Eyes locked on Wish, she stepped forward slowly, "You don't have to block this, friend. It won't hurt. In fact, it should make you feel absolutely perfect."
She limped steadily forward, carefully kneeling in the grass, eyes ever steadied on her target. As she settled, she intensified her magic, nearly to the point of what she had dosed Wish with pain. She kept her eyes locked on target, hoping that the barriers that she had felt in this mind had been melted off enough by her experience with pain that she would accept the magic without alarm.
|
|
|
Post by Steinerman on Apr 15, 2010 0:16:23 GMT -5
Wish froze, suddenly aware that Zandara had left Joe and was walking in her direction. And then the feeling came, happiness. No, not happiness, happiness was far too dull a word to adequately describe the feeling that was gently coursing through her body now.
Peace... Yes, that was a better description. Wish's worries and fears all were smoothed out by the feeling, leaving only a delicate peace of mind. She stopped moving for a few moments and closed her eyes, wanting the feeling to continue forever. She hadn't felt like this since...Wish shook her head, she wasn't quite sure if she'd ever felt this calm and happy in her life.
She glanced over at Zandara, eyes wide with awe. "Wow..." was all she managed to say before losing her train of thought. He hands drifted gently up towards her face, brushing back her ragged hair. "So...Joe seems to think you're okay. I guess that means I should too." She paused, eyes downcast. "I'm very sorry I shot you, Zandara. I have this..." her face frowned in concentration as she searched for the correct word, "A curse, I suppose you could call it. It got out of control and I panicked and...I guess I pulled the trigger without thinking." She ended lamely.
Her eyes strayed over to Joe where he sat, propped up against the weathered and pock-marked rock. He was sitting calmly, and if she hadn't known what had happened, she could never have guessed he had a bullet in his upper back. Her mind, still peaceful, concentrated on finding the bandages. Joe had brought Zandara here for a reason, and she trusted Joe. Now her priority was helping clean up the mess she'd started.
So I guess that means I have to trust this Zandara as well, She thought, worried by that fact. In her experience, trusting people only caused pain. The only person she'd ever trusted enough to talk to for more than a few moments was Joe. Her wary gaze again strayed to Zandara, she would trust Zandara, but also keep in mind the cardinal rule that had kept her safe during her days out on the streets and in the slums. When in doubt, run away.
her hands finally found the bandages, and with a small, cautious smile, she motioned towards Zandara. "Need help with the wound? I have a little medical training, Joe taught me."
|
|
|
Post by sentranicia on Apr 26, 2010 20:41:31 GMT -5
Zandara listend, her head cocked gently to the side. But when Wish offered to patch her up she politely declined, "No. I'm just as useful with a busted up leg as I am without. Joe is the one you need to fix up. He's more powerful without a gunshot wound than I am." She kept her eyes on the woman, her magic flowing freely and warmly through her body and into Wish. "But I appreciate that offer. Consider me lower priority. At the very least because I can tell you care about him much more than me." With a wink, she laughed softly, gesturing toward the man on the ground.
Dara followed Wish to Joe and sat down nearby, keeping her eyes on her as the bandages found their places, "I suppose we ought to try getting that particular bullet out of his back. I can make that go fairly smoothly, but to do that I have to put my magic on him, not you. Joe, whatever you were seeing, you won't see again. It'll be a physical pleasure to counteract the pain if I do it this time. I promise. It won't hurt."
She never moved her eyes from Wish. Not once did her magic waver. This was their choice. Not hers. But the risk of infection was driving her to think she had to persuade them somehow. Even if Joe didn't think the wound was bad, it could quickly progress into something dangerous, and possibly lethal, if the bullet wasn't extracted soon. "Your call. Both of you."
|
|
|
Post by Steinerman on Apr 27, 2010 0:39:37 GMT -5
Joe was about to protest Dara's plan of action. But then he glanced to her side and saw Wish. In her tear-filled eyes he realized that she might not be able to bear seeing him in any more pain than he was at the moment. So he wearily nodded his head, "A bullet in my back isn't exactly a good thing. Very well, Zandara. Do it." He slipped out of his jacket with a wince, and then carefully lifted off his shirt.
He heard Laramie suck in her breath out of shock at the sight of his wound. And recalled that while she'd grown up on the streets of many dangerous towns, she'd seen few (if any) true battlefield wounds. He laughed lightly, blocking out the pain of the wound for Laramie's sake, "Make it quick, kid. We have places to be."
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Wish nod nervously, but get the bandages and tools ready nonetheless.
|
|
|
Post by sentranicia on Apr 27, 2010 10:16:43 GMT -5
Tears were filling Wish's eyes as they knelt beside Joe, his pain rather evident on his face. Ignoring her own, she nodded as her offer was accepted, "Be calm, Miss. It will be but a moment." Slowly pulling her eyes and magic away from the woman, she placed her gaze on the wounded man, cocked her head to the side, and said in a calm voice, "Pleasure." But this time, she focused it in a different way. Warmth flooded her body for a moment before it leaped forward and into his body. This time it would not be peace that he felt, but rather his physical body would take the feeling as a whole.
She idly wondered how he would handle the feeling, one she had seen work incredible magic on a man's body before, but held her magic in check against her curiosity. There was no need to test his body with her power, not in these circumstances. Besides. She needed to save her power for the next time she would see Ventrix.
Quieting her mind, she flooded more magic into him and nodded, eyes still on Joe, for Wish to commence with the procedure, "Joe, if it hurts at all, tell me. I can do more." Keeping her mind calm for Wish's sake, she locked her gaze on the man's face, paying close attention for any reaction to pain he might feel. She placed her hand on his to keep him calm amidst the strange feelings that would be coursing through his body, knowing that since he had never felt it before he would be a little disoriented by it. Still, she held the intensity in check, making sure not to overload him.
|
|
|
Post by Steinerman on Apr 27, 2010 13:13:57 GMT -5
Joe had to fight to keep from laughing hysterically, the feeling of pleasure streaming through him was so great. He hardly felt the pain as Laramie quickly went to work, her hands shaking ever-so-slightly out of sheer nervousness. For a few moments he was tempted to simply close his eyes and enjoy the feeling, but he wasn't exactly sure what would happen if he did give in entirely to this feeling.
So he concentrated on the surrounding area, searching for threats, areas of interest. Anything to help his mind keep the delicate balance between the pleasure and the pain, not straying too far into either.
His mind immediately turned to the problem of their plan. It hadn't changed much, besides the fact that both he and Dara were hurt. After patching up the wound, he'd have to get the coded transmitter from inside the shack, and contact the Captain. Hopefully arranging a meeting within the next few days, assuming the Captain was close.
He winced as one of the medical implements slid deeply into the wound. To take his mind off the sudden burst of pain, he spoke quietly to Wish, "Kid, the radio still in the shack?" She nodded mutely.
He hissed in pain as Laramie slowly extracted the bullet from his wound and then quickly applied the bandages. His hand blindly grabbed the first thing he could and squeezed gently, trying to keep him mind off the pain. It wasn't until a moment later that he realized he'd accidentally taken Zandara's hand in his. He quickly let go, "Sorry," He muttered quietly.
|
|