Completed [Traveler's Row] Soul of a Doll part 2 (Klaus)

[Fubuki Kouri]

Fubuki Kouri 23th of Bell, 52nd of Spring, 513 AV OOCSorry if it's kind of short. But in this thread, Klaus is the lead role. An odd pair could be seen at the street of the Traveler's Row that night. It was late at night and as such, not many people passed through the area, though the some who did would be granted by a rather interesting sight. "So, you live here, Sir Klaus?" A translucent little girl spoke to the more substantial young man next to her, her right hand was holding the man's left. The girl's very long ethereal white hair and crimson red eyes contrasted greatly with the man's short black hair and azure blue eyes. They seemed to know each other judging by the way the girl spoke to the young man. "Ehehehe~ Show me to your home, Sir! And then... you promised to show me a living doll~" She excitedly jumped up and down. Her materialized state kept holding to Klaus' hand, sucking his body warmth all the while.

[Klaus]

Well, he thought, this isn't exactly how I imagined bringing home a girl for the first time.

Klaus laughed to himself and smiled down at the phantom girl beside him. In the short time they knew each other, he had become quite fond of the way she was excited about everything. How she laughed for seemingly no reason.

"Yes, Miss Kouri." he said, confirming her question.

A gentle breeze blew through, blowing his cloak up. A chill ran down his spine as grew colder. It was bad enough that he was cold from holding the girls hand, but he dared not to tell her she couldn't as he was the one that offered it. In the dim shadows of the night, Klaus began to get disoriented. Was that my room? No..no.. My room has the cloth on it. Is that it?

Klaus's inner argument with himself was interrupted by Fubukis excitement. She leaped and bounced as they walked. Again, Klaus chuckled at her.

"Soon. Very soon." he said. Then Klaus paused and closed his eyes. He was done guessing at which door was his, and with the moon behind clouds now it was difficult to tell which door had the telltale cloth on it. When he opened his eyes, he saw a different world. A world of colors, both vibrant and dark.

Only for a moment did he allow himself to view the Auras around him, as he knew full well the headache it could give him. But in that moment, he saw the pale purple-orange of his door. This door, had a secret to it however, as to why its aura had color while the rest of them where a pale grey.

This door was alive. And Klaus was giddy with excitement of his own at how Fubuki would react.

"Here we are, Miss Kouri." he said. His front door was simple. A plain, solid wood door, held to the wall by two metal hinges. However, a square foot of leather was nailed to the front, distinguishing it from the other doors. Klaus reached out and grabbed on to the handle. He fought himself hard not to smile as he tried twisting the knob. As he knew perfectly well, this would not work.

"Darn, I locked my door again. And I don't have the key." he said with a huff. But he had to turn away from Fubuki, as he could not hold his face blank perfectly.

With a hint of dismay in his voice he added, "I guess I can't get in to show you my magic." As he spoke, he calmed his expression back to a strait look on his face and turned to see Fubukis reaction. Shortly after, he spoke again.

"Unless, I could just tell the door to let us in." Now his look was mischievous as he turned to face the door. He knocked three times, as if someone were inside. "Please door, wont you open?"

As he spoke the final word, the door unlocked with a click and slowly swung open for them, revealing a plain living room. All the while, Klaus watched her face, waiting to see her reaction before motioning for her to enter.

[Fubuki Kouri]

Fubuki Kouri "Yay! Hehehe~" She jumped up and down in excitement when they had reached his door, her ankle-length hair billowing up and down, following her motion. It was plain wooden door. She gazed at Klaus while still jumping up and down. She patiently wait as Klaus tried to open his door. Hm hm hm~ She hummed a happy song in her head, he should be done now, opening a simple wooden door shouldn't be that hard. But he took way more time than usual. "Hm?" Kouri tilted her head in confusion. "Is the door broken?" She asked Klaus, it would not do well if it's so. Sure, Kouri could just phase through the door, but Klaus would crash the door if he tried. Then Klaus said he locked his door and don't have they key. "Huh??" Kouri cocked her right eyebrow, something was quite wrong with his statement. "Uhm... eeeh... you locked the door, but you don't have the key???" She tried to sound as polite as possible. Only an idiot didn't have keys for the door he locked himself, but of course Kouri would not say that to his face, not when he was being so kind to her. Klaus' next statement brought a tinge of disappointment to Kouri's face which grew quickly into despair and this despair triggered Kouri's insane part of mind. Though innocent and cheerful, one should know that Kouri is not a normal girl with a fully healthy psyche. Part of her mind never recovered itself ever since that brutal event. Witnessing her parents torn before her very eyes before being torn herself would to that to a twelve years old girl mental faculty. Kouri's insane side is mainly triggered by the feelings of despair and frustration. And she often felt those if things were not going her way. "Grrrrrr..." She let out a low growl, her pupils narrowed into slits as she stared dangerously to Klaus. "You lied to me?" Her cheerful voice lost its cheerfulness and replaced by a more mature-sounding voice, She didn't notice Klaus was teasing her... fortunately, Klaus' next action made Kouri realized he was joking. When he told her, he could tell the door to let them in "...." Kouri tilted her head, still keeping her hostile dhani-esque look, she didn't buy it yet. Then Klaus spoke the magic words and activated the door's magic. It swung open by itself. Woah! Kouri's hostile demeanor quickly vanished and she returned to the cheerful and innocent girl she was, it was rather disturbing how fast her mood could change. "A-a-amazing!! Hahahaha! Hehehe~!" She jumped up and down, her face full of excitement and awe. "Hahahaha~!" Grinning happily, Kouri immediately entered the room when Klaus motioned her to. "Excuse me~ Hehehe~" She then headed to a chair and cutely sat on it. "Now then, can you make me a living doll?"

[Klaus]

The change in demeanor did not go unnoticed. In fact, for a moment, Klaus regretted showing this young girl where he lived. He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed it before. The darkness in this girl that was so obvious. Klaus had been careless. Ghosts are dangerous. Best not to pull a stunt like that again...

Despite the new chill down his back, Klaus proceeded. He did promise the girl a living doll. So a living doll he will show her. Klaus glided first into the other room to gather his things. A few pieces of chalk, some leather, and a few nails.

Upon exiting his room, a brief order to close sent the front door into action until it locked itself again, shut. Klaus spoke as he worked. His voice a little shaky.

"First, I must prepare the doll to be able to see and hear." as he spoke, he began to nail two, small pieces of cloth, each to the side of the wooden figures head.

"This whole process is going to be very complicated. But it will work, i assure you. All we will need is some patience." With a false smile he said this. He was on edge now and wanted her to realize that the effect wont be instantaneous. He didn't want her to be demanding results too early. And worse, Klaus being unable to give them to her. The messes you get yourself into, Klaus.

"Now, the leather here will be the ears. And these," Klaus nailed two nails into the 'face' of the doll. The heads of these particular nails were larger than most of the others. "These will serve as the eyes."

Klaus's spirits began to lift as he spoke of his work. He loved animation dearly, and it distracted him from the fear he felt from the unsubstantial girl, sitting in his chair. Shortly, he began to draw the circles.

The doll sat, legs folded, its arms to its side and its head sagging in front of it. Around it was a circle of chalk connected by a line to another circle around Klaus. As he drew them he explained their importance. How they worked and what could happen should the circle be ruined midway through the process. He was aware that all this may very well be boring to the girl, but it helped to ease himself. Soon, a true smile once again breached his face as he prepared to activate the circle around him.

But then he stopped. An idea struck him. To make the Soulcore, one must use another soul as a template. So then, would it work with a soul, that has no body?

"Miss Fubuki," he said, another true smile flashing towards her.

"How would you like to serve as the template for making the dolls Soul?"

[Fubuki Kouri]

Fubuki Kouri "Hm hm hm hm~♪" Kouri swung her legs, which were not long enough to reach the ground from the chair she's sitting on, back and forth; humming a happy song, but her haunting voice gave an eerie tone to it. Her excitement didn't let her notice Klaus' edginess that was caused by her hostile attitude earlier, in fact, she didn't even remember doing that, the unnatural behavior just came naturally to her, kind of ironic. Woah! I want that door! Kouri watched as the door closed by itself at Klaus' command, her expression was that of awe again. She returned her attention to Klaus when he said the doll needed to see and hear. "Eh? Are you going to give it eyes?" She questioned him as she tilted her head. Her prediction was correct as Klaus explained what the objects he was holding are for. "Ooooh~ I see~" She slowly nodded twice, taking in the information. She watched intently as Klaus drew the rather complex and detailed magic circle. Wow... that's hard... I wonder if I can draw like that... Kouri's drawing talents were rather... unique to say the least. Back in Avanthal, when she drew a wolf, people saw it as a cat. When she drew a polar bear, people thought it was a seal... I can't draw... "It can go berserk? Really? That's scary..." She was taken aback when Klaus said the doll could go berserk if the ritual was disturbed midway. If Kouri knew how berserk she could got when angered, her sentence would feel very ironic. "Eh? Template? So... uuuh... you're going to copy and paste me into the doll? Hmmm.. of course! Hehehehe! I wanna see if I can talk to myself!" She was very interested in the idea, the prospect of having a copy of herself to play and talk to. "So... uhm..." Kouri stood up from the chair and floated to Klaus, she didn't have to worry about disturbing her circle as she was hovering above the floor and physical objects would phase through her unmaterialized state. She stopped in front of him, looking up to gaze at his face, beaming him with a happy smile "I'm ready! Hehehe~".

[Klaus]

Klaus laughed at her comment about copying and pasting her on the doll.

"Yes, Fubuki. Something like that." All of Klaus's previous anxiety was gone now. Now he was Animating. And nothing else gave so much joy. The moment Fubuki told him she was ready, Klaus made sure to stress the importance of not leaving the circle.

"If you, or the doll leave the circle before it's complete, the magic wont work. If something comes up and you need to leave for some reason, tell me so I can end the session properly. That way we can restart again later, ok?"

Once she agreed with the terms, Klaus drew his sword. The slender blade of the Rapier glimmered in the dim light of the fire that was miraculously still burning from the day before. Slowly, Klaus ran his his middle finger along the side of the blade to the tip. There, he quickly pricked his finger and sheathed the blade. Klaus then knelt down, holding his finger over the chalk of the line connecting the two circles. The moment the blood dripped down onto the line, the room was filled with a magical glow, emanating from the chalk. Klaus couldn't help but to gawk at the beauty of it for a moment.

Finaly, it's time to begin

"Ok Fubuki." he began "First we have to make what's called the Soulcore. The Soulcore is, essentially, the dolls Soul. The thing that gives it life." As he spoke, he pictured Fubuki in his mind. Everything he knew about her so far. Her cheerful happiness, as well as what he has seen of her darker, other side. And in his mind, he copied it, sending the copy to the doll.

As he did this, he blinked Djed to his eyes. This was so that he could watch his favorite part. When the Soulcore takes to the inanimate object, its Aura changes. Klaus watched as the dolls pale, grey, lifeless aura erupted into...

Klaus's eyes grew wide in terror. By the Gods... He watched as the grey aura turned black. A thin veil of pinkish red tinted the edges of what Klaus could see, and it throbbed in a way that terrified Klaus to his very core. What am I making here! Is this what happens when the Dead are used as templates? His eyes shifted to Fubuki, cutting off the Djed flow so he could see her. What is this girl capable of?!

He quickly tried to compose himself again. His voice came out shaky.

"There. It now has a soul." He hoped the fake smile on his face would tell her nothing was wrong. But Klaus knew. Something here was very wrong.

[Fubuki Kouri]

Fubuki Kouri "Okay! I will stay put and never move! Eh hem!" Kouri made a confident bump to her chest, her eerily cute voice echoed in the room. Of course she didn't want to screw up the process, Klaus had been so kind to adhere to her request seemingly for free. Then he drew his beautiful rapier, its metallic surface glinted; reflecting the light that emanated from the fireplace in the room. Ooooooh.... Kouri was very much intrigued, but she stood... or rather, hovered still, not moving an inch. When Klaus pricked his own finger with his sword, Kouri's eyes were focused on the small drip of blood trickling from his finger. That... red liquid, it's so warm... so warm... Kouri craved warmth and what better way to acquire it than to have a lovely warm shower of blood washing down her materialized state. "...." She quickly shook her head and banished the thought. Though looked very tempting... it was gruesome and evil... her darker side didn't mind though as she often sighed in content after spraying herself with the blood of the wolves she killed in the Bronze Woods. Suddenly, Kouri's attention snapped back as the circle below her glowed magically. It was very beautiful... "Woaaah..." Kouri's eyes practically shine, she wanted to bend down and touched the glow, but quickly stopped herself. She absolutely didn't want to ruin this ritual. "Ehm... ehm... I see, the Soulcore, eh?" Kouri tilted her head and made a thoughtful expression. "Eh?! W-what's wrong?!" Kouri was very concerned when she saw the terrified and shocked look on Klaus' azure eyes. He quickly tried to calm himself though, but even a child like Kouri could still see something was wrong with him. "I-it has a soul now? G-good... b-but are you sure you're alright, Sir?" Kouri wanted to move and approached Klaus, but she was afraid the ritual was not done yet so she stayed put.

[Klaus]

He gave her a warm, albeit fake smile. He couldn't just come out say that the Aura she gave the doll, that he gave the doll from her, was inherently dark and chaotic. It just seemed that she was so nice and innocent before that terrified Klaus. What calmed him was the knowledge that it was not the soul, but the directives that made an animated object do the things it did.

"Of course, Miss Kouri. I was just...shocked by how much color the Aura of the doll had." Klaus decided it be best to change the subject quickly to something more cheerful. Both for the sake of his nerves and so that Fubuki did not ask too many questions. "So, next, we have to give the doll Directives. Simple instructions on who to listen to and other things like that."

After a deep breath, Klaus continued to set the first Objective. This became a little tricky however. With his doubts about Fubuki, he did not know just how well she understood the concept of 'loyalty'.

"Loyalty. That is the first Objective. That way, the doll will only listen to one or more people. In this case, the doll will only do things that we tell it to. Now, Fubuki..." Klaus hesitated, "Is there anyone, anyone at all, that you would obey. No matter what you were asked to do. A friend? Your parents?"

[Fubuki Kouri]

When Klaus smiled at her, Kouri felt a bit at ease. "Oh... hehe... I see..." She sighed in relief, more on the fact that he was safe and sound than the ritual ruined. Kouri, the original Vantha Kouri, is a truly kind, cheerful, and extroverted girl, albeit a bit naughty but it usually comes with an out-going personality. She would often place her parents and friends' needs above her own, all in all, she's what you can call a 'good girl'. The scar on her mentality mainly amplified her darker, hidden, traits such as disturbing selfishness, obsession, jealousy, and envy which led to uncontrollable anger and rage. A normal little girl would simply threw a tantrum before calming down, but given the power to kill, the tantrum would quickly evolve to a roaring rampage of anger. This was exactly what happened with Kouri, the side that never got the chance to manifests due to her upbringing suddenly bursts upward like a volcanic eruption when that fateful event that left her in this unliving state happened. "Oh? Are the colors pretty? Like the Aurora in Avanthal?" Kouri smiled happily, she was rather proud as she thought the color was akin to the beautiful Aurora that graces the skies of Avanthal. "Hmmm hmmm! Directives? Oh! Like orders! I see!" She nodded thrice in succession. She could grasp the concept of this Animation magic after all. It was like creating a magical puppy! "Ooooh, so Loyalty is like... a puppy who would listen to its owner? I see~!" Kouri used the puppy analogue to grasp the concept of Animation. "Yes? Oh... I would obey..." Kouri was about to say 'Master' referring to her mentor and father figure she met on the 23rd of Spring, Cyrus Blackfire. But Klaus continued with his question mentioning her friends and parents. "Eh? Oh... he... hehe, Mama and Papa? I..." Her expression grew depressed at the thought of her parents, the concept of loyalty, and the memories that came with it. "I, of course... I should have listened to them... I should have listened to not sneak around the house at night... I should have listened to Mama when she said to come home before dark..." She trailed off, her focus now off and she just spouting whatever memories that came to her mind. "I... wanted to say sorry... b-but... n-now..." She crouched down, hugging her knees and covering her face with it, crying. "n-now... I could never the get the chance... t-they are gone now... I... and I... became like this..." ".................." She was silent for a good fifteen seconds, before speaking again, this time her voice sounded much more mature, still keeping her face covered by her knees. "Sir Klaus... why did you do that to me? Are you trying to hurt me?" She lifted her head, her pupils had already narrowed into slits with streams of bloody tears trickling from both of her eyes. "I tried to forget them... did you do that on purpose? Did you ask me that because you still have a mother? Where is your mother right now? I want to see her... I want to ask her how does it feel to have a son... that mocked someone else's lost..." Kouri showered Klaus with her question, her tone monotone though her eyes were wide open and unblinking, combined with her corpse-like pale skin, she looked like a cute, but grotesque doll. She was like an unstable volcano now, one bump and she could erupt, destroying everything around her.

[Klaus]

When Animating, he who activated the circle has full control over the flow of information. Should the one in the circle imagine something, the person who activated the circle can see it. He can feel it. And for that, Klaus regretted dearly mentioning her parents.

As she rambled, Klaus saw it all. Cyrus Blackfire. Her parents. Avanthal. The tiger. All of it raced through his own mind. He felt the sadness. The loss. The pain. All of it, through Fubukis eyes. He felt her rage, welling inside her ethereal body. And with all of that came understanding. An understanding that went beyond knowing. For through her memories, he expirienced it all.

He did not hear Fubukis questions. He couldn't see the tears in her eyes, though he knew they were there. His eyes were blinded by the sights and sounds of her past. And he became consumed by it. He fell to his knees and began to weep. He wept for her. With her. At least in his own way. As quickly as he could, he ended the Animation, cutting the tie to her memories. Since he had not begun the next phase, it was safe to end it and still be able to start again later. But he did not care about that. No. He didn't want to see it anymore. He couldn't handle it anymore.

Through his tears he muttered only a few words. Over and over again he said them.

"I'm so sorry...Fubuki I'm so sorry..." Unconciously, he sat back, his face buried into his knees in much the same way she was, ever muttering those words. The memories, burned into his mind. He did not know what to do.

And so he threw himself foreward, wrapping his arms around the unsubstantial girl before him, and he cried more. Again he whispered those words in her ear. As he tried to compose himself, he sat back, his hands on her shoulders. His deep, azure eyes burned into the slits of her own cold red ones. And in his eyes was understanding and compation that Klaus never knew before.

"I never meant to hurt you Fubuki...I'm sorry... And while he was no longer weeping, tears still welled in his eyes, and he prayed to the gods that she would forgive him.