Completed [The Courtyard] I'm Sorry! (Mirage)

[Fubuki Kouri]

OOCI can finally use this template for major emotional break-down!

Rena's sudden high-pitched scream full of pain and agony made Kouri paused, like a lifeless porcelain doll. She couldn't believe what just happened, one moment her little sister was there, next moment she was gone... like a puff of smoke. It was different from how she shredded another ghost's soulmist where they simply turned into a puff of cloud... no, she couldn't fell Rena's presence anymore... that was until she saw the pure white ash being collected in a jar.

That... is Rena? That ash was what Rena had become?! The little girl never had any experience with dusting whatsoever "R-re...re..." She was wide-eyed and agape for a few ticks, before her expression turned into that a phantom filled with nothing but sadness, anger, frustration, disbelief, and all that mixed together haphazardly.

"A...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGHHHHH!!!! A...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!! RENAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

The air around her seemed to crackle and bend at the sheer frustrated banshee wail of the Vantha girl. She thrashed around, mother-like instincts demanding her to get herself out of these bounds and butcher everything and everyone around her, until everything was dead and Rena was safe. But of course, it was empty threats. She could only let out her rage at nothing but the air. Kouri continued screaming, thrashing, and struggling for a good ten chimes, before she ran out of anger and only then, she began thinking - somewhat - clearly.

Her crimson eyes turned glazed as if she was hypnotized, empty flickering gaze never leaving Wanda's dead face. ".........n...." She sobbed before letting out a weak whimper flooded with tears "...no... t-this... is... not..." This situation was very similar to the one with Shiyami and Kimi... only that the attacker was no other than herself, she shredded Kimi's form just because she was angry with Shiyami. A flash of Kouri's mother's face came to her mind, she remembered what the blue-eyed Vantha woman said to her daughter "You reap what you sow... whether good or bad... so Kouri, be a good girl okay?" Next, the image of her younger human self nodding and promising to her mother played.

"...is not what I w-...wanted..." She whispered, wincing horribly. "M-mama..." Hushed words in Vani escaped her lips, Kouri spoke her thought out loud without realizing it. "I...I've been a b-bad girl... I... broke e-everything... you ever... said to me... M-MAMAAAAAAAA!! ANSWER ME!! AAAAAAGH!!" She put both of her hands to her cheeks, instinctively wiping away her red tears. She snuffed out inside her mind, the experience, the realization knowing that she was not the most powerful thing on the planet along with the fact that her view of justice were twisted and wrong forcefully return the little girl's mind to the still shy, gentle, and a tad bit clumsy Vantha girl.

"M-mistress... W-wanda... n-no... s-she and K-kriem a-are the only... people left... M-mama a-and... P-papa w-would never come back... I... I promised her to... p-protect her... I... I promised that I would a-always be by her side! S-so... n-NO! T-this is not what I wanted! No no no!!! I... I... I'm a failure o-of a s-sister i-if I... leaver her here. I.. I can't... I can't go without her..." She wheezed and coughed, just speaking was taking its toll on her. A major eye-opened and slap to the girl who embodied the phrase 'Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely'.

[Mirage]

Wanda smiled slowly, and while it was not a cruel smile neither was it kind, "You feel remorse? You admit your wrong doings? Good." She stood suddently, rummaging in her robes to pull out the jar that held the now dusted Rena. She looked at it thoughtfully a moment, before returning it back to her hidden pocket, "I will not free her for your mere word, however. You cannot be trusted, and if I am to give you free reign as you ask I need to have some insurance that you will behave. So Rena shall remain with me until your business on the island is finished. Only then will I restore her, when your back is to this Citadel and you face the sea once more."

The ghosts that surrounded them began to flicker and disappear once by one, all fading to return to wherever they awaited their master's command. The Spiritist began shifting through her robes once more, this time taking out a small vial with swirling white soulmist inside. Uncapping the vial she would grasp Kouri's chin with one hand, angling it up as she brought the vial to the girls lips, "Open your mouth and take of my soulmist. It will allow you to pass freely through the Courtyard, but it will only last for two bells. You will need to retrieve more from me if you wish to come and go more often than once every few days."

After taking the soulmist Kouri would feel the weight lifting from her shoulders, and in fact she would feel power rippling through her, strength far greater than she had ever experienced before. As if she could do anything, take on any foe. Such was the power of a master Spiritists' soulmist.

Recapping the vial and placing it back into her robes, Wanda would then begin taking out the souldarts, slowly and one at a time. As she did she spoke to Kouri, "You are strong, wild and resistant to my control. Perhaps you would be a match for one of the ghosts that follow me, but that is what makes me wary. she pulled the first dart from Kouri's body, and the girl would feel some of her power returning, "I have seen many like you, ghosts who believe they are the strongest, mad with their imagined power. I have vanquished many such spirits, and I will not hesitate to do so again." She plucked two more needles from Fubuki's body, and the girl would find she could move her limbs somewhat, "I do not wish to destroy those lost souls that wander into my domain, but neither can I allow those dangerous and insane spirits walk free. So I trap those within this Courtyard which would cause harm to the world and disrupt the balance. Dira's servants come often to claim those I trap, returning them to the cycle and removing dangerous elements from this world." Another dart came free, and Kouri would be able to sit up and change her position to better look Wanda in the eyes as she continued, "Those ghosts which prove to me that they can be set free, I allow to leave. Many of those dangerous spirits I confront choose to follow me. Deciding they cannot trust their own natures and not wishing to spend centuries trapped in this place, they choose to follow close to me and do my will. It gives them purpose, and direction in their afterlife. And when their time to pass into the cycle comes they leave willingly, and without resisting. I guide these ghosts on their path. That is what I was always meant to do." She plucked two more needles from Kouri's body, leaving one in place. A finger tapped the top of this needle, and she looked into Kouri's eyes once more, "And then... There are other things in this world. Creatures that are not alive, but really ghosts. Things that cannot pass on into the cycle, which have no control over their actions. Creatures which are truly evil, but by no fault of their own. These things cannot be held with barriers, or enchantments, but only by force of will at a great cost." Something dark shifted just outside of Kouri's peripheral vision, but when she looked there would be nothing there. Somehow the air around the two grew darker, and something flickered within Wanda's eyes. A flash of red, a dark shadow beyond her hollow pupils, "Many such creatures can be found on Sahova... Too many for me to contain. They are drawn to acts of cruelty, of mindless slaughter and death. They feed on hope and happiness in the living, but far worse they take from spirits. They feed upon the spirits soulmist, draining them and consuming them. Be warned girl, if you find yourself in a dark place that should be light you must flee. If you see something form the corner of your eye, but when you turn and nothing is there you must go in the other direction." The darkness behind Wanda's eyes shifted once more, and this time flecks of red filled her widened pupils. Like hundreds of sets of red eyes glaring out at Kouri, "If they catch you, they will take from you not only your strength, but your very soul and you will forever be lost to this world, unable to return to the cycle of reincarnation. You will cease to be a ghost, you will lose your sense of self and you will wander the world mindlessly until the end of days."

Wanda blinked and the darkness was gone, and in a swift movement she plucked the last dart and stored it in her sleeves. Standing she turned, "Go about your business quickly. Stay no longer than you need, and when your errands are completed I will return Rena to you. If you cause trouble for the Wizards I will be forced to punish you once more, but this time I will scatter this girl's ashes to the wind and she will be lost to you forever. Do not forget this." She looked down at Kreim, "Your maid will need a new body. Take her to the Palsa Hydrasa and speak with Amaryllis. Tell her that I sent you, and she will provide a replacement. You should hurry before she loses too much Ichor."

[Fubuki Kouri]

Fubuki Kouri "......." The little girl broke eye-contact with the spiritist, she looked to her side, and just lay her head on the ground, closing off herself from the outside world for a moment. She couldn't bear to look at Rena's dusted form for a tick longer, clenching her fists and stifling back further stream of tears. The woman was dead-set of not letting Rena go, at least until Kouri left the island, she was using her little sister as an assurance that Kouri would not cause trouble. Why... The little girl didn't know, was it because that the spiritist sensed her power? For a moment, Kouri thought that she should looked weak instead, she couldn't control her immense soulmist aura, especially to spiritists. Common men would be fooled by her appearance, further if she materialized herself and used her Vantha appearance, but Wanda was obviously not "common men". At the very least, Rena would be safe with the old woman, like a grandmother taking care of a child, no matter how twisted it may looked for this particular case. "Mmmm?!" She panicked for a moment when Wanda grasped her chin, her instincts giving alerts that this woman may be trying to dust her, a pleading look on her eyes, her tears barely holding back. She calmed down soon after though, Wanda was actually helping her by giving her soulmist. She obediently opened her mouth and drank the gel-like substance. "E..eeeeh... a-ahah..." Kouri felt pleasure rippling throughout her ethereal body, she moaned and wriggled like an aroused person. The little girl tasted soulmist before, but never at this magnitude, the sensation was overwhelming. She couldn't control herself, her eyes were half-opened, mouth agape, and high-pitched moans escaped her lips. She also felt strong, really strong, even with all these darts lodging in her. Some of her strength returning, like a heavy weight being lifted off her, Wanda was removing these cursed darts. "E..en..." Kouri felt like she should just keep silent and listened to the wise words. So it was true, Wanda did think of her as a powerful spirit. The spiritist wasn't intimidated or even flinch knowing that fact, a testament to a master's power and experience in handling various kinds of ghosts, from weak to monsters. The spiritist's words held immense weight as they slammed into her very conscience, she was indeed mad with power, a girl with zero sense of responsibility in handling the power gifted to her. "Unh..." She moaned again, feeling her strength returning with each pluck of the souldarts. As she listened to Wanda's explanation, she understood on why there were so many spirits here, Wanda was containing these dangerous apparitions until they could pass on, sometimes with the help of the servants of... Dira. Kouri heard about her in one of her history lessons back in Avanthal, she was the Goddess of Death. Kouri wondered if Dira would one day visit her personally... because she was one of the dead and someone who refused to respect the cycle. The little girl never thought her ordinary Vantha life could take on a massive detour like this, she never thought of being involved with mages, slavers, bandits, dire kelvics, veteran warriors, spiritists, and other things that most little girls never even have to interact with. "G..guardian... they become your guardian..." She spoke her thoughts out loud. What if... I become... Wanda's powers, wisdom, and ability to stand up to her made Kouri respect the spiritist a great deal. Perhaps, she could be one of her guardians as well, once all was said and done. But not now, not in the near future, she still had so many things to do. The tiger who killed her still live... but... was it worth it? Was enacting revenge upon a mere animal could provide her with satisfaction? She was not sure, but she got a greater goal now, and that was to vanquish all evil in this world. After experiencing Sunberth, she saw that evil was running rampant in this world, not even Syliras was completely free from it, she would rest, finally rest, once this world became good... like how it was supposed to be. "U-un..." Kouri wanted to tell Wanda to hurry up and remove that last dart already, but she kept her tongue. Wanda's words about malevolent spirits, spirits that couldn't be hold at bay even by her barriers. Evil spirits... Kouri gulped and nodded to the spiritist, heeding her words. "Wha-?!" Something moved at the corner of her eyes, when she turned her head, it was gone. She was half-expecting it, Kouri had done the same thing to prank humans sometime, so this how it must had felt for them. She turned her head back to look at Wanda and what she saw made her reared back in fear, mouth wincing and eyes wide open. Something was inside those dead eyes of the Spiritist. "Aaah... aaaah!" She whimpered in fear, Wanda's warnings bore themselves deep into her, she nodded frantically "I.. I will! I will!". Kouri definitely didn't want to face one of these "spirit eaters", not without help anyway. The last of her bounds was finally removed, Kouri immediately shifted to a standing position and looked up to the Spiritist, eyes still holding hope that Wanda would return Rena to her. ".....U-un..." She nodded nevertheless, if the girl had any thought of indulging in lethal childish naughtiness, it would all be burned with impunity upon hearing Wanda's ultimatum. Kouri blinked to Kriemhild, materialized herself, controlled her touch, and hugged the maid. "K-kriem..." "It's okay, Mistress..." Kriem finally speak for the first time, she also stood up and faced the Spiritist "Let's go, I'll lead you to the Palsa...". It was the first time Kouri ever went to Sahova after all, and all knowledge about the island came from her so she would be the one leading her Mistress around. "After I get a new body... We will take back your belongings..." The cart was still left at the courtyard's entrance, but it was not top priority right now, she would need a new vessel first. "Un..." Kouri nodded and took Kriem's left hand with her right, the duo began walking - floating in Kouri's case -to the Citadel, the ghost girl looking to the ground, mind wracking with thoughts. "Thank you, Mistress Wanda..." Kriemhild whispered to the Spiritist as they passed her, just enough for her to hear. For a moment, a tinge of human emotion could be heard from the maid's voice.

[Mirage]

Fubuki

Experience
Possession: 3
















Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	Spiritism: Witnessing Dusting
•	Wanda: Keeper of the Courtyard
•	Wanda: Powerful Spiritst
•	Lore of Self: The Price for one's Actions
•	Lore of Self: Helpless before another's power
•	Lore of Self: Witnessing the power of a Master Spiritst
•	Rena: Held by Mistress Wanda until departure
•	Permission to pass into Sahova

It's Not What You Think...

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