Closed [The Prairie]Possessed by a Yearning[Fubuki Kouri]

[Clyde Sullins]

50 Winter 513 Water. That was certainly something this place lacked. Even at a first glance, Clyde could tell it was not hospitable. He had slowly been exploring the various regions of the training ground, one by one, to find which were best for hunting, which had the best things in general, perhaps even places to explore. It seemed the Prairie was one such place he would not be returning to. At least for hunting. He had thought he had seen something dart by earlier, something tiny, but had not been able to make out what it was. All he seemed able to find was bones and death... Though if there were bones, it reasoned that at one point there had been living things here, which were gone now. Another oddity of the place. Even the air of the place was... Off... He could not tell why, but it just gave him the wrong feeling. Similar to something he gained via auristics, but not quite. Or perhaps it was via auristics, via the more passive mode of it. It had allowed him to sense things before without even trying. But often it was hard to pick apart such unconscious feelings from ones gained via magic, to ones gained simply by intuition. Clyde continued to walk, taking his water skin out of his pack, and taking a long drink. One thing was for certain, he was alone. Assuming one did not count the medley of tiny things darting about in the sparse region. But there did not seem to be another living soul within sight.

[Fubuki Kouri]

Why did Fate her so? Why did it turn out to be like this? The phantom little girl in her materialized form walked aimlessly upon the tainted grounds of the Prairie, her mind broken akin to a town ravaged by huge blizzards. Her normally cheerful large blue eyes now looked empty, losing its ethereal glow. Suffering, hatred, betrayal, disgust, all of these emotions swirled within her. She should have known, the most vicious of betrayers usually disguised themselves as the sweetest and kindest of individuals. The kinder they were, the blacker their heart. How could she be so foolish? Trusting that malicious sorceress so easily, placing her faith and hope within Anna's venomous heart.

The woman lavished her with affection and motherly love, only to stab her in the back, only to destroy her name, speaking false accusations about her to others. She grabbed Kouri's fragile heart, crushed it, slammed it onto the ground, and repeatedly stomped it, until nothing was left of the what little trust the ghost girl had in others. These humans, these evil people, hiding behind a mask of good will, they all must die, sliced apart by her blades. "Ki... agh!" Curse that fiend! Whenever Kouri thought of harming her, unbearable pain struck her head and it wouldn't go away until she relinquished the thought. She must bewitch her with something! But... what? There was no use resisting it, the girl fell to all fours, ethereal tears trickling down from her eyes. The ghost mourned and mourned for her doomed fate until what felt like an eternity passed...

Ugh... Kouri groaned, lifting herself to a standing position, she then repeated her self-destructive activity, traversing through the Prairie, but despite her state, she still could notice someone was foolish enough to take a casual walk in this no-man's land. The materialized ghost's blue eyes gaze upon the adult-looking male human, wearing a grey robe, taking a sip from what appeared to be a water bottle. This man... Kouri didn't recognize him as one of those Wardens nor any of those Wizards. Who was he? As far as Kouri knew, Wizards seldom travelled into the Prairie, they often holed up in their labs, doing some complicated experiments. Wardens mostly travelled together. Maybe... just maybe, this man could provide her with some amusement. He didn't notice her yet... good.

The ghost girl put her hands behind her back as she slowly approached the man from behind, her materialized state meant she was indistinguishable from a normal human girl to the naked eye, but magics such as Auristics and Spiritism could reveal her true nature. Of course, it didn't matter, she was actually curious if this man had such powers. With soundless steps and long black hair trailing behind her, Kouri prepared the most sweetest and adorable smile she could muster and called out to the man with her high-pitched childish voice.

"Hello~ Ehehe~"

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde felt a cold chill down the back of his neck, just before he heard some words... Words that seemingly could come from no where, for he had been certain moments before that he had observed no one about... "Hello~ Ehehe~" Turning on the spot to face the sound, Clyde held out his staff with his right hand defensively, fumbling for a moment to take it in a two handed grip, before realizing that he was still holding the water skin, and finally committing to the one handed grip. Either way, it was not exactly a reaction that elicited thoughts of competency of arms, or strength of character. But then, Clyde had always been a jumpy man, always overreacted to such surprises. He was just lucky he had not literally jumped in surprise. It was... A girl? A young girl. One who certainly had not been there before. The only explanation he could think of was that she had some kind of hiding spot out here. But even then, what was a young girl doing out here alone? "Petch! Don't do that! I swear, your as bad as Kyra..." This ghost of course would have no idea who Kyra was, but she had a nasty habit of surprising Clyde, just to see how he would react. He had nearly roasted her face off once due to her sense of humor... And the time he had woken up to see her kelvic form for the first time... Yes, this girls surprise surely reminded Clyde of the kelvic. "What are you doing out here little girl? This is not a place for people such as you to be alone." Clyde paused for a moment, looking about, trying to find her hiding spot, and still failing to find it. "Where were you hiding? How did I not see you before? This place is not exactly full of such spots to conceal even a girls young body."

[Fubuki Kouri]

The man's reactions were amusing to say the least, he held some kind of staff and fumbled with it as he realized one of his hands was busy holding the bag that contained what an ice would become if it thawed. This gave the impression to the ghost girl that this robed man was a bumbling fool, lost in the undead island, probably tricked by false stories of its magical wonders where in truth, it was an island filled with abominations, betrayers, liars, and tortured souls. The first coherent sentence that came from his lips were of profanity and... it couldn't be, a name she actually recognize. Kyra? Madame Kyra?

Kouri paused for a few ticks, the memories of her encounter with the beautiful blond woman came back to her. A haunting giggle from her rosy small lips, what were the odds of meeting a friend of Madame Kyra in this island of horrors? Close to nothing, yet here he was, stammering the name of 'Kyra' at first sight. It could be some other 'Kyra', a person with similar name, but... a mischievous smile marred itself on her lips, she could play around with this, if the 'Kyra' he meant was truly that Kyra, interesting things would happen for sure. "Oh~ Madame Kyra?" Kouri tilted her head, her hands still clasped behind her back and her long hair swaying in the wind, "You mean the one with light blond hair and pretty eyes? Ehehe~ I'm right, am I?" She deliberately played the innocent girl act whereas her mind and soul were twisted, barely a shell of her former Vantha self.

"Hmmm... what am I doing here? Why~ Playing, of course!" Kouri repeated his question, in an attempt to annoy the man or just scare him further. Her small feet took a step towards the man, due to their differences in height, she had to tilt her head upwards to see him in the eye. He had bright blue eyes which seemed to reflect a clear sky, while Kouri's were deep vibrant blue similar to the ocean. His rather messy brown hair gave the impression of a bum, but with such well-maintained robe and cool-looking staff, Kouri assumed he was a rich, but stupid aspiring amateur wizard. At his attempt to warn her, like a responsible adult to a child, Kouri couldn't help to giggle, "Don't you think that holds the same for you too, Sir? Why are you walking here... alone? Surely this isn't your place, am I right?"

So, he thought she was hiding. By Morwen and all that is cold, he was truly amusing. Of course he couldn't see her, she didn't bother to appear as a humanoid being earlier, self-pitying herself in the form of a small soulmist cloud. Probably the man missed her, thinking her as one of the mists filling the Prairie. Howls of strange creatures echoed in the distance, but such things were common, in the back of her mind, Kouri hoped one of those soulmist-devouring ghost-hunting giant snake-scorpion wouldn't appear, without Celeste's presence, her chances were slim. That aside, she had this new toy to play with, "Hmmm, maybe I'm just really good at hiding or... maybe you're blind! Ehehe~ So so, wanna play Hide-and-seek? Winners get one wish, any wish! Oh, don't tell me you're scared, sissy~" There was no way she could lose to this fool.

[Clyde Sullins]

There were many different responses Clyde had been expecting. If asked before the girl answered, he probably would have listed the likely responses, and been sure he had included all of the most likely... However her actual response was one he had been totally unprepared for, and so was left quite clearly surprised for a few moments before he could gather himself. "Oh~ Madame Kyra?" "You mean the one with light blond hair and pretty eyes? Ehehe~ I'm right, am I?" Clyde nodded, finding it a bit odd that the girl knew of Kyra... What were the odds... But it did seem like they were speaking of the same person. He took a moment to put away his waterskin, to free the hand, and just in case he needed to indeed use the staff in a two handed grip. "Madame Kyra? I have never heard her called that but... Yes, smaller than me, blonde hair, a bit... Feline, in quality... Shoots a bow." That was about the best Clyde could do on such short notice. And it had been quite some time since seeing her last... He had almost made mention of her being a feline type kelvic, but was unsure if the girl knew of that, and thought if she did not then it might just confuse her... But if nothing else, she would have noted the feline qualities of the woman and some of her features. "Hmmm... what am I doing here? Why~ Playing, of course!" As the girl said this, another chill ran down the back of his neck. Considering how warm and dry the prairie was, this seemed a odd thing. This time the sudden feeling was so great, a actual visible shiver ran through his body. If nothing else, it made the circumstances seem... Odd... Something was off. "Don't you think that holds the same for you too, Sir? Why are you walking here... alone? Surely this isn't your place, am I right?" "No, its not my place, I was just looking for... Well looking. Perhaps hoping to find something of interest, or to eat. I am unsure though if anything alive actually lives around here." "Hmmm, maybe I'm just really good at hiding or... maybe you're blind! Ehehe~ So so, wanna play Hide-and-seek? Winners get one wish, any wish! Oh, don't tell me you're scared, sissy~" Clyde paused for a moment, listening to the girls words, still unsure... Something was off... Then a thought occurred to him... "Perhaps. But before that, I realize I don't even know your name. Mine is Clyde. Clyde Sullins. And you are?" With that Clyde move his staff to his left hand, and then held out his newly freed right hand for the two of them to shake.

[Fubuki Kouri]

The 'Kyra' they had been speaking was definitely Madame Kyra, she used bow and arrows and had feline-like grace about her, her assumptions were spot on. Kouri felt proud at herself, she giggled and twirled once, both of her hands extended outwards. "Yes! You know her too? How nice, I wonder if she will come here to play with us~" Of course she wouldn't, Kyra was far too smart, she would never travel to this gods-forsaken island. Knowing they had a mutual friend only sparked her interest in the robed man further, by the looks of it, Kyra loved to tease this man... a habit Kouri would love to mimic.

He was visibly nervous, maybe he knew something was 'wrong' with her? Was it her haunting voice, her swaying hair, or just the unexplainable aura of uneasiness that just surrounded the powerful ghost? Whatever it was, Kouri was loving every second of it. The Vantha ghost twirled a strand of her long hair as she pondered about the man's goal. "You'll only find scary things here, you know? Ehehe~ something... something that'll suck out your soul out of your body... fun, right?" Mischievous her tone was, she wasn't lying, Sahova held some of the worst unnatural abominations Mizahar could offer. While there was a number of tame consumable animals such as the that thorny hares, the risk of encountering a hostile creature was much higher. This man had no clear goal in his mind, good... he would be so easy to play with.

Oh, now he wanted to introduce themselves, how quaint. Kouri's blue eyes gazed at his offered hand, silent and unmoving... except for her ever-flowing hair. She figured why not? It wasn't like her touch is deadly... oh, it actually was, unless she controlled it. Her materialization power had gone to the point where she could literally suck out the life of a living being, killing them and recovering some of her soulmist. She didn't want to kill him so the ghost girl controlled the degree of her touch and grasped Clyde's hand with both of her hands, gently rubbing it, Clyde would feel as if Kouri's skin was made of ice. She was fully aware of it, yet the childish smile was still there. "Kouri~" Keeping her introduction short, she released his hand soon after.

"Alright! I'll go first then! Begin... now!" The ghost girl closed her eyes then began counting post-haste, "One... two... three~"

[Clyde Sullins]

"Yes! You know her too? How nice, I wonder if she will come here to play with us~" "You'll only find scary things here, you know? Ehehe~ something... something that'll suck out your soul out of your body... fun, right?" The girl was certainly unsettling, and her words did little to make this feeling better. Clearly she was off, and felt it was completely normal for her to be going about in such a dangerous place... That combined with other things... Like her grip. When they shook hands Clyde felt the icy grip of a ghost. For that was what she was. A ghost. He had puzzled it out, perhaps a bit slowly, but nonetheless attaining the correct conclusion. "Kouri~" "Alright! I'll go first then! Begin... now! One... two... three~" Clyde was uncertain what to do exactly... Clearly the girl was a ghost, which explained much... But so far she had done nothing threatening to him, had not made any attempts really to hurt him. Not counting the icy hand. But even that was not too threatening. But hiding, where the petch was he to hide? He was out in the open, on the prairie, which was vacant and empty but for some scrub and bones. He had no where to go... Not being the stealthiest individual under normal circumstances, Clyde had little hope of successfully hiding in such unhelpful conditions. The best he could do was to try and make himself less visible. He ran to the nearest scrub bush, and crouched down behind it. This was also not aided by the fact that Clyde was rather tall. Either way, he tried to be harder to see, but doubted it would do much. But for now, he was willing to play along.

[Fubuki Kouri]

"...nine...ten!" Kouri swiftly opened her eyes and the large blue orbs swivelled left and right, searching for the any signs of the man, with his robe, staff, and other belongings he carried, combined with his rather tall stature, it would be almost impossible for him to win even with Kouri not using her ghostly powers. This little 'game' was a trap to begin with, giving the player a non-existent chance. A whip of black hair and a wide grin as she found Clyde, hilariously hiding behind a small scrub bush, barely enough to cover him. Even with Kouri's child-like body, the bush was inadequate, let alone a tall man such as him.

"Ufufu~" The ghost girl put her right hand to her mouth as she blinked twice in rapid succession, appearing directly behind the crouching Clyde. She leaned in and put her lips directly beside his left ear, her haunting voice just above a whisper, "Found... you~" Then she poked the back of his neck with her right index finger. "Ahahaha!" The eerie giggles echoed as the ghost girl straightened herself, enjoying any reactions she caused, then she triumphantly pumped her right fist into the air, "I win!" followed by proudly pointing her left index finger at Clyde's chest "It's your turn to find me now! Come on, close your eyes and count to ten~ If you want to give up, just yell my name! I'm sure you'll do it~"

The ghost girl would wait until Clyde closed his eyes and counted, then she would unmaterialize herself and phased into the ground, hiding until he admitted defeat. In her mind, this game was technically over, she already planned her wish, maybe she could ask him to be her playmate... for eternity. It wasn't hard, she would make it painless, he did agree to play with her on her terms.

[Clyde Sullins]

Now knowing his foe in this childish contest was a ghost, it was clear that she had a advantage. Namely the fact that she was immaterial... Or so she thought. Technically she was not breaking any rules, but then, he had no plan to break any rules either. "...nine...ten!" "Found... you~ Ahahaha!" As expected, the girl did find Clyde, and he jerked away from the sudden icy touch on his neck, coming from behind, a fact which was not lost on him. Clearly a living person could not have maneuvered around and past him so easily, further proof of her being insubstantial. "I win! It's your turn to find me now! Come on, close your eyes and count to ten~ If you want to give up, just yell my name! I'm sure you'll do it~" As she said this, Clyde grinned back at the girl, letting her have her moment. However he was not the only one who knew how to take an advantage when he saw one... All she had said was to close his eyes... And count to ten... In that time she would hide. Or so she said... But he did not doubt she planned to skirt this by perhaps passing into the ground, or turning invisible, or whatever else a ghost could do. "One. Two. Three." Closing his eyes, and as he counted, Clyde felt for his djed within his eyes, feeling the sudden bloom of djed in his aura vision, using the counting as his own unique form of incantation. "Four. Five." He felt out and brushed against her aura, locking onto it so he would not lose track as it moved about. It was the only large aura nearby, the aura of a sentient being, so was rather easy to catch. He focused on her aura to the exclusion of all else, which also made it easier than say if he was trying to split his focus between several of them. Her aura shown in his vision with a off grayish black color, which he likely attributed to the dead nature of her, that of being a ghost. "Six. Seven." As she had moved underground, it did make it harder to find her, but she had not moved deep enough for it to block out all ability to detect her aura. Especially since there were no other distracting auras about to take his attention away. "Eight. Nine. Ten." With that Clyde opened his eyes, a sudden off kilter feeling as he was using both his physical sense of sight, overlaid with his aura vision honed in on her aura. Clyde was looking directly at the spot in the ground she was in. He walked towards it, stood with the spot she was in directly in front of him, pointed at her, and said "Found you! Your hiding in the ground right here!"

[Fubuki Kouri]

The man's voice did not go unnoticed by the ethereal girl as it travelled through the ground. Kouri half-expected he would freak out and run away as soon as she left her sight on him, some people did that once they found out she was a ghost, but... it seemed unless she told him directly, this staff-wielding simpleton would still be blissfully unaware of her true nature. Surprisingly, he continued playing, counting in a calm manner. Not that he could find her, no matter how hard he tried.

The ghost girl's immaterial form was curled up in a fetal position as she put her chin on top of her knees. Expecting the man to aimlessly wander in a wild goose chase, which would take some time, Kouri's mind wandered as she contemplated her state. She was hopelessly stuck in the undead island now... unless a true miracle saved her, but what God would be kind enough to save a single little Vantha girl? Not Morwen, the Ice Queen abandoned her when Kouri found her birthright mark disappeared upon her death. Morwen no longer consider her as one of the Aurora People, that she was certain. She wanted to die, but she was already dead, she wanted to just end it all, but a strange force anchored her soul, a powerful lost soul with the persona of a little girl trapped by the shackles of betrayal.

I... help m-... !? Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard a shout, directly from the ground on top of her. It was the man's voice... it couldn't be, he found her. She couldn't believe it at first and she simply stared upwards in disbelief. Part of her mind wanted to assume it was simply dumb luck, but he knew she was hiding under the ground. Is he a spiritist? Yet another blunder, she didn't consider this man may be one of them, spiritists often act foolish, just like that Jebediah. Maybe he knew she was a ghost all along and simply played dumb. The ghost girl wondered if 'acting foolish' was one of their tactics to manipulate ghosts. If it was, Madame Wanda was certainly not one of them.

Feeling deceived, Kouri felt anger rising within her, she hated liars, they were the worst of the worst. Each of their words were venom and nothing good would come with associating herself with one of them. Still... there was a possibility that he was acting natural, as far as she remembered, Jebediah did the same. Sighing in defeat, Kouri's small form slowly rose up from the ground as wispy soulmist orbs spawned near her, circling around their mistress. Now unmaterialized, Kouri looked far less substantial and ghost-like, with translucent body and strong aura of soulmist about her.

"Hmph..." She crossed her arms over her chest, her expression clearly displeased. With her scrutinizing eyes, Kouri studied every inch of the man, searching for any kind of ghost-hunting devices visible on him. Souldarts, ghost wards, anything, he could be hiding them inside the folds of his robe. "How did you find me?" Her whispering voice sounded far more cautious than before, losing its childish delight. "You beat me... I don't like it, how about... we play another game?" She deliberately spoke some of her words in Vani, confident that man couldn't recognize them.

A smile suddenly replaced her frown, but this smile was not a normal expression of a little girl, this one was reserved for a torturer in the form of a child, "Let's play 'Touchy-touchy', you let me touch you for ten ticks and if you aren't dead, you win... what do you say, Sir Clyde?" Her right hand clenched into a fist as it materialized, now demonstrating its full deadly state, the hand that took the lives of plants, animals, and humans alike.