Soul Departure

[Hex]

Riverfall Docks 90th of Summer 510AV A tight throng of people weaved themselves through the streets and up the steps of shops and residences in Riverfall. Everywhere you looked there was something going on, someone paying dues, someword being said. The tall dark people of this city watched - and not only with their eyes. Hex had swam her way through the crowds that passed through the different tiers, making her way down to the docks near the waters edge. With all of the auristic stimulation around her, Hex kept her magic to a minimum; it was draining in such a populated area and could even attract unwanted attention if detected. For a moment Hex snapped her head up when she felt the energy of someone who she thought was following her. Paranoia crept into her thoughts as she descended the stairs and pathways. As soon as her feet felt the wood of the docks though, her mind went elsewhere. Food! A deep red coloured boat bobbed against the dock in the distance, filled with fresh fish caught that morning. Hex knew this just by smelling the air, her senses were keen enough to detect at least the direction it came from. After searching she found it, and stood behind a small crowd of tall blue akalaks as they purchased the picks of the day. She even ducked and crouched, looking for a path through the forest of legs that stood in the way of her and her lunch.

[Magnolia Corvidae]

Sailors worked the docks like the rats they shared it with. Scurrying to and fro with cargo, loading, unloading, drinking, eating, it was a wet setting for the blue skinned Akalak and traders to haggle and negotiate. Despite the third tier being so the one most laced with foreigners, it still reeked heavily of the Akalak's infamous discipline. Though no guards patrolled the streets, not a single disturbance polluted the veins of this place; for it was the perfect society, functional to the highest degree and unsullied by either crime or disorganization. Or rather, it would be had one entity the grace to wash away in the waves. However Magnolia Corvidae was far too busy eying the plebeians like some aspect of Lhex, judgmental eyes classifying each potential host. Scanning the crowd yielded no shortage of men, who, while excellent for sexual purposes, were rather large for the ghost's tastes. So the hunt continued, charcoal eyes scanning the crowd for something feminine. A pair of Konti tottered onto the premises, bellies ripe with blue bastards- they would never do. Strings of silent curses roiled in Magnolia's mind as frustration mounted. How long had she waited, an entire bell now? Impetuous currents running through the ghost's slight shape told her to forsake the notion, yet the obvious benefits of a weak willed woman were too great to ignore. Not eight chimes had passed before the fruits of her labors became evident. Squirming her way through the crowd to get at some fish, a fraction of a disturbance amongst the clockwork din of the docks. It was a woman, neither pregnant nor destined to be so. The rarity of such a sight was not lost upon Magnolia, for nigh every female in this cesspit had a silver or gold band fastened to them. Magnolia took initiative and flitted down to the ship. Her ethereal form calmly slid through the jostling crowd, scents of incense smoke filling the nostrils of those she passed. There she was, short and rather exotic to Magnolia's northern eyes, an excellent specimen. Or rather, the only specimen. Whether Hex caught the smell of incense before ice water hands slipped into her shoulders, the ghost neither cared nor could tell. As Magnolia dissolved into the woman's body, she felt the familiar sensation of mass. Numbness still lingered, it was always there, yet the substance of a body was an entirely different matter. Seizing the momentum of entry, Magnolia's years of hatred and bitterness rose up. Facades of a compassion and playfulness that this woman had never known collapsed in a syllable's breath. This world is not fair, you will be wronged, you will be beaten, you will die. Everything is hollow and empty, every cry of pain insignificant in the face of godless oblivion. You are hollow and empty, you are mine. The physical assault brought by possession dimmed, the ghost's torrential anger burning into Hex. Magnolia's burning eyes shifted to confront the greatest barrier the new puppet might present, her mind.

[Hex]

It was unmistakable - the scent of sandalwood creeping insidiously through the crowd of blue giants, stinging Hex’s nostrils and making her wrinkle her nose. There was little time to react as the ghostly invader penetrated Hex’s being - as if her back were torn along the middle and forced open with claws. She struggled physically, convulsing and tensing up as she flung herself away from the crowd, stumbling across the dock until she skidded in between a set of crates and barrels. She felt like another person was trying to slip into her skin, overloading her tissue and organs but also her mind and soul. Cosmically snuffing out her fire and filling up the space once occupied by Hex’s internal heat. Now a chill was upon her like no other - she had been possessed. There had been one other time that Hex was possessed, back in the days she lived with her tribe in Ekytol. The events had been a mere memory to her, painful to think about but she was long since numbed by it. Eventually the pain stopped and a dark calm settled, like the ash from a spewing volcano. When all the shaking and throbbing ceased Hex sat very still and quiet, almost expecting to hear two heart beats. A torrent of angry thoughts had washed over her, infusing her with messages that came through the cosmic pipeline. She and ghost were in communication now, even if Hex was a prisoner to her own body she was at least able to voice her mind. Hex yelled and screamed inside, slamming on the walls around her to get out and have control of her body again. Who are you.. she thought, guarded but curious as to the intents of her possessor.

[Magnolia Corvidae]

The seventh bell rang out across the cliff side, a knell for the snuffed freedom of Hex. But its tolling was far more significant for the crew of nearby ship. The ship's captain strode out of his quarters and began calling his men back to the deck to commence departure. A smattering of humans started separating themselves from the crowd, finishing transactions and meals as they made their way back at the appointed time. It was important to leave early and get as much day lit travel in as possible, and mechanical efficiency commandeered their bones as each wrapped up the loose ends of business in Riverfall. Embroiled in the business as usual atmosphere, Magnolia and Hex continued their silent struggle. Their body took its first lurching step forward, bringing them nearer the edge of the crowd. The ghost's retort shot over the wires that connected the pair, I am your second soul, now calm yourself! Another stiff movement carried them to the edge of the small crowd, the pair was making agonizingly slow progress toward the departing ship's gangplank. The nihilistic assault dissolved under the pressure of Hex's internalizations, replaced by what was hopefully a less stressful method. If you don't wish to die, you will do as I say. Magnolia was the possessor in this case, but the ghost was not entirely sure if her subject could discern that she had lied through her teeth. It was not a threat so much as the promise of aid. That ship is your salvation. One more somnolent step forward.

[Hex]

”NO! Stop!.. AHHH” Hex pushed and fought against the ghost, screaming and kicking to push it out of her body. But the more she struggled the stranger she looked, leaving herself open to get noticed and possibly killed. To save her own life, ironically, she succumbed to the ghost’s power, letting it guide her onto the floating deathtrap. She didn’t trust the ghost’s words that she would be safe on the boat, but she conceded enough so that she wouldn’t be targeted as a cripple. The last thing she needed was a group of Akalak men taking advantage of her state. The boat was horrifying, the thought of floating over treacherous waters with nothing but wood between one and death. She shook inside like a scared little rabbit, being held up to a spinning blade - not cut yet but about to be slaughtered. Even the smell of the ship repulsed her, ship worms, maggots. This ship may have been her escape from the fiendish Akalak but worse threats awaited them in a ship that was falling apart. Hex saw with her auristics for a split second the state of the ship, trying her best not to reveal such information to the ghost, who was focused on their mission. Hex remained silent with still a natural bit of struggle, twitching as they walked aboard the ship. If the thing fell apart in the middle of their journey, perhaps Hex could part with the ghost in the midst of a chaotic shipwreck. It was just as likely that the ship would hold together, and if that was the case then Hex would need to come up with a more creative way to subdue the ghost.

[Magnolia Corvidae]

Oblivious to the pulse of djed that gave Hex new sight for a split second, Magnolia continued their forward progress. Unable to overcome what remnants of resistance lay within her host, their movements were uncoordinated and lurching at best. A few sailors halted their work for a moment to stare at the entity stumbling up the gangplank, looking more akin to an undead than a living human. Look at those ignorami, mouthes agape. They're no more intelligent than their precious fish. Her acerbic attack resounded in Hex's thoughts, a second voice for a second soul. Another step, and they were on the ship's deck.

A man of corded muscle with a shock of grey hair approached them, his gruff voice booming through the humidity. His tone was rough and unforgiving as the ocean he sailed, and significantly more condescending as he spoke to the apparently handicapped woman, "Who the petch are you?" The man, apparently the ship's captain, towered over Hex's body and her hand reflexively curled into a fist. "Other half of mine, I find myself disliking his tone." Whitening knuckles clenched tightly, but rather than strike out Magnolia let out a deep, superfluous, breath and released her fingers. "Don't worry though, he will die in his sleep."

Stiffly, Hex's hand gripped the strap of her pack and began unwinding it. "Silence, we must pay the wretch, else we will not get an opportunity to kill him." It was not often that somebody spoke so lightly of death, but leave it to the deceased to take such a stance- Magnolia's voice was almost cheery now. Another loop around her body and the pack slid to the ground with a resounding thump. Stiff as the boards on the ship, Hex slid the container across the deck to the captain's feet. The first, clotted words dribbled forth from their shared mouth, "Payment for travel to Falyndar."

The captain eyed the pair suspiciously, and knelt to rummage through the pack. After a moment he simply deigned to empty its contents out onto the deck, watched as Hex's many supplies clattered onto the wood. His hand shot out, eyes wide as he saw a leather cylinder roll away. Peeling away the covering, a few gold rimmed mizas shed to join the mess on the ground. Dinner plate eyes looked to the plethora of similar cylinders displayed with the supplies, and the captain's tone was suddenly rather different, "Welcome aboard. Vioric, take the lady to her quarters." Greedily, the man began repacking his newly acquired fortune as a lanky man half heartedly motioned for them to follow.

"I hope you didn't need those."

[Hex]

Hex fumed beneath the surface, shaking with rage as the ghost threw over her bag to the captain. All her supplies, her vials, her coin, it all went to him. How dare she. The ship was in deceivingly good shape, its exterior slick with tar and its decks washed thoroughly. But underneath lay a colony of shipworm, eating away wood that had been neglected and then hidden under layers of black stickiness to mask the error. Hex smirked inwardly, now completely relinquishing control to the ghost, allowing her to use her body fluidly. The girl must have looked quite insane, one moment walking strange and the next not. For what they bought, the passenger quarters were decent, but by no means a luxury. This captain was a swindler, and Hex knew so when she touched some of objects around the room and read their auras. Closing her eyes and breathing long and deep, she pressed her fingers to the glass of a lantern sitting on the bedside table. Everything had a sickly green-grey colour to its aura and the lantern’s aura itself had a putrid scent. All stolen, everything; even the sheets on the bed and the oil from the lantern. Hex, who was more calm, whispered to the ghost. “Into what blight have you led us ghost?” Though her face and body was relaxed, her every word dripped with venom. She didn’t even want to know the ghost’s name, she was ‘wretch’ for now.

[Magnolia Corvidae]

A string of Ravokian curses, which were indubitably lost upon the simpleton puppet, flew from Magnolia's mind and out of Hex's mouth as control became complete. She nearly collapsed on the deck for a moment, as if a rope that had previously kept her bound had vanished. Taking a moment to compose herself under the cynical eye of their guide, the ruffled woman straightened jolted shoulders and proceeded to follow him into the cabin. Her movements were still awkward, jerking and clunky despite Hex's relinquish; although now that the rust had been removed, it was only a matter of familiarity with the controls. "We will work on it, my love."

After the sailor had delivered them and departed without so much as a word, the ghost ejected herself from Hex's body. She transcended flesh once more, and the woman felt her manipulator slip away. Tendrils of soulmist pulled away from her, robbing Hex's body of vitality as she regained control. The unmistakable scent of a campfire, simultaneously holding potential for death or warmth, filled the room. She was here, though the healer saw nothing. Regardless, she once more had control of her body, though the tiredness inevitably ruined much of the joy derived from that fact.

While unsure of whether or not her puppet would be glad to see her, Magnolia grinned regardless as her head and raven hair appeared. It was a mischievous smile, though half of it was lost as a large portion of her face had deigned to stay ethereal. Wisps of soulmist coalesced and coiled around the ghost's body as it slowly manifested. Like an oil painting being created before Hex's eyes, the tomboyish figure of Magnolia appeared. When the process was completed a noticeable portion of her body remained unseen, and what was visible flickered dangerously as it threatened invisibility. "Well this is no good." The campfire pulsed and faltered, the smell burning cadavers reaching Hex's nose before returning to the neutral scent.

"Anyway..." The ghost clasped her hands together as she looked at Hex, "I believe a proper introduction and a thank you to be in order, seeing as I did just save your life." Her wicked smile grew, and the next blink of an eye saw the puppet's tormentor standing at her hip. As if they were the best of acquaintances, Magnolia draped an arm around Hex and glanced sideways at her. Stinging nettles crawled up the mortal's shoulders, pinching her nerves as the ghost's arm came into contact with her. "I, my dear, happen to be called Magnolia Corvidae. Oh and on second thought, no need to thank me- I can smell the gratitude simmering in your blood."

[Hex]

Hex groaned in frustration at the sight of her captor, looking away from her smirking face as she taunted her in the tiny cabin. When the ghost approached Hex with her hands, her skin crawled with the sensation of a thousand venomous insects burrowing into her skin and injecting her with toxins. In response to Magnolia’s demand for thanks Hex scoffed loudly, looking down at the window sill and tracing the lines in the wood with her fingernails until one nail broke beneath the tension of her anger. As soon as Magnolia introduced herself Hex barked “wretch” at her. When she continued her sentence Hex barked again over her voice, “Thief! Wicked bitch that you are ghost!” Now Hex’s arms were solid against her sides, her shoulders tense and mouth pursed. The boat began to move and with it came a torrent of tears from Hex. She sobbed and planted herself against the port hole, looking out towards the land she had known as home. She didn’t make an effort to run, out of exhaustion from travelling and fighting the ghost. She wept instead, shooting looks of pure disdain in Magnolia’s direction. “I don’t know why you have chosen me ghost, but you are going to regret imprisoning me like this.” As her sentence grew her confidence bolstered as well, her sobs of sadness turning into spiteful anger and bitter hate. “Tell me why you’re taking me to Falyndar, what is there!?”she nearly bellowed but did not for fear of being listened in on.

[Magnolia Corvidae]

A dramatic sigh escaped the ghost's lips, though her facade had become stuck for an instant and no movement had actually been apparent. Impatiently, Magnolia waited for Hex to finish her tirade and then acted. Torrential energy poured forth from the ghost, negativity flooding the room as an accompaniment to the scent of incinerated bodies. The last vestiges of her smile disintegrated into ash, her mouth a thin line stitched shut by anger. Her perimeter writhed violently as it throbbed like a heartbeat; its soulmist contorting into chaotic patterns as the ghost's irritation waxed.

Magnolia extended a hand toward Hex, her black eyes smoldering like coals. One. The silence seemed to stretch over the passage of a single breath. Two. Hex's lungs expanded and contracted, their rhythm loud in her ears where naught else could be heard. Three The muffled sound of boots passing their door broke the calm. Four never came. A force slammed against Hex's throat, closing about her larynx like a vice and pushing her against the port hole. Surprised lungs screamed and fought against the implacable fist that choked her for breath that would not come. Magnolia stood imperiously before the woman, her hand having vanished into etherealness. "Do not insult me, cur. You are fortunate to draw breath." Seconds ticked by, each feeling more akin to a bell than anything so slight.

The invisible force squeezed tightly and vanished, sweet oxygen flooding back into her asphyxiated body. "We can be friends, you realize; together we can achieve much. Or I could kill you." The scent, apparently fluctuating with her mood, reverted to that of burning wood. Her hand dropped and in the next instant she was laying upon the bed. "We go to Falyndar in pursuit of a man who has vexed me." Magnolia's oil painted form slipped as weariness overtook her, becoming naught but a translucent caricature. "I am tired."

"You never gave me your name, is impoliteness common where you hail from?"