Closed The Daughter's Servant (Kouri)

[Annalisa Marin]

43rd of Winter, 513 AV

She was drifting in endless darkness, a place that seemingly had no end and no beginning. It was so very cold, it chilled her very soul and every breath sent lances of ice through her lungs. Grey eyes darted about frantically, looking for some escape from this hellish place where isolation was her only option and no one else existed. The Void, had no escape though and no ending for anyone who ended up getting trapped in its hungry embrace. She tried to cry out, but no sound was made from the action. It was a place where nothing existed, just possessing a limbo where things drifted.

Suddenly massive red eyes filled her vision, and the silence was broken by that hauntingly familiar laughter as it rang out across the dimension of emptiness. The tall woman flailed about desperately, trying to get away from the horrid thing. A tight hold clamped around her midsection, pinning her arms to her sided and squeezing her tightly. She kicked her legs, but those were soon restrained and all the while that petching laughter sounded in her skull as she was rendered helpless.

Then she could feel it, something tugging at her mind and before she knew it everything she was laid itself bare before the eyes. She begged it to stop as it laid bare every sin she had ever committed and all the darkness that laid inside her heart. Tears stung at her cheeks as that horrible ancient voice sounded in her skull, mocking her as everything was taken apart piece by piece.

“You are ours, Annalisa Marin.”

Anna awoke from her slumber fitfully, thrashing about and screaming as her eyes shot open and fear lanced through her heart. She sat bolt upright, her breathing heavy and cold sweat perspiring on her flesh to give it a somewhat clammy looking quality. Her long black hair was loose and fell about her head; slight dark circles ringed her eyes and indicated that this was not the first incident where she had awakened like this. Grey eyes darted about her small room in the Sahovan Quarters, assuring her that she was still here in this dimension and that she still had all her memories.

Slowly, very slowly, the tall woman calmed down as she realized it had simply been yet another nightmare that plagued her sleep. Her hand ran down her face as she let out a disgusted sounding sigh, her lack of sleep as of late was likely going to be the death of her. Then again what was the normal reaction to living through such terrors that would have broken lesser minds? It wasn’t like she could simply forget those horrific experiences, as much as she might wish it to be so. Really Anna pitied any lover she might ever have in the future; her nightmares made her a rather poor bed partner.

The tall woman grasped her waterskin and brought it to her lips with slightly trembling hands as she recalled the horrific nightmare. Long greedy gulps saw the liquid vanish down her throat audibly and visibly, the cool water moistening her dry mouth. The nightmares had been getting worse over time, not only were they of the worst experiences in her life but they prominently featured the Void to make matters worse. Anna wanted them to just go away, but unfortunately she couldn’t just forget everything she had seen. Likely she’d live with these visions for the rest of her life, however long that was expected to be on Sahova.

Anna placed the waterskin to the side with a sigh and took note that Kouri was not here with her, which was certainly odd as the girl barely could ever detach herself from the tall woman. She had come to view Anna has her mother fully and with all the heartwarming love and affection the girl could muster in her little ethereal heart. The memory of that innocent smile brought a brief ghost of a smile across Anna’s pale lips, which vanished in the next instant as she remembered the reason for this relationship. It was all for the greater goal of Rhysol, she couldn’t afford to get emotionally invested in Kouri otherwise it might interfere with her mission.

Still, Kouri not being here at the moment was certainly odd and it gave cause for the tall Sorceress to pause for thought on where she could be. Perhaps Wanda had need of her, or perhaps she had simply woken up earlier and set off on her own on a little flight of fancy. The girl was nothing if not adventurous; Anna would certainly give her that. It was also possible she had opted to go to the Dungeons to play with her ‘dolls’, a high likelihood as since being bound to Anna the girl had finally just let loose her childish nature. Wherever she was Anna was not overly concerned, after all, how much trouble could she possibly get into?

[Fubuki Kouri]

"Ahaha~" The eerie giggle of a little girl echoed within the Dungeons as Kouri's materialized form lovingly caressed the cold dead flesh of a prisoner, her right hand brushing the man's forehead like a mother tucking her son in bed. This particular 'son' would not wake up however, as her 'mother' put him in a permanent sleep through her deadly freezing touch. In a way, it could be seen as a better fate compared to suffering further in the undead island. The other prisoners watched in horror as the twisted mockery of the young girl stood up, apparently bored with her toy. She clasped her hands behind her back she turned around, very long alabaster locks whipping the air, she gave the prisoners an innocent smile, yet for some inexplicable reason, the smile appeared monstrous and malevolent instead. "I'm done now, let's play some other time, bye bye~" With a haunting girlish voice, the phantom girl unmaterialized herself, flew up, and disappeared within the ceiling.

Fifteen chimes later...

"Hm hm hm~" Kouri was humming a tune as she floated in the Quarters, heading back into Anna's room where she stayed. Annalisa Marin, the woman whom she regarded as her own mother, both of them bound to each other by a divine oath they signed. The ghost girl was still blissfully unaware of the Oath's true nature, that Anna's side of the Oath were mere lies. Still, the woman loved her as her own daughter, accepted her for who she was, and took care of her. Kouri could forgive the human for that betrayal. As she floated, a familiar figure filled her vision, it was not Anna, the figure had long black hair and dull green eyes, wearing a thick black robe, it was her maid, Kriemhild. "Kriem~" Kouri chimed happily as she vanished from her position, appearing in an instant later before the Nuit then she materialized her body to happily hug her, her touch controlled so it was harmless.

"Young Mistress," The stoic undead replied in kind, waiting for her mistress' command. Kouri buried her face in Kriem's robe for a few ticks before pulling it back, giving Kriem an upwards large grin, "Come with me! Let's go see mommy!" Kouri didn't bother to wait for Kriem's reply as the Nuit would surely obey, the ghost girl held Kriem's right hand with her left as the duo headed to Anna's room.

After a few moments, they both stood before Anna's door, Kouri giggled as she focused the soulmist on her right hand then opened the door, smiling brightly, "Mommy!" They both entered with Kouri pulling Kriem with her. The phantom girl moved to hug her adoptive mother, cooing as she begged for affections while the Nuit simply closed the door then moved to a corner to obediently sit down, waiting for orders. "You see, I played a lot in the dungeons! When I touched them, they sing! Ehehe~ Too bad they died after a few ticks though..." Kouri spoke of her murderous deeds as if they were normal then she gestured to Kriem, "Oh! I told you about her already, Mommy, this is Kriemhild, my maid! Kriem, say hi to Mommy Anna~" Kouri adorably tilted her head at Kriem.

"Mistress Anna..." The Nuit bowed politely, not speaking more words that it was necessary.

"You see, Mommy, Kriem can create delicious soulmist for me to eat! Ehehe~ Right, Kriem?" She asked rhetorically which was answered by a slow nod from the Nuit, "She can also changes her eye color like me! Uhm... I'm a Vantha, our eye colors changed constantly, but uhm... I lost it when I died, please believe me!" Though she lost the trait, the ghost girl still considered herself to be one of Morwen's children. Of course, Kriem's ability was actually morphing magic.

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna yawned, shaking the nightmares from her mind as she pressed her back up again the wall of her room with a slight grunt. Since Kouri wasn’t here at the moment that likely meant that Anna had plenty of time to herself, a small blessing. Ever since adopting the child Kouri had spent a great deal of time with her, though Anna supposed she was getting off easier than most new mothers would. No screaming babies, just a homicidally psychotic ghost child that was more powerful than a majority of wizards could hope to be. Then again, this had been her only solution and it resulted in gaining a daughter that would easily be able to serve Rhysol’s will.

Her door open suddenly and Anna faced the spirit known as Fubuki Kouri as she bounded over and wrapped her arms around her. A chill worked its way down her spine, a shiver coursing its way across her body involuntarily. It was the usual reaction to a ghosts touch, though Anna knew Kouri’s touch was controlled to not kill her. If nothing else the Oath was certainly a good means of ensuring her safety around the child, not mentioning the other perks. Anna was still a bit bedraggled all things considered, however she supposed it was still needed to show some affection.

The tall dark haired woman wrapped her arms around the girl and drew her close, letting Kouri move to sit on her lap. The sorceress pecked the girl lightly on the cheek and moving to allow Kouri to lean further into her. Her grey eyes narrowed slightly at the sight of the dark haired Nuit, remembering again having met the Nuit briefly after their last possession attempt. She was her daughter’s servant if she recalled, Kriem, though Anna wondered if slave was a better term. Not that particularly bother Anna overmuch, her daughter was entitled to her pets.

“Mmm… My love. Mommy is just waking up, dearest. I’m happy you had fun with your toys, you are entitled to have a little fun.” Anna said, not particularly caring about her daughter’s activities.

“Shhh… I believe you Kouri dear.” Anna cooed.

The little bit of information Kourii slipped regarding Kriem’s soulmist creating capabilities was rather interesting however. Anna knew a recipe for soulmist but had never actually made any for from her own body so perhaps there might be a lessoned to be learned her. Her grey eyes locked up the dark haired Nuit and beckoned imperiously with her right hand for the undead to draw closer to sit right in front of both she and her daughter. Her eye changing abilities were also rather interesting all things considered.

“Is that so, Kriem? Why don’t you tell me how you change the color of your eyes? A demonstration perhaps. Kouri speaks highly of your abilities; I wish to witness them myself.” Anna said, her tone sounding like it was request but even with the smooth honey in her voice it was obviously a command.

As she did this she started slowly rocking the ghostly child in her arms, giving the girl all the affection she could possibly want from her adoptive mother. It was still an act obviously at the moment, though Anna was growing fond of her daughter. She was obedient, doting, and morally flexible to and extreme which made her the perfect right hand for the sorceress. The tall woman knew that it would just take a bit of manipulation to push Kouri into being the perfect servant of Rhysol, she was already so accepting of cruelty and chaos but just a few more pushes and she would be perfect.

[Fubuki Kouri]

"Ehehe~" The ghost girl adorably giggled as her haunting voice echoed within Anna's room, she gladly accepted her mother's embrace, absorbing the human's body warmth like an insatiable vortex of cold. Kouri's form moved even closer to Anna then floated upwards until she was sitting on Anna's lap like an obedient daughter, she leaned her head sideways, laying it against Anna's shoulder while her hands were elegantly folded on her own lap. "That tickles~" She gave Anna a spoiled coo when the human's lips made contact with her cheek. The ghost girl's materialized form was utterly indistinguishable from a normal human girl to the naked eye, though with the way she was now, her blood-red eyes and corpse-like pale skin could reveal her true nature. She didn't care though, she wasn't disguising as a human, she was simply allowing herself to touch and be touched by the material world.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I disturbed you, Mommy..." Kouri gave a slight look of regret, she didn't want to cause Anna discomfort, no matter how small. Idly, the ghost girl wondered on how fragile and fleeing the human body was, they required food, drink, shelter, and regular sleep, unlike her own ethereal state. She was a human once, just a normal singer girl, but when she died, she was blessed with newfound powers that only grew and grew to the point where many would argue that fate must be silly to put so much strength in girl with barely existent responsibility. Not Anna though, this woman accepted her for who she was, she even encouraged her to play with the expendable toys conveniently stored in the Dungeons just like one big toy box.

"Yep! Though I must be careful to not break too much of them, Vick will not be happy, he likes to play with them too~" Kouri giggled, she didn't know if her mother knew about the Master Wizard who took the form of a young boy, even younger than Kouri, "Vick is my friend, he's a Master Wizard too! He's fun to play with, you should meet up with him, Mommy! I know where he works!" If the human requested, Kouri would give the location of Vick's lab, the Legacy Imaginarium of Artifacts.

Her mother believed her, of course she would, by this point, there was no reason Kouri would lie to her. Still, being recognized as one of the Vantha made her happy, the ghost girl closed her eyes as she exhaled an unneeded breath in relief, "I'm glad, Mommy... I wish I could show you..." By 'show', she meant the unconscious shifting of her eye colors. Kouri could mimic it, but she had to consciously shift them, but she found such actions fake and insulting to her Vantha heritage. The ghost girl cooed as she kept her eyes closed, fully immersing herself in Anna's rocking embrace.

At Anna's gesture, Kriem stood up then made her way in front of Anna before politely sitting back down with her knees folded beneath her, her stoic stare gazing at Anna's gray eyes. Like most Nuits, she was rather slow in her response so it took her about three ticks after Anna's command for her to open her pale lips, "Yes, Mistress, I have limited knowledge in various magic disciplines, spiritism and morphing being two of them." She didn't need to explain about her hypnotism, auristics, or voiding, it wasn't requested of her. Truth to be told, Kriem never went too far in her abilities and frankly, she didn't care, the only thing important to her was seeing her young mistress happy. Currently, this human had adopted her mistress so if Anna was happy then Kouri would be happy, "I use morphing discipline to alter minor parts of my body, Mistress."

Kouri was exaggerating her abilities, but Kriem could understand, the young ghostly child probably had never seen magic before, she found it odd that a wizard such as Anna was unfamiliar with this magic, but she wasn't one to judge, "Of course, Mistress, please give me a moment." Kriem closed her eyes as she went perfectly still, no breaths, no muscle movements, nothing, but internally, she pulled at her own astral, the very part of her soul that connected itself to the body she was occupying. The Nuit felt the astral threads holding her eyes slightly sparked, she worked her magic as she manipulated them, slowly locating the ones that determined her body's eye color. After about two chimes, Kriem opened her eyelids, now her eyes were in the color of gray, just like Anna's eyes, "It is done, Mistress".

Kouri suddenly giggled as she lazily watched Kriem, proudly looking at her mother, similar to a child showing off what her precious pet could do, "See? She's amazing, Mommy!" An idea came to her, she would impress Anna further while simultaneously satisfy her cravings, "Do you want to see her create soulmist? I'm hungry!"

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna was a little surprised that Kouri possessed knowledge regarding a Sahovan Master, let alone where he worked. At her statement that she knew where he worked Anna considered asking, one could never meet too many masters on Sahova as their support could very well be useful when the time came to make a bid for the position herself. She was certainly skilled enough most certainly, it was simply a matter of playing at politics which was all the more difficult because she had a pulse in her body. Anna was extremely powerful but at the end of the day she was still only alive, a pulser with a limited life span.

One of her greatest fears on this island was not Daren, or the nightmares that haunted her dreams it was actually becoming like the Nuit. Their style of ‘living’ filled Anna with disgust as they were so very pathetic to seek to escape death in such a sad state. In her mind she had discovered the kind of creature they resembled, a parasite that fed off of the host in order to survive. They were pathetic creatures the lot of them, only subsisting outside Dira’s cycle but not truly escaping it. Undead filth, though still something Rhysol could use given enough time and patience.

“Certainly, perhaps I’ll need to visit him in the near future my daughter.” Anna stated.

Kriem mentioned dabbling in various other magics and that held some interest to her but Anna opted to keep to her silence for now as she listened to her explanation. So it was Morphing then, a magic that the sorceress was only all too familiar with all things considered. Celeste Arumen used it as her primary magic and while it was certainly potent and something Anna had some minor interest in, the sorceress rather found she enjoyed her own body. Besides, her reimancy made her far more potent offensively than a mere Morpher.

Anna watched and was again rather fascinated as the Nuit shifted her very identity into something else, Celeste explanation of the art coming to mind at the moment. They were as grey as her own eyes, a fact the sorceress found a little unnerving but still relatively interesting. She had required a fair bit of concentration to accomplish this task however, nothing like Celeste’s near effortless displays. Anna supposed that meant that Kriem was rather limited in her abilities, though that hardly surprised her to learn as magic was a long process for many. Now she was a little curious though as to what else her daughter’s servant could do and whether or not Morphing was the only magic she knew that Anna did not.

“Ah, Morphing, I’ve seen it used before though on more drastic a scale. The Prairie Warden and her Initiates practice it; their forms are rather impressive all things considered. You mentioned know of other magics, what ones might those be?” Anna inquired, continuing to rock her daughter gently in her arms.

Her daughters suggest regarding soul mist held some interest to the young sorceress as she had never actually made soul mist herself before. She knew what was required to make it but had never had much time to experiment all things considered, her studies regarding Glyphing had been much more important at the time. Now however, Kouri was her daughter so it might do much better to learn a method to satisfy her in a way that did not involve torturing helpless prisoners. Killing was not something the sorceress took particular pleasure in, she preferred to avoid it however such things were necessary in the pursuit of research.

“Certainly Kouri, I’d be happy to observe the process. Though it would appear we are rather lacking the resources. As I recall, soul mist creation requires three foods from three different sources. Of course we could always go fishing and hunting.” The tall woman stated.

That was another reason the tall woman had not attempted to create soul mist on Sahova, the resources were rather scarce all things considered. Just getting one type of food was rather difficult let alone three from different sources. She had been considering going fishing for whatever was in the waters around Sahova and then hunting for Thorn Hare again, however the time had never been right. Perhaps it would be soon enough, if only to delve a bit further into Spiritism.

[Fubuki Kouri]

"Okay! I'll take you to his uhm..." Kouri tried to remember the particularly complicated Common word, after a tick of recalling, she smiled back at Anna, "Laboratory, yeah! I know where it is!" She didn't remember about its long sophisticated name, but at least she knew where it was. The ghost girl kept holding in her mother's gentle swaying embrace as she watched the interaction between Anna and her maid.

The stoic Nuit didn't give any unnecessary comments regarding her mistress' mother's knowledge regarding the Warden. Such things such as envy and ambition were beyond her now, she didn't feel any negative emotions - or positive for that matter when Anna spoke of the Wardens' superior ability in Morphing. There were many beings far more powerful than her, she was just a simple undead, nothing more, Kriem accepted a long time ago that she wasn't meant to lead or make significant changes on the world, at least by her own deeds, she could always assist these two in achieving their goals, whatever those might be, "Of course, Mistress, I know a small part of hypnotism, auristics, and voiding." She stated simply, giving only what was necessary to the conversation.

At the word 'voiding', Kouri's head suddenly perked up, she remembered about something regarding voiding... she saw it even before Anna showed her, but she forgot about it. "Eh..." She made a regretful expression as the memories of her commanding Kriem to banish another weaker ghost into the Void, it was Kimi, the ghostly companion of a male phantom named Shiyami. They got into an argument back in the Wildlands which turned violent, but due to the gap in power, Kouri ended up slaughtering their soulmist to pieces, even going as far as to tell Kriem to dump Kimi's helpless form into the Void.

She realized her actions in the end though, giving Kimi a portion of her soulmist to recover, but by Morwen, how her cruelness ached her heart... but, her dejected expression turned into a small smile filled childish malevolence. Who cared about them anyway? She should have thrown both Kimi and Shiyami and be done with it. Unfortunately, human morals still remained in her back then, but now she had Anna, she could be true to herself, accept who she was, a phantom little girl with powers beyond what most ghosts could achieve.

Of course Anna would agree with her, she would show Anna about Kriem's technique then get some delicious soulmist, a win-win situation. "Huh?" Kouri tilted her head at Anna's explanation, three food? Kriem never done that, she just simply concentrated and though long, create soulmist with concentration, perhaps each person was different. "Mmm~" Kouri shook her head, "I don't think Kriem needs those, right, Kriem?" She turned her head to look at her maid, the Nuit stayed still for about three ticks before responding.

"I am a Nuit, young mistress, I don't require food nor can I digest them with my body, but I do require such things to create soulmist," Kriem explained as she turned to Anna, "I usually consume a small portion of the liquid from the Palsa Hydrasa, I collected them with small glass vials," The Nuit continued, reaching into the folds of her robe as she took out a small vial filled with viscous clear liquid, "I don't think this method is feasible for your human body without damaging it." Then Kriem uncorked the vial to drink the liquid, she held the liquid in her mouth, staying absolutely still. The eager ghost girl waited in anticipation, then five chimes later, Kriem opened her eyes, then she brought her hands to her mouth, spilling something, something gel-like and shimmering, soulmist. Kouri could sense it and her mouth slightly went ajar in hunger, Kriem's soulmist was far from Wanda's, but it would have to do.

The Nuit maid then offered her hand to the ghost girl, Kouri vanished from Anna's embrace, appearing before Kriem then she took her right hand as the ghost girl suckle each of Kriem's finger like candy. As the ghost girl moaned in pleasure, Kriem continued her explanation, "I drank it and concentrated on my goal, to create soulmist, simply clear your mind and... the soulmist will be created." Of course being a stoic Nuit, the matter of meditation and clearing minds came rather easily for her.

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna smirked at the offer to take her to Vick’s lab; it would certainly be useful if ever she needed to pay a visit to the Sahovan Master. Information was power on Sahova and just knowing the location of a certain lab could elevate one above someone who did not know where to find that very same lab. That was what Amaryllis had taught her to be true anyway, however Anna believed that it was equal parts information and skill that elevated one in Sahova. Her abilities in both Reimancy and Glyphing saw her rise higher than the majority of pulsers in Sahova, and information assisted in making that climb a little more absolute.

The sorceress listened to the list, a very dark shadow falling over her face at the mention of hypnotism being a magic practiced. Flashes of fragmented and conflicting memories played out in her mind, Daren Marlow tearing memories from her and replacing them. Making her feel things that were not true and manipulating her in ways that felt wrong even to her. Burning hatred welled up inside of her, disgust for all hypnotists having been bred from her ordeals with the wizards. They were nothings, weaklings worthy of the most prejudiced destruction.

However, before her was a person what was bound to her daughter who was in turn bound to Anna. Perhaps it would be a fair idea to learn a little more regarding hypnotism and auristics, both being personal magics she had encountered in her time. Spiritism was important but learning about these two disciplines, especially hypnotism, was very important to her continued survival on Sahova. Since Kriem was a force unlikely to become a threat anytime soon the sorceress restrained herself from drawing res to kill the undead. She was never going to trust her obviously, but the Nuit was useful and made her daughter happy.

Anna listened to Kriem explanation regarding her own soulmist generation, nodding slightly as she watched carefully on the process. From what she could see it was relatively simple enough, placing a substance in her body and then regurgitating it after concentration. Anna made a note to attempt this after gaining the necessary supplies, which meant a trip to the Testing Grounds would be in order soon enough. Since her daughter seemed rather addicted to the substance it might very well be useful in bribing those ghosts not bound to her. The tall woman was in no hurry, however to consume the water from the Palsa Hydrasa. Amaryllis had never shared what she put in the water and the tall woman had no wish to know.

Kouri devoured the substance ravenously; further piquing Anna’s interest on the subject and making its use a little more prominent in her list of things to experiment with. The tall woman crossed her arms as she considered this new information, pondering it carefully. Her information regarding spiritism was still rather limited, though her interest in the subject had not waned by any means. Possession still was what interested her the most regarding ghosts and spiritism, however the other applications were worthy of note.

“Interesting, I shall need to go hunting at some point then to gather supplies. Might be a good bit of knowledge to have all things considered. I thank you for the demonstration, Kriem.” Anna said with a slight nod.

“However, I possess more of an interest in two of your other magics. Namely Hypnotism and Auristics. How does one learn these arts specifically? I know Reimancy requires an initiation with another practitioner present and Voiding requires intensive meditation. What about these two?” The tall woman inquired.

It wasn’t just her own interest in learning new magic that drove her to ask, but rather her genuine curiosity regarding the nature of magic itself. Personal Magic was such an interesting thing, and this went doubly true for how one learned the different arts. Reimancy had been painful while Voiding had been strangely enlightening. Were the other two learned the same way, or was there some third method the sorceress was unaware of? Hence her interrogation of the Nuit now that she knew the undead had information she wanted, something she could use all things considered. Even learning how just one of those magics worked would be a boon.

[Fubuki Kouri]

Both ghost and Nuit seemed to not notice the dark look on Anna's face when Kriem mentioned hypnotism, Kouri truly didn't notice it and Kriem simply didn't care enough to make a reaction, she was doing what she was told. The Nuit simply kept her hand still as Kouri eagerly lapped the soulmist until the last drop, then giggling as she tucked herself in her embrace, her crimson eyes begging for more, the Nuit ignored it for now, Kouri always wanted more, she would never be satisfied save by Wanda's own soulmist... and even that was only for a few bells. Kriem gave a simple nod as a 'you're welcome' gesture at Anna's word of gratitude.

The Older Mistress inquired her about hypnotism and auristics and like a true servant, Kriem had no objections in telling those, why would she? She had nothing left and wouldn't really mind should one of them ended her life for some inexplicable reason, she just wanted Kouri to be happy and if serving Anna made the young mistress happy, she would do so. "I see, Mistress..." The Nuit spoke slowly, almost devoid of any emotional tone, "Remember though I have some skills in various magical disciplines, I am but a child... I cannot do much," She needed for Anna to realize this lest the human demanded more than she could give.

As Kouri happily 'slept' in Kriem's arms, the Nuit explained about hypnotism first, "Hypnotism... is the art of flowing your djed to your voice..." If there was any other method, Kriem wasn't aware of it, "Concentrate, let your djed coat your tongue and vocal cords, then... one think of an emotion to deliver with these words," The Nuit then gave a slow - for human standards - blink, it took her a full two ticks to close and open her eyes again, "That is all I know, the rest I cannot explain by words, perhaps a demonstration is in order, Mistress?" She wouldn't do it without Anna's orders as hypnotizing her master would be deemed utterly rude even for practice.

Next, the Nuit paused for five ticks as she gathered her knowledge regarding Auristics, again, what Kriem knew was limited to how one could see with their eyes, one aura at a time, "Auristics is the art of gazing the 'aura' of beings and objects around you... I cannot show you this as it is limited to one's own senses," It was true, perhaps she could tell about Kouri's aura instead? The Nuit closed her eyes as she concentrated, flowing the djed to coat her dead eyes, then after a full two chimes, she slowly opened her eyes, the world of auras bloomed in front of her. As a novice, Kriem could only focus at one aura at a time, she turned her head down to focus at Kouri's aura... it was grey, lifeless grey, signifying her ghostly state then her core was slightly innocent blue, however, a pulse of crimson red scorched the blue core like horrible scars, signifying the ghost girl's twisted childish personality.

Kriem closed her eyes again as she stopped the flow of djed, feeling slightly dizzy at her magic use, but her voice didn't show much emotion, "The young mistress," Kriem looked down at Kouri's sleeping form, gently brushing her long white hair, "Is grey... with a blue center, but this blue... is tainted by crimson veins, like blood, pulsing..." Kriem didn't care much if her words sounded like nonsense, she just described what she saw, "Only you can determine what this means, Mistress as each person will have different interpretations."

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna listened attentively to the explanation of hypnotism, listening carefully to every word and applying it to her own knowledge pool for future reference. So one had to focus their Djed upon their voice then in order to elicit an emotional response in another creature, it seemed simple enough in theory but Anna could wager there was nor to actually learning it than that. Idly she attempted to center her Djed on a certain emotion and let out a slight exhale of breath through her mouth, attempting the action on the Nuit. The sorceress felt nothing a knitted her brows in annoyance, considering that it might indeed require intensive meditation before being able to unlock the ability to hypnotize.

“No, that will not be necessary. I’ve dealt with enough hypnotists in my time to know what it feels like.” Anna said firmly, indicating that area being very much off limits.

Hypnotists and she possessed a rather poor history with one another, one having tried to kill her and the other having tried to steal her memories from her forever. They tended to make her prejudiced towards the discipline as a whole, though Anna was not above increasing her own abilities through gaining that power herself. It was simply a matter of figuring out how to actually go about learning to lace her voice with Djed, to learn how to practice that covert art on another creature to gain the desired results. A quandary for another time perhaps.

Auristics, well the knowledge Kriem provided there was not exactly new knowledge to the sorceress as she had heard of and seen it used a number of times. She even had a rough idea of how to learn the magic, though she had yet to actually apply herself to it long enough to try. Something the tall woman intended to change that at some point when she had time to herself, for now though the tall woman simply shrugged it off and filed away the information offered. She did note the information regarding her daughter’s aura with mild interest.

Anna’s interpretation was that the grey symbolized the ghosts Djed as being dead, so perhaps that meant that all ghosts could be identified in such a manner. As for the blue with red it was all Anna could do to keep from smirking, a silent praise to her lord and master Rhysol being given. She was slowly but surely eroding at Kouri and warping her to better serve the Defiler, it would take time but sooner or later the ghostly child would serve his cause as would many more. Kouri was her first true victory on Sahova, and what prize she was.

“Interesting, thank you for the explanation. Now, I think I would like to make some soulmist of my own so I think it’s time for a bit of hunting. Kouri, wake up my child.” The sorceress said, smiling slightly at the small child.

“I’m going to make you some soulmist, however in order to do so I require some supplies. Specifically I need you to go into the Forest of Thorns in the Testing Grounds and find a Thorn Hare and kill it. It’s a small white rabbit with spikes littering its body. It should be easy to spot. Once you kill it, return here with it. I, meanwhile, will go fishing.” Anna stated, peering down at Kouri to ensure that she had gotten the order in full.

Anna knew full well Kouri would do it even if she didn’t want to, the Grand Oath now binding her forced her to act as such no matter what. The sorceress was now rather enjoying that power that the Oath granted her over the ghostly child, she could give any order and it was to be followed without question. Truly Rhysol had been guiding her hand when she signed that false Oath to convince Kouri to agree with the binding Grand Oath. Such was how the Defiler worked in Anna’s eyes.

OOCOpted to split up my posts so that its not waaay too long.

[Fubuki Kouri]

Kriem simply nodded when Anna said her thanks, closing her eyes once more as she returned to her meditative state, knowing that her role was done for the day, now the Mistress wanted to have a word with the Young Mistress. Kouri's small form shifted for a bit before her pale eyelids opened to reveal her crimson pupils, she turned her head at her mother, smiling sleepily at the human, rubbing her right eye with one hand and adorably yawned. The ghost girl tilted her head slightly as a happy smile curled on her lips, Mommy was going to feed her soulmist! Of course she would do anything to make it true, even without the Grand Oath twisting her mind, Kouri would go to the Forest herself, heedless of the dangers it might possess.

She had gone there before, but along with Mia and Celeste, Kouri was confident she could do it alone this time. It was just to catch some spiky rabbits after all, she was a ghost, she could phase through those thorns and swiftly catch the elusive creature with multiple tendrils. Kouri nodded gingerly as she vanished from Anna's arms then appeared near the door of her quartes, "I'll be going now, Mommy!" like a little girl going to school, Kouri waved Anna a good bye then phased out of the door without even opening it. Thus the phantom girl began her journey to the Testing Grounds, then to the Forest of Thorns.

Forest of Thorns, 3 Bells later...

"Aaaaaaagh!" A wail of frustration could be heard on the Forest of Thorns as Kouri turned her head here and there, she couldn't find it! After bells of searching, she couldn't stop a single thorn hare, it was as if they knew she was coming and decided to hide underground, the ghost girl didn't dare to venture too deep for she fear losing her way. Then, she heard a loud bark... wait, Rabbits shouldn't bark, a swift creature then jumped at some distance in front of her, it was... a strange small dog with dark fur and bright beautiful red tail, the dog had mesmerizing large orbs for eyes, "Hu- wait!" As swift as it came, the dog became intimidated by her presence then decided to prance away. "..." As much as Kouri wanted to chase it, that was definitely not a rabbit. With a heavy sigh, Kouri continued her search.

.........

.....

...

"..." That was it, she was doomed, three more bells of searching and still no result, Syna was beginning to rest as soft orange light graced the sky. Kouri needed to return soon, she didn't dare to venture farther than the Prairie at Nighttime, there might be dangerous creature about that could literally eat her in an instant. With fear in her heart, Kouri whimpered then swiftly turned back, phasing through trees as she tried her best to return to the Citadel.

It took her a bell to finally return to Anna's Quarters, now she was standing in front of the door, looking fearful like a girl who was caught doing something naughty, she had failed her mother. The order was clear, to find a hare, but... even with all her power, she couldn't catch a single rabbit. Kouri made an audible gulp as she entered into the Quarters, Anna must be displeased, "U-uhm... M-mommy... I uh..." She closed her eyes then winced, then the words came out stuttering, "I couldn't find it, I..." She fidgeted, it was clear that she came back empty-handed.

OOCPunishment time.