[World's End Grotto] Loss of Love (Leeta)

[Talya]

Timestamp: Summer 42, 515 AV Talya was heading home for the day. It was just to hot, with the lack of a breeze rolling in from the bay, and the sun shining incessantly down upon Mizahar, with no cloud in sight to block its rays. Or at least, she was heading to the only home she knew she had while enjoying her stay within Zeltiva; the World's End Grotto, where she had rented a room for herself. So as sweat poured down her brow, courtesy of the heat, she made her way along until she found the familiar building. Its strange conglomeration of building materials- stone and blocks, and then a stable to the side, which looked as though it had been added at the last possible minute, as an afterthought. There were a few people standing or sitting around outside, enjoying the radiance of the sun, and at the same time, she could hear sound echoing out of the halls from indoors. The sound of glasses clinking together intermingling with the noises produced to portray general merriment. Talya smiled, there was something nice about coming home to all of this every day. Although today was a little different, something was a bit off about it all, which she supposed had something to do with the woman she saw sitting all alone, outside, with her back against the building. She was doing nothing, and seemed either lost in her own thought, or upset about something, although she didn't seem as though she wanted to show as much. The woman seemed to be fairly young, Talya thought. She appeared slight of build, fairly long and lithe. She had rather pale skin, with limp looking raven black hair. It lay flat against her skin, and seemed to lack any sort of vibrancy whatsoever. Her bangs were choppy, and seemed unkempt as well. She had dark brown eyes, and features which seemed to suit her well enough. The Ethaefal though, couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with her, and why she seemed to exude such a dark, miserable cloud, dampening the spirits of all those who drew to close to her. A sense of curiosity overcame the Ethaefal, who decided then and there to use her auristics to see what she could find out about the aloof looking woman. Talya crept a few paces closer, so as to seem more natural, before taking a seat in the grass about fifteen feet away from Leeta. She never peeled her eyes away from the woman as she took a deep breath in through her nose, and out through her mouth, while doing her best to concentrate on her and nothing else- not the sound of the gulls overhead, or the sound of laughter echoing out of the inn, or the sound of the people talking outside. Nothing. She took another deep breath, and concentrated even more forcefully, before Leeta's aura came into view a few minutes later. It was dark. It billowed like a cloud moving through a storm. It looked like one too- as it was a mixture of the stormiest colors Talya thought she had ever seen during the course of her short life. It was a deep, slate grey, and it was also a midnight blue, flecked with black, and what looked like it could of been a deep violet, although she wasn't entirely sure. It could have been a dark, dark red as well. From this sight alone, Talya knew that the aura's owner was deeply saddened. Arguably depressed and distraught, it didn't take a genius to pick up on as much. Especially because just looking at the aura made Talya feel depressed, her heart a bit tumultuous, not only in how it beat, but in how it felt watching the aura. As she continued to study the aura, Talya's eyes became heavier and heavier, steadily making it harder and harder for her to keep them open. Her pupils dilated, as she sniffed the air. She thought she caught a whiff of something metallic. Not quite like metal being worked in a forge, (in which case she supposed she may also pick up on some clanging, which she didn't, there was no sound she could discern as being associated with the aura), but something else. Blood perhaps. The color of the flecks that she couldn't quite make out? Or something else? Was it blood on the girl's hands, or maybe she worked as a butcher? Talya looked at her again. She didn't seem as though she worked for a butcher, nor did she seem the killing type. So what could it be? Was she some sort of medic, or was Talya entirely off base? Talya sighed, she hated how difficult it was to figure things out sometimes. But such was life. Such was the nature of auras. But at least, she felt, she had confirmed her suspicions, and figured some things out about the lone woman, and her bleak aura. As such, Talya let the aura fall, and absorbed, instantly, the wave of exhaustion that washed over her. Before taking a minute to take a few deep breaths, before she eased herself onto her feet, and less for the sake of doing something nice, as opposed to sating her own curiosity, she walked over to Leeta. She stopped when she came beside her; her shadow looming over the frail looking woman. "Hello there," she said, simply. Her tone neutral, and level for the most part. A part of it seemed a little unsure of itself. "Couldn't help but notice you seemed a little down today. Is everything alright with you?" she asked. Why wouldn't you be enjoying a day such as this? she thought to herself. OOCTook a few liberties in the post. If they're not ok, please don't hesitate to pm me and I can fix the post right up.

[Leeta Snow]

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Leeta finally moved after twenty minutes of sitting still with the ration in her hand. It was a crispy cake that was pressed down and wrapped in paper. The kind was what poor people or travelers ate when trying to save money and was known to taste something awful. The people near her had nearly almost assumed the woman to be dead after she had not replied to their inquiry before. Resorting to speak near her, they had almost forgotten about her existence until she moved.

Talya was fifteen feet away still so she could not see the obvious about the woman, but as she studied her, there was the dark depression in her heart. She was alone, though she had been alone for many years, wrestling with acceptance, love, and anxiousness to fit in. There was no point to any of that now though. Now she just wanted to leave before it was her turn; her turn to die. The morbidity in the woman’s life had always been present, but now it nearly tripled in prevalence. She considered just stopping her eating and letting the end come, but food felt so good in her stomach right now.

Like a zombie raising his hand from the grave, she slowly moved the ration toward her lips. Before the contact was made though, gravity--cruel gravity, made the snack fall to her lap; now broken in half and in pieces. With a cold look forward and down she lowered the snack from her mouth and moved the tear-covered hand to eat from her lap. Most women would have stood up and dusted the crumble off their waist, but she was not that kind of person, especially now.

The blood soaked dress where she lay upon her sister’s dead corpse no longer stained what it touched. It was dried and caked in the sunlight and sooner or later she’d know that her sister’s body would be taken down from upstairs. The scream that emitted from her throat last night echoed in her ears still upon finding her sister dead. Sleep had fled from her and despite the warm wishes of the innkeeper, she could not be part of their sorrow. Life had to move on. She had to move on, or die herself.

Perhaps it was her sass and her snide attitude that would spare her from her depression, but it also seemed to lead her further into it. She imagined herself a week from now sitting in the same spot, doing nothing but getting drunk from the flask on her inner thigh. The flask...That seemed a good idea at the moment. In an unclassy maneuver she reached up her dress to her thigh and pulled out the thing, revealing her legs and the tattoos thereupon them. The flask was devoted to the God of the sea, meant to carry holy water, but now it carried her spirits. Leeta slowly pulled her dress down with the flask in hand and turned to the way she was.

A shadow crept over her now, yet it was a new one from somewhere she didn't see. She squinted and began to look up into the sun, only to see a silhouetted woman standing over her. The shade felt nice and cool from her shadow. Part of her wished the girl would just stand there and shut up, however the woman’s voice sounded sweet as she spoke. She hated the loving kindness of people right now and she didn’t know what she wanted.

Talya now could see the dried tears that caked the woman’s face and perhaps could even make out blood upon her black dress due to the light and angle she stood at. Leeta's right wrist was caked with dirt and tears from her face and as she stood high above her, Talya could notice that she had not taken a bath in quite some time.

Taking in a deep breath, Leeta looked back down to her crumbs. She set the paper wrapped ration down on her dress and began to pick at the ones in her lap. Leetas entire body seemed to be covered in various tattoos, the more impressive of which could be seen on her back as she slouched. No sound came from the woman except a cough when a crumble tried to go down the wrong throat hole.


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Other's Words -- My Words -- My Thoughts

[Talya]

Talya blinked a few times, and then she blinked a few more times. The woman was a quiet one. A very quiet one. She wondered if she were a mute, or for a minute, if she were secretly dead. Could that happen? Could someone look alive for all intents and purposes, but really, be entirely deceased? No more? Talya wasn't entirely sure, but she doubt it. She supposed if someone were dead, they'd either wind up a ghost, (she had heard rumors that they did indeed, exist), or they simply wouldn't be around anymore. So this woman had to be alive, even if she didn't seem like it as every ounce of her energy, any bit of her essence that might have been before, seemed to have been sapped out of her. Draining her completely, leaving her depressed; a shadow of her former self. Talya sighed inwardly as she bent down; easing herself into an awkward squat, in which she laid her arms over the length of her bent legs, and stared at the woman. This she supposed, was going to be a bit harder than she thought, especially since the woman wasn't being very forthcoming, and appeared as though she may be ignoring her in favor of the remnants of her recent snack, which dribbled down the front of her dress. The woman methodically picked the crumbs from her fabric, and pressed them into her mouth. One by one she ate, and again, Talya found herself sighing inwardly as she watched the tattooed woman's behavioral patterns. Her eyes trailing over her limbs; taking in more detail now that she was closer. The fact that her clothes were wrinkled, and seemed generally unkempt, the fact that they were dirt encrusted, as were her arms, for example. Her eyes seemed distant; huge bags hung beneath them as though she hadn't slept much recently. They were red and puffy eyes; as though she had been crying. Maybe it was the weather, sometimes it made people tear up and cry, but Talya had a feeling that Leeta had been crying for real, as her skin had a crusty, glassy like texture to it, as though several tears had dried there recently, and she hadn't so much as bothered trying to wipe them all away. "You missed a spot," Talya finally commented playfully, as she forced herself to smile; her eyes to sparkle and brighten. "You gonna get it? It's over here," she pointed to a spot on the right side of her body momentarily before retracting her hand; she wasn't sure what else to do, so she sighed again. Talya wondered again, what was wrong. "Do you want something else to eat?" she asked, to see if she could elicit a stronger response from the stranger. "There may be some dried fruit in the bag," she explained, as she pointed over her shoulder at the pack on her back. "You're welcome to take some if you'd like," she finished, before taking a seat beside Leeta, and stretching her legs out before her. She then placed her rucksack between them, and looked over at the human girl before tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Hope it's ok to sit here," she commented absently, as she began to rummage through her bag for something to eat. If the woman wasn't hungry, at least she was, and she would have a bite. A few seconds later, she turned up a few dried apricots wrapped in a small piece of paper. She took a few out and began eating, before holding her hand out and offering Leeta food again. "You don't have to talk right now if you don't want to," she said, carefully, after having swallowed her first bite of food. "Not right now anyway- there's always later, after you've had a moment, maybe something to drink?" People liked getting to drink. Maybe that would help cheer Leeta open up and talk to her so she could get to the bottom of this little mystery. "Or you could listen to a stranger ramble some more," Talya continued bashfully, as her cheeks began to turn a little red and warm. "What do you think?" she asked, before falling silent and awaiting an answer.

[Leeta Snow]

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Leeta’s eyes shot over swiftly as the woman crouched down next to her. In a way half of her was fighting the other half was not. Part of her hated the fact she was getting closer to her and the other half welcomed it. As if it weren’t enough the woman playfully pointed to a spot on her arm. Her eyes snapped down to where the woman pointed and could see the dirt that had clumped together on her arm from her tears. Her body physically tensed a little bit at the thought of moving to wipe it away. Instead of responding another crumb went toward her mouth, though when it arrived she smirked at it and flicked it toward the middle of the street.

The woman wouldn’t give up! She sat down next to her to her and began to bug her about eating. Taking in a long breath, she let it out with a sigh. She didn’t want to move really and for sure didn’t want any nasty apricots right now. Actually she loved them, but right now she just pretty much hated everything the woman was doing. She understood the drive to please her. She looked like a hot mess right now, down-right pitiful, but it was her right. Whoever this person was did have a bit of sound advice and that was to drink. She leaned her head back against the wall and undid the holy water flask’s lid, then brought it to her mouth and drank. The spirits inside had a powerful odor and it burned her throat as it went down. A vile bittersweet nectar it was and made her feel even more hot in the sunlight. The woman then continued to try to cheer her up and she looked over to her.

What did she think? Living by her own rule she stared at the girl for ten seconds, making sure, and then said “Shut up.” Her voice was weak, especially so because of the spirits she just drank.

Upon hearing her comment, the nearby people jumped at the chance to say, “Typical. You should just ignore her miss. We’ve already tried to comfort the girl. Bad blood.”

The man would shake his head and return to his conversation. With a steady arm Leeta picked up the remaining half of her ration and threw it into the back of his his fat head. Utterly shocked, he was full of harrumphs and scoffs for a moment before dragging the women he was talking to further away. Leeta then spoke up to the girl next to her.

“Some people don’t know when to be quiet. They always say, I’m sorry, sorry for your loss. What can I do to help.” she shook her head, making it clear she wasn't speaking to Talya, just about people in general. “Just shut the pesh up. If someone is crying, cry with them. If they are sorrowful, be sorrowful with them. Who are you than can cheer a person up?” her voice was crackly and harsh, being out in the sun too long; now broken apart by the harsh liquid poured down her throat. With shaky hands she put the lid back on the drink and screwed it tight, then looked down at her dress once more. Her trained eyes could see the blood and where it was caked.


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Other's Words -- My Words -- My Thoughts

[Talya]

Talya simply sat in silence, she watched in silence. The woman was a strange one; practically drinking when bidden, and throwing her food scornfully, by contrast, when bidden. As though trying to rid herself of a good idea, as much as scare everyone away. Talya sighed then, as she concentrated on the container within Leeta's hands, and forced its aura to rise. It was faint. A deep red. It stank of liquor, but she could tell it wasn't wine. She wasn't so sure what it was however, and let the aura fall. The woman was drinking for real. And it was pretty early for that; the sun still being out and all. She must be pretty darn upset about something if she wanted to drown her emotions by the bottle this early during the day. It made Talya wonder all the more what was wrong with her; what had brought her to this deeply dark place. Not that she truly cared why the woman was so screwed up; she was simply curious. It was then that the stranger began to speak again, and from her manner of speech, Talya began to fill in a few more pieces of the puzzle, to guess that the woman had lost someone close to her, and quite recently by the sound of things. Her brow furrowed as she sank into a period of thought, while still doing her best to listen to whatever it was the woman was bothering to say. "You think it best for all feelings to be shared?" she asked, after awhile, not sure as to what else to do. "Even if they are all negative, and can bring a group down?" she paused. "Why not then, struggle to forget, struggle to be happy? Perhaps you are right, perhaps it is not the place of another to help someone to forget. To help them to overcome, unless they are asked. Perhaps it is best for an individual to learn how to cope on their own, and in the process grow stronger. But then again, who can argue against the name of compassion? Those who wish to lend aid? Especially in those situations of great turmoil, when those in need may not know how to ask for help? May not know that help could be there? May not be willing to so much as try and change their circumstances as they are far too distraught and hopeless?" she paused. "Don't seem as though they would ever... try." Talya looked away from the woman and fell silent for a moment. "Do you think it right, and natural, for man to watch another of their kind suffer? Or is it simply something the sufferer may think they want in their current state of self-imposed isolation and misery?"

[Leeta Snow]

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Now without any food but the crumbs that sat upon her bloody dress she opened and closed her fingers, wondering if she was really hungry enough to eat all the crumbs on her. The woman elected to not take her advice and shut up, to be full of the empathy she so desired, and instead did quite the opposite. She gave Leeta a lecture in philosophy and musings.

Leeta was pretty bright, even from a young age, so the words were heard by the woman, she just didn’t know how to respond. Should she scream in her face? Should she grab her by her stupid Chaktawe hair and grind her face into the cobble? Her thoughts turned to violence and she let out a sigh as the woman paused. Was she wrong? Why not struggle to forget, why not struggle to be happy? Her logical brain went to work, helping her forget her emotions for a small moment. Her eyes watered at her words. What help did she have, jerks like that to which she previously threw the ration at?

She was in a hole that she couldn’t get out of. “This town is my misery, this place is the hole I can climb out of with death waiting at the bottom. As hard as I fight I am not able to leave, and so here I am...to the bitter end.” She gave a fake joyous swing of the arm and then rephrased, ”Help or no help, my destiny is the bottom of this...” she held up the flask a little and then continued saying “And it goes not much further. So let us join in misery, celebrate in heartbreak, and honor the recent dead. Come, agony; we welcome you!”

She was not preaching or calling to her death, just that her destiny went no further than the bottle. There was no point. The girls words were nice and kind, so she didn’t bring violence to her, but as tears formed in her eyes she really wished she’d just shut up and maybe just embrace her, maybe a little.

“Should I struggle oh Gods for happiness? Should I struggle to forget? Could I lie to myself enough times to think my end's not near?” She said sarcastically, then looked to the woman with red eyes and did not say anything to her for a few seconds, then she said calmly. “I want to be miserable. I want to be left in my misery. In my self imposed Isolation.” It was a lie but who could tell her otherwise? Finally she dusted off her dress of some of the crumble and as she did, caked splotches of dried blood littered the street in front of her.


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Other's Words -- My Words -- My Thoughts

[Talya]

Talya's brow furrowed. "This place is hardly a whole, although portions of it could use a little work," she responded. "In fact, it seems pretty level to the bay, which I suppose we could equate to the sea." She allowed her brow to unfurrow, and return to its more natural placement as she continued to listen to the strange, ominous, and all together cynical woman who sat next to her on the grass. She sat silently as she studied the woman's movements. The way she moved her hands. Her arms. The way she held herself up, or for the most part, didn't. She knew, without the woman so much as having to continue her speech, that she was drowning in her own little pity puddle. That she may for the time being, be entirely hopeless. A lost cause. But that didn't mean that Talya didn't want to sit around and find out details, or better yet, simply use the woman for practice. Make suggestions with her magic, which may turn the tides, or have absolutely no effect on Leeta whatsoever. As Talya felt that hypnotism was a magic which could only shift things if the victim wanted to be shifted; or rather, was in any way inclined to a hypnotist's suggestions- way of thinking, way of feeling. Unless of course the hypnotist was extremely powerful, perhaps, which of course, Talya conveniently was not. Talya found it all the more amusing then that Leeta seemed to propose drowning herself in the bottle. Or at least, whatever was left of it. Although, there were plenty of bars and taverns within the city, so it wasn't as though they couldn't move to allow her to get a refill, should she ever feel the need to do so. Talya found herself to be smiling weakly, her eyes betraying just a hint of her merriment, as they locked on those of her companion, before she extended her right hand, and let her palm fall against the middle of the woman's back. She'd let it idle a moment, before guiding it up and down the length of Leeta's spine, as though she were rubbing it to comfort her. It would seem a natural response, Talya supposed, to a compassionate person seeking to assuage the pain of another. But in reality, it was a clever guise in which she could continue making contact with her victim; thus making it easier for her hypnotic magic to take hold, and have an effect. "Drink," Talya instructed, her hypnotic djed seeping into her words, "you must be thirsty," she added, as her pupils dilated slowly, seeming to move in tune with each syllable that left the Ethaefal's lips. "And it will calm your nerves," Talya insisted. Her voice quiet; a suggestive whisper. "For nothing more than the end of that bottle; the last of your drink, can be near. Drawing ever closer as you nurse its lip." She paused, as she thought over her words, and just what sort of response she was trying to evoke from Leeta. Calm? Further pain? A sense of being numb, or even happy? She wasn't quite sure at the moment; perhaps it was blend of all of the above, or even just a few. Perhaps it were none of them, although judging solely off how she had been, Talya supposed she had been leaning toward more of a numbing effect with the woman. So at least, she wouldn't have to feel the majority of the pain for a little while. It was almost kind of her, in a way, although, she was beginning to achieve the goal she set out to- to find out the details as to why this woman was so unhappy. There had been a recent death, obviously. She just didn't know who had died, and exactly when or how. But the conversation didn't seem to be over just yet, nor the day done. There was still time to find these things out, and Talya now that she had set her mind to it, was determined to do so. Talya nibbled on her lower lip for a moment; causing them to whiten in slight as her eyes searched that of the other woman. "Perhaps it would be best for you now, to fight for a sense of ease. Not to forget, never forget, simply keep from holding onto it the pain. Perhaps you still still grieve; perhaps a part of you will remain sad for a long time, and never truly happy, just content. But if you find ease- if you learn to accept whatever happened, maybe your heart will begin to feel a little lighter. Maybe in some ways, you will begin to find your peace." The Ethaefal fell silent for a moment as she mused. Her eyes becoming flecked with red, as the blood rose to the surface within her veins. "For it is unlikely that anyone wants to wallow in their own misery, even you." She smiled weakly, as inwardly she sighed and took a deep breath. Before trying again to hypnotize the woman, by offering a silent, emotional suggestion. One of numbness, to the point where the mind was dulled. Almost empty; like a blank slate. A canvas upon which she as the artist, could paint. Although, who was the say if Talya had the power yet to make her magic go so far? OOCHypnotism related things are in italics. Things to be emphasized during her speech are in bold and italics. Any thoughts she may have will be in bold text. Feel free to ignore the hypnotism completely if you want to as Talya is weak and doesn't know your pc well enough to know how to influence her so well. If your pc wouldn't want to be comforted by Talya, feel free to throw off her hand/flinch. At which point, Talya would try for another few seconds to "comfort her" by the way of touch, before giving up and returning her hand to her side.

[Leeta Snow]

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Talya got a little snicker out of the cynical woman for her joke. Leeta loved a good joke, especially in light of misery. She herself if she were in Talya’s position would tell her to man up and get out of the hole she was in; to fight and climb. Looking around briefly as if to check the validity of the hole she was not in, she could see the town was indeed for the most part flat. Chuckling some more awkwardly she leaned forward and slouched once more. Finally it seemed like the girl shut up for a while, perhaps getting the clue. She could feel the girls eyes upon her and while she avoided her in direct eye contact, she at least gave her the courtesy of looking to her in her peripheral vision.

A hand came out and she twitched at the sight of it moving toward her back, yet didn’t move away. The woman began to rub her spine gently. The feeling on her skin was cool and kind to the touch with a hint of warmth to it. It sent shivers up her back and made her shoulders scrunch up the slightest bit for a moment. The woman’s words to “drink” sounded good, but her throat hurt afterwards and she debated the action. It made sense to drink, but the lacking desire to do so fought the woman’s compulsion, if not only for Leeta’s rebellion inside. If it were water she though she would gladly take another drink, but for now she fought her compulsion. After a few moments though she relaxed, slowly being lulled to peace by the action, her words, and her hypnotic suggestion to be numb. It was what she wanted to be at the moment, but it wasn’t that she fully under trance and perhaps Talya could sense this, but she did hang her head slowly after a few moments as though she was.

“That feels good.” she smirked, reluctant to give the concession of kindness, but the girl was trying hard to console her and the more silent she was, the more it had effect on Leeta. Unfortunately for Talya, as she rubbed upon the open back where the dress hung loosely, her fingers would build up a tiny layer of dirt and grime; mixed with layers of old sweat. Leeta took in a strengthening breath at her words, the tears fleeing from where they welled up back to where they came from. She thought “I was not going to cry, not for her, not again. It was good advice to fight for a sense of ease. Let go of the pain, be glad she is dead. Yes that’s it, it’s good that she’s dead, miserable little irritant that she was. What is death anyways, nothing to fear, that’s what ma and pa said. Why not just off yourself if you are a little petcher like her?” She made a hmm sound at the thought and then glanced over to the woman next to her.

“Who are you?” There was a bit of forcefulness behind her voice, perhaps a bit bitchy, and yet all at the same time somehow she sounded relaxed. The hand upon her back really was making her feel comforted.


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Other's Words -- My Words -- My Thoughts

[Talya]

The stranger seemed to appreciate the fact that Talya was rubbing her back. At least, she didn't seem to tense beneath her touch and more than she shied away from it. In fact, in some ways, it felt as though Leeta were moving into her hand, as though she were a cat curling closer to its master for warmth. But this may have been simply a figment of Talya's imagination. She found that as she continued the process, her palm began to grow slightly damp. A little sticky; she supposed this was from sweat, which made more than enough sense given the summer heat, and perhaps, a little bit of the oil and grime from the woman's hair. For it too seemed messy and unkempt; like it hadn't been washed for a fair amount of time. As it continued to moisten, it seemed to attract more and more; as the dirt and grime that had become caked to the woman began to peel off of Leeta's skin, and attach itself to Talya's. Gradually, it built up a small layer, which seemed to help keep Talya's skin cool, although the notion that she were wiping off a stranger's body with her bare hands disgusted her somewhat. Especially since she had just taken a hot bath the night before, and gotten herself squeaky clean. She tried not to let it show however, and fought the urge to wrinkle up her nose in disgust. "That's good," Talya commented, as she began to move her hand in small circles, around the length of the woman's spine, as opposed to up and down, simply following its length. It seemed to build up heat faster this way, which the Ethaefal found to be kind of nice, since she thought that it meant that either the sweat had dried up as dirt filtered in, or she had successfully wiped it off, replacing the stranger with what she had lost. "It's nice to let yourself relax," Talya commented, as she silently urged Leeta Snow to relax, and then to grow numb. She pressed her palm against the woman's skin a little more forcefully now, applying a greater amount of pressure, which with any luck, would feel like a more traditional massage, as opposed to an attempt to push the girl forward and straighten out her spine. Talya wasn't sure how strong she was, how resistant the girl was, and truly how much pressure she applied, and wouldn't be sure of the outcome until it came, and she read what was said silently- in the way the girl moved, in the way the girl looked at her, and of course, with anything the girl said. She would then adjust the pressure accordingly, or move her hand if that is what it seemed the woman wanted for now, even if it meant potentially reducing the magical hold she had begun to place upon Leeta. Talya blinked a few times as the woman questioned her. Surprised she had managed to say anything of the neutral sort. "Talya," she responded simply, "and you are?" she asked, before urging the woman again, silently, to grow numb. If Leeta complied by offering her name, she'd say it was a nice one. If she didn't, she'd simply continue rubbing the woman's back if she were able, while saying nothing further for a little while. Letting the woman gather herself; pick up a few pieces before they continued their fragmented conversation. "Do you want to talk about anything?" Talya would ask. "It doesn't have to be about anything that happened. It could be about anything, or nothing at all- the sky is the limit," she said, ending with a smile. A light clap on the woman's closest shoulder with her right, formerly massaging hand, if she were able. "It can be nice to talk you know, it takes your mind off things," she explained before falling silent. Meanwhile, sending two commands in a way akin to telepathy- grow numb, and speak your mind. She wasn't sure it would work at all, since hypnotism's true power was based in the spoken word, and physical connection, but she felt it worth a try, to at least help test the limits of her magic in the present day. The limitations of her own body, as even more red flecks were birthed within the confines of her jet black eyes. OOCJust a heads up- I'll be going away for the weekend, most likely starting tomorrow, and won't be back until Sunday or Monday to resume posting again. So please don't be alarmed when I poof!

[Leeta Snow]

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Leeta had no idea what this woman was doing, but it was -magic-. It vaguely reminded her of something her mother used to do when she was all worried about things or feeling sick. The massage dug in deeper and she shifted into it more, bringing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her long gangly arms around them. As she did caked blood fell from her dress to the cobblestone, but she didn’t care touching it. The morbid upbringing that was her family meant that sometimes you play in rabbits blood, sometimes you rip the arms off of them for mom and dad. It left you bloody and not afraid to get covered in guts and grime.

As she got into it she thought to herself “What is this person doing to me? It's like she is piercing into my soul with goodness and wriggly fingers.” She flopped her hair and head downward into her knees and rest them there. Her voice seemed soothing and gentle and for a while she was relaxed, almost numb. As the woman pressed harder a muffled groan issued forth from the dress she hid in and her shoulders slumped downward in relaxation. “You’re hired…” came the voice from the dress, seemingly not numbed yet. As Talya went down her spine, she could feel Leeta’s ribs under her skin. She was a very frail girl, almost like a Symenestra, but human. If she pushed too hard Leeta’s body would curl away from her hand, and yet, Talya was responsive to her indications. Eventually she got the pressure just right and Leeta’s body showed it.

The girl answered her that her name was “Talya” and then she asked who she was. “Leeta…” as the woman began to use more of her magical power against her, at her own risk, she began actually feeling more numb to things. The rubbing on her back started to become a distant memory, one far off. Talya most of all shut up and that’s what really did Leeta in. There was not much skill behind the magical manipulator rubbing her skin, but the situation begged she listen.

Her suggestion went through and even thought it was probably the only suggestion she would get through to the girl, it was one that made her want to talk a bit more about what happened. Without understanding, she welled up inside feelings that were pushed down, jammed and stuffed. Now they were coming to light and it was the hypnotists fault. Leeta began to cry into her dress, the blood that had been caked there now took on a more staining pigment upon her face as she leaned into it, causing two bloody looking tear lines to become caked onto her face. The more she cried, the more stuck to her.

As she did she sniffed and said. “I am cursed..It’ll kill me next. I should just sit here and die. Its not like I can leave. I don’t have anywhere to go. Maybe some far off distant land, where the stars look different than here. Maybe then the curse won’t get me.” she sniffled and looked up almost dreamily to the sky, revealing a half blood caked face from where it soaked into the dress. She wiped away at her tears, not even knowing why she was crying. It was all very numb to her, so far off in the distance of what she was actually doing. As far as she knew in her mind she was still resting on her knees getting a lovely afternoon suntan and massage, holding everything contained in her heart.

"My father is dead, my mother is dead... my brother...and now my sister too. I'm next. Doom...Doom doom" she almost sang in a sad little song with a crackly voice.

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Other's Words -- My Words -- My Thoughts