Solo A New Start, With an Old Mind

[Bakar]

I promise I'm not that scary..

Summer, 63, 515

Bakar sighed, sitting at home, alone, again. He had been thinking a lot about his existence recently, since that day at Li Mauta. "Parasite" had been repeated in his head over and over. The determination he had acquired from his mistake at work drove him to work harder, but it didn't take his mind off of this thought.

He reached up, and scratched his cheek, stressed with current events. He felt a sickening peeling sensation. Pulling his hand away, he looked down at it. A long strip of skin was hanging from his nail. He reached up back to his cheek. A long indent was now formed on his cheek, where he pulled the skin from it.

"No.. no no no.. I can't do this right now.. I can't..." Bakar whispered to himself, horrified. The thought of taking yet another body sickened him. He was having a crisis about his existence, and this happens. It's rotting. His body is falling apart. He needs another. He looks down at his hand, where he burned himself when he was starting his work. Where he was burned. The skin was rotting, and decaying where the muscles were exposed to the air, more so than he remembered.

The body was rejecting his presence, that's what this was. He was a foreign being, housed in a vessel that didn't accept him. "It's unnatural.. I shouldn't be here.."

He debated just, wasting away. Not getting another body. He didn't want to go through this cycle every time. But in the end, he was too much of a coward. Too scared of dying. Of wasting away, slowly. He thought back to when this life first started, how rotted and weak he got, but still lived. He didn't want to go through that, and continuing this cycle is what it took to stop it.

Nearly crying, he stood. He pulled his cloak over his head, keeping his head low, and headed towards Li Mauta. Dreading what was to come, continuing this existence, cycle, of rot and decay, only delaying what will inevitably come.

[Bakar]

I promise I'm not that scary..

He arrived at Li Mauta with no incident, but hesitated at the door. He had done this before, and never thought twice about it. This was just his life now. There was nothing that could be done. But now he's scared. He doesn't know what to do. He mulled these thoughts over again, hand on the door. It boiled down to two choices. Live or die. Take up another body, or rot and die. He pushed open the door, and took a step inside.

Benoit looked up from his work, but upon seeing who it was, went back to his job, expecting Bakar to go off to his own thing. After a few minutes of Bakar not moving, Benoit looked up again, scoffing at him. "What are you waiting for?"

"I-I'm not here to work today.." Bakar explained nervously. He lowered his hood, and revealed his face, with the long strip of skin now missing from his cheek. "Well, why didn't you just say so? Well come on then, lets get this set up." Benoit laid his work to the side for now, and walked to the storage area, to find the next available body.

Not even bothering to consult a list, Benoit pulled a body aside for Bakar. With Nuit's impeccable memory, Bakar was sure he knew exactly who was who, where and what place they were on the list. Even Bakar knew where some of these people lay, as he had been the one to put them there. There was a tall, dark skinned female.. there a short, stocky man.. a child lay there.. none had seem him before, including the orphanage.

"What are you waiting for? Get over here." Benoit called from the next room. Bakar had been lost in his thoughts. He entered, the body lay covered, but otherwise ready. "Get yourself set up, I need to get back to work." And with that Benoit left, leaving Bakar alone with the body.

He uncovered it slowly, still half wondering if he could do this. He was going to, of course. But it was one of those times when you believe you shouldn't be doing something, are thinking about regretting it, but doing it anyways. He gasped as he uncovered the face. A female. He uncovered the rest of the body, to be sure it wasn't just a really feminine man. But no, it was a woman.

Bakar stepped out and nervously questioned Benoit. "U-uh.. i-is it possible that I get a... male... please?" He spoke quieter as the sentence went on, already knowing the answer. The reply was nearly exactly as he anticipated. "What did I tell you when you first got here? I wasn't going to make exceptions for you. You get what's available. Either rot, or take it." Bakar recoiled at that last statement. That was exactly what he was thinking about doing, and having someone else say it to him made him all the more hesitant to go through with this. Once again though, he lacked the strength to end the cycle.

He stepped back into the room and sighed, shakily. He took the provided materials and started the ritual, painting the runes engraved into his mind since his "birth" on the women. Forehead, heart, hands, feet and navel. He carefully opened her mouth and climbed atop the poor girl. He opened his mouth, and with the starting drip of his ichor, the cycle began over again.

[Bakar]

I promise I'm not that scary..

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The Ichor dripped slowly, there was no steady stream. The process was long, and extremely tiring. Bakar's arms shook, weak, but he held himself steady. It wouldn't do to stop now, he was nearly done. He convulsed. And fell over. His very being came free, and followed the Ichor into the mouth of the women.

Minutes passed. No movement. A few more. Nothing. 10. 20. Her eyes opened. She groaned as she rose from the table, weak. She tried to step down and stumbled. She was short. At least half a foot shorter. That would take some getting used to. She took the clothes she (he?) set aside earlier. She tried to put them on, before realizing, once again. "Oh.. they're way too long..." Bakar looked around the room swiftly, before her eyes settled on a scalpel. She laid the clothes out, and tried to cut them carefully, to reduce their length. She succeeded in reducing the length, but it was done all but carefully. The sleeves were different lengths, the ends were jagged, with threads sticking out from the end.

She twirled slowly, careful not to fall, testing the clothes to make sure that at least she won't trip over them. She did trip, but not from the clothes. Her legs just didn't work as they were supposed to. She fell and gripped the table to keep from hitting the ground. She almost didn't make it, sluggish movements considered. She pulled herself back up and tried again, leaning against the table this time. (Mostly) Satisfied with how it turned out, she exited the room. It was nearing night, she thought. She wasn't completely sure. She was groggy and tired, weak. Benoit grunted as she passed by.

"Go home, rest and come back when you're ready." She grunted in reply, too groggy to think of something proper to say. She pushed through the doors with a struggle, and walked, almost like she was drunk, back to her home. She laid in bed and had the closest thing to sleep she had in a long, long time. She layed and stare at the ceiling, mind blanking and didn't move until a day later.

[Bakar]

I promise I'm not that scary..

Summer, 64, 515

She rose from the bed, still tired and uncoordinated, but needed to do something else. She stretched, and stumbled over herself, falling onto the bed. She layed in that position until she was ready to rise again. She stood, dressed and left the room for the first time in her new body.

The man that lives in the room over was leaving at the same time. He turned to face her and smiled, introducing himself. "Hello! I'm Theodore! Are you visiting the man that lives here?" He motioned to the door to Bakar's room. She was unsure what to say. That man wouldn't be returning anymore, so she thought it best to tell the truth. Mostly.

"No, I live here. I just got in late last night. That man won't be back." She said to the man, quietly, still not used to the new voice. The man seemed to visibly relax. "Oh, I see. Did you know him?"

"No.. " She replied.

"Ah. Well, lass, you're weren't missing much. To be honest, I'm a little glad he's gone. There was something off about him. He was a quiet man, sure. But he gave me the willies."

Bakar recoiled at this, and looked away. "So this is what people think of me.." She whispered to herself.

The man stepped forward and reached out, in case Bakar were to fall. "Whoa, whoa there lass. Are you feeling alright? You look at little pale.."

"Yes, yes. I'm fine. Just a little under the weather. I'm going to get some fresh air. Good bye." And with that, she left. Using the wall as a support, she turned away from the man, his arm still outstretched. She half stumbled her way out of the innards of the fortress, out into fresh air. Not that it would make a difference to her, it was more for her emotional well being than her physical. She spent a while out and about, getting used to her new limbs. When she returned later that day, she laid in bed, resting again. Giving her "parasitic" core time to adjust to the new "host".

She shook her head. It was too late to regret it now. It would be years before she would need a new body again. Hopefully a male. Bakar wasn't quite used to a female body yet, and it made him uncomfortable to think about. He hoped that he wouldn't mistakenly call herself a he, and confuse those he's talking to. It would take getting used to, and she wasn't even sure she wanted to. "This is part of being a Nuit. Get used to it. If you're going to try to hide it, this is what you need to do." She curled into herself on the bed. "You don't even really have a gender anymore anyways." She closed her eyes, and rested silently.

[Devi]

Your Grades have arrived! Bakar Skills: Philosophy: 1 Observation: 2 Socialisation: 1 Lores: Philosophy: the sacrifice of being Nuit. Nuit: transferring to a new body. Comments: I do not envy Bakar the confusing body change. Whoever thought that him confusing her new self with his old self now that he is a she would be a problem they'd have to face?! Let me know if you have any questions and don't forget to edit your post in the Grade Request Thread. Happy Writing!