Bribing the Homeless (Solo)

[Liam]

Timestamp: Spring 30, 511 AV Liam stood in the narrow space between two buildings in the Nitrozian plaza watching as the people meandered about aimlessly wasting their lives away. Would he be any different, given a second chance at life? Liam doubted it. Life was blissful ignorance, but it could just as easily be taken away as Liam's had been not all that long ago. Now he remained, a ghostly comparison to what he had been in real life. But he had true purpose now. For once in his existence he knew what he needed to do, but in order to do that he must stay locked between life and death. If he ever gave in he would vanish, and be born once again blissfully ignorant. Liam could not let that happen, not now when he was filled with such purpose. Fulfilling that purpose was still a long way off, though, and he still needed to master his new talents. Liam turned away from the life of the plaza and wandered through the alleys where the less fortunate made their homes, begging for scraps in the market before returning to makeshift dwellings in dirty alleyways. Liam despised them, but he also knew that nobody would care what he did to them also. He would practice on them, and make himself be ready. The Therins, the family which he had been haunting most recently, needed a break before they became too suspicious and sought outside help. The homeless would never afford such help. After a while Liam came across an urchin he recognized. It was the man who had helped him a few days earlier, and apparently the coin he'd received had done little to improve his station other than to fill his bottle a few times. This was why Liam despised most beggars, the money they took they wasted instead of using it to better their lives. But whether he liked them or not, Liam could still make use of the man. Liam appeared in front of the man who, as before, was sleeping and didn't notice him. "Ahem." The beggar jumped at the sound and looked about startled, his eyes fixing on Liam hovering in front of him. "It.. its you?" "Hello again, friend. I told you there might be more work for you if you did good. I have another job for you, if you're interested." The homeless man eyed Liam warily. He had no reason not to trust Liam, he had done nothing to warrant distrust, but in almost all the ghost stories he'd heard they were not to be trusted. "That depends.. What's the job?" How annoying, Liam thought to himself. "Oh it's nothing dangerous, I promise you. We don't even have to leave the alley. All I want is to possess your body, just for a little while, so I can practice walking around." The man stared at him for a long time before finally answering, "You.. you want to possess my body?" "Just for a bit! I just want to walk. I'll give you five mizas after." "Make it ten." "Six." "Nine." "Seven!" "Okay, seven, but you better not make me do anything that will get me in trouble." "Deal." Liam had plenty of mizas and the only reason he had bothered to haggle was because they were at the bottom of the lake and he had to bring them up one by one. All in all he was satisfied. He would have offered a lot more if he needed to to get practice he wanted. Hopefully having a willing vessel would make it a lot less tiring, and he could maintain control for longer.

[Liam]

"So... What do I gotta do?" "Nothing. In fact, don't even get up. I want to do that." The homeless man sat there as Liam readied himself, though there wasn't much he had to do. And so, Liam plunged himself into the homeless man's body and instantly he felt the connection. Don't fight it, Liam thought as he spread throughout the body, getting a feel for the size and shape. They were sitting, and Liam's first task would be to stand up. Liam felt for the muscles that controlled the arms and legs. He placed his, or rather the man's, hands onto the ground and pushed himself to his knees. It didn't matter how many times Liam did it, he always got a rush when he felt the strength in a living person. Liam had no mass, no muscles to speak of. He was made up of a different stuff than the living, and it always thrilled him to feel real mass again. But Liam wasn't even on his feet yet. Renewing his focus the muscles in the man's legs and arms tightened, and then he pushed himself up off the ground. The man resisted slightly, a natural reaction rather than a fight for control, brought on by the near loss of balance as Liam brought the man to his feet. Liam kept his balance though, and the man whose body he was using relaxed. That wasn't so bad, Liam muttered mentally to the man. What's your name, anyway? Adam? I am Liam Ward.. Information was at Liam's fingertips as the man's thoughts answered his questions without even meaning to. But Liam could only read the man's surface thoughts, those that were unprotected and would normally be used to form words anyway. Accessing memories or even sharing in the mans knowledge and skills were beyond Liam's abilities at the moment, but perhaps one day he would be able to do more than just communicate with his host. oocSo I'm just kinda winging it with the mental communication. I was told I could do it, but don't have any details on how it actually works

[Liam]

Liam was standing now, but he had not come to just stand in one place. Liam wanted to practice walking, talking, and perhaps even some more complex maneuvers if he had the energy. Unfortunately possession was still quite draining on him and he could only do it for short periods before wearing out and resting for hours. Thankfully a willing host was much less draining, and Liam decided it was time to take a walk. Ordering Adam's legs to move Liam propelled himself forward one step at a time, relishing each thud as he put foot to ground and lifted the next. Adam thought he was crazy, taking such joy in a simple walk, but Liam could not help it. Each step was like walking a mile, but Liam pushed on until he had made it to the end of the alley. Adam was wondering what they would do next, so Liam decided he would answer. "Wha... Wii.. We're.." It was as if he was learning to speak all over again as Adam's tongue flopped about in his mouth trying to form words the inexperienced ghost could barely figure out how to pronounce. Liam closed Adam's mouth, then quickly remembered to make him breath and sucked air in through his nose before opening it and trying it again. "Wha-eee arrr going too have a con.. Conversla.. We are going to have a talk with shlum.. Somebody." Liam forced out the last word and smiled, drawing a mental laugh from Adam who thought he sounded like an idiot. Quiet, you. Maybe if you hadn't wasted all those Mizas on booze I could form a proper sentence with that ox you call a tongue. Though Liam berated Adam for laughing at him he couldn't help but agree, he sounded like a fool and having a coherent conversation with somebody was going to prove difficult. Perhaps it would be better to practice something else.. maybe running? Adam mentally cringed at the idea and Liam let out a vocal laugh and responded, "Don't wurrry. It's just like walkeen. Only plaster.. er.. faster." His response was not received with much confidence.

[Liam]

Liam was determined to pull it off with success. As he place one foot in front of the other, each movement an act of his own will upon the homeless man's body, he was propelled forward. At first he just walked, but as Liam's confidence grew so too did his pace and within seconds he was no longer walking but jogging, then running, and then making an all out sprint toward the alley's end. Excited as he was by the speed in which he was moving Liam didn't notice the obstacle in the road before him, a fallen piece of debris. Not so large that it would block his path, but large enough that when his foot hit it the ghost and the man who's body he was controlling wen sprawling to the ground. Liam let out a laugh as Adam's body recovered from the fall and Liam pushed him to his feet. That wasn't so bad, Liam thought,Considering it was my first time trying to run and all. Liam could feel the discomfort coming from Adam, and he could tell it wasn't from the fall. Even though he was a willing participant in this, Adam's body was beginning to resist Liam's presence. Liam knew he didn't have much time left. Just a little bit longer, I promise. I just want to go for a swim. That brought on a true feeling of discomfort and Adam's body froze up as he tried to regain some control, fighting to speak. Liam decided to let him, since the homeless man didn't seem to grasp the fact that he could merely think to communicate, and relinquished control of Adam's lips. "No! No swimming! You already given me cramps and a scraped knee, I won't add drowning to the list!" Drowning? I would never let you drown, and if I started to mess up I could just let you take over. I promise, there is no danger in this. And remember, I'm paying you to let me do this so it's not like there's nothing in it for you. As Liam tried to persuade the man he could feel the denial in him before the man ever replied out loud. "No, you didn't say anything about swimming. I won't do it." Liam was going frustrated, but he did his best to keep his cool. There was no sense ruining a perfectly willing host. But I told you, there won't be any danger. If I do it wrong you can just take over and swim back to shore. It's perfectly harmless, I promise you. "No.. that.. that won't work. I.. I can't swim." Liam's frustration finally got the better of him at that comment. Who lived in Ravok that couldn't swim? That was like living in the desert without a tan. It just didn't happen. No. I am paying you. You will do as I say, and I say we're going swimming.. Adam tried to say something but Liam ordered his jaw shut, then ordered his feet to move.

[Liam]

Every step was a battle and Liam wasn't about to give up without a fight. Adam wasn't giving up either, but he had been drinking before Liam showed up and his body was barely his own to begin with. Fear of water or not, it wasn't enough to stop Liam from marching him toward the lake. Each step forward was like trying to arm wrestle a Jamoura, but Liam persisted all the way to the waters edge. They stood there, staring at the calm clear water of Lake Ravok. Adam was no longer fighting so much as he was begging, such was his fear of the water, but Liam didn't care. He was determined to see the task through, and with a final surge of energy he forced Adam to leap off the dock and into the cold water. Adam panicked and tried to flail helplessly but stopped when Liam yelled in his mind. Stop struggling or you WILL drown! Let me swim you back to shore. The words must have hit home because Adam immediately stopped flailing and Liam found himself in full control again. It had been a long tine since he had gone for a swim, but Liam still remembered how. One arm in front of the other, legs kicking behind.. how hard could it be? Liam started to swim, but quickly found if much more difficult than he remembered. On top of that, he couldn't figure out how to make Adam float. As he tried to swim Adam's head dipped beneath the water and Liam tried futilely to kick his way back to the surface, but it wasn't working. He couldn't get the motions right, couldn't get the controlled breathing required to float. As they started to sink both Liam and Adam began to panic.. that is, until Liam remembered he could just leave. Liam blinked and the next thing he knew he was standing on the dock again looking down at the water. Adam was flailing about, crying out for help whenever his head did manage to break the surface before splashing under again. Liam watched for a moment then shrugged and walked away. He might have tried to help him, but Liam was exhausted. If someone else came along and wanted to save the beggar that was their business. A least this way he didn't have to pay the man.

[Seth]

Liam: +3 Possession XP +1 Persuasion XP +1 Running XP +1 Swimming XP Lores: How to do Basic Movements while Possessing, How to Speak When Possessing, Basics of Simple Haggling. The Method behind my Madness : The points should all explain themselves pretty well. I hope you enjoy! I definitely like reading these little threads! Nice little story! It was fun to read, for sure! <3!