Completed [Traveler's Row] Saving Casper! [Fubuki Kouri]

[Isolde Seibold]

{18th Summer, 513 AV
19th bell}

Isolde wasn't panting. She didn't need to. Running certainly didn't bother a Nuit as much as it did a normal, living person. There was none of that nonsense about muscles getting tired, no having to worry about getting overheated or sore or dehydrated or dizzy or feeling ill... Still she looked positively disheveled, but that could only be expected from having run through the streets of Syliras right as night was falling, bumping and shoving into the straggling citizens that were blundering around in her way, and they were no doubt looking for a good place to drink their fill for the night. Isolde wasn't worried at all about politeness at the moment, or about her usual timid nature. This was important. Important enough that it could not wait, and damn subtly.

So she was thundering into the office of the Traveler's Row, cursing herself that she couldn't remember Kouri and Rena's room number. She nearly slammed into the counter, finding nobody there, and swore aloud before beginning to insistently ring the bell attached to the wall, clangclangclangCLANG--CLANG-- She knew it was rude, but still... the Nuit couldn't find it in herself to care. She would tip the person who answered her summons to make up for it, a silver Miza or two, and then certainly they would be glad to help her find the ghost's room, and Isolde was praying the girl was home and not out flying about, playing tricks or slaughtering unwitting criminals. Please, Kouri, be home--

It was important for the ghost to be home because it was no longer explicitly safe for her to be out. There was a bounty on her head, that was what the Nuit had seen posted on that strange, public bulletin board, and even if Isolde didn't approve of Kouri's murderous side, she also couldn't leave the girl to her fate. She had to at least warn her. Perhaps the Nuit was being melodramatic, but the posting had just smacked of danger... and if anyone understood being wary, it was Isolde. Her entire life was wary.

When a Konti woman finally came bustling over to the front desk, brow furrowing when she saw who was summoning her, crossing her arms, Isolde was practically dancing in place with anxiety, thinking, Hurry up, hurry up, HURRY UP. Finally the woman got close enough and the Nuit called out, rummaging in her pockets for Mizas to assuage the woman and encourage her cooperation, "F-Fubuki Kouri! What room is sh-she in? Is she home? Pl-Please, it's urgent!" Slapping the Mizas down on the desk that she could find --a shining SM and two or three CM, she wasn't counting-- the Nuit looked imploringly at the woman, and who gave a petch if she creeped her out, as long as the Konti answered her urgent questions!

The woman gave the Nuit a long look, not looking particularly disturbed, and then glanced down at the Mizas upon the counter, thoughtful. Isolde was almost grinding her teeth she was so antsy, but finally the Konti scooped the coins off the desk, and said in a pointedly polite tone, "I believe she's home, dear. Room 112. Mind your manners; early risers will be trying to get some sleep."

"Thank you! Thank you!" the Nuit cried, and then she was rushing past the woman, practically stumbling over her own feet in her haste, Room 112, she should have remembered such an easy number.

What felt like a blur of mindlessly similar apartment doors and a few ticks later, the Nuit came jogging to the ghost girls' room, raising a hand, wincing as she hammered on the door with her knuckles, THUD THUD THUD. "K-Kouri, Rena-- Kouri open up! It's Isolde! Please!" The Nuit was praying that the Konti had been right, and that Kouri hadn't phased out of the building without being seen.

Receipt-1 SM, 3 CM

[Fubuki Kouri]

Fubuki Kouri "Ehehe~ Sis, pass me that tea cup!" "Sure, Rena~" The ghostly sisters were playing with the miniature Pycon mansion Kouri bought at the 10th of Summer. They were giggling and chatting like the little girls their form resembled, they were true little girls in a sense for it had not been long since Kouri and Rena died. Though, if one knew the mental condition of Kouri, one could say she couldn't be called a normal girl anymore. Numerous blood of animals and even humans were on her hands, how many little girls had this many kill count? Heck, how many little girls had actually kill someone before? Kouri was like a child who viewed murder and torture as another fun and games like playing dolls and having a tea party, and Rena was already following in her sister's footsteps. The sisters were just happily playing with each other when a loud knock disturbed their session. "Oh... a guest?" Kouri was genuinely intrigued, not many people know they lived here and I bet there were even less people who actually wanted to visit two ghosts staying in an apartment. "Just a second, Rena, I'll go get the door~" "Okay, Sis..." Rena was rather worried, who would want to visit them? And by the sounds of the knock, that someone looked to be in a hurry. As Kouri stood up, a voice came from the door and the sisters recognized it immediately. It was the Nuit, Madame Isolde. "Oh! It's Madame Isolde! I'll go get the key!" Kouri was excited at the prospect of Isolde visiting them, she was one of the few people who became their friend. A fellow outcast in this human-dominated city. Kouri floated to the door and extended a tendril to manipulate the key still left on the door's keyhole. "I'm coming, Sis!" Rena followed suit and took her position beside her older sister. Kouri then opened the door to find Isolde's... scared look? Something was definitely up. "Uhm... Yes, Madame Isolde? What's the matter?" She tilted her head, curious on what exactly caused Isolde to be this worried. Well, the Nuit always looked worried, but it was not this worried.

[Isolde Seibold]

The Nuit almost had a heart attack when the ghost girl finally opened the door, and that would have been an impressive feat for someone who was already dead.

"Uhm... Yes, Madame Isolde? What's the matter?"

She had to resist flinging herself at the girl she was so happy to see her-- but no, that wouldn't do. Instead, she gave a worried smile, eyes flashing back and forth down the hall, before she said, voice breathy with relief, "M-May I come in?" She tried to moderate her tone and volume now that she knew that the girls were safe, at least for now. She certainly didn't need the neighbors listening in, learning that there was 75 GM on the head of the ghost girl living right next door. The only thing that was reassuring about this whole mess was the fact that the board had said '75 GM for the capture of one Fubuki Kouri' and not '75 GM for the death/destruction of one Fubuki Kouri'. That was a small mercy, she supposed.

Once she had entered their little apartment --surprised by the huge, grandiose 'dollhouse' that the girls had bought-- the Nuit waited until the door was shut to say, "Kouri-- there's something I need to tell you, and I don't want to scare either of you, but it's very important and it needs to be taken seriously." In her rush to get here, thoughts flying as fast --if not faster-- than her feet, the Nuit had briefly considered that the phantom girl might consider this a game-- like hide-and-seek or those chasing-and-hiding games that she and Wynry had used to play out in the woods. Except this would be a slash-the-bad-people-into-bits game, and Isolde didn't want to think about that.

Really, the Nuit was conflicted on this whole matter --was helping Kouri right? The girl was dangerous, Isolde knew that from firsthand experience, but she had reasons to be the way she was, and she thought she was doing what was right, and she was only a child. The Spiritist Anders had said that Kouri and Rena weren't children, that their minds and actions could only turn towards anarchism and destruction, that their psyche could twist and their physical appearance would stay the same, like a trick of the light. But looking over and seeing Rena playing with the dollhouse was proof enough that the girls were just that-- still girls. And the way they thought itself was still indicative of a child's mentally-- well, when they weren't trying to play vigilante. She didn't want Kouri and Rena to be hurt just as she didn't want them to hurt those who would being coming after them. But how to impress upon them the idea that it was bad to kill, no matter how much the person deserved it? That it was unnecessary in a place like Syliras, where the Knights would take care of anyone who became too dangerous, a threat to the safety of others?

Like Kouri was herself.
This 'Peyton Morothon' person was cause enough to be worried. What if the Knights got involved, as well? The Nuit shuddered to think. This was now dangerous for more than just the girls, and she herself did not have the ability to turn invisible, or to float through walls, or to became intangible so that blades could not hurt her. She would just have to hope that she could somehow stay a step ahead of anyone who might become angry at her-- though she knew that if the Knights became involved, she was most likely done-for. She couldn't hope to outrun them, not in their own city. But she would cross that bridge when she came to it.

Finally she took a deep breath, and continued, "Kouri. There are-- a-are going to be men" --she almost made the mistake of saying 'bad men', but thankfully corrected herself in time-- "coming after you, do you know what I mean by that? I saw a document today, posted for the public to see, that gave permission to people to try to capture you and turn you in. I don't know if they mean to harm you or Rena, but that's a distinct possibility. I-- I couldn't sit by and let this happen, not without warning you. I-- I didn't know what else to do, I'm a-afraid I can't to a-anything to help you. Except warn you. And I need to-- to t-talk to you about something."

Okay, so this wasn't the best time, but the Nuit had to try to get the girls to see that this was happening because of the way they treated people. Would they understand now that they had become like the bad men that they so tried to get rid of? Isolde knew that it was likely that Kouri wouldn't take well to her preaching to them --might even become angry, might hurt the Nuit-- but she had to try to get them to see. She didn't know how this situation could end well. Moving the girls to a different city might work, or teaching them the proper response to a threat-- get out of sight, don't get near, don't fight --because that would mean materializing themselves and leaving themselves open to be hurt-- and live to see another day. Kouri might think that that was the coward's way out, and Isolde certainly was a coward herself... but really, making it so that the people couldn't hurt Kouri --at least not easily-- was what the Nuit considered to be the girls' best defense.

[Fubuki Kouri]

Fubuki Kouri "Sure..." Kouri let Isolde came in and locked the door behind her. Rena immediately materialized herself and hugged the Nuit, giggling like a child who saw her favorite Aunt. After locking the door, Kouri didn't turn around and stayed at her spot; facing the entrance. She sensed something was definitely not right, with the way Isolde was acting; she looked... panicked and terrified for some reason. Her words also reinforced the already tense atmosphere as if the Nuit heralded prophecies of doom. She said it was important and of course important things needed to be taken seriously. "Scare us?" Kouri finally turned around, she was genuinely intrigured; was a Spiritist is on the hunt for them? The only thing that scared Kouri now was Spiritists and mages, Rena also went from cheerful to serious. Kouri approached closer to Isolde and gently pulled Rena away from her, Rena unmaterialized herself and obediently stood beside her older sister; snuggling against her. "So... what exactly is it, Madame Isolde?" Kouri put her left hand to her waist and waited for her explanation, the Nuit's stuttering was getting to her. She wanted to learn about this and fast. "What... the petch?" Kouri's eyes narrowed to slits in anger and a deep frown upon her face. What did just Isolde say? Some petcher posted a bounty on her head? The nerve of some humans. Then realization hit her, what if a spiritist or two... or three saw that notice and decided to go after them both. She couldn't let that happen, she wouldn't let it happen. "S-sis! W-what happened? H-how can this be?" Rena was starting to panic and she tugged at Kouri's dress. She wanted to cry, but the growing disturbing smile on Kouri's lips stopped her; yes, her sister could handle it. She was a powerful ghost after all, Rena could feel a smile coming to her as well "Ehehehe... I'm sure you can handle it, right Sis?" Her eyes also glowed with a slight crimson hue. Kouri lovingly ruffled Rena's hair "Yes, Rena... I will kill them all... we didn't do anything wrong and if those men come... I will rip out their organs and give them to the good Doctor..." She then faced Isolde, a murderous grin on her face "Don't worry, Madame... rest assured whoever is coming for us won't live to see another day... and I have friends also, ehehe~" She wasn't kidding. She gained some connections she could ask for assistance to, like Ninus the poisoner, Razkar the Myrian warrior, and Noaru the ancient spirit. She was not really sure about Ama though, the Kelvic might decided to turn Kouri in instead. "So... Madame Isolde, what do you want to talk about? Don't tell us we have to run... they are the ones who should be afraid... and I will find the bastard who put that damned notice there and butcher him!" With that statement, a wave of chilling cold dry air surged from Kouri. Rena kept her grin the whole time, no one would dare to cross her sister...

[Isolde Seibold]

The Nuit felt the wave of chill air, and crossed her arms over her stomach, dismay etched onto her face. This had been another possibility that Isolde had considered-- so how could she stop the ghost girl, now? Certainly Kouri was stronger than
Isolde-- but the thing that really got to the Nuit was the look on Rena's face, the crimson glow to her eyes... gods, not Rena too. She would not allow herself to believe that it was for the best that Kouri was captured-- no, there had to be some better way. There had to be. Despite their increasing wickedness, Kouri and Rena were some of the few people that Isolde actually liked, cared about... and that was not something she bothered to do much, considering the heartbreak lurking in her past. So to find a kinship with these girls, and then to lose them... She knew it was selfish, perhaps, but no, she had to help them. There had to be something she could do, she could say, to get through to them. There had to be.

Okay. She had to try and approach this delicately. Would logic work on the spirit? She had to believe it might. It really was Isolde's only weapon. Perhaps she could settle the girl down, make her see sense.

"K-Kouri," Isolde began hesitantly, in as soothing as a voice that she could muster, "Answer me this-- why do you attack the men that you do? What about them... makes them so evil that they have to die? Why do they d-deserve it?"

OOCSorry for the short response, but this is a conversation after all!

[Fubuki Kouri]

Fubuki Kouri "Huh?" Kouri tilted her head to the side at Isolde's questions. It was rather... stupid questions really, but Kouri understood. Isolde was not thinking clearly in her state after all. As she kept rubbing Rena's hair, Kouri locked her crimson eyes with Isolde's dull blue and decided to humor her. "Attack the men? Ahaha why that's simple of course~ Evil men needs to die, Madame Isolde... Right, Rena?" Kouri tilted her gaze to her little sister which was answered by a firm nod from the younger ghost. "Un! Ehehe~" Rena snuggled against Kouri further, she didn't really care anymore. Everything her sister said was 'right' to her. "What makes them so evil? Hehehe... murderers, slavers, tyrants... they all deserve to die! Those people doesn't deserve the life that was granted to them... and besides, why can we do with them besides killing them?" Kouri shrugged her shoulders, her fractured mind truly didn't believe in any other solution "This world would be better if all evil people just die, Madame... surely you can understand that..."

[Isolde Seibold]

"This world would be better if all evil people just die, Madame... surely you can understand that..."

Isolde winced when Rena nodded, automatically agreeing with Kouri, and the Nuit's stomach twisted, her throat getting tight. After a moment, she took a deep breath, swallowing the lump in her throat, ducking her head... and tried to quell the fear and heartache racing through her mind. The girl had replied only as she had expected... even though her answer really hurt to hear, what else would Kouri have said? So... so how could Isolde--? What now...?

"You know Kouri... I think I-- I understand. You're r-right of course. But i-it's interesting, then, don't you think, I w-wonder-- wh-why these people-- want you captured...?" The Nuit's brow furrowed, the corners of her mouth turning down. "I mean-- if what you're doing i-isn't wrong-- if i-it isn't hurting anyone who matters, if it's good and right... Wh-Why would anyone tr-try to stop you? It doesn't make any sense. You could answer me by saying th-that the men who come after you are equally bad, right? But then-- why would the Kn-Knights let them do it, and in the city, too? The Knights a-aren't bad-- sometimes they might spoil some fun, but th-they do have g-good hearts. All of them. Any that don't... well, they're not a-allowed past squire-hood, right? So really-- I just can't understand. It's just w-weird. The Knights don't work with bad people. They get rid of them. So-- if they believe in wh-what these men a-are doing-- and these men a-are coming after you-- I mean, why would the Knights think you were bad... if... you... weren't..." The Nuit's hands were shaking now, but she gave Kouri a puzzled, straight look, not tearing her eyes away like she wanted to, not just agreeing with the girl and getting the petch out like she wanted to-- and hoped that the girl, at least in turn, would be puzzled by her question.

[Fubuki Kouri]

Fubuki Kouri OOCI think this thread almost ends, your reply will end it, Isolde. Feel free to change the thread to completed and post it for grading. Kouri could understand that Isolde was just worried about her and knowing the timid personality of the Nuit, it was not a surprise she would warn to run, to escape this like some coward. Kouri liked Isolde, truly she did but her stuttering and apparent cowardice annoyed her somewhat. "Why do they want me captured? Ehehe... I know, Madame Isolde... because those bigots hate me just because I'm a ghost... I'm sure you know what it's like... and I too at first, was frightened by you and hated you because of it..." Kour's tone was somewhat apologetic when she mentioned her misdeeds towards Isolde in the past. "Ahahahaha! Now that's a funny question, Madame. Surely evil people will try to stop me... it makes perfect sense! We're good and they're evil, good and evil always fight!" Her black and white views of the world allowed for no doubts about the matter of right and wrong. "Knights... hahaha, knights, Madame... they don't really care for us, they only care for humans! And as much as I hate to say it, we are not humans, Madame Isolde..." Kouri rubbed Rena's hair again and was answered by Rena snuggling to her sister even more. "Good hearts, Madame?! Good HEARTS?!" Kouri exploded and the surge of chilling cold air spawned once more "I saw with my own eyes, a group of knights came and hurt various people who defended me from an arrogant squire... one of the knight even broke Sir Gaius' hand, one of the human who took my side..." The memories of that event came back to Kouri's mind, the even that cemented Kouri's views that knights were no better than tyrants. "No Madame, the knights protect people who are useful to them..." Isolde's views on the Syliran Order as knights in shining armor disgusted her and she was stretching on her hospitality, she did warn her about this matter though and Kouri appreciated that. "I think it's time you go home, Madame..." Kouri gestured for the door, it would be best that the Nuit took her cowardly views out of her sight.

[Isolde Seibold]

"I think it's time you go home, Madame..."

The Nuit winced when the ghost girl exploded, shivering from the wave of cold. Kouri was rambling off some story about Knights attacking the people who had been trying to protect her, even breaking a man's hand-- but Isolde knew that the Knights always had a reason for what they did, and while she hated the thought of their corporeal punishment... well, the simple truth was that in their way they were just. Isolde, growing up in one of the Outpost's resident farming families, had known quite a few of the criminals exiled there to serve out their sentence of manual labor ordered by the Knights. The Knights were cruel, true, and Isolde feared them... but they were consistent, and it was because of them that this city was one of the safest in which to live.

And really... Kouri just did not seem to grasp that her own system of doing things --of attacking people suspected of committing crimes-- only differed from the Knights in that it wasn't her responsibility.
Yes, the Knights should be feared. But if Kouri wasn't going to change her tune, well... so should she.

Again the struggle to do what was right reared up in the Nuit. Had she done the right thing, coming here today? ...Yes, she had to believe so. Kouri needed to be warned-- but Isolde had failed in her attempts to get the ghost to see reason, and now the rest of the conversation with Anders was flooding vividly back in-- Send them to Lhex. Exorcise them. Isolde had not wanted to believe that that was the only way to help the girls past their torment, and it would be hypocritical for the Nuit to attempt to do something of that nature, she herself little more than a soul that was horrified by the thought of dying, of moving on and facing the gods and her next fate-- but the more Kouri resisted change, sticking to her one-mindedness, the more Isolde's stomach went hollow, and she knew-- Well, no, she didn't know, she couldn't, she wouldn't. She-- she thought that... perhaps... Anders was right.

And what if her getting captured might help her move on?
No, the Nuit should not think such things.

At the ghost girl's request, Isolde bowed her head, then turned and headed for the door. If she stayed any longer she would risk invoking the girl's rage, and she didn't want that directed to her as much as she didn't want the neighbors to be alerted to the dangerous bounty head Fubuki Kouri's presence as their neighbor. At the last moment the Nuit paused, looked back on the two small translucent girls, snuggling together. "K-Kouri-- I want you to know. I-If you ever th-think it's too d-dangerous for Rena to st-stay here, or be with you... she can come stay w-with me, okay? I'll watch out for her." And then she turned her back and left.

OOCHah! Misson was a complete failure, bah! That's what Isolde gets for trying to change a ghost! Thick-skulled Nuit... ^^

[Accolade]

Isolde Seibold

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Interrogation	+ 2 XP
Observation	+ 1 XP
Philosophy	+ 1 XP

Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	A bounty for a ghost
•	Conflicted - helping a murderous ghost
•	Kouri's philosophy-Evil men need to die
•	Fubuki Kouri - still just a child

Fubuki Kouri

Experience

Skill

XP Earned

Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	Guest for ghost?
•	What a sight! A disheveled Nuit
•	A dire warning - the bounty
•	Isolde's plea - REJECTED!

Notes :

Good thread you too, I was wondering what would happen here. What a plot twist if Isolde turned them in huh!?!

The Sylir has spoken

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can figure it out.