Closed Spiritual Transformation (Kouri)

[Annalisa Marin]

65th of Spring, 514 AV

Sahova had done quite a bit of things to Annalisa Marin; it had influenced her way of thinking and her means of actually practicing her magic. She had never, for instance, been the type to record her findings in the form of notes and was in fact more the type to simply store it away in her head. However it was becoming increasingly noticeable to her that the act of recording her knowledge for future reference was rather useful, for organizational purposes. It allowed her to more easily analyze her thoughts at the time and draw conclusions from them, a simple idea but again she had never been much one for it.

Yet here she sat within Common Laboratory 15A, the blank pages of one of her two books in front of her just waiting to be filled. The tall woman opted to make this one her research journal for matters of general magical practice, nothing extremely specific just a place to keep valuable information. There were two hundred pages in the book; she had counted them in her spare time. The woman ran a hand over the first page, appreciating the feeling of smooth parchment and figured it was the one thing the Sahova’s did not skimp on.

The sorceress was dressed in rather rough and worn clothing, rags really that were dirty and stained with blood and sweat from days past. The simple shirt, pants and boots told the story of her time upon Sahova far better than mere words could. They had endured the initial journey, the first days, the hardships and had witnessed the horrific acts she herself had either witnessed or partaken in. They were a testament to the hardships upon an island where the undead reigned supreme. Upon her right ring finger was encircled a silver ring, encrusted with rubies and possessing the sigil of a burning scroll upon it. Her long dark hair was pulled into a high ponytail, her bangs framing her face but providing enough distance not to interfere in her work today.

Anna produced a small brush and lightly dipped the tip in a nearby inkwell, shaking it a bit to get rid of the excess ink. The midnight coated brush tip was brought over the top of the first page, where she started to write in her legible but somewhat cramped script. The letters were Nader-Canoch, and what she wrote could not actually really be accurately described as full sentences and were more in short notation form. The wording was rather simple, and one might very well question the letter placement in the writing. Then again, Anna was hardly the best writer of the Ancient Tongue.

Spirit Transformations: Trial #1
Goal of Trial: Understand the limitations upon ghosts. Discover weakness. Discover strengths. Obtain advantage in future deals with spirits.
Presiding Wizard: Annalisa Marin
Assistants: None.
Subject of Study: Fubuki Kouri Snowsong

Anna finished her initial writing, going over the words carefully and moving her lips as she did to sound them out and get a feel that those were indeed the words. Her speed was extremely slow in writing down even just this, and a few times she obviously needed to stop to think about what she was writing. She was doing it like this in part because learning how to properly write the Ancient Tongue was the next step in her mastery of it. The sorceress had a good grasp of proper grammar, however if she really wanted to master it she needed to achieve literacy.

The dark haired woman set her brush down and simply leaned back in her chair, her grey eyes scanning around as they searched for her adoptive daughter. She had informed the girl that she would be needing her presence in the Common Labs, though in hindsight she had neglected to inform her exactly where in the Common Labs to search. Anna simply shrugged and figured that Kouri would find her soon enough, in the mean time she had the chance to ponder over exactly how this experiment would go. It was a stroke of good luck she had opted to take a ghost on as her adoptive daughter, as it opened up plenty of opportunities to experiment in the field of Spiritism.

[Fubuki Kouri]

"Hm hm hm~" An adorable, yet haunting, humming could heard echoing in the Common Labs' walls as a little girl entered it, but not just any ordinary child, she was a phantom of great power, the remnants of a Vantha child, and... the adoptive daughter of the Wizard, Annnalisa Marin. Kouri's translucent form phased through chairs, tables, and apparatuses as her crimson slits searched left and right for her mother, earning her a dejected look from the other Nuit Wizards and apprentices experimenting there, ghosts weren't a strange sight, but ghost that wandered the Labs? It sure was, since Mistress Wanda, the Master Spiritist, usually kept them all in check. For her to be wandering freely like this, she must have gain some kind of permission.

The ghost girl looked clean and endearing as ever, with a pretty white lacy dress reaching to her ankles, and her long alabaster locks trailing behind her, the only thing that wasn't bleached in white was her eyes, in the color of blood, the juxtapose between her child-like behavior and odd colorization - for human standards - often unnerved men, and they should be, for Kouri was one of the most strongest ghosts Mizahar had to offer, for a twelve years old girl, that was quite an achievement. Truly, perhaps the girl's talents truly came when her life was taken away, rather ironic.

"Ah! Mama!" At last, the girl found who she was looking for, the tall dark-haired master sorceress and her mother, Annalisa Marin. The ghost girl floated even faster as she quickly materialized her body before the point of contact to glomp her mother, nuzzling her head on Anna's breasts, absorbing the human's body warmth. By now, Kouri had gotten used to call Annalisa her mother using Vani, shunning her own blood parents due to the woman's influence.

"Mama, mama!" The girl quipped excitedly as she wiggled her body, much like a happy canine, then she looked up at Anna with her large crimson eyes, puppy-dog style, "What are we going to do today?" She asked, but then, her voice slughtly lowered as she recalled the Voiding experiment where she accidentally pulled a monster from nothingness itself, "I hope... we are not going to do that again, would we?" She dared herself to ask, surely her mother wasn't fond of dealing with such creatures on a regular basis.

[Annalisa Marin]

Words spoken in a strange tongue were what drew Anna to look upon her adoptive daughter, the powerful spirit known as Fubuki Kouri. She knew the word likely referred to a motherly figure given how she used if for her, but Anna still rather liked having some inkling what language the girl was using. She idly pondered asking the little girl before discarding the idea; they had experiments to conduct today after all on matters of spritism and ghosts. The tall woman brushed and idle strand from her face and regarded her daughter with a tiny smile, the girl launching herself forward to give the woman whom was her mother a hug.

Chills immediately ran down her spine in an unnerved shiver, involuntary naturally though the girl was indeed quite cold given her state of being. The sorceress lightly wrapped her own arms around the ethereal child, being careful not to apply too much force to the embrace so as not to risk causing her to dematerialize. Her existence was a powerful if a fragile one in some ways, her form insubstantial though her strength was enough to rip a person apart. Or kill them with a single touch as she had witnessed on occasion.

Anna’s pale lips downturned almost imperceptibly as Kouri inquired after not doing something else; she was rather vague about it. Likely she did not mean the torture, since Kouri loved playing with her dolls; most likely she meant that little experiment into the Void. As enlightening as it had been Anna was in no hurry to unleash another creature from the depths of eternal nothingness, not after having barely survived the last one. The tall sorceress merely shook her head in response to the ghost’s inquiry, pulling away from the child and turning back to her desk and notes.

“Not today Kouri, and likely not for a while yet so allow your mind to rest easy my perfect child. No, today I require your assistance on matters regarding your abilities as a ghost.” The tall woman started, tapping a finger idly on the desk.

“You remember when we first met last year, when we spoke of my intent on continuing my research regarding ghosts and spiritism? Do you remember what I claimed my goal was then? To seek a way in which ghost and spiritist could become something more, that they could become stronger than either was when apart. I still seek to do this, however I find myself not understanding the true limits of a ghost’s abilities.” The sorceress said, turning her gaze back to her daughter.

“I understand the basics, how they interact with the world around them, how they can enforce their will upon it, and how they can possess others. They can also vanish and reappear a short distance away and go through solid structures. However what about themselves? I notice often you can alter your appearance to suit your whims, my child. How does this work, what limits do you think exist upon it? How you ever truly tried to understand the state you exist in now?” Anna questioned, raising an eyebrow at the girl.

Her words were rather animated, as though excited by the prospect of new discoveries and her gaze was utterly focused upon Kouri as was her attention. Her questions came one after another in a seemingly endless barrage, the inquisitive nature of a wizard rising within her to the forefront for Kouri to see at the moment. Anna figured her daughter would be rather used to these kind of questions, but even still Anna wondered at her answers to them. Did she know what Anna sought? Of could that only be discovered through experimentation?

[Fubuki Kouri]

Kouri kept caressing her body to Anna's as she looked up, her adorably large eyes gazing up at the human woman, the thought of explaining her Vani didn't came to her, Kouri simply assumed Anna knew what she was talking about. "Oh... phew..." A huge sigh of relief left her lips as Anna explained that they were not going to do that Voiding experiment again, for today, they were going to research Kouri's own ability, "En?" The ghost girl adorably tilted her head, her mind working to decipher on what exactly Anna meant, her abilities... well that would be her tendrils, death-touch, and of course, possession. "I see!" She got it, Anna was curious, well Kouri would be more than happy to show her powers to her mother.

"I remember..." The ghost girl's voice took on a more somber tone, the memories of her first meeting with Anna swam in her mind, she never thought Anna would be her mother... through a means of a Grand Oath, a tiny semblance of hatred at being betrayed still lingered in the ghost girl's ethereal heart, but after all that happened, she couldn't hate her anymore. Kouri simply slumped in Anna's embrace, nodding absently, "Mhm... How can I help you, Mama?" She would tell her everything, even if she wasn't bound by the Grand Oath.

"Oh?" Kouri suddenly became interested, so Anna was curious regarding her transforming ability, it was one of her quirks Kouri found out ever since she became more proficient in materialization, her first experiment came when she tried to emulate the look of her past Vantha self, and succeeded in fooling people, thinking she was a real human girl, until they touched her at least, but Kuma... that adorable Kelvic bear, still didn't know she was a ghost. After that, she tried more drastic morphs such as altering her alabaster hair into serpentine locks.

Kouri nodded as she began her explanation, "Well, Mama, as we know, my body is uh... called 'soulmist', right? S-so uhm... I can change parts of my body j-just like uhm... imagining it? If that makes sense..." The ghost girl was bad at explaining complicated stuffs in Common, but she tried her best, a demonstration would be the best example, Kouri closed her eyes as she concentrated, then her hair began grouping themselves into individual thick strands, then they shifted... becoming more solid, gaining scales, then their ends split apart into a jaw, adorned by two white fangs, a pair of serpentine eyes adorned it, Kouri opened her eyes as she finished her 'serpent-hair' look, "Like that, Mama."

"I don't know..." Kouri rubbed one of her snake-hair, she didn't completely understand about her state and she never thought much about it, truly similar to a child, "Maybe you can tell me?"

[Annalisa Marin]

The dark haired woman listened carefully to Kouri’s explanation, taking up her brush a dipping it in ink to record her notes on what Kouri was describing. Most of it she knew but some of it was fresh information and was quick to be recorded in her notes, information that could very well help her understand ghosts. Anna pondered if it was in fact a reduced form of Morphing before casting that thought out, she herself only had a basic understanding of Morphing and Kouri possessed no Djed as far as she knew. Or at least her Djed had been replaced with Soulmist.

Though, that was an interesting subject altogether to ponder in regards to theoretical magic as it stated that Djed could not be created or destroyed only transformed. Could it be then, that Soulmist was indeed Djed but it was Djed that had simply undergone another shift? It seemed very possible considering the method by which Spiritists created soulmist themselves. If that was the case, then were ghosts capable of changing yet more times? Or was this rather like an evolution in a state of being, for those with the will to remain behind rather than to go on to the next life?

-Subject alters form through willpower. Instinctual, perhaps unlimited in possibility? No mention of energy drain. Unlikely connected to Morphing.
-Changes observed simplistic. Aesthetic. Drastic changes possible?
-Soulmist=Djed in different state? Transformed even?

Anna scrawled out the words in broken Nader-Canoch, often having to pause in order to consider her words beforehand and even sounded them out as she wrote them. Her handwriting was cramped and bunched together, legible to most perhaps but given her poor grammar in the Ancient Tongue it was likely difficult to decipher all things considered. That was fine with Anna; it would hopefully serve to prevent her work from being looked upon by prying eyes unwanted. Besides it was always good to practice more writing in the Ancient Tongue.

The tall woman placed her brush down and regarded Kouri, observing her new form with interest and pondering it. The ghost had undergone a simplistic change really, the sorceress wondered if she could attempt more drastic morphs. It did not seem to resemble the magic of morphing so likely she could change without tiring herself out over much. A trial was in order in the sorceress’s opinion, who crossed her legs and crossed her arms under her breasts as she pondered Kouri.

“Hmm… I have a theory or two, nothing concrete but they seem plausible knowing that Djed cannot be created or destroyed. Perhaps the ghostly state is merely an evolutionary period, or possibly even a cocoon phase where living could be considered the larval. Though that would bring up the question of what that Djed evolves into after that, the transformation continuing. Hmm… but then where would the undead such as Nuit fit into the equation? Are they similar to ghosts then, or entirely different in their basic nature?” The tall woman mused aloud, her mind wandering as she quickly added a small note down.

-Nuit and Ghost, possible connection?

“My apologies Kouri, my musings got away from me. In any event, you can change your appearance at will then? So could you not then, say, adopt a form closer to that of a full grown woman like me? Could you transform into an animal of sorts, like a snake, bird, or spider- on second thought no spiders. Also can you make yourself compressed or expanded, like being bigger or smaller?” The sorceress inquired, urging the ghost to attempt to experiment with her own abilities.

[Fubuki Kouri]

Kouri watched as her mother sat down on the desk and then began writing, naturally, the curious ghost girl floated over and up to see from behind Anna's shoulders, "He?" She couldn't help but quip when her mother wrote in a strange language, a language which symbols seemed oddly familiar with the Grand Oath she signed, "Are you making another one of those 'poofy-poofy' paper?" She asked curiously while putting her right index finger to her lips, of course by 'poofy-poofy', she was referring to the fact that Grand Oaths vanished into thin air once signed.

Anna's words regarding djed-mumbo jumbo went over Kouri's head, her mother was talking complicated again, she didn't understand anything other than Anna talking about butterflies of some kind, well, she spoke about larval and cocoon, right? Butterflies had those.

Kouri floated back down as she stood beside Anna, her grabby hands focused its soulmist as Kouri began to absently picking up non-fragile-looking items on the table, twirling it and rubbing it, a sign of boredom already making its way to the active child's mind. She didn't tell Anna, but like most children, Kouri didn't take much interest in things she didn't understood or found interesting, and to be frank, what Anna was doing right now fitted both categories, as a result, she was getting bored, and fast. "Uhm... Mama, Mama," Kouri's left hand reached out to tug at Anna's robes, her voice half-demanding and half-afraid she would disturb the woman, when Anna turned her head at her, Kouri would look up with her usual 'puppy-dog' large eyes as she gave a small grin, "Candy?" Of course, even Kouri knew Anna would expect her to give her soulmist.

"Eeeeehn..." Kouri swayed her body from side to side, gesturing to Anna that she was getting bored, Anna's apology only fueled her further, so that meant Anna knew this kind of activity would bore her. The request managed to gain her interest though, Kouri's mouth formed an "o" shape for a few ticks, before it turned into a slightly mischievous grin, "U-uhm... so, i-if I do this... will you give me," She batted her eyelashes and made a soft coo, "Candy?" If there was one thing worth every inch of her determination, it was her greedy desire for soulmist.

Whether Anna agreed or not, Kouri didn't have much choice but to try, so the ghost girl pondered for a few ticks, "W-well, I can try... uhm... I've never tried to uh... be like you, an adult, or be an animal... well, my hair turned to snakes, does that count? Okay, let me try 'growing up' first." Without further ado, Kouri began clasping her hands near her chest as she closed her crimson eyes and concentrated. She felt her soul's control of her mists, changing her materialized form or appearance came rather easy for her as she was a powerful ghost in both Projection and Materialization and a decent possessor, but obviously, Materialization played the greatest part in this particular case. First, Kouri began by turning her snake-hair back to normal.

After two chimes, noticeable changes could be seen as Kouri form shifted, slowly dissolving into blurry mists, in her mind, she was thinking about her mother, her blood mother, and emulated it into her mind, these mists then expanded into the silhouetted form of an adult woman, noticeably shorter than Anna, but it still reached up to slightly below the dark-haired woman's chin. Like a sculptor, the mist formed its general appearance first, longer limbs, shape of her torso, waist, and hips, Kouri didn't need to change much about her hair. After that, the ghost girl focused on the details, eyes, noses, mouth, chin, cheeks, then to the secondary sexual characteristics such as breasts and wider hips.

After about five chimes, mists flowed out from her as Kouri completed her transformation, as the mist cleared out, a woman with long white hair reaching to her waist and blood-colored eyes stood before Anna, looking very much like the adult-version of her adoptive daughter, which slimmer face, not those round childish cheeks, taller build, pronounced chests, and wider waist and hips, the adult Kouri opened her eyes as she spoke, "Uhm... how do I look?" She still didn't change her voice so it might sound odd, an adult woman with a girl's voice.

Of course, Kouri emulated the form of a naked woman at first, then wincing as she realized it, the ghost girl began to imagine a pretty new dress in her mind, a slight variation from her usual white lacy dress, ethereal fabric began covering her skin and flowing over her body, after a chime, an elegant white lady stood before Anna, but the childish smile on her face indicated it was still the same little girl, "Ehehe~ Do you like it?"

Adult Kouri :

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna had rolled her eyes at Kouri begging for her precious soulmist, ghostly need for the substance was useful though occasionally it could cause her one petching big headache. Just gathering the materials together could be a chore, finding three food substances from three different sources was no easy task. It was enough to where Anna was pining for the days where food, while not easily accessed, was still available in Zeltiva. There were days when she had gone utterly hungry, just like upon Sahova, but the meals she had gotten were at least serviceable. On the island of undeath her options were sadly limited at this point.

“You are certainly too ravenous for your own good, my daughter. Very well, if you please me sufficiently I’ll see what I can do. No promises, the materials are hard enough to gather as it is.” The sorceress grumbled, grudgingly allow Kouri that promise.

The Grand Oath Kouri had signed was supposed to be a means of distancing herself from Kouri, yet instead it was changing her ever so subtly. Anna was hardly the motherly type by any stretch of the imagination however now she was finding the girl able to influence her on some level. It was disturbing to some degree how much Kouri had changed; the sorceress remembered when she had been a relatively pleasant child. But now the ghost far more sinister due to the influence of Rhysol, her mind twisted and warped, a sign that the change was a two way street.

Anna watched as her adoptive daughter started to transform before her very eyes, the girl dissolving in a cloud of soulmist that shifted and expanded. The sorceress watched the process with great interest, blinking several times as the girl’s form changed into something different. Her features became more womanly, much more pronounced as the full image slowly began to take form before her very eyes. Soon enough a full and rather attractive woman was standing before her, Kouri’s abilities such to where she almost might believe a flesh and blood woman stood before her.

The woman was naked, which her daughter fixed as soon as she noticed it and then spoke which dissolved the illusion. Her voice had yet to change, perhaps that was something to work on in the future for Anna could see many uses for a ghost’s form changing abilities. Kouri could be a very useful agent of death, appearing like a normal woman before just killing someone with a touch. For herself Anna scribbled down more notes within her journal, smirking as she did.

-Drastic transformations are possible. Forms see limited by imagination.
-Possible infiltration uses.
-The final product appears lifelike, voice unchanged.

Anna turned back to Kouri and nodded with her pleasure, opening her arms to embrace her older appearing daughter with an easy smile on her face. The child had proven at least one use out of this was very possible, further increasing Kouri’s worth in her eyes. As such she could afford to be generous with her affection for the moment, though the sorceress was certain she overly spoiled the ghostly child. Spoiled her far too much.

“You look stunning, if you were not my daughter I’d snatch you up myself and steal you away forever and I’m certain a good few men and women would as well. Perhaps a little variety couldn’t hurt you, maybe try using this form a bit more often when materialized. You’ll find others might be rather easily fooled, though I’d suggest working on the voice. Sound a little older.” Anna suggested.

“Hmm… now try something else. You pick, something drastic and ambitious. If you wanted to be anything in the world what would it be my perfect child?” Anna inquired, urging Kouri to try something new.

[Fubuki Kouri]

OOCFinally getting back to her!

The ghost girl - woman - was visibly getting bored again when her adoptive mother started writing gibberish again, she disliked those strange words, they were unknown to her and Kouri felt stupid, she should be a smart girl, she could read and write in Vani fluently. "Ehhn... Can I have my candy now?" The woman, in appearance only, muttered under her breath as she begged to her mother... again.

"Ehehe~ Mama~" Though the ghost woman didn't forget about her need for soulmist, she promptly accepted Anna's offer as she floated closer, hugging her now much taller body with the sorceress, pressing her materialized soulmist form close, sucking out Anna's warmth, "Hmmm, am I pretty then?" Kouri asked excitedly, she felt pride that her mother liked her appearance.

"Eh?" The ghost girl tilted her head curiously when Anna requested for her to use this new adult form more often, well... it would feel awkward but she could do that, it would be fun to fool people, with her skill in materialization, most people would think her as an albino human woman, though... her voice would still betray her true nature, it was adorably jarring. "E... ehm..." Kouri cleared her throat as she put her right hand near her lips, "Okay... let me try, a... aaa~" She tested her voice, slowly, gradually, her voice started to change, the tone getting slightly lower in pitch, Kouri was emulating the voice of her mother.

"Aaa~ hehe~ How do I sound now?" After five chimes, Kouri's voice now matched her appearance... somewhat, it still ebbed and flowed unnaturally with constant shifting in tone between a young girl and an adult woman. "Alright, I think I like this form, maybe I'll use it more often, like you said, Mama~ Just promise to give my candy later okay~?" Kouri half-requested, half-ordering the Sorceress.

"Oh?" Another peculiar request, Anna wanted her to change into something drastic, the first thing that came to her mind was... the image of that monster who killed her and her parents, the tiger. "!?" Kouri hitched her breath as white mists flowed from her lips, no, she couldn't do that, she must pick something else, but her mind was struggling to interpret other animals, Come on... pick something else! Anything! Ehn... The ghost girl closed her eyes shut, in deep thought.

Five ticks later, Kouri slowly opened them as she nodded to herself, "Okay, I think... I'll pick that one!" A rather mischievous smirk crossed her lips as Kouri took a step back then closed her eyes, her form dissolving into a puff of misty white cloud. Round body... Unlike earlier, Kouri's cloud form didn't expand, it compressed instead, until she was about as big as Anna's palm, then it slowly shaped into a ball, Legs... ehm, how many? Ah! Eight... maybe? I'll settle with eight. Eight tendrils began poking out from the 'ball', settling on her sides, imitating legs. Oh! The head! I think it has dotty eyes and jaw-mouth! Trying as best as she could, Kouri formed another ball near her initial spherical body, acting as the head, then she formed two beady eyes and a grasshopper-like mouth.

After about ten chimes of slow transformation, the ghost girl took on the shape of a... horribly mutated spider, with white spherical body, another small sphere acting as her head and eight thin tendrils jutting out from her main body as legs, "Mama~" Without warning, the 'spider' abruptly launched herself to settle herself on Anna's forehead, "How do I look?" Her jaw moved and despite the lack of human anatomy, her voice still came out flawlessly.