The elf skipped up and over a fallen tree. She made sure not to trip over any of the loose stones that littered the path. In her hand she held a satchel bearing a very strong magick seal. If she had to be honest, Nagiko would admit that she had tried to peek inside but found herself unable to. Funny enough, whenever she tried, a sugary sweet smell emanated from somewhere nearby, distracting her and breaking her concentration of breaking the magick seal. Curious. A slight stream of water ran through the ground adjacent to the path, ending in some sort of drainage ditch. Through the murky reflection, Nagiko looked at herself, curious if she'd gotten taller or shorter. Oreiades had entrusted her to make this delivery to this location. The actual address had been coded and inscribed on the satchel but Oreiades had given the elf a mental image of the location before sent her flying on her path via glyph. Nagiko questioned whether or not Oreiades had trusted in the elf to conjure up wings for herself. If Nagiko hadn't done so before landing, then she probably would be back in a clinic bed. The elf had not really given it much thought, only realising what had happened when she touched down and two purple soaring wings folded up behind herself. As she made her way into the area, the number of witches looking at her with suspicion caused her to duck behind a large rock and emerge as 'Oreiades', now with less itchy tattoos.
There it was! A small shed with a old coat of yellow paint chipping away on its roof sat in a forest a bit away from the entrance to the Coven. No one lived there, surely, she thought. Just a drop-off point perhaps. Trudging through the forest, her strides encountered mud, causing each step to feel longer and cover more ground as a necessity perhaps. The forest floor appeared farther below her than before.
"Is anyone home? I've got a delivery to make for a," Nagiko cleared her, well, it was technically the throat of 'Oreiades', throat before attempting to utter the coded part of the addresse, "Holcdehwk Zlqwhuv?" Not hearing anything, the elf raised a hand to knock, realising then that there were no tattoos on her arm as well as the fact that she was wearing her own clothes.
poison lingers in her veins as the clock hits midnight
The door swung open quickly as the youthful looking witch draped in her black, frankly very edgy, witch robes eyed the elf up and down before sighing. "Excuse 'the sender.' Extensive countermeasures are usually taken when associating with me. Wouldn't want to be associated with a witch." She scratched her head before introducing herself. "Name's Elizabeth. I am The Grand Witch. You look a bit out of it. Remind me of someone I know," she admitted. She pulled the door open and with a small nod to beckon the elf inside.
"Oh. Whoa. Um, okay." Nagiko sniffed and wiped her nose before gingerly stepping inside. Under normal circumstances, she would start to study her surroundings but the inside of this shed, which did seem more spacious than the exterior would make it out to be, seemed to spin rather rapidly as if to prevent her from doing so. Only the witch seemed to remain stationary. "Cool to meet you." said the elf. To counteract this dreadful spinning sensation, Nagiko's eyes began shifting side-to-side at a speed that effectively left her eyes looking like blank scleras, another subconscious illusion.
She'd been correct in noticing how deceptively large the interior was. Tall shelves stocked with thick volumes and yellow notepads lined three of the four walls. A long desk, or table perhaps, ran along the remaining wall. A pegboard with a variety of tools and reagents hung above it."Where should I, uh, set this?" she asked, holding up the satchel.
poison lingers in her veins as the clock hits midnight
"Cool to meet you too, elf," her flat voice was rather unwelcoming. "Surprised to see you're being effected so heavily by such a simple illusion." Elizabeth stepped close to Nagiko, practically nose to nose, as she reached for the package. "I will take it. Was there anything else?" bluntly she stated as she readjusted her distance to Nagiko. Then she recalled. "I guess there is. You still haven't given me your name. (I would close your eyes as well if you'd prefer not throwing up.)"
The elf took in a deep breath and exhaled sharply. Balance achieved, she flashed a lazy smile. "Sorry. Things have been awfully heavy since, like, a few days ago." said Nagiko as she stretched her arms. Her smile converted partway to a frown--the elf grasped at the silver necklace chain around her neck and revealed the gleaming cross she had had under her shirt. "Yeah, this thing. Sorry, you asked about like something else. My name is Nagiko." she said, stuffing the necklace back away. "I don't really have anything else. Last thing on the list of errands, was all. Tall shelves you've got."
It would occur to most to bow and make a polite exit but Nagiko had sunken underneath several different influences, her own magick included, leaving her with a more abstract concept of interaction norms than usual. Her eyes had ceased shifting about yet remained a stark and blank white, difficult to make out behind her half-open eyelids.
poison lingers in her veins as the clock hits midnight
"Okay, Nagiko, thank you. We will see you around," she spoke attempting to ignore everything the elf had said and shoving her out the door. This woman was clearly a can of worms best left unopened. Not to mention, her strained relations with the elves as a whole meant she was best left to her own devices.
Still, the more she thought about the cross necklace and her resemblance to that man...
"Gah," she yelled, annoyed, grabbing Nagiko's arm forcefully. "Look at you. You are an absolute mess," she scolded her dragging her to a small bed whose wooden bedframe threatened to come apart at any minute. "Sit still, elf. What the hell have you been getting yourself into? Are you not concerned you'd just die like this? Did Oreiades not do anything at all to help you? What in the hell was she..." she was clearly grumbling to herself as she rummaged around in her reagent cabinet practically tossing drawers around her her anger.
"Oh, I washed my hands the other day, though." Nagaiko scratched her head at the comment about 'her being an absolute mess'. A sickly sniffle later and the elf found herself sitting on a rickety bed. "H- Hey, we can't do this. I have to go buy groceries after this." Her eyes returned to normal at once and Nagiko blushed a strange colour, as if the blood running beneath her skin was of a blue shade. Perhaps a subconscious illusion, perhaps Nagiko wanting to look like the result of being encased in an ice sculpture.
Frost began forming at the tips of her eyelashes, drifting gentle to the ground as Nagiko turned her bashful eyes back to the woman. "Oreiades did do stuff to help me. She patched up all the cuts on my face for one." Nagiko pointed at herself, and superficial cuts began to form here and there. "I'm not trying to bother you, miss." she frowned, watching drawers and their contents practically land near her feet.
poison lingers in her veins as the clock hits midnight
While busily searching around, Elizabeth stopped for a moment, grunting, "the other day, huh? Sounds about right. You're more of a mess than I thought. There will be no time for you to grab groceries tonight. I will feed you and compensate you, rest assured. Now just sit still. Please." She ran to the bed with various materials and sat down on the corner. She rested her hand across Nagiko's neck and leaned in to Nagiko with an unpleasant glare, "I don't care what Oreiades did to you medically, dumbass. Of course she helped you. It's her job. I'm trying to figure out what is wrong 'up there.' Now stay still or you'll get shocked."
She looked into the elf's eyes, bringing her hand to her dazed eyes. She brought her thumb and her pointer finger close to her nose, saying, "watch the jolts as I move my hand. Don't move your head. Only your eyes." she moved her hand to her forehead and then to each of her cheeks with a jolt of electricity at each step. She waited to see if her subject would indeed be cooperative.
The elf flashed a sheepish smile. She'd misunderstood. The blue colour left her face as did the cuts. "O- Okay, then. You don't really have to worry about food or compensation with me. I didn't realise, is all." she chuckled at a low volume.
Nagiko's eyes widened as the woman leaned in close. Wait until after I've had a chance to bathe, Nagiko sighed in her head. The woman moved a hand about Nagiko's face, but nothing seemed to come of it. Was there something Nagiko was meant to be seeing? To her point, what did 'up there' mean anyhow, wondered Nagiko. "I'm not a dumbass." Nagiko pouted, speaking with a clear voice despite her mouth not moving at all. "Well, maybe a little. Sometimes." Her words filled the room, reverberating back and forth, even rattling some of the shelves a touch.
poison lingers in her veins as the clock hits midnight
As she finished her initial examination, she responded, "It's not about what you see. It's about what I see in you. And let's nothing but bad. I'm not confident you would've made it back up Yggdrasil without falling down to your death." She pulled each of her arms to hers, forcefully shoving up her parka and exposing her wrists. She took a syringe and drew blood quickly and without warning. Then, she applied an ointment to her entire forearm. "Grow up," she sneered noticing Nagiko's flinch, "it was only a prick. Could've cut the entire wrist if I was feeling like it." She paused. "...and I never said you were a dumbass. You were just being a dumbass, okay? You could've been dead if you weren't careful." Elizabeth stood up and ran to the other end of the room. "I have to run a test really quick. In the mean time, tell me more about the necklace you brought. A cross. Was it from the new Pope girl Insomnia or something?" She attempted (poorly) to make small talk with the elf.
Nagiko opened her mouth to speak but an eye, shifting its gaze about with tense motions, blocked her throat as it stared outwards. It looked at the woman in front of the elf but was interrupted as Nagiko shut her jaw, again beginning to speak without speaking, "Dying is okay if you stand back up, from what I hear."
As the woman made her way to the other side of the room, Nagiko stepped out of herself. This had happened before, but this was the first time she tried it conscious. Staring at her own body from above, she wondered if she had always been that tall. With a purple haze composition, she floated up to the top shelves, anxious to see if the woman had anything fun to peruse. All the while, her body spoke, still, "The cross came from the Pope, yeah. I think I'm supposed to hold onto it for her. You remind me of her." For good measure, Nagiko added in a blink and breathing motions.
She tried to pull a volume from the shelf but her fingers wafted through the physical objects, making such a task difficult. Not yet deterred, Nagiko decided she'd use this opportunity to pick out the perfect reading material, then use her body to come and grab it for real. Simple. "Wow, this is some salacious stuff, hehehe." her body giggled, not at all matching its expression, deadpan as it was, with her tone. "I think Klavdiya had a copy of this novel. No, maybe the title was different. It had this same restriction sticker, though. Or maybe not." Her body turned to look up at herself, echoing, "Those are two different stickers, duh." Nagiko pouted and returned to herself.
With a deep breath, she started looking for ways to reach that top shelf from where she was, whole again, sitting.
poison lingers in her veins as the clock hits midnight
Crushing various ingredients with her mortar and pestle, Elizabeth tensed up at Nagiko's words. "The Pope? Like me? As if," she considered showing her own cross necklace to Nagiko, but instead quickly buried it beneath her robe and muttered, "Me, like a religious nut elf. Funny. Interesting she'd think that."
As the powder began to settle she sighed and turned back towards Nagiko. She pulled up a chair beside the bed (why she hadn't done so sooner was entirely a mystery) and set her materials again at the floor beneath her. "You know," she interrupted Nagiko's own muttering, "I was the one who originally invented a spell to force out of body experiences. That was a long time ago, but it certainly wasn't hard given the things I know." She felt the need to clarify, "Things you don't."
After a moment of examining Nagiko again, she stared up at the bookshelf. "Did any catch your eye? I will bring something to you. You might want something to ease the sobering effects of the drug anyways. Do you like fairy tales?"
"Not really, all the stuff you've got seems pretty smart. I was looking for something pulpy. If fairy tales count as pulpy, I may take you up on that." said Nagiko from behind a closed mouth. "That sounds like a cool spell though. I like it." she sniffed.
Nagiko stretched her legs and looked at the floor. "Maybe..." As if twice shy, the elf pulled her legs back up onto the bed. "Klavdiya does this a lot." Eyes yet locked on the floor, Nagiko pondered the loose straw that comprised it. "I don't think this kind of stuff is it, though." She turned herself around towards the lady and her chair. Her legs slowly contacted the ground again.
"Now where do I go?" Nagiko asked, looking at whatever the lady had taken time to grind up.
poison lingers in her veins as the clock hits midnight
Pulpy? What the hell did pulpy mean? Elizabeth was unsure, but if fairy tales counted, she sure had a lot for her. "Have you heard of 'The Rotten Halfling?' it was actually written in a time before Pavane. I could read it to you tonight," she paused. "Or you can read it yourself. Actually, do that, I think."
Elizabeth pushed Nagiko back down on the bed quickly. "No, no. Don't move. This is an ancient Amane recipe. It dispels illusions quite effectively but may take a few minutes to kick in. Might cause diarrhea, uncomfortable itches, or in severe cases, heart failure." She had forgotten she wasn't supposed to mention that part. "Don't ask how I know that. And don't let your blood pressure rise either." She paused. "And say laying down. I will go grab the book." She began to rub the ointment on Nagiko arms and cheeks before heading towards the bookshelf.
"Okay." Nagiko looked forward to whatever book she was to receive. She blushed as she was pushed down on the bed. The reddening only intensified as the lady began applying ointment, to her cheeks of all places. "H- Hey, I can do that my- myshelf." she murmured from between squeezed cheeks.
Nagiko pouted at the ceiling as the lady skittered away to get something else. Couldn't she just leave and get the groceries? Leaving herself, she slinked out towards the door in a purple haze, only to fail at grasping the handle. Nagiko tried fast and Nagiko tried slow, but her hands slipped through the door and door handle regardless. She sniffed and sighed.
Deflated, hazy form Nagiko trudged back to the bed, picking up her grocery list from the ground and tossing it near her bag. "So, watch my blood pressure? Don't we work better under pressure? Hm."
With a deep breath, she started looking for ways to reach that top shelf from where she was, whole again, sitting.
Living in a dystopian society, seven mystic races are trapped due to their own selfishness. Tensions rise between the races and the different social classes, leading up to the constant struggle for power, with no end in sight.
News
4/11 - With the Ghoul Purge complete, Pavane's fear shifts from the goddesses towards the Council. Check out the aftermath here to get an understanding of the current situation in the plot.
MYSTICAL SOULS belongs to YUMEKUI, DYLZOE AND LUNARIS. This is an original plot created by staff members.. The skin "Midnight Madness" was created by Dorothia. This includes Board Mod, Mini-Profile Mod and such. Thread list was made by Kagney. User Profile mod was made by Pharaoh Leap. Graphics belong to their rightful owner. Plagiarism is not appreciated and will not be tolerated.