|
Post by HIKARU MINAMINO on Jul 24, 2013 22:49:48 GMT -5
The debriefing hadn’t prepared Hikaru for the guilt.
Even with hands clamped around his ear, Hikaru could still hear the woman’s shrieks about a “living hell”. She withered on the ground, screaming and yanking thick chunks of hair from her head with soft, bloody “thunk”s. Her auburn curls began to collect on the ground, clotting together through blood and tears.
“Stop it,” demanded Hikaru, “Stop screaming!”
Hikaru shut his eyes, thus ending the illusion. Shaking hands struggled to tie the bandages around his eyes again, thus protecting anyone else he encountered while at the Circus. His left hand clutched a slip of paper, upon which, the woman had happily signed her autograph before partaking in a living nightmare. He shivered, still remembering the smile on her face in the brief moments after he’d removed his bandages.
“Stop screaming!” yelled Hikaru, “Shut up!”
The woman’s eyes rolled as she passed out, her body still twitching on the floor. But even if it seemed the nightmare was over, Hikaru was left in shambles. The screams echoed in his head. The images were burned into his mind. He hadn’t been trying to use his powers, but the moment he’d opened his eyes, his gift had overwhelmed him. Even if he’d had control of his gift, he would’ve needed to mess with the woman. But...but he wouldn’t have pushed her to such an extreme. He’d try to soften the impact and perhaps make the illusions more uncomfortable or spooky than outright terrifying.
The blindfold was on tight now, and wouldn’t be coming off for what Hikaru hoped to be a long, long time. The twenty-two year old was pressed against the wall, listening to nothing but the sound of his own, frenzied breathing.
“I’m sorry.”
Hikaru gagged, retching but having nothing come up. After a few moments, he hugged his knees and waited for someone to help him. “This will help people,” he thought,reassuring himself, “It’ll find a cure. It’ll help people like me. Only I can do this.”
He took a deep breath. It was showtime.
“Help!” he shouted, "Someone help me!"
[/size]
|
|
AVEIRA STERLING
Junior Member
Fate is a misconseption, it's only a cover-up for the fact you don't have control over your own life
Posts: 78
|
Post by AVEIRA STERLING on Jul 24, 2013 23:10:06 GMT -5
Of course Aveira was the first on scene. She was head of security. If she had pushed something this serious onto one of her underlings, Alistair would have her head. So the moment Aveira heard the screams, she was on the move. Her blood-red eyes took in every detail as she approached, only slightly curtained by her silver hair. An oddity was on the ground and seemed to be bleeding from the head. Beside her was a man around Aveira's age, looking as though he had just come from the hospital but seemingly physically unharmed.
She should have waited for back-up. What had happened last time she rushed into a situation like this? She had had her arm and throat cut by a maniac driven mad by the very poison his own gift created. That had been a fun week, strapped to a hospital bed and losing her mind. If this boy tried anything, she was going to kill him.
At least his eyes were bandaged. It meant he couldn't see her security uniform, but he also couldn't see her patchwork-like appearance.
Aveira knelt down, reaching out to rest her hand on the man's shoulder. "Be careful not to touch my skin." Normally she wouldn't have rushed it, but he was obviously blind. Her hand and voice would help yell him where she was. "The woman is getting help." She waved in those of her security team who had arrived. "Just take a deep breath, calm down, and tell me what happened." Her voice was gentle, almost kind.
|
|
|
Post by HIKARU MINAMINO on Jul 24, 2013 23:34:20 GMT -5
“Wh-who are you?” demanded Hikaru. He swept his hands along to floor, searching for his fallen cane. The twenty-two year old’s slender fingers connected with the cool, plastic handle. “My guide dog is outside - he bites if I tell him to!” The cane shook in his hands, but was held out to put some distance between himself an Aveira.
“She’s the one...the one th-that has a singing act,” he panted, “I asked her for an autograph a-and took off my banda --just for a second! I didn’t think...I’m sorry. Don’t hurt me.”
As if to prove his point, he still clutched the autograph. It’d been written on special paper, as to make an indent for Hikaru to run his fingers over. The paper bent and wrinkled in the young man’s vice grip.
“My dog bites,” he said again, voice shaking, “Don’t try anything.”
He pushed off onto his feet, one hand placed on the wall to balance himself. Faintly, he wondered if the woman could see his knocking knees. It’d been so long since he’d last done...that to someone.
“It was an accident,” he said softly.
[/size]
|
|
AVEIRA STERLING
Junior Member
Fate is a misconseption, it's only a cover-up for the fact you don't have control over your own life
Posts: 78
|
Post by AVEIRA STERLING on Jul 24, 2013 23:47:40 GMT -5
He seemed okay at least. Aveira stood up as he did, keeping a careful eye on him. "My name is Aveira Sterling. I am head of security for Circo Phantasia, and I came as soon as I heard Siren screaming." It was for reasons like these that Oddities were told to avoid people at all costs, or to always have someone else with them. Did anyone ever listen? No. Of course not. She had more important things to do though. Griping could come later.
He claimed to have done that to her. Not only had be done it, but he had done it in a very Circo way. How long had he been out in the world? With a power like that, he should have been under Circo's care a very long time ago. Aveira looked him over again, finally looking to his eyes. "I want you to take off your bandages, please, and look at me." She wanted to see if what he said was true. Was she scared of his power? Of course. Siren was not an easy person to scare, what with her powers over emotion, but he had clearly spooked her. But Aveira had seen every evil this world had to offer, and had truly felt many of them as well. If he did have a power, she would handle it.
"Do not be afraid of hurting me. I promise I will be okay."
|
|
|
Post by HIKARU MINAMINO on Jul 25, 2013 10:49:08 GMT -5
“Are you stupid?” asked Hikaru, “No, I’m not going to take off the bandages again!”
The end of the cane tapped the floor and Hikaru began moving it in a sweeping motion, trying to find a landmark that would remind him of which direction the door was. Normally it’d take one tap to the leg of a chair or table for him to navigate out of a room, but the encounter with Siren left him disoriented. Not to mention, in her panic, Siren had knocked over most of the furniture Hikaru had memorized the placement of when he first came in.
He found an upturned chair that wasn’t of any use...a patch in the floor that would need to be fixed...and someone’s foot. Hikaru stopped only an arm’s length apart from Aveira and sighed. “Which direction is the door?” he asked.
Not exactly the “storming-off-and-slamming-the-door-behind-him” exit he’d been hoping for, but what was he going to do? He could either fumble around until he found either the door or something he remembered, or he could suck it up and ask for directions.
“I’ll be right out,” he said, grinding his teeth together, “Just give me a minute.”
[/size]
|
|
AVEIRA STERLING
Junior Member
Fate is a misconseption, it's only a cover-up for the fact you don't have control over your own life
Posts: 78
|
Post by AVEIRA STERLING on Jul 25, 2013 11:00:21 GMT -5
Well, now she had a problem. The strictest rule the Circo had about shows was to not give any personal information. But, if this man really was an oddity, then... She needed to see the gift for herself. It was the only way she could get him into the Circo. They didn't allow random people with unknown powers. Aveira sighed. "Look. I'm like you. If we had skin-to-skin contact, I would be able to see every lie you ever told. Every time you lusted. And, though I doubt you have, every time you killed. My gift pulls those memories from people and makes me relive them. That's why I'm head of security."
She watched him, carefully putting herself between him and the door. "I have seen things that would make you commit suicide. And with every memory I absorb, it's harder to remember who /I/ am. I lose a little bit of myself every single time. But the Circo is helping me. They have helped me with my powers and they can help you with yours too, just as they have helped everyone who has asked for it. I just need to see your power, or I need you to explain it to me. Every single detail. That's why I asked you show me. I can take it, and it would be easier."
There. Now either he would show or tell and they'd have a new oddity, or he would still want to leave. "The door is right behind me. About five paces when I move out of the way. Do you still wish to leave?"
|
|
|
Post by HIKARU MINAMINO on Jul 25, 2013 11:44:18 GMT -5
“You asked for it,” sighed Hikaru, “Just promise me you won’t try to be brave. In other words, don’t be an idiot.”
The bandages unravelled, exposing pitch black eyes that seemed as endless as a black hole. This time, there was no peaceful moment between when the bandages were removed and when his power activated. Tendrils of fear wafted from Hikaru, swimming away like minnows downstream. He tried to pull back, to corral his powers, but they leached onto Aveira at full force.
“Tell me when you’ve seen enough!” he said.
“I can’t breathe,” he thought, “I need air.”
While Hikaru gasped for breath, the illusions began. Each person would see different things, but the illusion would always take the form of a person’s worst fear. It became tangible - it could hurt, it could affect the mind, but only the victim and Hikaru could feel it. The longer his eyes were open, the more fears and creepy things were thrown into the mix: little fears, forgotten fears, new fears...all at once.
It wasn’t pretty.
[/size]
|
|
AVEIRA STERLING
Junior Member
Fate is a misconseption, it's only a cover-up for the fact you don't have control over your own life
Posts: 78
|
Post by AVEIRA STERLING on Jul 25, 2013 12:05:00 GMT -5
Good, he trusted her. He was going to show her his power and she could help him. He unwrapped his eyes and told her not to be brave, so Aveira relaxed. She emptied her mind, looking into his eyes with absolutely no emotion. It normally helped when she was about to use her own powers. She still lost that little bit of herself but it tended to help her recovery time afterwords. With any luck it would do the same with his.
At first, Aveira could handle his power. It was just little things at first, things that she had already gotten over. The pain of a blade on her skin, memories of being burned, it was fine. She just kept taking deep breathes, even when the feeling of drowning came over her. She had spent years feeling these things. She was covered in scars from it. Physical pain didn't affect her in the slightest.
His powers seemed almost pissed off that she wasn't reacting.
So it got worse. Images of the Circo falling, of Alistair being killing, of... of Yuzki... His powers found their hold. It grabbed hold of the memories she had claimed from the vampire and threw them right back into her face. Images of Yuzki being killed by the clan. Images of Yuzki losing control and becoming a monster. Images of Yuzki turning on her. Bloody images and memories swirling around and mixing into chaos. But she could handle this, or at least told herself she could. It wasn't real. It wasn't real, it wasn't real, it wasn't real. She repeated the thought over and over, clinging to it as if it would save her.
Did Aveira tell him to stop? No.
She dropped her gaze from his, focusing on the floor she could no longer see, but did not tell him to stop. Her heart pounded near out of her chest. She dug her fingernails into her palms, in an effort to keep her focus, but she couldn't even feel it. Her knees shook and she slowly lowered herself to one knee, not wanting to drop in front of him. She could handle this. She could. She needed to handle this. It would do wonders for the man in front of her. He was so much like her. Hiding his power, avoiding anything that would set it off. She wanted to help him. She wanted to help him with all of her heart. So she swallowed when her body tried to throw up, she pressed her hands into her leg so they wouldn't shake, she kept repeating to herself that none of this was real. That she needed to do this.
And then his powers found something else to play with. This was not an image however, or even a memory. It grabbed all the memories she had ever absorbed, once more bringing them to the forefront of her mind. She felt like she was covered in blood. The echos of gunshots echoed in her ears, mixing with moans of passion and pain. She felt her hands on someone's neck. She felt the cool chill of gun. Words of darkness and lies danced around her tongue, covering it with a slick oil taste. Every memory, every sin, everything echoed repeatedly in her mind and body. It threatened to take her sanity away. Already she felt her memories slipping.
"Stop."
|
|
|
Post by HIKARU MINAMINO on Jul 25, 2013 14:04:54 GMT -5
The head security woman played right into Hikaru's hands, giving him more information than she ever could've dreamed. Hikaru deducted conclusions from the images playing out before him, choosing to focus on analyzing the fears rather than the sensations he was sharing with Aveira. He was desensitized to the illusions in a way, but if Aveira started screaming as Siren had, Hikaru would be shaking enough to score a nine on the Richter scale.
“The head of security is in a relationship with a vampire,” he thought, “He has control issues - more vampires are hunting him? A family? A clan?”
Pay no attention to how she dropped to one knee or how she pressed her fingernails into her skin. Just keep thinking.
“Aveira Sterling, head of security. Yuzki, vampire. I know what the ringmaster looks like, but that won’t be much help once the bandages are back--”
“Stop”
Hikaru shut his eyes, but it took a moment for his powers to leave Aveira alone. They were having too much fun tormenting her to obey Hikaru willingly, but eventually, fear left the security woman alone. The young man shivered as the entity absorbed back into his eyes, making them sting and well with tears.
He fumbled for the bandages and wrapped them around his eyes again, making note that he’d need to get fresh wrappings soon. Hikaru preferred bandages to blindfolds for the reason they didn’t slip, so no “accidents” would happen.
“You can’t take it, can you? Nobody can take it!” he snapped, “I told you not to be stupid. Did you find what you were looking for? Are you happy now?”
[/size]
|
|
AVEIRA STERLING
Junior Member
Fate is a misconseption, it's only a cover-up for the fact you don't have control over your own life
Posts: 78
|
Post by AVEIRA STERLING on Jul 25, 2013 14:17:22 GMT -5
"Do you see me destroying myself?" Aveira shakily got back to her feet, her face completely dead pan. Not that it mattered, since he couldn't see anymore. "I told you I could take it, and I did." She wanted to throw up. The memories swirled around her head, causing more chaos and pain than anything mother nature could create. She took deep breathes in hopes it would help calm her mind. It started to, but it would take more than deep breathing to calm her completely. She wanted to go home. She wanted to curl up on her bed and repeat her true memories to herself so they stuck.
"I learned what you can do first hand. With that, the Circo can begin to help you. If you choose to come with me. No harm will come to you because of Siren, and no one will know you turned your power on me. You have no reason to be afraid of anyone, including yourself." Aveira took a step out of the way, so he could head to the door if he wished. "Do you wish to join the Circo?" She was getting a headache. She lifted a pale hand, brushing away the tears that had escaped. She didn't need anyone getting upset. She didn't feel like explaining and she didn't think anyone would understand.
|
|
|
Post by HIKARU MINAMINO on Jul 25, 2013 15:36:56 GMT -5
“You handled it poorly,” snorted Hikaru, “I can smell the vomit from when you gagged – good job at holding it in. And I assume being drenched in a cold sweat also a way of 'taking it'?” Was she another one of those dreaded hero-types he despised so much? Did she test her limits and pretend to be brave? Why in the world would someone ask for him to open his eyes? She was the first person who ever sought the wrath of his power willingly...and Hikaru felt like hating her for it.
Immediately after, he was invited to join the circus. While it was inevitable that he'd need to accept Aveira's offer, Hikaru had also been instructed to respond naturally to every situation.
Oh, here came the sass.
“You're inviting me to join the circus as a freak show? A way for you to make money by exploiting this...this...whatever it is I do! ” he asked, “You don't expect me to sign up just like that, do you? I don't know what I'd be getting myself into. Hell, you don't even offer a booklet or website address. What's the catch? I'm bound for life? Have to sell my soul to the milk man?”
[/size]
|
|
AVEIRA STERLING
Junior Member
Fate is a misconseption, it's only a cover-up for the fact you don't have control over your own life
Posts: 78
|
Post by AVEIRA STERLING on Jul 25, 2013 15:47:19 GMT -5
Aveira was going to kill him. Not really of course, her fragile mind would snap, but that didn't mean she couldn't imagine it. And she had a very, very vivid imagination. By the time she spoke again, he had died in at least twenty different ways. It actually did help with her anger, and when she spoke her voice was soft.
"Since I did not rip my hair out, lose my mind, or pass out, I feel I did well. I am still a functioning human being even though your powers threw every single one of /their/ memories in my face." She stepped closer to the boy, her voice dropping in volume and temperature. "Circo Phantasia is a family of people just like you, just like me. The people you saw, or heard, today were those who /choose/ to perform in the circus. They choose to show ingrates their gifts so Circo can continue the good work it does with people like you. We have a week trial period, where you can try and ease into the family. Then you swear your loyalty to us, so that the Circo is safe. But you clearly don't want it."
Her voice changed. It sounded far too dark now. "I was trying to help you, but I've run out of patience. Spend the rest of your life hiding your eyes, terrified of what you will cause. I do not care." And then she walked off. She just turned around and headed for the door. She was done with this boy. She put up with Carter, even made very good friends with him. She put up with all the knuckleheads the Circo took in. But him? Maybe it was because they were around the same age, but he really pissed her off.
|
|
|
Post by HIKARU MINAMINO on Jul 25, 2013 17:03:42 GMT -5
“How can you compare us?” he shouted, “Your performers make people happy, but I make people rip their hair out!” In his frustration, Hikaru threw his cane as far as it could go. He didn't bother listening to where it fell because while he hoped it'd hit Aveira, the chances of that happening were slim. After all, he couldn't aim while blinded.
Hikaru's knees buckled beneath him and he hit the floor, hunched over and shaking. One hand supported him while the other clutched the chest of his button down, as though it would ease the tension in his grieving chest. And the bandages soaked up his tears, darkening in the process.
“Why didn't you stop? Why did you keep going? I could see it – you'd had enough! But you kept going!” he cried, “Why would you do that to yourself? You could've...could've stopped earlier, you stupid girl. I wouldn't have caused you to suffer so much if you hadn't tried to be brave. Why...why did you keep going?”
He took deep, quivering breaths.
“I'm sorry.”
There he was again, that frightened boy Aveira had found when she came in. He'd never been calm to begin with; even when he insulted Aveira, it was a sorry attempt to convince himself that he was in control.
“Give me...give me a week,” he begged, “If it doesn't work out, I'll remove m-my eyes myself.”
[/size]
|
|
AVEIRA STERLING
Junior Member
Fate is a misconseption, it's only a cover-up for the fact you don't have control over your own life
Posts: 78
|
Post by AVEIRA STERLING on Jul 25, 2013 17:19:04 GMT -5
He was a child. Everyone in this world was a child. Why did she even exist? Everyone pissed her off. Every single person. If they could just pull their pants up and act mature, maybe she could find someone she could stand. But no. There was just Alistair, who had his childish moments, and Yuzki. And Yuzki was dead. That was saying something. A dead guy had more maturity than everyone on this God-forsaken planet.
Alistair would kill her if she walked out. Hell, he might still kill her if he knew how bad she had treated this boy. So, taking a deep breath, she turned around to face the annoyance again. "I was not being brave, child." She hated humans. She really did. Herself included. "My reasons were two-fold. The first was I needed to know exactly what your power did and how quickly it progressed. So I held on as long as possible. The second, was for you. I know what it's like to be feared for your powers, what it's like to be forcibly withdrawn from everyone around you. I wanted to show you that you could trust me. That your powers were not going to drive me away, as I'm sure it did with all others."
She kicked his cane to him. He had actually come pretty close, given he was blind. He had probably heard her footsteps. "Get up. I'll take you to the Ringmaster. You will never have to remove your eyes. As much as you hate it, your gift is a part of you, and Circo will teach you control." She even smiled a little, though rage still bubbled in her. "And one day you will have control. You may have a little stand here if you wish, giving people little thrills and scares. People do tend to like that."
|
|
|
Post by HIKARU MINAMINO on Jul 26, 2013 16:03:51 GMT -5
All was silent except for the light tapping from Hikaru's cane, which he swept in front of him while following the sound of Aveira's footsteps. Could Aveira really had gone through all that to help him? Why not ask? While the original goal of infiltrating the circus was branded in Hikaru's mind, the security woman's kindness threw him for a loop. If the circus was to help people like him, people with uncontrollable abilities, why hadn't they gone to the government? From there, help could be distributed on a global scale! They'd reach more people! A circus didn't have enough connections or authority to reach everyone...after all, it hadn't been able to reach himself.
And it figures that he ended up offending the person he tried to help.
“I didn't react...properly. I freaked, okay?” he sighed, “You couldn't have lasted much longer, so I was angry at myself for not stopping sooner. Even if you hadn't told me, I could've stopped. That would've made two people sent to the rubber room in a day, and I think I would've lost it."
Hikaru tripped on an uneven patch of flooring, but steadied himself before he toppled. Dang it! He needed to concentrate on where he was going!
"I didn't mean what I said about your...um, family. Sorry.”
When the footsteps stopped, Hikaru stopped. The pattern of the floor hadn't changed much, so he knew they must have been near the ring master's office.
"Are you still angry?" he mumbled, like a child apologizing to his mother, "I can't look at your face to see, so be honest. Don't lie to a blind man."
[/size]
|
|