Post by Naiyu Persici Lu on Jan 3, 2014 14:23:34 GMT -5
"Are you QUITE MAD?! Why would you waste gold like that?!"
"Shut your mouth, it's completely viable!"
"Maybe if you're an overconfident twat!!"
"You-!!!"
The curled up Naiyu nestled in the corner couldn't help the soft sigh that left her. The barking argument before her had been the third today, a sadly usual number now. Tensions and tempers had been alarmingly high as of late, and with very good reason.
"Stop that, you two!" Came a lighter toned voice, another female Summoner to Naiyu's immediate left chastised the scuffling pair of males currently hurling insults over their Summoning Spheres. "Soren would weep at your behaviour-!!"
With a sickeningly sharp silence cutting through the air, they relented, turning their paper-thin attentions back to the small match before them. The name that flowed from the female's lips made everyone's chests tighten collectively. Soren. A fellow Summoner. An easy-going, if not slightly flirtatious scamp.
Found dead in the hall, his neck snapped and his body stripped.
The night had been a vividly hectic one for Naiyu, when news of Nocturne's chamber being broken found its way to her. The younger Summoners had been ordered to vacate the scene, the more experienced and trained being hurried off to where the most activity were coming from. At the halls to The Nightmare's holding chambers, three fellow Summoners were slain in a gruesome and nausea-inducing fashion. Blood and gore splayed the walls and floors, the stench of decay and flowing internal juices permeating the air and turning all but the strongest of heart from the scene. A single female, assuredly the one that released the shade, was found in the inner area, her upper body split in a perfect two. Nobody could say what could have possibly lead her to do such an act with a very obvious outcome...
The deaths of the Summoners and the knowledge that Nocturne was free was already much to swallow. The fact that someone Naiyu regarded as somewhat a friend was also lost, the poor girl was silenced for many an hour. She hadn't grown any real attachment to him, to any of them, really. But it was a sobering fact to her. A very, very sobering fact.
They had been travelling in a line through the halls together. Where he was found, Naiyu was only two spots ahead of him.
That could have easily been her, dead as dead could be on that cold polished floor. His robes were stripped, so his killer's goal would have obviously rendered her unsuitable, given her small stature. But that didn't stop her thoughts. She had been so close...had she turned around and bore witness at the wrong moment or switched spots with him...
"You didn't say your damn lane was missing, fool!"
"I DID! Pay the hell attention!"
"DON'T YELL AT ME!"
Naiyu was thankful they were only practicing a Co-Operative match against constructs. The males had suggested trying to blow off steam this way, with Naiyu politely refusing but following simply for other company at the time. The female Summoner next to her had the same reasoning, seating herself next to the petite silver-hair woman. With a passing thought she wondered if she were under or over reacting to these happenings. The males were obviously roused all the wrong ways, and the female seemed distraught, even more so because of her friends' flaring tempers.
And Naiyu was more concerned about why and how it happened.
It was obviously an outside source that came in to release The Eternal Nightmare. No real Summoner could kill like that and escape without so much as a peep of activity. What's more, there would be no need to murder a fellow Summoner and disrobe him. Every Summoner had their own robes. True, the crime scene had been by and large a display fit for a slaughterhouse, but the gore had seemed...controlled. The intruder needed a disguise. They had blended in seamlessly with the rest of the unsuspecting Summoners as well, as Naiyu didn't note anyone possibly behaving suspicious. Anything overly-suspicious, anyway. There had been few instances in the back of her mind, a brush against someone in a hurry in the opposite direction, a person fiddling idly with their fingers against a wall in the hallway, a strange man in front of her voicing a number outside when they'd evacuated, many panicked people yelling questions and calling for friends,
Nothing stuck out to her in particular.
"...Good game. Sorry...about that."
"...y..yeah, don't worry about it...I..got out of hand too."
Hazy golden hues lifted themselves up from her curled knees as the two apparently finished their match. The female Summoner had left her side, standing next to the males with her hands upon her hips, as though just finished berating them. Naiyu's legs creaked quietly as she made herself stand, walking over to the group as they released their Summoning Spheres into fading whisps. A hand came up and rested on her head, presumably from the female Summoner.
"You should get some rest, Persici. You don't look so well..."
"...a-ah?" Her voice was quiet and strained, cracking slightly as she made use of it for the first time all day. "...oh...a-alright...thank you, g-good night, everyone...take it...easy..." She gave with a polite bow, taking her leave of the melancholic pack.
The trek to her room felt longer than usual, the little energy left draining from her body as she fell with small grace on her canopy bed. She couldn't be bothered to free herself of the restricting purple robes, simply laying on her stomach and waiting. Her eyes drifted, the ceiling, the window, the dull lights, finally her fingers. They flexed and curled in the shadows idly, imitating the feel of an Orb of Summoning being formed. Obviously Nocturne would soon be removed from the possible Summoning list. She had never attempted to Summon him, but she was well aware of his abilities. With him free now, there were...expectations. He was known as The Eternal Nightmare, after all.
"...darkness..." Naiyu whispered softly, almost nervously, as thought she were inviting the shade to invade her thoughts. She knew better, of course she did. But the fear persisted even as she rolled to her side, fingers slipping into her hair and twisting her starlight mane. Vision faded from her eyes as an uneasy rest fell over her. The following nights would all be like this, for a very long time to come. So long as no one really knew the whereabouts of Nocturne,
It would feel very much like they were trapped in an eternal nightmare.
"Shut your mouth, it's completely viable!"
"Maybe if you're an overconfident twat!!"
"You-!!!"
The curled up Naiyu nestled in the corner couldn't help the soft sigh that left her. The barking argument before her had been the third today, a sadly usual number now. Tensions and tempers had been alarmingly high as of late, and with very good reason.
"Stop that, you two!" Came a lighter toned voice, another female Summoner to Naiyu's immediate left chastised the scuffling pair of males currently hurling insults over their Summoning Spheres. "Soren would weep at your behaviour-!!"
With a sickeningly sharp silence cutting through the air, they relented, turning their paper-thin attentions back to the small match before them. The name that flowed from the female's lips made everyone's chests tighten collectively. Soren. A fellow Summoner. An easy-going, if not slightly flirtatious scamp.
Found dead in the hall, his neck snapped and his body stripped.
The night had been a vividly hectic one for Naiyu, when news of Nocturne's chamber being broken found its way to her. The younger Summoners had been ordered to vacate the scene, the more experienced and trained being hurried off to where the most activity were coming from. At the halls to The Nightmare's holding chambers, three fellow Summoners were slain in a gruesome and nausea-inducing fashion. Blood and gore splayed the walls and floors, the stench of decay and flowing internal juices permeating the air and turning all but the strongest of heart from the scene. A single female, assuredly the one that released the shade, was found in the inner area, her upper body split in a perfect two. Nobody could say what could have possibly lead her to do such an act with a very obvious outcome...
The deaths of the Summoners and the knowledge that Nocturne was free was already much to swallow. The fact that someone Naiyu regarded as somewhat a friend was also lost, the poor girl was silenced for many an hour. She hadn't grown any real attachment to him, to any of them, really. But it was a sobering fact to her. A very, very sobering fact.
They had been travelling in a line through the halls together. Where he was found, Naiyu was only two spots ahead of him.
That could have easily been her, dead as dead could be on that cold polished floor. His robes were stripped, so his killer's goal would have obviously rendered her unsuitable, given her small stature. But that didn't stop her thoughts. She had been so close...had she turned around and bore witness at the wrong moment or switched spots with him...
"You didn't say your damn lane was missing, fool!"
"I DID! Pay the hell attention!"
"DON'T YELL AT ME!"
Naiyu was thankful they were only practicing a Co-Operative match against constructs. The males had suggested trying to blow off steam this way, with Naiyu politely refusing but following simply for other company at the time. The female Summoner next to her had the same reasoning, seating herself next to the petite silver-hair woman. With a passing thought she wondered if she were under or over reacting to these happenings. The males were obviously roused all the wrong ways, and the female seemed distraught, even more so because of her friends' flaring tempers.
And Naiyu was more concerned about why and how it happened.
It was obviously an outside source that came in to release The Eternal Nightmare. No real Summoner could kill like that and escape without so much as a peep of activity. What's more, there would be no need to murder a fellow Summoner and disrobe him. Every Summoner had their own robes. True, the crime scene had been by and large a display fit for a slaughterhouse, but the gore had seemed...controlled. The intruder needed a disguise. They had blended in seamlessly with the rest of the unsuspecting Summoners as well, as Naiyu didn't note anyone possibly behaving suspicious. Anything overly-suspicious, anyway. There had been few instances in the back of her mind, a brush against someone in a hurry in the opposite direction, a person fiddling idly with their fingers against a wall in the hallway, a strange man in front of her voicing a number outside when they'd evacuated, many panicked people yelling questions and calling for friends,
Nothing stuck out to her in particular.
"...Good game. Sorry...about that."
"...y..yeah, don't worry about it...I..got out of hand too."
Hazy golden hues lifted themselves up from her curled knees as the two apparently finished their match. The female Summoner had left her side, standing next to the males with her hands upon her hips, as though just finished berating them. Naiyu's legs creaked quietly as she made herself stand, walking over to the group as they released their Summoning Spheres into fading whisps. A hand came up and rested on her head, presumably from the female Summoner.
"You should get some rest, Persici. You don't look so well..."
"...a-ah?" Her voice was quiet and strained, cracking slightly as she made use of it for the first time all day. "...oh...a-alright...thank you, g-good night, everyone...take it...easy..." She gave with a polite bow, taking her leave of the melancholic pack.
The trek to her room felt longer than usual, the little energy left draining from her body as she fell with small grace on her canopy bed. She couldn't be bothered to free herself of the restricting purple robes, simply laying on her stomach and waiting. Her eyes drifted, the ceiling, the window, the dull lights, finally her fingers. They flexed and curled in the shadows idly, imitating the feel of an Orb of Summoning being formed. Obviously Nocturne would soon be removed from the possible Summoning list. She had never attempted to Summon him, but she was well aware of his abilities. With him free now, there were...expectations. He was known as The Eternal Nightmare, after all.
"...darkness..." Naiyu whispered softly, almost nervously, as thought she were inviting the shade to invade her thoughts. She knew better, of course she did. But the fear persisted even as she rolled to her side, fingers slipping into her hair and twisting her starlight mane. Vision faded from her eyes as an uneasy rest fell over her. The following nights would all be like this, for a very long time to come. So long as no one really knew the whereabouts of Nocturne,
It would feel very much like they were trapped in an eternal nightmare.
