Closed Memories and Spirits [Elaine]

[Annalisa Marin]

Friendship, an odd and somewhat foreign concept to someone like Anna, being what she was and who she was. Anna had tried it time and again, first with Velia whom she had betrayed and then with Celeste whom she had drifted away from slowly but surely. Amaryllis was right really, it was a weakness and yet Anna was always trying to continue to put herself out there. She didn’t know why as it always petching ended with pain on both sides, perhaps some part of her enjoyed torturing and punishing herself or perhaps she just couldn’t bear the thought of being alone for the rest of her life.

The sorceress smirked at the ghost’s words, knowing them to be true considering how long a ghost could probably last in this existence. Kouri was young, but if she lingered then it was likely the Oath she was bound to would only hold her for a short amount of time comparatively. Anna herself was bound by the shackles of mortality, which she really did not mind considering the alternative existed all around her and it was less than desirable. She never wanted to become like the Nuit here, never wanted to have to jump from body to body in a sad lonely existence.

“I suppose you do indeed have time on your hands, Elaine. Most ghosts that find their way here seem to enjoy a reprieve from Dira. I wish you luck in finding Mr. Sullins.” Anna stated.

“Hmm… while I have you here I wonder if I might gain your assistance in another possession attempt. Considering that we already tried it before and my own body has gained a higher degree of tolerance towards it, I was thinking that might assist in the endeavor. I was also looking to test out a method to block a ghost from utilizing my body.” The sorceress inquired, cocking her head to the spirit.

Anna was hardly an expert on the matters of spiritism, however with a daughter like hers it seemed a good idea to try and increase her comfort on the matter. Elaine had already possessed Anna once before, so her body would be something the ghost would likely find more ease in taking over. At least that was the thought in Anna’s mind, and since her body was more used to possession attempts it would likely make the experience smoother all things considered.

“I’ve learned a bit more about ghosts since last we met, so I’d like to see if I couldn’t apply them in another possession attempt. If you do not wish to however, you need only say so.” Anna clarified.

The sorceress did not bother thinking of threatening Elaine or any such things, as far as she knew she was still just the rather unpleasant professor she had met in Zeltiva. Anna preferred to use that fact to her advantage in this situation, hoping to use any trust Elaine might have for a familiar face. Clyde was her benefactor as well, and Anna had no wish to alienate a potential ally by forcing his friend to do something she did not want to. Clyde was still a nobody as far as Sahova itself was concerned, but he had potential if just his Glyphing was anything to go by.

[Elaine Spade]

She wasn't sure if she enjoyed that reprieve or not."Well I'm sure she would be more happy if I would follow her. Not sure if she allowed these reprieves." She laughed a bit about the tought. She was also getting ready to leave as she wished her good luck. She stood up but she stayed, because Anna didn't stop. She was asking a favor.

The old favor she asked the first time. Elaine wasn't sure why humans, why wizard liked that so much. She was sure she would have hated being possessed by a ghost. She was thinking if she should really do this but she really had time now. "Erm... sure." She answered but she wasn't exactly sure about it. But she tried to think the other way. She could practise the posession herself.

She was getting ready her soulmist and she also waited Anna to get ready. But then a sudden question came to her mind. "Wait! I have a question." She didn't know if this was a good idea to ask. It was really inappropriate in this situation. But in the end she asked. "Can you explain me... how did you feel when you were in love? I mean you were even be in love once? What did it feel like?"

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna smirked at Elaine’s statement, knowing that her daughter was likely of the opposite mindset from Elaine and preferred to remain here to play. The sorceress herself was a servant of Rhysol, thus chaos in the order of life and death was something she viewed as a good thing to foster. Let Dira find annoyance in this wrinkle in her grand design, Anna had long since stopped minding the Goddess of Death or fearing her encroach upon her mortal being. The tall woman was surrounded by hundreds that had defied Dira, that had taken on the cloak of undeath and lingered through centuries.

A grin split itself across the tall woman’s face at Elaine’s acceptance, already having in mind what her technique to attempt was. Anna personally was not exactly fond of being possessed; Kouri was allowed more leeway there since she was incapable of harming the sorceress but besides that she tended to prefer to keep her body to herself. Elaine had already possessed her before, even before Kouri had entered into her life. So the sorceress allowed herself a bit of trust towards the spirit, not much but enough that Anna was willing to set aside her distaste at being possessed. Elaine herself seemed a bit off put by the suggestion, another difference from her daughter as Kouri always seemed to enjoy possessing people.

Anna crossed her legs in her chair and closed her eyes, staring to begin to cycle her breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth. She was attempting to clear her mind to prepare herself for a possession attempt, a useful thing as it let her hold back her body’s natural response to ghostly invasion. She focused upon the island within her mind’s eye, an oasis of calm and clarity where she could just let the troubles of the world fade away. Her breathing became more controlled and slowed to a degree, settling into her meditation more easily than others might find it.

Her grey eyes slowly opened at Elaine’s question, her thoughts focusing in on that rather odd question and one she needed to think over really. Love. It was a strange emotion, almost foreign really to the sorceress’ distrustful mind but it had indeed existed on some level once. She had loved her parents, she had once loved Velia, she did love Kouri on some level, and she was devoted to Rhysol completely. What did it feel like… that was a good question?

Anna focused on what she felt when she was around Kouri, when the little ghost child was in her arms or laughing adorably. That feeling in her heart, warming, comforting, safe. Was that love then, the feeling that she felt for her adoptive daughter? It seemed possible to the tall dark haired woman as Kouri had certainly wormed her way into her affections. Did she love her? It seemed like those feelings were the closest thing to such a feeling she felt at the moment, and they certainly bordered on the idea of love itself.

“Love. It’s an odd feeling. Warming in your heart, in your mind, it feels safe and comforting when other things are not. It feels… nice, I suppose, it makes me wish to stay around the person that makes me feel it. It’s different than carnal lust, it goes deeper than that I suppose. That’s what I felt anyway.” Anna offered with a slight shrug.

Explaining love was a rather difficult concept for Anna really, as she had rather lost faith in the concept for the most part and viewed it as a weakness that could be used against her. On Sahova one could ill afford weakness’ that could be exploited, which was why she tried to distance herself from Kouri emotionally. Unfortunately that seemed not to work as she still found more… motherly traits starting to show, becoming less of an act as time went by.

Anna shook off the distractions and slipped back into her meditation, closing her eyes again and cycling her breathing to attempt to find her center once more. Once she had scoffed at the idea of meditation being useful in magic, but now she was finding it to be very potent as a tool. Of course it was unlikely she’d be able to hold a full meditative state of mind once Elaine started to pour her soulmist into every orifice and pore she had.

[Elaine Spade]

So love was like that. She was wondering if she felt that for Clyde. Because it was different from the love she feel for her parents. Odd really described that feeling, Anna was right. She didn't want to ask more and she was sure Anna didn't want to talk about it more either. She was preparing herself for the possession and so did Elaine, she didn't do that for a long time now.

She was ready but she waited a bit for the mage. She was closer to her however and her soulmist was around her. It will be strange to do it again. She was curious how much easier will it be with Anna now or will it be harder? When she saw Anna was relaxed... if she could say such thing, she started to invade her body and enter.

She found herself inside the body and it was already hard to stay in. She had to focus so her body won't repel her out. But it was easier than the last time, she learned some control over her body for sure. She couldn't and didn't want to ponder who she was practising with as she was busy to stay in her body. Yes she did that long time ago, it was like relearning everything.

"Okay... try to do something, I'll follow your moves." She said to her as she couldn't control her body. She didn't have that much power yet.

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna had her eyes closed at this point, her mind starting to calm as her breaths were cycled in through her nose and out through her mouth. The sorceress could feel the distractions that normally so plagued her mind beginning to dull and fade away, the chill of Elaine’s proximity a constant that was focused upon. The concept of ice rose in her mind and she imagined herself trapped in ice, her flesh cold to the touch but the ice was not painful. Rather it felt relaxing rather than numbing and harsh, soothing towards her rather than dangerous and this served as a mental image to relax upon.

Abruptly it began, Elaine had dissolved and started to invade her through every opening she had available and the chill started to spread through her entire body. She could feel her hold upon her own body being fought over, her natural urge to simply eject Elaine from her body being rather strong indeed. The tall woman forced it back, trying to allow Elaine as much time in her body as she might need in order to become better acquainted with it. Unfortunately it was obvious that Elaine was weaker than her daughter, her possession being fragile and requiring additional assistance from the possessed to remain stable in the body.

Still she could feel the ghost within her, so that was a good first step so the next logical course of action was to attempt to move with the possession upon her body. Anna heard Elaine’s prompt and pondered over what to do, walking being out of the question as she had no wish to land face down on the floor from that failure. The sorceress noted a quill out of the corner of her possessed eyes, that seemed like a good thing to try given their last possession attempt. It was always so strange to have another pulling at the strings of her astral, sharing her body with anything.

“Right, so now we should try to pick up that quill over there on the table. So, help me move my right arm and control my fingers so they wrap around it. My own efforts will be split between trying to hold back my body’s natural response, so you need to take the lead here. I’ll try to help you, but you have to take the most control over my body. I can’t hold your hand in this; otherwise you will never improve upon your ability.” The tall woman projected to Elaine.

It was clear through her words that since their last meeting Anna had been involved with other ghosts, her understanding of the creatures having expanded considerably. Kouri was an example of a very powerful ghost; however Anna remembered when her own possessions had been extremely weak. She hadn’t been able to learn until she had taken proper charge of her body, awkward as it had been the child had learned much at her grasp became more comprehensive. Anna felt that in order for Elaine to reach that level of comfort she would need to take more control away from the possessed, scary though that was.

“Don’t be afraid, I had a ghost with comparable comfort in possession take control of my entire body without my assistance. It was awkward and tiring, but we both learned much from it. Honestly, it would seem to me that my trying to control the possession would destabilize it no? Two hosts holding control of the same body when both lack extreme comfort in their art seems… unstable.” Anna elaborated, attempting to give the ghost a bit more confidence.

At the same time the sorceress would refocus some of her attention from holding back her body’s natural urge, instead attempting to give Elaine at least a little assistance. She would will the limbs to follow Elaine’s directions if they were given, if not she would simply keep holding back her body’s natural urge to push her out. The ghost needed the practice and so did Anna really, considering her past enemies were rather powerful in terms of the spiritual realm. She needed to be able to fight back if they ever tried to lay claim upon her body again.

[Elaine Spade]

Anna was better at fighting against her body's will, was easier for Elaine to stay inside. Though for Elaine it was weird still, she was out of practise but she tried her best to remain. She was paying attention to the woman's orders. She was never really succesfull controlling a body. Maybe with a spiritist it could be easier, but she was still not confident within herself.

She was also curious who she was practising with, what ghost. Was it here? Sahova was not friendly towards ghosts, at least what she had to experience when she arrived. Though some ghosts could get out probably, not just her. Not like she had time ot think about it or she would have wasted Anna's power and time. She had to act and do as she asked.

"Bear with me." She said and focused all of her power to move Anna's hand as it would be Elaine's. She took a quick look at the quill on the table. Slowly she was moving Anna's hand toward it and while that was trying to move her fingers so she could grab it. Anna's control helped Elaine. She could succesfully reach the quill.

"Just a little more..." One by one she wrapped Anna's fingers around the quill. It was succesfull Now she realized how long it was when she was alive and she had her own body to control. She forgot all about it, it was like learning again how to walk or talk. Once which was natural for her, was the hardest task as a ghost.

Only one more thing remained. She was pulling it up. She tried to stop thinking about that it was Anna's hand and was trying to think like it was her own hand, which made the whole process easier. The simple joy came to her when she realized she did a simple thing like picking up a quill. "You are really better! Let's put it back if you still have energy and I'll leave your body before you become too exhausted already. I feel I'm tired, but maybe have a little strength to put it down." She congratulated the sorceress.

[Annalisa Marin]

Behind eyes that moved without her own control Anna could only watch as she held back her body’s nature rejection response to Elaine, noting her rough control over her body. The sorceress could feel soreness in her limbs growing due to the ghost’s rather poor control over her possession, muscles twitching as she moved them awkwardly and slowly. She could feel everything though it took all her willpower to resist the urge to simply cast her out. She needed to control her urge at this stage, needed to give Elaine full control for as long as she possibly could in order to complete the task.

The sorceress gave what was akin to a mental grunt as Elaine curled each finger around the quill, shots of soreness shooting up each of the digits. Having another spirit control one’s body was an extremely taxing task on not just the possessor but the one being possessed. As a Spiritist Anna could act as a medium for spirits, a host that could much more easily be possessed. Sadly she was not yet at the point where she could afford to split her focus upon assisting the ghost in its control of her body, that was outside of her current skill. Splitting her attention like that could cause Elaine to be immediately ejected from her body.

Elaine lifted the quill up and sounded rather pleased with both Anna and herself for the task, truthfully she was right and Anna was exhausted. However the sorceress had one final test she wanted to try before Elaine was removed from her form, resisting possession. Wanda had told her to improve upon her ability in resisting and combating spirits if the Voices should return for her, the only way to do that was hands on experience. Elaine was a weaker possessor, but every little bit helped.

“Actually Elaine I’d like to test something instead. I want you to try to make me place the quill back down while I provide a little bit of resistance.” The tall woman projected mentally.

Regardless of Elaine’s answer Anna would focus her attention on locking her body up, trying to render it immobile so that any spirit within her would not be able to use her body. The sorceress’ logic here was rather than engaging in a battle of wills it might avail her better to simply just render her body immobile. If a ghost could not use her body then they would eventually just be forced to leave, a risky gambit of course but if it paid off she might have the beginning of a defense against the spirits of madness. Not a full cure of course but one that would suffice in a pinch.

The sorceress could feel her body tensing and simply refusing to budge, her muscles locking up uncomfortably but the functions were carried out. The only question was whether or not Elaine would still be able to move her body. The ghost was rather inexperienced with possession but then Anna herself was rather inexperienced with Spiritism. The two were rather even in that ground as far as the sorceress knew so she was curious to see what might happen.

[Elaine Spade]

She was attempting to put it down, could have done it easily perhaps but Anna wanted otherwise. She was listening to her request. A test. She wasn't sure if she could fight against her resistance. She was a spiritist and even regular human could resist her possession easily. Not to mention her soulmist couldn't take too much anymore. But she accepted it. She wanted to test, and she was curious as well how strong she was herself.

"Okay, I guess we can try that." She said in her mind and she already felt that she was not in control now. Anna was resisting with her arm. It was time for Elaine to use her power. She was focusing to get control of the arm, pushing it down while the quill is in her hand. Nothing happened. She tried it again but the attempt again failed.

She wanted to put it down, but it was hard and she was struggling. She focused all of her power on it. Maybe if she focused all of her power and quickly push it down. She was focusing her soulmist and tried to push it down again. Anna's arm moved down a little bit but it also went back up to the air, the results were indeed very poor.

Though Elaine wanted to try again, she couldn't. She wasted her energy with that last attempt. She came out from her. Tried to rest a bit and regenerate her soulmist. "Well... I wasn't very succesful." Said the obvious statement. But she was still happy with her deeds.

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna could feel Elaine within her attempting to fight her arm and get her to move the quill, her will battering against the sorceress’ own. Honestly it was making her arm rather sore all things considered but the tall woman attempted to ignore that and just focused on keeping her body locked up. She was trying to prevent the ghost within her from actually doing anything, from moving her limb or controlling any aspect of her body. It was actually a little harder than Anna had first anticipated, Elaine might very well have been somewhat weak but even still her will was locked against her own in a bit of a struggle for control.

Anna knew well that she needed to improve upon this power, to make herself less likely to be taken over by the spirits she might very well come across. She had been nearly overwhelmed by them once; she could not afford to be caught so weak again. So she needed to find some degree of control over those that would possess her body, to learn how to repulse them and fight against them. This was really an extremely basic method, but Anna had no other alternative for how very new in the field of Spiritism that she was.

Finally she could feel Elaine’s hold over the possession begin to dissolve, her soul mist exiting from her body almost painfully. Once she was gone Anna found her breath being rather heavy and she herself was actually a little bit tired for the exertion of energy. Her limbs were incredibly sore for having Elaine awkwardly handling them for any period of time, the spirit likely not used to handling a flesh and blood limb after being dead for so long. The sorceress knew well at how fragile a possessed person could be in the hands of an experienced enough ghost, their limbs likely able to be shattered easily and without harm to the spirit.

The sorceress actually chuckled at Elaine’s words, waving off the assessment of the ghost’s abilities, it had actually taught her how to resist spirits on a rudimentary level. She would probably need to find more powerful ghosts to truly experiment with it, however it was a good start upon her journey down this road. Spiritism was not an art she viewed with a great deal of respect, but she did recognize the utility of the art of World Magic. If it could help prevent a ghost from doing great harm to her body, then Anna would most certainly harness its power.

“Not to worry, Elaine, you performed wonderfully. I believe I learned something regarding how to resist a possessor, so you have my thanks in that regard. In any event I believe I have taken up enough of your time and I should let you get back to searching for your friend. I wish you the best of luck; I do hope that we meet again sooner rather than later. It’s always a pleasure.” Anna offered, smiling at the spirit reassuringly.

Elaine was a fine ghost for her to use later in the future, not as skilled as Kouri and willing to trust her due to her connection to her in the past. Anna had no qualms with manipulating a potential resource like the ghost, however her apparent connection with Clyde Sullins also made her rather interesting. She had also provided her a good amount of information regarding the other mage that she would not have known otherwise. For now that was enough for Anna to chew over and consider well enough fo this little meeting. It could be her closeness might prove… useful to the sorceress.

OOCThis should be my last post here, feel free to put up your last one and I'll put it up for grading.

[Elaine Spade]

She wasn't strong, she was still weak with possession and it was frustrating for her. Though she learnt something new from Anna, she was still a bit weird for her but the prof was nice to her. Probably this was her most succeful possession ever since she was a ghost. That thought calmed her down and made her smile a bit. She could use this knowledge next time and more practice and she could get better.

She looked at Anna who definitely looked tired because of the possession. No wonder, she was also using those stones maybe it was also exhausting. She was wondering what they could do but Ela was tired also. And it would be rude to do it, didn't want to push her luck. Anna's words made her smile more.

"Thank you, I have learned a lot from you as well. I think this was my best possession. I finally remember how you can control a body. Bit different when I was alive but still... And I wish the best of luck to you too. I hope your research will go well, but do rest!" Answered and turned around to head out from the room and from the place itself.

She needed a little rest and she had to leave the place now or she would find herself at Wanda's 'playground' again. She didn't want to experience it again, never. It was terrible for the first time, she thought she could never continue her search. She threw these thoughts aside and headed down to the port to rest a bit and later she could continue to look for Clyde.