Closed A Change in Perception (Dexius)

[Madeira Dusk]

Dex turned away from her and stood stiff in front of the one dusty window as he expelled the story behind the scarf. The diffused light outlined the Symenestra in gold, and softened the hard lines of the grief he didn't want her to see. He was a ghost, and that gave her the distance to see him through a filter of professionalism. She experienced his pain through the hitch in his voice and the trembling of his shoulders, but wasn't part of it.
 
Instead, she rolled that name around her mind: Alasyia. That name was the root of everything. What happened in the Playhouse was just a catalyst for something that ran much deeper.
 
The Spiritist slid off the table and back to her feet. Her fingers combed through her lank hair and tied it in a knot at the base of her skull. From the dark a bird gave a soft, shrill cry. That determination was rising from the cavity of her chest again. The one that would not let this sad beast sink low into the depth of his pity and loathing. He was a ghost, but he was dying. She wouldn't be able to fix him in one day, but she could at least clean him up and arm him against the world.
 
She padded soft-soled to his shoulder and took his hand.  
 
"Dexius, I'm sorry for what happened. I'm so sorry. But my pity will not help you, and neither will yours. This 'lone wolf' shyke will kill you eventually." She pointed out the window, where people were milling about their business. "You need to be out there, with people. You need to dig yourself out of this hole and come back to life. Lets go. I’m taking you to the Starstruck, then to get some food.”

She tightened her grip and pulled him towards the door. She was aware that he was stronger than her, and he could easily break her hold. If he did, she would continue her trek empty-handed. If he didn’t want to be saved she would leave alone.

Wether he was with her or not, she grabbed the brass knob and checked the door open with her narrow hip.

For a moment she stood blinking on the doorstep as her human eyes dealt with the sudden, searing sunlight. Once the white light washed from her eyes she blinked a little more, though now in confusion rather than pain. In their short absence, the mist had exploded into being. It was now waist-high and a formless, pearly white. The cobble street had been swallowed by the phenomenon, and as she cast her eyes up and down the lane, there didn’t seem to be any other illusions. Ionu did not bother itself with such boring tricks. Surely, inevitably, there was something hiding in this gentle trick.

Such mysteries did not stop a native Avalad, however. With a purposeful stride she walked straight into the fog.

[Dexius]

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50th of Spring, 517 AV
Thought
"Common"
"Symenos"

The Spider was almost surprised to find Madeira gently grabbing onto his hand just as he had done to her just moments before. Then the words came forth. Condolences. Apologies. These were things he had heard before and things he often had spoken as well. Still, Dex could feel that for some reason Madeira meant what she said.

And as much as he didn't want to believe her he also knew the words that followed the solace rang true just as hard. He had been out and about in the city quite a bit ever since arriving in Alvadas. Though now he had resigned himself to the solitude that he had mostly craved in his youth. A lot of his time as a child or even during pubescence Dex was happy to be alone or just with Alasyia.

Since his coming to Alvadas however, he had almost turned that way of life full circle. But here he was once again spending his time locked away from the people he shared his home with and once again being pushed to be something better than he is by somebody.

Madeira gripped his hand harder as she tried to lug him in the direction of the door. His mind snapped back to what was going on around him as he just caught the last bit of what the spiritualist had just said. The familiar sound of his sandals flopping was heard as his feet nor his body gave any protest to the woman's demanding grip. He wasn't strong so he needed her to be it for him.

Still he couldn't imagine having Madeira watch his attempts to consume anything. It would likely make her stomach roll endlessly. So just as the woman ever so casually bashed his door open with her hip he finally protested though his body continued onward. "Pass on the food. I'm not hungry."

The light from Syna's rays cut through his vision for just a few moments after the opening of the door though the temporary blindness was muddled by the fact he had been just looking out the window just a few ticks ago. Dex paused for a moment to close and lock his home before turning towards the city proper and taking in the view of something he had taken in from his window view.

A white mist flooded through the streets as far as he could see in any direction. He had seen a great many things in Alvadas since arriving but a boring mist was not something so very common and not something he figured was very Ionu like. It was almost disconcerting as he followed Madeira down the steps in front of his home before his sandal'd foot smacked against his sheathed yet broken blade.

Dex reached down to pick up the tool of his trade and pondered on the thing for a few moments, his eyes glancing back and forth between Madeira and the scabbard almost looking for an answer from her expression. The broken weapon was reattached to his belt for the first time in two seasons. The familiar weight of the blade was memorable to him and he often found it was strange to live without the thing at his beck and call.

The Symenestra's fingers gripped into his companion's as the two waded waist deep or otherwise into the dense mist. This was his first time leaving the relative safety of his home, at least mental safety since the fall season. "What is wrong with Alvadas, Madeira? This all doesn't seem very much like Ionu..." His voice trailed off as he walked closely to the spiritualist. It was easy to keep her pace whatever it was with his longer legs.

Something about the mist did not feel right to the Spider. It was moving all around them but still seemed shapeless and concealing like it was hiding something just under the surface. If Madeira would ask, he would say he swears something was moving around inside of it.



Boxcode credit: Karin Ironyach

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[Madeira Dusk]

Madeira adjusted her grip in the Symenstra's hand. His long fingers felt as brittle as bird bones, but the unkept nails pushing dents into the back of her hand were as hard as stone. Perhaps he was nervous about the fog. She was too, a tick ago, but as soon as she had submerged herself in the dense mist she realized how silly that was.

"Wrong? No, no, nothing is wrong. This is nice, isn't it?"

As they marched down the street Madeira's posture became a little looser, a little more comfortable. Her naturally down turned lips started to lift in the corners. She was stepping high to avoid tripping over anything, and from afar she probably looked like a
peppy, goose-stepping lunatic walking her pet Symenestra. But she couldn't help it. The fog was wonderful.

She smiled up at Dexius, wondering if he felt it too. It was a strange, prickly sensation that seemed to shoot straight from her spine to her brain. It was pleasant in the same way that waiting for a surprise was pleasant. It was a nervous sort of energy.

Smells and sounds were coming from the fog too. Strange things, like the ghosts of sensations she had felt before. Something rushed past her legs, and she paused in her walk.

"Beck?" Madeira's pale brows met in concentration, and her eyes roamed the impenetrable blanket of white swirling at her waist. She dropped Dex's hand and tapped his chest, eyes not moving from the ground. "Did you feel that? What's going on? Beck! Here boy!"

That was her childhood pet, she would have bet her soul on it. Beck and Call were her fathers Jivatalus dogs. Call had passed away before she was born, but Beck became her one and only exception to her natural uneasiness around animals. He died when she was five, when the possessed dog drowned itself in their backyard pond.

Madeira grabbed Dex's wrist and dropped to her knees, forcing him to bend over or else join her. Now totally immersed in the phenomenon, Madeira was expecting to come face-to-face with the illusion of her dead friend. What she saw instead dropped her jaw and widened her pale eyes.

"Oh my gods."

Mapped below them, in steeples and tiled roofs kilometres away, was Alvadas. She was kneeling in the clouds above the city of illusion, suspended in the air on invisible tethers. She had never seen a map of the city. To her the city was only what she could see, while the rest was suspended in limbo until it was in her sight. To see it all below
her, made out in crooked lines and moving ant-like people, was short circuiting her brain. All she could do was stare, flabbergasted and speechless.

[Dexius]

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50th of Spring, 517 AV
Thought
"Common"
"Symenos"

The endless fog was never parted as the pair carefully weaved their way through the city streets. Empty space from their previous positions were quickly subsumed by the uneasy gloom. Everything seemed just a tad bit off to Dex, well, about as off as something could be in Alvadas. The Spider exhaled deeply and tried to relax. Madeira was confidant that everything was well so why should he think otherwise?

His grip on her hand loosened with a small smile from her face but only afterwards had Dex realized how tightly he had been holding onto her. Luckily his nails grew in slowly or he would have easily made the woman bleed. Dex attempted his best attempt at returning a smile to Madeira but he wasn't sure it was exactly what he meant to do. It was more of a half-smile, one razor sharp fang revealed as his cheek lifted.

His half broken smile almost changed to a look of something mixed between absolute horror and astonishment at the realization of how his partner was strutting around. She was walking like somebody who had been hit too hard in the head once or twice and Dex had to consider if this was the same woman or not. He was close to laughing at Madeira when he began to feel a tingling sensation and the spiritualist began calling out a name.

At first Dex had missed the name Madeira called out because he thought he had seen something in the fog just below the two. It was too fast to tell and he had only gotten a quick glimpse but he swore that for some reason he had just seen a flash of gray and silver hair in the fog.

With his hand now free from Madeira he let it drift carelessly through the fog while the woman was distracted. The fog rolled between his lanky and pale digits but produced nothing. A lapse in his better judgement lead to a moment of sadness and regret but only a moment as Madeira drew his hand towards her and pulled him to her side. He hadn't needed to crouch all the way to reach into the fog before but decided to join her anyhow.

"What is it you're going on abo-..." The Spider's unfinished word was lost to the fog as he enveloped himself in clouds below with the woman. And the clouds they were enveloped in indeed. There the two of them were, sitting in a high rise view above the entire city of Alvadas. "W-what is this Madeira?"

The Spider reached out with his free hand and tried to figure out if the space between the pair and 'Alvadas' was real or not. There was a sinking feeling in his chest. As a Symenestra he had grown to know heights early considering his home was suspended in a large cave. But this was different. Dex was not simply sitting on a high rooftop or traversing the tower cave that Kalinor existed inside of. For the first time in as long as he could remember he knew what it felt like to be afraid of heights.



Boxcode credit: Karin Ironyach

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[Madeira Dusk]

"It's Alvadas" she said, after several failed attempts to speak around the awe that immobilized her tongue. A silvery mist filled in every street of the city below them, fracturing the wild colours into a mosaic. She imagined that the two of them were down there too, hidden as they crouched in the fog. The impossible thought, that they could be in two places at once, fit comfortably in the Avalad's mind. But she could tell by the break in Dex's voice that he was not faring as well.

She wasn't sure she could handle another breakdown, especially in the street. So as much as she wanted to do nothing but stare at the city she called home, she stood straight and pulled him with her with a hand around his narrow waist.

The city had not been idle as they were crouched in the clouds. As then broke the surface of the fluffy mist Madeira realized the city had rearranged itself in their absence. She could not see Dex's home. Now they stood in front of the one place they needed to be. A tall purple building of architectural wonder, with dark windows and high arches carved with filigree. A detailed sign above the door announced it as Stark Naked and Starstruck.

Madeira silently gave thanks to Ionu before leading the Symenstra inside.

[Madeira Dusk]

Grades Awarded!

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Madeira Craven

Skills

• Observation: 4xp
• Persuasion: 3xp
• Negotiation: 1xp
• Unarmed Combat: 1xp
• Intimidation: 2xp
• Endurance: 1xp
• Investigation: 2xp
• Socialization: 1xp
• Acting: 1xp

Lores

• Dex: missing for half a year
• Lore of possesion afer effects
• Persuasuion: gentle insistance
• Investigation: using deduction

Awards & Retribution


Notes

Dexius

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