Double Vision [Clyde]

[Flynn Maidrus]

Flynn listened attentively and looked at Clyde raptly. Fascinating. She drummed her fingers soundlessly on the table and then stopped, self-conscious of the fact she was insubstantial. Yes, his story matched up others about Possession. Curious how he was just randomly attacked without provoking anyone. He doesn’t seem to suspect anyone, either. Had his companion’s, Aello’s, enemies caught wind of their location? It was possible the ghost in Clyde’s body had caused the destruction, and Flynn wondered just how powerful Clyde was. He didn’t seem like the other disciples of magic she had met, neither power hungry nor a stone-hearted bastard. Was he even a magic-user? She could tell he was confused and thinking hard, if the pauses in his telling were any evidence. Well, whatever the reason was, his life seemed to be fraught with random attacks by the powerful. She thought about the gold miza covered under her foot, toyed with it. It had been her intention to either use it to loosen Clyde up with more ale, if he proved to not be more forthcoming about his scars, or to use it to buy a Silver Silver as part of a demonstration of her ghostly powers if he didn’t believe her when she told him exactly what she was. It had happened many times in the past. She’d plan to possess him and take a sip to prove she was a ghost, but with his past experiences with ghosts, Flynn felt a little bit guilty if she asked him now. She reviewed in her head what Clyde had said, and many parts just didn’t flow right. In particular, the part where Clyde was covered in his own blood without any wounds interested her the most. Flynn didn’t want to be pushy, however. She tried to inject as much empathy as she could into her voice, “What happened after, and what happened to Aello?”

[Clyde Sullins]

Normally Clyde would not be so talkative... However for some reason it felt good saying this... Though it was odd, he had not recalled this until she had asked him about it... And even now it was still a bit fuzzy... he wondered why he had not recalled this before being asked on it... But he had noticed many such things lately, gaps in his memory near when great bits of magic had been done... he had recalled a lot of it since regaining his magic, but until he focused on an event, and really tried to recall, it was as if it had not occurred... Perhaps it was due to something that had happened which he could not recall... Or maybe it was just a side effect of all of the magic in his lifetime... He was not sure, but he did know he had been affected in some way, and that he had to be careful lest someone notice what had happened to him... The only conclusion that made sense... Was that of overgiving.... However he himself did not realize that waking with his entire body bleeding, blood coming out of every pore, was itself an effect and sign of overgiving, and apparently neither did Flynn. Both of them were in the dark to the significance of this... But few but a doctor who had dealt with such things would know all of the different ways overgiving showed itself. "After? Well I woke up... As I said... Then we went back to Ravok, and saw a doctor... Had to get patched up a bit... I was a bit messed up... Then Aello went her own way, and I went to my room to sleep... I was exhausted, I barely made it all of the way back to Ravok, let alone were I stay..." Clyde looked at Flynn for a moment, though he had not had much to say. He had more or less said it all before, and did not have much to say beyond it... Though he was wondering on a few points... "So... If I was possessed... Is there normally any way to defend from it? How do you get to were ghosts cannot possess you? I could do nothing that time, it happened in an instant... Is there some way to practice, to work on your defenses so you are better are stopping it?" Of course Clyde had no way of knowing that this was in fact something that Flynn had been trying to open in talking, but now Clyde himself had more or less asked for her to possess him... Since the only way to get better at blocking possession... Was to be possessed!

[Flynn Maidrus]

Flynn pursed her lips, it didn’t seem like Clyde knew much more than what he already told her, still confused about the events. It was interesting, but not as interesting as his scars, so she saved the interrogation til later. He probably wouldn’t take to it if she kept prodding him. No, it would be best not to keep questioning further, just in case she asked too much. That nosy trait had been much worse when she was alive. What could’ve caused the blood? Magic, obviously, but was it caused by the illusionist or the ghost? It was certainly serious, but if it was meant to kill then why didn’t it— Deep into her thoughts, she jolted when Clyde mentioned about protection against possession. There was only one way she knew how to protect against possession, and she didn’t know if the ghost had inadvertently caused that by her possession. She was more well versed in projecting her soulmist, thinking that it had been more useful than running around running into people and trying to control them. Plus, possession was somewhat useless unless she was any good at it. Flynn mentally swore, such knowledge would’ve been helpful now. Well, at least Clyde wouldn’t be too trusting as to let her possess him, right? Yet she felt guilty she wasn’t able to help him. “The only way I know how to train up your resistance to it is that you must get possessed and in turn resist it.” Flynn hesitated, “I’m not very good at it, so pushing me out of your mind wouldn’t be so hard, unless you’re in a bad mental state. It would be good practice, though, and you could get a feel for expelling ghosts. But it might be a side-affect of possession to bleed like you did before. I haven’t possess that many people, so I’m not really sure. You really shouldn’t do it."

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde should not have been surprised that the only way to learn to protect yourself from being possessed... Was to be possessed... It made a sick kind of sense... Its like telling someone the only way to defend from drowning, was to throw them off of a boat repeatedly, until they learned to swim... But it might be better to do it know, in a more controlled environment... And also, Flynn did not seem so incredibly strong, so it might be safer to practice with her, than with another... Besides, he needed to be able to force ghosts out... "Well... It might be better to do it know... Than say in a battle or something were I am fighting.... Then the distraction of trying to fight off a ghost might get me killed... As you said you are not that strong at it, and I myself am not to good at defending from it... So we are a good match... It does not seem like that bleeding was caused by any possession... Maybe it was just because the ghost was so strong?" "So... If you can, lets try it out, and you possess me... Better now than in a fight right?"

[Flynn Maidrus]

Well, Clyde’s reasoning was sound. Except for the fact that she wasn’t to be trusted at all. I could’ve been lying. I’m a master at Possession, for all you know. A little part of her sighed. Perhaps this was just Clyde’s character. Flynn tried to drop the frown from her face; his easy acceptance had unnerved her. Well, whatever. She wouldn’t be flabbergasted by his trust any longer. Meeting Clyde’s eyes, she was satisfied that she saw no doubt. Flynn expelled air from the side of her mouth, a sort of wry look on her face. She was going to be sore afterwards. Tracing circles on her arm, as she could already feel it, she waved over a barmaid. “Yes? How may The Silver Silver Tavern service you today?” The waitress’s face seemed tired, yet she put up a chirpy front. Flynn almost felt bad, she wouldn’t want to add strain by shocking the maid by her next action. “I would like to order a mug of Silver Silver,” With this, Flynn manipulated her Soulmist, picking up the gold miza underneath her foot and maneuvered it into the waitress’s hand with a plop. Surprisingly enough, the barmaid asked no questions and took it all in stride, “A ghost, eh? Knew one, once, before it got dusted,” Flynn uttered a sympathetic murmur, A dreadful fate, indeed. “There’s a mug already set out in the back, so it’ll only take a moment.” She scurried off, taking orders along the way. Flynn turned back to Clyde, shrugged, and explained, “I want to do an experiment while I’m possessing you. Personal experience makes it known that the ghost can’t feel pain if the body’s hurt, but I’m still a novice at this, so I was expelled sooner or later, so I don’t know much else.”

[Clyde Sullins]

If Clyde had known what Flynn was thinking, he probably would have disagreed. Under his thinking, either she was telling the truth, and he would learn to better defend himself, or she was lying, and was so powerful at possession that anything he did would be of no consequence. If that was true, then there was little to no point in fighting it, and might as well allow her to try and possess him. It was not that he was to trusting, it was just from his reasoning, he was no worse off regardless of his choice. This way if she was telling the truth, he still got a bit of training in. Clyde watched for a bit, as Flynn called over the barmaid, and ordered a drink. He was not sure what she was up to, but he might as well let her get along with it. He could agree or disagree once he knew what she wanted of him. He was only somewhat surprised at the barmaids response, she had seen a lot in this city, and so just let it go that a ghost was ordering a drink. Money was money. Clyde did wonder a bit on the reference to a ghost being dusted... He was not sure what that meant... He was only a beginner in working with ghosts, so did not know all of the fancy terms yet. He did wonder on what it is she was driving at, and wanting to do, and why she was beating around the bush... "What is it you are wanting to do? It depends on what it is if I will go with it... And you may not be able to control me for to long, I might go along with you for a bit, depending what you are trying to do, but will try to force you out after a while."

[Flynn Maidrus]

Well, Clyde at least seemed somewhat receptive to the idea, instead of outright rejecting it. Flynn shrugged, “It’s nothing big, really. This tavern used to be my favorite, back when I wasn’t dead,” she said, “and Silver Silver used to be my favorite drink. I just wanted to see if ghosts have any senses other than sight and hearing while possessing someone.” Flynn absentmindedly traced the grain of the wood table, thinking. She had some decent Auristic skills when she was alive, getting absorbed in reading auras and their slight intonations. It was fascinating, the way the tendrils had curled inward, how sometimes it was spottily blended around the middle, how it responded to everything. She thought, Like a colorful cat. Flynn remembered how the best people, the most interesting, passionate people, had auras that pulsed and hurt her eyes. She remembered Wes’ aura, how long she had stared at it until it was imprinted into the back of her skull. If she closed her eyes now, she could still see it. She thought of her brother, Quis, and how it was a shame she never got to see his. It was the thing she missed the most about being alive, as now she had lost a form of one-way communication. Now, she could only observe on the surface. But she had heard possessing people had allowed ghosts to use their personal magic once again. With a thump, the barmaid set the mug on the table, “There. Sorry about the delay, this place is getting a little tight," at that, the barmaid easily disappeared back into the crowd of merry-goers. Flynn looked to Clyde, “Well? Any second thoughts?”

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde listened for a bit, as Flynn spoke of her life before her death. Though he did wonder about the whole senses thing... Flynn had said that a ghost could see and hear through the person she was possessing... But wasn't she hearing and seeing now? Come to think of it, how was she seeing and hearing without a body? To be honest it did not really make sense, didn't you need eyes and ears to do so? So what enabled her to do those things, without the relevant body parts?... He could not think of any reason a ghost should be able to, it seemed quite odd... Perhaps it worked in a fashion similar to auristics, as that allowed him to see without using his eyes, to sense through his djed without using his body... Maybe a ghost worked in a similar way, and sensed using their djed emanations... Though that also made Clyde think of something... What did a ghosts aura appear as? Clyde grew quiet for a few moments, focusing his djed, feeling it shift within him... He let out a breath, drawing his power up inside of his skull, and working it through his brain... As he opened his eyes, his vision sparked, and blurred for a few moments, before it shifted, focusing on Flynn... Her aura became visible, though differently than when it was coming from a body... It was said auras looked different to everyone, and each mind interpreted things differently... As her aura came into focus, at first it was a dull grey color, neutral, as most auras were to him at first glance... But then as he focused, the color shifted from the neutral grey color, to a deep jet black... He had never seen a black aura, only colors, or shades of gray... It was a deep black color, reminding him of darkness and death... He could taste something odd upon his tongue... It reminded him of the taste of stale bread, another oddity... he had never tasted an aura before, but supposed it was reflecting the dead nature of her djed, that it was just the way that his mind interpreted her... Stopping the flow of djed, he stopped focusing on her aura, though he had only seen the most basic details, a glance at the aura really, with little information... Clyde looked at her with interest, Clyde nodded to her, though he must have looked odd to her, as he had sat in silence without responding for half a chime... "I suppose it is okay... I will help you take a drink, and go along with you. It should be easier to do if we both work together to do it, and not fight against each other... I can still try to force you out later..."

[Flynn Maidrus]

Flynn had wondered why she had never thought of possessing others for the sake of seeing auras again. Possessing others was a shifty business, she decided, unsettled by the fact that she could take over another person’s body. There was something unnatural about that and it still boggled her and made her uneasy. Plus, Soulmist was a precious commodity and she had other things to waste it on. Auristics had been a interesting part of her living life, but she was dead now, things like that shouldn’t even matter. Still lost in her thoughts, she noted that Clyde was concentrating on something about her. What exactly was he doing...? It didn’t occur to her that he was using Auristics, as she had never seen anyone other than Rom use it, as far as she could tell. And Rom, ever the dignified Nuit, had only let her lingering gaze the only tell-tale sign she was reading someone. Flynn shivered, the Nuit had an uncanny way of grinning when trouble was brewing. But her face softened, Rom was like a mother to her, though Flynn doubted even with her sharp mind, that she knew. She let out a quiet, sad laugh, she had no doubt that the Nuit had transferred over to some pretty girl or other by now, even though Rom had been quite choosy. Odd enough, the Nuit had only chosen those she thought had ‘enjoyed killing,’ probably out of some transgression when Rom was alive. Come to think of it, she had never seen Rom’s true aura, or hers. Flynn had tried many times in the mirror, of course, but she had seen nothing. She had then tried honing her other senses to get a sense of her own aura, but to no avail. Perhaps it would take a higher level Aurist to see their own aura, though she knew that it probably wasn’t possible, no matter how desperately she tried. She hadn’t stooped as low as to ask Rom what she was like, knowing that she wouldn’t approve at all. There are things better left unknown, she had said, and Flynn was inclined to agree. “Alright,” she said to Clyde, “let’s do this. I’m just going to... walk into you, okay? Just relax.” She stood up from her chair, if she was human she would’ve shook, but her Soulmist just swirled, and tried to dispel second thoughts. Two years ago, she would have never done something like this, something she thought transgressed human life.

[Clyde Sullins]

Finally, it seemed, they were going to get started. Still thinking over what he had seen as the ghosts aura, he looked at Flynn with his mundane eyes. She seemed to be a normal ghost, a bit see through in places, and occasionally he body flickering out of vision, so it could not be seen, perhaps as her mind slipped away and stopped concentrating on keeping herself visible. As she said she was going to walk into him, to try and possess him, he tried to calm his body, and open it up. He watched as she approached his form, sitting still, and concentrating his mind... Concentrating on her form, on opening himself... On allowing her in... And once she was in, to try and coincide with what she was doing, to allow them to work together and in conjunction with what Flynn was trying to do, which was to take a drink using his body, and to try and experience its taste through him... Clyde took a deep breath, tasting the air, and calmed himself once more, nodding once more as Flynn approached, ready to be possessed, and take her in.