The Foolish Bard [Aello]

[DraSimon Slade]

Simon was surprised at how helpful she was. He knew that she was hypnotized of course, but most of his targets opted towards despondence and vegetation as opposed to this almost annoying helpfulness. Perhaps my hypnotism didn't take hold and she's playing me as a fool. No . . . that couldn't possibly happen. He tensed slightly; something here felt wrong to him. The bird kept chirping, and the girl was far too helpful. Neither of those should particularly unhinge him, but he could not shake an imposing feeling that something was about to turn against him. I'm probably just jittery from the fight. That's it. There's nothing wrong here. I have everything under control. He recomposed himself as she turned to get her bow. After her barrage of questions, he answered, "Thank you, Aello. My name is DraSimon, but I prefer to be called Simon. I'm not certain who those men were, but I am very thankful to you for coming to save me. I shudder to think of what may have happened had you night been there." I might be laying this on a little thick. Calm down Simon . . . calm down. He continued, "Yes, I am rather new to the area. I've been on the road for many years to get here, but there is no one place in particular that I wish to see." He looked into her eyes as he finished. He did not see the glazed hypnotized look that he wanted to see, and so he pushed his magic on to her. He pushed recklessly. He was unnerved and unused to someone being resistant to his magic. Coupling that with his loss of control during the fight it made him feel as if he was losing all control. And Simon would never stand to lose control.

[Aello]

"Well hello Simon," Aello said as she looked up into his eyes again. She felt a pull instantly. Something she hadn't felt when she had looked away from him before. Yune was chirping in her ear, and Aello turned to her. "Ahh yes, perhaps the Silver Silver would be a good idea," Aello said. She had noticed almost instantly that she didn't feel the same way about Simon when she was looking away from him. In fact, it seemed as though when she wasn't looking into his eyes, hypnotizing her, his growing level of irritation was the only thing she could pick up on. What is going on here? Aello wondered, as she asked, "so do you drink?" There was certainly something a bit off about that man. Aello didn't want him to know though, that she was suspicious. Calmly, the young spiritist began to breathe in through her nose and out through her mouth. She began to concentrate, and within seconds, a dark blue mist could be seen swirling around Simon's body. A dirty gray overlay could be seen around the edges, and the very center of the mist; Simon's aura. As soon as the spiritist had seen enough, she made a point of blinking. The action broke the girl's concentration. Instantly, a wave of exhaustion washed over Aello's body, and she began to grow rather tired. Her eyes felt heavy, and it began to feel as though she were dragging her feet along the ground. The dark blue in the man's aura signified a fear of self-expression and speaking the truth. Now Aello knew for sure, that in some way, Simon was attempting to deceive her. The grey overlay simply confirmed this: he was guarded; hiding something from her? But what? The way he made her feel seemed so familiar, and yet, the girl couldn't figure out why. She knew that she had experienced this before, at some time during her life. She knew it wasn't too long ago, and had to be during her stay in Ravok. What Aello didn't know however, was the name of Simon's game: hypnotize the girl. Aello walked along in silence, her body growing heavier beneath the weight of her belongings, and her magic use. Slowly, her mind was putting together the pieces of the puzzle: don't look at Simon and the two of you are strangers, look at him and you feel like you've known him your whole life, and can trust the guy with everything. But what was the name for such an intense attraction? It wasn't infatuation. She didn't exactly want to jump on him. It wasn't a sort of soul mates thing, because obviously he was not feeling the same about her whenever Simon's gaze met Aello's body. What could it be.... Hypnotism. Aello's eyes grew a little wider. Her irises seemed to fill with fear. Surely you remember the last time in the alley way, how that boy used his magic against you? Aello gulped. Now that she knew, the spell would surely be gone, and yet, she wanted to get him back for that. Soon enough, Aello's right hand was resting against her dagger's hiding place. She was more than ready to take it out again, and get her answers. But perhaps she should wait for Simon to explain himself; now that she knew. Nah! Instantly, Aello dropped her bow, and reached for her blade. Her pale fingers wrapped themselves around the hilt. She turned to him, and grabbed his lapel with her left hand. She twisted it around her fingers, tightening her hold. Her right hand was raised so that the tip of her blade rested against his neck. "And just what were you trying to do, hypnotist?" Aello hissed. Her eyes flashing menacingly. She was not someone that people should try and take advantage of. This was something Simon was surely about to find out.

[DraSimon Slade]

Simon fought the urge to jump. Hypnotist? How does she know? Maybe I've been too careless. He forcibly pushed the magic out of his system and looked into her eyes. She was close - very close. Part of him knew that this could end badly. He had seen her reach for her knife. He knew what she could do to people, but he was not worried. If anything, he was annoyed at how close she was. He could tell that his original hold was broken, but the anger that had broken the hold also left her open to more options. He raised his hands to grab her wrists. It was not gently this time. He wanted her to feel rage. He looked into her eyes and pushed anger on her. It was already there. She was almost fuming. All he did was take it, amplify it, and redirect it for a moment at her. He knew that it wouldn't buy him much time, but it might be enough. He pushed her away from him. He may not have seemed to be the strongest person, but carrying a rather large instrument across an entire continent had given him some impressive upper body strength. He spun away from her even as her hold was breaking and ran down the alley. He should be safe in a crowd. The alley ended and emptied into a bustling main street - just as he had hoped. He pulled his rather distinctive coat off of his back and pushed his way into the crowd. Once he was farther in, he reversed his coat (the inside was a dull cream) and put it on. It was not an attractive look by far, but it should hide him. Zlynge! I need to be more careful! She could have killed me there! he thought to himself, and then adopted a bit of a limp for good measure.

[Aello]

"Get. Off," Aello growled as his fingers dug into her slender wrists. His flesh seemed to press into her long green veins, causing them to bulge at the edges as she tried to inch her dagger back alongside the man's neck. She was going to slit it, no matter what. Slade's blood would line her cursed blade along with all the other nameless ones. Aello kept on trying to put her dagger back into place, but the hypnotist was apparently, stronger than he looked. Finally, with one strong push, Slade cast Aello away. The girl went stumbling backwards. "Get back here you bastard!" Aello hissed, as she regained her footing. She would not be made a fool of, after all. But of course, as soon as she had firmly planted her feet back on the ground, she noticed Slade had fled. Ohhh where did he get to now? Aello wondered as she looked left and right. She heard footsteps moving away from her towards her right. "Come on Yune," Aello called as she darted down the alley after him. "We must remove a hypnotist from the streets." The girl's arms were bent at the elbow. With each step forward with her right foot, the left arm swung forward. With each step with the left, her right swung forward, propelling her through the air and towards her target. The bloodied blade hissed as it sliced through little more than air. It seemed to long for Slade's blood as much as the girl did. When Aello reached the end of the alley, she found a crowd of people. Ohhhh come on, we want to kill someone! Get out of the way you lot! She stopped dead in her tracks and surveyed the crowd, trying to find Slade. Her eyes narrowed as she looked from left to right and then back again. But she couldn't spot him. "So the hypnotist escapes... for now. Doesn't he Yune?" Aello whispered to her bird who said nothing. Aello slipped her dagger back into concealment. "That's probably a good thing for him though, for if he ever crosses us again, we won't so much as hesitate before we skin him. Chop off his head and hang it from the top of a tree. Steal everything on his person, let the blood stain our dagger." Aello smiled wickedly. Her eyes were flashing. No one tried to hypnotize her and got away with it. At least, not in the long run. Aello turned abruptly on her heels and disappeared into the shadows lining the nearest alley way. OOCI refuse to have my pc chase you around the city. So yes, you got away for now. Please note, however, should Aello see you again, she is not kidding. She will try to kill you, especially now that her magic is beginning to consume her more and more.

[Verilian]

DraSimon Slade +1 Harp +2 Busking +1 Singing +4 Hypnotism +1 Unarmed Combat/Brawling (whichever you prefer) +1 Dagger Lores: Trying to Please the Crowd, Being Stalked, Saved by the Damsel, The Spell Broken, How to Make an Enemy Aello +2 Archery +4 Dagger +1 Intimidation +1 Auristics Lores: Imaginary Stalker, Chasing your Demons, Starting Fights... And Then Finishing Them, Hypnotist Magnet, The Hypnotist's Aura, Breaking the Spell, Vendetta You Question My Logic? : Okay, so a lot of xp running around here. DraSimon got lots of performing related xp, and some hypnotism, Aello got lots of dagger xp. If you feel I left anything out or short handed you in any way, please let me know. Notes: A good read. I did have one thing I wanted to point out. DraSimon, as a novice hypnotist, you only have the ability to affect one person at a time. I think at one point you mentioned hypnotizing the crowd, but you do not yet have that kind of power. Other than that, I enjoyed the thread thoroughly and look forward to seeing what happens between you two in the future.