Post by Rain on Jul 15, 2012 0:46:44 GMT -6
The presence had startled her. Of course she sensed it coming- she had every sense peeled to spot an enemy before she was spotted. What confused her was that even though she could feel it, she couldn’t see it. A visual scan of her surroundings gave no better clue. Even behind her she could not see it. It came closer, but if it was not in front, and not behind, then where-
It’s kinda funny, actually. Most people don’t ever think to-
‘Look up,’ she remembered, before she did just that.
It was… a black creature. A bird? No, the movement was not right. It was not fast, but she put her hand on the handle of her tongun anyway, just in case. When it stopped to face level, she saw that was not a regular heartless. It was black with… a white face? She focused on the color difference to make eye contact.
You don't seem like you're from around here, kupo. What's your name, kupo?
The girl blinked and faltered. It spoke? Then definitely not a heartless, but... if it spoke, then that meant its heart was more complicated, like a human’s. So why could she only lightly feel it? She focused in again, getting no better results. Why? Why couldn’t she sense what this… creature was feeling? How else was she supposed to know if this thing was going to try to attack her? Well there was one other way. It would not be a perfect evaluation, and it would make fighting difficult, but it was better than being left in the dark. She took a few wary steps back and pulled out the folded glasses from the neck of her sweater, and quickly slid them on, bringing the strange creature into focus. Then she had the answer to her question: his eyes were closed.
She would have sighed in relief, if she had not been distracted by the appearance. A white face, a big round nose, and a little… red cotton ball on the antenna. What a bizarre looking creature. And the fact that it was wearing a black coat just made it funny. But it was small, like a stuffed toy. She had an urge to bat at the red ball bouncing around. What was it doing here? It was so out of place. Well, then again, she did not exactly look like a heartless either. Most likely why this creature was questioning her presence too. She smiled despite herself. “No, I guess I don’t look like I am. I’m Kir- Ah, no, wait,” she said quickly. “Rain. My name is Rain.”
Is that what everyone calls you, kupo?
Rain gaped, caught off guard by the follow-up question. Why would he ask for something like that? Was he “rain” too suspicious? Well it didn’t sound like a real name. Not like “Kiri”. Or, if she felt adventurous, Kiri with a “y”, which… all right, it was not really different at all, but it was kind of an alias. One she had fun with, anyway.
C’mon then, Heart! Time t’-
She smiled, though it was strained. “Yep. Just Rain.”
That's a good boy name, kupo. You are a boy, are you not, kupo?
She gaped in shock at the question. A boy? No, no way, she didn’t look that ugly for a girl. Or was it because she was carrying her weapons? Oh, that had to be it. Her brow twitched. That annoying little plush toy needed to open his stupid eyes and pay attention to who he was talking too. Yeah, maybe girl fighters weren’t common, and she wasn’t the prettiest girl in the world, but this was just insulting.
“No, actually, I’m not.” She struggled to keep her smile friendly. “I’m a girl.”
Apparently, you cannot tell when I am joking, kupo. You must be an old man with no sense of humor, kupo. How old are you, anyway, kupo?
‘Old man!?’ Now she knew how a fair-haired boy felt. She had a perfectly good sense of humor! Just because he was blind and she just so happened to be proud of her accomplishments with her own gender did not give him the right to call her that! She was going to take her tongun and smash it right over it’s-
Rain took a deep breath. Calm, she was calm, and able to handle this. She slowly released it. It was too dark to tell. That’s all it was. He was not insulting her. (At least, he had better not be.) He was just asking for age. She glanced down at her body and fiddled with the end of her sweater. Could she get away with telling everyone how old she actually was? She did not see why not. It was not as though her growth stunt was that obvious. It was only by a year anyway.
“I’m sixteen,” she said, barely managing to keep the irritation out of her voice. “But I’m stronger than I look, so I’m fine out here on my own.”
You are the funniest moogle I have ever seen, kupo. What sort of creature are you?
She blinked in bemusement. Moogle? What was a moogle? Then Rain belatedly figured that must have been what this creature was. The name was as funny as the creature itself.
“I’m…”
Don’t! Don’t come any closer!
A monster. For a little while she had been able to push it out of her mind, but it had come back with a vengeance. She was… not what she appeared. To anyone seeing her, she was a normal girl. It should not have worried her, then, to say that she was “human”. But those little traits she had to hide, and her need to stay far away from a camera kept her from embracing the term. She still feared looking into a mirror with her glasses on. She was something that was better off locked up and kept away from people, and could never be called human. Problem was, she had no name for herself. After all, she had nothing else to compare herself too.
But so long as she kept people away, and no one could sense the darkness, they would be none the wiser.
“I’m human,” she said listlessly before she smiled slightly. “Isn’t it obvious?”
Well of course I can't see you very well, with you standing in the shadows like that. How could I tell what you look like?
Just like she thought. In a dark place like this, it would have been hard to tell. She stepped forward, already knowing that she was not anything impressive. Not at first glance anyway.
Thin, long limbed and slightly awkward. Tall, but a face like a child’s. Plain brown hair, plain brown eyes. As a friend put it once: she was easily lost in the background. Once upon a time, she had been a straight A student, so she could have at least said she was smart, but she did not even have that anymore. Even if her blue, oval-framed glasses still made her look the part. She wore brown knee high boots, a long beige sweater that looked like a tunic, and black shorts. There was a drawstring bag hanging off her shoulders, right below the black handles of her tonguns peeking out over her sweater. The black bag was almost shockingly heavy, since it was filled with her tools as well as her little personal belongings, but nothing she could not handle.
Hmm... and where do you hail from?
A place of destinies, or so it claimed. A place of light, and warmth. A place where smiles were default and laughter was abundant. A place where there were no worries, no dangers. A haven of safety. Before she came along. A place she would never see again, and could never call her own. Destiny Islands. What was once her home; what was once her prison.
“I don’t know.” She shrugged lightly. “I’ve been wandering for so long, I’ve forgotten where I started from.”
That was the story she had to stick with anyway. Maybe, if given long enough, it would be the truth.
I see... That weapon you have there. What is it?
It was like someone flipped her switch. “Oh, so you noticed.” And her smile returned as she reached back and slid the rods from the place holder under her sweater. She twirled the handles and moment and held them in a ready position, filling with pride. “I made them myself. I call them “tonguns”.”
A pair of tonfas that were hollow like the barrel of a gun. Her belt of knives crisscrossed over her torso under her sweater, ready to be stuffed into the weapons at a moment’s notice. They were her pride and joy, but also what made her the most self conscious. They were created by a novice, and it showed. The barrels were not smooth, the welding was a joke, and the springs were still touchy, despite her improvements. She still had a few bugs to work out, but they were effective... for a while. They were not very good at taking a beating for very long, which made her still try to think of a way to borrow a factory’s forge. She would rather not break and enter into a building she was not familiar with.
She also had a dagger strapped to her thigh, though that was more for immediate attacks, just in case she needed to strike out quickly. (Like, for example, of something had managed to sneak up on her.) It was not something she brought out often, but held a lot of sentimental value for her.
A nice weapon... but it's only as good as its owner. Do you know any techniques?
“Well…” She twisted the toe of her boot and glanced down at them. “I wouldn’t say “techniques” exactly…” It was not as though she ever sat down to actually name all of her “moves”. Did she have “moves”? Now that she thought about it, she supposed she could say she did. She smiled charmingly. “I have pretty good kicks though, if I do say so myself.”
Focused Kick- [Duration- One post –Cooldown- Two post]
A basic technique, but good enough to crack a rib or send an opponent back a few meters. This is thanks both to her strength, and the fact that she wears steel-toed boots.
“Though I am pretty fast,” she admitted.
Basic combo- [Duration- One Post—Cooldown- One Post]
Three strikes in one: one across the head, one across the body, and an uppercut. If the final strike hit, it was a good move to keep opponents at bay. But if someone was familiar with her patterns and managed to move back in time to avoid the strikes, then it left her vulnerable for a moment. Though these were child’s play for her, and could keep them up without a problem.
“Actually, I’ve gotten pretty good at following up with my strikes.”
Extended Combo- [Duration- One post—Cooldown three posts]
Ten rapid strikes in one: Head, shoulders, chest, stomach, two diagonals across the torso, two strikes to the side of the legs, and one final uppercut. Her goal is to reach a “dozen”, but at seven, she loses precision, and as it is, ten is already pushing her forced speed.
“Ah, wait!” Rain said suddenly, and brought her tonguns together. The butt end of one had a locking mechanism, and she stuck the two together and twisted until it clicked. The handles were perpendicular, resembling a blunt, double-ended scythe. “Neat, huh? It’s handy for when I need a little more power.”
Or, out of ammunition. When that happened, it was time to bring out the big gun. She could still fire out of one end if she wanted, but the length made it cumbersome and rather pointless. No, this worked better as a metal staff that gave her a better reach. Though truth be told, she had only started learning how to use it recently, and needed practice with it. She untwisted it and loaded them back into place.
“Nothing impressive,” she smiled innocently. “Just a few tricks to keep me going.”
Reading [Duration- Indefinite-- Cooldown- None]
Rain can feel the presence of hearts nearby, and as a result, any individuals in the vicinity. At this point she’s gotten used to it, and has a habit of tuning out the signals. The eyes of another person are a window to the soul, and allow her to read the darkness and emotions in people's hearts. However, if she reads too deeply, others will feel the effects of her probing, and usually react negatively. She can avoid this by wearing her glasses, clearing her vision enough to see the hearts inside of an individual, but it makes reading emotions trickier. At the moment, she avoids wearing them unless working with her tools.
Healing [Duration- Indefinite—Cooldown- 0-10 posts]
Burns, bruises, or any injury inflicted by spell or brute force affects Rain normally, but cannot be healed by potion, hi-potion, panacea, elixir, or any other type of medicine. However, any lacerations or injury that pierces the skin will heal instantly. Depending on how critical and how often the injuries, the process will exhaust Rain at a much faster rate.
E.i., paper cut= no effect
moderate slash= prevent actual techniques for 2 posts
deep slash/impalement= prevention for four posts
Any wounds that would separate a normal human body will be healed, but leaves her vulnerable for two posts, and leave her unable to perform advanced techniques for the rest of the battle.
Hmm... Being here you must surely have a past. Can you tell me about it?
Her smile dropped. Oh no. Of course this moogle would be interested in her now. She just had to go show off like that. She couldn’t help it- it was a chance to finally tell someone else about what she could do. But now what was she supposed to say?
“Well, I already told you I had been wandering,” she hedged. “I’ve been lost for a long time now.”
Because she could not explain her past if she tried. Before, she had just been a normal girl, someone who got up and went to school, played with friends, with her only really worries being the best grade on a test. And one year ago, she lost almost everything. She went to bed one night, and next morning she could barely walk straight, she could not write, she could not do anything she could do before. She could not even talk, and she hardly responded to anyone, which made everyone think she had lost her memories. She jumped at her own shadow, ran from mirrors, could not sleep, refused to eat, and had an odd trait of looking into someone’s eyes, or refusing to make eye contact, depending on her mood. But Rain only knew this from other people’s accounts, because truth be told, she did not remember any of it. She only learned this later, and wrote it down for the sake of keeping track of her life. The strange thing that had always made her wonder was that all of these strange things began the very same day Sora and Riku had gone missing from the islands.
After only a couple of weeks after that, she had snapped and ran straight from school. Apparently she had gone all the way across the island to the industrial side, where the network of factories settled. That’s where she met Ilaran and-
Wait… how had that really happened? She could not remember. All she had was his account, but was it even the truth? Now that she thought about it, it seemed plausible, but could that have been a lie?
No, she realized quickly. If it was, she would not have as much satisfaction from sweeping that she did. At least he had not lied to her about that. Slightly placated, Rain got back on track.
“But, I’ve been working to find my way again. It hasn’t been easy.”
Since everyone was obsessed with trying to get her back to “normal”. Back to how she had been before, at least. And she truly tried, for both everyone else’s sake, and her own. But before long she realized she started acting like her old self, she was not truly her old self. Whatever had happened had changed her for good, in many ways. But while most kids her age could change, and just attribute it to puberty, anything she did that was different from her old self was attributed to her “amnesia”. And after a while, it was tiring, hearing the constant “you’ll get better” like it was an illness. So she shut down in school, at home, any place where people were familiar with the “old her”. If she did not say anything, people looked over her, preventing any mistakes on her part. She could still play the role of the sweet, obedient daughter. She had done it before, after all. This time was no different.
The only time she spoke up, and acted how she wanted was when she went back to the factory every day after school, where there was no “old Kiri” for people to compare. She was probably one of the few people that truly enjoyed going to that noisy, boring place. She quickly befriended Ilaran, the newest worker there, and one that was always under scrutiny because of his androgyny. (Truth be told, some of the workers wondered if they now had two girl workers instead of just one…)
Of course, not everything good could last forever. She had been going off alone to the factory. Even after she had finally learned how to speak again a few weeks later, all she said was that she had gotten a part-time job without saying where, and it was not until couple more weeks that her best friend Cherryll followed her to the factory. But Cherryll had seen the burly workers, all men, (well, to her eyes, anyway) looking no better than thugs. But it was only worse when she spotted Rain with Ilaran, the tallest worker in the factory. Most likely the tallest inhabitant on the whole island. So when she went back home to Rain’s family, everyone there feared for the poor, scared little girl going into such a dangerous place. So they arranged for her to walk with Cherryll to the candy shop that she worked in, and wait for her parents to come home after work.
But what the others had not known was that Ilaran had discovered the truth of her “symptoms”: that she had not lost her memories, but merely her motor functions, and went through the more thorough process of getting Rain on the right track of normalcy. But most of all, from the sound of her early entries, she had actually had fun learning with him. But once she stopped seeing him, she fell back into the habit of shutting down around other people. But this time she did not have an escape to let herself out each day. She went back to school lessons she could no longer understand, with friends that she no longer knew how to talk to, and a family that still viewed her as someone that needed to go back to how she was “before”. When everyone tried to help her, she felt the sting of not meeting their standards. They smiled and encouraged her, but she could see into their hearts and could see the disappointment and frustration from her lack of progress. She knew she was failing them. Little by little, her frustration at herself, everyone around her, and at the situation grew, until she ran again, back to the factory.
That was when Ilaran gave her a proposition, one that almost scared her, but her desperation to keep learning made her agree. Because this kind soul was not looking to get her “back to normal”. He was trying to help her “grow”. That first night she snuck out of her house, she was terrified. She never could sleep at night, and walking through the element that terrified her most made her wonder if she would rest in her grave early. The sight of the factory at night scared her even more, but the lights were on, the gate was open, and she went in. But when she opened the door to see the giant worker singing and dancing through the empty building, sweep her into a clumsy dance, and celebrate her arrival, she lost all fear. Her curiosity got the better of her when he revealed that he was actually a blacksmith, and had been staying later in the factory to test out all of the metals the factory could get a hold of. She came back every night from then on.
“I don’t really get along with people too much.” She shrugged and smiled sheepishly. “So I don’t have many friends. I’m a bit of a wall flower.”
In the freedom of the empty factory, Rain could learn even more under his tutelage. It started when she had told him that she was still ashamed of all the things she still could not do. So he took the time to teach her everything the same way he had taught her to speak. Running, jumping, dancing (well, she was not really great at that one) and even showing her a few skills from his blacksmithing trade, just because she asked. When she learned how to control her body again, she discovered that she was stronger than she had been before. And as Ilaran quickly realized, unnaturally stronger than a normal fifteen year old girl. Though he only told her this later, he started teaching her more than he normally would have, testing her limits and boundaries. High endurance, impressive strength, and nearly jaw-dropping speed. She healed at a normal rate, which meant having to hide her injuries from the others. Each night she seemed to grow, her potential almost seemed limitless since every night she could do more than before, accomplishing one impressive feat after another. But this only lasted less than a month. Though they kept up the training, there was a point she could not seem to get over. Ilaran had a theory that she had this power inside of her since this strange event happened, though she could not tap into it until she regained control of her body. But whatever this was kept her from improving, and he admitted that he did not think she would ever get stronger than this particular point. Rain was not concerned. She was already stronger than a normal human, and even though she was still not sleeping at night, she was no longer as afraid as she used to be. Excited and exuberant, she planned how she could show her family what she could do, and be let back to the factory.
That was when Ilaran slowed her down, and explained to her that such a thing was not a good idea. That although her strength could be a true benefit, sometimes people could take things a certain way. Reminding her of the time Cherryll got the wrong idea of the factory workers, he explained that her power made her seem even more dangerous. Though her family would trust her, other people might be a different story. Remembering how much her parents hated fighting thanks to the incident with her brother, Rain realized that showing them these new abilities could be just as bad. So Ilaran sat her down, and asked her to tell him what had happened that night before this had happened. Before the night Sora and Riku had gone missing. But try as she might, Rain could tell him nothing. She reached back into her memory as best she could, but she could not even remember when she first woke up. She could not even remember when she first ran off and found Ilaran in the factory, even though she easily remembered a couple of days after that when she had returned a second time, and had gotten the job as a sweeper.
It was at that point Ilaran suggested she keep a journal, because the further her mind tried to push out the key event, the more she was at risk of forgetting. As it was, it left the both of them with nothing to figure out what had happened. She finally told him all of her strange traits, since she had kept them secret from him before, and when he learned everything, he seemed to take it all in good stride. Except when she revealed that her family had discovered by accident that she was immune to medicine. Potions, panacea, and elixirs were completely useless on her. The moment he learned this, it was like a personality switch. He immediately insisted that he would be teaching her self-defense, and would not stop until she could block an attack without even thinking about it. Because even though there was no immediate danger on the island, her immunity put her in a precarious situation. He tried to comfort her, saying that whatever happened, it was like her mind was protecting itself, but now she had to deal with the consequences of it, and she could probably count herself lucky that she did not have to suffer nightmares because of it. Of course, that only reminded her that she had not had a single dream since this whole thing had started.
“But, I’ve gotten a lot stronger since I’ve started. I hope to get even stronger.”
Around that point, Rain finally abandoned wearing her glasses during the day time, as the sight of the hearts, and the eyes slowly unsettled her more and more. After the novelty wore off, she found she could tune out the signatures of the hearts around her, letting her ignore their presence. After that, it was a new discovery after another. Or perhaps a “realization” was the better term. Things that she realized and picked up along the way. She only told these things to Ilaran, because they were things that were so strange, she dared not trust anyone else with them. Sleeping at night was still nearly impossible, she could no longer eat or drink, she had stopped growing completely, and every time she looked into a mirror, she saw a strange phenomena she could not explain. But because of it, she had not seen her reflection since before this whole thing started, even though no one else seemed to see the same thing she did. Ilaran had the idea to take a picture of her, and let her see herself that way. But then they discovered that a snapshot revealed what she had been seeing in a mirror all along, and naturally, they both realized that it was impossible to let anyone capture a picture of her, or else it would cause a serious scare. They had no choice but to accept that whatever had happened, meant she was no longer human. Of course, this was something that Rain had already suspected and dreaded, because of all the hearts she read, hers was the only one she could not see. The only thing Ilaran could not understand was why she exuded an aura of darkness when she had no dark powers to speak of. And they knew this was fact- she had tried.
“I’m sorry, I’m afraid I don’t have much to say,” she finally said. “I’m afraid I’m not that interesting of a person.”
She could not even say all those things with complete conviction anyway. Unfortunately, the only reason she knew about all of these early happenings was because of her journal. A special book that was sealed with two locks, and no doubt the most important thing in her possession. Because one of the “discoveries” included the fact that she could only hold memories for three months after that mysterious night. So she was sure to focus on what she needed: ignoring school work and trying to ingrain all of Ilaran’s teachings into her muscle memory. His lessons were the only things she had to combat the mysterious and persistent terror that gripped her heart every night. The unusual persistence made her break down once, and that was when he told her about other worlds in the far reaches of the sky, and of heroes that had faced even greater odds and come out on top. It reminded Rain of a boy she had not seen in months, someone she found herself wondering and worrying about. And she wondered, briefly, what would he have done if he had been in her shoes. Ashamed, inspired, and determined, Rain began pushing back just as hard, his words of keeping herself alive striking a deep cord in her, and she soaked in every bit he could teach her. Defense came first, dodging came next, and only after that did he try to teach her attacking. But it was dangerous to be within a fray, especially considering her sight handicap, so he decided to teach her how to use a long distance weapon. After much debate, practicing, and testing, Rain decided that a rifle was not her personal preference, and despite the danger, she felt better having something in her hand and making direct hits. So they made a compromise, which ultimately resulted in her learning how to properly wield a knife, and the creation of her tonguns.
So she kept her head down during the day time, and at night she flourished, learning weapon making and conquering her fears, trusting no one except Ilaran. Until he abandoned her, right when Sora and Riku had returned to the islands. He never told her why he had left, only that something had happened out there, and that he needed to investigate. And that she was not ready to leave yet, and needed to stay here, where it was safe. He said he had stayed too long, that he did not belong in that world any more. He promised he would return, that he would come and take her off the islands to see the worlds he always spoke of. But he the timing of his departure and their return was a little uncanny, and unsettled her. As well as the fact that it was not just Kairi that was different, but the other two as well. She stayed back, out of detection and avoided confrontation. No matter how tempted she was to talk with them. To talk with him. Because she had seen how much he changed from how she remembered him, and she wondered, briefly, if he had shut down too. So she stayed back, keeping the secret in her heart and far away from him.
But the people around her could no longer ignore Rain not catching up in her schoolwork, and her family and the school decided to get her a tutor. This tutor was friendly, and through an unforeseen series of circumstances, drew Rain into her group of friends. Gradually, the girl started going out with them every Saturday. They hung out, and had fun, and for a few hours every weekend, she felt almost normal. In a turn of irony, Claire, a girl that Rain had bullied for a little while in elementary school, also was in that group of friends. Going by her alias, Rain befriended her, and the two became cordial acquaintances. In the group, everyone had fun. Yet she spent her nights alone. She kept up her training, refusing to let herself lose everything she had worked for. She taught herself as much as she could, using the spring board of his training as a base. She still went to the factory every night, and recorded as much as she could in her journal.
“But I’m not too worried.” She gave a wan smile, despite the heartache memory lane brought her down again. Well, metaphorical heartache. She clasped her hands behind her. “I’m used to being on my own anyway.”
Because she learned the hard way that she had no one to rely on but herself. When there was a new intruder, a girl who called herself Trinity. She told Rain that she belonged to Trinity, that she was nothing more than a weapon that had forgotten her place. And that she found her here because Ilaran had told her about her and led her here.
Rain refused to believe her. She fought her off, discovering that the mysterious girl was not much of a fighter at all. She kept her away, knowing that whatever the true story was still made things more complicated. Trinity did not attack again for a while, and Rain began to seriously question Ilaran’s absence, and the truth of his motives. Even her training started to be seen in a more sinister light, because as time passed, and her loneliness grew, the darkness fed her anger, and made her unstable.
Meanwhile, during the day an unexpected development occurred: a boy had asked her out. Not even one of the new friends she had made, but a classmate that had happened to see her yell at someone in public. Rain liked the idea of someone still liking her even after blowing up at someone in an “unKiri- like” fashion. So she agreed, and decided that if it was even a small chance of someone actually liking her for her, then she had nothing to lose. Little by little, she let him see more and more of her odd idiosyncrasies, and her dark humor and pessimistic opinions and attitude, yet he still stayed with her, unperturbed and accepting of everything. And for even longer, Rain felt normal, and she started liking him back. Other girls were jealous, because he was actually fairly popular since he was good looking on top of being kind, though he and Kiri only laughed about it, since she was half-blind and could not see his face over half the time they were together, and because he had started adopting her dark sense of humor anyway.
Claire, however, was certainly not blind, and had her eye on him for a while. Though she did not want to outright take him from Kiri, she still did not stop herself from flirting, grooming herself whenever she was going to see him, or striking up conversation when she could. Kiri held back her jealousy, figuring Claire might have liked him, but not daring to risk a repeat of the disaster in grade school. After all, she had wanted to keep things at a casual distance for a while, and he had been the one to ask her first.
But something must have clicked between Claire and Widhan when Rain was not paying attention, because she had the benefit of overhearing his praise for Claire. This was right after Claire had told him she was interested in him, so Rain had to benefit of putting two and two together before he even had a chance to end it with her. But Rain could have lived with that. She would have been fine with it. Saddened, but fine with it- if it wasn’t for Claire’s resulting attitude. It drove Rain to commit something she considered a heinous, unspeakable crime. And thanks to her, there was one less inhabitant on the Island. A girl that was kind, sweet, beautiful, and had everything going for her was now gone, lost forever to the darkness because of Rain. And, as Trinity had so kindly put it, without even a body left behind for her family.
And things went from bad to worse, when fate decided to bring Cherryll as a witness- no, it wsa not fate, but terrible, horrible luck that brought the cursed freak fog that had brought all the players together in the first place. Trinity knew Rain would not be able to stay after that, and persuaded her to come with her willingly. Rain told her to come to the factory that night.
Rain told her family the truth of what she was, that night. They reacted differently than she was afraid of, but in some ways so much worse. So she left, faking her suicide and going to meet Trinity. The moment they went into the realm of darkness, Rain battled Trinity again, knowing that wherever she had intended to take her would not be in her best interest. She defeated her again and ran, where she now wandered this infernal Realm. Because of what she was, there was nothing to be “lost” to the Darkness. But when she uses her ability to open a Door to a world, a little bit of herself will be taken, deteriorating until she is gone.
But of course, she will not realize it happening until she is too far gone.
Then answer this... what kind of person are you really?
“Hm…” she looked up, and tilted her head thoughtfully. “That’s a good question.”
If her classmates and family were to describe her, they would say she was quiet. That she was mousey and timid, and that she was too nice for her own good. Always defending others, even if they did something wrong to her. In way, all of that was true. It was how she acted, anyway. It was only at night she was free of worries. She quiet because she could not talk to anyone, without risk of revealing herself. She ducked away from people to keep them away, so that they would not feel the unconscious revulsion to her darkness. She went out of her way to be kind to others, so no one would have anything bad to say about her. Which was useful to have in a tight spot.
All right, so she might have used the image to her advantage a couple times. A few. More than several… could not have been too much more than a couple dozen… well, they were emergency situations, she needed cover. It wasn’t like she had hurt anyone on purpose, she just did what was required to get what she needed. That 200 munny she won in the bet was totally necessary.
“I guess I am pretty quiet.” She finally said. “I can read people pretty well. And I don’t really do well in crowds.”
At night, she was snarky, teasing, playfully flirting. She could be a practical chatterbox. And if she was angry, she had no problem with screaming back. Or beating the stuffing out of any training pillar that was standing in front of her. It was a better method than finding a person anyway. She had been told she could get pretty scary when angered. That person might have just been teasing her, though.
At the reminder, Rain realized that she actually had not been like that for a while. She spent nights alone, and she had found it hard to trust people again to be herself with. The last time she tried, it had ended in disaster. She supposed she had gotten more quiet since then. She had developed the habit of humming to herself, in the silence, after wandering on her own for so long. She could get lost in her own thoughts, if she was not careful. A walk around could easily turn into a stroll that lasted over an hour. And thanks to her time with a certain odd traveler, she found herself thinking of things and ideas that others could call strange. Her way of viewing the world were certainly different than a normal girl’s. She could tell that just from seeing the people around her.
The one thing that was true for both times as that she cried easily. And was happy quickly. She could fall into a very dark depression and a bouncy elation, with violent rage and calming content. She was an emotional rollercoaster all on her own. She was still a thinker, but tended to react almost instantly.
What she could not know was how that was going to change now that she was out here.
So then, what side do you affiliate with?[/color][/b]
“Side?” Something flickered across her face. “What do you mean “side”? I’m not- that is…” She shook her head. “Why do you have to make “sides”? It’s not like we’re-“ Enemies…
Don’t! Don’t come any closer!
She pushed her trembling fingers together as her mind came to terms with this. Everyone had enemies of some kind. She wanted to say “good” so badly. But she knew she couldn’t. She was something dangerous that needed to be kept away from people. “I’m not fighting with anyone. I… like to help people. But I’m on my own.”
Every strength is wielded for a reason. What are your dreams and aspirations?
“My… dreams?”
A time that seemed so long ago, she could say with complete conviction what her dream was. She wanted off the Island, to go to all those places Ilaran told her about. She wanted to do something with her power, make herself a hero instead of a monster to be feared. Maybe if she could prove herself, she would stop being afraid of the dark. But now that wish seemed even more foolish, selfish, and impossible.
What did she want now? She still wanted off the island, to see for herself. But she was already there. And yet...
“A far off place.” She finally murmured. With a heavy heart she looked to the floor, holding onto her arms. “I want to see every place. Maybe I’ll find one with people like me. Who will welcome anyone. Where they’ll be happy to see me. For me.” She blinked back the tears already forming. “I want… to remember. If I’m really who I think I am. Some aspirations, right?”
Though it seems trivial, perhaps you should tell me what you like?
“Taking pictures,” she said instantly, and smiled a bit, feeling a little relief as her eyes managed to stay dry. “So I can keep track of everyone, and remember everything. I like caramel chews. They’re sweet, and little. I don’t have to worry about eating a few at a time. And tidepools. They’re beautiful to look at, especially at night. Although, I still love blacksmithing.” She chuckled a little. “I probably don’t look like the type, right? But I made everything myself. I had to. And I had a lot of fun doing it, too. I’d love to learn more. But…” her smile faltered. “That’s not really possible for me.”
Assuming you're telling the truth, then you surely must have dislikes. Do you care to reveal those?
Her hands slid down and she clasped her hands in front. “I don’t like lying about how you feel. It’s one of the things that really bothers me. That’s probably why I’m a little too frank with people. Not everyone likes it, but I’d rather let them know everything, since I always find out the truth myself. It’s fair, I think.”
Which really did not help her much. Since she had to lie about everything else. Maybe it was compensation.
“I… don’t like seeing other people hurting.” She fidgeted. “I guess I could say I’m sensitive to other’s feelings, and whenever I see someone’s sad or hurt or scared, I… well, I guess you could just say I’m a bleed heart.”
The ultimate empathizer. Conflicting with someone who sometimes could take joy in other’s pain. It was a headache, and exhausting, in some situations.
Interesting. Do you acknowledge your weaknesses?
Rain’s brow furrowed in confusion, and she pushed her fingers together in a wheel. Now that she thought about it, she realized she did not really know her weak points at all. She knew her defense was pretty solid. It was probably a lot better than her attacking, but did that mean her offense was weak? But she knew she was pretty fast, and her punches weren’t exactly something to laugh at… well, her aiming could still use some work, she supposed. At close range combat, she was literally fighting blind, but she had gotten better with that. Well, not perfect. She did not know how far she still needed to go with that.
“Um… Well, I get sleepy during the day,” she said as she tilted her head in confusion. “Does that count?”
Though now that she thought about it… she had come to prefer overcast days since last year… and though she was afraid of the night, she found herself disliking the harsh light of the day. And that one time she had looked directly into Kairi’s heart, where there was only light to be found…
She winced at the memory, the phantom pain still affecting her. But still, it was nothing worth worrying about. Right?
“Not really anything I can think of.” She shrugged.
Weaknesses are strong when they are acknowledged. I'm sure you have strengths as well...
Rain looked away a bit worriedly. But, if one did not know their own weaknesses? What did that make them?
“Strength? I’m not sure, exactly. I feel strong after I’ve warmed up… I know I’m fast. I’m stronger than a normal person. Well, I guess my best strength is understanding people,” she shrugged a little helplessly. “Which doesn’t help me much. Nothing really impressive. Just enough to hold my own.”
Even after all of this progress. She smiled a little sadly. “There was a boy, once. Someone I had liked for a long time. Maybe in a way I still do. He was strong. Confident. Nothing ever stood in his way. And when it did, he knocked it right down. He almost never lost. I wanted to be like him, for a while. So sure of myself, the way he felt about himself. I never got there, but if it wasn’t for him, I probably never would have gotten this far. So I guess he was my strength for a while. But I’ll have to find a new one, now. When I find it, I’ll let you know.”
I never would have guessed, kupo! So, tell me, kupo.. What's the secret password, kupo?
Rain’s smile dropped, and she flared into a minor panic. Password? There was a password for this? Was this some test? Did he confuse her for someone else? Is that why he was asking all these questions? Her mind raced, trying to catch up with this. Her friend had never mentioned this. Any password she was supposed to know to travel through this place. She put a hand over her sternum, a habit that she had yet to break, despite the fact that her heart was not actually racing. How was she going to-
Her fingers clenched around the pendant lying on her sternum under her sweater. Password… to gain entrance. No, her friend had told it to her, she just had not realized it. She straightened, and looked back at the Moogle evenly.
“The password… is BLOCKED.”
__________________________________________________________
I am running out of time here, but before I must go, how did you find your way here?
Through affiliates. Originally went to KHRPF and found my way here.
Cbox/User Name: oncefognowrain
Current Characters Accepted: N/A
I'd like to make a little note: Yes, I wanted her to be from Destiny Islands, and yes, I have my reasons, but I never intended for her to have any previous interaction with the main trio on here, as my posts hopefully explained. If the RPers want to have that kind of "hey, she looks kinda familiar" moment, that's totally fine with me, but I viewed her as being more in the background kind of thing.
It’s kinda funny, actually. Most people don’t ever think to-
‘Look up,’ she remembered, before she did just that.
It was… a black creature. A bird? No, the movement was not right. It was not fast, but she put her hand on the handle of her tongun anyway, just in case. When it stopped to face level, she saw that was not a regular heartless. It was black with… a white face? She focused on the color difference to make eye contact.
You don't seem like you're from around here, kupo. What's your name, kupo?
The girl blinked and faltered. It spoke? Then definitely not a heartless, but... if it spoke, then that meant its heart was more complicated, like a human’s. So why could she only lightly feel it? She focused in again, getting no better results. Why? Why couldn’t she sense what this… creature was feeling? How else was she supposed to know if this thing was going to try to attack her? Well there was one other way. It would not be a perfect evaluation, and it would make fighting difficult, but it was better than being left in the dark. She took a few wary steps back and pulled out the folded glasses from the neck of her sweater, and quickly slid them on, bringing the strange creature into focus. Then she had the answer to her question: his eyes were closed.
She would have sighed in relief, if she had not been distracted by the appearance. A white face, a big round nose, and a little… red cotton ball on the antenna. What a bizarre looking creature. And the fact that it was wearing a black coat just made it funny. But it was small, like a stuffed toy. She had an urge to bat at the red ball bouncing around. What was it doing here? It was so out of place. Well, then again, she did not exactly look like a heartless either. Most likely why this creature was questioning her presence too. She smiled despite herself. “No, I guess I don’t look like I am. I’m Kir- Ah, no, wait,” she said quickly. “Rain. My name is Rain.”
Is that what everyone calls you, kupo?
Rain gaped, caught off guard by the follow-up question. Why would he ask for something like that? Was he “rain” too suspicious? Well it didn’t sound like a real name. Not like “Kiri”. Or, if she felt adventurous, Kiri with a “y”, which… all right, it was not really different at all, but it was kind of an alias. One she had fun with, anyway.
C’mon then, Heart! Time t’-
She smiled, though it was strained. “Yep. Just Rain.”
That's a good boy name, kupo. You are a boy, are you not, kupo?
She gaped in shock at the question. A boy? No, no way, she didn’t look that ugly for a girl. Or was it because she was carrying her weapons? Oh, that had to be it. Her brow twitched. That annoying little plush toy needed to open his stupid eyes and pay attention to who he was talking too. Yeah, maybe girl fighters weren’t common, and she wasn’t the prettiest girl in the world, but this was just insulting.
“No, actually, I’m not.” She struggled to keep her smile friendly. “I’m a girl.”
Apparently, you cannot tell when I am joking, kupo. You must be an old man with no sense of humor, kupo. How old are you, anyway, kupo?
‘Old man!?’ Now she knew how a fair-haired boy felt. She had a perfectly good sense of humor! Just because he was blind and she just so happened to be proud of her accomplishments with her own gender did not give him the right to call her that! She was going to take her tongun and smash it right over it’s-
Rain took a deep breath. Calm, she was calm, and able to handle this. She slowly released it. It was too dark to tell. That’s all it was. He was not insulting her. (At least, he had better not be.) He was just asking for age. She glanced down at her body and fiddled with the end of her sweater. Could she get away with telling everyone how old she actually was? She did not see why not. It was not as though her growth stunt was that obvious. It was only by a year anyway.
“I’m sixteen,” she said, barely managing to keep the irritation out of her voice. “But I’m stronger than I look, so I’m fine out here on my own.”
You are the funniest moogle I have ever seen, kupo. What sort of creature are you?
She blinked in bemusement. Moogle? What was a moogle? Then Rain belatedly figured that must have been what this creature was. The name was as funny as the creature itself.
“I’m…”
Don’t! Don’t come any closer!
A monster. For a little while she had been able to push it out of her mind, but it had come back with a vengeance. She was… not what she appeared. To anyone seeing her, she was a normal girl. It should not have worried her, then, to say that she was “human”. But those little traits she had to hide, and her need to stay far away from a camera kept her from embracing the term. She still feared looking into a mirror with her glasses on. She was something that was better off locked up and kept away from people, and could never be called human. Problem was, she had no name for herself. After all, she had nothing else to compare herself too.
But so long as she kept people away, and no one could sense the darkness, they would be none the wiser.
“I’m human,” she said listlessly before she smiled slightly. “Isn’t it obvious?”
Well of course I can't see you very well, with you standing in the shadows like that. How could I tell what you look like?
Just like she thought. In a dark place like this, it would have been hard to tell. She stepped forward, already knowing that she was not anything impressive. Not at first glance anyway.
Thin, long limbed and slightly awkward. Tall, but a face like a child’s. Plain brown hair, plain brown eyes. As a friend put it once: she was easily lost in the background. Once upon a time, she had been a straight A student, so she could have at least said she was smart, but she did not even have that anymore. Even if her blue, oval-framed glasses still made her look the part. She wore brown knee high boots, a long beige sweater that looked like a tunic, and black shorts. There was a drawstring bag hanging off her shoulders, right below the black handles of her tonguns peeking out over her sweater. The black bag was almost shockingly heavy, since it was filled with her tools as well as her little personal belongings, but nothing she could not handle.
Hmm... and where do you hail from?
A place of destinies, or so it claimed. A place of light, and warmth. A place where smiles were default and laughter was abundant. A place where there were no worries, no dangers. A haven of safety. Before she came along. A place she would never see again, and could never call her own. Destiny Islands. What was once her home; what was once her prison.
“I don’t know.” She shrugged lightly. “I’ve been wandering for so long, I’ve forgotten where I started from.”
That was the story she had to stick with anyway. Maybe, if given long enough, it would be the truth.
I see... That weapon you have there. What is it?
It was like someone flipped her switch. “Oh, so you noticed.” And her smile returned as she reached back and slid the rods from the place holder under her sweater. She twirled the handles and moment and held them in a ready position, filling with pride. “I made them myself. I call them “tonguns”.”
A pair of tonfas that were hollow like the barrel of a gun. Her belt of knives crisscrossed over her torso under her sweater, ready to be stuffed into the weapons at a moment’s notice. They were her pride and joy, but also what made her the most self conscious. They were created by a novice, and it showed. The barrels were not smooth, the welding was a joke, and the springs were still touchy, despite her improvements. She still had a few bugs to work out, but they were effective... for a while. They were not very good at taking a beating for very long, which made her still try to think of a way to borrow a factory’s forge. She would rather not break and enter into a building she was not familiar with.
She also had a dagger strapped to her thigh, though that was more for immediate attacks, just in case she needed to strike out quickly. (Like, for example, of something had managed to sneak up on her.) It was not something she brought out often, but held a lot of sentimental value for her.
A nice weapon... but it's only as good as its owner. Do you know any techniques?
“Well…” She twisted the toe of her boot and glanced down at them. “I wouldn’t say “techniques” exactly…” It was not as though she ever sat down to actually name all of her “moves”. Did she have “moves”? Now that she thought about it, she supposed she could say she did. She smiled charmingly. “I have pretty good kicks though, if I do say so myself.”
Focused Kick- [Duration- One post –Cooldown- Two post]
A basic technique, but good enough to crack a rib or send an opponent back a few meters. This is thanks both to her strength, and the fact that she wears steel-toed boots.
“Though I am pretty fast,” she admitted.
Basic combo- [Duration- One Post—Cooldown- One Post]
Three strikes in one: one across the head, one across the body, and an uppercut. If the final strike hit, it was a good move to keep opponents at bay. But if someone was familiar with her patterns and managed to move back in time to avoid the strikes, then it left her vulnerable for a moment. Though these were child’s play for her, and could keep them up without a problem.
“Actually, I’ve gotten pretty good at following up with my strikes.”
Extended Combo- [Duration- One post—Cooldown three posts]
Ten rapid strikes in one: Head, shoulders, chest, stomach, two diagonals across the torso, two strikes to the side of the legs, and one final uppercut. Her goal is to reach a “dozen”, but at seven, she loses precision, and as it is, ten is already pushing her forced speed.
“Ah, wait!” Rain said suddenly, and brought her tonguns together. The butt end of one had a locking mechanism, and she stuck the two together and twisted until it clicked. The handles were perpendicular, resembling a blunt, double-ended scythe. “Neat, huh? It’s handy for when I need a little more power.”
Or, out of ammunition. When that happened, it was time to bring out the big gun. She could still fire out of one end if she wanted, but the length made it cumbersome and rather pointless. No, this worked better as a metal staff that gave her a better reach. Though truth be told, she had only started learning how to use it recently, and needed practice with it. She untwisted it and loaded them back into place.
“Nothing impressive,” she smiled innocently. “Just a few tricks to keep me going.”
Reading [Duration- Indefinite-- Cooldown- None]
Rain can feel the presence of hearts nearby, and as a result, any individuals in the vicinity. At this point she’s gotten used to it, and has a habit of tuning out the signals. The eyes of another person are a window to the soul, and allow her to read the darkness and emotions in people's hearts. However, if she reads too deeply, others will feel the effects of her probing, and usually react negatively. She can avoid this by wearing her glasses, clearing her vision enough to see the hearts inside of an individual, but it makes reading emotions trickier. At the moment, she avoids wearing them unless working with her tools.
Healing [Duration- Indefinite—Cooldown- 0-10 posts]
Burns, bruises, or any injury inflicted by spell or brute force affects Rain normally, but cannot be healed by potion, hi-potion, panacea, elixir, or any other type of medicine. However, any lacerations or injury that pierces the skin will heal instantly. Depending on how critical and how often the injuries, the process will exhaust Rain at a much faster rate.
E.i., paper cut= no effect
moderate slash= prevent actual techniques for 2 posts
deep slash/impalement= prevention for four posts
Any wounds that would separate a normal human body will be healed, but leaves her vulnerable for two posts, and leave her unable to perform advanced techniques for the rest of the battle.
Hmm... Being here you must surely have a past. Can you tell me about it?
Her smile dropped. Oh no. Of course this moogle would be interested in her now. She just had to go show off like that. She couldn’t help it- it was a chance to finally tell someone else about what she could do. But now what was she supposed to say?
“Well, I already told you I had been wandering,” she hedged. “I’ve been lost for a long time now.”
Because she could not explain her past if she tried. Before, she had just been a normal girl, someone who got up and went to school, played with friends, with her only really worries being the best grade on a test. And one year ago, she lost almost everything. She went to bed one night, and next morning she could barely walk straight, she could not write, she could not do anything she could do before. She could not even talk, and she hardly responded to anyone, which made everyone think she had lost her memories. She jumped at her own shadow, ran from mirrors, could not sleep, refused to eat, and had an odd trait of looking into someone’s eyes, or refusing to make eye contact, depending on her mood. But Rain only knew this from other people’s accounts, because truth be told, she did not remember any of it. She only learned this later, and wrote it down for the sake of keeping track of her life. The strange thing that had always made her wonder was that all of these strange things began the very same day Sora and Riku had gone missing from the islands.
After only a couple of weeks after that, she had snapped and ran straight from school. Apparently she had gone all the way across the island to the industrial side, where the network of factories settled. That’s where she met Ilaran and-
Wait… how had that really happened? She could not remember. All she had was his account, but was it even the truth? Now that she thought about it, it seemed plausible, but could that have been a lie?
No, she realized quickly. If it was, she would not have as much satisfaction from sweeping that she did. At least he had not lied to her about that. Slightly placated, Rain got back on track.
“But, I’ve been working to find my way again. It hasn’t been easy.”
Since everyone was obsessed with trying to get her back to “normal”. Back to how she had been before, at least. And she truly tried, for both everyone else’s sake, and her own. But before long she realized she started acting like her old self, she was not truly her old self. Whatever had happened had changed her for good, in many ways. But while most kids her age could change, and just attribute it to puberty, anything she did that was different from her old self was attributed to her “amnesia”. And after a while, it was tiring, hearing the constant “you’ll get better” like it was an illness. So she shut down in school, at home, any place where people were familiar with the “old her”. If she did not say anything, people looked over her, preventing any mistakes on her part. She could still play the role of the sweet, obedient daughter. She had done it before, after all. This time was no different.
The only time she spoke up, and acted how she wanted was when she went back to the factory every day after school, where there was no “old Kiri” for people to compare. She was probably one of the few people that truly enjoyed going to that noisy, boring place. She quickly befriended Ilaran, the newest worker there, and one that was always under scrutiny because of his androgyny. (Truth be told, some of the workers wondered if they now had two girl workers instead of just one…)
Of course, not everything good could last forever. She had been going off alone to the factory. Even after she had finally learned how to speak again a few weeks later, all she said was that she had gotten a part-time job without saying where, and it was not until couple more weeks that her best friend Cherryll followed her to the factory. But Cherryll had seen the burly workers, all men, (well, to her eyes, anyway) looking no better than thugs. But it was only worse when she spotted Rain with Ilaran, the tallest worker in the factory. Most likely the tallest inhabitant on the whole island. So when she went back home to Rain’s family, everyone there feared for the poor, scared little girl going into such a dangerous place. So they arranged for her to walk with Cherryll to the candy shop that she worked in, and wait for her parents to come home after work.
But what the others had not known was that Ilaran had discovered the truth of her “symptoms”: that she had not lost her memories, but merely her motor functions, and went through the more thorough process of getting Rain on the right track of normalcy. But most of all, from the sound of her early entries, she had actually had fun learning with him. But once she stopped seeing him, she fell back into the habit of shutting down around other people. But this time she did not have an escape to let herself out each day. She went back to school lessons she could no longer understand, with friends that she no longer knew how to talk to, and a family that still viewed her as someone that needed to go back to how she was “before”. When everyone tried to help her, she felt the sting of not meeting their standards. They smiled and encouraged her, but she could see into their hearts and could see the disappointment and frustration from her lack of progress. She knew she was failing them. Little by little, her frustration at herself, everyone around her, and at the situation grew, until she ran again, back to the factory.
That was when Ilaran gave her a proposition, one that almost scared her, but her desperation to keep learning made her agree. Because this kind soul was not looking to get her “back to normal”. He was trying to help her “grow”. That first night she snuck out of her house, she was terrified. She never could sleep at night, and walking through the element that terrified her most made her wonder if she would rest in her grave early. The sight of the factory at night scared her even more, but the lights were on, the gate was open, and she went in. But when she opened the door to see the giant worker singing and dancing through the empty building, sweep her into a clumsy dance, and celebrate her arrival, she lost all fear. Her curiosity got the better of her when he revealed that he was actually a blacksmith, and had been staying later in the factory to test out all of the metals the factory could get a hold of. She came back every night from then on.
“I don’t really get along with people too much.” She shrugged and smiled sheepishly. “So I don’t have many friends. I’m a bit of a wall flower.”
In the freedom of the empty factory, Rain could learn even more under his tutelage. It started when she had told him that she was still ashamed of all the things she still could not do. So he took the time to teach her everything the same way he had taught her to speak. Running, jumping, dancing (well, she was not really great at that one) and even showing her a few skills from his blacksmithing trade, just because she asked. When she learned how to control her body again, she discovered that she was stronger than she had been before. And as Ilaran quickly realized, unnaturally stronger than a normal fifteen year old girl. Though he only told her this later, he started teaching her more than he normally would have, testing her limits and boundaries. High endurance, impressive strength, and nearly jaw-dropping speed. She healed at a normal rate, which meant having to hide her injuries from the others. Each night she seemed to grow, her potential almost seemed limitless since every night she could do more than before, accomplishing one impressive feat after another. But this only lasted less than a month. Though they kept up the training, there was a point she could not seem to get over. Ilaran had a theory that she had this power inside of her since this strange event happened, though she could not tap into it until she regained control of her body. But whatever this was kept her from improving, and he admitted that he did not think she would ever get stronger than this particular point. Rain was not concerned. She was already stronger than a normal human, and even though she was still not sleeping at night, she was no longer as afraid as she used to be. Excited and exuberant, she planned how she could show her family what she could do, and be let back to the factory.
That was when Ilaran slowed her down, and explained to her that such a thing was not a good idea. That although her strength could be a true benefit, sometimes people could take things a certain way. Reminding her of the time Cherryll got the wrong idea of the factory workers, he explained that her power made her seem even more dangerous. Though her family would trust her, other people might be a different story. Remembering how much her parents hated fighting thanks to the incident with her brother, Rain realized that showing them these new abilities could be just as bad. So Ilaran sat her down, and asked her to tell him what had happened that night before this had happened. Before the night Sora and Riku had gone missing. But try as she might, Rain could tell him nothing. She reached back into her memory as best she could, but she could not even remember when she first woke up. She could not even remember when she first ran off and found Ilaran in the factory, even though she easily remembered a couple of days after that when she had returned a second time, and had gotten the job as a sweeper.
It was at that point Ilaran suggested she keep a journal, because the further her mind tried to push out the key event, the more she was at risk of forgetting. As it was, it left the both of them with nothing to figure out what had happened. She finally told him all of her strange traits, since she had kept them secret from him before, and when he learned everything, he seemed to take it all in good stride. Except when she revealed that her family had discovered by accident that she was immune to medicine. Potions, panacea, and elixirs were completely useless on her. The moment he learned this, it was like a personality switch. He immediately insisted that he would be teaching her self-defense, and would not stop until she could block an attack without even thinking about it. Because even though there was no immediate danger on the island, her immunity put her in a precarious situation. He tried to comfort her, saying that whatever happened, it was like her mind was protecting itself, but now she had to deal with the consequences of it, and she could probably count herself lucky that she did not have to suffer nightmares because of it. Of course, that only reminded her that she had not had a single dream since this whole thing had started.
“But, I’ve gotten a lot stronger since I’ve started. I hope to get even stronger.”
Around that point, Rain finally abandoned wearing her glasses during the day time, as the sight of the hearts, and the eyes slowly unsettled her more and more. After the novelty wore off, she found she could tune out the signatures of the hearts around her, letting her ignore their presence. After that, it was a new discovery after another. Or perhaps a “realization” was the better term. Things that she realized and picked up along the way. She only told these things to Ilaran, because they were things that were so strange, she dared not trust anyone else with them. Sleeping at night was still nearly impossible, she could no longer eat or drink, she had stopped growing completely, and every time she looked into a mirror, she saw a strange phenomena she could not explain. But because of it, she had not seen her reflection since before this whole thing started, even though no one else seemed to see the same thing she did. Ilaran had the idea to take a picture of her, and let her see herself that way. But then they discovered that a snapshot revealed what she had been seeing in a mirror all along, and naturally, they both realized that it was impossible to let anyone capture a picture of her, or else it would cause a serious scare. They had no choice but to accept that whatever had happened, meant she was no longer human. Of course, this was something that Rain had already suspected and dreaded, because of all the hearts she read, hers was the only one she could not see. The only thing Ilaran could not understand was why she exuded an aura of darkness when she had no dark powers to speak of. And they knew this was fact- she had tried.
“I’m sorry, I’m afraid I don’t have much to say,” she finally said. “I’m afraid I’m not that interesting of a person.”
She could not even say all those things with complete conviction anyway. Unfortunately, the only reason she knew about all of these early happenings was because of her journal. A special book that was sealed with two locks, and no doubt the most important thing in her possession. Because one of the “discoveries” included the fact that she could only hold memories for three months after that mysterious night. So she was sure to focus on what she needed: ignoring school work and trying to ingrain all of Ilaran’s teachings into her muscle memory. His lessons were the only things she had to combat the mysterious and persistent terror that gripped her heart every night. The unusual persistence made her break down once, and that was when he told her about other worlds in the far reaches of the sky, and of heroes that had faced even greater odds and come out on top. It reminded Rain of a boy she had not seen in months, someone she found herself wondering and worrying about. And she wondered, briefly, what would he have done if he had been in her shoes. Ashamed, inspired, and determined, Rain began pushing back just as hard, his words of keeping herself alive striking a deep cord in her, and she soaked in every bit he could teach her. Defense came first, dodging came next, and only after that did he try to teach her attacking. But it was dangerous to be within a fray, especially considering her sight handicap, so he decided to teach her how to use a long distance weapon. After much debate, practicing, and testing, Rain decided that a rifle was not her personal preference, and despite the danger, she felt better having something in her hand and making direct hits. So they made a compromise, which ultimately resulted in her learning how to properly wield a knife, and the creation of her tonguns.
So she kept her head down during the day time, and at night she flourished, learning weapon making and conquering her fears, trusting no one except Ilaran. Until he abandoned her, right when Sora and Riku had returned to the islands. He never told her why he had left, only that something had happened out there, and that he needed to investigate. And that she was not ready to leave yet, and needed to stay here, where it was safe. He said he had stayed too long, that he did not belong in that world any more. He promised he would return, that he would come and take her off the islands to see the worlds he always spoke of. But he the timing of his departure and their return was a little uncanny, and unsettled her. As well as the fact that it was not just Kairi that was different, but the other two as well. She stayed back, out of detection and avoided confrontation. No matter how tempted she was to talk with them. To talk with him. Because she had seen how much he changed from how she remembered him, and she wondered, briefly, if he had shut down too. So she stayed back, keeping the secret in her heart and far away from him.
But the people around her could no longer ignore Rain not catching up in her schoolwork, and her family and the school decided to get her a tutor. This tutor was friendly, and through an unforeseen series of circumstances, drew Rain into her group of friends. Gradually, the girl started going out with them every Saturday. They hung out, and had fun, and for a few hours every weekend, she felt almost normal. In a turn of irony, Claire, a girl that Rain had bullied for a little while in elementary school, also was in that group of friends. Going by her alias, Rain befriended her, and the two became cordial acquaintances. In the group, everyone had fun. Yet she spent her nights alone. She kept up her training, refusing to let herself lose everything she had worked for. She taught herself as much as she could, using the spring board of his training as a base. She still went to the factory every night, and recorded as much as she could in her journal.
“But I’m not too worried.” She gave a wan smile, despite the heartache memory lane brought her down again. Well, metaphorical heartache. She clasped her hands behind her. “I’m used to being on my own anyway.”
Because she learned the hard way that she had no one to rely on but herself. When there was a new intruder, a girl who called herself Trinity. She told Rain that she belonged to Trinity, that she was nothing more than a weapon that had forgotten her place. And that she found her here because Ilaran had told her about her and led her here.
Rain refused to believe her. She fought her off, discovering that the mysterious girl was not much of a fighter at all. She kept her away, knowing that whatever the true story was still made things more complicated. Trinity did not attack again for a while, and Rain began to seriously question Ilaran’s absence, and the truth of his motives. Even her training started to be seen in a more sinister light, because as time passed, and her loneliness grew, the darkness fed her anger, and made her unstable.
Meanwhile, during the day an unexpected development occurred: a boy had asked her out. Not even one of the new friends she had made, but a classmate that had happened to see her yell at someone in public. Rain liked the idea of someone still liking her even after blowing up at someone in an “unKiri- like” fashion. So she agreed, and decided that if it was even a small chance of someone actually liking her for her, then she had nothing to lose. Little by little, she let him see more and more of her odd idiosyncrasies, and her dark humor and pessimistic opinions and attitude, yet he still stayed with her, unperturbed and accepting of everything. And for even longer, Rain felt normal, and she started liking him back. Other girls were jealous, because he was actually fairly popular since he was good looking on top of being kind, though he and Kiri only laughed about it, since she was half-blind and could not see his face over half the time they were together, and because he had started adopting her dark sense of humor anyway.
Claire, however, was certainly not blind, and had her eye on him for a while. Though she did not want to outright take him from Kiri, she still did not stop herself from flirting, grooming herself whenever she was going to see him, or striking up conversation when she could. Kiri held back her jealousy, figuring Claire might have liked him, but not daring to risk a repeat of the disaster in grade school. After all, she had wanted to keep things at a casual distance for a while, and he had been the one to ask her first.
But something must have clicked between Claire and Widhan when Rain was not paying attention, because she had the benefit of overhearing his praise for Claire. This was right after Claire had told him she was interested in him, so Rain had to benefit of putting two and two together before he even had a chance to end it with her. But Rain could have lived with that. She would have been fine with it. Saddened, but fine with it- if it wasn’t for Claire’s resulting attitude. It drove Rain to commit something she considered a heinous, unspeakable crime. And thanks to her, there was one less inhabitant on the Island. A girl that was kind, sweet, beautiful, and had everything going for her was now gone, lost forever to the darkness because of Rain. And, as Trinity had so kindly put it, without even a body left behind for her family.
And things went from bad to worse, when fate decided to bring Cherryll as a witness- no, it wsa not fate, but terrible, horrible luck that brought the cursed freak fog that had brought all the players together in the first place. Trinity knew Rain would not be able to stay after that, and persuaded her to come with her willingly. Rain told her to come to the factory that night.
Rain told her family the truth of what she was, that night. They reacted differently than she was afraid of, but in some ways so much worse. So she left, faking her suicide and going to meet Trinity. The moment they went into the realm of darkness, Rain battled Trinity again, knowing that wherever she had intended to take her would not be in her best interest. She defeated her again and ran, where she now wandered this infernal Realm. Because of what she was, there was nothing to be “lost” to the Darkness. But when she uses her ability to open a Door to a world, a little bit of herself will be taken, deteriorating until she is gone.
But of course, she will not realize it happening until she is too far gone.
Then answer this... what kind of person are you really?
“Hm…” she looked up, and tilted her head thoughtfully. “That’s a good question.”
If her classmates and family were to describe her, they would say she was quiet. That she was mousey and timid, and that she was too nice for her own good. Always defending others, even if they did something wrong to her. In way, all of that was true. It was how she acted, anyway. It was only at night she was free of worries. She quiet because she could not talk to anyone, without risk of revealing herself. She ducked away from people to keep them away, so that they would not feel the unconscious revulsion to her darkness. She went out of her way to be kind to others, so no one would have anything bad to say about her. Which was useful to have in a tight spot.
All right, so she might have used the image to her advantage a couple times. A few. More than several… could not have been too much more than a couple dozen… well, they were emergency situations, she needed cover. It wasn’t like she had hurt anyone on purpose, she just did what was required to get what she needed. That 200 munny she won in the bet was totally necessary.
“I guess I am pretty quiet.” She finally said. “I can read people pretty well. And I don’t really do well in crowds.”
At night, she was snarky, teasing, playfully flirting. She could be a practical chatterbox. And if she was angry, she had no problem with screaming back. Or beating the stuffing out of any training pillar that was standing in front of her. It was a better method than finding a person anyway. She had been told she could get pretty scary when angered. That person might have just been teasing her, though.
At the reminder, Rain realized that she actually had not been like that for a while. She spent nights alone, and she had found it hard to trust people again to be herself with. The last time she tried, it had ended in disaster. She supposed she had gotten more quiet since then. She had developed the habit of humming to herself, in the silence, after wandering on her own for so long. She could get lost in her own thoughts, if she was not careful. A walk around could easily turn into a stroll that lasted over an hour. And thanks to her time with a certain odd traveler, she found herself thinking of things and ideas that others could call strange. Her way of viewing the world were certainly different than a normal girl’s. She could tell that just from seeing the people around her.
The one thing that was true for both times as that she cried easily. And was happy quickly. She could fall into a very dark depression and a bouncy elation, with violent rage and calming content. She was an emotional rollercoaster all on her own. She was still a thinker, but tended to react almost instantly.
What she could not know was how that was going to change now that she was out here.
So then, what side do you affiliate with?[/color][/b]
“Side?” Something flickered across her face. “What do you mean “side”? I’m not- that is…” She shook her head. “Why do you have to make “sides”? It’s not like we’re-“ Enemies…
Don’t! Don’t come any closer!
She pushed her trembling fingers together as her mind came to terms with this. Everyone had enemies of some kind. She wanted to say “good” so badly. But she knew she couldn’t. She was something dangerous that needed to be kept away from people. “I’m not fighting with anyone. I… like to help people. But I’m on my own.”
Every strength is wielded for a reason. What are your dreams and aspirations?
“My… dreams?”
A time that seemed so long ago, she could say with complete conviction what her dream was. She wanted off the Island, to go to all those places Ilaran told her about. She wanted to do something with her power, make herself a hero instead of a monster to be feared. Maybe if she could prove herself, she would stop being afraid of the dark. But now that wish seemed even more foolish, selfish, and impossible.
What did she want now? She still wanted off the island, to see for herself. But she was already there. And yet...
“A far off place.” She finally murmured. With a heavy heart she looked to the floor, holding onto her arms. “I want to see every place. Maybe I’ll find one with people like me. Who will welcome anyone. Where they’ll be happy to see me. For me.” She blinked back the tears already forming. “I want… to remember. If I’m really who I think I am. Some aspirations, right?”
Though it seems trivial, perhaps you should tell me what you like?
“Taking pictures,” she said instantly, and smiled a bit, feeling a little relief as her eyes managed to stay dry. “So I can keep track of everyone, and remember everything. I like caramel chews. They’re sweet, and little. I don’t have to worry about eating a few at a time. And tidepools. They’re beautiful to look at, especially at night. Although, I still love blacksmithing.” She chuckled a little. “I probably don’t look like the type, right? But I made everything myself. I had to. And I had a lot of fun doing it, too. I’d love to learn more. But…” her smile faltered. “That’s not really possible for me.”
Assuming you're telling the truth, then you surely must have dislikes. Do you care to reveal those?
Her hands slid down and she clasped her hands in front. “I don’t like lying about how you feel. It’s one of the things that really bothers me. That’s probably why I’m a little too frank with people. Not everyone likes it, but I’d rather let them know everything, since I always find out the truth myself. It’s fair, I think.”
Which really did not help her much. Since she had to lie about everything else. Maybe it was compensation.
“I… don’t like seeing other people hurting.” She fidgeted. “I guess I could say I’m sensitive to other’s feelings, and whenever I see someone’s sad or hurt or scared, I… well, I guess you could just say I’m a bleed heart.”
The ultimate empathizer. Conflicting with someone who sometimes could take joy in other’s pain. It was a headache, and exhausting, in some situations.
Interesting. Do you acknowledge your weaknesses?
Rain’s brow furrowed in confusion, and she pushed her fingers together in a wheel. Now that she thought about it, she realized she did not really know her weak points at all. She knew her defense was pretty solid. It was probably a lot better than her attacking, but did that mean her offense was weak? But she knew she was pretty fast, and her punches weren’t exactly something to laugh at… well, her aiming could still use some work, she supposed. At close range combat, she was literally fighting blind, but she had gotten better with that. Well, not perfect. She did not know how far she still needed to go with that.
“Um… Well, I get sleepy during the day,” she said as she tilted her head in confusion. “Does that count?”
Though now that she thought about it… she had come to prefer overcast days since last year… and though she was afraid of the night, she found herself disliking the harsh light of the day. And that one time she had looked directly into Kairi’s heart, where there was only light to be found…
She winced at the memory, the phantom pain still affecting her. But still, it was nothing worth worrying about. Right?
“Not really anything I can think of.” She shrugged.
Weaknesses are strong when they are acknowledged. I'm sure you have strengths as well...
Rain looked away a bit worriedly. But, if one did not know their own weaknesses? What did that make them?
“Strength? I’m not sure, exactly. I feel strong after I’ve warmed up… I know I’m fast. I’m stronger than a normal person. Well, I guess my best strength is understanding people,” she shrugged a little helplessly. “Which doesn’t help me much. Nothing really impressive. Just enough to hold my own.”
Even after all of this progress. She smiled a little sadly. “There was a boy, once. Someone I had liked for a long time. Maybe in a way I still do. He was strong. Confident. Nothing ever stood in his way. And when it did, he knocked it right down. He almost never lost. I wanted to be like him, for a while. So sure of myself, the way he felt about himself. I never got there, but if it wasn’t for him, I probably never would have gotten this far. So I guess he was my strength for a while. But I’ll have to find a new one, now. When I find it, I’ll let you know.”
I never would have guessed, kupo! So, tell me, kupo.. What's the secret password, kupo?
Rain’s smile dropped, and she flared into a minor panic. Password? There was a password for this? Was this some test? Did he confuse her for someone else? Is that why he was asking all these questions? Her mind raced, trying to catch up with this. Her friend had never mentioned this. Any password she was supposed to know to travel through this place. She put a hand over her sternum, a habit that she had yet to break, despite the fact that her heart was not actually racing. How was she going to-
Her fingers clenched around the pendant lying on her sternum under her sweater. Password… to gain entrance. No, her friend had told it to her, she just had not realized it. She straightened, and looked back at the Moogle evenly.
“The password… is BLOCKED.”
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I am running out of time here, but before I must go, how did you find your way here?
Through affiliates. Originally went to KHRPF and found my way here.
Cbox/User Name: oncefognowrain
Current Characters Accepted: N/A
I'd like to make a little note: Yes, I wanted her to be from Destiny Islands, and yes, I have my reasons, but I never intended for her to have any previous interaction with the main trio on here, as my posts hopefully explained. If the RPers want to have that kind of "hey, she looks kinda familiar" moment, that's totally fine with me, but I viewed her as being more in the background kind of thing.