tiassa (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
tiassa) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
damned_lounge2010-10-31 05:16 pm
tiassa) wrote in damned_lounge2010-10-31 05:16 pm
Entry tags:
Oktoberfest '10: Foundling, by ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
tiassa
Title: Foundling
Author:tiassa
Beta: Kaze and Serey
Word Count: 2110
Rating: PG for angst and death?
Character(s): Ritsuka, Touya, Sakura, Yue, and starring a spectre! [I have such a hard time writing other peoples' characters orz]
Summary: Two separate encounters in a night; the results differ for the patients involved, but not for the spectre.
Notes: I had so many plans for people to run into the spectre and then ran out of time so uh this is all you get I guess. :'(
One by one the lights switched off, casting each progressive section of hallway into darkness. As night fell the Institute was empty, echoingly so, with its usual staff... elsewhere for the night, and patients in their rooms for at least a few minutes longer. For the moment those small rooms were the only place still lit, the only place with warmth and light -- well, other than that place, but none dared venture there. There was nothing there to interest her, nothing but barriers and pain and memories of pain long past.
And so she lurked in the hallways outside of the patients’ rooms, casting a tiny foxfire light in the darkness that did nothing to dispel the gloom, listening to the sounds of voices on the other side of the wall -- they might as well be on the moon for all she could reach them, even if she hadn’t been forbidden to enter. The walls were no barrier, of course; she hardly even noticed such things now, with memories of being corporeal so far distant... but it was as where he sat, waiting and watching. She could not pass that way.
But as she passed one door -- a peal of laughter, companionable conversation, friendship, signs of a life she’d never known even when alive -- memories sparked and flickered.
...he was walking away, never looking back, never seeing where she huddled against the wall as though seeking warmth from the frost-coated bricks, his shoulders hunched under the weight of his winter coat...
No.
...hunger tore at her inside, dragging at her limbs, pounding against the inside of her skull; she couldn’t move, even when someone passing by dropped a piece of a sandwich just a few feet away, unaware of her presence...
No.
...her face pressed against the glass, breath leaving smudges of fog that obscured her vision but she didn’t move, eyes fixed on the family crowded around the fireplace, exuding warmth both physical and intangible...
NO.
Insubstantial hands raised to her face as she gave a piercing wail, voice echoing with sorrow and despair. The faint light she’d cast winked out abruptly as she sought another place, farther away from the agony of being so close to what she didn’t have -- though she was aware she would return again, as she ever did, with the vain hope that something would be different this time.
The flashlight’s beam flickered across the floor, up the walls, but there was nothing in sight. No one in sight, though that had sounded like a voice. Not talking, though. Like... crying. And if someone was out here, alone, and upset, he couldn’t just leave them.
“I know I heard something,” he muttered to himself, the tip of his tail flicking side to side with irritation. He was a little farther away from the patient rooms than he’d wanted to get while on his own, but something about that sound had drawn him on until he suddenly realized how open and exposed and alone he was now. If he got into trouble before he found whoever that was....
His ears flattened against his head as he considered, tapping his free hand against his leg in an unconscious rhythm, then he finally sighed and raised his voice, calling into the darkness. “Hello? Is someone there? I can help you if you’re hurt.” He absently tugged at the mended strap of his backpack as he listened, ears lifting and swiveling about in an attempt to pick up any sound.
And only a handful of second passed before he heard it again, still faint but louder now: definitely crying. It sounded like a girl, and young, and for half a second he remembered the creature with Yuiko’s face and a shark’s fangs, then his brow creased in a scowl and he stalked off down the hallway toward whoever-it-was with tail lashing furiously.
He was like a small bonfire, blazing with intensity of feeling, and she found herself drawn to him without any thought. She needed to be close, to try to warm herself; she felt frozen to her absolute core and that fire was all she could think of. Long ago there had been warmth, companionship and love, of this she was certain -- but no longer. Not for... how long? Months, years, eons uncounted, it didn’t matter; long enough for such things to have become less than memory, now only hollow emptiness that echoed painfully as she saw it in the living, so full of life and feeling that she couldn’t help but try to touch no matter how sharp it made her own pain.
Most fled from her, whether from the sight of her insubstantial form or the chill that accompanied her, but this one... this one stayed. Even though he was shivering, even though his words were forced through chattering teeth, he still talked to her. She wasn’t listening to what he was saying, didn’t bother to distinguish the actual words but recognized the tone, and tears like wisps of pale blue flame drifted down her cheeks as she reached out to him in turn.
Her hand went right through his, though, just as it had always done, just as she knew it always would, and yet this time she had dared to hope. Dared to think that maybe, just this once, she’d be able to find something other than more loss, more pain, but no. Of course not. There was nothing to her but sorrow, and a piercing wail ripped from her throat as she drew back, wrapping her arms around herself as though that would warm the chill deep inside. But of course it wouldn’t, of course nothing would ever change; she would be forever empty.
His hands clapped involuntarily over his ears as the ghost girl screamed, though it did little to block out the sound. It seemed like he could more than hear it, he felt it deep down, the cry digging into his mind and heart. Her voice sounded like a multitude of others all at once, all familiar -- Seimei, Soubi, his mother, Yuiko, more -- and he gasped as though it had been a physical blow. All the pain, all the abuse, everything he could remember seemed to bear him down at once, and after half a second he realized he was kneeling now, fingers digging into his scalp though he couldn’t feel that small pain over the rest.
Despite it all, though, he managed to lift his head, squinting up at the weeping ghost. “It’s okay,” he managed, forcing a smile. His arm still throbbed where her hand had passed through it, burning with intense cold, but he reached out nonetheless. She hadn’t meant to hurt him, after all. Maybe there was something he could do to help her. Maybe....
And so he didn’t shy away when she drifted closer again, the empty outlines of her eyes wide with what seemed to be surprise, illusory tears still running down her cheeks. Didn’t move when she reached out as though to embrace him, her touch searing through his flesh, colder than any ice. By the time he realized how much danger he was in it was too late; he lacked even the strength to shiver as he finally collapsed against the floor; his last thought was a vague hope that perhaps he’d managed to warm her at least a little.
The fire was gone again, with neither embers nor ashes in its place -- only a small form crumpled on the floor, discarded like so much trash.
Like an unwanted child.
Like she....
A despairing wail echoed against the walls once more, and though this time there was no one to hear it still drove away all warmth in the air around where the spectre sobbed her silent grief.
“Why’s it so cold down here?” The Institute at night was never really warm at night lately, but this section of hallway felt something like walking into the giant refrigerator behind the kitchen. It seemed odd that it would only be cold here and not back where they’d just come from, and Touya frowned slightly as he reached out a hand to touch the patterns of frost on the wall closest to him. He might not have the abilities he used to, but he could still tell that something wasn’t right down here, and that didn’t make him happy.
Yue seemed to sense something as well, for when he glanced over the guardian’s wings were raised, poised almost as though readying to take flight. When his eyes met Touya’s own, though, Yue only frowned and shook his head slightly before returning to his wary study of the darkness around them. “There is something, but...” He paused, feathers ruffling slightly with agitation. “We should go.”
“Go?” Sakura echoed, clinging to her flashlight with both hands as though it were her wand. She wanted to be brave, especially with the two of them with her, but she was getting the same uneasy feeling about this situation. Hadn’t Yamazaki-kun said something about how it was always cold around ghosts? She hoped it wasn’t a ghost. “But we haven’t found it yet....”
Touya glanced down at his sister and grinned for her benefit. “It’s not a big deal,” he lied, jerking his thumb in the direction from which they’d come. “We can always come back. Unless you think a monster would leave a monster like you alone. Professional courtesy, y’know.”
“I’M NOT A MON--” The automatic denial died on Sakura’s lips as a pale blue light flickered to life at the other end of the hallway, visible for an instant before Yue’s wings spread to fill the hallway, blocking it from view.
“Back,” the guardian snapped, gesturing for them to move -- then gave a soft hiss as the spectral creature vanished again, disappearing from sight but not from the area. The unnatural cold had to be a product of its presence, and if anything it had just grown more intense. But if he couldn’t see it... it could be anywhere. Blue energy flickered about Yue’s hand as he turned in a slow circle, all senses alert for where the enemy might be now.
The answer came a moment later with Sakura’s startled cry: a childlike figure outlined in blue-white light had appeared directly in front of her, hands reaching out in yearning. Before the girl could react Touya had grabbed her arm and yanked her back sharply; in the sudden confusion Sakura caught a glimpse of the ghost’s dim face, and was surprised to find that she recognized sadness there. Did ghosts actually feel sad? She’d always thought they were just... scary.
The ghost’s weeping began to rise in pitch, and the girl suddenly found herself sheltered in two sets of arms and a pair of wings besides as a wailing shriek echoed through the hallway. Though the sound was muffled somewhat by the layers of feathers it was enough to make her shudder, eyes filling with tears even though she wasn’t quite sure why she was crying. It was so... empty, somehow. Sad and lonely like nothing she’d ever heard before.
After a moment Yue’s wings drew back again and Sakura realized that the hall was quiet once more, the ghost apparently vanished -- even the temperature seemed to be rising, for her breath no longer appeared as a plume before her with each exhalation. She glanced up at her guardian and blinked, startled by the expression on his face as he stared off in the direction the ghost had been. Even as she reached out toward him, though, his usual mask slid back into place and he glanced at his two companions with just a slight frown. “You are unharmed?”
Sakura looked between her brother and guardian, then around to make certain there weren’t any more ghosts, then finally nodded. Once the three of them started moving again, she reached out without a word to take Touya’s and Yue’s hands as they walked on either side of her, seeking silent reassurance.
In a dark, empty room the spectre wept, now only a flicker of pale blue losing against the oppressive shadows all around as ice slowly traced patterns up the walls.
Alone.
Forever.
Author:
tiassaBeta: Kaze and Serey
Word Count: 2110
Rating: PG for angst and death?
Character(s): Ritsuka, Touya, Sakura, Yue, and starring a spectre! [I have such a hard time writing other peoples' characters orz]
Summary: Two separate encounters in a night; the results differ for the patients involved, but not for the spectre.
Notes: I had so many plans for people to run into the spectre and then ran out of time so uh this is all you get I guess. :'(
One by one the lights switched off, casting each progressive section of hallway into darkness. As night fell the Institute was empty, echoingly so, with its usual staff... elsewhere for the night, and patients in their rooms for at least a few minutes longer. For the moment those small rooms were the only place still lit, the only place with warmth and light -- well, other than that place, but none dared venture there. There was nothing there to interest her, nothing but barriers and pain and memories of pain long past.
And so she lurked in the hallways outside of the patients’ rooms, casting a tiny foxfire light in the darkness that did nothing to dispel the gloom, listening to the sounds of voices on the other side of the wall -- they might as well be on the moon for all she could reach them, even if she hadn’t been forbidden to enter. The walls were no barrier, of course; she hardly even noticed such things now, with memories of being corporeal so far distant... but it was as where he sat, waiting and watching. She could not pass that way.
But as she passed one door -- a peal of laughter, companionable conversation, friendship, signs of a life she’d never known even when alive -- memories sparked and flickered.
...he was walking away, never looking back, never seeing where she huddled against the wall as though seeking warmth from the frost-coated bricks, his shoulders hunched under the weight of his winter coat...
No.
...hunger tore at her inside, dragging at her limbs, pounding against the inside of her skull; she couldn’t move, even when someone passing by dropped a piece of a sandwich just a few feet away, unaware of her presence...
No.
...her face pressed against the glass, breath leaving smudges of fog that obscured her vision but she didn’t move, eyes fixed on the family crowded around the fireplace, exuding warmth both physical and intangible...
NO.
Insubstantial hands raised to her face as she gave a piercing wail, voice echoing with sorrow and despair. The faint light she’d cast winked out abruptly as she sought another place, farther away from the agony of being so close to what she didn’t have -- though she was aware she would return again, as she ever did, with the vain hope that something would be different this time.
The flashlight’s beam flickered across the floor, up the walls, but there was nothing in sight. No one in sight, though that had sounded like a voice. Not talking, though. Like... crying. And if someone was out here, alone, and upset, he couldn’t just leave them.
“I know I heard something,” he muttered to himself, the tip of his tail flicking side to side with irritation. He was a little farther away from the patient rooms than he’d wanted to get while on his own, but something about that sound had drawn him on until he suddenly realized how open and exposed and alone he was now. If he got into trouble before he found whoever that was....
His ears flattened against his head as he considered, tapping his free hand against his leg in an unconscious rhythm, then he finally sighed and raised his voice, calling into the darkness. “Hello? Is someone there? I can help you if you’re hurt.” He absently tugged at the mended strap of his backpack as he listened, ears lifting and swiveling about in an attempt to pick up any sound.
And only a handful of second passed before he heard it again, still faint but louder now: definitely crying. It sounded like a girl, and young, and for half a second he remembered the creature with Yuiko’s face and a shark’s fangs, then his brow creased in a scowl and he stalked off down the hallway toward whoever-it-was with tail lashing furiously.
He was like a small bonfire, blazing with intensity of feeling, and she found herself drawn to him without any thought. She needed to be close, to try to warm herself; she felt frozen to her absolute core and that fire was all she could think of. Long ago there had been warmth, companionship and love, of this she was certain -- but no longer. Not for... how long? Months, years, eons uncounted, it didn’t matter; long enough for such things to have become less than memory, now only hollow emptiness that echoed painfully as she saw it in the living, so full of life and feeling that she couldn’t help but try to touch no matter how sharp it made her own pain.
Most fled from her, whether from the sight of her insubstantial form or the chill that accompanied her, but this one... this one stayed. Even though he was shivering, even though his words were forced through chattering teeth, he still talked to her. She wasn’t listening to what he was saying, didn’t bother to distinguish the actual words but recognized the tone, and tears like wisps of pale blue flame drifted down her cheeks as she reached out to him in turn.
Her hand went right through his, though, just as it had always done, just as she knew it always would, and yet this time she had dared to hope. Dared to think that maybe, just this once, she’d be able to find something other than more loss, more pain, but no. Of course not. There was nothing to her but sorrow, and a piercing wail ripped from her throat as she drew back, wrapping her arms around herself as though that would warm the chill deep inside. But of course it wouldn’t, of course nothing would ever change; she would be forever empty.
His hands clapped involuntarily over his ears as the ghost girl screamed, though it did little to block out the sound. It seemed like he could more than hear it, he felt it deep down, the cry digging into his mind and heart. Her voice sounded like a multitude of others all at once, all familiar -- Seimei, Soubi, his mother, Yuiko, more -- and he gasped as though it had been a physical blow. All the pain, all the abuse, everything he could remember seemed to bear him down at once, and after half a second he realized he was kneeling now, fingers digging into his scalp though he couldn’t feel that small pain over the rest.
Despite it all, though, he managed to lift his head, squinting up at the weeping ghost. “It’s okay,” he managed, forcing a smile. His arm still throbbed where her hand had passed through it, burning with intense cold, but he reached out nonetheless. She hadn’t meant to hurt him, after all. Maybe there was something he could do to help her. Maybe....
And so he didn’t shy away when she drifted closer again, the empty outlines of her eyes wide with what seemed to be surprise, illusory tears still running down her cheeks. Didn’t move when she reached out as though to embrace him, her touch searing through his flesh, colder than any ice. By the time he realized how much danger he was in it was too late; he lacked even the strength to shiver as he finally collapsed against the floor; his last thought was a vague hope that perhaps he’d managed to warm her at least a little.
The fire was gone again, with neither embers nor ashes in its place -- only a small form crumpled on the floor, discarded like so much trash.
Like an unwanted child.
Like she....
A despairing wail echoed against the walls once more, and though this time there was no one to hear it still drove away all warmth in the air around where the spectre sobbed her silent grief.
“Why’s it so cold down here?” The Institute at night was never really warm at night lately, but this section of hallway felt something like walking into the giant refrigerator behind the kitchen. It seemed odd that it would only be cold here and not back where they’d just come from, and Touya frowned slightly as he reached out a hand to touch the patterns of frost on the wall closest to him. He might not have the abilities he used to, but he could still tell that something wasn’t right down here, and that didn’t make him happy.
Yue seemed to sense something as well, for when he glanced over the guardian’s wings were raised, poised almost as though readying to take flight. When his eyes met Touya’s own, though, Yue only frowned and shook his head slightly before returning to his wary study of the darkness around them. “There is something, but...” He paused, feathers ruffling slightly with agitation. “We should go.”
“Go?” Sakura echoed, clinging to her flashlight with both hands as though it were her wand. She wanted to be brave, especially with the two of them with her, but she was getting the same uneasy feeling about this situation. Hadn’t Yamazaki-kun said something about how it was always cold around ghosts? She hoped it wasn’t a ghost. “But we haven’t found it yet....”
Touya glanced down at his sister and grinned for her benefit. “It’s not a big deal,” he lied, jerking his thumb in the direction from which they’d come. “We can always come back. Unless you think a monster would leave a monster like you alone. Professional courtesy, y’know.”
“I’M NOT A MON--” The automatic denial died on Sakura’s lips as a pale blue light flickered to life at the other end of the hallway, visible for an instant before Yue’s wings spread to fill the hallway, blocking it from view.
“Back,” the guardian snapped, gesturing for them to move -- then gave a soft hiss as the spectral creature vanished again, disappearing from sight but not from the area. The unnatural cold had to be a product of its presence, and if anything it had just grown more intense. But if he couldn’t see it... it could be anywhere. Blue energy flickered about Yue’s hand as he turned in a slow circle, all senses alert for where the enemy might be now.
The answer came a moment later with Sakura’s startled cry: a childlike figure outlined in blue-white light had appeared directly in front of her, hands reaching out in yearning. Before the girl could react Touya had grabbed her arm and yanked her back sharply; in the sudden confusion Sakura caught a glimpse of the ghost’s dim face, and was surprised to find that she recognized sadness there. Did ghosts actually feel sad? She’d always thought they were just... scary.
The ghost’s weeping began to rise in pitch, and the girl suddenly found herself sheltered in two sets of arms and a pair of wings besides as a wailing shriek echoed through the hallway. Though the sound was muffled somewhat by the layers of feathers it was enough to make her shudder, eyes filling with tears even though she wasn’t quite sure why she was crying. It was so... empty, somehow. Sad and lonely like nothing she’d ever heard before.
After a moment Yue’s wings drew back again and Sakura realized that the hall was quiet once more, the ghost apparently vanished -- even the temperature seemed to be rising, for her breath no longer appeared as a plume before her with each exhalation. She glanced up at her guardian and blinked, startled by the expression on his face as he stared off in the direction the ghost had been. Even as she reached out toward him, though, his usual mask slid back into place and he glanced at his two companions with just a slight frown. “You are unharmed?”
Sakura looked between her brother and guardian, then around to make certain there weren’t any more ghosts, then finally nodded. Once the three of them started moving again, she reached out without a word to take Touya’s and Yue’s hands as they walked on either side of her, seeking silent reassurance.
In a dark, empty room the spectre wept, now only a flicker of pale blue losing against the oppressive shadows all around as ice slowly traced patterns up the walls.
Alone.
Forever.