Riful's Heart.

[dramatispersonae]

[everything goes away.]

[sight, sound, taste, touch, smell - you lose yourself to the nothing that waits through the doorway. do you have a body? a mind? what is such a thing? for a dizzying moment, you might not even be sure you have a "you" to identify these concepts with.]

[then, wrenching and violent, the confusion of the senses pummels itself back inside you like seasoning pounded into raw meat, and you're left, painfully sensate, on an open plain.]

Comments

[oh_brother]

[hgnhgkl gasping]

[amivoringyou]

[btw, Mark is currently unrestrained; the guards have fled further down the tunnel, to take up their guarding positions away from the silver-eyed she-witches.]

[Riful does not seem over-concerned that the short fat guy will pose a threat, even if he is a potential yoma and they're in an enclosed space; to Aeris' enhanced senses and yoki awareness, this is quite obviously because she feels just that strong.]

[flourished]

Sure I will.

[ giving Riful a look over :'D;;; ]

[amivoringyou]

All right ... if that's the case, I'd rather not face an execution squad today.

[she laughs, and lets go of Yukio - and with a shift of her wrist and hand position, throws him unceremoniously into Mark, instead.]

[you might be alive, the gesture implies, but it's only because we allow you to dictate the terms of our engagements.]

[noticing this attention, and returning the look with ... well, rather breathtaking frankness, probably, before a thoughtful purse of the lips ... and then she kisses Aeris, gently, like she's testing a theory.]

[oh_brother]

[sorry about that Mark. he picks himself up, kind of staring as he struggles to get back his breath]

[identityformations]

[ow]

[a-at least I made a comfy landing pad]

[picking himself up as well, and very quietly] ...who the hell is the other woman?

[oh_brother]

[hoarsely:]

Aeris, from Onyx. But her hair is usually brown, and she's not ... I sense something weird about her.

[identityformations]

Modified?

[oh_brother]

If that's the case, it's something the heart did to her.

[identityformations]

It seems like we're dealing with a situation where humans are genetically modified into some sort of super-soldier in order to fight monsters, which affects their sanity, and they're then used and hated as a result. If it's something that troubles her, it wouldn't surprise me if she shared it.

[oh_brother]

[ssssilent for a moment there]

Either way, this seems like a situation that's too dangerous for us. Perhaps we should leave this to her.

[identityformations]

Not... [ow my whatever got hit ow] ...the worst idea I've heard today...

[flourished]

[ pushes Riful away -- just enough to say : ] I have a boyfriend.

[ and then kisses her back ]

[amivoringyou]

[OKAY, AND THEN RIFUL WALLED AERIS HARD ENOUGH TO CRACK THE ROCK WALL BEHIND HER]

[for about ... half a minute]

[they are a very forceful thirty seconds]

[and then she pulls back.] What does a boyfriend have to do with me? He shouldn't interfere with what's not his concern.

But we'll continue this later, something just occurred to me.

[she turns, curious, to Yukio and Mark.] You. What are you doing here? You're obviously after something.

[oh_brother]

[ssshakily gets to his feet. still hoarse:]

You would not understand the reason even if we told you. Regardless, we'll be leaving now.

[amivoringyou]

[nnnnarrows her eyes.]

[leaps up, grabs at the rock and makes handholds with her hands and uses them to vault herself, twisting like an acrobat as she whips herself along the ceiling, over Mark and Yukio's heads.]

I think not. You'll tell me or you won't leave here alive.

... I may be forbidden to kill humans, but the guards are human enough. They can kill you just fine, and I'll watch.

[oh_brother]

[jolts back at that, then glances at Aeris.]

Fine. You are a fragment of Riful's -- known to us as Sword -- psyche, and we are here in the depths of her mind due to a dangerous Persona meddling with her. I am here to try to prevent damage from being done and also to come to understand her better. In particular, I was hoping to find context for a memory she had shown me some time ago.

But you aren't going to believe that, are you?

[amivoringyou]

[cocks her head.]

No. [she shrugs.] But you've just convinced me you're too insane to be any harm to the Organization's secrets, so you're free to go.

[she waves a hand.] Get going. And don't stick around; I might change my mind about letting you live if you stay down here and I catch you again!

[she smiles, like that joke is actually legitimately funny to her.]

[oh_brother]

[oh gosh. survival vs. curiosity... he takes a step back towards the exit.]

What secrets?

[identityformations]

[wowwwww this is all fascinating]

[has been kind of paralyzed in place since the kissing happened though]

[because]

[alsdkfjsdf issues]

[amivoringyou]

If I told you that, they wouldn't be secrets, would they? Run along, boys. This isn't your place to wander wherever you please.

This is killing ground, and you ... you're not even children, compared to us. You're babies who haven't been born.

[putting one hand around Aeris' shoulder, and beginning to lead her back the way Aeris and Riful came] Remember that. You're safe because we let you be. Because we care about your fragile little lives.

Don't mistake our concern for compassion and overstep your bounds.

Now be off, to sleep comfortably in your soft beds.

[oh_brother]

[one long measuring look ... then he nods, going to leave]

Thank you.

[identityformations]

[eyes tracking Yukio vaguely, completely ignoring Riful's monologuing]

[oh_brother]

[grabs Mark's arm :|]

Come on. We'd better not press our luck.

[identityformations]

[jolts a little and twists free on instinct]

[opens his mouth, closes it, and follows him, getting less out of it by the moment]