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twinpharaohs((Continued from here. Kat does not have an RP journal of her own, so she'll be played through either Yugi's or Bakura's, depending on whoever's logged in at the time. Most likely Yugi. Kat now has an RP journal at toreador_saviour.))
When Yugi, Yami, Bakura, and April PINPoint into Dominion, they're closer to their destination than they were the last time April was here. The January air is positively chilly, and the sky is currently clouded over. A couple of inches of snow cover everything except the streets and sidewalks.
Yugi takes a moment to orient himself, then says, "Oh good, we're actually near Bakura's place. Kat's apartment is just down the road." He points towards a tall, fourteen-storey building a couple of blocks to the east by way of demonstration.
toreador_saviour.))When Yugi, Yami, Bakura, and April PINPoint into Dominion, they're closer to their destination than they were the last time April was here. The January air is positively chilly, and the sky is currently clouded over. A couple of inches of snow cover everything except the streets and sidewalks.
Yugi takes a moment to orient himself, then says, "Oh good, we're actually near Bakura's place. Kat's apartment is just down the road." He points towards a tall, fourteen-storey building a couple of blocks to the east by way of demonstration.
Kat's choice of mantra is inspired by the song "Escapist" by Nightwish. >.>
Date: 31 May 2012 02:49 (UTC)Kat thinks on her choice of word for a moment, the nods decisively. "'Nightingale'," she replies. "That's my word." She sings quietly, under her breath, "A nightingale in a golden cage, that's me, locked inside reality's maze," before quieting and closing her eyes.
It's hard to get her mind clear of any extraneous thoughts; too many ideas flitting around, too many random musings, too many worries and tiny, niggling little fears. Eventually she turns to mentally reciting the entire song which inspired her word choice. That manages to get her brain focused enough that she can begin turning her attention to the mantra. Nightingale. Nightingale. Nightingale. Nightingale...
Yugi, meanwhile, has assumed a cross-legged position and is sitting back-to-back with Yami on the love seat. He's breathing in and out at very focused, specifcally-timed intervals; he, too, learned breathing exercises, though he usually finds himself using them before choir practice. Now, however, he's trying to follow April's lesson for himself. Yami's attempting to do the same as well. They're not so much focusing on a word as they are simply focusing on the comfort of the other's presence; no word or phrase could possibly come close to describing how safe they know they are when they're near each other.
Bakura simply sits on his barstool, hands resting calmly on his lap, eyes closed. While he's not regulating his breathing like Yugi, he appears to be deep in thought, or intensely focused. Either one. He's not mentally repeating a mantra either; he's building up various mental images, similarly to how he would prepare to cast a spell. And they are detailed mental images, including a work-in-progress design for wards to protect Kat's flat, among other things.
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Date: 31 May 2012 13:03 (UTC)When she is around others, it can be harder to use her mantra to meditate. But that is one of the struggles a psychic has. And needs to overcome.
"Push everything else away. Embrace only your matra and allow it to bring you a place of peace and concentration."
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Date: 31 May 2012 18:29 (UTC)It doesn't take long for Yugi and Yami either. Given their bond with each other and the fact that they're each choosing to focus on the other's presence—both physical and psychic—this might not come as a surprise. They do unconsciously reach out and grasp each other's hands, not even thinking about the gesture, almost like a reflex.
Kat, however, seems to be having a bit more trouble. A place of concentration is not difficult—a place of peace, however, is. Thoughts keep trying to press in, and the Beast Within is, as it always tends to do, rattling at its mental cage. The thoughts she tries to snuff out like candles every time they pop up; the Beast is a bit more of a problem. No matter how hard she tries to ignore it, some part of its presence remains in her awareness.
"The Beast," she mutters. "Can't keep it out of my mind. Always there, always bucking at the reins. Distracting," she adds through gritted teeth.
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Date: 31 May 2012 18:33 (UTC)So she can see the inner Beast in April. The one who is wondering... what Bakura tastes like. What Yugi tastes like. That is always looking for a way to gain control and to gain power.
"You must master your Beast, less it master you. Why did you select a cage for yours? A caged animal only gets more violent and vocal."
Stupid Enter button. Also, good deduction about what Kat's Beast has in mind!
Date: 31 May 2012 18:48 (UTC)She shakes her head, opening her eyes a little. "Only thing I could think of," she says quietly. "My Sire isn't around to tell me how to manage this kind of thing. Not sure I'd want his advice anyway, given what I know about him. I'm sure he'd tell me not to bother with restraining it at all."
thanks :D
Date: 31 May 2012 18:51 (UTC)"Don't use a cage." April repeated.
"Actually... not restaining the Beast is good advice. Look within me. My Beast is not in a cage. She is there. I admit she is there. I respect that she is there. We live together in harmony..."
"You have to find a way to work with your Beast."
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Date: 31 May 2012 19:16 (UTC)She does, however, look within April to see her Beast. When she does, Kat's Beast develops a sudden interest in April's, and Kat hastily steps back from April's mind before Beast-to-Beast combat of any kind occurs. Nodding a little, she says, "Your Beast is of a different nature than mine, I think. It's intelligent. Mine... Well, like I said, 'wild animal' is an apt description."
The words remind her of her awakening Frenzy, and they trigger a very intense flashback right about then. A man with messy blond hair and glowing red eyes biting into Kat's neck, forcing his bleeding wrist against her mouth. Waking up, in bed, her sister watching over her, seeing entirely in red and heat. The Beast, attacking Laurie. Her sister's blood on her hands and mouth. Her mother, shouting after Kat as she crashes through her bedroom window, running away. "GET OUT! GET OUT, AND NEVER COME BACK!
Terror. Despair. Both then, and now.
When Kat comes out of the flashback, small trickles of blood run from her tear ducts, and she lets out a choked, quiet noise somewhere between a growl and a sob. "Dammit," she says, weariness in her voice. "Dammit, I hate it when that happens..."
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Date: 31 May 2012 21:10 (UTC)"The problem is... you are still thinking of yourself as two different people. Me... I am whole. My Beast and I are the same person."
"I respect its need for blood. Its need for destruction."
"You can restrain... without denying yourself what you are. Who you are."
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Date: 1 June 2012 06:48 (UTC)The second part leaves her quiet for a bit. Then she says, "You can accept something like that as being an inseparable part of yourself without considering it the same person as you. Like a split personality. I can't get rid of my Beast, and I've always known that. But all I will ever be able to think of it as is something that is a part of me, but not me." She straightens a bit and says, "Personality defines who we are, our identity. My Beast and I do not have the same personality. You see where I'm coming from here?"
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Date: 1 June 2012 12:35 (UTC)"It made things worse."
But April does understand where Kat is coming from. She likely still thinks of herself as human. Her 'embrace' was such a recent event after all.
"When you can't allow an wild animal to roam free, and it is too dangerous to cage it... I guess I would suggest mentally tranquilizing it. We can tie your mantra word to a hypnotic calming agent that will affect your Beast."
"I could do it too... place the right techniques in your head. And give you the wording you need to control. it."
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Date: 2 June 2012 01:41 (UTC)April's only partially right there. In some ways, yes, Kat does still think of herself as human, but for the most part, she's simply trying to retain as much of her former Humanity as she can. A lot of Kindred, fleglings especially, try to do that.
Kat watches her for a moment, considering, then nods. "Do it," she says quietly.
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Date: 2 June 2012 14:55 (UTC)Using the word 'Nightingale', she starts to place a hypnotic suggestion on the Beast. That every time it hears that word, it will go into a slumber. That it will be less able to control Kat... and less likely to desire the blood of others. And that with this word... Kat can start taking the steps she needs to find a better balance between her humanity and her Beast.
"There. It is done."
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Date: 2 June 2012 21:58 (UTC)Bakura, Yugi, and Yami have been watching the entire exchange quietly, having come out of their own meditations. Bakura drops out of the barchair he's been sitting in and tentatively comes over to lay a hand on her shoulder. "You alright?" he asks her quietly.
She smiles gently at him. "Yeah. Good, actually."
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Date: 2 June 2012 22:01 (UTC)There are differences between the type of vampire that Kat is, to her own. April realizes that. And she hopes that that she can help a little. But there is only so much she can do as long as Kat denies her vampire side.
She *will* tell him. At the end of the next Installment in a couple of weeks our time. =P
Date: 2 June 2012 22:44 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2 June 2012 22:53 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2 June 2012 23:48 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2 June 2012 23:53 (UTC)"So... if I am going to visit you all now and then. Be warned that Clark and my dimension moves quicker than most timelines. Next time you see me..." She smiles, touching her first trimester belly. "I could be huge."
Tentatively, shall we say after the Take Back the Night for her next visit?
Date: 3 June 2012 00:03 (UTC)He stands up and hugs April. Yami follows suit a moment later. "'Course," he says. "Alright if I try to get in touch with you if something comes up? Just to keep you in the know about what's going on around here? I get the feeling New Year's wasn't the only incident we were intended to stop."
((I plan on doing the next DBFS Installment, Take Back the Night, next weekend, since it occurs in early June. :).))
sounds good to me. She won't expand by that much in that time
Date: 3 June 2012 00:08 (UTC)Which'll be weird, since for them it'll have been six months :)
Date: 3 June 2012 00:14 (UTC)LOL April never thought their time would go by faster.
Date: 3 June 2012 00:16 (UTC)Just for this one time, though =P As far as I know.
Date: 3 June 2012 03:35 (UTC)Yugi offers a hand to April. "Back to the Nexus? 'Cause I'm not sure I've got the PINpoint code for your reality."
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Date: 3 June 2012 05:03 (UTC)no subject
Date: 3 June 2012 06:06 (UTC)