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Worthy
Jan 25, 2018 1:00:23 GMT -6
Post by Sharei on Jan 25, 2018 1:00:23 GMT -6
Isaac's lips quirked at Kanagi's question. It wasn't a mocking expression, though there was self-satisfaction in it. There was too much pride and ego inside of him not to be amused by the mortal's insinuation that his help would be more risk than gain.
"Ages of knowledge, a wealth of power and the wisdom to know when to use them - and when not to," the Director replied with a soft, entertained huff. "Do you really think that I would hold a position as a Director in the WDSA if I didn't have the brains to back up my brawn? A great deal of holding that title is knowing how to play the game. Very little that I set my hand to goes awry." Isaac's lips thinned into a displeased line as he thought about the recent breach in security that had resulted in the abduction of Viktoria and one of his own agents, and the failure stung. "And when it does, things will be put to rights, as any good leader should seek to do. Regardless, my help begins with theorizing solutions, rather than blindly throwing them into play. As a great man once said, 'victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and seek to win'."
A hand lifted and waved placatingly in the air, as though Isaac could dispel Kanagi's worries with a simple gesture. It seemed obvious to him, but then, Isaac knew his capabilities - most of them - while he hid them from the rest of the world. If people truly knew what he was and what he could do, he doubted they would be so quick to trust him. "You are right that I am not a Dreamer, though I cannot claim to know as much about them as you do. Sohl has spoken to me only briefly about them and tries very hard not to think about them. Nor am I a Walker. I am singularly unique, both of this space and not. Greater, but also diminished from my whole in this physical form."
Here Isaac hesitated. He was reluctant to give too much information but recognized that if Kanagi was to accept him - and in turn accept what he was saying about Sohl and the rest of it, he would have to offer up more than he had until now. He took a slow, calming breath, counted in his head, and then released it.
"It is... possible that I could gain knowledge from the rest of me in the Beyond," he said. "For it exists outside the concept of your 'reality', beyond space, beyond even time, and is wrapped around all worlds. It can see all that has happened and all that will come to pass. With it, there is a chance that I could find the missing component that would allow this plan to work at all - that single, stable moment in time which you require. But it is not without personal risk."
Isaac shrugged. "If nothing else," he said wryly. "I am a very big attack dog, with a very long leash."
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Worthy
Jan 25, 2018 11:43:56 GMT -6
via mobile
Post by MP on Jan 25, 2018 11:43:56 GMT -6
Sarkany's eyebrows moved steadily upward as he listened. It was too subtle, too polite to be skepticism. But it was not thrilled. So an Anomaly then. Perhaps one of the Anomalies. Skies, wasn’t that just a mess. Such entities may strut and boast with their abilities, and it was likely even true. But at the end of the day, a singular creature had nothing to go on but its own prior experience, and that was bound to be exceeded. When that happened, there would be no other to fall back on.
"A little far with your theorizing,” he said at last, the slightest curl to the word. “I agree that changes are needed, but I don’t include the plan in this. My methods, your knowledge, none of that changes the cost. In the end it'll be Sohl who does the moving, and I promise you it'll take a world more than a 'single, stable moment.' There’s no guarantee that his membrane will last the test.” An ironic smile. “I don’t suppose the rest of you knows where he can get a replacement?”
No, he was not prepared to forge ahead with this reckless plan of theirs. But through his bristling doubt, a crumb of comfort. This Isaac was at least a formidable power - if his words did not convince of that, Her restless stirrings did. As long as they stayed on the defensive, kept Sohl inconspicuous, it was possible that this would be deterrent enough. If not, Isaac might be interesting enough to redirect its focus.
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Worthy
Jan 25, 2018 13:12:45 GMT -6
Post by Sharei on Jan 25, 2018 13:12:45 GMT -6
Isaac shrugged helplessly, though he was possessed of an instant desire to look into Kanagi's question. Was there a way to repair Sohl's membrane? Or better yet, get him a stronger, better one? Isaac mused on the question but did not act on his desire. There was a too much immediate risk in seeking out the answers to these things unless they were absolutely urgent or of a dire need. He was sure the Outer Dark knew, but what it would cost him to learn it could very well be the ultimate price.
The Director held up a placating hand. "I don't, unfortunately, and despite what I said about supporting him I am not actually eager to see him rush off to his death. I haven't spoken to the boy about any of this and I probably won't, regardless. You asked me how I could help him, and I simply decided I owed you an honest and complete answer. Don't take that as blind nepotism."
"I'll defer to your judgment about the plan until such a time as it becomes necessary to bother with it," Isaac shrugged again. Ultimately, it didn't matter to him. He wasn't so altruistic that he was willing to sacrifice someone he cared about for millions of people he didn't. Isaac did not cherish the greater good. He rarely even thought about it. At the end of the day, he was a creature of self-gratification and did not lie to himself about that. "I would be quite thrilled if Sohl woke up tomorrow and decided to give up on all of this. I didn't come here to convince you that throwing him to the wolves of his own selflessness was a good idea. Just to yell at you for being a neglectful father and a bit of a prat. One just leads to the other, I suppose."
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Worthy
Jan 25, 2018 23:23:30 GMT -6
Post by MP on Jan 25, 2018 23:23:30 GMT -6
"Hmm." A noncommittal sound. Sarkany seemed distracted, lost in thought.
"There are things I should have done," he agreed at last. "In this world, instead of the next. And I can try to right that." Yellow eyes swiveled. "But I can't make promises, to you or to him. There are other risks, the cost to Sohl aside."
He looked the man, just the man, weighing the - no, not even that much - skirting the real thoughts in his mind. They prowled around the the truth, circling and sly as scavengers.
"The effects of a Walker are...very noticeable to certain eyes. Alone, Sohl's already a fair glint." He ran a thumb over the scarred back of the dead hand, an absent movement. "Now, two Walkers - two practicing Walkers, however chewed up the one might be -" A faint smile quirked his lips. "That's a dinner bell. Irresistible. If we're not careful - even if we are, I'm sure - we will draw notice. That kind of attention is something none of us can afford."
The yellow eyes were keen now, fixed on the staring red.
"I have heard you, Director. I will consider. But whatever I do, I will do slowly. At my own discretion. And if this change puts him at risk, then I'll gladly go back to your 'neglect.' He may want a teacher or a people or a father, but I will always put his freedom before his wants."
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Worthy
Jan 27, 2018 16:36:55 GMT -6
Post by Sharei on Jan 27, 2018 16:36:55 GMT -6
Sohl's already a fair glint.
The wind blew through his hair and Isaac felt the cool rush of it against his skin. Puffs of loose dirt rose from the bank to dance with it, creating swirling patterns over the water as fireflies glowed in the background. The moon was high and sickle-like, cutting through the cold light of the stars. In that one moment, everything was in beautiful, terrible, painfully stark relief. The light was too harsh, the sound of insect wings too loud. The wind over the reeds was a roar.
It's their minds that are untethered, and it makes them very strong. Whatever that mind can picture, the Dreamer can do - they're not limited by a body. And everything they see is like a game to them, made up in their own heads: people are toys, and worlds are toys, and they don't care what they do, because none of it is real to them. They do what they want, and they want to own things, and hurt things, and have things love them.
Their breathing rasped over the air like brittle leaves. Kanagi's heartbeat over the hush and shush of the lake was the steady beat of a drum. Isaac's was pounding harder.
They're all mind, see. Thinking of one is like...like a signal calling them over. A general thought can get one curious.
"You speak of Dreamers," the Director said almost gently. "I see."
And it broke the world. What it did. It made the storms wild; it made my people hunted so that the glint would go where it wanted.
Isaac's eyes traveled to the restless shade behind Kanagi and he looked through it, sensing it, seeing it, before his gaze drifted over the water. Isaac did see, though he did not want to. There was no lie in the other man, and there had been no lie in Sohl's mind when he'd discussed Dreamers. If they were truly what these Icarim said they were... His gaze shifted back to Kanagi himself and Isaac met the Icarim's gaze. The darkness shivered and the grass trembled. The waters of the lake quivered, as though disturbed by a deep vibration. With effort, Isaac reigned in his temper and the rumble ebbed off into the distance. The shadows quieted, and the air that was left grew calm.
Not this glint, Isaac thought with an inward, possessive, jealous mental snarl. Not this world.
"I will protect him," the Director said at length. "I hear your warning and I heed it. But even were I not of the mind to like him, I would still have to in order to survive, so at least have that reassurance."
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Worthy
Jan 28, 2018 11:34:37 GMT -6
Post by MP on Jan 28, 2018 11:34:37 GMT -6
"You speak of Dreamers. I see."
Then Sohl had spoken of this too. Or had been thinking of it. He shouldn't be, but at least because of it the man understood. Sarkany said nothing, but his eyes gleamed with a certain satisfaction. More so at the words that followed.
"I will protect him. I hear your warning and I heed it."
He hadn't realized how much he needed to hear those words. To have some reassurance that whatever happened to him, the boy would be cared for. Protected. That the coming danger was understood, and by a being that perhaps could even face it. This would have been a comfort. But there was that detail Isaac's following words. Something distinctly uncomfortable in it.
"In order to survive?" he repeated gently.
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Worthy
Jan 28, 2018 19:45:21 GMT -6
Post by Sharei on Jan 28, 2018 19:45:21 GMT -6
"Ah..."
Was this what having to explain to your significant other's parents felt like? Sohl and he were not in that kind of relationship, but there was an uncomfortable feeling starting to form in the pit of his stomach regardless. While it was unconventional their bond was quite intimate, and he was loathed to discuss it. Still, he'd brought it up in the first place in an effort to make peace, and he thought he ought to explain himself. It was best for Sohl if everything was out in the open.
He refused to think that he might owe Kanagi that explanation. Sohl had gotten himself into that mess. The rescue might not have been perfect, but it had worked, and Isaac did not regret this new bond.
"Sohl got himself into a little bit of trouble. I'm starting to believe he does this on a regular basis," Isaac sighed and meandered his way to the water's edge. Now that the confrontation with the man was over, Isaac was content enough to turn his back on Kanagi. His back was never really turned on anyone, but he would not be seen as weak for doing it. Isaac dropped into a crouch and picked a smooth, round stone from the shore and hefted it.
"Last month, Sohl had an unfortunate meeting with a cult in the mountains. We'd been monitoring the same cult for about six months, and I was reasonably certain that they intended to summon and bind a greater demon." Isaac flipped the rock in his hand and then skipped it out over the lake. It bounced three times and then sank. "But they hadn't broken any extraplanar laws so we left them be. We took it in turns to watch them, and so when Intel suggested they were ready to begin their summoning, and I was the only Gold on hand that could handle a Hydra Tier disaster, I decided to follow. Good thing I did, because Sohl decided that trying to interrupt and drive off four powerful mages in the middle of their summoning was a good idea."
A frustrated sigh puffed past his lips. "So he jumped in, and as it happened, they were not very pleased. I quickly moved in and saved him, but in the process of pulling him out of the fire, I stepped on one of the binding runes. As I am technically an extraplanar entity myself, there was an... accident. Things did not go as anticipated for anyone involved - and now I'm bound to your son."
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Worthy
Jan 30, 2018 19:57:45 GMT -6
Post by MP on Jan 30, 2018 19:57:45 GMT -6
For once, Sarkany seemed completely speechless. He stood unmoving through this explanation, yellow eyes fixed on Isaac's red as if searching for some contradiction there. When they found none, his gaze turned downward. Anger, outrage, fear, a kind of frantic exasperation - they warred and curdled in his chest while the shade hissed over his shoulder. The man stood there in expressionless silence, simply looking down at the grass.
"Ah," he said. It was the only sound he could manage. The night air fluttered past them. The bare tips of branches grasped at the moon. After a long few moments, Sarkany looked up, his gaze dragging a little. His tone was almost too calm.
"I know very little of magic, where our species is concerned. Was there any lasting damage?" Then, with the faint tones of someone bracing for a diagnosis, "I would like to know the details of the bond. Advantages, weaknesses, permanence. Whatever you know."
Sarkany pinched the bridge of his nose, not quite repressing a sigh.
"He is...very young to have a bond. Of any kind."
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Worthy
Jan 30, 2018 20:52:00 GMT -6
Post by Sharei on Jan 30, 2018 20:52:00 GMT -6
"Isn't he?" Isaac agreed with a mirthless chuckle. "He's so innocent that he doesn't yet contemplate the implications of what's happened. He thinks its a great big adventure."
And it was an adventure of a sort - one that fascinated and intrigued Isaac. It wasn't fair of him to pin that childish enthusiasm on Sohl alone, as he had been as guilty. Now, he could barely remember what it had been like to be alone with his thoughts. Sohl's mind was a heartbeat in the background of his, mostly silent but working all the same. Like pleasant white noise.
It also provided endless hours of entertainment, for while Sohl kept a respectful distance and tried not to pry on what the Director was doing, Isaac shared no such compunction.
"I can feel your worrying from here, Kanagi." Isaac rose from his crouch and tucked his hands into his pockets. "There was no lasting damage, to begin with, so far as I saw. He remains the same as he ever was, in both body and mind. In most cases of magical binding, the 'summoner' is not the one who has to deal with any ill effects. Their spirit, on the other hand..." Isaac shrugged helplessly. "At any rate, Sohl is the 'summoner' of the relationship, you could say. He's alright. I have some people from the Occult division looking into how to reverse it, but the few techniques we've tried haven't been successful. That isn't in itself unusual - there are many different types of magic, and many different ways of undoing it. Time will be required to find the right counterspell, and we're moving slowly to ensure neither of us is harmed in the separation. There may not be damage there now, but a violent severing may cause some."
Isaac ran through a quick mental checklist, then laid bare what he knew of the bond as well as he could, in a way he thought wasn't too abstract for someone not experiencing it to understand. There was only a slight hesitation now that he'd decided to be honest about the details. "In the interim, Sohl and I share a mental connection. We are able to trade thoughts, ideas, and meanings, though in general we keep to ourselves while in our own heads."
Isaac glanced skyward and sighed, though this time it was for himself and not on Sohl's behalf. This was the most he'd revealed about himself or his abilities in one sitting... ever. "The only thing that Sohl has inherited from me in all this is my capacity to feel the darkness. It is a sixth sense to know where others are in relation to yourself by sensing their shadows or feeling their shape in the dark. If Sohl learns how to use it effectively, it will be impossible for someone to catch him unaware. I have been teaching him and he shows some aptitude, but right now he only has about a twenty-foot radius."
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Worthy
Feb 1, 2018 0:39:49 GMT -6
Post by MP on Feb 1, 2018 0:39:49 GMT -6
For a moment, it seemed he might not answer. Sarkany's gaze remained on the grass blades throughout the explanation, seeming to search for something in the faded, brittle ends of them. Strength, perhaps. Then he sighed, a little subdued.
"Don't call me that," he said. "I go by Sarkany here." A slight quirk of his mouth. "Or whatever other nicknames I pick up." Voak, he thought wryly, would likely stick.
He folded his arms, some of his normal tone returning.
"I'm not worried, exactly. Just...disappointed. No offense." He waved a dismissive hand. "I understand the circumstances, and from the sound of things, it's a best case scenario. But a bond means more to a Walker than most. If Sohl keeps practicing, he'll need a permanent partner one day. I hope you don't set too much of a precedent."
It felt treacherous to think it, to regret that Sohl hadn't had the chance to develop a bond naturally as he himself had. Isaac might not be the first partner Sarkany would have hoped for his son, but then he shouldn't be hoping for that at all. These were Walker matters - close to his heart and fondly remembered - but Walker matters all the same, and he must never wish that for Sohl. So he pushed his disappointment aside. Focused on the night air, the bowing, bone-like branches, the...hmm.
Sarkany tipped his head ever so slightly. The air was off. It felt like breath over the drape of a tablecloth. Like many tiny hands. He glanced at Isaac reflexively, but he was already confident the man wasn't responsible. It didn't feel like before.
He took a single poised step back, his expression sliding into one of practiced neutrality. Where was it? What was it? Sarkany didn't look or cast about with his physical senses. He simply let his being drift as it was prone to do, feeling through the night air to get a sense of the thing.
"Something coming," he said. "Quite a lot of somethings."
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Worthy
Feb 18, 2018 21:16:42 GMT -6
Post by Marshmallow on Feb 18, 2018 21:16:42 GMT -6
This reality, it was so flat and featureless. Smooth, wretchedly smooth. Their many crooked claws passed over its surface like a film, pressing at the boundaries as they passed. They searched for wrinkles in the fabric, for irregularities, for the sharp protrusions that could allow them passage. The city had been filled with them; straight walls, flat floors; angles upon angles, beautifully sharp and ordered. A million open doorways. The swarm could move with ease among the constructions of Man. But beyond the artificial structures, nature was woefully curved. The entirety of the hive resonated with Her disdain for these limited spaces. Regardless, there were orders to fulfill.
Ah, there. That would do.
Among leaf-bare trees and chill-hardened earth, a scattering of snapped branches and sticks rested at odd angles to one another. A pinch in the smooth curves of reality.
The only warning of their arrival was a distortion in the air. Like the surface of a pond in the wake of a pebble, space rippled. Then it cracked. And through that crack, they flowed forth. First a scout arrived and swam near-silently among the boughs. Moments passed, and it was soon joined by the rest of its detachment. Once all had arrived and adjusted to the flat, three-dimensional world, they took up formation and slithered through the air toward the lakeshore, toward their quarry.
To the eyes of this reality's denizens, their bodies were unfathomable. Amorphous nonsense shapes that lurched and twisted in and out of focus, changing shape and color with every movement. Living kaleidoscopes that no average mortal had the ability to fully comprehend.
But to those whose minds encompassed more than this limited mortal reality, their shapes became more apparent. Long, sinuous bodies that moved in jagged, sharp spasms; dozens of many-jointed limbs and coiling tendrils; sharp, cone-like 'heads' framed by jagged mandibles and odd protuberances; hides striped in geometric patterns and fractals, and studded with vicious spines.
Space warped and distorted around their impossible bodies, and the only sounds made by their passing was like that of a thousand softly clinking glasses. They moved in perfect unison as they drifted through the trees toward the water's edge. Two beings stood on the shore, but only one held their interest. Only one carried the fading traces of the scent that the swarm hunted.
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Worthy
Mar 1, 2018 8:47:44 GMT -6
Post by Sharei on Mar 1, 2018 8:47:44 GMT -6
Isaac wanted to say that he was exactly the sort of precedent that Sohl should be considering in any such partnerships, but then he fully considered the statement and realized that there would never be another being like him and to try and suggest it was outlandish. No one would ever be as good as Isaac had been. The jealous, possessive part of him said and no one ever will be. Sohl was his partner. There would never be another-
He had to force that thought away with some effort. They were trying to break this bond between them already, weren't they? He should wish only the best things for the young man. Love, life, happiness, to be well taken care of and well clothed, and to want for nothing. Those were the things that Isaac wished for the people who had managed to get beneath the surface of his skin. He wished these things for Sohl.
Yet there was a feeling in the back of his mind, not so small as he would have expected it to be, that was deeply bothered by the idea of giving up the bond to someone else.
He was drawn out of his silence by Kanagi's - Sarkany's - words. Isaac tilted his head and felt the vibration along the shadowy paths of the nighttime world. He recognized their shape, although he could not say exactly how. He felt he had seen them in passing before, like a shadow out of the corner of one's eye.
"[Friends of yours? Or mine?]" Isaac asked, and though he made no move to look in the direction the creatures were floating in from, he said, "[ I count ten up front and none in the wings. Definitely not native, they leave a strange taste on reality.]"
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Worthy
Mar 1, 2018 11:10:37 GMT -6
via mobile
Post by MP on Mar 1, 2018 11:10:37 GMT -6
Sarkany tipped his head at the count, the movement angling his peripherals ever so slightly. He could see the things squirming closer, a sting on the eyes and a migraine ache against the fabric of the world. Strange was an understatement. But in spite of himself, in spite of the groaning corners of reality, he couldn’t quite focus like he should.
There had been a look on that face he didn’t like. A certain satisfied demeanor that was all too like a Dreamer. He’d seen - he’d felt enough of that expression to guess this being’s thoughts. And he knew, just as surely as the twisting shade at his back knew, that he was helpless to prevent them. The knowledge simmered in his gut, a blackening weight. Not Sohl. Not his son.
The thoughts did not show on his face. But they made his next move easier. Sarkany backed away from Isaac, his steps smooth and casual, like a neighbor drifting back to their own lawn after a pleasant morning’s conversation. He tracked the things from the corners of his eyes, though he never turned his face from Isaac. These things moved with a purpose. So the question was...
The things came on in a twisting pack. And sure enough, as Sarkany retreated, a definite preference emerged. The things hardly spared him a glance, flowing as a single body toward Isaac. He’d thought so. These creatures didn’t feel like anything from the Rimguard’s jurisdiction.
[They like you,] he commented dryly, though his voice was little above than a murmur, pitched as if for an aggressive animal.
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Worthy
Mar 5, 2018 23:10:26 GMT -6
Post by Marshmallow on Mar 5, 2018 23:10:26 GMT -6
Tangled limbs twitched, long bodies swayed. Orders were to hunt, to subdue and capture - alive. No killing, and so the pack kept their collective claws carefully tucked. The creatures of this world were prone to reacting negatively to rapid, sudden movements. So they were careful. They were calm. They measured their movements, gliding slow and smooth as they fanned out and surrounded their quarry. The man they hunted was sentient, so they followed Her protocols, and His orders. Lacking the necessary mouthparts to communicate audibly, the pack reached out with their shared minds instead.
But they were met with a wall. Or, more of a void... An emptiness too vast to be bridged, into which their projected thoughts simply vanished without feedback, without acknowledgement.
All as one, the pack recoiled. They twisted upon themselves and regarded the man-who-was-not-a-man with curious tilts of their heads. Many-faceted sensory bulbs that ringed each creature's head flickered in a strange approximation of a blink. If they could not speak to this being, they could not negotiate its surrender.
There was a long pause as this information filtered through their links. Abruptly, with a ripple of space as they inverted on their axes, half of the pack turned to face the other figure on the shore. The one they had dismissed. It had been communicating with their prey. If its mind could be reached, then perhaps they would have a use for it after all.
Again they reached out, and this time there was no void, no bleak empty wall. There was indeed a mind, they could feel it, and eagerly the pack probed further. They were met with a strange resistance, and burbled their collective displeasure at yet another obstacle to their mission. Not a wall this time, but something different. A presence of some kind, like another mind layered atop the first. It seemed reactive, snaring their invading thoughts like a mass of cobwebs. A curiosity to be sure, but they would not be dissuaded, and pushed through its interference to the mind beneath. The weight of the pack's thoughts, any by extension the Hive's, pressed in on the strange man's consciousness.
There were no words, just a collection of impressions and images fed rapid-fire into Sarkany's mind. Vivid depictions of Isaac, a sense of possessive want and need, an image of Sarkany talking to Isaac accompanied by a sharp desire to communicate. The last in the string of thoughts were images of Isaac being escorted away from the lake by the pack. In the wake of that rush of thought, the creatures simply hovered there, regarding the man expectantly.
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Worthy
May 3, 2018 8:10:51 GMT -6
via mobile
Post by MP on May 3, 2018 8:10:51 GMT -6
Sarkany took a step back under the unified, fractured gaze. Perhaps preparing to defend himself. Perhaps trying to retreat further out of range. Whatever his intentions, it was already too late.
A sudden weight clapped over his mind, sluggish at first, faltering, before abruptly swarming in from all directions. It felt like madness. It felt like drowning. Sarkany’s teeth came together in a small click as his jaw tightened, the knuckles of his good hand whitening. He stood unmoving, pinned by the insect buzz of thought and expectation, returning their stares with a flat, icy hostility that was not entirely his own. He could feel Her like a shadow, like a film over his mind. Growing darker, stronger.
No, he ordered Her back.
But She was fighting him, feeding off his fear. It was Her anger, the swarm’s invasive demands, the myriad voices of a thousand parallel worlds, and Sarkany could hardly keep himself centered in time, let alone fend off two simultaneous forces. Already there was something at his back, whispering over his shoulders, straining at the corners of his eyes. She was trying to take over - to protect them - and he must not let Her. Not when the creatures were not fully hostile yet.
Get out, he told Her, told them, bracing against it with every fiber of his will.
He was caught, trapped no matter what he did. Refuse and they would hail him again, try harder, since the kuwha seemed not to hear them. Obey and they would only continue to speak through him. And She slipped another shade further at the thought. All this while Sarkany stood there, stone-faced and rigid, staring back at the pack.
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