genessia | An outing with a spectre [Action] [initially closed to Mami; may open up later if she goes outside]

Though it might be harder to hide from a spirit inside of her body, outwardly Mamizou seemed to be perfectly fine. She seemed well rested, and as chipper as always, but the truth of course was not so nice. She didn't care about the danger to herself in offering her help, it was what happened after she had reported to Satsuki that was bothering her. Still, when her voice responds, you'd never know it.

"Naturally. I don't need a great deal of sleep. And the sooner we get accustomed to each other the sooner we can start searching for your target."

Well, she was eager. That's a start.

"Yes. The first thing to learn is an extension of how I speak. I cannot control anything until you give bodily permission. You've likely noticed a certain urging at your mouth when I try to talk through you; the same applies to the rest of you. For example, if I urge at your eye, I can see, though out of that eye specifically, you cannot. In addition, I said before how my enemy's powers can be negated by me. You say that however he is beguiling the populace, it is an act of guile; a 'trick'. If true, this will allow us to see through it. Try it now: grant me the use of your right eye." True to his word, he would start nagging at her sight.

While she had a great many more years behind her then any normal human would have, none of it had really prepared the woman for anything like this. "Yes, I had felt that before. When you wanted to speak. I never bothered trying to speak over you, it seemed like it might do more harm then good."

The feeling in her eye was different, and a little uncomfortable at that. Eyes were more sensitive, though thankfully those glasses she wore were more a fashion statement then a sign of poor vision. It takes her a moment longer to relent when compared to simply having the spirit speak through her, but after a moment he would find himself in control of that eye.

"I must confess that is a little discomforting. I suppose that is why we are getting used to it where there is no danger."

"Correct, getting over the discomfort is a crucial part of our mission. Luckily, you have two of them." True to his word, he took in the sights. The room was especially conducive to meditation, which is another way to say that it was featureless and boring, and thus there were no 'soul shivers' that activated. Mamizou's vision in her right eye would go dark for a moment, though she could still see out of the other.

"Fortunately, I can see no work of the enemy here. Unfortunately, that means we cannot practice against it. You will merely have to trust in the potency of this when the time comes." He relinquished control.

"As I said before, it applies to anything, with the same effects. Should he try to assault you with his power, I can take command of your arms or hands to cleave through them. If he should make you hear something, or overwhelm your hearing, I can guard against, and so on. For safety's sake, I would like control of one ear and eye at all times. But that can come later, for now, you must get used to this, both in terms of endurance and speed. You need to learn both how to give up and take back swiftly, and how to operate without certain faculties at any time."

So, with her permission, he would egg her on, with various minor possessions and combinations. He would urge her to run, with one leg his and another hers, then both legs his. Running and talking, then. On and on, trying to simulate any possible situation that might come up.

The technique was to give up control, then assume. Give up, assume, over and over until he thought she had achieved mastery. Not just that, but also to trust. It was like trying to move with a numbed limb; one knows one can, even if the nerves don't register. Thus it would take power of will to continue to operate one body with two operators, constantly shifting positions and responsibilities.

Edited 2014-12-03 01:34 (UTC)

Thankfully, it seems that the woman's occasionally playful personality does not make her a poor student. She does not attain mastery right away, of course.

"This is quite a bit more then I thought I was getting myself into when I agreed to attend that meeting for Ms. Amaterasu."

The spirit might not recognize small talk for what it was. Chances are, it wouldn't be able to understand why she would even strike up a conversation not related to training. But even as she speaks, she is concentrating on learning as well, so the time isn't being completely wasted. Slowly but surely, her reactions to regaining control become quicker. She stumbled less when she didn't have complete control over her legs. It was not a quick process, but she was making obvious progress.

"When you believe that we have reached a good point, I shall tell you of my own abilities. They will...well, they are going to complicate things. But they will also complicate things for your enemy, so I suppose that is a plus."

A conversation? Must be about training!

"If this is too burdensome for you, we can stop here for now." He hoped she didn't mean to give up entirely.

"Still, you are learning well. The foundations are set; It will not take more than a day, I guess, to reach a sufficient level with this alone. As for your abilities, do tell. Confusing a spirit of chaos is no mean feat."

The spirit might not recognize what Mami's lips were doing when they turned upwards into a smile.

"You may have noticed last evening, but I am not a human. I am a bake-danuki. I imagine that word means nothing to you, so the short version is that I am a particular kind of animal that has a human form. I won't bore you with the details of my past, but what is important is what that means for us."

Its difficult to give a lecture when the person you are talking to is inside of your own body. "The reason I say this will get more complex is that I am not limited to this form. I can freely transform myself. This, of course, will make it rather easy for us to hide from people who can't feel you. If things get too difficult, I can just change the way I look. And it isn't limited to strictly human forms either. I do not know if this chaos spirit will be able to feel you, but it should make investigating while keeping my identity hidden a great deal easier."

He paused, being still, but emanating a few pulses. She could transform...? He half suspected something like that, but he wasn't much to engage in guesswork.

"What else changes, besides your form? Would you do that now?"

Edited 2014-12-03 02:59 (UTC)

What else changes depends on what sort of form I assume. I maintain my mind, but I take on the limitations and strengths of that form. For instance, if I became something that could not talk, we would be unable to speak. If I became a fish, I could not move outside of water. I don't really like being a fish, so lets not do that. Generally, the closer a form is to the real me, the easier it is to work with."

Vision vanishes as her eyes close, and a sound like a puff of smoke can be heard. When those eyes open again, the spirit might be confused to find its vision much closer to the ground. Mami was no longer standing on two legs but four. To prove just how drastic a change she was capable of, she had assumed the form of an actual tanuki. Tanuki-Mami's mouth opens, and a very not human sound comes from it.

And then, with the same sort of noise and smoke, the woman is as she was a few moments ago. "Its a shame you couldn't see us like that. We were quite adorable."

More pulses. This had a lot of implications.

"This is an advantageous development. The chaos spirit is wise to me being in intelligent beings, but not animals. This gives us the upper hand. Though, I would keep it to the mundane ones, anyway. I take it you can move as they move, in addition to how they sound?" Because of lack of sight, he couldn't tell that what she had become was unusual, even by Genessia's standards, and thus could not warn of transforming into something too conspicuous.

It was unlikely there were too many raccoon dogs in the area, that was true. Perhaps regular raccoons wouldn't be that rare, but she had no desire to assume such a droll form if she could help it.

"Naturally. All the advantages, as well as the disadvantages, as I said. However, that is only one aspect. See, the transformation is not limited just to myself. I can transform others as well, and even the inanimate. Sadly, other people likely wouldn't handle unfamiliar forms very well. Turning someone into a bird doesn't teach them how to fly, it simply gives their body the ability to do so. I've had ample time to practice various forms, so that is not so much an issue for me."

"Yes, flight would be useful. It is likely that I can control your faculties in those forms as well. I too, have had some practice with lesser beasts." A pause. Now came the touchy part.

"Speaking of weaknesses, I'll divulge mine. Last night, when you went for the hot drink, you probably felt something peculiar. That tremor...it's something I cannot help. Any sensation you take is perceived by me as well, but amplified like a wave. That would be your second obstacle to overcome. As for how to do it...repeated exposure might work. A battery of sensations might work, but it might overwhelm."

It paused for a moment.

"Perhaps the rest of the day would be best spent...going about as you would, assuming you're not a hermit. Exposure to many feelings would do well to inure you to those tremors. Both in your normal form, and others, if there's time."

That is unlikely to be very fun when something actually hurts her. The tea had been bearable after a small amount of adjustment, it might be harder to handle if she got stabbed. If it came to battle, pain was inevitable, no matter how careful she was.

"Actually, there is more you should know before we move on to such things. You say flight is useful, yes? Well, it is not necessary for me to change my form to do so." To prove how easy it was for her, she raised her arms to her side and pushed away from the ground, hovering a few inches over the floor. "Of course flying in a form like this is likely to attract a little attention. It wasn't like that back home, this sort of thing was not rare at all."

When she lets her feet touch the ground again, she holds one hand in front of her. "Finally, there is my fighting ability. I am not a harmless lady, despite how lovely I am." The spirit might feel a bit of warmth as she gathered energy in her hand, and a pair of little blue energy orbs appeared over it. They spin lazily around it before one begins to elongate and shift form, turning into a silhouette not unlike a bird, and flies away, the other shifting into something that looks a little bit like a stick man, which marches across the room in mid-air, little stick figure arms flailing. "Ah, that is going to take a little getting used to, normally I can't even feel it when I do something like that. I will save you from having to guess, and tell you. Those are made out of energy, and are harmful when they make contact with someone. Its unlikely to be fatal. We fought with our wits first and our power second back home. I'd tell you all about it, but I imagine all you care about is how it can help us."

She smiles as the two silhouettes return to her hand, vanishing into nothingness. "Though I should not have to explain how being able to shoot energy is useful. I cannot give you a full demonstration, I don't want to destroy this room."

Yes, luck or fate had given him a very good partner indeed. The ability to use forms, combined with a nonlethal means of neutralization, all wrapped up in one who seemed confident and willing to carry this through. Most pleasing.

"Yes. I should've mentioned this earlier, but our mission isn't to kill. If there are unavoidable obstacles, it may come to that, but our enemy is cunning and will simply go elsewhere if his vessel is destroyed. Incapacitating him is required; if you manage that, then get close and I will do the rest."

He was a bit worried how she dropped the conversation train about the tremors. They weren't that awkward, were they?

"Regarding that 'echo'...I wouldn't worry about your feelings being amplified, personally. They merely intensify in me, and then you must deal with the quakes. In a conflict, that may distract and prove fatal. That is why you must work to abide them. How would you proceed?"

It had taken a lot of coincidences to lead Mamizou to where she was now. The first was waking up in that cave. The second came from Satsuki being the first one to greet her. The woman proving interesting to the bake-danuki made her further her relationship with her. Being forced to show herself in flight during the disaster not long after her arrival prompted her to reveal her true self to Satsuki.

All this ended with the two working together, Mamizou agreeing to lend her abilities in exchange for a source of legitimate money and, of course, the amusement she could pull off behind the scenes. And of course that had lead to this.

"I really would prefer not to engage in any murder if possible. It would make things awkward for a lot or reasons." She's silent a moment, before finally sighing. "I suppose there really is only one way to deal with it. It is horribly unpleasant, but I shall have to learn to adjust. I believe your idea to go out and experience as many different things as we can is a good one. I assume your enemy doesn't know about me. But I must wonder. If you can detect it, can it detect you? Changing forms would only be so helpful in that case."

Murder is unjust killing. Any who would get in the ghost's way would merit death, the ghost thought. He put aside that bit of solemnity.

"I cannot detect him; that would be my superiors. That is why they sent me. From here on out, we will have to find him ourselves." And any allies she had lined up, of course, though he would not rely on them if at all possible.

"As for his powers of observation, it's doubtful. Chaos spirits are not known for their vigilance, or subtlety. If he knows of me, it would only be passively, as an inevitability. Still, our approach remains the same: caution, then surprise. It's the optimal way."

Speaking of optimality...

"Then it's agreed. I leave you to direct the exercise; as we go, I will continue what we've started here. Field experience ought to be better than the passivity of this room."

Edited 2014-12-04 23:42 (UTC)

So far, the woman's allies were limited and the spirit had met most of them. Satsuki herself may have some resources she could apply to the search, but as for Mami, she had always been something of a 'lone agent'. She'd done as she pleased for the most part.

With a smile, she clasps her hands together. "Then it is settled. There are a few minor details I need to tend to. They, I fear, won't help us much other then to get used to this union, but that is the main purpose of going out, right? And who knows, perhaps we shall be lucky." With a merry expression on her face, the woman leaves the room. She twirls the cardkey that had let her into the room in her hands for a moment before tucking it into the safest place she can imagine, her cleavage. No one is gonna get their hands there without her knowing!

"Okay. The first stop is at the local grocery, and then a quick visit to some friends of mine. They...probably won't be able to help us, but I'm sure they'll get lonely if I don't come see them." Card key safely stowed, she heads out of the building and to a small grocery store where she buys a single item, a loaf of bread. The trip seems easy enough, she seems to have already adjusted to simple things like walking with the spirit's presence inside of her. There won't be any jerky marionette motions out of her! Her next destination is only a short distance from the first, a small park where she heads towards a wooded area.

And its there that her 'friends' seem to be waiting for her. The city didn't have much in the way of raccoon dogs other then herself, but it did have regular raccoons. They were something like distant cousins to her, and they seemed to feel the same as a few of them approach her entirely unafraid. "I suppose coming here might not help with training, but you did tell me to act as if it was a normal day."

The trip seems easy enough, she seems to have already adjusted to simple things like walking with the spirit's presence inside of her. There won't be any jerky marionette motions out of her!

If only the ghost made it that easy. Ghosty wasn't kidding when he wanted to continue what they started. Gimme an eye! Gimme an ear! Gimme an arm! More drills were continued as the training proceeded apace. Luckily, he wasn't able to observe his quarry's presence along the way.

When they stopped, he was miffed. "I assumed, based upon our first meeting, that your normal life was more stimulating than this." She even chose the blandest thing to buy at the grocery store.

"My mistake for assuming, then. During my time with Morgan, I became knowledgeable to facilities within the city. Among ones that would suit our purposes are these: A concert. A hot spring. An exotic (i.e. alien) restaurant. A (sci-fi) amusement park. These, in addition to others you might suggest, should provide the necessary experiences to inure you to my tremors. In addition to those events, strenuous physical activity would also serve, preferably in one of your forms. What say you?"

Edited 2014-12-10 02:59 (UTC)

The response she gives as she begins feeding her 'friends' is merely to smile. It was still a little weird to respond to words coming out of her own mouth, but she was adjusting.

"My everyday life is intentionally low key. I have put a great deal of time since I arrived here convincing everyone I am a human like most of the rest of them."

One of the raccoons seems particularly affectionate, and leaps onto her arms. The thing is doing its best not to hurt her, but its claws against her arm still feel much more noticeable then usual.

"That makes it easier when I have to do something exceptional. For instance, what you will require from me. Do not think that I am some crazy old lady that does nothing but sits in the woods and talks to animals, though! The unfortunate side affect of keeping to myself is a smaller social circle." The arm-raccoon doesn't seem to think it odd she's talking to herself. Its just an animal, after all. "Oh, a hot spring does sound nice, but that is more a relaxation thing. It would be better to actually do something before relaxing. But coming here wasn't entirely a waste of time. There's a running path in this park. It isn't dangerous, and it is rarely busy, so it is a good place for us."

She spends a few more minutes with the woodland creatures, disposing of the now empty bag on her way to the path. "This will be a little like what we did in that chamber, only with a lot more room to work with. Feel free to take control over some part of me while I run. Don't warn me, learning to feel it happening will save us the trouble later."

The woman's inhuman nature is obvious the moment she takes off. She doesn't look like anything special, but her body is clearly not one restrained by the limitations of humanity. She is running at a swift pace right away, and her speed picks up as she moves.

Ghosty was impressed with the features, certainly. Transformation, energy (albeit silly) attacks, and now speed. Their chances looked good.

But not good enough. Not without more drills, anyway. Could she keep this pace when he took her leg? Both? How about blindly, with both eyes? Hopefully she wouldn't go into a headlong fumble; that could get ugly.

Those attacks were only silly because of the woman's personality! She could easily throw out more standard energy blasts, but what would the fun be in that? There would be barely any at all, that is for certain! It was much more interesting having cute little barking dogs and hopping frogs attacking people. Not only was it adorable, but it'd make explaining about the person that beat them much more difficult. How do you explain that a woman shot exploding frogs at you?

To say that Mamizou handled the tests perfectly would be a lie. She'd been alive a lot of years, but she'd never experienced anything like this before, so all that experience was useless. She stumbled a little when one leg was taken. It was like running with that leg asleep, difficult on her, but thankfully she manages to keep her footing and, after a few moments, return to her full speed. Both legs was even more complex, and her speed clearly suffered, though she was able to move.

It was the loss of her eyes that cost her, though. Not being able to see was an obvious disadvantage, and finally caused her to more them stumble and actually trip herself up. Instinctively her arms come forward to protect her as she falls, but even though she catches herself and doesn't slam the ground face first, it was still likely going to be unpleasant.

The shock of impact would be replete with shocks from within. Many tremors were created.

When she has dusted herself off, the ghost would continue in his usual style. "Yes, that is the stimulating experience required to get used to my quakes." Somehow, ghosty got the impression that he should say something encouraging.

"Though I would prefer they not come in the midst of failure. Still, good that we practice now."

"In truth, we are over preparing. In the worst of times, I should only require one eye. The dual nature of your form, that is, two of everything, is fortune in that respect." Can you feel the pep oozing?

It is fortunate that the impact is rather mild compared to what it could be. It isn't a full tumble, the pain is relatively mild compared to if she's slammed her face into the path. Even still, it is a bit more then she expected. It was her first actual experience with pain combined with the tremors all throughout her body. For the first time she really can see why the previous host had walked in such an odd manner.

"I must say it was a rather unpleasant experience overall. I...well, to be honest I'm not sure how exactly to explain it." She's slow to get back to her feet, but the experience doesn't seem to have done her real harm. Her hands brush across her clothes."

The little pep talk is less then inspiring. She's got two of everything, just like almost everything in existence! But the words aren't without value, they make her think of something. "I don't always have two of everything. Depending on my shape I might have four legs and no arms. Shall we do a bit of tree climbing? My little fuzzy friends are adept at it, after all."

"I spoke hastily. If pain is unavoidable in the confrontation, it is preferable to adapt to it now." Translation: Hurt yourself all you want! Just, ya know, nothing too permanent.

"Yes, a form such as that would do well for our goal, assuming the environment is similar."

Mami would have to have a firm, raccoony grip on the tree, cause the spirit had gotten used to humanoids, and needed time itself to adjust to the four-legged one. His controls began slow, but after ten minute's time he was running (or attempting to) Mami through the gauntlet again.

The tanuki is hardly the type who enjoys pain, after all. She was no delicate flower though, and took the tremors from the mild injury fairly well. It would be a stretch to say that one occurrence made her used to them, but it was a start. She was unlikely to be hurting herself on purpose of course but she hadn't meant for it to happen the first time!

While she would have preferred to assume a form closer to her real self, normal raccoons actually existed in the area and they were as close as she could get. Of course there was no conversation to be had between the two in this form. All a raccoon's limitations included an inability to speak.

She seems as adept in this form as she does in her human one, having no problem scaling her way towards the treetops. It might be troublesome to lose control so high up but that was part of what the practice was for! She starts moving slowly, unsure when she might lose control over a leg. If she knew, it wouldn't be proper training and besides, how could the spirit even tell her! Climbing is only good for so much and once the two seem to be getting more comfortable, she begins leaping from tree to tree, little raccoon claws digging into the branches to keep her from going splat below.

Ah, leaping. That was sensory enough; the cool wind in her face would set off a few tremors, here and there. Humans didn't often go so far in the air. By the end of their leafy romp, the spirit was confident that they'd be pretty hard to catch, let alone stop, in the great outdoors. He nudged her to turn back into something that could talk, lest he be reduced to scratching out words in the tree bark. If she granted, his next order would be something like this.

"The body has been relaxed enough, that sense has been done. Let's do the others. I speak of smell, taste, sight, and sound. Again, if your guess about our enemy is correct, he can ensnare the senses. Thus, we ought to be ready to defend any one of them, and their possible assault. Thus, I suggest we visit these two locations: The "Far Outs", a very bright and very loud group of musicians performing this evening. Then, "Space Eats", an exotic restaurant with fare from, reportedly, alien locales. The order is inconsequential, though the events themselves are not. The fees are nominal; hopefully, your employer left you with a stipend. Is this acceptable?"

Edited 2014-12-18 18:43 (UTC)

The feeling of the wind against her fuzzy face was nowhere near as bad as the pain of falling had been. This is obviously something that she had a great deal of practice with. She did not just assume a look, she did her best to become what she changed herself into. Being able to move like a raccoon was just one small part of that. A casual observer would never know she wasn't an animal, even with that spirit inside of her.

Once she finds a secure spot, she transforms back into her human form. It was a little embarrassing to find out this spirit seemed to know a bit more about what was going on around the city then she herself did. She spent so much time trying to keep here existence secretive that things like this, obvious things like alien lifeforms among them, should have been something she already knew about.

"Alien food, hmm? I'd much rather sip a good cup of sake. I guess what I am used to would be little help, though. Let's do that, first. If the music is as loud as you say, I might not have much of an appetite afterwards." Or perhaps even while there, if the food is weird enough.

She seems in no hurry to reach the first stop, though this might have something to do with not actually knowing where it is. A little prompting will get her to the right place, though! "Well, lets see what sort of 'alien food' they have in store for me." She sounds as if she really isn't looking forward to it.

Thank goodness the spirit had arrived when it did. He would save both the world and Mami's social life.

'Twas many nights before Christmas, and well it was so. For his reluctant host had yet more trials to go. The first among them would test her tongue, with delicacies both exotic and fun. Writhing tentacles and sumptuous eyes, every dish full of organic surprise. Upon this and others the two would sup. What sort of appetite could a tanuki work up?

Once the two of them had eaten their fill, the ghost insisted she cover the bill. Next on the list was no less severe, for the Far Outs were coming to perform here. The venue was garish, the room brightly lit. The band strode upon stage, performing their #1 hit. Lights flashed in the room, the crowd blared their applause. The band's music blazed without apology nor pause. Space-guitars strumming, synthesizers at full tilt. Noise and more noise being played to the hilt.

The ghost shook most severely, much to Mami's displeasure, quaking and shivering with visceral measure. They had gotten many oddities to eat, and now the strange music was complete. The evening grew darker, and the weather grew cold. The spirit knew at least that his companion was bold. And bold she must be before their troubles would cease. More nights like this until she knew peace.

Her spirit compelled her, as he had back then, for more nights like these again and again. Their training was fruitful, and sufficiently broad, if just a bit costly, and quite a bit odd. But would it be enough, these unusual nights, to prepare them for the coming fight? It seemed as though all was not quite right. A newspaper, their foe had begun to write...

An outing with a spectre [Action] [initially closed to Mami; may open up later if she goes outside]

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Spoilers: I didn't die

You better not; I'm not even in the will

Is it possible to leave things to something that isn't technically alive?

Re: Is it possible to leave things to something that isn't technically alive?

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Backing this up