- Posting Speed
- Multiple posts per day
- Writing Levels
- Intermediate
- Adept
- Advanced
- Adaptable
- Preferred Character Gender
- Female
- Transgender
- Primarily Prefer Female
- Genres
- Fantasy, Scifi, Magical, Romance
It had already been annoying enough to K' to play it nice in the observation deck. He did it not only to keep his promise to his mother, but also to make sure that he didn't start a scene. In other circumstances he would have loved to start a good brawl, but there seemed to be less than advantageous.
He had to get some clean air and get out of the loud and hot arena. It wasn't like his quirk coupled with his fashion sense didn't already make it warm enough as is. The very second K' got out and away from the people he took a deep breath, calming himself. He decided it was for the better if he wouldn't go in there again, unless he was planning on having the staff call ambulances as well the local fire fighters. He leaned against a close bollard and squeezed his eyes shut. K' was already tired, wasn't there any place here he could get some rest?
Turns out, no, the people who staffed the lunch didn't have a proverbial vampire in mind. There were meats, sure, but nothing that particularly struck her fancy. Still weak from her fights, feeling the stitch of lethargic pain through her, she knew she needed to find something else more filling.
That's what brought Amaris out just behind some boy she did not recognize. Her eyes flicked over to him as he leaned against the bollard. Seeing as how she did not know who he was, however, she did not really feel the need to give him the time of day. Yet, she had spotted him up in the observation place, right? Anyway, she made move to go passed him.
While he didn't bother to move much, K' did make sure not to be in the way of whoever this scarily pallor, almost ghostly figure was. He would just have let her go, paying no more mind than he needed to her, but something seemed strange and somewhat interesting about her. Had he seen her before? Maybe he caught a glimpse of her on the observation deck, or maybe he had just come across her by random chance before.
"And what is it that is urging a young lady like you out here? The fights inside not givin' you any entertainment?" K' spoke up just as she was about to pass by, hoping to catch her attention and stop her from going further.
Amaris stopped, hearing words spoken towards her. Turning slowly, she fixed her otherwise dead eyes on him. She slowly shook her head, rubbing her arm. "I shhould be watchhing. I will not misss the final, at leasst," she answered. "I require susstenancce."
She paused, then looked back towards the arena. "Can I help you withh somethhing? I do not recognizze you, but I thhink you were in the obsservation deck." Well, at least his little show attracted some attention, though K' wasn't really sure whether or not he should be proud of that.
"Sustenance? What are you some machine that you talk like that? I thought they had free food in there." Though K' couldn't really tell somebody else that they should be watching, since he missed every single match ever since the tournament started.
"I thought I might know you from somewhere. Have we met?"
"A machhine? Far from it. I am, mosst ccertainly, alivve." She nodded curtly. "They do. Jusst not the type I require." She shook her head. "I do not believve sso. My memory iss quite good. Or it iss more appropriate to ssay, I make it a priority not to forget thhings I havve learned. I am Amariss Alucard." She introduced herself, giving him a slight dip of her head, then extending her pale hand with the rich black nails.
"Just K' is fine." He reached for her hand and gave it a light squeeze, finally taking off his tinted shades, "You aren't from here are you?" He gave her a slight bow. It had been a really long time since someone ever really asked for his name, without accompanying the question with an insult directed at him. This was now the second time this had happened today. Must be something in the air.
There was something odd about this girl. She felt colder than most people, not as cold as his sister's skin would feel to him, but it was still rather eerie and made K' feel a little uneasy. Who knew? She might actually be a machine programmed to behave like a human. Her rather cold body temperature set aside, it almost immediately jumped out at K' that her tone and behavior was similarly cold, sort of monotone. He might not be the smartest person, but he sure was perceptive when he wanted to be.
"Sorry 'bout me being nosy. You seem very odd, you're cold and you seem eerily calm. Most other people would have either left or at least gotten very annoyed with me… what about that? Are you dead on the inside or something?" This wasn't just K' trying to pick a fight, he was legitimately curious, even people with a lot of patience usually got annoyed with him pretty quickly, especially after what he had just said, but this girl seemed very different and calm to a point were it was more creepy than anything else.
When he released her hand, it fell back to her side. She lightly shook her head. "I wass born here. Althhough, my mothher iss Romanian," she explained.
Calm? She supposed that was a way to describe it.. Though at the mention of being 'calm', she felt her heart skip a beat, and her mind flashed back to the fight moments earlier. It didn't change her attitude or demeanor though. "I havve told you, I am alivve. Here, ifh you do not believve me, perhapss you require proofh." She reached out and grabbed his hand with her cooler hands and unbuttoned the top part of her shirt, to place his hand on her bare chest, with a bit of her white bra showing. There, under his hand, was the faint beat of a slowed heart.
This was certainly not the way K' had been expecting this to go down. He could feel his face heat up around the cheeks and ears, if that was even possible and he had to try his best not to break eye contact. Something really had to be up today, maybe he missed that there was an announcement to behave exactly the opposite way from your normal everyday self.
"You know," as he began speaking he finally pulled his hand back to his side, "I've never been the best when it comes to philosophy, but I don't think a beating heart is exactly prove that someone is alive, at least as long as we aren't speaking about being clinically alive in particular. In that case, sure you are alive, you may need to do some more cardio, but otherwise alright." K' hoped she wouldn't notice him trying his best to hide his embarrassment.
Amaris released his hand when he yanked it back. Staring up at him, she blinked, then cocked her head. "It iss not?.. A wonder. How elsse would I provve it, then? Oh, I know." She took one of the many bandages she had on herself, ripped it off, exposing a cut, then agitated it enough that it began to bleed yet again. A few droplets of red dripped to the ground. "Cardio. I will work on thhat." She held up her bleeding arm. "Doess thiss sufficce?"
That gave her pause. He did not seem to recognize her by name. "You question my livving. That impliess you do not know me by name. Iss thiss the casse? A wonder. You do not recognize me? My fhamily name?"
"Oh no, no I do recognize your name. But what of it? Lots of the children of heroes come to schools like these, after all, Quirks are genetics and if you're already a good hero than chances are your child can be a better one. But just your name doesn't mean your alive, and it also isn't what made me question that. Most people'd say you only really live if you experienced and feel the hardships and the joys life can throw your direction. But something tells me that that is exactly where the problem lies, doesn't it?" K' was leaning far out the window with wild guesses, but he was very comfortable making assumptions about others, just like how he was comfortable having others make assumptions about him. Maybe he hit the nail on the head with his wild guesses, if so, lucky him, if not… well, who'd give a damn then anyway?
Amaris lowered her arm, listening, and frowning. She was not sure how to respond, so she replied simply, "Iss that sso?" She leaned up towards him, asking, "And do you know of the joyss of lifhe and the hardshhips of lifhe? What are thhey?"
"I'd say I've seen a few here and there. Nothing too major, though. Joys and hardships… aren't they self-explanatory? A joy of life, something most people eventually encounter in life that brings them joy, the other is simply the opposite to keep checks and balances." But that wasn't really what he was getting at. This girl seemed like someone to just ask questions outright, so maybe if he hit the right buttons he could get to learn a little more about this curious person. Though, her asking what joys and hardships were in the first place basically confirmed his suspicions.
"Have you really never had those? A time when you felt really happy or really sad? A time when you thought that the world was unfair, or a time when you thought that you didn't quite deserve all the happiness fate was showering onto you?"
"Oh, sso you are sspeaking generally. I thhought you had perssonal experiencces you could relay.." Amaris replied, stepping back and looking down at the gravely ground. She looked back up. "Nope. None. None at all. Thhough, that iss the casse for the 'me' now you are sspeaking to. I havve nevver been happy, or ssad. Nevver thhought ssomething 'unfair'. Thhings jusst are." She snickered, "But the 'othher' me hass felt stuffh. Stuffh as-s you havve desscribed. The 'shhadow' me."
Amaris cocked her head. "I really do not want to misss the final. I sstill need food."
"Oh, I do have a lot of stories to… relay. I just prefer to get to know the person I'm talking to better before I start pourin' my heart out to 'em. Though, maybe next time, if I feel like it, since you shared quite a bit of yourself just now. If you wanna grab food and still make it to the finals I think you gotta hurry. And please, fix your shirt, people are gonna be staring at you otherwise, unless of course you wanna show off a little." K' was fully satisfied. He was right, there is something more than just strange about this girl and he got a little closer to finding that out, so maybe his senses weren't as dull as he thought they had become back during his blunder in the observation deck.
'Not feeling any emotion must be a tough thing, though I guess, if you can't feel anything anyway it isn't like you are going to miss it in the slightest.' K' had always been familiar with suppressing whatever he felt and he was used to replace that with the behavior of an asshole, to protect people from him and what might happen if he lost that hold of himself. But, being born with no emotions to speak of, that was a whole different thing, though he supposed the end result might not be all that different. People wouldn't understand, and through that chances were that your circle of friends was rather small or non-existent altogether.
Amaris buttoned up her shirt and gave him a nod. "Undersstandable. Humanss are known to need company, but not known for trussting. Do not feel obligated to tell me anythhing. Thiss was nothing more than idle chhitchhat." She held up her hand in departure. "Goodbye, K. Enjoy the joyss in your lifhe. Learn from your hardshhips." Those were good parting words. Cuz in her mind, they would probably not talk again. Sure, he may be a student, but that did not mean they would have much meaningful interaction. She didn't expect it. With that, she went to find a proper meal to nom on during the final.
He had to get some clean air and get out of the loud and hot arena. It wasn't like his quirk coupled with his fashion sense didn't already make it warm enough as is. The very second K' got out and away from the people he took a deep breath, calming himself. He decided it was for the better if he wouldn't go in there again, unless he was planning on having the staff call ambulances as well the local fire fighters. He leaned against a close bollard and squeezed his eyes shut. K' was already tired, wasn't there any place here he could get some rest?
Turns out, no, the people who staffed the lunch didn't have a proverbial vampire in mind. There were meats, sure, but nothing that particularly struck her fancy. Still weak from her fights, feeling the stitch of lethargic pain through her, she knew she needed to find something else more filling.
That's what brought Amaris out just behind some boy she did not recognize. Her eyes flicked over to him as he leaned against the bollard. Seeing as how she did not know who he was, however, she did not really feel the need to give him the time of day. Yet, she had spotted him up in the observation place, right? Anyway, she made move to go passed him.
While he didn't bother to move much, K' did make sure not to be in the way of whoever this scarily pallor, almost ghostly figure was. He would just have let her go, paying no more mind than he needed to her, but something seemed strange and somewhat interesting about her. Had he seen her before? Maybe he caught a glimpse of her on the observation deck, or maybe he had just come across her by random chance before.
"And what is it that is urging a young lady like you out here? The fights inside not givin' you any entertainment?" K' spoke up just as she was about to pass by, hoping to catch her attention and stop her from going further.
Amaris stopped, hearing words spoken towards her. Turning slowly, she fixed her otherwise dead eyes on him. She slowly shook her head, rubbing her arm. "I shhould be watchhing. I will not misss the final, at leasst," she answered. "I require susstenancce."
She paused, then looked back towards the arena. "Can I help you withh somethhing? I do not recognizze you, but I thhink you were in the obsservation deck." Well, at least his little show attracted some attention, though K' wasn't really sure whether or not he should be proud of that.
"Sustenance? What are you some machine that you talk like that? I thought they had free food in there." Though K' couldn't really tell somebody else that they should be watching, since he missed every single match ever since the tournament started.
"I thought I might know you from somewhere. Have we met?"
"A machhine? Far from it. I am, mosst ccertainly, alivve." She nodded curtly. "They do. Jusst not the type I require." She shook her head. "I do not believve sso. My memory iss quite good. Or it iss more appropriate to ssay, I make it a priority not to forget thhings I havve learned. I am Amariss Alucard." She introduced herself, giving him a slight dip of her head, then extending her pale hand with the rich black nails.
"Just K' is fine." He reached for her hand and gave it a light squeeze, finally taking off his tinted shades, "You aren't from here are you?" He gave her a slight bow. It had been a really long time since someone ever really asked for his name, without accompanying the question with an insult directed at him. This was now the second time this had happened today. Must be something in the air.
There was something odd about this girl. She felt colder than most people, not as cold as his sister's skin would feel to him, but it was still rather eerie and made K' feel a little uneasy. Who knew? She might actually be a machine programmed to behave like a human. Her rather cold body temperature set aside, it almost immediately jumped out at K' that her tone and behavior was similarly cold, sort of monotone. He might not be the smartest person, but he sure was perceptive when he wanted to be.
"Sorry 'bout me being nosy. You seem very odd, you're cold and you seem eerily calm. Most other people would have either left or at least gotten very annoyed with me… what about that? Are you dead on the inside or something?" This wasn't just K' trying to pick a fight, he was legitimately curious, even people with a lot of patience usually got annoyed with him pretty quickly, especially after what he had just said, but this girl seemed very different and calm to a point were it was more creepy than anything else.
When he released her hand, it fell back to her side. She lightly shook her head. "I wass born here. Althhough, my mothher iss Romanian," she explained.
Calm? She supposed that was a way to describe it.. Though at the mention of being 'calm', she felt her heart skip a beat, and her mind flashed back to the fight moments earlier. It didn't change her attitude or demeanor though. "I havve told you, I am alivve. Here, ifh you do not believve me, perhapss you require proofh." She reached out and grabbed his hand with her cooler hands and unbuttoned the top part of her shirt, to place his hand on her bare chest, with a bit of her white bra showing. There, under his hand, was the faint beat of a slowed heart.
This was certainly not the way K' had been expecting this to go down. He could feel his face heat up around the cheeks and ears, if that was even possible and he had to try his best not to break eye contact. Something really had to be up today, maybe he missed that there was an announcement to behave exactly the opposite way from your normal everyday self.
"You know," as he began speaking he finally pulled his hand back to his side, "I've never been the best when it comes to philosophy, but I don't think a beating heart is exactly prove that someone is alive, at least as long as we aren't speaking about being clinically alive in particular. In that case, sure you are alive, you may need to do some more cardio, but otherwise alright." K' hoped she wouldn't notice him trying his best to hide his embarrassment.
Amaris released his hand when he yanked it back. Staring up at him, she blinked, then cocked her head. "It iss not?.. A wonder. How elsse would I provve it, then? Oh, I know." She took one of the many bandages she had on herself, ripped it off, exposing a cut, then agitated it enough that it began to bleed yet again. A few droplets of red dripped to the ground. "Cardio. I will work on thhat." She held up her bleeding arm. "Doess thiss sufficce?"
That gave her pause. He did not seem to recognize her by name. "You question my livving. That impliess you do not know me by name. Iss thiss the casse? A wonder. You do not recognize me? My fhamily name?"
"Oh no, no I do recognize your name. But what of it? Lots of the children of heroes come to schools like these, after all, Quirks are genetics and if you're already a good hero than chances are your child can be a better one. But just your name doesn't mean your alive, and it also isn't what made me question that. Most people'd say you only really live if you experienced and feel the hardships and the joys life can throw your direction. But something tells me that that is exactly where the problem lies, doesn't it?" K' was leaning far out the window with wild guesses, but he was very comfortable making assumptions about others, just like how he was comfortable having others make assumptions about him. Maybe he hit the nail on the head with his wild guesses, if so, lucky him, if not… well, who'd give a damn then anyway?
Amaris lowered her arm, listening, and frowning. She was not sure how to respond, so she replied simply, "Iss that sso?" She leaned up towards him, asking, "And do you know of the joyss of lifhe and the hardshhips of lifhe? What are thhey?"
"I'd say I've seen a few here and there. Nothing too major, though. Joys and hardships… aren't they self-explanatory? A joy of life, something most people eventually encounter in life that brings them joy, the other is simply the opposite to keep checks and balances." But that wasn't really what he was getting at. This girl seemed like someone to just ask questions outright, so maybe if he hit the right buttons he could get to learn a little more about this curious person. Though, her asking what joys and hardships were in the first place basically confirmed his suspicions.
"Have you really never had those? A time when you felt really happy or really sad? A time when you thought that the world was unfair, or a time when you thought that you didn't quite deserve all the happiness fate was showering onto you?"
"Oh, sso you are sspeaking generally. I thhought you had perssonal experiencces you could relay.." Amaris replied, stepping back and looking down at the gravely ground. She looked back up. "Nope. None. None at all. Thhough, that iss the casse for the 'me' now you are sspeaking to. I havve nevver been happy, or ssad. Nevver thhought ssomething 'unfair'. Thhings jusst are." She snickered, "But the 'othher' me hass felt stuffh. Stuffh as-s you havve desscribed. The 'shhadow' me."
Amaris cocked her head. "I really do not want to misss the final. I sstill need food."
"Oh, I do have a lot of stories to… relay. I just prefer to get to know the person I'm talking to better before I start pourin' my heart out to 'em. Though, maybe next time, if I feel like it, since you shared quite a bit of yourself just now. If you wanna grab food and still make it to the finals I think you gotta hurry. And please, fix your shirt, people are gonna be staring at you otherwise, unless of course you wanna show off a little." K' was fully satisfied. He was right, there is something more than just strange about this girl and he got a little closer to finding that out, so maybe his senses weren't as dull as he thought they had become back during his blunder in the observation deck.
'Not feeling any emotion must be a tough thing, though I guess, if you can't feel anything anyway it isn't like you are going to miss it in the slightest.' K' had always been familiar with suppressing whatever he felt and he was used to replace that with the behavior of an asshole, to protect people from him and what might happen if he lost that hold of himself. But, being born with no emotions to speak of, that was a whole different thing, though he supposed the end result might not be all that different. People wouldn't understand, and through that chances were that your circle of friends was rather small or non-existent altogether.
Amaris buttoned up her shirt and gave him a nod. "Undersstandable. Humanss are known to need company, but not known for trussting. Do not feel obligated to tell me anythhing. Thiss was nothing more than idle chhitchhat." She held up her hand in departure. "Goodbye, K. Enjoy the joyss in your lifhe. Learn from your hardshhips." Those were good parting words. Cuz in her mind, they would probably not talk again. Sure, he may be a student, but that did not mean they would have much meaningful interaction. She didn't expect it. With that, she went to find a proper meal to nom on during the final.
~*~
After returning from the Sports Festival before the others, Amaris decided to visit a room other than her own. She needed this, it felt like, although the girl did not know why. Only briefly did she stop in her room, to collect the instrument. Grimacing, she could tell her body was still in recovery, but that didn't deter her. Flexing her power gave her great discomfort, if not actual pain, but something made her persevere. Her shadows unscrewed the legs and pipes of the organ and then hefted up the heavy instrument. This was a smaller organ, so transporting it was easier, not to mention it could actually fit within a dorm room.
Meticulously she carried the pieces of the organ into a room she had only visited once before..
After which, a small, haunting, chilling tune could be heard from just beyond the door.
Killian was grateful that the little panda girl had finally shown him the way to the dormitories. Who knew, otherwise he might have roamed the halls of the school in search of them way past the middle of the night. He was also quite happy that there was at least someone he seemed to get along with.
His room was pretty much as far back as it could get, having the second to last one on the third floor. It didn't really bother him, he was in good shape so the stairs shouldn't be a problem and the fact that it was so far to his room, in a best case scenario, just meant he could actually retread here without much disturbance if he needed to.
"Is somebody watching a horror movie up here?" He thought aloud the moment the music hit his ears. He doubted that any of the students could play an organ, one of the more challenging instruments to learn. So somebody else likely just had the volume on the TV way up. It took him a while to realize that the sounds he had thought to be from a movie actually came from the room he was supposed to stay in. Did the other students have access to the room and turned it into some sort of communal room while it was empty? Only one way to find out. He gave the door a short knock and then slowly opened it, only letting his head peak inside.
Objectively, she was playing well. Just like she had learned. But something about it.. was not rewarding. Amaris had recently learned what being 'displeased' was like, and she was displeased with her own playing. Yet she continued, as if that would magically 'fix' it.
Looking up when a sudden knock was heard, she watched as someone poked their head in. A boy who she did not recognize. Instantly she prickled, readying for anything, but she remained sitting on the bench before the small organ. This boy did not seem threatening.. but you never know.
She stopped playing, saying, "Hello." She placed her hands in her lap, right on the dirty skirt she still wore from the Sports Festival. Her overall appearance was disheveled. A rarity for Amaris who always cleaned herself up, having learned that at an early age.
"He- Hello…" Killian had no idea what he was supposed to do. He had expected to see a bunch of students huddled up watching some horror movies or something of the sort, instead he was greeted by a single girl that reminded him of a somewhat roughed up genderbent Adrian Fahrenheit Tepes.
He was honestly a little scared of the girl. It wasn't a rare occurrence that he was a little afraid or weirded out by some of the changes a mutation type quirk could make to someone's body, but there was something extra eerie about a young pale girl with dark hair playing an organ in a room that was supposed to be vacant.
"Uhm… what- uh, are you doing in here?" Killian wasn't really superstitious or anything like that, but for some reason his mind was going through all the horrific ways that this girl might be a ghost, or a demon, or a vampire of some kind that was going to skin him alive. Killian felt as though he was supposed to run away, but he at least had enough of a grip on himself to stop himself from doing that.
She watched his face, observing it. She saw the subtle traces of fear etched there. An emotion she did not understand, but knew the definition of, obviously. Fear was useful. It helped humans survive. And yet.. he had died. Had he been afraid? If so, why did he do what he did? She lowered her head back to the ivory keys, lightly tapping her fingers on them. So light they did not make a sound. "He played it sso muchh better," she muttered suddenly.
Then, realizing he had asked something, she looked back up. "Playing, what doess it look like?" she answered in a bored tone.
The muttering of the girl did not help Killian's fear one bit, 'He played it better? Who? What happened here? Is she a ghost waiting for someone?' It took him a while to get a grip of his thoughts again, or at least as good a grip as he could get.
"I see… uhm… why- why are you playing in here? A-are you just here because nobody else was or…?" Killian prayed that it was the latter and not because of some horrific murder that had happened decades ago in this building, leaving behind a restless spirit that haunts students now.
"Becausse thiss wass hiss room." She brushed her hand across the keys. "It felt.." Felt? "Felt .. appropriate. Felt appropriate. It felt appropriate." With that nebulous answer, she began to play again, but once more, it sounded haunting and would send a shiver down the spine. She stopped. "He played it sso muchh better. Why?"
"Whose room was this?" Killian's fear had subsided a little, in favor of letting his mind be controlled more by his curiosity rather than his, most likely, irrational fear. Though, he could still hear his heart beat in his ear. He now fully stepped into the room, closing the door behind him.
"And what happened to that someone that makes you come here?" Killian, at this point, didn't know whether to be frightened, curious or, for some reason, sad for whatever caused someone to come to a vacant room and play music there.
"You do not know?" She questioned. That might make sense. She did not know who this person was either. How did he come to be here? "It iss Makoto'ss room. Or I supposse, wass." She took the time to look around. Yes. Clearly it was different now. It was cleared out from his belongings, there were other new things there. Ah, he must be new. "I seee. You musst be a transsfer, here to take.. to take.. M.. Makoto'ss sspot." For some reason, claiming that.. was.. well it felt hard to do. Hard for her to say out loud. But why? She had never had issues speaking before. She nodded. "Thhat makess sensse," she said, strumming her fingers against the keys. "Thiss classs getss new transsfers a lot." She waved to the stuff around that had been previously delivered. "Are thesse thingss yourss?" They would have to be, if this was now his room.
Now Killian also took a good look around the room. He had been told that the school would take care of moving his belongings into his new room, but he hadn't expected them to be in the room already.
"Yes… Those are my things. At least I think they are. And I don't think I am supposed to take anyone's spot. It's just that a lot of things have changed around here apparently, people leaving the school and such, so I was moved here. It's not like whoever he is is dead." Just shortly after saying this it occurred to him that, if she really was a ghost, this Makoto person may actually be dead and he may have been dead for years already.
Amaris sat on the bench, staring at the male. She realized she had not fully explained what was going on. It was interesting he did not know the situation already. "He iss. He died in thiss room. Not too long ago. Wass murdered by the group he worked withh, then double-crosssed."
"Murdered…" The shock that he was dead wrong in his assumption that nothing had happened here didn't properly register. It was more like someone had sent a wave of numbness through his body. Murdered. A student here, who had likely not been any older than him. Killed in cold blood. She must have been close with that Masaru if she came here to play for him.
"I'm … sorry." His mind was blank, he didn't know the boy who had lived here, but he had enough empathy for an entire army of people, so he couldn't help but feel sad for the boy's death.
"You were his… friend? It's nice that you came here to play for him." Killian tried his best to lift his voice into a somewhat happy and consoling tone, "I… should I leave you to it, then?"
She visibly slumped in front of the organ, staring at its expert craftsmanship. Sorry? What was he sorry for? "Sso, am I.." she found herself saying, strumming a few notes. "Suchh a wasste. Suchh loss." She shook her head. Then glanced up at him with a cocked head; what a strange question. "Friend? Me?.." She could count the number of so-called friends she had. Aurora, though, after the fight, who could say? The AI from the aquarium. And Ayame, sorta. Was she friends with Makoto? Had that been true? She never even considered it. Had he?
"Leavve? Why? Thiss iss your room, no?" She began to play again. "I am ssorry for the loss of hiss play. I told him.. I told him he shhould be a musiccian. He claimed thhat wass hiss dream. I told him he shhould be one." She played gently, staring at the organ's keys. "He played sso well. And wass soo modesst. I do not undersstand it. My mussic paless in comparisson. He alwayss praissed me, but mosst.. Mosst say my mussic lackss ssomething."
It did lack something, from the short time that he heard it, he could tell it was a little monotone. As if it lacked some emotion. Killian's was an instrument that usually did not have much emotion in it, since it was usually only used to keep time and even though he could play the piano, like most musicians, he was aware that playing an organ was vastly different and much more challenging. But he did have enough of a musician's ear to hear that.
Killian sat down on the bed, if she did not want him to leave, then he might as well listen. Plus, he was curious about the boy that had lived here before him. Though, his curiosity could not stop his throat from clogging up a little, hearing about someone's dreams after they died, knowing that they could never even try to fulfill those only added to the weird mix of feelings that stirred in him.
"He sounds like a nice guy… what a shame." What was he supposed to say in a situation like this? If the boys death wasn't so long ago and she still came here to play, then she was probably still in the process of grieving the loss of a friend. He never had much contact with death, or people who had just lost someone and he had no idea how he was supposed to deal with this.
"Did- did he teach you to play?" In the end his mind defaulted to just asking questions, hoping desperately he wouldn't dig up painful memories.
"He played sso well, and wass so modesst.. Why did he always praisse me, and downplay hiss own talentss?" She simply could not understand it. It was unfathomable. "Yess, sso nicce. I told him he wass not cut out for the hero world.. Why? How? How did he get involvved withh thosse people? Why? Hiss mussical talent.. now no one will hear it. Only I know." Her face furrowed as she touched her forehead. "In here. It iss in here.. I.. feeel privileged to know, to recall hiss play. Suchh a shhame no one elsse will.." It was obvious she was talking absentmindedly, as if the new boy was not even there. "He shhould havve quit and become a musiccian."
Suddenly, she snapped back and shook her head. "Hhh?.. Oh. No. He did not. I learned on my own when I wass younger. Tutors, musical books, I had many avenues to help. Yet, thhere iss ssomething I lack when I play.. Ssomething Makoto had. But I do not know it." She brushed her hand across the keys, then looked over to him. "Do you play? Want a go?"
The clogging in Killian's throat only got worse and worse as she continued talking. She spoke so fondly of him, drifting off into thought even. They must have been very close friends, maybe they had been a couple? If so, then he probably should not say another word, that subject would be much more delicate than what he could handle.
"I… never played organ. I play drums and I can play the piano. I know that with an organ it doesn't matter how hard you try to play piano or forte, it will always come out the same and that it is really hard to play. I don't think I should try. I would sound horrible and if you are here to play for him, then me butchering it sort of destroys it more than I already have, doesn't it?"
She blinked, then nodded. "I undersstand. Knowing how to play anythhing iss commendable. However, insstrumentss can be very difficult to get a handle on, and jusst becausse you know one, doess not mean you know anothher.. Regardless, you could learn to play the organ. I've heard it can ssound sso beautiful. I nevver really knew what that meant. Until I heard Makoto play. I have a drum sset. For dealing withh me, I shhall givve it to you." Her dead gray eyes glanced around, "I do not seee one around here. Or perhapss you would prefer a piano? I can phone mothher to bring one."
"Pluss, thhat iss incorrect.." She brushed the organ. "As-s muchh as-s I know, for whatevver reasson, I cannot bring out the ssame soundss, melodiess, and notess that Makoto could. Perhapss you could. At a latter date, anyway, after you learn." She began to play again. And while it was no Makoto, it was clear she did have mechanical skill, as her fingers quickly tapped at the keys. Once again, his room was filled with a melancholic tune.
"You don't have to give me a drum kit… I do have one, I just had it built up in a music room, so I don't annoy others if I play and sing. Plus, drum sets are expensive! I can't accept something like that. And I do have a keyboard, they must have it stored somewhere in here." Killian began speaking after listening to her play for a while. She really was missing some emotions to her play.
"Well… no-one is perfect in anything. I think the gesture of playing for him in the first place is what gives it some value. I would be happy in whatever afterlife there is, if a friend of mine came to the place I died or my grave or a place that was important to me and played an instrument there that I had played when I was alive."
"I seee." She shook her head and stopped playing, "Money hass no meaning for me. My family iss very wealthhy. It would not be a hasssle to buy you literally anythhing you want. Well, I supposse I cannot buy you like a ccity or ssomething. Withhin reasson. Call it.. A welcoming gift."
"'Gessture of playing for him'?" She cocked her head once more, "I do not follow. What do you mean?"
"I mean… well, if I bonded with someone over music and one instrument in particular, then that someone coming to a place that was connected to me to play that instrument there, then that just shows how important I would have been to that person. Something a lot of people are afraid of is that they will be forgotten when they die, so something like this shows that he is going to stay in at least one other person's memory, which is a niche gesture, I think anyways." He never had to explain things like this to somebody else. Maybe she was just a little sheltered to all of these ideas, or maybe she just didn't want to think about it too much. Killian really hoped he said nothing that would upset her.
"I seee.. " That had not really been her intention for coming here. Or was it? Still, it was a nice sentiment. "Thank you for exxplaining. I do thhink Makoto shhould be remembered. Hiss mussic mosst espechually. Ssomeday, I hope to play mussic like he did. Sso othhers can hear what he let me hear." With that, she began to play the last song Makoto had played. It went on for some time, filling the air with a lovelier sound than before. It was like she was feeling at peace for a brief time and able to translate that through the organ.
Finally, she finished playing. After a brief respite of silence, she stood up. "Forgivve the intrushun," Amaris said, with a bow to the boy. She looked around, specifically at the door and the organ. "I thhink I shhall leavve thiss here, if you do not mind. It took a lot from me to bring it here." She rubbed her arm, and could feel her wounds aching. "I am not at 100%; sstill not fully recovvered. Removving the organ would be quite diffficult for me at the moment."
She stepped towards the door to leave. "Feel free to play, to learn. You may not know now, but I susspect you could be an exxcellent organ player."
"Alright, leave it here. You can come by anytime if you want to play too." Killian said this as he had his chains pick up the small organ to move it into a free spot, "I could also carry it back for you, if you would rather have it that way."
She shook her head, "It iss besst to leavve it here. Thhank you, I will. Good day." With that the girl in the dirtied gothic dress departed.
Meticulously she carried the pieces of the organ into a room she had only visited once before..
After which, a small, haunting, chilling tune could be heard from just beyond the door.
Killian was grateful that the little panda girl had finally shown him the way to the dormitories. Who knew, otherwise he might have roamed the halls of the school in search of them way past the middle of the night. He was also quite happy that there was at least someone he seemed to get along with.
His room was pretty much as far back as it could get, having the second to last one on the third floor. It didn't really bother him, he was in good shape so the stairs shouldn't be a problem and the fact that it was so far to his room, in a best case scenario, just meant he could actually retread here without much disturbance if he needed to.
"Is somebody watching a horror movie up here?" He thought aloud the moment the music hit his ears. He doubted that any of the students could play an organ, one of the more challenging instruments to learn. So somebody else likely just had the volume on the TV way up. It took him a while to realize that the sounds he had thought to be from a movie actually came from the room he was supposed to stay in. Did the other students have access to the room and turned it into some sort of communal room while it was empty? Only one way to find out. He gave the door a short knock and then slowly opened it, only letting his head peak inside.
Objectively, she was playing well. Just like she had learned. But something about it.. was not rewarding. Amaris had recently learned what being 'displeased' was like, and she was displeased with her own playing. Yet she continued, as if that would magically 'fix' it.
Looking up when a sudden knock was heard, she watched as someone poked their head in. A boy who she did not recognize. Instantly she prickled, readying for anything, but she remained sitting on the bench before the small organ. This boy did not seem threatening.. but you never know.
She stopped playing, saying, "Hello." She placed her hands in her lap, right on the dirty skirt she still wore from the Sports Festival. Her overall appearance was disheveled. A rarity for Amaris who always cleaned herself up, having learned that at an early age.
"He- Hello…" Killian had no idea what he was supposed to do. He had expected to see a bunch of students huddled up watching some horror movies or something of the sort, instead he was greeted by a single girl that reminded him of a somewhat roughed up genderbent Adrian Fahrenheit Tepes.
He was honestly a little scared of the girl. It wasn't a rare occurrence that he was a little afraid or weirded out by some of the changes a mutation type quirk could make to someone's body, but there was something extra eerie about a young pale girl with dark hair playing an organ in a room that was supposed to be vacant.
"Uhm… what- uh, are you doing in here?" Killian wasn't really superstitious or anything like that, but for some reason his mind was going through all the horrific ways that this girl might be a ghost, or a demon, or a vampire of some kind that was going to skin him alive. Killian felt as though he was supposed to run away, but he at least had enough of a grip on himself to stop himself from doing that.
She watched his face, observing it. She saw the subtle traces of fear etched there. An emotion she did not understand, but knew the definition of, obviously. Fear was useful. It helped humans survive. And yet.. he had died. Had he been afraid? If so, why did he do what he did? She lowered her head back to the ivory keys, lightly tapping her fingers on them. So light they did not make a sound. "He played it sso muchh better," she muttered suddenly.
Then, realizing he had asked something, she looked back up. "Playing, what doess it look like?" she answered in a bored tone.
The muttering of the girl did not help Killian's fear one bit, 'He played it better? Who? What happened here? Is she a ghost waiting for someone?' It took him a while to get a grip of his thoughts again, or at least as good a grip as he could get.
"I see… uhm… why- why are you playing in here? A-are you just here because nobody else was or…?" Killian prayed that it was the latter and not because of some horrific murder that had happened decades ago in this building, leaving behind a restless spirit that haunts students now.
"Becausse thiss wass hiss room." She brushed her hand across the keys. "It felt.." Felt? "Felt .. appropriate. Felt appropriate. It felt appropriate." With that nebulous answer, she began to play again, but once more, it sounded haunting and would send a shiver down the spine. She stopped. "He played it sso muchh better. Why?"
"Whose room was this?" Killian's fear had subsided a little, in favor of letting his mind be controlled more by his curiosity rather than his, most likely, irrational fear. Though, he could still hear his heart beat in his ear. He now fully stepped into the room, closing the door behind him.
"And what happened to that someone that makes you come here?" Killian, at this point, didn't know whether to be frightened, curious or, for some reason, sad for whatever caused someone to come to a vacant room and play music there.
"You do not know?" She questioned. That might make sense. She did not know who this person was either. How did he come to be here? "It iss Makoto'ss room. Or I supposse, wass." She took the time to look around. Yes. Clearly it was different now. It was cleared out from his belongings, there were other new things there. Ah, he must be new. "I seee. You musst be a transsfer, here to take.. to take.. M.. Makoto'ss sspot." For some reason, claiming that.. was.. well it felt hard to do. Hard for her to say out loud. But why? She had never had issues speaking before. She nodded. "Thhat makess sensse," she said, strumming her fingers against the keys. "Thiss classs getss new transsfers a lot." She waved to the stuff around that had been previously delivered. "Are thesse thingss yourss?" They would have to be, if this was now his room.
Now Killian also took a good look around the room. He had been told that the school would take care of moving his belongings into his new room, but he hadn't expected them to be in the room already.
"Yes… Those are my things. At least I think they are. And I don't think I am supposed to take anyone's spot. It's just that a lot of things have changed around here apparently, people leaving the school and such, so I was moved here. It's not like whoever he is is dead." Just shortly after saying this it occurred to him that, if she really was a ghost, this Makoto person may actually be dead and he may have been dead for years already.
Amaris sat on the bench, staring at the male. She realized she had not fully explained what was going on. It was interesting he did not know the situation already. "He iss. He died in thiss room. Not too long ago. Wass murdered by the group he worked withh, then double-crosssed."
"Murdered…" The shock that he was dead wrong in his assumption that nothing had happened here didn't properly register. It was more like someone had sent a wave of numbness through his body. Murdered. A student here, who had likely not been any older than him. Killed in cold blood. She must have been close with that Masaru if she came here to play for him.
"I'm … sorry." His mind was blank, he didn't know the boy who had lived here, but he had enough empathy for an entire army of people, so he couldn't help but feel sad for the boy's death.
"You were his… friend? It's nice that you came here to play for him." Killian tried his best to lift his voice into a somewhat happy and consoling tone, "I… should I leave you to it, then?"
She visibly slumped in front of the organ, staring at its expert craftsmanship. Sorry? What was he sorry for? "Sso, am I.." she found herself saying, strumming a few notes. "Suchh a wasste. Suchh loss." She shook her head. Then glanced up at him with a cocked head; what a strange question. "Friend? Me?.." She could count the number of so-called friends she had. Aurora, though, after the fight, who could say? The AI from the aquarium. And Ayame, sorta. Was she friends with Makoto? Had that been true? She never even considered it. Had he?
"Leavve? Why? Thiss iss your room, no?" She began to play again. "I am ssorry for the loss of hiss play. I told him.. I told him he shhould be a musiccian. He claimed thhat wass hiss dream. I told him he shhould be one." She played gently, staring at the organ's keys. "He played sso well. And wass soo modesst. I do not undersstand it. My mussic paless in comparisson. He alwayss praissed me, but mosst.. Mosst say my mussic lackss ssomething."
It did lack something, from the short time that he heard it, he could tell it was a little monotone. As if it lacked some emotion. Killian's was an instrument that usually did not have much emotion in it, since it was usually only used to keep time and even though he could play the piano, like most musicians, he was aware that playing an organ was vastly different and much more challenging. But he did have enough of a musician's ear to hear that.
Killian sat down on the bed, if she did not want him to leave, then he might as well listen. Plus, he was curious about the boy that had lived here before him. Though, his curiosity could not stop his throat from clogging up a little, hearing about someone's dreams after they died, knowing that they could never even try to fulfill those only added to the weird mix of feelings that stirred in him.
"He sounds like a nice guy… what a shame." What was he supposed to say in a situation like this? If the boys death wasn't so long ago and she still came here to play, then she was probably still in the process of grieving the loss of a friend. He never had much contact with death, or people who had just lost someone and he had no idea how he was supposed to deal with this.
"Did- did he teach you to play?" In the end his mind defaulted to just asking questions, hoping desperately he wouldn't dig up painful memories.
"He played sso well, and wass so modesst.. Why did he always praisse me, and downplay hiss own talentss?" She simply could not understand it. It was unfathomable. "Yess, sso nicce. I told him he wass not cut out for the hero world.. Why? How? How did he get involvved withh thosse people? Why? Hiss mussical talent.. now no one will hear it. Only I know." Her face furrowed as she touched her forehead. "In here. It iss in here.. I.. feeel privileged to know, to recall hiss play. Suchh a shhame no one elsse will.." It was obvious she was talking absentmindedly, as if the new boy was not even there. "He shhould havve quit and become a musiccian."
Suddenly, she snapped back and shook her head. "Hhh?.. Oh. No. He did not. I learned on my own when I wass younger. Tutors, musical books, I had many avenues to help. Yet, thhere iss ssomething I lack when I play.. Ssomething Makoto had. But I do not know it." She brushed her hand across the keys, then looked over to him. "Do you play? Want a go?"
The clogging in Killian's throat only got worse and worse as she continued talking. She spoke so fondly of him, drifting off into thought even. They must have been very close friends, maybe they had been a couple? If so, then he probably should not say another word, that subject would be much more delicate than what he could handle.
"I… never played organ. I play drums and I can play the piano. I know that with an organ it doesn't matter how hard you try to play piano or forte, it will always come out the same and that it is really hard to play. I don't think I should try. I would sound horrible and if you are here to play for him, then me butchering it sort of destroys it more than I already have, doesn't it?"
She blinked, then nodded. "I undersstand. Knowing how to play anythhing iss commendable. However, insstrumentss can be very difficult to get a handle on, and jusst becausse you know one, doess not mean you know anothher.. Regardless, you could learn to play the organ. I've heard it can ssound sso beautiful. I nevver really knew what that meant. Until I heard Makoto play. I have a drum sset. For dealing withh me, I shhall givve it to you." Her dead gray eyes glanced around, "I do not seee one around here. Or perhapss you would prefer a piano? I can phone mothher to bring one."
"Pluss, thhat iss incorrect.." She brushed the organ. "As-s muchh as-s I know, for whatevver reasson, I cannot bring out the ssame soundss, melodiess, and notess that Makoto could. Perhapss you could. At a latter date, anyway, after you learn." She began to play again. And while it was no Makoto, it was clear she did have mechanical skill, as her fingers quickly tapped at the keys. Once again, his room was filled with a melancholic tune.
"You don't have to give me a drum kit… I do have one, I just had it built up in a music room, so I don't annoy others if I play and sing. Plus, drum sets are expensive! I can't accept something like that. And I do have a keyboard, they must have it stored somewhere in here." Killian began speaking after listening to her play for a while. She really was missing some emotions to her play.
"Well… no-one is perfect in anything. I think the gesture of playing for him in the first place is what gives it some value. I would be happy in whatever afterlife there is, if a friend of mine came to the place I died or my grave or a place that was important to me and played an instrument there that I had played when I was alive."
"I seee." She shook her head and stopped playing, "Money hass no meaning for me. My family iss very wealthhy. It would not be a hasssle to buy you literally anythhing you want. Well, I supposse I cannot buy you like a ccity or ssomething. Withhin reasson. Call it.. A welcoming gift."
"'Gessture of playing for him'?" She cocked her head once more, "I do not follow. What do you mean?"
"I mean… well, if I bonded with someone over music and one instrument in particular, then that someone coming to a place that was connected to me to play that instrument there, then that just shows how important I would have been to that person. Something a lot of people are afraid of is that they will be forgotten when they die, so something like this shows that he is going to stay in at least one other person's memory, which is a niche gesture, I think anyways." He never had to explain things like this to somebody else. Maybe she was just a little sheltered to all of these ideas, or maybe she just didn't want to think about it too much. Killian really hoped he said nothing that would upset her.
"I seee.. " That had not really been her intention for coming here. Or was it? Still, it was a nice sentiment. "Thank you for exxplaining. I do thhink Makoto shhould be remembered. Hiss mussic mosst espechually. Ssomeday, I hope to play mussic like he did. Sso othhers can hear what he let me hear." With that, she began to play the last song Makoto had played. It went on for some time, filling the air with a lovelier sound than before. It was like she was feeling at peace for a brief time and able to translate that through the organ.
Finally, she finished playing. After a brief respite of silence, she stood up. "Forgivve the intrushun," Amaris said, with a bow to the boy. She looked around, specifically at the door and the organ. "I thhink I shhall leavve thiss here, if you do not mind. It took a lot from me to bring it here." She rubbed her arm, and could feel her wounds aching. "I am not at 100%; sstill not fully recovvered. Removving the organ would be quite diffficult for me at the moment."
She stepped towards the door to leave. "Feel free to play, to learn. You may not know now, but I susspect you could be an exxcellent organ player."
"Alright, leave it here. You can come by anytime if you want to play too." Killian said this as he had his chains pick up the small organ to move it into a free spot, "I could also carry it back for you, if you would rather have it that way."
She shook her head, "It iss besst to leavve it here. Thhank you, I will. Good day." With that the girl in the dirtied gothic dress departed.
~*~
Julius Alucard
Despite her display of her quirk, she received really no interest. Although Amaris did not know why, it was largely impart due to her conduct during the tournaments. This left her without prospects for the mentorship. Any other person this would be disheartening, but this was Amaris. Still, she could not go without being mentored, so.. she sought out the one that made sense. -Her grandfather. Head of their rich empire in Europe, Julius Alexis Orpheus Alucard.
~~
She was home. The short girl set some things down while looking around. No servants had met her at the door, or at the gates, or out on the grounds. Which was odd; uncommon practice. She had been dropped off, forced to lug her luggage herself, and found herself pushing open the massive doors into the large gothic castle, stepping into the empty foyer all alone. Looking around this massive place, from the huge ceiling to the endless hallways, and the vast staircase just before her, made one feel so small and insignificant. It felt oppressive.
"Welcome home, my granddaughhter," came a booming, imposing voice, but one with a silky smooth feeling as it slid through her ears. It was the silkiest voice her ears had ever felt.
There at the top of the staircase was a tall, lean man in an elegant silk outfit. Handsome with a youthful appearance. Not like your typical grandpa. He gracefully glided down the stairs and came up to her. He was easily a foot taller than her, but dwarfed that by a few more inches. Grinning down at her, he leaned down, hands brushing her cheeks.
"It hass been too long, Amaris. Look at you, as youthhful as the day I lasst saw you. Pehrfect. Yes, pehrfect. My daughhter produced suchh gorgeouss offhspring. One day, yess, one day, you will have all thiss." He monologued, holding up his hands and spinning around to indicate the castle they stood within, his cape flaring out from the motion. Then he stopped and snapped back to her, "But not any time sooon. Come! We havve much to dissscus, much to do, and you havve much to learn." He spun around, whipping his cape, and glided away into the castle. She had been here before, but it had been years. If you did not know the map or follow someone who did, you could easily get lost within.
~~
They were in a large circular room, with Julius standing up on a podium, overlooking the group below. Amaris stood below, with a handful of servants who stood poised, unfaltering. She glanced between them, recognizing a few. One, Ferdinand, was an excellent butler, who always treated her with respect. If she could be fond of something, she figured she was fond of him.
Suddenly Julius spoke, "There exissts in all livhing things a force, powerful, all-encompasssing. It resides withhin all thhings; it iss the very thing that brings life. The very thing that you or I, or anyone, must thank for being here. For being alive. Thiss Lifeblood brings life. It coursses through you, through uss all. I havve accesss to that very Lifeblood. Thiss iss proof of my dominion over othhers. Proof I am superior. Proof that we Alucards are superior and meant to rule the resst. Allow me to shhow you. To prove to you."
He held out his hand and commanded, "Kneel!" Suddenly, a powerful wave of some force was felt over the group. Instantly, the servants around all dropped to a knee, kneeling, bowing their heads reverently to the man above them. Amaris, though, stood there, bending down, struggling to remain on her feet. It felt like gravity itself was trying to pull her to the ground. Her body was being held up by her own strength and pulled down by its own self. She felt like she was about to begin ripping apart.
"Oho~ You can resisst, can you? That iss impresssive. Proof, again, of your superior nature. And yet.. Still. So.. Weak." He began to exert more force and Amaris squeaked in pain as her body began to bend even more, arms pulled straight down, feeling like they were being pulled from their sockets. "I. Said. KNEEL." After that, she fell to her knees just like the others. Then the power was gone and she was able to breathe once more.
"Amariss. Do you see? You have thiss power, as well." He waved his hands to the group. "Go on. Shhow me. Shhow uss all. Prove to uss your superiority. Command the othhers. Make them do as you wishh."
It took a moment, but she was able to stand up on her feet once again, glancing over at the others, who also stood upright. A few looked over at her, others continued to stare forward, as they had not been instructed to do anything else.
Briefly, Amaris felt.. Worried. "I.."
"Do not make excusess! Jusst do it! You are an Alucard, thuss, you are able."
She winced at the harshness of his voice, then held out her hand like he had at Ferdinand, trying to impart her will on him. Trying to force him to do what she wanted. "Kneel." She commanded. He remained upright as he had been instructed to resist her orders, unlike usual when he was meant to obey. "I ssaid.. kneel." Again he remained upright. While Amaris tried focusing on her hand, on Ferdinand, on her command. She began to falter, hand shaking.
"DO NOT STOP. MAKE HIM DO AS YOU COMMAND!"
"Nk~!" Amaris stared, hand outstretched, trying to force him down. "Kn... kneel.. I ssaid.. kn-kneel! Kneel! KNEEL!" Finally, her hand fell and she nearly collapsed, breathing in heavily.
Up above, Julius frowned in disapproval. "My blood flows through you. Try using your quirk."
She glanced up at him, then tried to think of how. She suddenly slipped into Ferdinand's shadow.
"Good! Your quirk draws your emotions, draws your will. It doess so for you. It can do so for othhers. Make it so!" Julius instructed.
Wading in Ferdinand's shadow, she heard him. That made her think. She looked up at the rigid butler she was trying to command, her grandfather's voice in her head. Suddenly, she began to exert her shadow, seeking to draw in his emotions, to make him susceptible, to follow her orders instead of thinking for himself. In his shadows, Amaris focused heavily on this task, staring up at him intently. She could feel the shadows around her beginning to churn, to heat up.
"Use. Your. Shhadows. Amariss!"
Amaris suddenly came up out of the shadows, latching onto Ferdinand's back, splashing his shadow all over him, as if dousing him with it. He finally turned his head to look at her, bright caramel eyes slightly worried now, a frown on his face. Maybe even anger hidden behind his gaze. Kneel. Kneel. She thought vehemently, as darkness dripped off him. "Kneel!" Color began to drain from Ferdinand's face. Suddenly his eyes lost their caramel color, going to a dull brown, while he became ghostly white. "KNEEL!" Finally, he dropped to his knees. And Amaris couldn't believe it. He had lost any care to consider his own will, and willingly bent to hers.
A raucous laughter sounded from above, startling the girl who had been so focused on her task, she had almost forgot what was going on around her. Still latched onto the butlers back as he bent over, she looked up. Julius clapped. "Very good, Amariss! You have done it! Seee? Do you seee? We Alucards are different. We have the ability to impart our will ovver othhers."
She slid off of Ferdinand's back, staring at her hands. She couldn't believe it. She had done it. She had made Ferdinand do as she wanted. He had been ignoring her orders, instructed to do so, she realized, and yet...
"Now!" That word drew her eyes back to Julius. He waved his hand. "Do the same to the othhers. Make them do as you wishh. Order them. Control them."
Amaris looked around at the other servants in the room. She swallowed. Then realized she was breathing heavily. How hard just one person had been.. He expected that of all of them?
"AMARISS!"
"YESS, SSIR!"
She hurriedly leaped into the shadow of the maid Meresa. To do the same to her...
~~
Amaris was balancing on a acrobatic's beam, with a few people watching, including her grandfather. He stood beside her. "I watchhed you in the fesstival. You had potential, but ultimately did not succeeed where you shhould havve. Your limberness, your athhletic form leads itsself well to acrobatics and agility. If you had been more limber, perhaps you would have fared better against that brute of a girl. We will pushh you. We will draw out your strengthhs and hone the prime skills your body shhould dissplay." By 'we', he meant the slew of expert acrobats, master gymnasts, trapezits, fitness artists, stuntmen, and their instructors, that he had hired for her. Then tapped her feet, pushing her forward so she did a cartwheel up to balancing on her hands.
"Come!" he ordered to the group. They all walked over, to begin to instruct the lithe, pale Alucard girl in a leotard balancing on her hands. For the upcoming months, when she wasn't influencing others, she was practicing balancing, deftness, dexterity, and acrobatics. She was put through the ringer, and shown no mercy in the gym.
~~
Months later, Amaris stepped out of the shadow of Ferdinand, having learned to use this trick much much better. He had been dancing like some goofball, flapping his arms like chicken wings, and not giving a shit about his own dignity. Again his skin was pale, and he did not care what was instructed of him. The others were in similar states of undignified positions. A few were naked. They all had been drained of their emotions and had fallen to her will to do things none of them would normally do. Slowly their color was returning, as was their own mental fortitude and will. They all began to scramble to reclothe, or stop whatever degenerate act they had been made to do. This was a common scene over the past few months.
Julius was down beside her, clapping. "You havve mastered this skill, Amariss. I musst say I am impresssed. You always were a quick learner. Capable of grassping othher ideas and putting them into effect. Unlike your dissappointment of a mothher. Very good, very good! Sha ha ha! I am very proud of you and your progresss! Poor Ferdinand; go, resst up. Take the day off. All of you! You deservve it!" The servants all scrambled after that, with Julius laughing in merriment at their embarrassing misfortune. He placed his hand on Amaris's back and grinned down at her.
~~
The day came to leave. Amaris was once again at the massive front door to the Alucard castle. Julius stood at the top of the stairs, like the day she arrived. "So, you shhall return to them, then." It was more of a statement than a question. There was obvious disapproval in his voice. Amaris nodded, picked up her bags and turned to go.
She was stopped by his voice. "Remember thiss, Amariss. We Alucards are superior. We do not mix well with them. You belong here. You and your mothher bothh. She plays hero, as are you. But remember, your placce iss at my side. We Alucards are not like them. They call uss monssters. We simply do not fit in. I know you know it. I know you can feeel it."
She turned back to stare at him. She had heard this before.
"You and your mothher will return. I havve no doubt. Remember what I said, when you begin to feeel it." He paused for dramatic effect. "Your blood boiling. ..The hunger."
At the mere mention, she felt her stomach growl, placing a disconcerted hand over it.
"Anyway, you havve learned a lot. But there iss muchh you still need to learn. I, and only I, can teachh you. No one elsse understands." His eyes changed from their usual green to glow bright red. "When you remember, return to me, Amariss."
"Farewell. For now, granddaughhter."
The door shut at that word, she still staring back. "Goodbye, grandfathher." Then she regained herself and turned to go, walking down to the limo that was waiting for her. To take her to the plane which would take her back to UA.
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