Skin Deep

((I could see Beal being a Shadow that was convinced to work for the Darkness by his master, the one that tricked Hirai into returning home. The one that killed her family to get her to come to earth again. Totally forgot his name, but oh well. What do you think about that idea? And yeah, Isi's gotten sassy. Either from stress or conflicted emotions. I don't entirely understand her.))

It took forever for all the blood to come off, even when she used grit from the bottom of the creek to scrub it off. She had popped out of the water and saw that Beal had disappeared, so she had removed her dress and thrown it to the bank, her face carefully blank. So what if he was gone? She could walk around naked again now. She could frolic around and sing about butterflies if she wanted to, or shout obscenities to the air about how mean and annoying and gross Beal was without repercussions such as being snarled at.

No, that wasn't right. He seemed to prefer being viewed as a monster. It was when she had called him sort-of human that he had gone on a rampage. Either he really hated pants, or he wanted desperately to be anything but normal, anything but weak. And humans were weak, so he probably didn't want to be seen as human in any sense of the word. Maybe it was just a man thing. Isalien had no idea, but she wanted to stop caring.

At least being pissed off at Beal distracted her from the disturbing wounds of her left hand. Her ankle had healed, and so had her back, but her hand must have been too tough a job for the small amount of energy to fix. It had stopped bleeding, at least, the open wounds mercifully closed. But the bones were still cracked and shattered, bent in strange directions. She briefly thought she had heard a howl, sending shivers up and down her body before she convinced herself it had just been her imagination. After cleaning herself sufficiently, Isalien sluggishly made her way back to her home, taking inventory of any other wounds. There were surprisingly few. They must have healed when she had let out that final burst of power and energy, leaving behind dark bruises but no open wounds.

She grabbed the package of open beef jerky that she had dropped after Beal had barged in on her, then collapsed dripping-wet onto her bed, stuffing her face with the meat like a starving adolescent boy. After she had finished the jerky she consumed an entire package of crackers, never making a face other than bored and tired. After a few minutes Isalien's eyes landed on her deformed left hand.

Finally, her face showed a real emotion. Disgust and annoyance. What kind of hand was that? How was she supposed to function the rest of here life with a deformed hand? After all, she knew no doctor, and Beal was gone so there was no chance she could access that strange healing energy as she had previously. It was an unnecessary evil, but she needed to at least straighten the bones. She managed to straighten the bone in her palm that attached to her pinky, but after that she felt like she would barf if she did any of the others. She ended up dozing off after curling up under a mound of blankets. Why bother rushing to destroy the school? No one was rushing her now, and he had probably gone to destroy it anyways. Her dreams didn't feel like her own, though at the same time they also did. There was nothing about darkness or light in the dreams, just a feeling of confusion and complete loss.
 
Now there was twelve total, not a big problem. Beal pushed the void that was inside him, emanating a coldness that didn't effect the climate. The wolves stopped their approach, second guessing an attack. This is the moment Beal struck, the earth beneath his feet tore away as he launched himself forward. He kicked a wolf in the face and then brought his foot down on it's leg, breaking it. The wolf sailed through the air when he threw it into another wolf and again the earth tore from where he launched himself. His knee struck a wolf in the ribs with a loud cracking sound as it was pinned against a tree and blood came from the wolf's muzzle. He brought a hand down and chopped at it's neck, breaking it and killing the wolf. Hopping up he grabbed a thick branch with his claws sinking into the wood, holding himself aloft as a wolf pounced on the spot where he had been. Dropping down on the wolf and pinning it to the ground he blinded it with a couple swipes of his clawed hands.

A wolf snapped for his neck, Beal leaned back and then swatted the wolfs head aside causing it to spin before collapsing to the ground, several fangs broken. Legs coiled underneath him he sprang into the air and landed on the ground, the wolves were learning his tactics. One wolf was sneaking up on him from behind as another wolf taunted him from the front. Beal made it appear that he had fallen for the trick, and the wolf leaped at him. He ducked and stepped backward, the maneuver putting him underneath the large wolf and then he launched himself up into the wolf. Bones cracked and the wolf sailed through the air and landed on the ground with a whump. That's when they decided to attack all at once. Because the wolves still outnumbered him eight to one, they figured they still had a chance, but they were wrong. They tried coming at him from all angles, some would snap at his legs, others would go for his arms, for his throat, or tackle him down.

Beal threw his body into the wolves that tried knocking him down, knocking them down instead and stomping on them or kicking them aside. He responded in a similar manner to the wolves attacking his feet, he would duck and slide around the wolves attacking higher and then kick the wolves heads or ribs. Every opening they thought they saw the wolves tried to strike, Beal caught a wolf and held it around the neck with his arm and brought his hand down on the beast's spine, breaking it and then casting the wolf into it's comrades. The wolves that slammed their bodies against him only managed to make him shift his weight before counter attacking by slashing their eyes and breaking their legs. Several times Beal lashed out with a vicious backhand, breaking fangs and muzzles.

Three wolves were left, trying to escape but Beal caught up with them dashed their legs from underneath them, making them immobile. These three were the first to be drained, his claws dug into them and pulled the energy from their bodies. Beal had noticed that it took all the energy from their flesh, blood, and even the little electrical pulses that traveled through their bodies. Interesting, but probably useless information. He continued on, draining the six wolves that were still alive. Beal took some time to ravage one of the still warm bodies, filling his stomach with the lean flesh of the wolf. It was a hassle eating creatures covered in fur, he preferred humans more.

With his stomach sated for the moment, he made his way back to the barrier. This time he remembered how he had gotten in first time and tried to get in that way. After getting in Beal would make his silent way to Isalien and perhaps, maybe, this time she wouldn't squander the energy that wisped from his body. It was much more energy, much more. He contained it as much as he could, because anything that could detect power no matter how feeble their ability, would more than likely notice the concentration.

((She's going through a lot right now. Yeah that seems to work, though I wonder if that chick is still playing and how she'll react to Beal if he does end up being in there.))
 
((I shall ponder on Beal's potential entry in MSoR. Idk if Misa's still in or not. I'll check.))

Dreams pulled Isalien further and further in, almost holding her captive there amidst the feelings and sights that weren't her own. Nothing was right.

As Beal came closer, the hoards of energy swarming around him became incorporated into the dream. It wwas a light that came closer, a fire that was within reach but firmly unobtainable. She couldn't move to chase it, how was she supposed to get it then? The air was cold too, and she knew if she could just get those flames she wouldn't freeze to death in this place.

The more Isalien tried to move in her dreams, the more she moved in the real world. At first she was just twitching, but after a few seconds she fumbled around until she managed to get on her feet, weighed down by a blanket on her head that hadn't fallen off of her like the others. Aside from standing up, she could only take tiny steps forward. Unlike most sleepwalkers, her eyes remained shut. She seemed to be thoroughly asleep, but kept muttering something about freezing and wanting fire.

((Sorry for midget post. Nice battle scene, dude. Also: phone typing.))
 
Beal was going to wake Isalien from amongst her pile of cloth. But she stirred and flopped around and finally stood up on her own. He at first thought she was awake "Here's more energy. Perhaps you won't waste it all, this time." Receiving only mumbles in response he inspected her closer and found that her eyes were closed. Was the energy too bright? Had the concentration of so much energy caused her to mumble in shock? No probably not, she was probably still weary from resting, he knew humans got like that, but he knew nothing of sleep walking. It would be quite inconvenient if someone were to attack them whilst they slept. Beal snorted and held out his hand to the, what thought was, sleepy girl. She'd probably pep right up after taking the energy, something Beal was loath to see.

((Thanks. Yours was pretty....hair raising. 8D))
 
((Let's just do a series of midget posts :D I feel lazy.))

In her dream, she saw part of fire come close to her. Her ears apparently were not taking in any outside noises such as Beal's voice. She reached out for the fire she sensed, the energy clinging to Beal's arm, with both hands, but the blanket that had been clinging to her got pushed off by her movement and the cool air hit her bare skin and wet hair. If the dream hadn't been so vivid and held her captured in sleep, she would have woken up from the shock of the air against her. The only reaction she gave, however, was more mumbles about being frozen and being unable to get the fire. In her head, she saw blue and grey everywhere, recoloring everything else in her world except for the fire in front of her. She wanted to obtain it so that the ice wouldn't take over her as well. It was odd dream. She was herself, but at the same time someone else. When she turned around to look at the ice, her eyes were green and her hair dark and wavy, but other than that she couldn't understand who the woman was. Her eyes drifted down the ice, following her reflection. Why was there a black patch in the ice where her middle was supposed to reflect? Why was she overwhelmed with such a familiar confusion and hurt? That woman was not her. In the dream, Isalien turned back around to face the fire, the only thing she thought could help her become unafraid again, keep the ice from eating away at her. She felt fearful that if she didn't get to the fire, she might become that woman she had seen in the reflection of the ice.

She stumbled around a few steps before collapsing back onto her bed, and the muddled scent of confusion, hurt, and fear was left in her place. It seemed that the still-warm blankets pleased her, because she stopped mumbling about ice and instead wriggled her way to the very bottom of the blanket pile.

Everything in her dream stopped moving. She felt hopeless about getting that fire, now. How was she to get it? The ice had frozen her feet in place.
 
Beal was starting to get impatient as she shambled. She was taking forever. When she close enough to grab his arm and take the energy, she veered around a bit and then fell back onto her pile of cloth she called a bed. Beal did nothing for a minute, then he examined her and found she was asleep! She probably had been this whole time, her emotions hadn't changed much. Ugh! Beal reached down and with one hand lifted the bed up and tipped Isalien out of it onto the cold grassy ground.

((Order up!))
 
Isalien toppled onto the grass, followed by the entirety of her collection of blankets and the clothes among them. It stunned her awake, and after her eyes opened to see blackness, her heart began to beat like she was running. What happened? Was someone here? Why would they tip her bed over? Isalien shook from the cool grass and the fear starting to eat away at her. How could anything get in here? Was it just one of the animals that had gotten curious and invaded her home?

Slowly, she crawled out of the blanket pile until her head was free. She wasn't sure if she was seeing things or not, but either way she swore that Beal was staring down at her. Despite being irritated with him, a flood of relief washed through her, though she wanted to remain wary of him to protect herself, but she was too happy to see him just then. And he had awakened her from a horrible dream, a bonus. Then she saw the massive amount of energy collected around him. But even though her reserves were below empty, stirring up instinctual restlessness, at that moment she was more interested in Beal than the energy.

"You came back? I thought you had left..."
 
The wash of positive emotion from Isalien irritated Beal. A cold draft floated through the room, having nothing to do with the weather. He ignored her question "Are you going to take this or not?" he said about the power swirling over his skin and cast her bed aside.

(( So so small...))
 
Isalien snatched a blanket and wrapped it around herself, trying hard not to throw Beal a dirty look. She stood, shivering, and reached out to rest her hands on each of Beal's arms. The sudden flow of energy brought a gasp out of her, and she stepped closer to breathe the energy in through her mouth. Her left hand started to heal, the bones knitting themselves together agonizing slow. If she took her hands away from him to clutch the left one in an attempt to dull the pain, she wouldn't be able to keep soaking in energy through her fingers, so although she knew it would piss him off even more, Isalien coped with the pain by digging the nails on her right hand into Beal's skin and letting her head fall forward to rest against him. If she felt uncomfortable due to his lack of a shirt, she didn't show it. Another snap indicated yet another pulverized bone pulling back together, and she twitched, biting deep into her lip. She refused to whimper and give him more reasons to ridicule her.

"Just h-how many did you kill to get this much? Why did you do it, anyways?" She asked quietly, trying to distract herself.

((Shooort :D ))
 
He barely noticed her nails digging into his skin, stronger things had tried to puncture his skin and failed. What irked him was when she placed her head against his chest, a grimace forming on his face. She must have been reacting to the pain in her hand. He hadn't noticed the broken bones before, it must have happened during her encounter with the wolves. Bah, and now with the questions again.

Beal sighed "I took from six or so and I did it because I don't want to have to be protecting you when you" he almost said 'we' "are trying to kill people at the school." Beal hadn't noticed, but the skin that was touching Isalien's head was getting warm, he grimaced again.

((Wooooo short))
 
She started to talk again, but right when she opened her mouth another bone popped back together near her thumb, so her voice cut off with an odd noise like a hiccup. It was embarrassing. At least her hand was almost back to normal. She had to monitor the rate at which she absorbed the energy; she didn't want to end up craving more than just the energy like last time, because she figured Beal wouldn't take too kindly to her trying to steal the power inside of him. Soon it was almost over with, and Isalien felt like she had eaten part of the sun. But it felt good. She took a few steps back, pulling the blanket tighter around herself as she watched him.

"Wh--" she cut herself short before she could finish asking him why he would protect her in the first place. She remembered that she was helpful when it came to destroying everything. He probably didn't want to waste a perfectly good resource. No one had ever protected her before, so she didn't see why someone would protect her now, especially this someone who had an immense dislike for anything that might prove him to be something other than a wild murderous creature. She didn't understand. "Thank you. Usually I have to heal over weeks and months, and with some wounds I just want to die. It's annoying, being weak but just strong enough to stay alive and suffer."

She began to reorganize her bed again, straightening out the bottom layer and then piling blankets on top haphazardly. "I feel good now. Let me get dressed and I'll be ready to leave. I think I can tell the students apart from the teachers, so I'll just kill the teachers. The students will help destroy the place, too."

It would be a beautiful sight, seeing that school crumble and its twisted teachers exterminated. An innocent grin crept onto her face at the thought.

((Ssssshooooooorrrr-tuh.))
 
Isalien had taken most of the power Beal gave to her, it seemed she had left a few wisps of it behind, possibly having to do with the reaction she had to it before. As she pulled away and she adjusted the blanket around herself, Beal could see her starting to form a question and a scowl formed on his face in response. But she did not ask a question, she thanked him instead. He made no response to her first comments.

He watched her with little interest as she piled blankets onto her bed, which was a good few feet from where it originally had bed. When she mentioned getting ready then leaving for the school, Beal let out a grunt to express how annoyed he was it had taken this long. He stood there and waited, feeling the presence of the sun starting to creep its way up from below the horizon.

((Shorty shorty. Get any word back from what's her name?))
 
((Yes indeed. She's still in, just busy at the moment.))

Isalien's smile faded at his lack of enthusiasm, especially at the prospect of killing things which she'd thought he'd like, and she visibly seemed to wilt as she looked up at him. He had grunted at her, for what reason she didn't know. She didn't usually know.

"Are you angry with me?" she asked quietly, dropping her eyes and turning to dig through the blankets to find some clothes. "I don't know what I did. I thought you'd be happy that you get to destroy things soon, like I am..."

((Sheeert.))
 
Chris appears in his dorm. Bloody fangs, bloody claws, and bloody knuckles. 'Done for the night. Now I have to stay at this dumb school my damn father sent me to,' he thought to himself. He just relaxes in his bed until the morning comes for he doesn't sleep. He already hates the school. He knows this will be a bad year.
 
Beal's arms were crossed over his chest as he waited. She was obviously disappointed by him not cheering and dancing a jig of glee. He would be glad to destroy the school, but he was impatient, he wasn't going to express glee until the walls were crumbling beneath his fists and blood flowed around his claws. However he did enjoy the thought of soon being away from this wretched girl and the confusion she seemed to bring him. His eyes glanced at her while thinking this and anger swelled quietly inside him at the fact she was the cause of him questioning his identity. Keeping it contained he turned and stared out of the doorway. "Be silent and make haste" was his reply.

((Beal talks like he's from sometime a long time ago O.o))
 
Chris got bored, he wondered what people at this school was like, so he decided to get up and wander the dorms and halls trying to look for people to meet. 'People better be entertaining here,' he thought to himself. He then lifted off the ground and floated around still searching for someone to meet and chat with.

Chris was late, because he took a trip to the underworld, to talk with his dad. He apparently made his dad mad so Chris had to crack some demon skulls. He managed to at least maim most. He got a free trip back to earth, and of course his dad switched his route and he found himself with a note in the tube back to earth talking about how his dad sent him to the school to learn discipline. He couldn't leave. He felt like he was under house arrest.

Eventually he got bored looking for people and sat down in the dorm hall and decided to play his guitar axe and sing softly trying not to wake anyone but still wait for someone to pass by.
 
((Hey dude this has kind of become a one on one thing. Yeah I know it's in the public Jump-In section but we didn't think anyone was going to want to post since it had just been us for, like, three pages and another person starting to play makes things wonky. Sorry dude but we won't be posting in here any more.))
 
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