Aftermath [Active]

[paixaomods]

Character(s): Anyone!
Content: With Paixao in ruins and the townsfolk now unwelcoming of the outsiders, a camp has formed at St. Destino.
Setting: St. Destino church and the surrounding fields, where some of the "outsiders" have been camping since the collapse.
Time: 4-5 days after the collapse
Warnings: None!

This will be another one of those multi-thread posts! Throw whoever, whereever guys!

Compared to the vast array of weather that was once seen inside the domes, outside seems to never change; the sky is simply a dark grey through the day and an inky black at night. There are no stars in the sky, but there is still some light; the white grass of the Elysian Fields glows an eerie blue at night and small orbs of light fall, almost like snow, in the constant gentle breeze.

Usually the fields are hauntingly quiet, but not so much now, as camping outsiders made their way here, using the small, abandoned church as a refuge.

Comments

[nonomoribird]

Yorda very much wanted to help everyone, but she didn't quite know what to do. She had been wandering about, healing who she could, even with the glares (and worse) that she had been getting. She knew, now, that she could not stay in the city, which she so loved and very much had wanted to be a part of. Would she have to go back to the island, where she would surely die? She had been fully prepared to die back then, having made her peace, but now that she had a chance to live, to help others and stay with her loved ones, she would do her best to cling to life with everything she had.

But for now, she simply sat in the field, alone, her arms hugging her knees as she looked silently up at the sky.

[theheartofdarkness]

It was a time of change. Ansem would have had to be blind to miss the way people's hearts were beginning to slide away from the light in favor of the darker emotions. Anger, betrayal, sorrow... yes, things were very much in his favor. Better yet, the linger the unease and discomfort lingered the easier it would be to truly sway people to his side. Heart by heart, the darkness would spread and that was all he'd ever truly wanted.

Of course, the darkness always did work best when it was... helped along. It was for that reason that Ansem had come out to see what could be made of the people who had formerly considered themselves of the city. True, he hadn't expected to run across Yorda, but darkness always was pulled to the light sooner or later. It was inevitable and so he meant to make the most occasion, such as it was.

He didn't announce his presence, as he come up quietly behind Yorda. If she didn't notice his approach, it certainly wasn't any of his concern. "Is something the matter?"

[nonomoribird]

Se knew that voice. Quickly, Yorda got to her feet and whipped around, staring Ansem full in the face. She backed away, her hands clutching at her dress as she forced down the urge to run away from him. She remembered all too well what she had been put through, and how angry Mao had gotten. She remembered how worried Urd had been, and how the Master had seemed to collapse inwardly. She did not want that to happen again.

The princess declined to answer Ansem, too afraid to talk back or even look at him after that moment. So she turned her head to the side, her gaze darting about for signs of anyone who could help her. But as far as she could see, there was no one.

[theheartofdarkness]

No one indeed. Merely Ansem and his shadows, and further away, the restless and displeased natives of the city. Still, for all that he was most likely not the most welcome of visitors he certainly didn't seem particularly interested in carting her off yet again. There was no need - he knew a good deal about the extent of her powers, and in such a troubled time as this the last thing he needed was a reason for people to band together.

"Come now. Am I that unpleasant to speak to?"

[nonomoribird]

Yorda didn't answer. Truth be told, Ansem had always been rather polite to her, save for the time he'd kidnapped her, but somehow, all of that just made the situation worse. Not only was she trapped and alone out here - and just when she had started to feel safe enough to go out on her own again - but she had not been allowed to tell Urd, Mao, and the Master (who was now missing, which added to the girl's distress) who had really kidnapped her. Urd, especially, appeared to think it was someone called "Xemnas" who was responsible, but thanks to Ansem's forbiddance, Yorda hadn't been able to tell the goddess the truth. It was just as well, then, that she hadn't seen Urd in quite some time. The unwanted secret seemed to sit in her stomach, like a stone, and for all that she wanted to tell it, she was wholly unwilling to endanger Mao. She would just have to hope that everyone would be able to figure it out for themselves.

She sat perfectly still, unable and unwilling to answer the man, and kept her gaze lowered to the ground.

[theheartofdarkness]

Ansem had little doubt the truth would come to light in time. Xemnas rarely came into the city, that much was true. But that too could change in time. Thus, better to take advantage of the silence and the continued not-quite-a-lie while he was yet able to do so.

"Your heart is troubled."

It wasn't a question, for all it could have easily been. If nothing else, Ansem knew hearts, and he was perfectly willing to continue a one-sided conversation for as long as it happened to be necessary.

[nonomoribird]

Yorda merely kept her eyes lowered to the ground, but could not help giving a tiny shudder at the other's words. She had been troubled ever since he'd kidnapped her, it was true, but never so much as this. She had nowhere else to go, and there were murmurs regarding leaving this floor at long last and putting an end to this. But if that were to happen, she and many others, who had come here on the brink of death, would die.

It was strange, how one's viewpoint on life could change. Yorda had been fully prepared to die before she had found herself here. Now, however, she was not.

[theheartofdarkness]

All things came to an end, in time. The life that Yorda had been living - that many people had been living - was merely one of those things. It was time now to see what would come next. What sort of ending would people make and how many of them would fall into the darkness along the way? How many would prove useful, even, although that was a question for later down the road.

"Perhaps I can offer that which you so desperately seek." Answers, should that be the case, or simply a new willingness to accept that which would come to be. "Surely you would prefer to not trouble your friends with this."

[nonomoribird]

Her life on the island now seemed so far away. No longer was she kept in a cage, terrorized by shadows and oppressed by her own mother. Yorda had grown used to living, as it were, and she was not in a hurry to change that. In fact, she didn't want to change that at all; she wanted to continue living, to explore and learn. She had already learned so much, and made so many friends. She did not want to stop that now.

When it came to Ansem, however, she hesitated. She neither liked nor trusted the man, and after a few moments, she merely shook her head. The last time she'd had a proper conversation with him, after all, she had ended up kidnapped. "I do not wish to speak with you," she managed at last, looking away from him.

[theheartofdarkness]

A wise choice. Ansem had never pretended to be particularly nice, even when he was being sociable. Nicer than his true nature, yes. But that was hardly saying much, when his true nature drove him to seek out people's hearts. But he could be patient. Yorda was still of use to him, regardless of whether or not she happened to like him, and in the end he would see to it that something came out of it. What and how, he would have left to the more scientific types, had he been inclined to share his findings with any. As he had not, he would simply have to wait and see what came of the future. It wouldn't be the first time he'd done so.

"Speaking is not required. It would be inconsiderate of me to ask. I ask only whether or not you are interested in seeing your way free of the trouble that lurks within your heart."

[nonomoribird]

Despite herself, Yorda was curious, and it showed in her hesitant glance in Ansem's direction. Had someone who hadn't done her any harm told her that, she would have gladly listened, and asked questions as to how she could do such a thing. As it was, however, she remained quiet, though she could not help wondering what he meant.

So she sat there, silently wondering if there truly was some way of freeing herself, both from the worry of what would happen to her and what she now believed to be her fate.

[theheartofdarkness]

There was indeed a way to be free of the pains of the heart. An elegant, and above else, simple way. While he could hardly undo the connections she'd made in the city, or unknot that which held her heart captive he was quite good at changing how someone the same things. True, it would be beyond cruelty to suggest that she give of her all as he himself once had, but there were lesser deaths. There were ways to suggest a heart to rethink the various things that entrapped it, and though he couldn't say that Yorda would necessarily take to any of them, surely it was better to have offered than not.

"How far would you go, I wonder? What would you do to be rid of the doubts that plague your heart?"

[nonomoribird]

"What do you mean?" Yorda could not stop the question from escaping her, despite her mistrust of the man. She looked up at him, somewhat unwillingly; for all his coldness and cruelty, Ansem appeared to have an uncanny ability to read hearts. Furthermore, the princess knew he was knowledgeable and therefore would very likely know what he was talking about.

Even with that, however, this was the man who had kidnapped her. She could not - would not - trust him.

[theheartofdarkness]

It was something all his kind could do. He was merely the only Heartless fully capable of understanding, beyond simply finding which hearts would be the ones most worth stealing away. This is something he doesn't care to mention, and instead he offers nothing more than a polite smile. He knows very well how to bring about such changes as she may want.

"All hearts are malleable. Even yours, and even mine. It's not so very different from changing a person's mind. Everything will bend, in time."

Not something many people considered attempting, but that was hardly any of Ansem's concern. He was here to make an offer and nothing more. Perhaps a uniquely tempting offer, but that wasn't much out of the ordinary. Not from him, of all people.

[graviga]

“Can’t say I expected to find you here.” Xigbar spoke up, walking up from behind the two.

He had come armed, Sharpshooter’s in hand for the unknown. Nothing about him suggested where he had come from or how long he had lingered in their presence unannounced. All the Nobody would share with them was a smile. He stopped just short of the pair, having chosen to maintain his distance – for now. Relaxed as Xigbar was, he did not care to leave his guard down, especially around a girl he knew too little about.

Resting his weapon on his shoulder and shifted his weight and looked between the pair. “So,” he said, his gaze fixed on Yorda. “what’d I miss?”

Aaaaand I really need more motifs 8|

[nonomoribird]

The glowing girl had been about to answer Ansem when an unfamiliar voice spoke up. She gasped, staring at the stranger, and gave a rather uneasy nod in return to his smile. She didn't quite know how to answer him, however, especially as Ansem had forbidden her to tell others his name.

"I..." she trailed off, standing at last and moving away from Ansem, her discomfort clear. She gestured, distressed, her shoulders hunched as she stared silently at the grass in front of her feet.

[theheartofdarkness]

There wasn't a need for her to. While she may not have recognized the new arrival, Ansem did. Xigbar might not have been who he might have preferred to speak with, but there was no sense in making an attempt to be rid of him. Not now. Instead, he offered a polite nod to Xigbar, before turning to address Yorda.

"You may speak, if you wish."

[graviga]

“Ain’t got no reason to be shy.” He said, amusement in his voice. “Not ‘round your old pal.” Xigbar dismissed his Sharpshooters and gave a nod in return to Ansem. He had been tempted to put his arm around the girl but there had been no telling how she would respond. Instead, he chose to lean down and obstruct her view of the patch of grass she had chosen to stare at.

“How ‘bout someone else asks the questions for once, huh?” Slowly, he turned to look back at Ansem. “Like how you know your friend over here.”

If Ansem had interest in this girl, Xigbar wanted to know why. Even the goddess had proven rather protective. But had that been an act of the heart or had she truly been valuable to their cause? It made Xigbar wonder.

/wishes she could just track threads 8|

[nonomoribird]

Yorda blinked at the strange man, surprised at his persistence and Ansem's permission. "He kidnapped me once," she told Xigbar at last, frankly, "and used me to open doors." She didn't want to elaborate, especially after what Ansem had put her through. "My loved ones rescued me." The princess had to repress a shudder, remembering how angry they had all been, and how worried. She had worried them.

She looked at the ground again, her arms wrapping around herself as though it might protect her from Ansem.

[theheartofdarkness]

There was no real need for elaboration. If there was something that needed further clarification, he could take care of it. There was little need to make Yorda speak all of what had been, when what she'd already offered was close enough to the truth. Admittedly, he could have offered the explanation himself but surely it was better to let Yorda offer the important details as she saw them?

Xigbar hadn't been asking him those questions, after all, and so he was content to wait and see what came next.

[graviga]

“Still kidnapping them dames, eh?” Xigbar grinned at the man. “And here I thought you’d become a gentleman.”

He could not say he was surprised by the act. If what Yorda had said were true, someone of her ability could prove most useful. The keybrat had been efficient in the past but they had only so much sway over which doors he opened. This girl was different. Ansem had an ace in hand and did well in holding it close.

“Is that what they said, that they ‘rescued’ you?” He shook his head and laughed. “Sounds like they still got you fooled. You gotta need rescuing for that to happen. Believe me, you’re friend here wouldn’t let a hair on your head befall harm.”

Not when she was so useful.

[nonomoribird]

Yorda looked from Xigbar to Ansem and back again, looking even less at ease than before, if that were possible. Clearly, these two knew each other, and it was unlikely the man in the black coat would bother to help her.

"I did not want to go with this man," Yorda said, her voice soft but strong. "They saved me from him." Unfortunately for her, it didn't look as though the saving had stuck.

[theheartofdarkness]

Whether or not it had stuck was a matter of perspective. Xigbar was absolutely correct in that Ansem had no real interest in harming Yorda. Pushing her to her limits, certainly, but now that he had figured out just what she could be good for, he certainly wasn't going to harm her. No matter how far she roamed he knew how to find her, and that was quite enough for him.

"So they would claim," Ansem commented. How true it was... well, that was a decision he'd leave to those who cared.