|
Post by Julie Loire on May 17, 2009 0:12:16 GMT -5
((OOC: Starting this off as a closed topic, but I'm not going to mark it. I might open it up later. Also, it seems I unintentionally referenced Clerian in the title. )) :: Julie Loire steps through the Balamb gateway, smiling at the sight of her home world on a peaceful and sunny day. :: ' Better than the last time I was in Balamb...' :: The memory comes back in a flash - the leader of the sorceress coven, backing her into a corner. Demanding to know where her power came from. :: :: Suddenly, a quiet beeping from inside her jacket interrupts her reverie. Julie rolls her eyes, and takes out her Esthar communicator. :: "Dad?" Voice of Laguna: "Julie! Where have you been?!" "Um... around. I kinda... went away for a while." Voice of Laguna: "Hey, Kiros! Get Dr. Hojo on the line - see if he's got any ideas about extending the comm range to other worlds!" Voice of Kiros (in the distance): "Laguna... she can still hear you." Voice of Laguna: "Huh? Oh! Hey... Julie, you know I just, uh..." :: Julie can't help but smile. :: "I know, Dad. I just... had to see if I could find something." ' But he wasn't anywhere...' Voice of Laguna: "Hey, I can't exactly say anything, y'know? Man... my parents shoulda worried themselves to death!" Voice of Kiros: "What Laguna is trying to say, Julie, is that he's glad you're safe." :: Julie giggles quietly at the familiar banter. :: "Thanks, Kiros. I got that." :: The comm unit crackles with static. Julie frowns. :: "Dad?" :: A faint echo of a voice comes through. :: Voice of Laguna (through static): "Julie? A... ere..." Faint Echo: "... live... n't... t... y... g... t... ab... e..." Voice of Kiros (static clearing): "Laguna! There's... interference... radio waves. Looks like... Dollet tower." :: The entire call goes to static. :: "Guys, if you can still hear me, call me back when you fix it. I'm coming home soon, and if Rainii's not there for our shopping trip, I'm just gonna have to go out and find her next." :: Julie pockets the communicator again, and looks up toward Balamb Garden. Squinting, she can barely make out the hint of an approaching figure on the horizon. ::
|
|
|
Post by Julie Loire on May 17, 2009 22:01:28 GMT -5
:: As the figure draws nearer, Julie can barely make out the Balamb Garden girls' student uniform. ::
'... I don't remember meeting any students here...'
:: Sensing something else, she turns to face the town of Balamb. Three other figures are approaching from that direction, as well as another student girl from the direction of the Fire Cavern. ::
*Sister...*
:: Julie quickly turns to face the voice, but nobody is there. ::
*No... impostor. You are not a true follower of Hyne.*
:: Julie spins around again, only to face the oncoming girls. None of them had spoken - the voice seemed to be in her head. ::
"Who are you?"
*.........*
:: Julie can still feel its presence, but the voice grows completely silent. Now only a few yards away from her, the girls stop walking. The student girl from Garden holds out her hand, pointing at Julie. ::
Girl: "You will answer. Who are you?"
:: Julie frowns, glancing at the other girls. They all seemed to be waiting for their 'leader'. Hesitantly, she answers. ::
"I'm Julie Loire. Um... what's your name?"
:: Anger flashes in the girl's eyes as Julie introduces herself. ::
Girl: "Loire..."
:: The voice returns, even more audibly than before. ::
*She is one of his tribe! Attack! Kill her!*
:: Julie dives to the ground just before one of the girls throws a magical fireball. She draws her gun and fires a magical round charged with the wind element. The shockwave scatters the five girls, stunning them long enough for Julie to make a dash for the Fire Cavern. Inside, she hopes there'll be more cover than the wide-open plains of Balamb. ::
*After her! Do not let her escape!!!*
:: Only taking a moment to regroup, the five young sorceresses begin to pursue Julie into the cavern. ::
|
|
Klytië
New Adventurer
All will be made to remember, that which lives only in legend.
Posts: 30
|
Post by Klytië on May 19, 2009 2:26:19 GMT -5
:: A presence observes her followers, pursuing the accursed Loire girl towards the Fire Cavern. Thirteen, the one who would appear to be the leader, follows close behind - before the Loire girl manages to strike her with another powerful wind blast. ::
*This 'artificial magic' is more powerful than you described.*
'She is his. We cannot possibly know what to expect of her.'
:: Julie quickly disappears into the cavern. Two of the girls from the town of Balamb, Five and Seven, take positions at the mouth of the cavern. Meanwhile, Thirteen, Eleven, and Nine each take a separate pathway inside. ::
*She is just a girl. Even Seven could easily overpower her.*
'She has faced our kind before, and survived! She is the daughter of the one who sealed one of our greatest sisters away for decades! Do not take her lightly!'
*Understood.*
:: The five girls' eyes begin to glow faintly golden. ::
*We will not hold back.*
|
|
|
Post by Julie Loire on May 19, 2009 2:34:16 GMT -5
:: Taking cover behind a large rock formation, Julie takes a quick stock of her ammunition. She only has a few rounds left in her last magically-enhanced clip, then it's just a couple more clips of regular ammo. She'd have to make every shot count to get out of this one alive. ::
:: She pokes her head out for a second, just enough to see around the corner. She hasn't heard the voice in a while, but the sense of an odd presence around still makes her uneasy. ::
((OOC: Lillith, feel free to join in at any time now.))
|
|
|
Post by Lillith on May 19, 2009 2:41:28 GMT -5
::Eleven and Nine are thrown suddenly off their feet by a gust of wind that's entered the cavern out of nowhere. They both hit their heads against the wall sending their senses for a spin. Thirteen turns to see a black clad woman with long dark brown hair and strange green eyes, like that of a cat that seem to penetrate the darkness. She holds out her arm and a raven swoops in and perches on it::
Now three against one doesn't seem fair does it?
::Before thirteen can make a move, Lillith uses her free hand to send a bolt of lightning into her chest, shorting out her nervous system and knocking her to the ground. Watching her body spin as it falls is quite a sight::
|
|
Klytië
New Adventurer
All will be made to remember, that which lives only in legend.
Posts: 30
|
Post by Klytië on May 19, 2009 2:59:28 GMT -5
:: The observer watches in shock as one of their own attacks their forces. ::
*She doesn't hear you?!*
'She does. She must. We cannot expect all of our sisters to agree with us.'
*But... that means she is...*
'... a traitor.'
:: Having received new orders, Five and Seven sneak into the cavern, attempting to catch the traitor off-guard. ::
|
|
|
Post by Lillith on May 19, 2009 3:01:28 GMT -5
::Lillith allows Melanie to fly off her arm so she can prepare a spell. Feeling the other two closing in on her, she closes her eyes and claps her hands together. A whirlwind expands from her body and throws each of them off their feet::
Was that it? I was hoping they had a little more fight in them.
::Melanie squawks at her from her perch::
Oh hush up I was only kidding.
|
|
|
Post by Julie Loire on May 19, 2009 3:12:50 GMT -5
:: Julie's eyes widen a bit. That certainly wasn't a mysterious voice in her head. ::
:: Peeking over the rock formation again, she sees a vaguely familiar sorceress fry the student girl from Garden with lightning. The technique sparks recognition... ::
"Lillith?"
:: Julie comes out from behind the rocks, and sees two approaching figures in the distance, which are quickly dealt with by the somewhat familiar sorceress. The threat passed, Julie takes a moment to look over her rescuer. ::
"... It's you, right?"
:: She doesn't exactly remember Lillith vividly - mainly, just a bit from the war against the Coven. But she remembers enough to know that she looks different. ::
|
|
|
Post by Lillith on May 19, 2009 3:18:48 GMT -5
::Lillith smiles::
Julie Loire. You look great. You haven't aged a day. I hate you. Anyway, what are you doing here? This isn't exactly part of the tour.
|
|
|
Post by Julie Loire on May 19, 2009 3:37:33 GMT -5
:: Lillith's comment about aging makes Julie frown in bemusement. ::
"And... you have? I mean, you look different, but..."
'Actually, she does look a little more mature. Why is that?'
"... um, what was that? Oh, right. Well, I just came back through the gate. I've been travelling the other worlds, trying to find..."
:: Her voice breaks slightly. ::
"... something. Anyway, I'm not even here five seconds before psycho girls there are after me."
:: Suddenly, she has her hands on her hips in a defiant posture. ::
"Speaking of which... you could have left at least one of them for me!"
:: Julie tosses her hair for effect, and finishes off with the classic mischievous Loire grin. Her joking tone becomes a bit more obvious as she continues. ::
"Even that one would have been fine."
:: She points toward Seven, completely unaware that she just sensed which of the five was the weakest. ::
|
|
Klytië
New Adventurer
All will be made to remember, that which lives only in legend.
Posts: 30
|
Post by Klytië on May 19, 2009 3:44:27 GMT -5
:: Still inaudible to Julie, the presence observes the current state of affairs. ::
*They are too fragile. I could go, instead.*
'NO! You mustn't leave this place. You are not yet powerful enough, my child.'
*But, our sisters...*
'Yes, they will serve us again soon. In the meantime, there are others. Let the Loire girl have her victory for now... she cannot escape us, no matter where she goes. And, perhaps... she will lead us to the others...'
|
|
|
Post by Lillith on May 19, 2009 3:45:58 GMT -5
::Whether or not Lillith caught Julie's accidental extrasensory remains to be seen. She hugs Julie in her usual bone-crushing hug she gives all her friends::
Normally I'd say "a thank you would have been fine" but right now I'm just so happy to see you! Does Rainii know you're back? She keeps pestering me to read the wind for you, so naturally when I picked up your signature, I flew straight here.
|
|
|
Post by Julie Loire on May 20, 2009 1:46:28 GMT -5
:: Julie lets out a barely audible groan as Lillith hugs her. Still, she does return the hug - a bit less enthusiastically. ::
"Hey... I thought we were past the 'trying to kill me' thing."
:: She doesn't lose her smile, though. After what they had been through together, she considers Lillith one of her most trusted friends. ::
"It's good to see you again, too. I haven't spoken to Rainii yet, but if she's in Esthar, she should know by now."
:: She gives a theatrical roll of her eyes. ::
"As if she's ever home."
:: Having answered Lillith, it suddenly hits her how long she's been travelling on her own. ::
"What about you? I heard you and that guy, Kenny, were becoming a bit of an item. Is that true? And what about Iole? Have you seen her lately?"
:: She's so engaged in the conversation, she seems to have forgotten the five unconscious girls around them. All of whom have somehow disappeared. ::
|
|
|
Post by Lillith on May 20, 2009 2:12:44 GMT -5
Wow you have been gone a long time. Kenny and I are married now. You should meet our son. And Iole's grown into a fine young lady. Though she doesn't seem to have outgrown name-calling. But I guess she's allowed. She is my sister-in-law after all. But lets catch up somewhere else. This isn't exactly the best setting.
|
|
|
Post by Julie Loire on May 22, 2009 1:48:03 GMT -5
"Your... son?!"
'I can't have been gone that long!'
:: At Lillith's suggestion of moving on, Julie pauses to consider the situation. ::
"... Do you think Balamb is safe? Some of those weird girls came from around there."
|
|
|
Post by Lillith on May 22, 2009 2:09:35 GMT -5
Oh I'm not going to Balamb, I was just about to head back to Leah Garden. Did you want to come or are you still sight-seeing?
|
|
|
Post by Julie Loire on May 22, 2009 2:31:18 GMT -5
"Is that where you live now?"
'Huh. I've never heard of Leah Garden before...'
"Sure, I'll go. I'm just... kinda worried. You don't think Balamb Garden's been taken over again, do you?"
:: Even as she asks, she has a feeling that the five young sorceresses weren't connected with Balamb Garden. Part of her wants to figure the whole thing out, but another part just wants to set things aside and have a proper reunion with a friend she hasn't seen in a very long time. ::
|
|
|
Post by Lillith on May 22, 2009 2:53:24 GMT -5
Oh I wouldn't worry about that. I was just talking to Cid. He seemed pretty in control of the place when I saw him. Anyway we'll have to wait outside until Shaft gets here with The Inquisition. I still can't fly with anyone besides Kenny. I haven't tried with Simon yet and I don't plan to until he's much older.
|
|
|
Post by Julie Loire on May 22, 2009 17:42:20 GMT -5
:: Julie slowly starts pacing towards the exit. At the mention of Shaft, she halts, with an expression of pure shock. ::
"Wait a minute... Shaft? Witch-hunter Shaft? The guy who hated every sorceress with a burning passion? He's working with you now?!"
'This seriously can't be the world I left behind...'
"And Simon's... your son? How old is he?"
((OOC - We can just play it as if they're walking outside this whole time. Julie would follow Lillith as they speak.))
|
|
|
Post by Lillith on May 22, 2009 17:48:49 GMT -5
Oh you'd be surprised. Shaft is way past that whole witch-hunting thing. He married a sorceress actually. I guess you haven't met Rose yet. But Simon is five years old now. He'll be six in the summer. He looks just like Kenny, but he has my eyes, my hair, and my temper.
::She chuckles::
|
|