Feliks Łukasiewicz
Monster Bait
Homosexual.
Single.
19.
Played by Koso.
Offline.
Although it be a cross that raiseth me...
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Post by Poland on Nov 2, 2013 15:16:11 GMT -6
Feliks had no idea why the first two floors were suddenly full of water, but he definitely wanted to get out of its way.
Normally, rain was fairly predictable. It came out of clouds and watered fields, and it didn't get into your house unless the roof was unsound. Apparently it didn't work like that here, though.
In his haste to get out of the way of the quickly rising floodwaters, Feliks had scrambled up the stairs and found that the rain was coming from a layer of clouds just below the second-floor ceiling. That meant that the third floor was safe once he got there--well, safe from the flood, anyway.
He needed someplace to rest and dry out his sopping-wet nun's* habit. All the doors looked more or less alike and Feliks had no idea what was behind any of them, so he chose one at random and opened it.
Inside, he saw a huge desk flanked by many bookshelves. There didn't appear to be a fireplace, but the room caught and held his attention nonetheless. Careful not to drip too much on anything that might be damaged, he walked in and began to inspect first the items lying on the desk.
A gun lay on top of a pile of papers. Unlike most of the contents of the room, it wasn't too dusty. Feliks already had one, but after giving this one a look over, he added it to a holster on his belt, thinking it was a good thing he had come dressed as a "battle nun" from a goofy anime. His outfit was designed to accomodate weaponry.
The papers were all visibly marked "M.T.B.", leading Feliks to wonder what those initials stood for. He began to scan their contents, though he was very mindful of the potential peril of his situation. In fact...
He pulled the new gun back out of his belt and kept it in his hand as he read. Better to be ready for anything that happened.
The actual content of the papers was fairly dry, being financial records dated nearly two hundred years ago. Feliks kept skimming through them anyway, curious as to what they might reveal about the sort of people who had lived here.
Apparently, these people were absurdly wealthy. Luxury items, such as jewels and artwork, cropped up frequently. Unfortunately, so did slaves. Feliks couldn't remember when America had actually banned kidnapping new slaves from Africa, so he wasn't sure whether or not the line item noting the purchase of a number of young men and women "recently imported" had been illegal in addition to the obvious immorality.
* as perceived by Japan
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Nesia Pertiwi Annisa Ingkiriwang Notonegoro
Survivor
heterosexual.
single.
23.
Played by Derp.
Offline.
panda suit. bamboo spear. rafflesia arnoldii. died twice. speaks "chocolate"
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Post by Indonesia on Nov 30, 2013 13:15:51 GMT -6
Her memory might be incomplete, but something within her knew that rain wasn't supposed to happen indoors. And the rainwater should have flowed out of doors and windows instead remaining inside and turned the building into a giant pool. She instinctively avoided the water; she didn't know why, she only felt she has to do so. Letting herself becoming thinner and lighter, she floated through the first floor ceiling to the second floor. She saw something moved in the water within her peripheral vision, but she didn't waste any second to guess what or who had been swimming.
When she finally left the water, her spectral eyebrows furrowed. Dark clouds floated close to the ceiling, pouring tons of water to the halls down below. They were not supposed to be indoors too, weren't they? Nevertheless, she floated through the clouds too; it was somewhat ticklish, but she was glad she's intangible. Otherwise, she'd be soaking wet by now. The panda-skin she wore would be too uncomfortable.
The third floor room she arrived at was some sort of office. There was a heavy-looking, huge wooden desk and bookshelves were placed along the walls. Interested, she approached one of the shelves and tried to take a book, but her hand just came through it. No matter how hard she tried, she always failed to touch it. She stopped her attempts, concentrating, before trying to repeat her attempt. The book did move, but it was because someone else had joined her in the room and now reading the book she'd been wanting to take.
Curious, the girl glided to the person's back, peeking from above his or her shoulder. The language used in the book was strange to her. She could only read numbers and tables, but it gave her no more information she could use. The person seemed understand what the book meant, unlike her, so she tried to get his or her attention. She whispered "hey" close to the ear, even waving her hands before the face but the person was too absorbed in the book.
Well, if voice and gestures didn't work, maybe she could try touching the person. But just like her earlier attempts with the book, her fingers simply went through the person's arm and shoulder. Furious, she tapped the shoulder using her index finger repeatedly. Again and again and again and ag--she could touch it.
Surprised, she quickly retracted her arm. Her gaze instantly flew to the desk. If the person couldn't hear her, then she should convey her messages through another medium: paper. Still, she couldn't find a suitable writing tool. The inks she had found were dry and the pen only left dents on the paper when she tried to write something...
But the dents were readable. She quickly carved more words on the paper, then held it before the person's face.
Hello. What's the book about?
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Feliks Łukasiewicz
Monster Bait
Homosexual.
Single.
19.
Played by Koso.
Offline.
Although it be a cross that raiseth me...
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Post by Poland on Jan 3, 2014 23:28:17 GMT -6
It took a while for Feliks to realize that there was another presence in the room.
He couldn't see her. If he had, he would have recognized her--he might even have counted her among his friends, if it came to that--but they had not been quite close enough for his eyes to pick up on her ghostly form.
The question of whether or not he could hear her would have to be kept until later, because he had allowed himself to become far too absorbed in reading to notice one way or the other.
Therefore, it was not until he was surprised by a ghostly finger on his shoulder that he noticed the other's presence. He jumped and spun around, the gun in his hand trying to find something to aim at--but there was no one there.
However, there was a pen scratching at a piece of paper.
The paper floated over to him, held apparently by invisible hands. There was no ink on it, but the pen had left impressions in its surface that Feliks could read:
Hello. What's the book about?
The Pole's mind was quickly working overtime. Evidently he was in a room with someone invisible, but tangible. Whoever it was did not seem to be intent on hurting him, at least not right now--there had been plenty of opportunity for them to hurt him before he noticed their presence, and he was still unharmed, so he supposed they must not be hostile. The invisible person might be a creation of the Manor, so he surely would not let his guard down, but it was also possible that it was another guest whose visibility had somehow been taken away.
Either way, he needed to answer.
"It's just a record of all the buying and selling that the people who owned this house did, like, before it was haunted," Feliks explained. That really was all it was.
He had a question of his own, though.
"But who are you? And why can't I see you?"
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Post by The First Inhabitant on Jan 25, 2014 15:36:42 GMT -6
The reaper was way out by his family’s old stables when a feeling swept over him, dark and cold, a warning from his Master. Silent as death, the First Inhabitant turned to gaze up back towards the Manor and if he had eyelids, they would have narrowed. Something as a amiss, something was wrong, enough that his Master was generous to inform him that a couple of nations were being poor guests in their lovely abode and were snooping where they shouldn’t be and the former heir of the Baudeau Plantation didn’t even need to inquire with his Master to know where. “The fools….” He muttered, a ghastly smile of a skeleton’s maw appearing from beneath his dark cloak and soundless and as quick as a breeze, the cloaked figure sped forward towards the house, the front door opening at his approach and slamming shut with a foreboding boom behind him as he rose above the Grand Staircase and phased through the floor above to be on the Third Floor. At a more leisurely pass, like that of a stroll for a floating reaper, the First Inhabitant journeyed down the familiar halls until he came to a door that, when he was a live he used to dread and avoid entering. Now however, the skeleton raised a fleshless hand and the door clicked open and swung inwards on groaning hinges to reveal his two culprits: an ugly blond and a ghost woman. He awaited until they looked up at him in surprise, papers still in their grasp and once again, if the Inhabitant would have had eyelids and lips, he would have gave them a wicked, disapproving smile and he raised his index finger and turned it side to side as he said in his deep, smooth voice, “Tsk, tsk, don’t you know the saying that curiosity kills the cat?” Not waiting for a reply or allowing them to give one, the reaper moved forward, his cloak billowing around him, gripped Poland by the front of his collar and lifted him into the air where he let him go to render his levitating there, the font of his clothes still held upwards in an invisible grip of the Inhabitant’s power. Turning towards the dead Indonesian, the reaper gave a ghastly grin and said, “ You too, my dear, are to be punished and being ignorant is no excuse….” While a lantern removed itself from the wall as the reaper gripped Nesia by the throat as if it were flesh, took his other hand and made a condensing motion with his hands, until above his palm floated only a ghost-head of Indonesia. “That’s more manageable… “ the reaper muttered to himself mostly, before he cast the head into the lantern and closed the lid; the lantern began to glow with Indonesia’s light of death, a soft white that illuminated the Inhabitant’s skeletal face horrifically as he turned back to Poland to stare into his frightened eyes with empty sockets. “Felix… this room was my father’s and there are things in here that guests have no right in seeing and for that reason, you and your spirit friend here must be punished. She will remain in this lantern,” the reaper said, holding up the lantern containing a confused Nesia-head for Poland to see once last time, “until you take her to the family Graveyard”.With that being said, the lantern floated from the Inhabitant’s grasp and was transferred into Poland’s hand, whose fingers clasped around it and would remain as much until his destination was reached. Floating near Poland’s face, the Inhabitant pulled back his hood enough so that the Pole got a clear view of what death personified looked like in many cultures, a skull without eyes though the faintest red glow originated form somewhere within the skull’s dome. “Yes, dear Poland…. You will take her to the Graveyard but in my perspective, he who possess peeping eyes doesn’t deserve them”. Immediately after that final note was spoken, the First Inhabitant laughed and as he did, his left hand on long finger bones swept forward and skewered Poland’s eyes for Indonesia’s luck to watch. The pain that Felix must have felt must have been intense, but it only last a second on two for the reaper retracted his index and middle finger, each garnished with an impaled eyeball ring. The Inhabitant closed his fingers into his palm, and when his bony finger uncurled the two green eyeballs sat unmolested in his palm before they disappeared into the folds of his cloak. “Your eyes will return to their undeserving sockets once you reach your destination and so you don’t accidentally fall down the stairs and brake your skinny neck, I would suggest to you both to work together as a team? I hope that this teaches you to perhaps mind your own businesses...” The First inhabitant began to laugh once again, deep, thunderous, and malicious and while he flung his head back in dark glee, he disappeared and once his image was completely gone did Poland drop to the ground, his face missing eyes and a couple bloody tears streaming down his cheeks, gripping a lantern with Indonesia’s spirit trapped inside; whoever said that they shouldn't fear the reaper? Graveyard, ho!
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Nesia Pertiwi Annisa Ingkiriwang Notonegoro
Survivor
heterosexual.
single.
23.
Played by Derp.
Offline.
panda suit. bamboo spear. rafflesia arnoldii. died twice. speaks "chocolate"
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Post by Indonesia on Feb 1, 2014 13:29:57 GMT -6
The ghost was relieved the blonde didn't scream or run away. She thought the sight of a pen and paper that moved by their own was surely unusual among humans. But much to her surprise, she replied her question calmly. "It's just a record of all the buying and selling that the people who owned this house did, like, before it was haunted."
She tilted her head. If the other female knew that this place was haunted, then there must be other ghosts here. That also explained why her reaction was rather casual; she might have encountered creatures like her so often, and floating things was no longer an odd phenomenon. She went back to the table, about to write her gratitude, but the female spoke again.
"But who are you? And why can't I see you?"
Her second question made her pen stopped just a little above the paper. The dead female stared back at the living one, thinking deeply. She dug her memory, but for some reason she had no recollection about events prior to meeting a cloaked skeleton figure in a hallway. That was when she found out that she was dead. Too bad he didn't tell her name or something that she could use to figure out who she was. And too bad the only person here couldn't see her; she could had been her friend when she's alive.
So the ghost scribbled three more words into the paper and again held it before her. I don't know. If he could hear her, she would say that she couldn't make herself visible to her, no matter how hard she tried to make herself as solid as possible.
Then there was a loud noise, like a firecracker exploded close to her ear. She flinched seeing the door had opened wide and the skeletal figure from her memory now stood on the doorway. The ghost froze mid-air, unsure about what to do while her mind was trying to perceive if his visit meant something good or bad...
“Tsk, tsk, don’t you know the saying that curiosity kills the cat?”
Seems that it was the latter.
He moved closer, then grabbed the other female and lifted her before releasing his hand. The ghost thought that her body would crash to the floor, but she didn't; as if there were invisible threads keeping her from falling. The skeleton then spoke again, something that she didn't pay attention to since her eyes were still fixed on the other female. When the ghost felt cold fingers wrapped themselves on her throat, she finally realized that he was talking to her.
And then something really weird happened. From the corner of her eyes, she saw her legs slowly disappeared; no, more like they were folded upwards. Fold and fold and fold. She didn't feel anything, although she knew that it meant nothing good. "W-what are you doing?" she gasped and tried to pull the skeleton's hand away from her. "Stop it! Stop it!" a piercing scream escaped her mouth when her ghostly fingers met the same fate like her legs. If the living female said anything at this point, the ghost wouldn't be able to hear her; she was deafened by her own cry.
Fold, fold. She had no thighs or arms. Fold, fold. No more waist and shoulders. Fold, fold, fold. She closed her eyes, fearing that he eventually would make her disappear. Fold, fold--stop.
It stopped abruptly. The ghost kept her eyes shut for a while, whimpering softly. She hated this feeling, being unable to do anything. Being helpless at the mercy of this skeletal creature. To her horror, she found out that those bone fingers were no longer on her throat; it was gone. Her neck was gone, so was the rest of her body.
She gathered courage before opening her eyes. The first thing that entered her vision was, unsurprisingly, the cloaked skeleton's face. He was tall, but now he was practically towering above her. For a second, she was sure the skull was smiling despite the absence of skin and muscles. Before she had a chance to move, she was suddenly surrounded by clear glass. She tried to move up and down, but she couldn't go through the glass or the base. She was trapped. There was no much space left inside it now that it became her cage.
She was a ghost in the shape of a floating head, and she was imprisoned in this lantern. So much things happened in such a short time. The ghostly head only blinked and glanced around in confusion, trying to adjust to her new form. Thankfully she still could hear voices from the outside, so it reduced the claustrophobic feeling that began to creep within her consciousness.
Suddenly she found herself face to face with the person she was talking to earlier. She got a better view of the person's face, and her mouth opened wide in embarrassment. The person was actually a he. Even the skeleton confirmed it in his words to him. Apparently, his name was Felik-something or Poland. She focused on listening to their conversation, hoping she would catch something about her identity that could help her regain her missing memory.
"P-punished? What do you mean we're punished?" she whispered, her voice was barely audible. "What have we done to deserve this?"
The lantern shook, and she found it now held by Poland. The ghostly head warily observed the skeleton, who now had moved even closer to the blond. Not a minute later she screamed again. This time it was caused by two skeletal fingers that jabbed into Poland's eyes.
"No, stop! Don't hurt him!" she tried to get out by slamming herself to the glass as hard as possible, but it didn't budge. If she were flesh and bone, surely the glass would be tainted by blood. "Don't hurt him!"
Something snapped within the ghost immediately upon watching those fingers retracted with a bloody eyeball circling each of them. He made Poland blind. He blinded him in such a gruesome way. Something that would leave an unpleasant impression in her memory. It'd be hard to forget it, forever haunting her like those nightmares about her wars...
"B-brengsek! Leave us alone!" she roared, cursing the skeleton in ten languages and rattling the lantern in process. "Go away!" she was too busy cursing the skeleton, thus didn't hear what he had said before he let out a deep laugh and disappeared.
She turned to face the blond. Anger shown in her face was quickly replaced by concerned look. "P-Poland. Poland..." the ghost called him softly, not wanting to surprise him. "A-are you alright? Can you stand?" she threw a look around the room before adding, "we better get out of here fast before that bastard skeleton returns or something even more dangerous appear. D-don't worry, I will guide you. I'll do my best."
"We should go to the ground floor and find the nearest exit. Graveyard must be outside after all."
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Feliks Łukasiewicz
Monster Bait
Homosexual.
Single.
19.
Played by Koso.
Offline.
Although it be a cross that raiseth me...
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Post by Poland on Feb 8, 2014 2:35:09 GMT -6
In answer to Feliks' question, the pen stayed still for a long moment before more words appeared on the paper: I don't know. He frowned in response: he supposed it made sense, in some ways, that an invisible person here might not remember their own identity. At least, it wasn't any less sensible than anything else he had seen here.
He wanted to comment further, but the sound of a creaking door caught him by surprise, and he looked up to see Death itself standing in the doorway, enormous and skeletal and terrible. He had seen plenty of things in here, but this one was new--a surprise, very much a surprise. And Death said, “Tsk, tsk, don’t you know the saying that curiosity kills the cat?”
Before Feliks had recovered from the shock enough to make a move, the reaper was already picking him up by the front of his collar. Then it appeared to let go, but Feliks felt no difference: he was still suspended in the air as if held by the hand that had already moved away. He tried to force himself to think, to plan, to find a way to get free and get away, but in effect he was truly in the creature's grip and at its mercy. “You, too, my dear, are to be punished, and being ignorant is no excuse,” said the dreadful figure to the empty air.
Or was it empty? Feliks thought he saw something flicker around the Inhabitant's skeletal hands, and thought he could hear a voice shouting as if from far away, but he could have been imagining it. He was sure, though, that he wasn't imagining the lantern which crossed the room midair as if of its own volition to float by the Death-figure's side. The reaper made a motion like it was tossing something into the lantern, which began to glow. Mumbling to itself, the Inhabitant turned back to Feliks with a terrible skull's grin.
“Felix,” it addressed him in particular now, “this room was my father’s and there are things in here that guests have no right in seeing and for that reason, you and your spirit friend here must be punished. She will remain in this lantern until you take her to the family graveyard.”
He had plenty of questions--starting with how this monster knew his name--but when it raised the lantern, they were nearly driven out of his head. Only one word made it out of his mouth, in a gasp of surprise and alarm: "Nesia!"
It was Nesia's face, indeed, that stared out of the lantern in obvious confusion and fear. Nesia, his friend from so far away she was almost to the other side of the world. That meant several things, Feliks was immediately certain. It appeared that his friend was dead, and that her spirit was now imprisoned. That meant that something horrible must have befallen her, one more piece of evidence that the Manor was every bit as dangerous as it seemed. It also meant that he had to save her if he could, for whatever that may mean. Getting her out of the lantern would be a good place to start--and the reaper had said that they should go to the graveyard for that. The graveyard, that had to be downstairs (obviously it was extremely unlikely for it to be suspended in midair at third-floor level) and outside.
All this passed through his mind in the space of a second, and he wanted to think it through more properly but before he could do so, things were happening again. The lantern flew into his hand, and he caught it automatically--without thinking, without even knowing he would. He wasn't a baseball player; he didn't have a reflex that made him catch things without trying. It seemed like the Inhabitant had control over him that went beyond merely (merely? what a word to apply to this!) making him dangle in midair.
Then the dark figure pulled back its hood, apparently just to give him a clear view of its demonic skull-features. Somewhere inside its head, something was casting a creepy red glow that he could see through its empty eyes. And then it spoke, despite how obviously it lacked lips and tongue: “Yes, dear Poland… You will take her to the Graveyard but in my perspective, he who possess peeping eyes doesn’t deserve them.”
Feliks' strangled noise of fear, or more precisely of realizing exactly how much danger he was in, was drowned out by the monstrous laughter that followed. And then the unnaturally long-fingered, skeletal hand of the monster laughing swept forward and--no!--went right for his eyes. Dimly, he was aware of Nesia shouting, pleading intercession on his behalf, but to no avail at all. Every instinct in his body screamed for him to squeeze his eyes shut, to protect them, but he found that he could not. He could only watch in helplessness as those bones pierced right through the delicate organs. He could not help screaming; it was pure agony, and then he could feel the muscles and nerves in his head ripping, and then it was gone and he could see nothing at all while the pain settled into an agonizing but steady fire. He was in horrible pain, but the Inhabitant spoke again, and he forced himself to listen over the furious curses emanating from the lantern, just in case it mattered at all.
“Your eyes will return to their undeserving sockets once you reach your destination, and so you don’t accidentally fall down the stairs and break your skinny neck, I would suggest to you both to work together as a team? I hope that this teaches you to perhaps mind your own businesses...”
Horrible, mocking laughter echoed around the room, but Feliks had heard what he needed to know. The graveyard it was, then, and he would pray that they ran into no trouble on their way. The laughter's echoes faded, and so thankfully did the grip on his throat. He dropped to the ground on his hand and knees, still clutching the lantern with a hand that he refused to let hit the ground. Blood ran down his face, mixing with the tears his body was creating a tiny flood of in a desperate attempt to heal the eyes that were no longer there. He opened and closed his empty eyelids a few times, trying to figure out which might hurt less. Closed hurt slightly less, or at least he thought it might; at least, it meant that his torn muscles did not try to work so hard in search of sight. And he hoped that it might make him look less frightening to his confused companion, less disturbing than empty spaces full of blood.
"P-Poland. Poland..."
She was calling his name, and he raised the lantern to about the same height as his head.
"A-are you alright? Can you stand?"
Could he stand? He would have to, since he was the only one with a body here. He could tell that his thinking was muddled some by the pain, and he was aware enough to know that that wasn't good. Nesia was a ghost and had apparently left many of her memories behind when she had... had died. That meant that both of them were at a disadvantage for thinking right now, at a time when neither of them could precisely afford any more disadvantages than were already inherent in the fact that he was blind and she was trapped in a lantern.
"We better get out of here fast before that bastard skeleton returns or something even more dangerous appear," Nesia said, and Feliks found nothing to argue with in her point. He certainly didn't want to get caught out by any monster that might wander by. Were any creatures here attracted to the smell of blood? He sincerely hoped not.
"D-don't worry," his friend added, "I will guide you. I'll do my best."
He had still not spoken. He didn't quite trust that he would be able to open his mouth without letting loose another scream. But Nesia's promise warmed him; he was not alone in this.
His national anthem was entitled "Poland Is Not Yet Lost" for a reason. Feliks forced himself to his feet. The pain would not conquer him, and blindness would not keep him from getting to where he needed to go. He wasn't sure if there were any handholds as such nearby that he could use to orient himself--the gun that he had picked up was somehow still in his hand, he now realized, and shooting it now would mean that he was literally firing blind. He didn't like the odds that any results would be good, and holstered it at his waist instead. That other thing he wanted to do with his hand still didn't seem any more realistic, so he just turned his head to "look" at the lantern. Nesia spoke again.
"We should go to the ground floor and find the nearest exit. Graveyard must be outside after all."
Feliks nodded his agreement. Clearly they were on the same page here. But he had a few things to say, that he had to say despite the pain.
"Ne-Nesia," he stammered raspily.
So far, so good: one word, and he wasn't screaming.
"It was flooded downstairs when I came in. We'll--need to make sure it isn't still. I don't want to swim down that far. And... I'll need your help, to tell me which way is out of here."
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Nesia Pertiwi Annisa Ingkiriwang Notonegoro
Survivor
heterosexual.
single.
23.
Played by Derp.
Offline.
panda suit. bamboo spear. rafflesia arnoldii. died twice. speaks "chocolate"
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Post by Indonesia on Feb 19, 2014 12:09:34 GMT -6
His silence worried her. Anyone who just experienced that excruciating pain and horrible blinding method would be traumatized. Poland was not fine. He was hurt, his eyes just got impaled. She couldn't think anything; every space in her brain was filled with the memory of his scream, repeated over and over. The ghost was also afraid if the next thing that comes out from his mouth was not a reply she'd been expecting, but another piercing scream. Thankfully, it didn't come true.
"Ne-Nesia."
That word again. Nenesia or something. The ghost listened at him attentively, trying to figure out if he still felt the pain - which is obviously yes - from his facial expression.
"It was flooded downstairs when I came in. We'll--need to make sure it isn't still. I don't want to swim down that far. And... I'll need your help, to tell me which way is out of here."
Now it was her turn to be silent as she processed his words. Flood... so that's the name of the indoor-water she saw on the way here before. Flood flood flood. The word echoed in the back of her mind, like some annoying background noise. It bothered her quite much; she bounced up and down inside her cage. Puffing her cheeks, she decided that 'flood' might be a clue to her missing memory. Seeing the water again might help her, but now she had a more crucial matter in her hand.
"I saw it as well. The big rainwater, yes." She nodded briefly, still trying to not stare at his eyes. The man couldn't see her staring at him, but it's still an impolite thing to do. "I doubt that much amount of water will disappear soon so we might need to look for another way downstairs. But checking it wouldn't hurt." She also believed she had seen something swimming in the water. While she didn't know how dangerous the thing was to them both, she doubt a blind man and a trapped ghost-head would win against it.
Her train of thought halted at the very first word he said. 'Nenesia' might be something important, but from the way he spoke it, it seems that he particularly addressed her with that word. Could that be her name that she couldn't remember? How did he know it? The ghost didn't know if he had a chance to look at her face since she was invisible to him before the skeleton took his sight away.
"Poland, is that my name?" the question left her mouth before she knew it. "Is 'Nenesia' my name?" She observed him; his clothes, his posture, his facial features. A minute passed but she couldn't use any of those to invoke her memory. Frustrated, the ghost-head bumped herself to the lantern glass, making several soft thumping noise.
"Please," her voice trembled slightly. "I-if you knew me before I died, tell me who I am. Tell me everything you know. I need it to find my grave so I can return to my body again," the ghost paused as if she needed to take a breath after talking quickly. "The skeleton... the skeleton from before told me that I can be alive again."
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Feliks Łukasiewicz
Monster Bait
Homosexual.
Single.
19.
Played by Koso.
Offline.
Although it be a cross that raiseth me...
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Post by Poland on Mar 29, 2014 0:54:27 GMT -6
It was beginning to dawn on Feliks that being blinded like this was not only painful and dangerous, but also downright annoying. He could feel the lantern swaying slightly in his hand, but until Nesia spoke, he wouldn't have any clues at all as to what she was thinking, nor anything substantial enough to distract from the pain in everything that used to be attached to his eyes.
Finally, she spoke, in reply to his comment about the flood: "I saw it as well. The big rainwater, yes. I doubt that much amount of water will disappear soon so we might need to look for another way downstairs. But checking it wouldn't hurt."
Feliks nodded, expecting that she could see him even if he couldn't see her. They would be able to make better plans for how to get downstairs if they could figure out what their situation was already. Carefully, he turned in the direction where he thought he remembered the door being, and began to walk hesitantly in that direction. "I'll need you to tell me if I'm about to run into something," he warned his sighted but ghostly companion. It was proving to be very annoying, trying to move while blind without any sort of physical help that might indicate to him where anything was.
"Poland, is that my name? Is 'Nenesia' my name?"
It had already been clear that Nesia was missing her memories, but her question made Feliks abruptly angry with whatever had taken them away from her. It was just so cruel! The way she asked about her name made him think of a lost child—what a monstrosity, to reduce a nation to such a state in the first place, and then to let them wander around, confused and suddenly rendered so innocent, in a place like this!
"Please, i-if you knew me before I died, tell me who I am. Tell me everything you know. I need it to find my grave so I can return to my body again..."
Her words tumbled out, so quickly and with a trembling—perhaps from fear or desperation—faintly evident. His inability to see was at least forcing Feliks to pay more attention to what he heard. And he did want to tell his friend what he knew. Maybe they would be able to work together better if she remembered more. But he wondered what she meant, about returning to her body...
"The skeleton... the skeleton from before told me that I can be alive again."
Well, that was a surprise, but hardly the biggest one in the past minute. Feliks was too shocked by what had just passed to even react to this lesser matter. He took a deep breath, and, forcing his voice to stay as steady as he could manage despite the still-fiery pain, began to answer her request.
"Your name is Indonesia. We usually call you Nesia—for short, y'know? Nesia Noto...negoro? I think that's what—what they call you, like, when you need a full name for something."
He was still making his way across the room, and might never know how narrowly he missed tripping over a pile of books that someone had left on the floor just next to the way he was walking.
"We've been friends—not really close friends, 'cause I live in the middle of Europe and you live in the middle of the Pacific Ocean—but friends anyway, for a really long time."
Feliks took a deep breath. It was hard to talk without letting his voice be taken over by the pain, although the memories at least did a little bit to distract him. He was pretty sure that if certain individuals were here, he would be told that he sounded whiny despite the entirely non-whiny substance of what he was saying.
"You always liked spicy food, and you're weirdly proud of these godawful giant stinky flowers you have that don't grow anywhere else in the world. Since you live basically in the ocean, on a whole bunch of islands, sometimes storms come by and your house gets floods. Sort of like the one we saw on our way in here, except making more sense. This is the only place I know of where the rain comes from under the roof."
That was as much as he could say right now; he broke off, dissolving into pained sobs with his eyelids squeezed shut. Blood and tears continued to pour freely down his face anyway. He hoped something he had said would be useful.
His free hand bumped into something that felt like a doorknob.
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Nesia Pertiwi Annisa Ingkiriwang Notonegoro
Survivor
heterosexual.
single.
23.
Played by Derp.
Offline.
panda suit. bamboo spear. rafflesia arnoldii. died twice. speaks "chocolate"
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Post by Indonesia on Apr 11, 2014 2:20:31 GMT -6
The ghost head carefully described what's blocking Poland's way towards the door. After the whole ordeal that resulted in their pain, the study room was more cluttered than before. Some books had thrown from their shelves and papers were scattered across the floor. Due to the lack of lighting and being imprisoned in a swaying lantern, it's a bit hard to tell which place was safe for Poland to step his foot. Sometimes she took a long time in telling because her mind shifted its focus on something else. On her identity. On the things that defined her, that made her her.
On the missing holes in her memory. On the pieces that was stolen from her, robbed from her when she became a ghost.
Without what's used to be in those holes, it seemed that she was never existed before... ugh, when did exactly she began to exist? The shock that were the skeleton and his actions was still lingering in her, preventing her from recalling her memory. Oh well, it didn't really matter anyway. What's matter was the fact that this man knew her before she was dead and he was going to bring her to her grave.
She glanced at him. Was he really capable to do so...? Not that she doubted him, but he just went through that painful experience--
"Your name is Indonesia."
Click. An imaginary piece of puzzle just put itself down in one of those holes. It's a perfect fit. Her eyes widened, stared at the holes that were used to be Poland's sight. Dark fluid flowed down from there, some dried on his cheeks. But she shrugged it off. He just said her name. And another that was used to be hers when she needed a full name.
"We've been friends—not really close friends, 'cause I live in the middle of Europe and you live in the middle of the Pacific Ocean—but friends anyway, for a really long time."
Poland was her friend. Poland was her friend. Poland was-- "...you are my friend?" That explained why he knew her. Apparently they were not just an acquaintance. They were friends, despite the distance of their homelands. Despite that Europe and the ocean were thousands of kilometers away.
How lucky she was, to meet a friend of hers in this hell that trapped them all.
Relief flooded within her, building up and up until it flowed down her ghostly cheek. The lantern's glass was condensed due to the cold, spectral tears that came from her - from Indonesia's eyes. She repeated her name over and over, tasting every syllable thoroughly. Oh how her tongue missed uttering this name so much...
What Poland said next about her made her unable to hold her sob anymore. He just gave her more of her missing memory pieces: the food she liked, the giant stinky flower that she was proud of, the violent weather of her archipelagic home. That's why the word flood couldn't stop bouncing in her brain. After she cried, she realized that there was another sobbing voice. It was her friend's.
Turning, she saw him and gasped. Blood was still pouring down from his wounds. He kept walking and moving even though Nesia had stopped aiding him since he started telling her about herself. A guilty feeling came, replacing the relief within her. "Poland, I'm so sorry! Oh, careful, there's a stack of books near your left foot." Nesia gulped, seeing how close he was from stumbling upon them.
"We are already at the door. We've made it this far. That's the doorknob," she added. "Let's rest a bit and... c-can you find something clean to cover your wounds? I don't think letting them exposed to the air would be good." And who knew what kind of microorganisms that lived in this abandoned place. Getting an infection would hinder them further. Nesia didn't want to see Poland suffered more. "Maybe you can tear some part of your clothes?"
Even though the large wooden doors were closed before them, Nesia tried to guess what's behind them by listening to every sound around them. She remembered seeing the flood and rainwater before reaching this room, but strangely there was no sound of water flowing indoors. The only sound she heard was of Poland's and her lantern's chain rattling. "This is weird. I don't hear water from the outside. Can you hear anything? Or smell anything?" Her partially restored memory told her that the rain had this pleasant smell. Something akin to the smell of earth being poured with water.
"If you're ready, we should continue. Let's go."
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Feliks Łukasiewicz
Monster Bait
Homosexual.
Single.
19.
Played by Koso.
Offline.
Although it be a cross that raiseth me...
|
Post by Poland on May 14, 2014 0:47:56 GMT -6
"...you are my friend?"
The sound of Nesia's voice, in saying those words, warmed Feliks' heart even as it hurt it. She was relieved, even happy about their friendship, despite how it had disappeared from her memory along with just about everything else. He was glad that she could get something good from the idea, although he was still upset over what had happened to her.
When she stopped guiding him, Feliks had a very clear guess as to why. He tried to pick his way through the room as well as he could, glad that he could at least hear that Nesia was still with him even overwhelmed by emotion. Solitude might have been very bad news for him, as he would definitely need help to navigate once they were outside of the room.
Finally, she spoke again, apologizing quickly and resuming her directions. Feliks could hardly blame her for struggling to deal with it all. He certainly was as well, though he was doing his best to keep from showing it any more than he could help, despite his trust in his friend that had been deepened by their sharing in this predicament. Part of it was force of habit: he was accustomed to behaving in this way and automatically reverted to it. Most of the rest was his need to keep himself together: if he could convince himself that he was okay, he would be more able to keep going to their destination.
Not that that kept him from crying, when the pain came to be too much for him.
"We are already at the door. We've made it this far. That's the doorknob," his friend confirmed his guess as to what his hand had touched. "Let's rest a bit and... c-can you find something clean to cover your wounds? I don't think letting them exposed to the air would be good. Maybe you can tear some part of your clothes?"
Her advice sounded good, if it could be done. Although an irrational part of Feliks' mind wanted to protest against the idea of blindfolding himself, since that was what it would entail, he knew perfectly well that he was already blind and that injuries healed faster if covered with something clean. Part of him wondered if that was a good thing, since if the monster had been telling the truth then his eyes would be returned to him eventually and he didn't want scars to leave him blinded even after that, but it would—hopefully—reduce the pain.
However, the problem remained: if it could be done. He doubted that he could set down the lantern, given how it had attached to his hand, and further it seemed like it would be a bad idea to even try. With one hand so limited, tearing his clothes sounded difficult. There was also the problem that he would have trouble figuring out what out of his clothing was clean enough for the purpose. The hem of his dress was soot-stained thanks to his visit to the burned-out chapel. His sleeves might still be clean, but would a piece of sleeve be reachable? And would he be able to get enough material from that? Though there was also the veil on his head...
Perfect, he thought. “Good idea,” he said aloud, his voice creaking somewhat on account of its not having recovered from how he was crying moments before. He took the still-damp veil off and, after folding it a few times, tied it around his head blindfold-fashion. Hopefully that would protect his eye sockets better than just keeping his eyelids shut had.
"This is weird," Nesia commented after a few moments of silence, "I don't hear water from the outside. Can you hear anything? Or smell anything?"
Feliks tried to breathe quietly, pressing his ear directly against the door. Outside, all was silent, eerily so, with no noise of rushing water to be heard. He sniffed carefully, and was rewarded only with the dry, dusty smell of that which made up the old house. “No sign of water,” he agreed. “It's almost like it isn't there and never was, even though I saw it and you saw it and my clothes're still wet from it.” It was true. Feliks seemed to recall that some of the soot had been washed out of his skirt, and he could still feel damp cloth on his skin. There had definitely been water out there, but if it was still there then it was hidden from his senses somehow.
"If you're ready, we should continue. Let's go."
At Nesia's words, Feliks took a deep breath and felt his way to the doorknob again. It was harder to locate than it would have been if he could see it, but within seconds he had taken hold of it, turned it, and opened the door. He held the lamp aloft and stepped out nervously into the hallway.
“What do you see, Nesia?”
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|
Nesia Pertiwi Annisa Ingkiriwang Notonegoro
Survivor
heterosexual.
single.
23.
Played by Derp.
Offline.
panda suit. bamboo spear. rafflesia arnoldii. died twice. speaks "chocolate"
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Post by Indonesia on May 18, 2014 1:57:31 GMT -6
She had stopped crying moments ago, and now replaying what Feliks had told her about herself. It wasn't much, but certainly better than nothing. Nesia felt her heart sank a little. The ghost barely knew about her own friend, other than his name, of course. Maybe... maybe after she gained her body back, she could remember everything? But the journey to the outside world seemed long and unpleasant. Nesia guessed they were on the top floor of this building. And since she reached this floor by floating through the walls, she barely remembered what she had seen in the way here. Feliks might still remember some things, but he couldn't confirm what they saw now that he lost his sight. She only remembered the water, which seemed to have disappeared mysteriously without making any splashing sound. Yet the evidence of its existence indoor was still seen on some parts of Feliks clothes. It was wet.
Just... just how big was the power this Manor had? The Inhabitant could alter the form of living - and dead - things, and looks like also able to control a natural element. Nesia felt she knew more about this, which she'd regain once she found her grave. Or she could just ask Feliks. It's better to know what might be on their way down than know absolutely nothing about the dangers that might lie ahead.
She watched his fingers - the ones that held the lantern - twitched, as if trying to move. But the twitch was the most he could do. Apparently his hand was glued onto the lantern. That was logical; somehow she found herself agreeing to what the Inhabitant had done. If Feliks dropped the lantern, it would be troublesome to both of them. Especially if they were separated quite far and her voice was not loud enough to reach him.
Time felt like stretched too long from when Feliks began to make a blindfold from his costume veil until he opened the study door. “What do you see, Nesia?” he asked. Nesia was glad she could look at him without feeling uneasy. The blindfold was a bit messy, because it was made only with one hand. If she had a hand, she could hold him. Nesia felt useless, but she shrugged it off to focus on what's behind the study doors.
It needed time for her eyes to adjust to the hallway's lighting. Even though it was still dimly lit, it certainly brighter than the room they were in. To the right was a dead end. The hallway stretched into their left side. As far as she could see, there was nothing on their way there. She told Feliks what she saw, "the hallway is big enough for three people to stand side by side. Since the right is a dead end, I think we should go to the left. Maybe there is a stairs somewhere. The path is clear of obstruction and looks like the floor is sturdy enough for walking."
Remembering her earlier thoughts, Nesia asked him, "do you still remember how do you reach this room? I came here by floating so I don't remember all the details. And... did you see something that I should be wary about?"
Nesia didn't want to break Feliks' focus on walking, so she kept the rest of her questions from being spoken. There would be a time to ask about them later.
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|
Feliks Łukasiewicz
Monster Bait
Homosexual.
Single.
19.
Played by Koso.
Offline.
Although it be a cross that raiseth me...
|
Post by Poland on Aug 2, 2014 21:06:55 GMT -6
In answer to Feliks' question, Nesia replied, "The hallway is big enough for three people to stand side by side. Since the right is a dead end, I think we should go to the left. Maybe there is a stairs somewhere. The path is clear of obstruction and looks like the floor is sturdy enough for walking."
Feliks nodded, comparing his memories of the hall with Nesia's description thereof. “Good,” he concluded. “Let's get going.”
Nesia didn't have much in the way of ability to either go or not go under her own power right now, but Feliks was more comfortable talking to her. It was, for one thing, a reminder that he wasn't making this trip by himself—certainly that was a comforting thing to remember.
"Do you still remember how do you reach this room? I came here by floating so I don't remember all the details. And... did you see something that I should be wary about?"
Feliks considered the question. “I was mostly worried about getting out of the rain on the way up,” he admitted. “I went up two flights of stairs, so that's how far we'll have to go back down. I didn't see anything that was worrying enough to notice beyond that, but I don't know what's happened since then.” And just about anything could have happened. Compared to the sudden appearance and equally sudden disappearance of a terrific and logically impossible flood, the appearance of a monster or an obstacle would be trivially easy to effect.
He began to walk down the hallway, holding the lantern aloft. It occurred to him that they probably made a strange sight, almost like one of the monsters of the Manor might look. That was another thing to worry about: if they ran into any other nations while on the way, they might be mistaken for some weird, ghostly monster. A blindfolded nun-like person with a bloody face, holding a lantern with a ghostly head in it? That could come off every bit as creepy and strange as anything else they had met in here. And though he and Nesia knew that they meant no one harm and wanted only to get themselves back to normal, how would anyone else know that?
“Hey,” he said, keeping his voice deliberately as casual as he could, “let me know if you see, like, anything moving, okay? If it's a monster I'll need to run, and if it's one of the other guests we'll have to let 'em know who we are.”
Feliks hoped that they would find a staircase soon. The sooner they made it downstairs, the sooner they would reach their destination and—if the Inhabitant had not simply lied about what would happen—be restored to their normal capacities. It seemed to him rather urgent that they get back to normal, because if they met with anyone hostile while like this, they were in trouble.
Hopefully, being restored to life would also restore Nesia's memory, but if it didn't... Feliks would have to just keep reminding his friend of the past, until that fixed things.
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|
Nesia Pertiwi Annisa Ingkiriwang Notonegoro
Survivor
heterosexual.
single.
23.
Played by Derp.
Offline.
panda suit. bamboo spear. rafflesia arnoldii. died twice. speaks "chocolate"
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Post by Indonesia on Aug 6, 2014 2:27:11 GMT -6
“I went up two flights of stairs, so that's how far we'll have to go back down. I didn't see anything that was worrying enough to notice beyond that, but I don't know what's happened since then.”
Just two stairs down and they would not get lost. Although her knowledge was limited, the ghost assumed that a three stories building was pretty big. But how big is this place? What if there was only one flight of stairs that connected two floors? They could get lost before they found it. "How long ago... was it?" Nesia turned in her lantern, trying to word her question properly. "How much time passed since we... met in the room? Or since the flood started?" It felt so long for her, but perhaps it was because the encounter with the Inhabitant that screwed their perception of time.
There was not much to do for her; which making her feeling uneasy and useless. She could guide Feliks better if she - at least - not imprisoned like this. Scouting and checking the whole floor was easy since she could float through solid objects. Sighing, she kept her sight forward, and only moved if there was anything that drew her attention. Which mostly just some old decoration placed in the hallway. There were no sounds either, except their own voice, the rattling chain of the lantern, and Feliks' slow steps.
“Let me know if you see, like, anything moving, okay? If it's a monster I'll need to run, and if it's one of the other guests we'll have to let 'em know who we are.”
"Of course, but so far there is only this hallway and its dusty carpet, though..." her voice trailing off. The ghost blinked, then she floated as high as she could inside the lantern. "Poland, what do you mean by monster?" Nesia sounded tense, her eyes opened wide in fear. "Is there... is there more of Inhabitant in this place?" If they met the skeleton again... they would not have a chance at all. Even running was hard to do now that Feliks lost his sight, let alone fighting.
"Then what about guests? Are they... evil, or nice?" Nesia continued, "wait, why do you refer to them as 'guest'? What are they doing here? How did they got here? Why--" she stopped herself before bombarding the male with more questions. She craved answers, but he would need time to answer her. The ghost was so absorbed in waiting that she almost missed the thing that they had been looking for.
"Feliks, stop, stop. Take two steps back and turn to your left side. I found the stairs and it's going down." Then she proceeded to explain its condition; which seemed safe to walk on it. "Be careful."
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|
Feliks Łukasiewicz
Monster Bait
Homosexual.
Single.
19.
Played by Koso.
Offline.
Although it be a cross that raiseth me...
|
Post by Poland on Sept 13, 2014 23:10:30 GMT -6
"How long ago... was it?" Nesia asked. "How much time passed since we... met in the room? Or since the flood started?"
Feliks began to answer, then paused. “I'm... not sure. It can't have been long, can it? Ten minutes, since we met up? Fifteen?” It felt like the flood had been a long time ago, but when he reviewed what had happened in his mind, he doubted it had been more than an hour, and probably significantly less. Pain had this unpleasant tendency to make any period of time feel much longer than it was, and even with his jury-rigged bandage ameliorating the situation as much as possible, Feliks was in a lot of pain. The fact that his lack of sight left his brain with extra space to pay attention to his other senses didn't help that at all either.
Luckily, Nesia's questions provided a little bit of distraction, though it still hurt his heart to realize how unprepared and defenseless she was without her memory. The fear in her voice also reminded him of just how much danger they were still in, as she had picked up on despite his efforts to keep matters calm. He tried to answer reasonably: “I don't know what exactly is here, but I know there are... things that aren't all that friendly. Some are like the Inhabitant. Others, I don't have any idea what they are.” With an effort, he hoisted his thick front of casual arrogance into place. “I can totally handle anything that comes our way, but it'd help to know that it's coming.”
Feliks Łukasiewicz was not invincible. No nation ever really was, and that was so much more true here, where nations died just like humans. But he could pretend he was, and his pretense helped him keep going.
"Then what about guests? Are they... evil, or nice? Wait, why do you refer to them as 'guest'? What are they doing here? How did they got here? Why--"
This second set of questions was easier to answer, less fraught. “We're guests, you and me and a bunch of people we know. We came because we were invited to a party, only it got interrupted and we were all scattered around the house. And now...”
Feliks was spared finishing that sentence by Nesia's alerting him to the presence of a staircase. Perfect. He followed her directions, and found the staircase. On exploring the opening to it with his free hand, he discovered a banister, which was fortunate because he would have enough difficulty navigating the stairs blind for the first time ever with one. It certainly wouldn't help that this house predated building codes mandating things like even steps on stairs, meaning that he would have to be particularly careful that he didn't fall. It was all the more likely because intentionally uneven stairs had at some points in history been used as a trap for burglars.
The Pole took a deep breath and stepped out into thin air.
He felt carefully around with his foot, ensuring that he had located a step before he put his weight on it. One down...
So it was that Feliks proceeded very carefully down the stairs, doing his best not to fall.
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|
Nesia Pertiwi Annisa Ingkiriwang Notonegoro
Survivor
heterosexual.
single.
23.
Played by Derp.
Offline.
panda suit. bamboo spear. rafflesia arnoldii. died twice. speaks "chocolate"
|
Post by Indonesia on Oct 1, 2014 2:39:51 GMT -6
It sounded impossible that Indonesia had started to exist since a mere minutes ago, but that was as far as her memory could reach. Every thing that was older than fifteen minutes seemed like a tale long forgotten retold. She believed what Feliks told her, but those were vaguely real; they were simply images evoked by his words. She felt bad for assuming that he might not be as truthful as she had thought. Would he help her had the Inhabitant left his eyes alone?
She eyed the man who claimed to be her friend, carefully treading each step to bring them closer to the lower level. Indonesia had no one else around her to be asked after all. Her voice had ceased to fill the air around them once Feliks started to head down. Breaking his concentration was the last thing she wished to happen. Yet the silence was proven to be advantageous for her. Nesia could mull over Feliks' answers, while occasionally notify him if there were any obstruction ahead on the staircase.
“I don't know what exactly is here, but I know there are... things that aren't all that friendly. Some are like the Inhabitant. Others, I don't have any idea what they are.”
Some were like that... that damned creature who stole his sight and her freedom. How many of them were roaming in the mansion? Her heart figuratively sank even lower. Nesia had chuckled at his joke, but she knew that if it happened there would be two ghosts instead of one. Would he still be able to hold her lantern? Would he still remember her? She would never know.
“We're guests, you and me and a bunch of people we know. We came because we were invited to a party, only it got interrupted and we were all scattered around the house. And now...”
Nesia held her tongue. Who had the brilliant idea to hold a party without even checking the venue first? An image of a room full of tables and people popped in her mind. There was an interruption, followed by the scattering of the guests. But how? Frustration built up within her, caused by her inability to find the answer of all questions that nudged her mind. Indonesia banged her forehead at the lantern glass. If only she had more memories...
The female nation looked ahead, at the mouth of dimly lit hallways downstairs. "Slow down," she finally spoke again. "There are only four... or five steps left. Let me scan the room first." The ghost floated to the top of her lantern, observing each of the hallways. The one on the left was the darkest, and Nesia had a bad feeling about it. "We are in a large hall," she informed her companion. "There are four hallways leading to somewhere else. This room and the hallways look decent; there are only the same dusty carpet and furniture here. I do not know what kind of room is this, or where the hallways will lead us to."
Nesia turned to see Feliks. "There is a chair near the end of the stairs if you want to take a bit rest. And you can tell me more about the guests too."
|
|
Feliks Łukasiewicz
Monster Bait
Homosexual.
Single.
19.
Played by Koso.
Offline.
Although it be a cross that raiseth me...
|
Post by Poland on Nov 15, 2014 22:38:49 GMT -6
Feliks knew exactly how many stair-steps he had already gotten down, but he had no way of knowing how many were left unless Nesia told him. It was still such a bizarre feeling, having to go around so reliant on another for something so basic. He couldn't help counting the steps as he went down them. Ten... eleven... twelve... It was too much to ask, that he go through such a difficult task with no information at all, even if the information he could get for himself was useless to him.
“Slow down,” Nesia advised at last. “There are only four... or five steps left. Let me scan the room first.”
Feliks complied, clinging tighter to the banister as he did so and holding the lantern out in hopes of improving Nesia's view. After not too long of a wait, she reported, “We are in a large hall. There are four hallways leading to somewhere else. This room and the hallways look decent; there are only the same dusty carpet and furniture here. I do not know what kind of room is this, or where the hallways will lead us to.”
Although he was pretty certain that his friend was not looking at him, the Pole nodded automatically in understanding. He took the last two steps carefully, though he knew that falling now would probably be less disastrous at this point than at the top of the stairs.
“There is a chair near the end of the stairs if you want to take a bit rest,” Nesia added, “and you can tell me more about the guests, too.”
“That sounds like a good opportunity,” Feliks observed quietly, and tried to locate the chair with his free hand.
It took him a bit of groping around to figure out where the chair was, but eventually he found it and managed to sit down. Nesia had wanted to know more about the guests, such as themselves, and he felt obligated to explain what was going on in order to catch her up to speed a bit better... but where to start?
He took a deep breath. Though it couldn't be asked in exactly those words, that question was the first thing he needed to say. “I'm not sure how much you'd understand, if I told you about the guests. So, like, how much do you remember about who—about what we are? 'Cause if you don't remember much, I'll have to start there.”
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Nesia Pertiwi Annisa Ingkiriwang Notonegoro
Survivor
heterosexual.
single.
23.
Played by Derp.
Offline.
panda suit. bamboo spear. rafflesia arnoldii. died twice. speaks "chocolate"
|
Post by Indonesia on Jan 8, 2015 14:24:05 GMT -6
Nesia guided him to descend past the last steps and locate the chair she had spotted. There were two chairs leaned against the railings with a small wooden table between them. The torn cover's original color had faded into moldy grey spots, its feathery stuffing protruded out from one side, but the furniture looked strong enough to bear Poland's weight. Once they both settled, the ghost-head adjusted her perspective, again examining their surroundings. Two hallways ended in turns, while the last one-- aside from the darkest hallway --stretched further ahead. In her mind it seemed to be logical to choose the right hallway, because her instinct insisted so. Turning around, Indonesia found it was hard to believe that a moment ago this place was flooded. Nothing proved it to be true. Every surface was as dry as laundry left too long under the sun.
“I'm not sure how much you'd understand, if I told you about the guests. So, like, how much do you remember about who—about what we are? 'Cause if you don't remember much, I'll have to start there.”
Her spectral eyes landed on the blind man, blinking as her mind summoned her puzzle board once more. The existing pieces were so few compared to the empty squares. "You told me the guests are people we know. Apparently we come to this place together, therefore I'm assuming you and I trusted them enough. Maybe like acquaintances?" Poland's image bobbed up and down as the ghost bounced in her prison. Moving rapidly helped her thinking. "And-- 'what we are'? Aren't we..."
What are we?
Focusing on the empty spaces, Indonesia concentrated to recall their shapes. Yet the longer she tried, the wider the board became; expanding endlessly to eight corners. According to her friend, she lived on a bunch of islands. If this puzzle board was the sea, then she was missing some islands here. A hundred... a thousand... at least several thousands. Then there was the stinky flower; many, many flowers and trees that grew on them. Then... then what else? Far on the horizon she saw glimpses of other beings like her-- her kinsmen, yet the word 'family' did not represent their relations correctly.
"I don't know 'what' we are..." Eventually she landed on the glass base, her face forlorn. "But what about my family? Surely I have at least one or two relatives. You do know them, do you?"
|
|
Feliks Łukasiewicz
Monster Bait
Homosexual.
Single.
19.
Played by Koso.
Offline.
Although it be a cross that raiseth me...
|
Post by Poland on Feb 15, 2015 22:04:53 GMT -6
Moments passed, while Feliks waited for Nesia to answer his question. It must have been only a few moments, he thought, before she spoke.
“You told me the guests are people we know. Apparently we come to this place together, therefore I'm assuming you and I trusted them enough. Maybe like acquaintances?”
Feliks nodded. He thought he could feel the lantern shaking in his hand, though that could have just as easily been his imagination. He hoped Nesia was looking at him now, but just in case he said aloud, “That's pretty much right.”
“And—'what we are'? Aren't we...”
The ghost's voice trailed off, and Feliks frowned. She must have been thinking hard, he assumed. There was silence for a while.
“I don't know 'what' we are,” Nesia concluded at last, “but what about my family? Surely I have at least one or two relatives. You do know them, do you?”
Well, that answered his question. It wasn't the answer he would have preferred, but clearly he would just have to deal with it. Feliks hoped he would be up to the task of explaining their nature and origin.
“The first thing you'll need to understand, in order to make sense of any of this, is that we're nations, more or less the human souls of our respective countries. That goes for you and me and everyone else who came to this party. You can sort of hear it in our names—I'm Poland, the land of the Polish people; you're Indonesia, one of the Pacific Island countries and probably the largest. Your family would probably be some of the other countries close to you: Malaysia, Singapore, maybe India.”
At that point, Feliks wanted to check then how Nesia was taking this, but of course he couldn't see the look on her face any more than he could see anything else. Unless she chose to speak up, he couldn't have any clue as to what she was thinking.
It was still clear that she needed to know what he could tell her, so Feliks plunged back into explaining. He wasn't sure where to start or finish, so he set out to discuss whatever he could think of that might be pertinent.
“You have no idea how weird it is that you're a ghost,” he mused. “One of the things that being nations means is that we're pretty much immortal. Normally the only way to kill nations involves either totally eliminating the idea that they're a coherent nation or killing all their people, and not only does that not make sense with what was going on the last time I checked on your home, it can't possibly have happened to you if you can come back to life. So I don't know what's going on, but it must be something that doesn't usually happen.”
He wished he could have given her some more solid answers, or at least been able to describe what he did know in a more comforting way. As it was, though, he could only say what he knew and wait for her reaction.
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Nesia Pertiwi Annisa Ingkiriwang Notonegoro
Survivor
heterosexual.
single.
23.
Played by Derp.
Offline.
panda suit. bamboo spear. rafflesia arnoldii. died twice. speaks "chocolate"
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Post by Indonesia on Feb 21, 2015 3:28:13 GMT -6
“The first thing you'll need to understand, in order to make sense of any of this, is that we're nations, more or less the human souls of our respective countries."
Nesia floated as high as she could and pressed her ethereal nose to the cold glass of her prison. The transparent eyes opened wide, their owner listening attentively. The words 'human souls of our respective countries' both made sense and sounded like an utter nonsense at the same time. Its concept explained the imaginary puzzle map in the ghost's mind, yet there were no words she could arrange to explain why it sounded logical. As if it was a thing she understood and recognized as normal for an immeasurable age, so the need to define it never crossed her mind. Not until this time.
"That goes for you and me and everyone else who came to this party. You can sort of hear it in our names—I'm Poland, the land of the Polish people; you're Indonesia, one of the Pacific Island countries and probably the largest. Your family would probably be some of the other countries close to you: Malaysia, Singapore, maybe India.”
Just like when he mentioned the flood before, those words rang aloud in her ears. The names of her family. They triggered a mixture of emotions within her: yearning, annoyance, anger -- but the loudest was the first. Closing her eyes, Nesia tried to recall any details about them, but nothing surfaced to her consciousness; not even their faces and voices. Since they were her family, surely she had spent a lot of time around them together, so recalling the memories should have been easy...
The ghost slammed herself to the lantern. Brengsek. There were no words in any language adequate enough to express her wrath towards the skeleton. How dare they, stealing her memories so easily, like snatching a candy from a baby's hand! Oh she would have her revenge, Nesia swore to herself. For the sake of her friends and family, everyone who met their ends and misery under The Inhabitant's power!
Feliks' explanation faded into a background noise, and Nesia barely heard what he said. But him saying that they were immortal did catch her attention. Would that means Nesia had been alive for ages -- before she turned into a ghost, that is -- far surpassing a human's lifespan? Perhaps she had outlived countless generations, had seen them born, grow older and die like withered leaves.
"If our kind is immortal, then death is rare among us?" Nesia broke the silence, her voice quivered with impending rage. "Then why... why they could do this to us? What sort of power they hold that enable them to entrap immortal beings here?" She seethed. "I swear when we've left this place, I would tear down this building and send those arrogant demons back where they belong." Her teeth gritted, faintly recognizing that demons and other supernatural beings were not uncommon subjects. If her people, her citizens were used to their presence, perhaps Indonesia too knew how to crush these wretched creatures.
"Let's go, Poland. Let's reclaim my body and memory, then we shall find a way to destroy this prison." ---- [[ yet another addition in which Derp uses her native language for cursing orz I had fun writing this, muse just go supercharged with fury >w< ]]
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Feliks Łukasiewicz
Monster Bait
Homosexual.
Single.
19.
Played by Koso.
Offline.
Although it be a cross that raiseth me...
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Post by Poland on Feb 26, 2015 23:05:01 GMT -6
Nesia was silent for a while. Feliks assumed she was working through making sense of what he had said; his conjecture was confirmed when she finally spoke: “If our kind is immortal, then death is rare among us?”
“Exactly.” He didn't feel the need to detail how rare it really was, but Feliks could barely remember the last time he had heard of a nation actually dying in the normal course of things. On the occasion that one of them did die, it almost always signaled a massive shift in the course history was taking. For that matter, he himself had survived a frankly ridiculous number of things that logically should have killed him, up to and including being quite literally wiped off the map several times, and yet somehow he had survived it all. There was no question, it was rare and strange for a nation to die.
As Nesia continued, she sounded angrier and angrier. “Then why... why they could do this to us? What sort of power they hold that enable them to entrap immortal beings here? I swear when we've left this place, I would tear down this building and send those arrogant demons back where they belong.”
Feliks was surprised by the venom in her words, but he certainly didn't disapprove. “I would love to join you in that,” he assured her quietly. His frustration was covered over in the way he had practiced for so many years, but he had no love at all for the trials they had been through or the monsters that had inflicted it upon them, and he would be no less eager for revenge. After all, the empty wounds where his eyes belonged still stung with terrible pain.
It was a good question, though, how the manor had been able to ensnare the nations in such a way, and why they were not immortal here. They must be up against some terrible power, if it could somehow cut them off from the outside world when they themselves represented parts of that world. Although Feliks would be as glad to obliterate the tortures to which they had been subjected as Nesia clearly would, he saw well that they would have to be careful not to fall prey to any of its machinations again.
“Let's go, Poland,” Nesia said suddenly. “Let's reclaim my body and my memory, then we shall find a way to destroy this prison.”
“Yes.”
That word was enough, really, at least for the moment. He stood and held the lantern as high as his head, letting Nesia be his eyes.
“Four hallways, you said, I think? Which ways do they go? Do any of them look better than the others?”
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