Session Start: Sun Sep 30 03:51:00 2007 ==Lude Start== * Niri is lying on her stomach on a bed in a private room of the residential quarters. It's a homey looking room, though the decorative style of the Spire as a whole prevails. The room is filled largely with blue, white, and silver colors, and the bed is covered with comfy white sheets and blankets. * Niri turns her mother's pendant over in her hands quietly. * Mikel has been lingering somewhere near, giving Niri room though not quite letting her out of sight. The crackling at least has died down as he's gotten that under some sort of control. He glances up as his water self passes by and raps a water knuckle turned ice on the doorframe. * Niri looks up, then calls out, only a slight waver in her voice, "Come in." * Mikel` does so, giving the bed a curious look for a moment before attempting to sit on the edge. Thankfully he doesn't seem to soak it or anything as he speaks. "How are you holding up?" * Niri shrugs. He can see that there are dried tearstains on her cheeks. "I'm...okay, I guess." She glances around the room. "It's rather peaceful here, really..." * Mikel` nods, reaching over to pat her shoulder. "Probably was made to be with how the world was at the time... though it is good for us too, after what happened. At least, I like it though I don't think my other half cares for it much." Heard that. * Niri raises an eyebrow, then shakes her head. "You gonna come in too?" * Mikel shuffles in, scratching the back of his head as a bit of lightning crackles off of him. "Guess so. Sorry about that." Sorry about what? Well... this, I guess. You did call us an idiot. Well. It wasn't exactly the most opportune time for it. * Mikel` levels a stern glare on the electric Mikel. For the record - as long as your split selves are weaker then your whole self, don't split them when there's an attack incoming, okay? * Mikel looks anywhere but the water self, nodding. "...not that they even did any damage besides muting him and blowing us off the edge. Point taken though." Right. We had no way of knowing that, did we? * Niri looks at them both sadly. ...Why do you get along so badly? * Mikel` drops the glare, frowning for a moment. "Well... he's basically the impulsive *coughidiotcough* daredevil you generally see more of and the like." * Mikel rolls his eyes. "And he's the contemplative and cautious one. Also boring. Or maybe it's just the elemental thing." * Niri blinks. ...if the next words out of your mouth are 'you have a cautious side'... << side?, even >> What's wrong with being impulsive and exciting when you can, but cautious and thoughtful when you need to be? Well... like this, it's, uh. Concentrated. Well, I'm not saying that you *points at Thunder Mikel* should act more cautious, or that you *Water Mikel now* should be less thoughtful, but... You're part of the same person. * Niri thinks. That might be part of why you're having trouble rejoining. If the two parts of yourself don't really get along, it probably makes it that much harder. In fact... If you want this spell to function properly and not get you killed, you're going to have to learn to work together better. * Mikel leans against the wall and crosses his arms. "There's a phrase for this, but I can't quite think of it..." * Mikel` gives his other self another icy look. "You're thinking of hell freezing over first and you know it. She's right, though." Do you have this much dislike for the separate parts of yourself when you're whole? You'd probably have to ask us if we manage to get put back together. If this is any indication though... It's a bit of a stormy atmosphere. Fitting really. Maybe so, but...well, this is really what my ideas centered on. The ones about trying to make this work better. * Niri brightens slightly. We could try it now. It's foolish to have you split for practice reasons only, but since you're already split... I... recall those, I think. * Mikel scratches the back of his head. "...refresh my memory. I don't think we... he... something, was feeling all too reckless and the like." Okay. Can you guys uh...stand still for a moment, and be quiet, okay? I want to test something. * Niri closes her eyes, clasping her pendant in one hand and listening carefully for something. * Mikel` and his counterpart both go very still, watching Niri. * Niri pauses for a little while, thinking carefully and listening to something they can't hear. After a bit, she opens her eyes, frowning. "Hmm. That's interesting." Good interesting or bad interesting? Well... Musically, you two are very dissonant. More so than you should be, I think. Bad. Knew it. * Mikel` sighs. "Let her talk." That's probably part of where the problem lies. The two halves of yourself are just not nearly as in synch as they should be. I might be able to tweak that back into alignment...maybe. You see... * Niri points to Water Mikel. "There's something very off there. It's like a minor second, only...it's more of a half tone. Very dissonant indeed." * Mikel starts snickering. * Niri looks at Thunder Mikel. "Same with you, to a degree. Should be a minor third, but it's...not quite right. And both of you sound very dissonant with each other. It's...how do I explain this?" Mixing oil and water? You could say that! * Niri thinks * Mikel` shifts a bit, mulling. "Thunder and Water don't get along... though, if you can tweak it when we try it again in Ien..." * Mikel stops snickering once he gets the same treatment. All right. Most chords and intervals that sound horrifically dissonant together sound much better when treated as a melodic chord, rather than a harmonic one. What this means is that instead of playing the sounds all at once, it's better to alternate between notes. Translated practically, that means you guys would probably do better working off each other and taking turns, and talking, then letting the other speak...see what I mean? ...so like when we were together, then. But there's a musical component too. I could maybe tweak the dissonance a bit more in line, and then guide the music from a harmonic chord more towards a melodic one. In fact...hmm. I'm hearing a possible song in my head with the right melodic basis. In a way, yes. There's two halves of you, and they're very different. It's all right to separate them...but only if they still work together, you see? Which... isn't exactly how we are at the moment. Right. So you need to work on that. "You were closer to it." A familiar voice comes from the door, "When you were thinking of something you could both agree about. Strong and basic things." * Mikel glances at the door. "Emili." She's one such, for you. * Mikel` hrms. "True enough. Hey, Ryllan." * Niri looks up. "...Hi Ryllan." Hey. So. Mikel. I mean, uh, Mikels. * Mikel` and his thunder self look up and speak in stereo. "Yeah?" Should I see if I can nudge the harmonics a bit more into place? S'long as it won't, uh, screw us up or anything. I'd wait until we're in Ien, Niri. Things will be more controlled. Mm. He's got a point there. Maybe. Shouldn't actually mess anything up though. But... *closes her eyes* * Mikel smiles faintly. "S'alright. We'll get to test it out soon enough, either way." He glances at Ryllan. "You're sure about the fifteen feet thing, right?" * Mikel` shrugs. "If it's minor... might as well try. We can probably set ourselves to rights at least if something goes off." Fifteen should keep you well out of throttling range, yes. * Niri shakes her head. Well. Just let me know when you need to borrow the wings, I guess. * Mikel` shrugs. "Just once everyone's had a bit to catch their breath, really." * Mikel tilts his head. "Aren't you coming along as well? That harmonics thing might help push us over the edge for rejoining." ...Did you want me to come? You may want to. I think I can see what you're talking about with the harmonics, though in a different way, and Mikel's right. It could help them rejoin. * Mikel glances away. "Uh, if you wanted to. I know you don't exactly think much of Emili and all but..." We'd appreciate it, at least, I think is what he's trying to say. And we can always make another stop, before we return. * Niri nods. "Okay, if you'd like me to." * Niri goes silent again, staring at the ground. ...Do you think we can get back to see my dad from here? Or are we too far away? We should be able to, I think. You'd know the wings best, I think. Unless they have trouble with large bodies of water. If Lure could get us from those ruins to the Academy... * Mikel` shrugs. Hmm. It's worth a try, anyway. Although... * Niri cringes a little. I'm not looking forward to telling Dad. * Ryllan takes half a step forward, then stops, "That machine is doing what it can. She will get better, in time." * Niri nods, pauses, then buries her face in her arms. Are you al- of course you're not. - ...Can you hold out? * Mikel nods, pushing off the wall to pat Niri on the shoulder in hopefully a comforting if slightly sparky manner. He opens his mouth to say something, then falls silent as Ryllan asks his question. ...At first it was the Truth Seekers. But now it seems as if something's out to get everyone close to ME. I know that's not actually true, but... * Mikel` closes his eyes. "Zophar sees you and Tanan as the biggest threat to him, if I had to guess. Tanan figures he can't come out and play with us himself... so he has Leah and Emiria to do his work. With the Seekers we were just trying to get in the Prophetess's way." Yeah, and now we've attracted Zophar's attention. We had it from the moment Galheon woke up. ...I know. Next time I'm getting Leah back, I swear it. Be mindful, Niri. Don't let her draw you off alone. Trust in your friends. We can help you. I promise that. You are not alone. * Niri nods. ...Least my mom doesn't go down that easily. * Mikel is now known as ZackFireAlarm From now on, we stay together, okay? I won't be far. If you need me. Good night Niri. Mikel, Mikel. * Niri nods. "Good night, Ryllan." * Mikel nods. "'night, Ryllan... man, it's weird hearing 'Mikel, Mikel'." ...It is. Ryllan seems...hrm. Did I do something wrong, do you think? * Niri sounds almost plaintive. ...Mm. Dunno. We got blindsided on this one. Split second decisions aren't always the best... but well. You don't exactly get time to mull it over. * Mikel rubs his forehead. "He ended up right though, dammit. Paranoia from here on in." I feel like I screwed up somehow. Like, I should have been able to prevent this. I KNEW something was wrong... * Mikel` shakes his head. "Don't start beating yourself up about it. What's done is done, one way or another." ...no more tests though. Those dragons probably didn't stand a chance after the trashing we gave them. Ha. Yeah, if Saturn decides to test us, I say screw it, we'll go it without her. If she decides to I'm running the hell away if I'm still like this. Plant and Thunder don't mix. * Mikel` shakes his head. Ohhh no. We are not going into Zophar's backyard with you split, don't worry. I've lost enough friends and loved ones to this mess already, I'm not going to let you charge in and get yourself killed. Of course, that also means we're not leaving till I do at least a little work on your harmonics. * Mikel snickers. "Yes, mother. Thanks, though." * Niri nods. "Oh, and, Mikel? Um..." Hm? I...don't mean to...there's no nice way to put this. Could you maybe leave now? I think... *her voice wavers* I just don't think I can cry in front of anyone. That's all. * Mikel blinks before nodding. "Erm. No problem. You don't have to be nice about something like that, really." With that he starts to shuffle on out. * Niri sniffles. I...could use a hug before you leave, though... * Mikel` looks at Niri for a few moments before reaching over to give her a hug. "Hang in there, alright?" * Mikel slows a bit. * Niri nods, hugging back. "Thanks. I'll be all right. I mean, I can keep going. I just need a bit." * Mikel` nods. "You need anything, just let us know, alright?" I will... * Mikel reaches over to give her one more reassuring pat and smile before heading out. * Mikel` nods, pulling away. "Right. 'night, Niri." * Niri smiles waveringly back at Thunder Mikel, then watches the two of them head for the door for a moment before burying her face in her arms once more. * Mikel and his watery counterpart exit! Though Water gives Thunder a bit of a look before they split off to go their seperate ways for the moment. * Niri chooses this moment to quietly break down in the way least bothersome to the others that she can manage! Yay! ==LUDE END== Session Close: Sun Sep 30 05:55:00 2007