trans_9 | Cascade [Open party time!]

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Cascade [Open party time!]

Billy had just launched another portal in that maze of mazes, exhaustion setting in. Surely this time he would land on another moving platform of death?

Nope, just the exterior of the finished bathhouses. All polished, systems running, and just about ready to open! Given how sore and exhausted he was, that sounded like an excellent idea at the moment.

With a quick message to the rest of the crew, he set out the 'Open' sign for the first time and took advantage of his owner status---the prime waterfall spot could be his!

((ooc: The bathhouses are now open! Feel free to mingle around, relax, and have a party. Or cause trouble, but that might invite more trouble. Just start a subthread with your character's location and have fun. For reference there are individual showers in front, followed by hot tubs centrally located, saunas further back, and private baths along the side. The showers, tubs, and saunas have smaller sex-segregated units along with a central group unit that's larger.))

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Alessa looked at him in mild surprise. "I did not expect that. I thought you might stick up for your race, even though I have lived long enough to know that what I say its true."

She looked ahead. "A demon," she said simply. "If you ever go near the deepest, darkest part of the City, where it is quiet as death, you will find my domain."

If that was meant to unnerve, it did it's job. He slumped against a nearby wall. Sure Zetta was a Demon Overlord, but, compared to this girl- in appearance and demeanour- Zetta really seemed like just a joke.

"A demon," he echoed in his surprise. He took a deep breath. Well, it explained the appearance change, and some of how she acted at least. He was quiet for a moment, "I-I've s-seen a lot I hate about u-us... B-but there's o-only so m-much I c-can do. S-staying s-sane is hard e-enough." One step at a time, really. He couldn't unmask the whole mess with Shadow Eaters and change human nature. Not that he believed it would be really possible to get rid of people like that in one life time. He just would need to try to be as good of a person as he could.

"What's so hard about staying sane? The problem with you humans and sanity is that you base it too much on the world staying within the confines you know it to be, and that is just ridiculous. The biggest joke of human beings is the idea of normality, when there is very much proof that the world is NOT within the confines they wish. Nature itself is proof of that. Nature does not move to the whims of puny humans. It does as it wishes, destroys or stays stable as it chooses. As for hate, hate is as old as life itself. But as there has been hate, there has been ways to fight it too. It is all one big auroboros eating itself."

She shrugged. "The very plight we face now is far beyond the confines of normality. Yet here we are."

Alex stared at the girl and blinked for a moment. In a way, it rung true, but at the same time, "W-well, it b-becomes an i-issue w-when you g-get this s-sense that y-you are n-not part of your b-body, or when you c-can't deal with something so y-you r-repress it."

He sighed, deciding to not even touch on hate, or normality. Talking about sanity was exhausting him enough.

Edited 2011-01-15 10:40 (UTC)

Alessa shrugged again. "Repression is not an aid if you don't know how to control yourself in the first place. In that case it will only make you weaker, more susceptible to the things that can harm you. As for you, well, how can you expect to master a thing when you can barely speak without showing your own weakness?"

She was actually not being mean, but was curious.

"Th-that's my p-point." He buried his face in his hands. "I-I d-don't expect t-to master anything." He sighed, "I-I know t-too w-well about m-my s-speech."

"How would you with an attitude like that?" Alessa replied. "Really, while I have no reason to make even an effort toward aiding you, interactions with Sasami have made me a bit more curious. The way you act now makes you prey to anything that feeds on weakness. As for your speech, it can be worked on like anything else. What makes you so willing to believe so little of yourself? I was told human beings worst and best quality is their pride."

Alex was quiet, lost in thought. Finally, he realized that just sitting here, mulling over it, wouldn't do much to help him. "I-I... d-don't know..." He hung his head and sighed. "I've a-always j-just... C-computers h-have always b-been my only s-skill."

"I would not call aptitude for technology to be a small feat. If anything, it is a skill that will be sought after on this ship and will aid the crew. It will help if you were able to manage the fears that plague you, however. I hardly know you, yet I can already tell you possess a power all your own."

He looked up at the mention of power- not at her of course, but at least he looked up. "Th-the ship's technology's s-so far ahead th-though... B-but what do you mean? Power?" Could she tell of his ability to see negative emotions somehow? Or did she mean something else?

"Yes, your power," Alessa said. "I DID tell you I was a demon. You really don't think that I wouldn't have sensed that you had a sleeping power in you. It's all around you, I can see that much. A for the ship's technology, all you have to do is catch up. I'm sure that is something feasible when you put your mind to it. You really shouldn't limit yourself."

"I-it's n-not very g-good at sleeping. I-it k-kills me t-to m-make it s-sleep, a-actually." He sighed deeply. He was beginning to wonder if he really wanted it to sleep though, when he could possibly use it to help people more than hurt.

"I-I'm working on th-the c-catching up a-at least."

"Hmm." That seemed like a problem. "Have you ever asked anyone about helping you with managing that problem then? Someone who would at least know something about these sorts of powers?"

Catching up? "What do you mean?"

"W-with the c-computers I mean. A-and, y-yeah, I-I've been talking t-to a friend. S-she doesn't k-know about the p-power s-specifically, b-but she c-can still help in o-other ways." He rubbed at the back of his neck nervously.

"Oh?" Was Evangeline offering her services? That hardly seemed likely, she was more likely to taunt people like this boy. "I'm sort of curious now. Who would be able to help you with this?"

"I-I'm afraid I d-don't know Evangeline," he said shaking his head. "K-Katara's t-teaching me to c-control my emotions, o-or will. Zetta's h-helping me p-practice too."

Well that was something that registered to Alessa. Was Evangeline gone? She hoped not. It would be making things so much harder for her.

"Katara...that water affiliated female? I can't see what she would teach you, but then I am unaware of her abilities other than having the ability to command the abilities of water. Zetta on the other hand, I am at least familiar with. I am a little surprised a demon would be helping a human, but I am sure he has his reasons. I will find him and ask, of course, just to verify your story."

After all, a human helping another human was believable: a demon doing so was not.

He shrugged, "W-well, Zetta decided a wh-while b-back I was h-his minion, s-so m-maybe he f-figures i-it'll help m-me level?" With that, he got an image of the training session through a tv screen with his HP, MP, and exp. floating over his head.

He just hoped that she wasn't planing on attacking him if he was lying. Of course, he knew he wasn't lying, but the idea on it's own was a little terrifying.

Alessa snickered a little here. "That demons works fast with his collection of minions: I hear he has two more, though they are on the young side, like you. I can only wonder what will happen on this ship if he decided to lead an uproar. In any case, you could do worse than be trained by a demon, particularly one like Overlord Zetta. If the water girl is any help, you should be stronger in little time."

Then again, she was human, how good could she be?

Alex looked a little surprised, and then bit his lip. "P-poor guys. B-but, I d-don't think I'd r-really b-be p-part of a-an uproar. Z-Zetta knows th-that I think." Hopefully he would actually learn quickly.

She laughed. "I wouldn't worry about them: anyone who makes the active choice of training with a demon knows what they're in for. Ask that boy Negi Springfield, he'll tell you. As for the Overlord, I think he is used to things being a certain way, and the higher ups on the ship make him uneasy. That is actually fairly logical: he WAS top dog, where he was from."

As was she, if you got down to it.

"I-I don't think I've m-met Negi..." He was starting to have a few second thoughts on training now. "I g-guess it does make s-sense though." He might be familiar with Zetta from his video games, but this strange girl- this demon he didn't know anything about.

"I know him though my acquaintance, Sasami," Alessa said. "They seem to be involved in a relationship sort of way, and his teacher is a vampire with immense demonic power: power, in fact, I am unashamed to say greater than my own."

She stared at him a moment. "Are YOU prepared to be his pupil?"

Alex went a little white and looked away. "I-I dunno. B-but, I n-need to t-try. I n-need to g-get c-control of m-my powers, s-so I don't h-hurt anyone else, a-and I d-don't think I c-could ever h-hurt Zetta, e-even if I w-were ta t-try."

"Of course you can't, he's a book," Alessa said, sounding amused. "In his true form I'm sure he would be fairly frightening, but even then your powers wouldn't get near him. But learn something from some of the less pathetic humans on this ship: if you mean to do something, do it. If you want to be stronger, you have to master your fears too. That isn't easy for most."

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