10/18/2003

01:59 AM

Logfile from Toshie.

 

Royal Elizabeth - Suite 502

Soft lighting warms the gold and burgundy tones of this apartment into something welcoming and faintly sybaritic. The walls of the main living area are painted in a rich russet shade, a border in golden hues near the top showing faintly Japanese hints. A multi-segmented couch curves around a soft Oriental carpet, a cherry-wood coffee table set on each end and a matching longer one in front. There is a television, a simple TV-VCR combination with a shelf beneath its stand for two different gaming systems, along one wall, the other covered with a number of framed photos and paintings of Japanese autumn and the change of the leaves around various temples and shrines.

The kitchen, while small, is scrupulously neat, the cupboards and fridge kept well-stocked with all sorts of food, the drawers quite tidy. There is a small breakfast nook off of the kitchen, a small table with four chairs set about it.

Obvious exits:

Exit

 

Toshie's phone begins to ring.

Toshie picks up her phone.

 

<Phone> Everyone else might be out and rather busy this evening, but Tosh has been sitting at home at loose ends, pondering that odd chi thing with a frown, but otherwise enjoying her quality time playing a console game. At the sound of a phone, she hits pause, and then eagerly clambers over to pick up the phone. "Hello?"

 

<Phone> "Heya, T..."  It can't be a good sign that Rathan now can't get more than two or three words out before the coughing spell strikes again.  Nice and phlegmy.  Mmm.  "Sorry... it's Rathan, Toshie.  Can y..."  At least he puts his hand over the phone to muffle it this time.  "I need some help."  Short and simple is the ticket.

 

<Phone> "Rathan?" Tosh questions, rolling over to sit back up. "What is it? Help?" She frowns with concern, licking her lips before continuing. "Where are you?"

 

<Phone> Rathan actually doesn't know.  "Good question," he gasps.  "Hold on, I think if I drag mysel..."  He bites off a pained scream, transforming it into a muffled curse.  After a moment to catch his breath, he then rattles off a street name.  "I'll be... Alley.  By liquor store..."  Even complete sentences are becoming too much effort.

 

<Phone> "An alley..." As far as Tosh knows, there are a lot of alleys in this city, by liquor stores. There is a touch of uncertainty in her voice, and she purses her lips. "What area of town are you in?" As she speaks this, she casts a glance to Shen, her free hand reaching up to smooth over the feather. Maybe it is finally time she and the bird tried a little merging.

 

<Phone> "Maybe five...  blocks.  Washington.  Square.  Went nor..."  The connection doesn't die, but the voice does suddenly cease, followed by a loud clattering.  The sound of a horn honking in the background can be heard, but that's it.

 

<Phone> "Rathan?" Tosh asks again, but isn't getting an answer. At the silence, she frowns even more, and then moves to hang up the phone as well. She gives the falcon another glance, licking her lips rather nervously. Granted, she hasn't done what she is about to do yet, but apparently it is supposed to work. Apparently. "I hope you're right about this, Shen." Going via bird will be so much easier than finding a taxi. She gives the feather in her hair another stroke, almost nervous. In the next moment though, there is a shimmer of dark chi where Tosh was, only to coalesce about the bird. Shen takes off through the window, leaving nothing but a puddle of Tosh's clothes on the ground.

You hang up your phone.

 

Dark Alley [GRP 1]

This alley is rather dark, with buildings to either side.  There's very little light within the room, and the sounds of the street at the far end of the alley are very dim, the traffic passing seemingly too far away to be spotted.  Sounds seem diffuse, and dirty trashcans are to the side, near one of the buildings.

Garanto is here.

 

Rathan is currently lying in the alley, partially slumped against the wall, the cell phone laying on the ground beside his limp hand.  To put it bluntly, he looks like crap.  A gash on his forehead is still seeping blood, his skin color is rather sallow, his face is bruised and abraded, and he's obviously been coughing up a bit of blood as well.  Pleasant, ne?

 

The dark form of Shen sweeps over the sky, riding on the winds between the buildings as if on search, which indeed she is. Sweeping well above the alley ways, it is a movement and the sight of another slumped form that draws the falcon into a slight stoop. Hopefully it isn't another drunk. Recognizing the oni there, the bird backwings, alighting upon the edge of a dumpster. Another shimmer of dark chi splits away from the bird, coming together in a long form in the alleyway, and then finally becoming Tosh, a completely naked Tosh at that. Convenient transportation, lousy service. "Rathan?" She immediately drops down beside him. "Are you awake?"

 

Breathing?  Yes.  Conscious?  No.

 

Toshie licks her lips once more, looking over the oni with a critical eye. "I'm not sure I can do this on my own," she murmurs, hesitant over her healing abilities, especially without Shen to drain some chi from another to help bolster them. Looking a touch nervous at first, the girl leans over, first pressing a hand to the man's head and near to the gash. The other hand moves down closer to the man's chest. She closes her eyes, trying to see the damage first, her brow wrinkling in concentration. First his head, to also try to bring him to consciousness.

 

Fortunately the head injury looks worse than it is.  A mild concussion perhaps, and a great deal of bruising, but little in the way of serious damage.  It won't take much to bring the other oni back to the light of da... err, the dark of night.  His eyelids flicker before finally opening and it takes him a moment to focus, but once he does, Rathan comments in a surpisingly flippant voice, despite being breathy and raspy, "I should get hurt... more often if... this is..."  He ruins the effect by gagging momentarily, but does manage to finish the sentence.  "...how you dress... when you heal people."  If it wasn't for the multiple broken ribs and internal bleeding, he'd actually be enjoying himself now.

 

Next time she has to do this, Tosh is making Shen carry some sort of light weight cloth. Or request that the bird molt on the spot. If she has to be nekkid, so does the bird. "Careful," she murmurs, keeping her hand on his head for a further moment as she concentrates to repair the damage. "If you are this mouthy when you are this hurt, I obviously should be using more of your energy to heal you." Her hand slips down from Rathan's head, joining with the other over his chest, "Quiet. You are making it more difficult."

 

Quiet is good.  Quiet is easy.  Quiet doesn't cause him any more pain than he's already feeling.  So Rathan will just grit his teeth, do his best not to wince or whimper, and focus on the only positive thing around him at the moment.  And he just can't help it...  "Are ya seeing anyOWW!"  Okay, never mind.  No more talking. 

 

Toshie concentrates as she tries to knit together the broken tissue, bring bones back together, clean up the bleeding by sending the blood back into his veins, repair the damage that was made as best she can. It is a slow process, considering, and the girl seems to frown every now and again as she works. "Am I what...?" It is only when she is finally starting to finish with the worst of his injuries, that her eyes crack back open and she frowns at him. "Next time, I take a taxi." Smirk.

 

Rathan's breath comes a little easier now that he doesn't experience stabbing pains every time his lungs move against his ribs.  He's by no means fully healed, but he's functional again.  And that's all that really matters; he's been beaten many times, so the less critical injuries are pretty easy for him to ignore.  "I thought maybe this is that holistic healing.  Healing the body and the mind."  No coughing fit interrupts him this time; a definite improvement.  "Really, though, I knew you were pretty, but you're more than that."  It's not flattery, it's just an admission of fact combined with the residual effects of shock.  "When I can move again without wanting to whimper, I'm definitely taking you clubbing."  Thus says the man who still hasn't even tried sitting up, but it's so much more comfortable to just sorta lie there.

 

Toshie frowns at him, still concentrating some, "You are not quite right yet. I have fixed most of what can kill you though. I... have not the best healing ability at times. If there were another here, with a lot of... chi, then it would be easier, and I could get it all done quickly, even repair your old hurts. But I can't yet." Indeed, there is a weary touch to her voice, even as her body shivers in the autumn night cool. "You think about clubbing? Now?" An annoyed sigh later, and she finally continues, "You need to think about resting and getting better."

 

"I'm not dying now," Rathan says in his quiet, calm voice, already slipping back into his usual demeanor.  He does wince a bit as he tries to lever himself up to a sitting position, though.  "The rest'll heal soon enough, and I've had worse.  Plenty of times."  Just look at the tracery of scar tissue on his back.  "I wouldn't mind a hand up, though... and if y'don't mind the blood, you can have my jacket.  As much as I appreciate the view, you've gotta be cold."

 

Toshie folds one arm over her stomach though as she straightens, offering him a hand up with the other. "It is unnecessary pain and suffering. I can help you with that, if you so wish. Anything that you have now, or have received at another time. I just... I cannot do it all at once. What I can do is limited." She shivers again though, watching him. "Is something that happened to you something the others need know about?"

 

"Received at another time?"  Using one hand to steady himself now that he's on his feet, Rathan removes his coat as best he can and hands it to Toshie.  "Even things that happened..."  A pause for some quick mental math.  "...fourteen years ago?"  The down side of offering the girl his coat means now he doesn't have one for himself, and the midriff-exposing shirt isn't exactly conducive to staying warm.  "And yeah, I definitely need to tell the others.  At least Sebastian.  I dunno what the hell the thing was that did this to me, but it wasn't a person, that's for certain."

 

"If it can be healed, I will try to do so," Tosh answers, looking back at him. "I can at least try." She takes the offered jacket though after a moment of hesitation, but once it is pulled over her form and the girl fairly swims in it, she sighs happily. Bare feets avoid a puddle of goodness knows what, and she looks back to him. "What? What did that? Is it still here?" Worry enters her voice, concern for Karen.

 

"C'mere," Rathan says, offering to wrap an arm around Toshie.  "Now /I'm/ cold, so I'm gonna share the warmth with ya.  Plus, if you don't mind, I'm ready to leave this alley.  It's not too pretty, and if anyone else spots you in here wearing nothing but my coat, it could get... interesting."  He's also looking for an excuse to sidle up closer to Toshie, but that's just because Rathan has had a rather bad day, and beautiful, barely clad women -- or men -- always prove to be a pleasant distraction at such times.  "And I didn't stick around to see if the 'thing', whatever it was, planned on staying for awhile or not.  It just sorta came up out of the floor, and when I tried to vanish, I couldn't.  Not until I got a little ways away from it.  Which wasn't easy."  Hence the injuries.

 

Toshie doesn't go anywhere at first, instead looking back over her shoulder to look at Shen. The falcon launches into the sky after a moment, leaving behind a feather that slowly floats to the ground. She darts over, stepping around that puddle only to nearly find some glass, to quickly take up the feather and fist her hand around it. Only after that, she allows herself to be drawn close to Rathan. "No, it didn't seem easy at all. What were you doing when this... thing came?"

 

She just had to ask that question, didn't she?  Rathan answers honestly, though, as his tone slips into jaded apathy.  "Committing murder.  Vengeance, actually.  I was visiting a few fratboys who'd taken up gang-rape as a hobby and showing them why that wasn't a very good past time.  I'd already finished discussing the problem with one of them, when suddenly... This thing just rose up from the ground.  All jagged rock, but with arms, legs... and blue eyes.  And it came right towards me."  He smiles grimly.  "If one of the fratboys hadn't 'volunteered' to step between me and it, I'd be dead.  It only hit me once... and that was /with/ the other guy's body between me and the thing's... fist, I guess."  Slipping his arm protectively around the woman, Rathan briefly glances upwards towards Shen, then... shifts himself and Toshie into the void, leaving the physical world behind in favor of the realm of misty, insubstantial shadows, a distorted reflection of the realm they left behind.  "As long as you don't resist being here, we can remain here for quite awhile...  Easier to travel this way."  Just walk /through/ buildings instead of around them.  "And it's not as cold here."  Perhaps about seventy degrees.  All the time.  Temperature has about as much meaning as matter does in this place.

 

Toshie frowns at his words, but keeps silent as she listens. She doesn't judge those actions though in any way, simply keeping quiet to hear his explanation. "It came right for you? Not for them? It was seeking you out? Is that correct?" She tilts her head back to look at him, only to gasp as suddenly the world around her changes. She stills, but as he continues, and this is apparently Rathan's doing, the girl goes along with it. "At least this way you don't have to shed your clothes." Wry.

 

Rathan laughs.  "Actually, when I do strip... half the time I don't bother taking my clothes off; I just send them here.  Saves time and effort, but it also means I gotta fetch them from here later, or I lose 'em.  Things that aren't alive tend to just... stop existing if they stay here for more'n a dy or two."  He begins walking, more slowly than usual, but it really /is/ faster when there are no actual obstacles in the way.  "The thing didn't seem to mind killing the guy standing between me and it, but it sure seemed like I was the one it was swinging at.  I didn't really get a chance to test the theory, though.  The force of that one hit knocked back into the wall.  Thankfully it was next to the door, so when I realized I couldn't get here, I went for the stairs.  Before I was even halfway up, though, I was able to fade out and get as far away as I could before I began to worry that I was in worse shape than I'd first thought."

 

Toshie finds the fact that they are walking through shadows rather disturbing, never mind that whole flying with Shen thing. She swallows, looking moderately nervous and doing her best to make it go away. "That is lazy. And a gross abuse of powers." Never mind she tends to heal her own paper cuts though. That's different. Some way. "I do not like that it went after you. It worries me." Along with the idea that there is always a chance Karen or one of the others could be a target as well. "Where are we going?" she finally asks, realizing that they must be headed somewhere.

 

"Actually, once I get here, it takes me no energy at all to stay here, and only a little to keep you here.  If I stopped exerting myself at all, you'd prolly pop back into the real world in a few minutes once the hold of the void weakened... but you'd better make sure you weren't standing in any of this misty stuff when that happened."  He waves his arm through the faint outline of a humanoid shape moving in the opposite direction.  "It's kinda nasty when things reappear in the regular world in the same space that something else is already in."  Of course, it also has its uses.  "I'm headed back in the general direction of my place, unless you have a better idea?  And with the chance that thing might still be out there somewhere, I feel much better about making the entire trip in here.  For all I know, it coulda been a freak occurrence... but I don't feel like trusting in that possibility."

 

"What about the ground? Can you just... sink through the ground then? Or how do you go upstairs in a building, if it is all shadows? I don't..." But Tosh breaks off, stopping in place and hopefully at an open spot. "I need to go back to Karen. You either come with me there and I will watch you too... or you can continue on to where you think is safe. But I need to be out there." And she is already beginning to resist.

 

"I don't really have much of a problem with up /or/ down.  Makes it real easy to avoid crowded subway stations."  Yes, he /does/ abuse his power.  "I just sorta think of some of the misty stuff as being a bit more solid, and it holds me, even though it's still not really anything 'real'."  Of course, now Toshie has to ruin the pleasant walk by worrying about her miko.  Ironically, Rathan isn't too worried about his.  He somehow has this feeling Nikki'd send that creature running home to it's mommy... if it has one.  "Uh... I've never actually been to Karen's place."  Actually, he still hasn't even met the woman.  "But we can head there if ya want.  My cell'll work from either place, and the first thing I plan on doing is giving Sebastian a call.  Do you want me to take us back, or do you want to travel there through this place?"

 

Toshie hesitates, watching him for a moment as she considers. "Alright. Then I will tell you were we need to go. But if you bring that creature into our apartment, Karen is going to be very cross with you. As will I." Finger waggles once in Rathan's direction, coming from the cuff of the jacket. "We will go."

 

Rathan chuckles again, apparently in a much better mood now.  Of course, since nearly 90% of his reactions are calculated and faked, it's hard to really be sure.  "I meant it about the clubbing, by the way."