Spells and Les Mis (Closed)

[Karia Sto-Helit]

Karia made her way up to the Hedwig Common room after her long discussion with Professor Trevelyan. In her hand was what looked like an opal necklace, but she knew it was much more than that. Finding Kitty's bedside table, she saw a copy of Les Mis on it and smiled. Perfect. Placing the shimmering stone under the book, Karia turned towards the door, making sure no one saw her.

I hope whatever I just gave her helps...I don't want her to die...or kill anyone else..not exactly sure what would be worse...

[Aleksei Trevelyan]

Not five minutes after that, Kitty walked into the common room, humming Phil Collins' "In The Air Tonight" and singing aloud in a pleasantly tone-deaf way. "Well if you told me you were drowning, I would not lend a hand, I've seen your face before, my friend, but I don't know if you know who I am..." She sat down on her bed, still singing with her eyes closed, not noticing Karia yet. "Well, I was there and I saw what you did, I saw it with my own two eyes, so you can wipe off that grin, I know where you've been, it's all been a pack of lies!"

As she was doing the '80s drum solo in the air (that came later in the song, but no matter) with her hands, she opened her eyes and saw her friend. "Oh, hey, Karia!" she grinned. "What's up?" She picked up her reading book, a copy of Les Misérables, off of her bedside table, and blinked at it. Or rather, what lay beneath it.

There was an exquisite opal on a delicate silver chain resting innocently on the table, right underneath the book. "Now, where did you come from?" Kitty asked quizzically, studying the stone. It was a black opal, her favorite, and there was some unusual sort of fire in its heart. Black opals were always vivid, but this one...this one was different. "Karia? Do you know where this came from?" she asked, glancing back at the sixth-year.

[Karia Sto-Helit]

Karia had returned to her own bed and buried her head a book, attempting to look as innocent as possible. She peered at Kitty over the binding when she came in, watching. Yep, she found the necklace. Concealing a smile behind the pages, Karia sank back into her pillows. She looked back up when Kitty called her.

"Huh?" she asked, "What is it?" Karia thanked her parents for the skill she had gained in acting and lying. It was going to be extremely useful in this situation. "Oooh, wow. That's gorgeous. Want help putting it on?"

[Aleksei Trevelyan]

"Yes please," Kitty said, weighing the stone in her hand. It glimmered at her. For some reason, the colors in its heart reminded her of the weird mind-flashes she'd been getting lately, the glimpses of memory that she'd almost recalled. They'd been very frustrating.

Was this another link in the chain, somehow? Just another brick in the wall? (Okay, that was Pink Floyd. Artist change much?)

Nothing for it but to ask, right? "You know, I've been having headaches recently," she frowned. "Ever since I fell down the stairs. I think I might have forgotten something when I fell. Gotten amnesia, like." She closed her eyes. "And my head feels funny, weird, like there's more in it than there was before, but I can't get to it. Could you...could you help me with that? Do you know how?" There was hope in her voice.

[Karia Sto-Helit]

Karia put her book down, and clasped the chain around Kitty's neck. While doing so, she listened to her confusion with the memory loss, her insides squirming a little bit in a panic. What would happen if Karia tried to help her recover those lost memories? Could she even do it?

Words began to dance in her head: I'll start again,And whatever pain may come. Today this ends,I’m forgiving what I’ve done. I’ll face myself, To cross out what I’ve become. Erase myself,
And let go of what I’ve done.What I’ve done. Forgiving What I’ve Done. Linkin Park? Still, she took that as a nod in the 'yes' direction.

"I might be able to," she started hesitantly, "but did you ever consider you forgot those thigns for a reason? That maybe you aren't supposed to remember them?" If she could avoid this, she would. What Trevelyan had warned her about was frightening, and she didn't want to accidentally trigger something that would send her flying off the handle. SHe hoped it would be possible; Karia didn't want to let her friend down.

[Aleksei Trevelyan]

Kitty gave her the fish eye. "What the hell you talkin' about, Willis? What do you mean, 'not supposed to remember'? And anyway," she said cheerfully, "if they're that bad, I can repress them again. But this has been driving me crazy. The flashes, the little hints...it's like someone up on high's dropping breadcrumbs right on my head, and I'm trying to reconstruct the loaf from those..."

She didn't see it, but the red parts of the opal that was now around her neck shone a little clearer. The stone was going to regulate what got through, if anything at all.

"Come on. Pleeeease? I don't care if it doesn't stop the headaches, but this is maddening, not knowing your own self."

[Karia Sto-Helit]

Karia looked at her for a moment, unsure of what to do. Kitty deperately wanted to know who she was. But wouldn't knowing that be a hangman's noose for all of them? Her friend needed the attempt if nothing else. If she helped Kitty, it might set her off or do nothing at all. That stone would probably help Karia not dig too deep, and so, resigning herself to death at Trevelyan's hands if she screwed up, she sighed and nodded.

"Alright. I'll try. Normally this only works on dying people, so I'll have to mess around a little bit with it." Then she remember she hadn't told Kitty about who she really was. Being curious, she would probably ask why only on dying people, and Karia would have to explain. It might stall for time, giving Karia the opporunity to either worm her way out of this, or come up with a better plan. "Lie down."

Gods help me...don't let me screw this one up...

[Aleksei Trevelyan]

"...dying...people? Am I going to become a zombie? I've been practicing, look." Kitty threw her hands out in front of her stiffly, letting the wrists hang limp, and slackened the muscles in her face. "Braaaaaains." She shook her wrists out. "But seriously, dying people? That's a pretty wack magical talent to have...explanation please?"

Stretching first, Kitty lay down on her bed, lacing her hands across her chest, and, coincidentally, on top of the opal. "I hope I don't fall asleep, that would be embarassing."

The stone flashed, once, hidden beneath her hands. It was preparing itself.

[Karia Sto-Helit]

Good. Kitty wanted the explanation, which would give Karia some more time. Really quickyl before she started to reveal her secret, Karia thought as loudly as she could to try and get Trevelyan's attention. It was a real long-shot, but she might as well try.

She wants me to help her remember. I'm stalling for time. I need your help. before taking a deep breath, and beginning her story.

"No, you won't turn into a zombie. It's because..well because of this." She closed her eyes ad when she opened them they were black. Blinking again, they returned to their normal green. "I'm...part Death. My great-grandfather on my mum's side...is Death. As in the walking-skeleton-with-a-scythe. Long story short, he had an aprenctie, the aprentice got married, and my mum came out with some of Granddad's powers. It passed on to me as well." Karia decided to leave out the information about her father. It was too creepy. "So, if people are dying around me, one I can feel it. Two, I can sort of...'talk' to them I guess. I can go after their souls and try and not let them leave. Doesn't always work..." she said quietly, her voice trailing off.

Kitty had no idea how ironic this conversation was, nor how not-so-amusing her zombie impression was. In a sense...Kitty sort of was a zombie, what with the whole rising from the dead thing. Karia shivered slightly at the memory of Kitty's recent death and revival.

"You probably won't fall asleep, though you being relaxed will help. I'll have to think about this for a little while to see if I can even do it." Karia had a distinct feeling she wouldn't be able to, and that she might somehow hurt Kitty in the process. "Are you absolutely sure you want me to do this?"

[Aleksei Trevelyan]

"That...that's pretty rad," Kitty said. Yep. No grounding in reality, or whatever passed for reality here, whatsoever. Or maybe she was just jaded.

Meanwhile, Trevelyan heard a sort of buzzing. "Is there a mosquito in here?"

"Oh yeah, yeah, absolutely sure. I want to know one way or the other. You can't...you can't possibly get how irritating it is, not to even know where you came from. The worst part is, before I fell down, I thought I knew the truth, but now it's all just...grey. No black. No white. No absolutes. It's all a mist-shrouded riddle wrapped inside a mystery wrapped inside an enigma, to paraphrase Churchill," Kitty said, her eyes closed. "I affirm it thrice. Begin when you're ready, I guess. And thanks in advance."

[Karia Sto-Helit]

Karia nodded silently, and tried sending the message to Trevelyan again. While she sat in silence modifying the death-talk, for lack of a better word, she repeated the words over and over again, just for good measure. She didn't want to do something that would make her dangerous to everyone else. After a few minutes of this mental multi-tasking, she walked towards the head of Kitty's bed.

"Just so you know, I'm stopping if something starts happening I don't like,"like you trying to kill everyone and everything in the remote vicinity, "And I can't gaurantee anything. Tell me if it hurts you as well," because if you get hurt Trevelyan will kill me and I'll deserve it. At least I'm doing this instead of someone who doesn't know wha to avoid and when to stop....

Placing her hands against Kitty's head, Karia slowly relaxed her body and mind, shifting her psyche towards Kitty's. Hovering between her own body and Kitty's, Karia hesitated momentarily.

To all dieties and Powers, don't let me endanger us all. Keep us safe. Please.

[Aleksei Trevelyan]

"That's it, fly, you're outta here," Trevelyan snarled, snatching up a copy of Guns and Ammo and rolling it up. He then began a futile search for the nonexistant insect. Since the fly wasn't one of his targets, his Oath forbade him to kill it, but he could let it out of the room.

"Rightright, of course," Kitty said, settling back into the bed and waiting for something to happen.

And then something did.

[Karia Sto-Helit]

Slowly, Karia reached the tangible edges of Kitty's mind. It was sort of a tickling sensation, like grass brushing against your leg during a breeze. Except in your head of course. As gently as she could, Karia probed a little further, searching for some of her memories. Kitty's mindscape was vast, and very colorful. All manner of objects and images were spread throughout it. The outer edges, where Kitty's mind seemed to spend most of its time, was free and excitable. The inner areas, however, where her memories were, was a fortress. if Kitty wanted answers, Karia was going to have a tough time getting them.

This is weird...I am not going to do this very often.... she thought to herself as she moved towards Kitty's memories. She started feeling resistance, and had trouble moving deeper. Inwardly, she thanked Trevelyan for whatever spells he had on her so that Karia would have a good excuse for not getting at anything. Suddenly, she was hit with a stray memory from a recent event, something at Valcentica. It was the second DADA class, the one with the wrenches, through Kitty's eyes in full living color.

Karia shook her own mind from the memory. Not what I'm looking for, nor what I need to see. That was really strange...Remind myself to not do that if I can avoid it...

[Aleksei Trevelyan]

Kitty, of course, was being protected from seeing any of this, other than vague, random flashes of color and the sensation of a wrench whizzing by her face veryfast.

Wonder what's going on, she thought dreamily.

"Uh-oh." Trevelyan felt like he was in an elevator that had just parted company with its cables and was crashing down. That's no fly...

"It's a space station," a million Star Wars nerds said in unison.

I sense a shark being jumped somewhere in the building, Trevelyan thought, tossing the magazine aside and leaving his office. He paused, and then grabbed his black trenchcoat and put it on for the sole purpose of having it billow behind him dramatically.

Okay, Story, now that was just stupid.

I get my kicks where I can, I'm frickin' words, for God's sake.

[Karia Sto-Helit]

Trying to delay inevitable danger, Karia slowed her own progress. All around her were memories like the one she had just experience, floating along like bubbles. If she looked at them closely, she could see the memory, but not hear it, as if watching a movie on mute. As the innocent and more recent memories bobbed placidly around her, she noticed one nearby that seemed to be avoiding her. She moved towards it, and it moved away. After a small chase, the elusive memory was within her grasp, and she managed to get a hand on it. the memory surfaced.

Kitty was on the floor looking up. It must have been right after she'd died and been brought back, judging by the amount of blood on her. And on Trevelyan, he was there too, a distraught look on his face. His haggard expression confirmed Karia's theory of what she was seeing. And there was someone else there too...Professor Zhukov? Smirking inwardly, Karia knew she had to be at least one of the people connected to Trevelyan and his organization. But Kitty kept calling her Rena. Why was that?

Suddenly the memory filled with fog and Karia found herself outside of it again in Kitty's psychadelic mindscape.

What the hell was that?