damned_institute | Nightshift 33: Women's Bathrooms (F01-F40)

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Nightshift 33: Women's Bathrooms (F01-F40)

[From here.]

Somehow, he had made it without getting lost. Peter was equally relieved to see that the bathroom was empty. Walking in on someone would have been hard to explain away, though he was surprised to see that Xelloss wasn't here yet.

Peter did his best to avoid running through the regular cycle of thoughts about someone disappearing, or being taken for experiments, or whatever else. It hadn't been long enough for him to start worrying yet, and instead he tried to focus on the fact that he had been able to find their meeting spot without any problems.

Still, it felt a bit wrong to be in here (not to mention a little creepy), and Peter wasn't quite sure what to do with himself as he waited. He moved to the center of the room and set down his shovel, but continued to hold his flashlight close to him. It was pretty quiet in here, but the sounds echoed, so hopefully he would be able to tell if something was coming.

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[So sorry for late! ;-; [from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/395485.html?thread=32488157#t32488157)]]

The bathroom was too dark to see well, but fortunately the flashlight lit things up enough for Xelloss to see the man he'd agreed to meet was still present. Cheered by that, Xelloss waved, and headed over towards him.

"Hello! I'm sorry it took me a little while; I was delayed by an acquaintance in the hallways. I'm glad you didn't become lost after my poor directions!" Civility was free, and Xelloss always liked to make the most of free resources. "So, do you still feel ready to try our experiment? It looks as though we'll have privacy, as I hoped! That should make things more comfortable."

What would happen? Probably nothing, as Peter had predicted in the greenhouse. But the chance... it couldn't be passed up so casually.

Having to wait around on his own for a while, even if it wasn't that long, was a little nerve-wracking--Peter didn't mind admitting it, at least not to himself. He even jumped when the door opened, knowing it could be just about anyone, and visibly relaxed when Xelloss stepped inside.

It looked like the bathrooms weren't frequented at night, not that he was too surprised. It still hadn't stopped him from being paranoid that someone would have caught him waiting around in here on his own like some kind of weirdo.

But there was no need to worry about that now. "You're directions helped a lot, thanks," he greeted with a small smile. "And yeah, I think I'm ready..." This did feel kind of mysterious--meeting up privately to do secret tests... Though really, it was more of a safety precaution than anything else.

"Anyway, I think I need to see you use your ability first. That way I could maybe absorb it and then I'll try to use it myself." He was worried that it wouldn't work and he would have wasted the man's time, but Xelloss was the one who had offered up the idea, so he tried not to dwell on it.

Well, this would be the test, wouldn't it? At least, the first obstacle. If Peter's world was really devoid of the divisions of magic, then perhaps he wouldn't notice anything odd at all. Perhaps he'd explain it away to himself. Or perhaps he'd decide it wasn't his business and not ask anything overly personal.

"Well, as I said, I'm a priest. My abilities at home are more varied, but here, I seem to be quite limited." All true, although the connection between his usual state of being and his abilities was left out for the moment. He wondered if such a thing existed in Peter's world, an individual whose 'ability' was his true form. The odds of this experiment going that far were so slim that Xelloss could leave the question to the side for now.

"Still, some of the magical power which I could call upon remains. Really performing anything remarkable is startlingly draining, but I can manage a small show." That was as close as he cared to come to describing how weak he was in this form. Closer than he'd told Hellmaster. But Xelloss also didn't suppose Peter would catch any significance in that, not having known the priest before.

Xelloss held out his hand, concentrating. Slowly, a ball of what seemed like darkness formed in it, a faint purplish illumination around it the only sign that the flame-like sphere was not an especially heavily cast shadow. Even in this, he felt a strain, pulling on the distant and sealed away self that resided on the Astral Plane. But something about seeing that was satisfying, a reaffirmation of what he truly was. Now, to see what Peter thought of it--or what, if anything, he could do with it.

Peter wasn't surprised to hear that Xelloss couldn't do all that much. That seemed to be the case no matter who it was, and at the moment he was operating on the assumption that he had no powers whatsoever, so who was he to judge?

Instead, he focused on the man's display, watching as a strange ball of blackness appeared in his hand. Peter eyed it in silence for a moment, trying to figure out what it actually was before making any final judgments.

No matter how many possibilities he came up with, though, he couldn't form a real answer to the question, and in the end he just ended up blurting it out: "What is it?" He was tempted to take a few steps toward the other man to get a better look, but he knew that wasn't a good idea when he wasn't even sure what the black flame(?) was capable of.

Instead, for the moment he focused on Xelloss' technique, noting how he had concentrated to form it in the first place. If he was going to try and emulate what the man had done, he had to keep that sort of thing in mind. Not that it usually helped - powers that he absorbed had the tendency to come out when he least expected it.

"Magical power drawn from its source." Xelloss continued to watch it in his hand. It wasn't even enough to sting the hide of a golden dragon, like this--it was just a light/dark show, but it was still the edge of his power. He added almost apologetically, "Normally I could perform some more intricate actual spells or create a more interesting display, but as things are, it's a little difficult when I do more than this."

The small flickering display was firm enough that at least Xelloss could hold it steady. It wasn't gone. Just hard to reach. He wondered how this would work, exactly. "What is it like for others when you take their powers? Should I keep this up, or do you need the ability to be in use when you try to access it?"

At best, it would work the way black magic worked in Xelloss's world, simply pulling the energy from the Astral Plane resident into a human host. Xelloss was just a step below the usual Mazoku lords who were the sources of powerful black magic, but he himself was powerful enough that it ought to be feasible for the equivalent of a simple spell or two. Without the actual incantations or movements, it would just be a transfer of similar energy, no more intrusive than some sorcerer casting Dynast Brass somewhere in the world.

At worst, either Peter's ability would be stronger than he expected or Xelloss's own power would be too closely guarded, since after all he wasn't used to others pulling on his strength, and anything from some sort of odd personality transfer to himself being able to actually manifest in this world could happen. (Well, that last wasn't worst, but it might be a bit extreme in outcome. Particularly for the human anchor.)

But the odds were best that nothing would happen at all. Xelloss did his best to smile reassuringly over the flickering light that outlined the darkness. "This is a little risky, but dangerous experiments may yield better results! It's at least worth a try."

As things were, Peter figured it was better that they started out with something small. He didn't want Xelloss to push himself just for the sake of testing this, either. Still, the problem was that he was used to absorbing powers that were more straight-forward than this one, but that didn't mean he was against trying it.

"You can probably stop, but..." He paused, trying to think over what Claude had taught him. He already knew what he had to focus on to draw out powers, but he had to figure out how to use them in the first place. Usually all that required was being near the original user, but he wasn't entirely sure what he was doing when it came to this one.

"What can that magical... power do? It would help if I knew what it was for, and how it feels to make it appear. Can you describe how you do it, maybe?" He knew the questions he was asking were somewhat vague, but he wasn't entirely certain how this all worked himself. He wished he had a better hold on all of it, but he'd only had these abilities for a few months.

The fact that it might be risky also left him uneasy, but at least the other man seemed comfortable enough with the idea. That helped a little.

Xelloss let the energy vanish from his hand for the moment, considering. Perhaps he didn't understand how Peter's power worked well enough, either. Was it taken from his target, or was it imitated? In this case, Xelloss thought it would have to be something like a human sorcerer anyway... even for Xelloss himself, he was drawing on a body in the Astral Plane while his consciousness was fully 'here' in this human form.

"Let's see." So describing it would be better as it was now, not the way it would feel if Xelloss were himself again. "It's like pulling on a distant force. The power is there, and available. But you have to have access to it and know how to call it, it can do a variety of things after that point." Well, he could use it to cast a shamanistic spell at home when he bothered imitating human sorcerers, and that might be what Peter could do with it, given the words and appropriate training. "Such as creating light, or fire, or other effects. But doing those specific tasks requires more knowledge. Just accessing that pool of energy is the first step."

A human sorcerer had a certain amount of innate energy, plus the ability to pull power from outside forces such as spirits or Mazoku, and thus create spells. Just getting the access to that energy in the first place was a kind of 'power,' since not all humans had the capacity. "I think you'll be able to tell if you do find that energy. Without direction, it..." Well, theoretically it could kill him, but Xelloss doubted the human would be able to pull more of himself over from the Astral Plane than Xelloss already had. "... it may be an odd sensation, or you may find some feeling of the energy building, but there's also a limit to it. It should be safe."

Peter made sure to listen closely, knowing that he didn't often get the chance to talk to someone about their power like this. Xelloss also seemed to have a good hold on his abilities, unlike some of the other people he had come across whose powers he had drawn from, so this might make his job a little easier. Then again, he didn't even know if trying to do it consciously was going to work at this point.

He ran the points over in his head: pulling on something far away; calling to it; a build-up of energy.

That last part made him hesitate, though. That was how it had felt when Ted's power had gone out of control, and while he knew this wasn't the same thing, he didn't need a repeat performance of that. He logically knew that there was no way he had enough power left to do something like that in this place, though.

Xelloss also seemed certain that it wouldn't cause any problems, so Peter let out a breath and closed his eyes to make his attempt, holding one hand out in front of him, palm-up. He tried to concentrate and pull on something, while also thinking about Xelloss since that had been the key to it all those other times, but he didn't exactly know what he was pulling on, which made the whole process feel like a shot in the dark.

It didn't stop him from trying, though.

Xelloss held still for the effort, at least visibly. Mentally, he felt somehow itchy, as though he were wearing unclean clothing (and where did that idea come from? Too long in a human body...) It did occur to him that something about this might simply not be right, on the tiny list of things which Xelloss would classify as wrong, but he tried to convince himself that this was necessary for the greater 'good,' namely his eventual escape and return to his duties. He even tried to reach out, as best he could, with that faint bit of his actual power which he could still call upon.

Several quiet moments passed before Xelloss finally spoke up. "I don't believe it's working." Keeping the disappointment in his voice to a faint curiosity was difficult. But... he would have known if it had worked, it was too intimate an ability for him not to notice, particularly trying as hard as he was to see if there was any difference. Xelloss let out a heavy sigh, then smiled at Peter with his best friendly tone.

"Unless you feel differently! But I really think it hasn't worked at all. I suppose there's no such thing as an experiment without a chance of failure! Thank you for coming out of your way to give it a try, at least. At least knowing that this won't work is a kind of progress."

There wasn't denying the fact that nothing was happening. Peter knew it might just be because he wasn't doing it the right way, but he didn't really know how to alter his technique, and he didn't want to pester Xelloss with more detailed questions which might not lead to anything. He was just going to have to accept that he was powerless here.

Well, there was one more thing to consider. "It might be that since your power has a different source, my absorbing just doesn't work," he said with a sigh. He was still going to have to try it with Nathan or Claire, though - preferably Nathan, but he didn't even know where his brother was at the moment.

"Sorry for wasting your time." He wasn't sure if the other man was disappointed, but he probably was. They had done all of this for nothing, and he was sure Xelloss had better things to do with his night. The question was what Peter did now, though it really depended on the other man. Peter hadn't exactly made plans for what he would do after this, since he hadn't known how long it was going to take.

Xelloss frowned, although thoughtfully rather than angrily, and glanced around the bathroom as he considered his options now. Well, this was a dead end, not that he was overly surprised. At least he'd gotten something productive done tonight, even if it was along the lines of pruning his options. As Peter apologized, Xelloss changed his expression back to a smile and waved one hand dismissively.

"No, you didn't waste my time at all, it's fine! We've both learned a little something, haven't we? Besides, the most important thing here is to have lots of allies, and if nothing else it's always nice to have a new friendly acquaintance!" Xelloss continued to smile at Peter, considering. Powerless entirely, or just unable to access the sort of magic from Xelloss's world? Either conclusion was reasonable, with this having been such a long shot. Still, Peter could prove useful someday. "I was just deciding what I ought to do now."

Peter appreciated how decent Xelloss was being about the whole thing, glad to know that he hadn't made an enemy somehow. The other man must have been smart enough to expect that this had been a long shot, so it looked like there was no harm done. And Peter was one step closer to narrowing down what state his powers were in here, though he was remaining pessimistic about the whole thing.

It looked like they were wondering the same thing, and Peter regarded the other man as he thought it over. Xelloss had just said they were friendly acquaintances, so maybe...? "Well, I didn't really have any plans, and I've heard it's not a good idea to go anywhere on your own here..." He trailed off. Xelloss seemed like a pretty smart guy, so he hoped he could figure it out from there. Even if Peter didn't have any powers he could use at the moment, he wasn't half-bad with a shovel. He wouldn't be dead weight.

"That's true--it's very dangerous here, particularly if you're cornered alone." Xelloss nodded agreement, putting a hand to his chin. "Even a weak monster could be a big problem for someone traveling alone. Actually, if you're willing, there was something that I had had on my mind recently, but I wouldn't want to risk trying alone."

He held open his hands, half-shrugging and half demonstrating their emptiness. "I'm very used to having my magic at home, you see! Fighting with weapons is a little odd. In fact, using most weapons at home would be considered disrespectful, in light of the fact that I'm a priest and all!" Well, the priest aspect really wasn't important to it, but otherwise, even the staff he carried was just a manifestation of himself. Something less than the Darkstar weapons or his old talismans simply wouldn't do to be seen with. Like admitting one's own weakness, to lean on a power other than his personal strength.

"Here it's a little different, though. I don't think I can survive without a weapon, not with my magic as weak as it is. So, I was thinking that I should look for something suitable..." If Peter didn't want to come along just to help arm Xelloss, that would be reasonable, but Xelloss could hardly pass up the chance to politely ask.

It looked like Peter was in luck. Even if he was just going along to help Xelloss with something, it was still an option for what to do with the rest of his night when he hadn't had one before. Going back to his room and sleeping was always a possibility, but he wouldn't have felt right doing something like that, especially when the wounds on his back were mostly healed.

He was surprised to hear that Xelloss didn't have a weapon yet, seeing how he had been here for what sounded like a good amount of time. Maybe he had figured he could rely on his magic up until now. Either way, Peter was glad that he had gotten himself some sort of weapon on his first night here.

"Sure, I'll go with you," he said with a smile as he gathered his shovel and his flashlight. "I got this," he explained as he indicated the shovel, "in a shed in the courtyard, but I don't know if you were looking for something different or had a better idea of where to go." Peter shrugged. He was sure that Xelloss knew what he was doing, but that didn't stop him from wanting to offer up some help anyway.

"Oh, thank you! That'll make things much easier!" Xelloss practically beamed at Peter, before considering the shovel. "I had been worrying about how I would find something without a weapon to start with, but I didn't want to trouble one of the groups on the board just for a little personal problem like this. I really should have gotten something before now... it just seems so odd to need a weapon."

If that made it sound as though fighting wasn't part of Xelloss's nature, all the better, but Xelloss didn't push the point. "I'm not really sure what I want, to be honest. Since I'm not used to fighting with weapons. A shovel or anything easy to swing would be good, I think. We could try heading outside, and see if the path is clear? If it isn't, of course, there's no reason to go into danger just for the sake of this! Maybe I could find something inside that would work just as well."

At the risk of being a bit too pushy, Xelloss headed out the door towards the women's quarters.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/395485.html?thread=32737757#t32737757)]

[From here] (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/395485.html?thread=32789213#t32789213)

Cautiously opening the door, Ami stepped into the bathroom. Again, no-one. It was starting to get kind of creepy. She hadn't seen anyone for a while. A cold pit formed in her stomach. Maybe she was the only one left....Stop it Ami! she scolded herself. What if's are not going to help here. Just calm down and try to keep your wits about you....

Moving over to a sink, she turned the tap and let cool water splash over her hands. The water relaxed her. She missed being able to use it in its icy form. Sighing sadly, she washed her face, lingering a moment to enjoy the coolness before heading back out into the corridor.

[Back to here] (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/395485.html?thread=32789213#t32789213)

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Nightshift 33: Women's Bathrooms (F01-F40)

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