Duality [Althea, Solo]
Jan 21, 2017 0:41:51 GMT -6
Post by Althea on Jan 21, 2017 0:41:51 GMT -6
(OOC: set after fewotw.proboards.com/thread/6370/dancing-shadows-crashing-tides-althea , in Althea's cabin)
So... whatcha reading?
"Vauban."
...
"...A sixth century military engineer who wrote on the concept of defense in depth."
Oh. Sounds boring.
"Suit yourself."
The small cabin grew utterly silent for a time as Althea continued to read the book, eyes skimming over each passage and beginning to consider the ramifications of the whole. She was no tactician or strategist, that was assured, but the events of the day had certainly given her a certain... perspective on the value of having at least some understanding of basic tactics. She had a basic concept of course, but not the details, not the theory. And as she had learned today, that simply wasn't enough. She had been thrust into a leadership position of sorts, and while she had not UTTERLY failed them, it was blatantly obvious to her that she had not done those people justice. Too few of them had survived the day. She could still hear the gurgle of that one lancer.
You aren't, er, surprised or anything?
"I knew you were there."
How?
"The emotions today sealed it, but I had my suspicions before. Sometimes thoughts that didn't sound like me. A vague sense of familiarity."
...Sorry about that.
"What do you want?"
Well, I was thinking about talking with my new best friend in the world, but-"What do you want from me?"
Someone's cranky tonight, came the response, and this time rather than just a meaningless understanding of sense in her head, it felt as though there was a tinge of exasperation attached to it. Femininity in the words. It sounded sort of like her, but - not. Althea closed the book carefully, memorizing the page number for later resumption of reading, and leaned back into her chair with deep breath followed by an extended exhalation, turning into a sigh by the end.
...I'm not really sure what's going on either, honestly.
"So you're not a manifestation of my growing insanity as my psyche fractures into other-selves, nor an evil spirit here to tempt me towards the path of darkness with promises of free power?"
I flunked out of evil ghost school, sorry.
Althea snorted in a very unladylike manner, completely taken off guard by the humor in her counter's response. She wasn't sure what she HAD expected, but it most assuredly was not that. A powerful evil entity trying to wrest control of her mind, or something blatantly insane, would have been much easier to deal with. But it did, ah, beg a certain question she had been waiting to ask. "Then what are you?"
There was another silence.
I'm not sure, it said, but the hesitation had been just long enough that Althea didn't think it, or her, or whatever, was being entirely forthright with her.
"Guess."
A... spirit of the Nether.
"As in 'an evil god pretending to be a harmless spirit' or...?"
No.
How interesting. The response was almost immediate, and intriguingly enough, filled with a certain... blunt simplicity that, in her mind, spoke to its truth. It didn't answer much of her question, though, save that she apparently was not just going crazy, but Nether flavored crazy, which... generally didn't have a positive ending. They certainly weren't any closer to a resolution than they had been at the start of the conversation, at any rate. Time passed as though through a spyglass, fast and slow, far and near. She wasn't sure if it had been seconds or minutes before anything happened again. Althea didn't mind. She could be patient when she had to.
If you knew I was here, why didn't you say anything?
"I wanted to see what you would do."
Not to, uh, overstay my welcome, but... aren't you a little worried about a spirit of dark magic in your head?
"You saved me in Lycia. If you wished me ill, you would have done it then."
Another pause.
"Thank you."
Still nothing.
"Why?"
The voice - it was slowly becoming a voice, either due to her mounting insanity or better familiarity or bond, Althea didn't think too hard about that - was slowly becoming clearer, more audible, at least within her head. She had been... understanding the thoughts, in a surreal sort of way, but the 'it' in her head was rapidly transforming into a young woman... maybe in her late teens or early 20s, a little younger than her she thought. Sounded a little bit like her, too, but softer. Usually. Sometimes she was harder. And this time Althea could actually hear the hesitation in the other-self's words, the attempt to trivialize it.
You just... reminded me of someone I used to know, is all.
She wasn't lying, the shaman thought abstractly to herself. It was obviously not the whole truth and both of them knew it, but neither was it rooted in falsehood. It had simply been missing too much to make full sense of it. Did she pursue the subject? Hm. No. She didn't necessarily trust this creature, this... woman, but neither did she have any reason to actively distrust her. Even if the spirit(?) hadn't entirely leveled with her, neither had she done Althea harm yet, and she did sorta owe her life to its interference. So it was acceptable to simply let the question rest for the time being.
...Thank you.
So... whatcha reading?
"Vauban."
...
"...A sixth century military engineer who wrote on the concept of defense in depth."
Oh. Sounds boring.
"Suit yourself."
The small cabin grew utterly silent for a time as Althea continued to read the book, eyes skimming over each passage and beginning to consider the ramifications of the whole. She was no tactician or strategist, that was assured, but the events of the day had certainly given her a certain... perspective on the value of having at least some understanding of basic tactics. She had a basic concept of course, but not the details, not the theory. And as she had learned today, that simply wasn't enough. She had been thrust into a leadership position of sorts, and while she had not UTTERLY failed them, it was blatantly obvious to her that she had not done those people justice. Too few of them had survived the day. She could still hear the gurgle of that one lancer.
You aren't, er, surprised or anything?
"I knew you were there."
How?
"The emotions today sealed it, but I had my suspicions before. Sometimes thoughts that didn't sound like me. A vague sense of familiarity."
...Sorry about that.
"What do you want?"
Well, I was thinking about talking with my new best friend in the world, but-"What do you want from me?"
Someone's cranky tonight, came the response, and this time rather than just a meaningless understanding of sense in her head, it felt as though there was a tinge of exasperation attached to it. Femininity in the words. It sounded sort of like her, but - not. Althea closed the book carefully, memorizing the page number for later resumption of reading, and leaned back into her chair with deep breath followed by an extended exhalation, turning into a sigh by the end.
...I'm not really sure what's going on either, honestly.
"So you're not a manifestation of my growing insanity as my psyche fractures into other-selves, nor an evil spirit here to tempt me towards the path of darkness with promises of free power?"
I flunked out of evil ghost school, sorry.
Althea snorted in a very unladylike manner, completely taken off guard by the humor in her counter's response. She wasn't sure what she HAD expected, but it most assuredly was not that. A powerful evil entity trying to wrest control of her mind, or something blatantly insane, would have been much easier to deal with. But it did, ah, beg a certain question she had been waiting to ask. "Then what are you?"
There was another silence.
I'm not sure, it said, but the hesitation had been just long enough that Althea didn't think it, or her, or whatever, was being entirely forthright with her.
"Guess."
A... spirit of the Nether.
"As in 'an evil god pretending to be a harmless spirit' or...?"
No.
How interesting. The response was almost immediate, and intriguingly enough, filled with a certain... blunt simplicity that, in her mind, spoke to its truth. It didn't answer much of her question, though, save that she apparently was not just going crazy, but Nether flavored crazy, which... generally didn't have a positive ending. They certainly weren't any closer to a resolution than they had been at the start of the conversation, at any rate. Time passed as though through a spyglass, fast and slow, far and near. She wasn't sure if it had been seconds or minutes before anything happened again. Althea didn't mind. She could be patient when she had to.
If you knew I was here, why didn't you say anything?
"I wanted to see what you would do."
Not to, uh, overstay my welcome, but... aren't you a little worried about a spirit of dark magic in your head?
"You saved me in Lycia. If you wished me ill, you would have done it then."
Another pause.
"Thank you."
Still nothing.
"Why?"
The voice - it was slowly becoming a voice, either due to her mounting insanity or better familiarity or bond, Althea didn't think too hard about that - was slowly becoming clearer, more audible, at least within her head. She had been... understanding the thoughts, in a surreal sort of way, but the 'it' in her head was rapidly transforming into a young woman... maybe in her late teens or early 20s, a little younger than her she thought. Sounded a little bit like her, too, but softer. Usually. Sometimes she was harder. And this time Althea could actually hear the hesitation in the other-self's words, the attempt to trivialize it.
You just... reminded me of someone I used to know, is all.
She wasn't lying, the shaman thought abstractly to herself. It was obviously not the whole truth and both of them knew it, but neither was it rooted in falsehood. It had simply been missing too much to make full sense of it. Did she pursue the subject? Hm. No. She didn't necessarily trust this creature, this... woman, but neither did she have any reason to actively distrust her. Even if the spirit(?) hadn't entirely leveled with her, neither had she done Althea harm yet, and she did sorta owe her life to its interference. So it was acceptable to simply let the question rest for the time being.
...Thank you.