the_campus | MINGLE: What's that in the sky? It's a bird, it's a plane--no, it's Malik up to his usual shit.

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vocaloid,
yugioh

MINGLE: What's that in the sky? It's a bird, it's a plane--no, it's Malik up to his usual shit.

[For anybody awake mid-afternoon on the 22nd, outside or caring enough to look at their windows, they might notice a blinding light accompanied by the sudden appearance of a God.

It seems to be one hell of an escape attempt, the golden dragon's wings splayed wide as it sent forth a seemingly never ending stream of fire towards the sky. But something stopped it, an invisible wall of sorts, curling those flames back as if hitting the inside of glass dome. The great beast stops after awhile, starts again, and then disappears in the same bright flash from whence it came.

Pinpointing a location is hard, but whoever seems to have brought the creature about appears to have been at the cliff side behind the school. Of course, they were long gone by the time anybody got there... ]

((ooc: so, this is basically a reaction mingle, for anybody who's interested! since the event would be visible to anybody who cared to look. tag around with each other and so on~ Malik, Harriet, and Bakura won't be around the area anymore, but they still might tag around depending, and the odds are greater if it's a post-summoning starter, since they'll be back in the school a little while after.))

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[Henry understands. Does he understand. He was a child when his mother began his training, and this was only a part of it. A wandering mind, that uncertainty, and many other things... yes, he knows what Ryou is feeling.

And as such, he does the same thing that Margaret did for him. He remains completely silent, eyes closed, and not interrupting. But still there, if needed, in arm's reach if it came to it to snatch away that power.

He believes in his son... believes that Ryou is strong enough to do this and pure enough to bond with a monster in a way that he could trigger such a thing so soon.

He just has to trust him.]

Edited 2013-11-27 13:29 (UTC)

[For once, Bakura doesn't interfere either. Though he's bored stiff waiting for the boy, he lies on his back (in spirit form) with his hands linked behind his head, staring up at the sky and mulling over his thoughts.]

[His training with Jack has helped a little, made it easier for him to open himself up to something like this. But it doesn't help with the most difficult parts of this. All it does it make his side of the connection easier to open.

The focusing takes almost all the mental strength he has, taking an ungodly amount of time before he even comes close to the level needed. Everything else has to be shut out. Everything has to be worn away. It's almost agonizingly slow and so full of frustration that he has to stop over and over, only to start again.

But then, something seems to happen. It's not a conscious change. Like the sudden give in something that has been pushed relentlessly, something bends. Something changes. After an absolute age of effort, his mind simply switches into silence and calm. It's like sleep, but he knows he's awake. There's simply nothing else but the cause of his focus. He reaches out slowly in his mind and touches something cold but gentle, firm and strong and strange, but familiar.

A chill inside of him heralds the feel of that connection. Something is flowing between them now. Something given... and something taken. It's almost painful - no, it is painful, he realizes dully. Those channels of magic within him have opened for the first time, and it's like the energy flowing into him is burning him from the inside with its coldness and power. And he can't stop it, he can't stop his mind from calling it in-]

Nn...

[No, he can't give rise to panic. Gritting his teeth, he throws all of his focus against it, forcing the flow of energy to slow. It's pure instinct he's going by now, forgetting the instructions in favor of damage control. It has to work in synchronization. Not forced, but not uncontrolled. Like a natural dam, controlling the flow of a river. Letting in only as much as is needed at any one time... and preventing the build-up from getting too high to be controlled.

And...

Switch. He breathes a sigh of relief as he manages to gain control over the flow of it, preventing it from flooding him. How long did it take? He doesn't know. It feels like a lifetime.

Absentmindedly, he makes a note that it was probably not a good idea to work with a monster that strong so early.]

[Henry bristles a little at the pained sound, but keeps himself firmly where he is, just listening. He has to trust in Ryou and his partner, trust that the harm can be prevented, but be ready if not. His hand lifts, prepared to call out something to stop that connection, to try to somehow stem the magic and sever the connection --

-- but it's not needed, he can feel soon after. That sigh relieves him and he lowers his hand again, quietly giving one of his own. That scared him, a little...]

Good... you have it controlled through you now, don't you?

U-un. [His voice is hushed, an embarrassed note within it. For a moment there he'd been terrified.]

Sorry. Did I worry you?

Yes, a little... but I had faith that you could do it. It's hard, it's painful... but I believe in your strength.

[His smile is present in his words, though Henry himself is remaining in that meditative pose.]

[That unnatural feeling... host, where did you gain that level of control? What the hell has he been training you in?

Bakura's thoughts are filled with suspicion, though he doesn't even glance over, as if he hadn't even felt the chill of that ice-cold power.

How many secrets are you hiding from me now?]

So I need to... imagine the armor on me, you said?

[Okay. He can do that. Though he has to take a look at the card to get the idea of what it looks like cemented in his head.]

Yes. Direct that flow of magic to outside of you, cloak around you, in the form of the garb of the one lending that power to you. But you must be very slow and careful with it. The armor is weightless, magic, lacking restriction, but it is as tough as steel.

[He has a weird chill about something, an odd foreboding sense... but what?]

Caution and control are more important than speed.

So if I mess up, it could probably manifest wrong and injure me...

[Despite the worrying thought, he feels oddly calm now that the flow of magic is there at all.]

Well, slow and steady wins the race.

[And it will be slow. The magic wrapping around him bonds to its form tediously slow. It's like he's knitting it into shape, carefully tracing magic with magic, piece by piece. Odd. It doesn't feel so cold now, this magic. It doesn't burn as badly as it did before, though those channels of magic within him still ache from their sudden opening.

If he hadn't befriended the monster first, it would have been much more hellish, he's sure. Step by step, little by little, the magic cloaks around him, wraps over him protectively.

And at last, he holds his hand up to his face, staring at the white sleeve coating his arm before curiously touching the helmet he's wearing. This is... not the weirdest-looking thing he's ever worn. He did possess Lady of Faith back then, after all. But it comes close. He looks like a cosplayer. It should feel odd, but it doesn't, beyond a faint tingling of magic.]

[Henry opens his eyes when he feels the familiar presence of magic, looking over Ryou with a smile that's nothing short of a gleeful father. He nods, proudly, and holds a hand out to place lightly on Ryou's shoulder.]

You've done it.

This is amazing! Thank you for teaching me this.

[He smiles bright at Henry, filled with amazement. He'd never imagined being able to do anything like this before.

...his mind is kind of exhausted, though. More so than his body, which seems to be running high from the energy within it.]

You're welcome. But for now, however your partner's energy makes you feel, just doing that must have worn you out. Your next lesson is simple: don't let the feeling of that magic cloud the judgement of your own body.

Release the armor for now and rest. If you push yourself too far, the toll will be on more than your mind.

Un. [He nods firmly, closing his eyes and focusing on dispersing the armor. It takes a few tries before he's back in his usual clothes and he sinks back to lie on the grass.]

My mind's like a cloud of fog right now...

[Henry moves over to sit by him, letting his own armor fall and reaching out to lace his fingers through Ryou's hair affectionately.]

Rest. Once Bakura's turn is done, this is where we will stop for today. You've done well.

[He leans into the touch, murmuring contentedly, and nods. A little bit of an evil thought occurs to him and he tries something he hasn't tried before, but which he's sure he can do.

Without warning, he retreats to let Bakura into control.]

...the fuck, host-?!

[Bakura stared open-mouthed at the spirit of the young boy. When the hell-

Tch, dammit, Sibyll, you had to encourage the boy to figure out the Ring's abilities, didn't you?]

[Henry blinks a little at the curse, then laughs, amused at this turn of events. The petting that was paused in surprise continues now, as if he doesn't care it's Bakura in control.]

Getting some new tricks, Ryou?

...

[Not that he's complaining, because this is nice and stupidly relaxing, but what the hell.]

He shouldn't be so surprised! He's the one that told Sibyll that I had the ability to use his powers, if I was willing to try and put the effort in to use them.

[Ryou's bright smile is totally innocent.]

Well, it seems like you certainly have been!

[...Why is he doing this? Even as Henry's fingers continue to move, soft and gentle, reassuring and affectionate, his mind wanders to that question. Why? Bakura is an evil spirit... even if he has redeeming qualities, there are still very dark things at his core, and why he originally kept the secret away from him.

At one point, would an affection like this have been enough to change the flow of his fate? To direct him away from that path of sin, the inevitability of whatever hell or oblivion that called to him?

...Maybe. It was far too late for that, if so. He remembers what Bakura said, about not being able to enter the afterlife... and he has a feeling that whatever evil twists darkly at his core is something Bakura would never repent for.

And yet... he can't feel that this care is misplaced, or useless. Even if it's only a small comfort, even if only for this time the spirit remains, even if for such an evil creature... he can't bring himself to withdraw this affection.

Stone and ice may still be a part of his heart... but this place, and Ryou especially, have done wonders in making a lot of doors past it. His fingers continue, unhindered by the thoughts behind those unfocused eyes.]

[It's clear that whatever reasons Henry has for it, Bakura doesn't exactly mind. His manner is something like that of a particularly wild cub that has decided not to bite or claw because it's too comfortable.

It's a change, if not as good a one as Henry's optimistic side hopes for. At the start, before he came here, he'd have treated such a gesture as a foolish attempt to soften him up. But the past few months have opened him up a little bit to his more human side. Malik may not be Henry's favourite person, but he's a stabilizer that holds Bakura firmly to his human side.

That may not be a particularly good human side, but it's still better than the alternative. The darkness within him is tempered by that affection he holds. It's what keeps him the most in check. Without the true darkness he seeks to infect him, drive him further towards his demonic side, his soul is wild and uncontrolled, save for those few he feels fond of.

He never will repent... But the comforting gesture is well given. And he's grateful for it, considering what a low mood he was in.]

Heh... Keep doing that and I might go to sleep.

Heh... I don't intend to take back my offer. If you feel the desire to sleep, then sleep. We can pick up the lessons later.

[Optimism... if he could hear that, he would laugh coldly. That thing was devoured long ago, drowned in the blood of people he once considered friends and family. Though the part of him that somehow clings to innocence does like to stir those thoughts in times like this, the reality etched in his heart is always enough to crush them.

Perhaps it's sad, with such a cycle... but many things are.]

No, I might as well try. We have unlimited time, it's true... but I'd rather get the hard part out of the way.

[Especially after this morning. He has more reasons that just his love of power for this. If Malik does go out of control, he wants to have some way to counter him.]

But thanks. You're a pretty soothing presence sometimes.

I'm surprised. I'd think someone like me would be an irritating presence, to you.

[Still, he removes his hand, moving to sit across from Bakura again.]

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