escordvi | closed 🪶⚡ i'll be the light to lead you home

[There's something that flickers in his eyes at that, an unknown emotion as he stares at her before his arms around her tighten with that odd smile.]

What?

[And then he laughs.]

Benna, love, you keep questioning about me, but I'm starting to think you're the one that's acting a bit off.

[She feels his arms tighten around her, holding her in place, and that laugh sends a rush of panic shooting up her spine. Those alarm bells start to ring again, louder than before, as she tries to wriggle in his grip to loosen it. Most times, she would not mind being held so tight, but the way that he smiles at her feels so...

...

Empty.

It feels as though she has seen that smile before.]

Why are they blue?

Blue? I have no idea what you mean.

[He just peers closer into her eyes, seeing his reflection.]

They look green still to me.

Cidolfus...

[She whispers his name, her hands on his chest, and he'll feel the slightest bit of pressure when she pushes.]

Something is wrong...

[Her instincts are telling her to get up, to move away when he stares deeper into her eyes. They have been all this time but she ignored them, thinking that he was simply exhausted from all that magic use, but perhaps she should have listened to that dreadful feeling in her gut. Perhaps she should have looked a little deeper the moment that she felt something was off.

Which is why she is now trying to get up from where she sits.]

[Again his hold tightens, and there is a flicker of irritation as his lips harden into a thin line, a spark of something in his eyes that waver between that strange blue and green before that blueish tint wins out and a smile breaks the tension—or rather strengthens it.]

Still feeling uneasy?

[And then she's suddenly and roughly shoved to the ground with him pinning her from above, his face just above hers as his voice lowers.]

Should I offer you a different sort of comfort...?

[She sees it again—that shift in the hue of his eyes as it goes from his to someone else's. She has spent far too much time looking into them not to notice, and far too much time with him to know that he is not acting himself. Even exhausted, he would not, and she curses at herself for not figuring it out before.

She's lost in the wild array of her thoughts when she's suddenly and roughly shoved to the ground, the grass itching and prickling at her skin. She falters, caught up in the press of him only for a moment. Any other time, she would savour it, but in his right mind, he would know better.]

Get...off... What is wrong with you!?

[That is all the warning he gets before she's shoving him off her with all the strength that she has, locking his ankles between her own so that he can't escape the roll. She pushes him onto his side and immediately scrambles away from him. She has to take a breath to steady herself, but it's as shaky as her fingers are as she shoves herself to her feet, everything trembling as she watches that blue push away the green in his eyes.

And as the last flecks of green flicker out of existence, something dawns on her, a realization rushing forth along with an old memory of him.]

Give him back.

[There's moment of surprise when she pushes him back, and be lays there for a moment as if stunned. But there is also something there, a twisted expression that is hidden in the shadows as he slowly pushes himself up. An expression that once again disappears as he stands and looks at her with a smile and then a laugh and shake of his head.]

Guess I need to try harder.

[A hand goes to his chin, the voice the same but now the mannerism completely different.]

Or maybe...someone else?

[She falters a step away when she sees that smile.]

Stay back—!

[It's not him, it's not him, it's not him. A reminder that she keeps telling herself as she watches. It's his face, his body, but everything else is—

Her stomach drops at that change, and for a moment, she is standing back in the castle walls of Stonhyrr. A lump grows in her throat, and it feels like her heart has slowed to a near stop. She must just be imagining it, but it cannot possibly be... can it?

The magic that had started to trickle from her fingertips fades, though she remains guarded and uncertain as she watches carefully.]

[A sinister smirk forms as he watches her, like a predator enjoying his prey but in a more twisted sense. A desire that remains, but not with that familiar sincere warmth. It's a cold, brutal gaze, as if he really does intend to consume her whole. To completely overwhelm the woman in front of him.

It's with that pressure that he steps forward, slowly.]

Ah, ah, Benedikta.

[The smirk shifts into a sneer at her name, eyes darkening.]

Is this the way to treat your beloved? A man you yearned and adored all your life?

[With each step he draws closer, pushing her towards the wall behind her.]

Or perhaps it is a different lord you still seek.

[She remains frozen, except for the steps that she takes to back away from him. She isn't sure whether it is out of fear or loyalty, or perhaps a bit of both. They always did go hand in hand when it came to him, didn't it? She would be fooling herself if she said that they did not, just like she had for all those years. Yet, even now, those mannerisms—he commands every last morsel of her attention, striking fear into her bones until it warps into something more like deference. She could claim all she wants that she is no longer bound to him, but...]

B...Barnabas?

[... As he wears the face of the man she loves, her mind and her heart war with each other to do all sorts of twisted things. Twisted enough that, for a moment, her king's face flickers over that of Cid's the same moment she feels her back hit the wall. And now that she is stuck with nowhere else to go, she stares at him in disbelief, those images fading in and out so clearly that she is not sure if it's a trick of her imagination or if it is truly happening.]

[A hand slowly presses against the wall next to her head the distance between them closes.]

Is that who you really want?

[The smirk deepens as his other hand rises to her face, fingertips slowly running over the curves of her cheek to her chin to hold it in place as his thumb brushes over her lips.]

What a greedy little bird you are, Benedikta.

[His thumb pressed against her lower lip, as if to force it open.]

But here you can both. The body of your lover and the "spirit" of your king...

[His face draws nearer, and she can feel the chill on his breath as his voice lowers to a quiet whisper.]

Just give yourself to me.

[Her heart races for all sorts of reasons. Her lips part around a slow, trembling exhale over his thumb, and he's locked her into some sort of trance, truly a bird caught between the bars. She tries to blink the image of him away, but each time she does, it only becomes clearer. Her blood boils, anger mixing with confusion until tears erupt in her eyes.

She hates him, she wants him dead for the things that he made her do, for all the lies and the tricks, for forcing her hand until fate toyed with her like she was nothing more than a puppet. Yet, why now, of all the times, does she remain so frozen? Is it because whatever this soul is, it continues to wear Cid's smile, even if it is so different from his own? He smells like him, the rush of it coming as he leans in, his face so near that she can taste the coldness of his breath.

Is this what her king has done to her? The man is not even here, this is not even real—or so she will try to convince herself—and he still cages her? Clasps those shackles around her heart to keep her in place?

Benedikta closes her eyes around the tears, and with a sob that transforms into a scream, she slams her first against his chest and tries to shove him away from her again.]

No! Enough! Where is Cidolfus!?

Edited 2024-12-01 18:40 (UTC)

[The main remains firmly standing this time, as if expecting her to push back. And in return the hand returns to her chin, grip stronger and rough as he shoves her back with a more sinister gleam in his eyes and sneer on his lips.]

Can't you see him? He's right in front of you, trying so hard to reach you but remains the weak and unable like he always has.

[His other hand grabs her wrist, pushing her back more against the wall.]

But fret not, my dear... You will be joining him soon enough...

[A chilling cold starts to wrap around her, as if to suck away her energy.]

In eternal oblivion.

[He crushes her between himself and the wall, so rough that she barely has room to breathe. Or maybe she's forgotten how to do it herself out of pure fear as his grip on her chin hardens. Or maybe it's the cold that slowly starts to envelop the both of them that makes it so difficult...

There is no fighting the sob that falls out of her as she tries to swallow air and shove him away again, but he is bigger than her, and stronger than her... Stronger than she remembers Cid ever being, if the hold on her wrist is anything to go by.

She struggles again, though weakly, her strength already starting to leave her through whatever force this is... and on another sob, his name follows.

But whatever the soul is planning will not last long. She hasn't the energy for much, but she at least has enough for this. She snaps open her eyes, seeing not Cid but Barnabas in her vision, wearing that cold sneer, and while there is a sinister gleam in his eyes, to her they look hollow. To her, they are a void of empty words and promises. The very same void that she drowned herself in for all those years, convincing herself that it is what she needed. That he was what she needed...

She can feel her body weakening, more of her strength leaving her, and it takes so much just to keep her eyes from closing and leaning into the chill. Even her tears feel like they are frozen on her cheeks.

But she doesn't want to die. There's still so much that they need to do...]

I think not.

[There is a sudden burst of wind that pushes back against it, rushing into the small space between the two of them. It can do little more than shove him away from her, but it will not relent until it does.]

I said get back!

Edited 2024-12-01 19:16 (UTC)

[The wind alone isn't enough to push him back, however she will a sudden warmth, a familiar spark that shoots from his fingertips. However, it's not direct at her—the spark of levin erupts from his hand and shoots up his arm, making Cid—or at least his body being controlled—stagger back with a frustrated shout.]

Damn old man...

[Staring at the smoke that rises from the singed clothes, he shakes it off, grimacing as once again those eyes change color. But then he laughs and looks at Benedikta.]

I can give you everything you want, Benedikta!

[A dramatic fling of his arms as that levin continues to spark in and out, as if now the ghost is trying to control it.]

You have that power, join me! [And then in a mocking voice—]

Think of all the things we can create together. [He holds out his hand.] The world that we can build.

[That spark is what makes the wind die out, and of everything that is happening in front of her, it is the only thing that feels familiar in this maelstrom of uncertainty she stands at the center of. She bites his name back on the tip of her tongue, watching with equal confusion when he staggers back, as if the jolt had come as a shock to him as well.

Wait, is Cid... did he do that?

She is about to ask, to call out for him when that laugh sends a chill up her spine and makes every hair stand on end in warning. If it wasn't clear before, it certainly is now. That mocking tone only fuels her anger, and when he echoes words to her that she had said a long time ago—]

You... [She snarls back at him, a hand swiping quickly over her cheeks to brush the tears away from her eyes.] You don't know a thing about that...!

[She lifts her hand to let her magic spill forth, but the moment her eyes meet his again...

...

She hesitates, the green flickering in and out.]

[Again he expected retaliation, but he also is not surprised when she falters. After all, how could she so readily attack the man she loves standing right before her?]

Oh but I do.

[He taps the side of his head.]

I could give you everything he and your king couldn't. I could make you free... Free of it all.

[She grits her teeth, feeling her magic buzzing under her fingertips, trying and failing to keep the quiver out of her voice.]

And what do you know of freedom? Stuck here in the Farplane with only the prison of another man to be free?

[The wind sweeps between them, swirling and waiting for her command, if only she could give it. But with every second that passes, that reminder that it is still Cid's body becomes louder and stronger.]

[He just grins as he slowly paces where he is.]

So? As long as it gets me out of here, then it doesn't matter.

[He then holds out his hand which still continues to flicker with those electric sparks, staring at it.]

Though true, it would have been better if this body was younger...especially with all this power.

[The hand then clenches into a fist, extinguishing the sparks.]

But no matter. Once I've used up his, I'll be able to take over another's.

Edited 2024-12-01 20:51 (UTC)

[Her stomach knots when those sparks are doused, as if that had been the last thing she could hold onto knowing that he is there. She tries not to let it show, swallowing past that lump of dread in her throat, and her hands tighten into fists at her side.]

As if I would let you... As if he would.

[The wind whips at his feet, as if in warning.]

[A snort as cold air pushes back around them.]

You'll have to try harder than that, love.

[Ice blue sparks of lightning starts to form at his fingertips, that smirk darkening before a wave of ice thar crackles with electricity shoots out towards her.]

[She watches him warily, her fingers still trembling at her sides, but when the ice and electricity spreads towards her, she dispels it with a burst of wind as strong as she can make it, and dodges aside to avoid what does not disperse.]

Cidolfus!

[She ignores the ghost's words, and screams through the static. Offensive that he would even think to use Cid's voice and affections against her.]

I know you can hear me...!

[He just laughs at her desperate attempts.]

It's useless, he's gone!

[Another blast, this time a bolt of lightning made if ice.]

[Again, she tries to fling her magic at him, and again she fails. This would not have been an issue a year ago, but every time she so much as looks at him, all she sees is Cid one moment, and Barnabas in the next, and both of them make her winds seize, and her body stall, enough that she is nicked by that ice, catching against her arm before she's able to dodge out of the way, her hand clasping her arm where it stings.]

What do you mean, he's—

[She stops herself, knowing that all this demon is doing is trying to get in her head.]

I don't believe you.

[Just another grin as he readies another spell.]

Maybe you're right, or maybe not. You'll find out soon enough!

[Now with an eerie laugh, he flings another spell, a mix of that ice and lightning that spreads a chill throughout the area.]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject