Eden
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Post by Eden on Aug 2, 2012 0:09:43 GMT -6
8/2/2012 1:09 AM Times Square Eden lived in Manhattan for God knew what reason. She hated the general population, loud environments, and especially the general population and she still hadn't retreated to the mountains somewhere.
Okay, so maybe it was because she felt a little guilty whenever she contemplated abandoning her family entirely for the countryside or the desert or the summit of some frozen mountain hundreds of miles away, but it really was time to break it all off. They could take care of themselves, and she could take care of herself. There was no valid point whatsoever in Eden hibernating in the middle of Manhattan that anyone could reasonably argue and Jesus Christ why doesn't everyone just leave me alone.
But here she was, trudging on home and wondering what she ought to grab to eat on the way there instead of immediately finding some realtor to sell her place. Her sister had taken her out to the new mall tonight, obviously having deluded herself in thinking that Eden would be the least bit interested. Eden had done virtually nothing but grunt and look around aimlessly all day. At least she had made an effort to appear slightly interested in the flaming fountains by the entrance of the mall. Her sister had been positively delighted, and Eden had been reminded of a little Chihuahua that the family had once owned - the thing had wet himself every time it was too excited.
Eden didn't feel the least bit guilty for making the mental comparison. She was tired, cranky, and wasn't accustomed to humoring people, even if "people" happened to be her own older sister. She'd left her research back home, and she would have liked nothing more than for her sister to disappear into thin air for the time being so that she could finish her work in peace. But then again, she was always "working." Her sister wasn't going to buy that this time around, so Eden's hands had been tied.
Life, she snarled inwardly, and all its problematic elements. She'd just about had enough.
She waded through the milling people with limited success; she wasn't keen on bumping into or even touching anyone even if it was accidental, but it was Times Square. It was only a matter of time before everything started colliding and causing havoc.
It was inevitable.
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Zane
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Post by Zane on Aug 2, 2012 1:03:08 GMT -6
Zane sighed, standing close to one of the many buildings that dotted Time Square, looking out over the crowd. He had broken away from Charolette and Victoria a few hours ago to meet another friend of his and discuss a... 'Business proposition'. The meeting had gone smoothly, no rough bumps, but now Zane was thinking on the HOW of the job.
He took a sip from the coffee he had just bought, his face pensive. He smiled at a few people passing, snapping out of his thought and talking to them for a few moments. Most people payed him no mind, only casting quick glances his way. He didn't stand out too much, wearing a clean jacket and a tie like most of the businessmen that wandered the area. What made him stick out like a sore thumb was his hair. It was almost impossibly red for it to be natural.
He heard a few people murmur about it, but payed them no mind, his eyes watching as people attempted not to bump into one another as they moved through he busy streets. Their attempts were in vain, however. There wasn't any reprieve from the density of the walkways, but that was what added to the charm of the city.
His eyes spotted one individual who seemed to be trying even harder than the rest to avoid bumping into people, the woman named Eden, a look of irritation on her face. "Hey there... Rough day?" he called out with a friendly smile as she walked past him. He wasn't sure how she'd react, everyone was different, but that was part of the allure that he loved when meeting new people.
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Post by Brendan on Aug 2, 2012 1:21:30 GMT -6
Brendan didn't know what to do with himself.
It was the middle of the night. By all accounts, he should have been asleep. But he'd felt the inexplicable urge to sneak out of the apartment and go wandering around, alone, at one in the morning. It wasn't that he "just had to get out of the house" or anything. He hadn't been fighting with his dad, he hadn't been home too long, hell, he was even a little tired. It was possible, he supposed, that he'd just wanted to go people watching. People were such interesting creatures.
Brendan found himself sitting at a table outside, looking up at One Times Square. This was where he wanted to be. Surrounded by masses of people. He'd gone to visit his relatives in Michigan a few times, and he hated how empty the world felt out there. He practically needed to be in a heavily populated city, though he wasn't sure why. An asian girl, probably about his age, walked by.
Perhaps it was the scenery.
He laughed in his head as a man with fire engine red hair casually started talking to her as she walked. It'd be interesting to see if she'd stop, but being a female in New York whose face didn't scare small children, she probably got that twenty times a day. The futility of it all was amusing, he told himself, but only to keep it from being sad. People couldn't really be trusted, no matter how close you got to them. Humans were unnaturally good at messing things up. He whipped his phone out and started fiddling with it, still keeping an eye on Asiangirl and Firetruckman.
It was probably time to start heading back home before the bars closed down and the streets flooded with desperate people who were too drunk to know better. Just as soon as he saw what happened between Firetruckman and Asiangirl.
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Zamy
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Post by Zamy on Aug 2, 2012 23:06:47 GMT -6
Zamy walked down the street in her usual manner satchel on her side filled with her essentials which mostly included a book and her cash. She knew how busy Times Square was, with all of the tourists, business men and other civilians trying to get what they need whether it be food or just countless accessories. Either way Zamy knew what she was up and about for, a nice place to sit and read her book; And perhaps have a small glass of wine, depending upon her mood.
She came across several people and just about bumped shoulders with an Asian woman who looked rather young compared to her own age Nether the less, The woman didn't seem like she wanted to be in the middle of a crowd. Truth be told Zamy didn't want to be in the crowd either, that was when she saw a small little shop off to the side. Zamy saw a business man with unnaturally red hair leaning against a wall drinking some coffee as he heard the man acknowledge the Asian woman she almost bumped shoulders with. Knowing it had nothing to do with herself she continued into the small restaurant.
She got seated out side thankfully next to a lamp so she could read her book and ordered a red wine. She examined the crowd for a moment before finally pulling a book from her satchel. She flipped open the book and began to read as she awaited her wine to arrive.
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Eden
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Post by Eden on Aug 3, 2012 21:17:12 GMT -6
Middle of the night.
It might as well have been broad daylight; the sheer number of people milling about as far as the eye could see made her want to either retreat into the safety of her burrow or level the entire place and make herself more comfortable right where she was instead.
Eden didn't think it was right that she had to go out of her way to be content. At least not all the time. She appreciated the calm outdoors just as much as the next person, perhaps even more so, but she was confined to her abode because of the sheer amount of people milling about for no good reason at all. And then her sister expected her to actually get out once in a while, it's good for you and mingle with the rest of the entire population of the Earth that just happened to be crammed into fifty blocks of urban land.
Please. She could barely breathe in this traffic. And all these people so close to touching her. Breathing on her. And she was absolutely not interested in the subjects of their various conversations. She juggled with the idea of canceling the noise all around her with magic; surely, she could craft something that would do the trick, but she couldn't be bothered.
Well, not by the idea of using magic right now, at least. Because someone decided to try to make conversation with her when she was not in the mood, and Jesus H. Christ did she really look like she was open to socializing at the moment? Because she really needed to know if she looked it. She'd fix that in a heartbeat.
"Hey there...Rough day?"
God.
God.
What have I done to you?
She actually deigned to stop for a brief moment - fine, that was actually because she had to avoid a pair of intoxicated adolescent females careening her way - and turn her head slightly in the speaker's direction. Did he just speak to her? Was he really trying to make conversation? Jesus friggin' Christ.
"And it's only getting rougher." She might have even spared the energy to throw a barbed smile his way, but right then, an electric sensation made her senses tingle in warning. She turned her head forward again, looked up, blinked, and then stared.
For about a second. She wasn't the type to gawk at things for too long.
She threw her arms forward and braced herself firmly, calling forth all the power she could. The horrendously dense and ridiculously colossal mass of magic blazing its way Earthwards would probably swallow her and everyone else up completely - if she didn't know better, it would consume the entire world with its girth - but she had to at least try. She wasn't a savior, but she wasn't suicidal, either. If anything, she would at least save her own skin and those closest to her, if possible.
She doubted she could.
But she swung her arms out to the sides, anyway, and a wall of protective magic materialized in thin air, facing the west. As it was, she was absolutely certain that the incoming mass of magic would shatter her shield to pieces, but she could at least try to make a dense a barrier as possible. Maybe she stood a chance.
Not really, but.
A string of foreign sounds spilled from her tongue, and the power of the djinn speech wrapped itself around her. No time. None at all...
Fine, God. I can be good, too.
The surface of the barrier began spiraling inwards. If she could at least reroute the magic, channel the power inwards, then maybe the range of the damage would decrease by at least a minimal amount. There was no stopping the magic. And Eden didn't think a comparatively bacterial barrier would do anything to channel the magic, but at least she was trying to do something for the good of humankind. She was going to die; why not do something that might grant her some good karma in the process?
Funny how thoughts of karma and the afterlife entered the minds of doomed men.
I still hate you all.
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Zane
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Post by Zane on Aug 3, 2012 22:58:18 GMT -6
Zane raised an eyebrow at the womans response. He had spoken out of curiosity, but figured that he wouldn't get a response, as most people would ignore the question and just continue on their way. At least, that's how it worked out west. He shrugged to himself real quick and looked back toward the woman, who turned and stared upward for a moment. He looked up to see what she had been looking at, but saw nothing.
Zane looked back toward Eden, about to continue the conversation, but saw she was... What was she doing, exactly? He noticed a few people walking wide of her to avoid the crazy display. Arms reaching out wide like she wanted a hug, speaking in tongues... Isn't this what those crazy preachers get famous for? Zane sighed, taking a sip of his coffee, and decided to watch this woman's obvious ploy for attention, an amused smile on his face.
After a few moments, he raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?" he called out, curiosity getting the better of him. He moved away from his area that was out of the main bulk of traffic and tapped the woman on the shoulder softly, wondering if she really was having a psychotic episode. As he looked around, he saw that other people had also stopped to watch the display the woman had started to put on, all of them as confused as he was.
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Post by Brendan on Aug 3, 2012 23:43:50 GMT -6
Well now, this was interesting. Asiangirl apparently had some horrible psychological condition that caused her to flip her biscuits when she saw someone with red hair. She looked like a parseltongue with separation anxiety. Gotta love New York, right? It was a shame things were getting interesting right as he needed to leave, though. He stood, then paused.
He was hungry. Really hungry.
And suddenly twice as tired as he had been. What was going on? Some kind of stroke or something? He could barely stand. Flopping back down into the fold-up chair, he leaned forward and looked back at the girl. Behind her, he could see a restaurant, but he didn't have any money. He needed to get home. Damnit, he couldn't just fall asleep here. Why was he so hungry?
Struggling to his feet again, Brendan slowly made his way toward the edge of the street. If he could get across, he could eat and then skip out on the check. But as cars zipped by, he knew trying to cross would prove too dangerous. His eyes returned to Asiangirl. It sounded ridiculous, but this did start right when she raised her hands up and started talking to Satan. "What's she doing?" he called out to Firetruckman.
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Zamy
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Post by Zamy on Aug 4, 2012 0:15:05 GMT -6
Zamy's attention was turned towards her book, that is until she noticed her wine had arrived. She took a sip and felt a strangely familiar aura... no not aura, power. She looked up to see the Asian woman she had almost bumped shoulders with was casting magic. Zamy quickly realized why, a giant wave of magical energy was heading towards the city. With out a second thought Zamy put her book down on the table, stood up, and began to chant in the Djinn language with her arms raised towards the magical mass of energy.
The barrier formed as a brilliantly bright purple and blue speckled dome with a red outline. Zamy put as much energy as she could into the barrier with out collapsing, because if she lived, She'd want to stand. It was then that the wind began to pick up rather noticeably. And more and more people watched them, some seemed like they could hardly stand, others seemed fine. But More importantly Zamy had found another mage, perhaps she knows Seger? Or perhaps she found discovered magic on her own. Best to save the questions for later and more importantly this mass of energy was headed for them, that is what required her attention the most.
Zamy looked up to the mass of magical energy and thought 'What made you?' Zamy now had some great magical mystery to solve, that is of course assuming they survived.
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Eden
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Post by Eden on Aug 4, 2012 18:12:01 GMT -6
The fact that there was some other person in the vicinity wielding magic was disgruntling - for about a quarter of a second, until Eden realized that the stranger wasn't dragging her down with acts of utter stupidity. In fact, she was even helping - the second barrier that rose up to accompany her own was definitely flashier, laced with vivid purples and blues and even lined with red.
Hers was invisible to all but those with magical affinity, so in a contest of aesthetic appeal, it was obvious whose would win.
If there were such a contest at all, and if anyone had the time to appreciate it, that is.
Eden didn't bother trying to stay on her feet. If the barrier held up against the force of the magic, then it would only be because she poured all of her strength and concentration into it. If the barrier didn't hold hold, then it wouldn't matter whether she died on her feet or on her knees. She fell heavily to one knee, ignoring the pain blossoming across the kneecap. She didn't have time to worry about that.
With her arms still spread wide and holding the barrier up, Eden threw the other mage - she could feel her power and had easily picked out the only other person with her arms raised skywards in the direction of the force coming their way - a severely vexed expression her way. If she was still able to stand like that, chances were that she wasn't giving her barrier her all.
Well, not that it would make a difference. Eden couldn't imagine being able to withstand the incoming magic with barriers of such lowly caliber.
She could feel her barrier throbbing against the force, and her eyes widened at the realization that it was working. Had she underestimated herself? Maybe this was going to work, after all, and the hopeless feeling that had been swimming about in her gut had been all for nothing -
And then she realized that the only part of the force that had been in contact with her barrier was the outer corona, and she could feel her barrier stretching and warping to the limit in order to accommodate the rest of the incoming power. It was hopeless.
One second. Two.
And then her barrier shattered, and the massive wave of magic poured in all around, in every direction, from everywhere - there was no stopping it -
She kept her eyes open, because she wasn't going to die blind.
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Zane
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Post by Zane on Aug 4, 2012 22:35:02 GMT -6
Zane tossed the empty coffee cup aside, aiming for a nearby trashcan, but not hitting it. He noticed he had started to feel fatiged. "Dammit, Jenna... I said I wanted strong Coffee... Why am I getting tired from it?" he muttered to himself, noticing Brendans approach.
'What's she doing?'
He looked toward Brendan with a raised eyebrow. "I have no clue, but it seems she's not alone. Theres another woman over there. doing the same. Not sure what's going on. Some Crazy Cult ritual?" He muttered, yawning slightly. "Though... It seems I'm not the only one around getting tired. Wonder if the events are connected?"
He glanced back over to the woman... Zamy... And his eyes widened. "What the hell is that. It's so... Colorful." he muttered, seeing the shield materialize in a twist of colors. "Is... Is New York always this odd?" he asked sarcastically, looking back to Eden.
Zane shifted and placed a hand on her shoulder as she fell to a knee, looking exhausted. "What... Are you okay?" He asked still confused about what was going on. He saw the other woman that was acting similarly looked tired as well. Then, Zane knew he was also tired... And really fricken hungry. "What's going on?" He asked Brendan, who seemed to be the only other person in the vicinity to be coherent enough to answer him.
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Post by Brendan on Aug 4, 2012 23:03:31 GMT -6
Brendan felt like he was tripping on something; he'd never been high or anything before, but he would imagine seeing weird glowing magical shields and feeling so strange would qualify as hallucinations. It all made sense. No way would someone go out with hair that red. "I think I got something in my system somehow," he replied, moving back and taking a seat in the folding chair once again. If he'd been slipped some drugs somehow, and this was a hallucination, he'd rather save himself the embarrassment of talking to someone who wasn't there and just sit in his chair quietly.
Perhaps he wasn't drugged. He wasn't too familiar with brain diseases, but he supposed it was possible that his brain was just tripping balls on its own. "I think I may need an ambulance," he called out. "Or just a nap. I don't know." It was getting harder to keep his eyes open. Why didn't... Why didn't anyone...
Brendan leaned forward, crossing his arms on the table, and dozed off in the middle of Times Square.
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Zamy
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Posts: 49
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Post by Zamy on Aug 4, 2012 23:32:06 GMT -6
Zamy's mind was racing back and forth between the current events and the pressure her barrier was under. It was then she could feel a piercing hatred being directed towards her. For what reason she did not know. Zamy pushed a bit harder with her magic spilling out more of the djinn language. It was at that moment Zamy's barrier shattered, sending the shards towards the floor shattering into dust.
The wave on energy hit her, and she fell to a knee, however she did not fall. She looked to the other mage in which she tried to help, her eyes were open but she was lying on the floor. She seemed to still be breathing, perhaps she put too much energy into her spell? Zamy wasn't quite sure. All she knew was that this massive magical force wasn't doing anything to her. All she felt was a loss of energy due to the barrier shattering. Zamy took a deep breath and stood back up and looked around. She noticed that the civilians around her were either asleep or close to it.
Zamy went over to the other mage and gave her some of her energy so that she could stand, after spewing out a few words in the djinn language with her hands hovering over the woman's chest. Perhaps she would want to know that they weren't going to die.
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Eden
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Post by Eden on Aug 5, 2012 1:00:58 GMT -6
If Eden's mental health had felt any more abused, she probably would have asked the woman by her side what she was doing there. She might have even asked why she was still alive (why was anyone still alive?), and why she had suddenly felt a stream of energy entering her body from an outside source that she had certainly not solicited.
Just like that man, she remembered suddenly, who had laid his hand upon her shoulder and been an utter and complete distraction. Of course, she had shrugged off his hand, swiveled her head sharply, thrown him the most furious look possible, and then returned to the matter at hand.
As it was, she was perfectly capable of putting two and two together. This woman had obviously taken the liberty to infuse Eden with some of her own energy. This woman who, judging from her ability to stay standing, obviously hadn't poured every speck of her life into that flashy-looking barrier of hers. This woman -
Okay, fine. It was impossible for Eden to find excuses to be excessively upset with the stranger; in the end, they had both survived, everything still looked intact for whatever miraculous reason, and she had even given Eden some of her leftover energy. Even though she oughtn't have had any in the first place -
Fine, she acquiesced. It was too difficult to make a big deal out of that at the moment, whether that was due to her own fatigue or to the relief she felt washing over her. She sat up slowly, testing her joints and muscles, regretted doing so, and then locked eyes with the other mage. There was a brief glint in her eyes that quickly disappeared, but she couldn't suppress all the curiosity in her voice. "Never seen anything like that. In my life." Which, granted, hadn't been very long, but the principle remained: No one could ever have encountered something like that. Then again, it didn't seem to be destructive, in the end - she glanced around again and noted the evident lack of ruin and desolation, but there were an awful lot of people standing around, gawking, and doing similar useless things - but she couldn't digest the fact that she had seen the colossal force that had just washed over the entire area. Maybe the whole Earth.
"...And thanks," she added with some difficulty. She owed the woman one, though she didn't like admitting it even to herself.
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Zane
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Post by Zane on Aug 5, 2012 1:26:27 GMT -6
Zane had shifted from his position next to Eden when he heard the other woman starting to speak in a language he didn't understand, but had some of the same nuances in the speech as the one that Eden had been speaking. Zanes mind was slow to comprehend what was going on, but slowly, he looked between the two.
"Okay. So, lemme get this straight." He started, pointing at Zamy. "You made that lightshow thing over there, standing similarly to This woman." He said, his pointing now directed toward Eden. "Who was speaking in a language that I couldn't understand, similar to the one you just spoke in. Meaning you were both doing the same thing, which means there was a reason for this... Chanting?" He paused for a moment, his train of thought coming to a screeching halt. "What the hell is going on?" He asked.
Admittedly, he was pretty shaken about the entire ordeal. Two woman doing god knows what, then numerous people suddenly becoming very fatigued. He paused, blinking for a moment. "Did you two do something to the people around here with that... Whatever you call it?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. A little voice in the back of his head told him to stop asking questions. If they had some sort of ability to cause the people fatigue, surely they could do much more to just a single person. He sighed, having already asked, he would wait for an answer.
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Zamy
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Post by Zamy on Aug 5, 2012 2:14:18 GMT -6
Zamy looked at the woman as she said her thanks. "I haven't seen anything like that in my life either. But i'd assume that goes with out saying. Zamy then turned her attention to this red haired business man, and... Zamy paused a moment sensing some magical energy that wasn't originally there, resonating off of this man.
Zamy looked to the other mage and gave her a questioning look and then looked around a bit more to see if any others had magical energy resonating from them as well. After a few short seconds she counted at most two dozen people had the same resonating magical energy. It was then that Zamy pieced together something rather quickly.
The mass of magical energy gave these people this resonating magical presence. Zamy then looked to the other mage and said, "I count no more than two dozen. You?" Zamy was hoping that she wasn't the only one noticing this resonating magic from a few random individuals.
Zamy then finally turned to the man who had been asking so many questions and said, "Relax you're being too frantic, those people have just fallen asleep, perhaps they have stayed up to late and have just been dozing off. Besides, there are plenty of people still up and walking around, no need to worry. Perhaps you need to take a seat and think things over a bit."
Zamy knew there wasn't going to be away to explain the lights with some bull shit answer, she had nothing to bring to that table. Zamy then walked back to her table and grabbed her glass of wine and took another drink. No sense in wasting good money on a glass of perfectly good wine, even if it was a little warm now.
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