Busy Streets (CyclicalCycal)

Bunbun · December 19, 2016, 06:27:47 PM

The description Cara gave of her father didn't exactly inspire a great amount of hope. There was only a small chance that he would ever be able to wake up, and that was only if he was still alive. In fact, if Juliana wasn't already convinced that the child was familiar with the concept of death, she would have assumed that he was dead already. Still, she couldn't bring herself to withhold her help, especially when Cara had... that look on her face.

"...I'll be honest, I don't really know what you expect me to be able to do for your father. I'm a healer, not a miracle worker. If you have any ideas, though, then I'll do what I can to help."

She gave a nod, before looking back up to make sure that she was still going the correct way. As it turned out, doing so wouldn't be very necessary- through the crowds, one could now begin to make out the unmistakable shades of green in the distance.

The forest.

CyclicalCycal · December 19, 2016, 06:41:24 PM

Cara nodded, slowly. It passed through her mind, this information, and eventually she just mumbled. "I-I...okay. Okay...then." She didn't sound hopeful, she sounded as if she had given up on everything, on everyone.

This, of course, changed, as she saw the forest.

"The forest!" She yelled out, a grin crossing her face, her depressed mood melting away as she saw the green. It was as if she was filled with life, again, and seemed to have an unmistakable sense of joy at merely being assured it still existed.

"I-I thought it'd take forever to get back!" She commented.

Bunbun · December 20, 2016, 04:30:54 PM

Thankfully, Cara's mood was lifted when she caught a glimpse of the forest. It was nice to see her in good spirits, even if it was only a momentary distraction from a bigger issue. If it kept her from thinking of her father's condition for a little while, then Juliana saw it as a good thing.

"Heh. If you'd kept wandering around by yourself, it very well might have taken forever."

She gave a smile and a small chuckle, before returning to her usual expression. She didn't want to spoil the good mood that Cara was in, but at the same time, there was still some work to be done.

"So... what happens now? I have to say, I'm no expert when it comes to forest, or nature, or any of that kind of stuff."

CyclicalCycal · December 20, 2016, 04:52:10 PM

"Well..." Cara began, glancing about, before fixating herself on the forest. "I-I guess I'll return to wandering about..." She mumbled. "I'll probably try and make the doll alive, though!" She said, grinning. "That'll be fun!"

Cara nodded, reassuring herself. "That'll be fun..."

Cara then frowned. It seemed she had no real plans. 'Make the doll alive' and 'wander about' weren't truly something one could attain.

"...and...and look for a way to wake father." She muttered, quietly.

That was her true plan.

Bunbun · December 21, 2016, 08:21:37 PM

"...I see. So, this whole thing was really about your father, then."

While it certainly wasn't a bad thing to care for and try to help out one's loved ones, Juliana didn't want to get Cara's hopes up too high in the case that there really wasn't anything they could do for her father. That wasn't to say that it was a hopeless scenario, nor that she was unwilling to lend a hand, but she figured that it was for the best to be realistic. Crossing her arms, the woman began to idly drum her fingers as she looked down with an expectant look.

"Well, if you've thought of anything I can do to help, now would be the time to tell me."

CyclicalCycal · December 22, 2016, 03:25:52 AM

"No!" She protested. "It wasn't! I'm out here's because...I need to...kill the...and...I need to...but...but...and then I came here to get this..." She mumbled, taking the doll out of her pocket to show Juliana. "So I-so I...could...have a friend...and now I want to wake...father...but...I...I..." Cara began to tear up. It seemed that all the stress, and hopelessness, and woe, and bad things that could happen had finally caught up to her.

She refused to look up at Juliana, going to cover her eyes with her hands. It didn't sound like she was crying, but it was quite possible.

Bunbun · December 22, 2016, 09:42:08 PM

"Whoa, slow down a little. I can't understand what you're saying when you're muddling all your thoughts together like that."

Juliana wasn't sure what to make of Cara's sudden outburst. There were a few key words thrown in there that were unsettling to hear, but not anything that the girl hadn't already explained in a more cheerful manner. Perhaps this was the result of bottling up emotions for far too long, eventually reaching the point where it became too much to bear. Whatever it was, it wasn't a good thing, especially since Juliana had very little idea how to go about consoling her.

"Oh, sh... shoot. Please, don't cry. Please. It's going to be alright, I... I promise."

Of course, she might very well have been promising the impossible, but all she cared about right now was preventing a complete emotional breakdown. Gently, she lowered herself down so she would be at eye level, hoping to catch a glimpse of Cara's face.

CyclicalCycal · December 23, 2016, 01:31:56 AM

What Juliana could see could be rather concerning. Considering the fact that the girl had demonstrated magical ability, the fact her empty socket was welling up with some form of green power was probably not a good sign. At least they were in the city, where she couldn't cast on much, if anything.

However, Juliana could possibly see that the girl was, indeed, crying. Her empty socket was filling with tears light, and her actual eye was growing red as she rubbed it, trying to contain her tears with no success.

"...n-no it's not..." Cara responded, weeping. It wasn't like that was a proper response, leaving quite a bit to be said.

Bunbun · December 23, 2016, 10:06:59 PM

That... wasn't good, to say the least. It seemed that Cara's magic was being affected somehow by her emotional state, though it wasn't really possible what kind of effect it was having. If Juliana had to guess, it was probably amplifying the power of the magic. If that was the case, then there was a good chance that a spell could be triggered involuntarily if enough energy was built up. Combined with the fact that the girl was currently in possession of an item that was specifically bought to cast spells on, it turned the situation into a magical ticking time bomb. Once again, the mention of 'screams' began to float around sickeningly in the woman's head. She really didn't want to contribute to that aspect of a golem, if it could be helped.

"...What do you expect me to do, then? I can't do anything to help you if you've already decided to give up!"

Panic crept its way into her voice as she desperately tried to prevent... whatever it was from happening.

CyclicalCycal · December 24, 2016, 12:47:10 AM

Now, Juliana could have said many things to comfort Cara. That was not one of them. She continued to wail, moving to begin pushing herself towards the forest, slowly, her steps frail and weak. She seemed like she was going to collapse, keeping her face covered. She didn't want anyone to see her. Nobody must see her.

"Leave me...alone..." She got out, as she staggered onwards.

Bunbun · December 24, 2016, 07:40:50 PM

"...You know what? Fine, then. I will leave you alone. I'm not going to waste my time and energy trying to help someone who clearly doesn't want it."

Her composure was slipping, as a result of a combination of fatigue and the fear of what could happen if Cara completely lost it. Still, a part of her really did mean what she said; it wasn't in her nature to put herself in danger for the sake of others, especially if they made it clear that they didn't want to be helped. Juliana stayed rooted to her spot, both to give Cara some space to herself, but also to keep some distance in case something unexpected happened.

CyclicalCycal · December 24, 2016, 08:48:15 PM

Cara staggered onwards, in the vague and general direction of the forest. She seemed to weak to carry on, her coat dragging behind her pitifully as she made an attempt to get back to her home.

Power could not remain welled up forever. It had to flow somewhere, to something. It was never content with acting upon nothing. The fat ting that Clara's power acted upon was her empty socket, filling it with light. The second thing it acted upon was the doll, that she held.

It slowly gained life, glowing green cracks building up on its body.

She did not notice. Perhaps, someone else would.

Bunbun · December 26, 2016, 08:27:42 AM

The glowing of the doll did indeed catch Juliana's eye, though she had no idea whether that was a good thing or not. She could be witnessing the accidental creation of a golem- that was what the doll had been purchased for, after all- or it could just be a buildup of magical energy, due to the energy having nowhere else to go. If that was true, and there wasn't anything else around to host the energy, then stockpiling it like that could prove to be incredibly dangerous.

"...Cara. I suggest that you settle down and check on your... friend. Before you explode something, preferably."

She was once again becoming more confident, which reflected in her voice. Slowly straightening up to her full height, Juliana kept a watchful eye on the doll but continued to keep her distance.

CyclicalCycal · December 26, 2016, 03:38:18 PM

The child glanced at the doll, for a moment, before going to toss it aside roughly. After she had done so, she went to stumble forth, again.

The doll remained on the ground, inert and lifeless. For a moment. Then, it slowly pushed itself up. It was alive. It's movements were twitchy, hateful, unnatural. It was angry, and that much was certain.

Bunbun · December 26, 2016, 10:11:39 PM

To throw away the very thing you'd worked so hard to get without a second though was rather childish in Juliana's opinion, but of course that was to be expected from, well, a child. She briefly considered going over to pick the doll up off of the ground, before the abrupt twitching of the figure made her think twice.

"What the hell..."

With the way it was acting, the golem gave the impression that it had some sort of malicious intent. It wasn't at all what one would expect from something that had once been described as a 'friend'. It was downright creepy, something that shouldn't ever exist, yet there it was. There was no way in hell she was going to approach that thing; she just froze where she stood and watched the golem, half hoping that the thing would explode after all.

CyclicalCycal · December 26, 2016, 11:03:53 PM

The thing made an attempt to do...something. It lifted its head into the air, before letting out a large amount of cracking, like wood snapping over and over again. Cara paused, turning to it.

"Ah...you're alive?" She said, wiping away tears with one hand, covering her empty socket with the he other.

The thing stared at Cara blankly, still twitching. It made another series of those sounds.

Bunbun · December 27, 2016, 08:41:04 PM

It seemed like the doll was attempting to communicate with Cara, though there was no telling whether she could actually understand it. Well, whatever the case may be, it didn't even come close to convincing Juliana that the... thing wasn't dangerous.

"For gods' sakes, stay away from that thing. It doesn't look friendly to me, and I really don't want to see you lose your other eye."

She slowly inched her way towards Cara, keeping her movements subtle as to not draw attention towards herself. There wasn't any way of unearthing the golem's intentions as of yet, but as far as Juliana was concerned, it was for the best to assume that they were malicious.

CyclicalCycal · December 28, 2016, 01:00:36 AM

Cara slunk towards the golem, slowly. She seemed fascinated by it, and failed to heed Juliana's warning. "Vf wwrt!" She got out, under her breath, amazed. At the very least, Juliana could see that Cara wasn't crying anymore. In fact, this had caused her mood to improve drastically.

The golem, on the other hand, was still twitching, and letting out that awful cracking noise.

"What's it saying...?" She asked, getting dangerously close. The golem, the doll, moved forwards, shakily. It didn't seem to know how to walk properly.

Bunbun · December 28, 2016, 06:26:45 PM

Juliana noticed the girl say something under her breath- it wasn't anything that she could understand, yet it had some sort of structure to it that set it apart from pure nonsense. It was probably a language that she'd never happened across before, which wasn't something she was expecting.

"I've got not clue. If anything, I would've thought that you would be able to understand it. You're the one who made it, aren't you?"

She had closed the distance by a significant amount by now. The doll seemed less intimidating than it had at first, due to its struggle to move very far. If it couldn't even walk, then the chances of it actually being dangerous had dropped significantly.

CyclicalCycal · December 28, 2016, 06:42:49 PM

The thing paused, before letting out a sickening crack, lurching forwards and going to jab at Cara with its arms.

It had little effect.

Cara frowned, kicking the thing away. "It attacked me!" She stepped back, glaring at it. "Don't do that!" The golem tilted its head, before pointing its arms in Carla's general direction.

"Y-you were right...it's a bad thing." Cara said, looking to Juliana.