[LOG] Devin & Lingling; If I opened my heart, there'd be no space for air
Devin comes across Lingling right after Junbao falls in.
Lingling wants everything to burn.
They have a mild conflict of interest - by which I mean, Lingling talks about setting fire to people, and Devin flips.
Backdated to just after Junbao falls in, before Taiwei calms her down.
Lingling stalked down a path, uncaring of anyone or anything in her way. Her eyes were narrowed, eyebrows low and set over them, and her lips were in a deep frown. As she walked by, random flowers and bushes caught on fire. Any guard railings or fences started to look like they were drooping in the face of the walking inferno.
So intent on her emotions and of the one thought of burning the vermin that dared to take Junbao away, she failed to notice the lack of control of her power. At this moment, even if she did notice, she wouldn't care. The world could burn right now for all she cared, for what she was feeling, for daring to try to take him away from her again.
Miach had been on his way to the library to put some books back after an afternoon of excellent reading and mental stimulation. He'd been reading up on first aid techniques, refreshing his memory, and even though most of the things taught involved things he knew already, it was still incredibly enlightening. He loved learning about humans, and how they treated each other. The subject was so fascinating.
In fact, he was so caught up with the things he had found out (adding them to his mental collection and going over them) that he almost didn't notice the enraged blonde woman - well, that was until he saw a nearby plastic bin begin to melt in on itself.
Shocked, he gasped, and turned to her. "Um, excuse me!"
Unfortunately, Bird didn't hear Devin, rage having clouded her senses almost literally, so she continued walking at her steady pace, continuing to leave her trail of burnt and melted items behind her.
Devin hesitated for a moment, and then ran after her. She was a Spirit, right? Did she know what her power was doing? She could hurt someone.
"Stop that," he shouted, dropping the books and grabbing ahold of her arm, aware of the way his hair had started to fizzle and burn, how his clothes had begun to smoke. "Please, stop that now!"
She came to an immediate halt when she felt the hand on her arm and turned an icy gaze to Devin before it softened a little when she realized she was looking as someone... young. With that, her power also shut off, and everything around them stopped burning and melting (for now), and the environment looked worse for wear, tinged in black and gray soot and ashes.
"Stop what?" she asked, her tone not angry but not polite either. She only noticed the wreckage she caused when she turned her head to get a better look at the boy -- no, he was a spirit, wasn't he.
"Oh," she said blankly. "I didn't notice."
He sighed out of his teeth making a soft "whoosh" sound, the singed hair healing itself. "Please..." he started, but then stopped, unsure of how to continue that sentence without sounding rude. "Please...I'm sorry, but please keep an eye on your power."
He kept ahold of her arm for now, not sure of how she'd react if she had both arms free. She seemed...was unhinged the right word for it? Dangerous.
Unhinged and dangerous would be the right description for Lingling because that was exactly what she was at the moment. Her gaze focused and unfocused on Devin as her attention wavered from hearing him to thinking about how Junbao wasn't there anymore and how there was someone responsible for it.
She barely noticed his hair healing before whispering absentmindedly in response, "You heal?"
Bird shook her head immediately after to clear her mind, but her thoughts recycled again, and her anger started to build again. "I just want things to... burn right now."
"I heal," Devin said, keeping his voice level. "Please-- don't burn anything."
Might as well get to the point, he supposed. If worse came to worse, he could offer himself to be burned to save her from taking out...whatever was making her feel like this on someone else.
As soon as the words left his lips, she narrowed her eyes and yanked her arm out of his grip, taking a step back.
With her posture painfully straight, she said icily, "Don't dare try to tell me what to do."
"If you continue like this, you might end up hurting someone," he kept his voice level and calm, but his hands remained up by his chest, in an attempt to protect himself. "I am not attempting to tell you what to do; I'm...asking you politely."
His voice had risen an octave or two, the accent appearing stronger as he forgot to keep his voice in check.
She heard the change in his voice. The corners of Lingling's lips lifted into a smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. It was almost cruel. "Am I scaring you?"
She tilted her head back the barest bit to look him in the eye, but somehow she was also looking down her nose at him at the same time. "Are you scared that'll I hurt you? Or others? Or both?"
"I'm not scared," he said, lowering his arms. Was she honestly playing games with him? Did she think throwing her power around was something to be intimidated by? Was she doing this to get a kick out of scaring people?
What was wrong with people like this? Didn't they understand they could hurt people?
He stood his ground. "I think you should stop that. Now."
"I can't stop."
Her hands formed fists at her side. "I can't stop until I find the vermin responsible."
She wasn't even sure why she was stopping to tell him this, but she had her resolve.
"Hurting them won't do anything."
Devin remained where he was, calm and patient except for the hands he was balling into fists at his sides. "Please, try to think rationally..."
"No!" she cried, shaking her head furiously. "No! How can I think rationally when they took someone I love!"
She brought her hands up to her face while still shaking her head. "How could I after we were finally reunited after so long!"
Lingling tried to take deep breaths, but they were shaky. She tried to keep the tears she felt coming at bay because she had to be wrathful, not upset, to exact revenge. And that was what she wanted: revenge for having her happiness snatched away.
"Please..." he said again, but this time the tone was different. "I...I know how you feel. They-" he stopped trying to gather his thoughts, his fist clenched in front of his chest. The way his heart had felt when they'd taken her, like it was squeezing in on itself. "They took my sister. They took her away..."
He stopped,vaguely aware that his breathing had become ragged, that his shoulders were hunched. "We found each other, and then they took her away..."
Oh, they took someone important to him, too, and now he looked so pitiful. Perhaps she looked similar, but that had little bearing when it was someone she loved. If anything, this was more reason to be angry, so--
"Why did you try to stay calm?"
Of course there were times where she forced herself calm but they were usually out of spite. She was a creature of emotion, first, foremost, and always.
He still looked in physical pain from the mere thought of separation, his right hand still clenched in front of his chest, the fingers of his left hand wrapped around his wrist. But his voice was clear as a bell.
"Because hurting them wouldn't bring her back."
At once, Lingling shook her head.
"You don't know that." Besides, it would also make her feel better, but she didn't say that.
"Yes I do," he said, because he'd seen it devolve into violence; because he'd seen it turn around to hurt everyone. If attacked, it was too easy for kidnappers to kill their captives. "You won't help anyone!"
He hadn't meant for it to sound so harsh, but right now all the pain at losing Airmed and his frustration at this woman had built up into something ugly at the back of his throat.
He tried to physically swallow it down, looking away, pain etched on his face. "You won't help anyone that way!"
She stayed silent for a small moment, simply looking at him, before saying in a low voice, "It would help me."
There it was, the ugly truth, but it was her truth and she didn't think it wrong at all. Her views clashed with Devin's. While she didn't necessarily care for violence at times because it could get messy, she knew violence sometimes did work. Though, in her case, she was causing more destruction than violence.
Giving him a barely baleful stare, she turned on her heel, believing that there was no more to be said between them.
"Why can't you just stop it?!" he cried out, sounding for the first time in a while like the child he was supposed to be.
Then, still hunched over with tears in his eyes, he shoved his fist in his mouth to stop himself from saying any more and ran, not noticing the books he'd checked out, still lying on the ground where they'd fallen.
Just imagining what she might do to any poor person she thought could possibly be guilty made his chest hurt.
She heard him but did not stop.
She had a goal, and she was going to achieve it. A spirit she just met could not even begin to sway her with these circumstances.
Lingling wants everything to burn.
They have a mild conflict of interest - by which I mean, Lingling talks about setting fire to people, and Devin flips.
Backdated to just after Junbao falls in, before Taiwei calms her down.
Lingling stalked down a path, uncaring of anyone or anything in her way. Her eyes were narrowed, eyebrows low and set over them, and her lips were in a deep frown. As she walked by, random flowers and bushes caught on fire. Any guard railings or fences started to look like they were drooping in the face of the walking inferno.
So intent on her emotions and of the one thought of burning the vermin that dared to take Junbao away, she failed to notice the lack of control of her power. At this moment, even if she did notice, she wouldn't care. The world could burn right now for all she cared, for what she was feeling, for daring to try to take him away from her again.
Miach had been on his way to the library to put some books back after an afternoon of excellent reading and mental stimulation. He'd been reading up on first aid techniques, refreshing his memory, and even though most of the things taught involved things he knew already, it was still incredibly enlightening. He loved learning about humans, and how they treated each other. The subject was so fascinating.
In fact, he was so caught up with the things he had found out (adding them to his mental collection and going over them) that he almost didn't notice the enraged blonde woman - well, that was until he saw a nearby plastic bin begin to melt in on itself.
Shocked, he gasped, and turned to her. "Um, excuse me!"
Unfortunately, Bird didn't hear Devin, rage having clouded her senses almost literally, so she continued walking at her steady pace, continuing to leave her trail of burnt and melted items behind her.
Devin hesitated for a moment, and then ran after her. She was a Spirit, right? Did she know what her power was doing? She could hurt someone.
"Stop that," he shouted, dropping the books and grabbing ahold of her arm, aware of the way his hair had started to fizzle and burn, how his clothes had begun to smoke. "Please, stop that now!"
She came to an immediate halt when she felt the hand on her arm and turned an icy gaze to Devin before it softened a little when she realized she was looking as someone... young. With that, her power also shut off, and everything around them stopped burning and melting (for now), and the environment looked worse for wear, tinged in black and gray soot and ashes.
"Stop what?" she asked, her tone not angry but not polite either. She only noticed the wreckage she caused when she turned her head to get a better look at the boy -- no, he was a spirit, wasn't he.
"Oh," she said blankly. "I didn't notice."
He sighed out of his teeth making a soft "whoosh" sound, the singed hair healing itself. "Please..." he started, but then stopped, unsure of how to continue that sentence without sounding rude. "Please...I'm sorry, but please keep an eye on your power."
He kept ahold of her arm for now, not sure of how she'd react if she had both arms free. She seemed...was unhinged the right word for it? Dangerous.
Unhinged and dangerous would be the right description for Lingling because that was exactly what she was at the moment. Her gaze focused and unfocused on Devin as her attention wavered from hearing him to thinking about how Junbao wasn't there anymore and how there was someone responsible for it.
She barely noticed his hair healing before whispering absentmindedly in response, "You heal?"
Bird shook her head immediately after to clear her mind, but her thoughts recycled again, and her anger started to build again. "I just want things to... burn right now."
"I heal," Devin said, keeping his voice level. "Please-- don't burn anything."
Might as well get to the point, he supposed. If worse came to worse, he could offer himself to be burned to save her from taking out...whatever was making her feel like this on someone else.
As soon as the words left his lips, she narrowed her eyes and yanked her arm out of his grip, taking a step back.
With her posture painfully straight, she said icily, "Don't dare try to tell me what to do."
"If you continue like this, you might end up hurting someone," he kept his voice level and calm, but his hands remained up by his chest, in an attempt to protect himself. "I am not attempting to tell you what to do; I'm...asking you politely."
His voice had risen an octave or two, the accent appearing stronger as he forgot to keep his voice in check.
She heard the change in his voice. The corners of Lingling's lips lifted into a smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. It was almost cruel. "Am I scaring you?"
She tilted her head back the barest bit to look him in the eye, but somehow she was also looking down her nose at him at the same time. "Are you scared that'll I hurt you? Or others? Or both?"
"I'm not scared," he said, lowering his arms. Was she honestly playing games with him? Did she think throwing her power around was something to be intimidated by? Was she doing this to get a kick out of scaring people?
What was wrong with people like this? Didn't they understand they could hurt people?
He stood his ground. "I think you should stop that. Now."
"I can't stop."
Her hands formed fists at her side. "I can't stop until I find the vermin responsible."
She wasn't even sure why she was stopping to tell him this, but she had her resolve.
"Hurting them won't do anything."
Devin remained where he was, calm and patient except for the hands he was balling into fists at his sides. "Please, try to think rationally..."
"No!" she cried, shaking her head furiously. "No! How can I think rationally when they took someone I love!"
She brought her hands up to her face while still shaking her head. "How could I after we were finally reunited after so long!"
Lingling tried to take deep breaths, but they were shaky. She tried to keep the tears she felt coming at bay because she had to be wrathful, not upset, to exact revenge. And that was what she wanted: revenge for having her happiness snatched away.
"Please..." he said again, but this time the tone was different. "I...I know how you feel. They-" he stopped trying to gather his thoughts, his fist clenched in front of his chest. The way his heart had felt when they'd taken her, like it was squeezing in on itself. "They took my sister. They took her away..."
He stopped,vaguely aware that his breathing had become ragged, that his shoulders were hunched. "We found each other, and then they took her away..."
Oh, they took someone important to him, too, and now he looked so pitiful. Perhaps she looked similar, but that had little bearing when it was someone she loved. If anything, this was more reason to be angry, so--
"Why did you try to stay calm?"
Of course there were times where she forced herself calm but they were usually out of spite. She was a creature of emotion, first, foremost, and always.
He still looked in physical pain from the mere thought of separation, his right hand still clenched in front of his chest, the fingers of his left hand wrapped around his wrist. But his voice was clear as a bell.
"Because hurting them wouldn't bring her back."
At once, Lingling shook her head.
"You don't know that." Besides, it would also make her feel better, but she didn't say that.
"Yes I do," he said, because he'd seen it devolve into violence; because he'd seen it turn around to hurt everyone. If attacked, it was too easy for kidnappers to kill their captives. "You won't help anyone!"
He hadn't meant for it to sound so harsh, but right now all the pain at losing Airmed and his frustration at this woman had built up into something ugly at the back of his throat.
He tried to physically swallow it down, looking away, pain etched on his face. "You won't help anyone that way!"
She stayed silent for a small moment, simply looking at him, before saying in a low voice, "It would help me."
There it was, the ugly truth, but it was her truth and she didn't think it wrong at all. Her views clashed with Devin's. While she didn't necessarily care for violence at times because it could get messy, she knew violence sometimes did work. Though, in her case, she was causing more destruction than violence.
Giving him a barely baleful stare, she turned on her heel, believing that there was no more to be said between them.
"Why can't you just stop it?!" he cried out, sounding for the first time in a while like the child he was supposed to be.
Then, still hunched over with tears in his eyes, he shoved his fist in his mouth to stop himself from saying any more and ran, not noticing the books he'd checked out, still lying on the ground where they'd fallen.
Just imagining what she might do to any poor person she thought could possibly be guilty made his chest hurt.
She heard him but did not stop.
She had a goal, and she was going to achieve it. A spirit she just met could not even begin to sway her with these circumstances.