(Untitled)

[allnaturalmagic]

Who: Terra and Raven
What: Esper!Terra crashes to the ground, only to be found by Raven.
When: The afternoon of the 31st.
Where: Near the lake.
Warnings: Esper!Terra is not actually a pink comet.

Comments

[allnaturalmagic]

The land was different then what she was used to seeing, and the very air seemed to sparkle with magical energy. All around her were strange beasts, and while some were vaguely human in nature, they were greatly outnumbered by the more outlandish beings. One humanoid in particular stood out, a large dark-skinned man with what seemed to be huge goat horns adorning his head. Despite his size and appearance, he had an air of kindness about him.

Still in her Esper form, Terra began to stir. Her eyelids fluttered, but didn't open.

The vision changed, and the same man was now with a human woman. Already small in stature, she looked even more petite next to him. She was smiling happily, however, and holding a wrapped bundle - a newborn baby.

"We've decided on a name." There was pride in the horned man's voice, and a tenderness that seemed out of place, coming from one so ferocious-looking. "Terra. We're calling her Terra."

"Oh, Maduin, that's lovely...!"

The same pink light as before engulfed her, and moments later she was back to her fully clothed human self. Her eyes opened slowly, unfocused, like someone waking from a deep sleep. She moved her arm from underneath some strange covering to her head, frowning as a massive headache seemed to come on all at once.

"The forest? How did I...?" She attempted to sit up, only to find that she lacked the energy for even something as simple as that. As her senses came back to her, she gasped softly in pain. She hadn't crashed directly into the tree, but the impact had certainly left its mark. A headache was going to be the least of her worries.

((1% on Maduin, her Esper father. 14% total, 0% remaining.))

[deusexblastia]

He barely had time to react for the pink light and was already reaching for his weapon when he nearly dropped his dagger in shock. Terra? Naturally, his first response was a vehement denial of 'couldn't be!', but here she was, right before his very eyes.

This sparked one of his earlier memories at Memento Eden; Terra was asking about some kind of duality in her soul, offput by it. He hadn't known it at the time, but Schwann was surfacing at the time to console her during her time of worry. He recalled saying she wasn't a monster, and on some levels, he was struggling to stick to his former opinion.

Was she a monster? Was she human? Both? Neither? Such questions were a little beyond Raven at the moment, so he focused on what mattered. Here was Terra, right in front of him, and it looked like she needed help. Time to drop serious thoughts for a moment.

Raven came much more naturally than Schwann these days. "Hey, easy there kid. Ya hit that tree pretty hard. Don't think yer gonna wanna try movin' any time soon."

[allnaturalmagic]

Terra closed her eyes again, trying to stop the throbbing pain in her head. It all made sense to her, now. Her father had been an Esper. That was what Harry had seen - her Esper half. No wonder she had been born with magic, and had been treated like a test animal at Vector. They had all feared her, even while trying to take her power for their own. She let out a small whimper as she fought back tears.

Then... A voice? "Maduin...?" No, that couldn't be... doesn't sound anything like him, more like...

Her eyes flew open. Raven?! She attempted to sit up again, but only succeeded in rolling onto her side.

[deusexblastia]

Maduin? Now who could that be? He'd known more than enough that one cannot mistake the name Raven for Maduin in either direction. Someone she just remembered, maybe.

That wasn't too important, but at least she was turning to face him. She was barely coherent, it seemed. "Ya don't really have much intention of listenin' ta me, do ya. Really, ya need ta take it easy fer a bit."

[allnaturalmagic]

She stared at him blankly for a few seconds. Something seemed different, but she couldn't figure out what - until she remembered the feeling of something covering her. Raven wasn't wearing his jacket. Did he really...?

It was still covering her slightly. She pulled it in front of her and saw that it was, indeed, his jacket. Once again struggling to sit up, she looked at Raven with an unspoken question in her eyes. Why?

[deusexblastia]

"Nice, ain't it?" Of course Raven would shrug it off like it was nothing. It was nothing. "Had no idea how long you were gonna be out, so hey!" And yet with such a grin on his face and general uplifting behavior, you would never have guessed he could be serious for two seconds in his life.

[allnaturalmagic]

"Yes, it is, but..." Terra was completely confused. Hadn't Raven coldly brushed her off just a few weeks ago for prying into his very personal secrets? She had completely avoided him after that, not sure how to react to him at all. It had hurt more than she could have anticipated, and she was more nervous and uncomfortable around him now than ever.

And yet, here he was, smiling brightly at her like nothing at all had happened. He'd even covered her with his jacket, which was the last thing she ever would have expected, considering what she had seen on his chest.

"Raven, I..." She had no idea what to say.

[deusexblastia]

"If I say that ya need to lie back down and get some rest, are ya gonna listen about as much as last time?"

He knew she wanted to talk about it. She really didn't know when to just give up, did she? Clearly, the answer was to keep her offguard. Fortunately, she really did need to rest.

[allnaturalmagic]

She didn't want to rest, but her head had different ideas. With a sigh, she finally laid her head down again and closed her eyes, pulling Raven's jacket up around her shoulders.

It seemed they both had something to hide, now. Terra couldn't help wondering what she had looked like, flying around with no destination in mind... had anyone tried to stop her? She couldn't remember. It was all one big blur. All she could really remember was the way it felt to fly, and that she had been searching for something.

All at once, it made sense. Maduin, her father. She had been looking for him. What had happened to him? Was he still alive in her world, or had he been reduced to magicite as well...? A small shiver ran through her as she considered that possibility.

She had to get back to her magicite. If he was among them, she'd know - somehow. She was sure of it.

Without opening her eyes, she softly asked, "How long was I... not myself?" She couldn't say 'Esper', not yet.

[deusexblastia]

"Hey, ya did listen. Maybe there's hope we can pull ya through this."

His smile dropped when she asked her question. So she did know about that. He had been hoping against hope that maybe, somehow, mercifully, there'd be a moment of pity. Maybe she wouldn't have remembered that other half. Maybe she could've stayed away from it, blissfully ignorant to its place within her. That hope was just shattered against the tree.

He hadn't liked being truthful to Terra whenever she asked most of her questions, but this was a different scenario. This wasn't something that concerned just him anymore. "I noticed only yesterday. There's a chance it could've been longer."

[allnaturalmagic]

A small, weak smile touched her lips at that comment, but she didn't say anything. For some reason, it made her feel better. Perhaps it was that 'we' - she wasn't alone, and there was a definite comfort in that.

Raven's next words weren't nearly so comforting. "At least a day... no wonder I'm so exhausted." She opened her eyes and stared up at him. "What did I look like?"

[deusexblastia]

Naked. Very very naked.

Which even Raven would know was a Very Bad Thing to Say™. "Y'know, I've never seen anythin' quite like it, so ya might have ta bear with me on this one."

He closed his eyes and recalled back to the creature he came across, trying to dispel the focus of nudity from his mind. "Ta start th' picture, humanoid would prob'ly be the best word. Pink, with all this crazy hair, like ya woke up on th' wrong side of th' bed and left it like that fer three days. The body looked human enough, but it looked more like yer hands and feet were clawed? I dunno, I didn't end up lookin' there fer too long. Before I knew it, poof, here ya are."

[allnaturalmagic]

Terra wasn't sure if he was trying to make her feel better by joking, or if that was really how he had seen her. Slowly, she raised a hand to her head again, this time touching her hair. It felt normal enough; it was even back in its usual ponytail.

More than anything, she worried that she had frightened people. Who wouldn't be scared of they saw a glowing pink woman with claws for hands and feet? Harry had certainly reacted with fear when he had seen her other half. "Was I... scary looking? Her voice shook slightly, and she almost didn't want to hear the answer.

[deusexblastia]

"Not in the slightest~" he said with an odd tone, the only hint he would give betraying what he saw. "Now who's gonna be scared by darlin' Terra, no matter how she looks?"

He stretched his arms behind him and rested the back of his neck on his hands. "Couldn't say, really. You were pretty high up there, an' I didn't hear anythin' about people flyin' up ta say hi."

[allnaturalmagic]

Once again, his words brought her comfort. She relaxed, more than she had since changing back. She couldn't dispel the sadness that weighed on her heart, though. Somehow she didn't think that would vanish anytime soon.

She kept thinking about how she had been treated while at Vector. Her next words were barely above a whisper. "Am I... a monster?"

[deusexblastia]

"Y'know, I remember ya talking about this waaaay back. And I don' think my answer's gonna change any time soon."

Part of him thought that maybe he should stop denying it and come clean, but he couldn't do that. He wasn't Schwann anymore. Things just... carried over, was all. But as much as he tried to stop it, Schwann came out in full when he opened his mouth next.

"You're no more of a monster than I am."