network, action;

[traceofeffort]

[network | 7/1, morning | Lisa's room]
[Lisa's been practicing in her free time for the last few days; she'd come to the perfectly reasonable conclusion that, if things like art are valuable to Krajina Božstiev, then she could probably play and attract attention - and maybe money - that way. But boy, it's not normally this hard. As she kicks the camera on, dressed casually with her guitar in her hand, she's frowning.]

Y'know, I was gonna talk about plans for the other side, but... I just still feel kinda awful. It's kinda hard to move my fingers the way I want to, and I sleep all night and still don't feel right. Do any of the rest of you feel like this? Anyone that went into the cave the other day, maybe?

[Her fingers pick at the strings, seeming stiff but managing a credible acoustic cover of. Is that dance music? Her frown deepens, biting her lip a little bit before she shakes her head softly. Given she hasn't left, she hasn't gone all in on her makeup yet... which she probably should have done. Her eyes are bloodshot again, and her irises are turning that funny shade of yellow around the edges. Something's not right... did she miss the post on the corruption?]

Anyway. I still need a dress for the party, assuming we find a way to fix things so it exists. I don't want to be that girl that buys a dress on the day of the function. Heaven forbid I need to get it adjusted at all. So I'm gonna see if I can play over there, on the other side tonight. I can afford it, but I'd love a little extra pocket money. My fridge has never been more full, and when I can keep my roommate's paws off it, there's all kinds of interesting stuff in there. I have no idea how it'll go, or if I can get my damn hands to cooperate, but! Hopefully Roselia will have its first interdimensional live tonight.

[Softly, she sings, not looking at the camera but instead glancing at her fingers as she tries to play.] Hold me now, and leave me nev- oh, damn... I thought that break would be enough, but maybe not... [Scowling fully, looking at her fingers a moment, she turns off the feed.]

[action | CW: violence | 7/1, afternoon and evening | Krajina Božstiev, various locations | corruption: moderate to heavy]
True to her word, Lisa makes it to the other side with her guitar in its bag on her back, not really looking any better but seeming a little more alert? She's got a few stops to make first though, heading to the market to take a look around the various tailors and see what they have in their stores. Having something custom-made would be both beyond her budget - in either world, even with the skewed exchange rates for certain things over here - and too vain to her mind. No, she can work with what's on the mannequins, even if the styles are a little strange to her modern sensibilities. Oh well, when in Rome... or well. Wherever this was.

She'd brought a cloth bag to place the dress in, along with a hanger, so once she was done she set up shop in one of the taverns, this time playing music. None of her softer songs would do for this crowd; the energy was harsh even before she started, so she opened with rock covers and went from there. She got a good reaction - and some coin - for her trouble, so she kept up this set, feeling the energy start to flow through her, replacing the tiredness she'd been fighting all week with a more manic energy. She could feel her fingers getting sore now that they moved right, but she didn't care. She couldn't care. Everything was fine. This was right. As the crowd seemed to grow restless, her sound shifted into something harder, and her heart started to pound in her chest. Her blood burned, veins darkening into vision on her arms, and she couldn't bring herself to think this was worth worrying about.

She couldn't sit still - couldn't stand still. Heat poured from her, sweat dripping from her forehead, her shoulders, her hands, everywhere, but there were so many people, she didn't think anything of it. It was so easy to lose herself in the pounding in her ears, in the roar of the crowd as they seemed to come to their feet almost unwillingly. And so she rose to that burning in her heart, playing a guitar riff that felt both completely familiar and horribly alien at the same time. Both hers, and not hers. It didn't feel the same on her acoustic guitar, but she didn't care. It gave off a different energy. Not the same focused sound, but something almost discordant, but just harsh enough to do the job. As she tried to focus, getting into the song, the heat reached a peak, but instead of her boiling over, instead the it seemed to erupt from somewhere in front of her. A thrown punch. Shouting. Descent into madness.

No, this wouldn't do. They're not paying attention to her anymore. They're just fighting now. That's not how this is supposed to work. They're supposed to listen. To adore her. To shower her with praise, with cheers, with the glow of penlights this civilization won't develop for hundreds of years, with money. They're supposed to look at her, and not look away. Not fight each other over who knew what. It didn't matter. Their problems were nothing against her show. She couldn't let them go on like this. She won't let them go on like this. She won't allow this-

Her guitar strings vibrate softly as she sets the instrument down by her dress, last notes before the first chorus fading into the evening, cracking her knuckles before she leaps off the stage into the crowd. She didn't know how to fight, per se - she'd gotten some self-defense training, but these days it manifested more as slightly defensive brawling. She wasn't much good at it, but she felt like she was good enough for this. And between swings, the taste of salt not seeming to leave her mouth as her face and everything else was drenched in sweat, she kept singing, the chorus coming to her lips as she let her fists lead her through a determination symphony she'll make them listen to-

((Lisa is lost in a jealous, possessive, if misguided rage, courtesy of the corruption, and it's going to take a fair bit to pull her back. I'm assuming the city guard is going to catch on to things pretty fast, and she's not going to calm down in time to get out of getting dragged off, but she's not going to seriously hurt anyone. I'm totally game for her to run into other Different in here, but nobody's going to be able to truly stop her - anyone that tries is liable to eat an elbow to get them to let go.))

[action | 7/1, night, into 7/2, late morning | Krajina Božstiev, city jail]
It's a somewhat more subdued Lisa that anyone visiting the jail will find, absent any of her things. She feels crusty, dirty, stiff; there's still a fine layer of sweat on her brow despite the slightly chilly night. Her arms are bruised, and there's a good one on her cheek, too. Her knuckles are bloody, and in a bit of vanity, even without a mirror she can tell her makeup hasn't quite held up. Oh, and she's in jail for fighting in public. Boy, she let herself go tonight. Forget a blue rose in bloom, she feels like she's just a wilted flower. Her arms still show an impressive collection of black veins through the splotches, and they're starting to spread down her legs and across her face. Something's wrong, but for the life of her she has no idea what it is. All she knows is that she needs time to cool off, and they're going to release her in the morning. Hopefully her roomie doesn't eat everything in the fridge in the meantime. The thought joins every other less than pleasant idea on her head, leaving her in a somber mood, and when someone finds her, she'll be sitting with her knees tucked under her chin and her arms pulling her legs close. Hopefully someone at least rescued her stuff before it disappears into the night.

Comments

7/2 action;

[bearshermark]

Elliott's there first thing in the morning when she's set to be released.

"Lisa!" He has one hand on the bars and the other holding her guitar. "I came as soon as I could. Are you okay??"

[traceofeffort]

Her hero. Well, maybe that's not fair to him, he's got her guitar. So he kind of is, even if she resents needing someone else to retrieve it in the first place. But at the question he asks, she just... stares at him, before laughing like he's told a fantastic joke. It's not a happy sound, despite that.

"Holy shit, Elliott. No. No, I'm not okay. I'm not okay on more levels than I think I know how to tell you." She runs her hands through her hair, then grimace at the feeling of her salty, bruised hands going through her dirty mane, eyes closed in disappointment, mostly at herself. "I don't think I even have anything witty to say in my defense. I just... I made a mess of things. And things made a mess of me, too."

[bearshermark]

Alright, fair, wrong question to ask; she looks and sounds awful. But she's conscious and talking and laughing even if it isn't a good laugh, and doesn't look too terribly injured. The veins worry him more than anything else.

"..Sorry. I-" he hesitates. "Um, let's just.."

He trails off as the guard appears with the keys.

"Let's just get you out of here for now, okay?"

[traceofeffort]

...he's trying. As much as Lisa wants to take her frustration out on something, Elliott is trying, so she's going to try very hard to make sure it isn't him. "It's fine. But- yeah. I need a shower, and I think everything I'm wearing might end up just getting thrown away."

The guard gives her a stern look, but it's pretty clear he's not exactly used to someone with Lisa's general bearing - upbeat, not particularly physically threatening - being in the holding cells. So he just lets her go with an admonishment not to end up here again, and Lisa absolutely has the grace to nod and blush and smile. "No, you have my word. Once was enough. Once was too much." She hesitates; do you thank the guard when you leave? That doesn't seem right. So instead she just waves nervously and starts for the exit, keeping a bit of distance from Elliott. She keeps starting to turn back like she wants to say something, then facing forward like she lost her nerve; it happens a few times before she balls her hands into fists and just keeps walking. She at least needs to make it out to the city streets before she feels like a free girl again.

[bearshermark]

Elliott trails behind, understanding what's wrong and what likely happened (though Lisa in a bar fight is very difficult to imagine), but still unsure of how to address it. She keeps looking back at him like she might snap.

"H-hey um, could.. if we could stop by the palace gardens, I think I-" he cuts off whatever he might have been about to say there, but just winds up finishing lamely instead. "I mean, er.. you might.. feel better."

A beat. "...Please?"

[traceofeffort]

You kinda had to be there, she supposes. Then again, she was there and she's still not entirely sure what the hell happened. The somewhat timid tone pulls her out of her not-so-idle musing, and she finishes glancing back as they clear the building and Lisa relaxes the tiniest fraction. "I... need to go back to the scene of the crime first. Unless you found a garment bag there with my guitar. I bought a dress for Saturday's party, but I didn't get a chance to drop it off at home before I played my show." Her face darkens a little more as she mentions the very literally failed show, but she shakes her head. "I'm hoping nobody ran off with it. But after that, sure, I'm okay with that. I really fucking need to decompress. I just also don't want to be out money." Any more money, she doesn't add aloud; she'll probably be fine, but she's roughed up enough she'll need to bust out the first aid kit when she gets home.

[bearshermark]

"Okay," he agrees readily, and stands a little straighter as he follows her to the tavern.

Elliott's taken to bringing his sword any time he ventures through the portal ever since he started investigating the hills for the temple. He knows the sight of it has warded off a few possible confrontations in town since the spread of the corruption began in earnest, and hopes it might still be enough now. Because even though he knows how to use it, if it came down to it, he doesn't actually want to hurt anyone.

No, he'd rather try to calm them down instead. And if he can avoid saying 'I can help' for the thousandth time, then he might even succeed.

[traceofeffort]

The trip is... perhaps not as long as it should be, but it's not as long as it felt last night in the other direction. She doesn't want to be there either, and Elliott being armed is helping to clear a path - she'll talk to him about that in a moment, but right now she's got business. Luckily, though, it's not even complicated business - the small cloth parcel still right where she left it, and other than a second glance in her direction when she comes in and reaches for it, nobody says anything to her, again possibly owing to Elliott being there. Not wanting to stick around, she ducks right back out, not even looking to see if Elliott's behind her. And once again, as soon as she's on the street once more, she lets out a breath, before checking the bag. "Oh, thank God... Good, still in here. I was gonna be pissed if it'd gotten stolen and they left the damn bag."

She turns to Elliott, and offers... a slightly less brittle smile? "Sorry, I just had to get this before something happened to it. Um... the gardens now, right?" She's aware she's still wound a little tightly, so she's trying to force herself to take it easy.

[bearshermark]

It's a nervous feeling, standing there and trying to wear a serious expression when he knows he's probably the least intimidating-looking person to ever have had a sword strapped to their back, but it feels a little important, too. Like he's Lisa's bodyguard or something- which would be kind of embarrassing if he weren't so worried about an actual fight breaking out.

He breathes a low, quiet sigh of relief when she manages to retrieve her bag without a struggle.

"Yeah," he says, more than happy to leave for somewhere less crowded. "I'm glad your stuff is still there. Oh, and here."

He hands her guitar over, and idly wonders if anyone thought he might use that as a weapon.

[traceofeffort]

He could always strap the sword to her back. That'd probably make him feel better, since she'd adjust the straps to be wearing her gig bag over one shoulder and the sword over the other, like some kind of dual-wielding swordsman. Except a bard. Except she doesn't know what that is either, in that sense. And on that note, she slings her bag back over her shoulder, and she feels properly equipped again, all of her things back where they belong and everything under control.

Well. Almost everything. It's just her that isn't.

Lisa takes a deep breath, before her face settles into something resembling her usual expression, just with most of yesterday's makeup washed away by sweat, bags under her eyes, her irises yellow, and black lines weaving toward her features. But other than that, it's normal, it totally counts, right? "Thank you, Elliott. I owe you one. Again." After a few seconds, she shakes her head and turns toward the palace. "Shall we?"

[bearshermark]

He nods, trying not to feel sick in the face of the visible elements of her corruption, and starts a brisk pace toward the gardens. He won't find a center anywhere else in this world to be able to help her from.

"You don't owe me anything, I promise. I just really need you to trust me for the next ten to fifteen minutes, so I'm actually asking for a lot."

[traceofeffort]

Lisa follows as he starts toward the royal garden; she can keep up, but she's feeling it a little more than she should. How strange. "I trust you longer than that on a regular basis, silly. As long as you're not planning something I need to tell your mother about, it's fine."

...The garden, though? Why does he need to take her there? Is it for the investigation, or... something else? She can feel her pulse quickening as she works through the implications. Lisa, you're probably overthinking this.

[bearshermark]

It's good she can't see his face right then, because he feels rather hot for the implications he's sure she doesn't mean.

"Nothing like that," he manages to promise, words returning to him and shoulders laxing as the gardens come into sight.

He wanders into them with a soft breath. "Just um, I want to try something I think could uh.. counter the corruption a little."

[traceofeffort]

Part of her wants to keep teasing him, but once they reach the gardens, she gives him the benefit of the doubt... and once he tells her what he's planning, her eyebrows shoot into her bangs. Or try to, at least. "Counter the...? Wait. Wait wait wait. You don't think-"

It'd sure explain a lot, wouldn't it. Lisa's face drains of all color as she starts connecting the dots, tired mind finally coming to the realization. "Oh, fuck. No, no, nonono, I can't-" She swallows, hard, before she puts her head in her aching hands, letting out a low groan. "I'm a damn fool."

[bearshermark]

Elliott blinks, concern spiking.

"Lisa, I don't know what you're thinking, but unless you're secretly a demon or something, it shouldn't harm you or- or anything like that. Just.. if you could sit down, it'll be okay. Trust me, please."

[traceofeffort]

"It's not that, dammit!" It comes out in a harsh snap with a glare at him, but almost immediately she realizes what she's done and looks like she wants to sink into the ground. "Sorry. I don't... well. I know what came over me now. I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at myself for not recognizing it sooner. I've been feeling off for almost a week now, y'know? And here I've just been going about my life, shopping like nothing's wrong, playing a damn show in front of a crowd that's about as likely to punch my lights out." Helpfully, her knees pick that moment to give out, and she falls back on her butt, apparently not realizing she'd started shaking while she came to her conclusion. "I'm lucky I wasn't hurt a hell of a lot worse than I was."

Lisa closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly before she fixes him with a serious gaze. "I said I trusted you already, Elliott. Do whatever you need to do. Please. Before it gets worse again and I attack you without meaning to." Suiting fears to actions, Lisa shifts, sitting on her hands and stretching her legs out in front of her so she can't bounce up as fast.

[bearshermark]

Elliott follows her down into the grass, folds his legs. He doesn't know what he'd do if she attacked him, so best not to invite that scenario.

"Okay. I um, I have an ability that seems to calm people down? So I'm gonna try that. I have to concentrate on it though, so don't.. touch or talk to me until you feel relaxed- or uh, if it's been awhile and doesn't seem like it's working, I guess."

That would be embarrassing, particularly after offering to help Clarence with the same affliction in the same way.

Elliott closes his eyes and holds out his left hand toward her. A slight glow accompanies it as he breathes in and centers himself in the peaceful gardens around them. He wills the sense of tranquility outward and thinks he feels it expand around them, stealing another layer of calming energy into their surroundings.

[traceofeffort]

Lisa already knew Elliott was some kind of sword-bearing wizard, but this certainly was a reminder; she nods sharply at the ground rules before watching him begin. Whatever the hell he's casting, it's not as much of a light show as the last time with the fire was. But it's hard for her to believe it's working. After all, she'd been so frustrated, so angry, that she didn't know what to do with it all. So it'd escaped out the only way it could, by making her blood boil and driving her into a rage. She'd felt it for a moment, just then, but now that she reaches for where it was to check, it feels further away. No, suddenly everything feels further away and she just feels exhausted. But not the same way she was before. More... wrung out, now. Grateful for Elliott, again. She'd have to do something nice for him one of these days. Something really nice. The heat isn't entirely gone but it's reduced enough that she can function without feeling like she's going to punch someone.

She waits a bit longer to see if there's anything else - her sore arms make her wish for a healing component, but she's not going to look a gift protagonist in the sword - before she lets out a breath, and feels like a whole lot of anger goes out with it. She shifts to pull her hands free, smiles at the dark veins that have receded at least a little bit, and reaches out to take his hand in hers with her lips in a warm curve up.

[bearshermark]

His eyes blink open at her touch, concentration wavering, then breaking. The glow of the mark on his hand fades and he settles back into himself. He looks her over then, worried it might not have worked.

But she's smiling and her eyes look better even if the veins on her arms aren't entirely gone.

"Hey," he says on the end of a sigh. "How are you feeling?"

[traceofeffort]

Lisa huffs, but the smile doesn't fade. "Tired. Cranky. Sore. Filthy. And... thankful. I'm not a hundred percent, but I'm better than I was. Some of it's just me being me, but I don't feel like my pulse is pounding in my head anymore like it has been the last few days."

It's hard not to let herself latch on to that lingering mote of serenity she can feel inside herself, but she doesn't want to let her guard down completely, just in case. Elliott is too important to risk. "I'd hug you, but I feel like I just ran multiple marathons, and I fell into the dirt in at least one of them. You don't deserve that after you saved me again."

[bearshermark]

Elliott smiles, relieved.

"I'm glad."

He shifts up to his knees. "But I'm not done yet. I can heal a little bit too, if you want."

[traceofeffort]

...Does she want? Sure, her arms ache a little, and she prefer not to go to a fancy party looking like she's can beaten up recently, but then-

"No, I'll be okay," she says after visibly thinking about it for a second. "It's stupid, but after the other day, I don't wanna make you burn something important like that on me, y'know? Not when I'm not really hurt. And..." She must be doing better, her face that was just fairly pale is heating right back up again. "N-no, forget I said anything! It's even more stupid." She can't help the stutter, but at the same time, she grips Elliott's hand tighter.

[bearshermark]

"Okay," he agrees, a little disappointed.

But Elliott watches Lisa's face redden then duck under her hair, and smiles. He decides she can keep his hand for as long as she wants; he's not in a rush to go anywhere.

"I'm sure it isn't stupid. But so you know, my magic isn't more important than you." It's his turn for his face to redden. "Or- or uh, anyone that needs it."

[traceofeffort]

That's just about enough to short Lisa out; he said it with such a straight face at first she almost can't believe it. If she were reading this she'd be screaming at her screen, but she's not - he's here so he'd hear that and probably worry about her even more, bless him - so instead her face is on fire and she's hiding it behind her hair even more... but she still isn't letting go of his hand, either.

"I-I, uh, y-yeah, I know, I just! It's too early in the day to burn something like that! What if I trip and break my leg or something, or-" She forces that train of thought to a screeching halt. "N-never mind! Um, I... ugh, I can't think straight." She can't take a deep enough breath to get her head properly sorted; she can almost feel steam coming out of her ears. She's trying, please forgive her. "But- thank you. I... get what you mean, I think."

Somehow, she feels better than she did when he'd just finished whatever that spell he worked was. How strange.

[bearshermark]

Elliott laughs, equal parts nerves and amusement. His face is stuck in a smile.

"I'm afraid I probably won't be able to help if you break your legs, so uh- yeah." His heart takes a moment to flutter with nerves of its own to see and feel her still holding onto him.

"A-anyway, sorry, I'm not trying to embarrass you."