save_the_souls | driftfleet ♪ IC Contact: Year Two

Hello, Allen? If you have a moment to talk, I... would appreciate it.

[Hey remember that time not long ago when he ditched you during your perfectly friendly visit to his ship? Yeah. Yeaaaaah.]

[Sure Allen remembers that. But it wasn't odd enough from his end to really think much of it, so it's not what comes up in his mind - not when there's actually been Exorcist-related stuff going on over on his end.]

Of course Mikleo. Is this about the Sascha case?

Not exactly, but it's related.

[The whole issue stems from Sascha being a problem, anyway.]

First I wanted to apologize for running off like that. It's been a strange week.

[...Okay, maybe not what he thought the call was about, okay]

Um, don't worry, it's fine. I figured you had something needed to do.

Is everything alright with you?

Yes and no.

[It's complicated.]

Do you know Dorothy? The little girl who lives on the Vanquish?

Er....

Are you sure you don't mean Katie? That's the only little girl on Vanquish I know about.

[Wait, what]

She told me her name was Dorothy.

Did she?

Ah, well...Clay said she has a hobby of...lying. A lot. I don't know her well myself, so I can't really say.

That lines up with what I've seen of her. I think it's a compulsion, actually, not a habit. There are certain things she's unable to say, and she can't give a straight answer.

I see... [Sounds like some people he's known.]

Anyway, what about Katie?

She has another ability- she can perceive some kind of darkness in people, something they might not be aware of, but it follows them. She called them "nightmares". It seems that whatever nightmares she saw following Sascha frightened her enough that she felt he needed to be "fixed". She may speak in riddles, but that message was pretty clear.

[And concerning, coming from a child, but he can sympathize somewhat at this point.]

That's...

[Yeah that's....worrying]

How did she plan on "fixing him", exactly?

She didn't say. Or couldn't, more likely. I think I talked her out of trying to handle it alone- I doubt she wanted to do anything without help, anyway. It's just that she can't explain what she's seeing, so she can't tell people that anything is wrong.

That sounds like a troublesome curse.

Is there something you think I could help with? Though I'm not sure if I'd be able to sense Sascha, he's not really a normal demon or vampire.

Oh- no, sorry. Now that everyone's been made aware of Sascha's condition, I'm hoping her concerns will be laid to rest. This was a roundabout way of explaining myself.

When we were trying to figure out what the problem was to begin with, she was able to temporarily share the power to see shadows with me, so that I could understand what she saw in Sascha. It's not something I could turn off, though, so it was... disturbing... to be around people.

[Oh well that's a relief to hear about Katie's concerns being laid to rest. But not so much...the last part. In fact there's a pause]

Are you...saying this has something to do with you running off the other day?

Ah... yeah. You've got a shadow, too.

[Another pause]

What kind of shadow?

[Ugh, this is awkward. He's not even sure if he's supposed to talk about this- is it bad? Should people not know? He wished he'd asked Dorothy- Katie- for more information.

...Not... that she'd be able to tell him. Dammit.]

It's a little creepy, truth be told. Some sort of dark figure, following you around. I didn't really want to spend much time looking at it.

She can see that?

[He can't help but blurt that out in surprise. He knew what Mikleo must be referencing right away, and it's hard not to be a little stunned. No one's ever been able to see that shadow for years, not without some intervention from a all-powerful magic castle anyway. What exactly was Katie?]

[But he remembers himself, and clears his throat. Crap]

I'm...sorry you had to see those things.

[He's been wondering that himself for a while now. Still no closer to knowing.]

Wait, you're aware of it already?

[Shit]

...Yes. I am.

Pardon me if this is insensitive.

Is that normal where you're from?

No.

No, it's definitely not normal.

[Oh dear.]

Are you okay?

driftfleet ♪ IC Contact: Year Two

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