08-04-2016, 04:07 PM
He shrugged a response and her heart sank. Perhaps one of the only advantages to being so overwhelmed was that it made it easy to let the feeling sweep aside, immediately replaced by something else.
The crowd expectation soared as the Ascendancy finally stepped into view. It was deafening, their reaction to him; she hadn't anticipated that her surroundings could become even more heightened. But she'd planned today even before she'd found Elias in the crowd. Her heart beat shallow and fast under the duress, her palms clammy again, but she rode the crest of it as best she was able, hooking in when she needed steadying. She picked an emotion - one there was plenty of, one that was easy to bear, and plucked it out. Used it as a focus in lieu of a single conduit.
Awe. So much awe. Many of these people loved him.
Asha pushed up onto her toes to get a better look at the man who had moulded the Custody. He was too far away and there were too many distractions to feel anything specific from him, but she felt the moment he blinked out, his absence as stark and uncomfortable as all the other small holes in her senses. The boom of his voice made her flinch, too vast to be natural. Then there was a moment of stillness. Anticipation thrummed. Her chest felt as though it might burst from the tension and the bright spectrum of emotion all around her.
The ground began to shake.
Peripheral fear leaked in, entwined with her own, made her body begin to tremble of its own volition. The ringing bells chilled her skin. And then the mausoleum began to melt. Asha's eyes widened, her mouth ajar, and she stumbled half a step backwards.
Elias' irritation was cold like a sudden dowsing of ice water. The sensation startled her before she realised he'd grabbed at her hand. They were different skills; treading water amongst a group of people, concentrating on the easiest emotions to bear, ever seeking and ever vigilant, compared to the focus of one single thread; one that wrapped her up and stole her attention whether she willed it or not. The snap of change dizzied her, but her fingers curled around his reflexively, and squeezed tight.
Asha stood speechless long after the earth stopped its tremor, staring at the giant gateway. Slowly, her heels thudded back to the ground. She'd be exhausted later - already an ache settled behind her eyes. But it had been worth it. She could barely fathom that this was a thing created of mind-made power. Hardly Nox's parlour tricks. And suddenly it occurred to her that all those blank spots shared the same power. That Elias did. She glanced at him then, mind revolving slowly backwards to piece together what he'd just said. "Yeah."
He wasn't phased. Smirked. Sarcasm dripped from his tongue.
A breath of laughter escaped her lips. "White horses?"
Spoken mostly to herself, unsure if she was reassured or disturbed by his disregard.
Edited by Asha, Aug 4 2016, 04:08 PM.
The crowd expectation soared as the Ascendancy finally stepped into view. It was deafening, their reaction to him; she hadn't anticipated that her surroundings could become even more heightened. But she'd planned today even before she'd found Elias in the crowd. Her heart beat shallow and fast under the duress, her palms clammy again, but she rode the crest of it as best she was able, hooking in when she needed steadying. She picked an emotion - one there was plenty of, one that was easy to bear, and plucked it out. Used it as a focus in lieu of a single conduit.
Awe. So much awe. Many of these people loved him.
Asha pushed up onto her toes to get a better look at the man who had moulded the Custody. He was too far away and there were too many distractions to feel anything specific from him, but she felt the moment he blinked out, his absence as stark and uncomfortable as all the other small holes in her senses. The boom of his voice made her flinch, too vast to be natural. Then there was a moment of stillness. Anticipation thrummed. Her chest felt as though it might burst from the tension and the bright spectrum of emotion all around her.
The ground began to shake.
Peripheral fear leaked in, entwined with her own, made her body begin to tremble of its own volition. The ringing bells chilled her skin. And then the mausoleum began to melt. Asha's eyes widened, her mouth ajar, and she stumbled half a step backwards.
Elias' irritation was cold like a sudden dowsing of ice water. The sensation startled her before she realised he'd grabbed at her hand. They were different skills; treading water amongst a group of people, concentrating on the easiest emotions to bear, ever seeking and ever vigilant, compared to the focus of one single thread; one that wrapped her up and stole her attention whether she willed it or not. The snap of change dizzied her, but her fingers curled around his reflexively, and squeezed tight.
Asha stood speechless long after the earth stopped its tremor, staring at the giant gateway. Slowly, her heels thudded back to the ground. She'd be exhausted later - already an ache settled behind her eyes. But it had been worth it. She could barely fathom that this was a thing created of mind-made power. Hardly Nox's parlour tricks. And suddenly it occurred to her that all those blank spots shared the same power. That Elias did. She glanced at him then, mind revolving slowly backwards to piece together what he'd just said. "Yeah."
He wasn't phased. Smirked. Sarcasm dripped from his tongue.
A breath of laughter escaped her lips. "White horses?"
Spoken mostly to herself, unsure if she was reassured or disturbed by his disregard.
Edited by Asha, Aug 4 2016, 04:08 PM.