08-20-2013, 09:44 PM
Krasivolkya was struggling to maintain her inherently calm exterior. Something. SOMETHING about this place wasn't right. She was beginning to feel ...odd ...scared, but not afraid as much as frightened ...and strangely she KNEW what the difference was.
Krasivolkya literally willed the sweat not to bead around her head and hair. She focused on something else, refused to feel the stress, much as her father had taught her to do. She had never been down this far before, and she felt like ...like ...well, like a caged animal, if she was honest with herself. She felt like a cornered beast. A wolf caught in a trap.
Krasivolkya watched but didn't see Dr. Weston approach the screens and pull up additional information. She was so concentrating on keeping her composure that she didn't even think to re-address with Mrs. Florsheim the fact that she had neglected to make sure a floor plan was included in the briefing.
"KV," Krasivolkya called herself by the diminutive her father had always preferred. "KV. This needs to stop. You are feeling uncomfortable, and you're about to start letting it show. You know who you are. You know you are in control. You are a part of this mission now because of all you have achieved. Pull yourself together, KV. Chaos of the mind is a chink in the armor of your soul." Krasivolkya reminded herself of the idiom her beloved father had impressed upon her, over and over. And if there was anything Krasivolkya was adamantly against ... It was chaos of the mind.
"What was causing this?", she thought. It was this place. Something about this place didn't sit well with her. There was something about the blocks of patient rooms that seemed to call to her, and at the same time assault her senses. She had had moments of panic in her life, everyone did, but this was something else. Something she couldn't name.
Then, she sensed a change. Something sharper and more resilient was registering in her brain. Apart and separate from the assaulting panic, this was not fear. This was an acute awareness of a rival or dominant ...or challenge. She wasn't sure.
Her head was starting to swim. They had been here hardly minutes. She turned her head to regain her focus and saw her reflection in a highly polished blank screen. Her eyes. Her eyes! Her eyes were lightening! Even as she watched they seemed to be turning from her regular amber brown to something decidedly more .... Well ...almost golden...
She then snapped to attention. Someone or someone's were coming this way. She could hear a faint sound of military boot on tile. She looked up but didn't see anyone. What WAS going on with her?
She then noticed the holographic restricted symbol on the screen in front of an obviously startled Torri Weston. Krasivolkya KNEW exactly what that symbol meant. Her intuitions went into hyperdrive. The panic faded. The challenge, the dominance she had felt was first and foremost, the faint sound of military boots grew louder and suddenly made sense.
Krasivolkya snapped her head up and faced forward just as two security guards rounded a corner and approached them.
The Ascendency. Was here.
Krasivolkya cursed under her breath as a single drop of sweat ran across her right temple.
Krasivolkya literally willed the sweat not to bead around her head and hair. She focused on something else, refused to feel the stress, much as her father had taught her to do. She had never been down this far before, and she felt like ...like ...well, like a caged animal, if she was honest with herself. She felt like a cornered beast. A wolf caught in a trap.
Krasivolkya watched but didn't see Dr. Weston approach the screens and pull up additional information. She was so concentrating on keeping her composure that she didn't even think to re-address with Mrs. Florsheim the fact that she had neglected to make sure a floor plan was included in the briefing.
"KV," Krasivolkya called herself by the diminutive her father had always preferred. "KV. This needs to stop. You are feeling uncomfortable, and you're about to start letting it show. You know who you are. You know you are in control. You are a part of this mission now because of all you have achieved. Pull yourself together, KV. Chaos of the mind is a chink in the armor of your soul." Krasivolkya reminded herself of the idiom her beloved father had impressed upon her, over and over. And if there was anything Krasivolkya was adamantly against ... It was chaos of the mind.
"What was causing this?", she thought. It was this place. Something about this place didn't sit well with her. There was something about the blocks of patient rooms that seemed to call to her, and at the same time assault her senses. She had had moments of panic in her life, everyone did, but this was something else. Something she couldn't name.
Then, she sensed a change. Something sharper and more resilient was registering in her brain. Apart and separate from the assaulting panic, this was not fear. This was an acute awareness of a rival or dominant ...or challenge. She wasn't sure.
Her head was starting to swim. They had been here hardly minutes. She turned her head to regain her focus and saw her reflection in a highly polished blank screen. Her eyes. Her eyes! Her eyes were lightening! Even as she watched they seemed to be turning from her regular amber brown to something decidedly more .... Well ...almost golden...
She then snapped to attention. Someone or someone's were coming this way. She could hear a faint sound of military boot on tile. She looked up but didn't see anyone. What WAS going on with her?
She then noticed the holographic restricted symbol on the screen in front of an obviously startled Torri Weston. Krasivolkya KNEW exactly what that symbol meant. Her intuitions went into hyperdrive. The panic faded. The challenge, the dominance she had felt was first and foremost, the faint sound of military boots grew louder and suddenly made sense.
Krasivolkya snapped her head up and faced forward just as two security guards rounded a corner and approached them.
The Ascendency. Was here.
Krasivolkya cursed under her breath as a single drop of sweat ran across her right temple.