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Post by Zira Firestone on Dec 30, 2019 17:29:28 GMT
Quiet. It was nice. Zira made sure she wasn't around anymore people. Their minds were an open book to her, and she couldn't block out their thoughts. Nor could she block out their emotions that she would mistake for her own. Out alone in the forest area of Kansas City she was able to be herself. Not to have a single thought in her head, nor a single feeling that wasn't her own. It was nice.
That feeling however was about to leave her when she started to hear someone else's thoughts in her head. Emotions coming from out of the blue. Zira held onto her head as even one voice that wasn't her own was enough to cause her a headache. She didn't like these new abilities she had. They made daily life a chore. And some times it was just too much for her.
"WHO'S THERE?! She shouted. "SHOW YOURSELF!"
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Post by Leah Auria Tome on Dec 30, 2019 17:39:49 GMT
Leah dropped into view from one of the trees with inhumane grace and slipped her hands into her pockets. The woman's dark locks harbored a few dry leaves from her journey through the forest, but she did not seem to mind their presence all that much. Leah eyed her from behind her sunglasses. As Zira's uncontrolled abilities unintentionally scanned her, she would sense calm and relief, but her thoughts were different. She was intentionally keeping her mind focused on Zira, her surroundings, the various sounds the woodland creatures were making, and the creaking of the trees as they swayed in the wind. There was a great deal of self-control for the voice that all people had inside their heads. "Relax." Leah commanded, "I'm not here to harm you."
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Post by Zira Firestone on Dec 31, 2019 1:02:19 GMT
Zira suddenly felt calm and relief when the woman showed herself. There was something oddly familiar about her. Her thoughts mirrored what Zira already saw so they weren't as invasive as other people's thoughts tended to be. She was calm now, but how much of that was her own nerves being settled or the feelings of the stranger?
"Sorry. I'm just a little cranky."
That was putting it mildly. It was hard living with these abilities. Her long sleeved shirt and gloves shielded the third degree burns on her arms and hands, but nobody questioned the wardrobe choice due to the colder weather in December.
"What's your name?"
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Post by Leah Auria Tome on Dec 31, 2019 1:14:30 GMT
Leah silently agreed that she was, in fact, quite cranky and perhaps a tad jumpy. Unfortunately for her, that straying of her thoughts would be detected by Zira. The vampiress inhaled through her nose and exhaled slowly through her mouth. The act of breathing wasn't essential in her existence, but it gave people the impression she was alive. Sometimes, she found herself remembering the last time she felt peaceful just from flooding her body with oxygen. "Name's..." Leah paused and considered things. There was no sense in dragging this on and making her feel as though she were being lied to from the start. Considering how jumpy she was, and all that she had endured, it may spell disaster for both of them. The vampiress pinched her sunglasses, slid them off, and pocketed them for now. In the light, Zira would find herself looking at what appeared to be silver irises.
"I go by Leah, now," A sad smile touched her lips, "I've been looking everywhere for you."
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Post by Zira Firestone on Dec 31, 2019 1:20:11 GMT
Zira was about to make a comment about how easily she agreed with her initial comment until the sunglasses came off and the silver eyes came plain in the light. At first Zira didn't believe it. This woman who came out of nowhere was her older sister Amoura. Back in the flesh. But where the hell have she been all this time?
"Amoura? Is that really you?"
Zira came in closer trying to read more of her mind to see for sure, but Amoura always had a way of blocking things she didn't want let out into the light. The only reason she had read so much of her mind to begin with was because Amoura allowed it.
"Where the hell have you been?"
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Post by Leah Auria Tome on Dec 31, 2019 1:34:36 GMT
"Leah," she corrected her. "I had to change my name." More like need to. The world wasn't exactly a welcoming place for the Silver-Eyed Hunter. As her younger sibling approached, Leah did the same, but she stopped when they were a reasonable distance apart. She wanted to give Zira a moment to process things. Her sister had been through more than enough for one soul to endure. "Trying to find you and trying to tie up loose ends." Leah's teeth licked at her canines as she thought of how to explain things better to her. Zira had every right to know why she wasn't around to break her free from her captors. "I don't have the same resources as my sire nor his skills with computers. I had to rely on word of mouth and even that wasn't reliable." No shit.
Leah's eyes darkened. Rage smouldered in her gut. "What did they do to you? Where are they located?"
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Post by Zira Firestone on Dec 31, 2019 17:10:24 GMT
Zira didn't like to think about Oscorp. It haunted her dreams at night. When she was alone with her thoughts it was all she thought about. She didn't have much to say, she merely rolled up her sleeve and showed the third degree burn marks on her arm.
"They turned me into a freak. I can read people minds whether I want to or not. I can move things with my mind. I can sense people's emotions until all I feel is what they feel. And I can make fire come out of my hands but at a cost. It's a living nightmare."
Zira rolled her sleeve back down. Not fond of showing people her scars. Even if they were family.
"They're located in the business district of the city, but not much is left after... after Legion escaped."
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Post by Leah Auria Tome on Jan 2, 2020 20:53:24 GMT
An intensity flared in her silver irises when she saw her sister's burns, and without hesitation, she closed the gap between them, raised her palms beneath her arms, and rose them up further to inspect the injuries. The longer she stared, the more her anger showed. Her upper lip twitched and a tremble could be visible in her hands. With a sharp intake of breath, she drew her hands back to let her cover them up at her convenience. Leah needed a moment to calm herself down. They would pay for this with their lives, but there were other pressing matters to attend to: her sister's well-being. "Zira, never think yourself a freak." Leah's voice held less of an edge when she spoke this time. Seeing her sibling like this sent off a pang of guilt deep in her gut. If she had been faster in obtaining information, she could have bailed her out before all of this. No amount of wishing or "what ifs" in her head could change the present.
The news of Legion furrowed her brow with concern. The day was just getting better and better, wasn't it?
"We'll worry about that later." Much later. "First things first, we need to try to find a way to help you control your abilities. If they forced these powers onto you, then control can be obtained. I doubt anyone would want to do this without that in mind." No sense in creating a weapon you could not control. Leah assumed that was what they were doing in that hellish place.
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Post by Zira Firestone on Jan 3, 2020 1:05:11 GMT
Zira appreciated that comment about never thinking herself a freak and managed a weak smile. Then Amoura - Leah, chose to keep the matter of Legion saved for a later time. Not that Zira could blame her. Zira didn't want to be anyone near that devil child. She was something else entirely and it was hard to believe Oscorp could make something so terrible. She was only the prototype for that child to walk the Earth.
"I don't know if I can, Leah. These abilities are overwhelming. I honestly don't know how you do it."
Zira doubted herself. Something she sensed her sister didn't. She could sense her anger earlier and felt it herself. Not sure how much of it was her own anger or just from reading Leah's emotions. Not that she wanted to read her emotions. Emotions were a private thing and she shouldn't be able to invade someone's privacy like that. Emotions, like thoughts, were hard to conceal.
"Where are you staying?"
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Post by Leah Auria Tome on Jan 6, 2020 18:27:11 GMT
How did she do it? Good question. Perhaps Leah had more time to adjust to what she was given. Thoughts on answering that to herself did not linger--her sister was the priority here. Leah held up a finger to stop her from further doubting herself after she had finished talking. "If there's one thing Ranka taught me during our lessons, it's that control is possible. We just need to figure out the 'how.' If it takes time, it takes time. I did not master many of my abilities overnight."
It occurred to her that this location would be a prime one for starting to learn the "hows" to help her gain mastery. There were few minds to read and the place offered a chance to gradually adjust to more of them.
"Wherever life takes me. Mostly cheap motels or outside somewhere." Leah hummed under her breath in thought.
"Tell me more about how you feel when thoughts come to you. Does it start at the back of your mind or is it like your own thoughts?" If Zira did not want to answer, she understood. This could be done at another time.
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Post by Zira Firestone on Jan 7, 2020 1:06:38 GMT
"It's like I'm hearing voices when I hear them. I know they aren't my thoughts, but they sound as clear as my own thoughts some times."
It hurt Zira's head just thinking about it. If she didn't know any better she would've thought she was going crazy, but that wasn't the case. At least not yet. It was other people's thoughts she was hearing, and now the only thoughts she heard was Leah's.
"The empathy is worst. It feels like my own emotions. I almost take on the person's identity when I feel what they feel."
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Post by Leah Auria Tome on Jan 7, 2020 1:31:25 GMT
Leah gave her the floor to explain the sensations she felt with her newfound abilities. The thoughts sounded as clear as her own and she felt emotions as though she were feeling them. It was a start. First, she had to know what she tried before giving suggestions.
"What have you done to try to cut those feelings off?"
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Post by Zira Firestone on Jan 7, 2020 14:46:39 GMT
"Booze," she replied honestly. No point in lying to her big sis. The drinking helped to a small degree like it did with everything else people used booze for, but it didn't help heal the damage that was caused by her own abilities.
"Some illegal drugs. I'm not proud of it, but I didn't know what else to do."
Zira hanged her head down low ashamed of herself. It really was like she had a mental illness and she subscribed to self-medication instead of a better alternative, but what else could she do to make it stop?
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Post by Leah Auria Tome on Jan 7, 2020 16:48:38 GMT
"Zira, it's alright, you did what you had to at the time to keep yourself sane." Leah assured her and without judgement in her thoughts or emotions. She didn't have room to judge her anyways, not since she also lost control years ago and tried to lose herself in distractions. She put an arm around her sister's shoulders and guided her towards a boulder she could sit on. "From what I'm gathering, those thoughts and emotions meld with your own. They are like invasive thoughts, except they are coming from the outside, and those are incredibly difficult to control." When her sister took a seat, Leah remained standing, "I'm going to be blunt with you--this is not going to be an easy path."
Her thoughts drifted back to Ranka's lessons but were dismissed as soon as they were recognized. This was an entirely different situation.
"So, here's a suggestion. Try imagining a barrier around your mind that is meant to keep all thoughts and emotions out. Let's see if that works for you in keeping my thoughts out. Don't rush this--take your time."
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Post by Zira Firestone on Jan 8, 2020 1:14:52 GMT
The good thing about being able to read minds and emotions was the fact Zira could tell when someone was being sincere with her. It didn't leave any question in her mind that her big sister didn't think any less of her after her confession. She was relieved to hear it. At being told to imagine a barrier around her mind she sat down on the rock and closed her eyes.
She imagined a large force field around her brain. Like the things from science fiction movies. She did her best to block out any relevant thoughts from Leah, but it wasn't working. She decided to take in a deep breath and try again. This time focusing on the emotional aspect too. Zira didn't feel anything for a moment, but wonder if that was because of her focus or because Leah was just feeling indifferent. Then the flood of thoughts and emotions came rushing back and she almost groaned in pain.
"You really like Ranka, didn't you?"
She didn't mean to snoop, but that name kept appearing inside Leah's thoughts and emotions.
"You loved him, didn't you?"
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