Petals of Poison, A dream-inspired YYH roleplay

[zookie]

(( Hi there! *wavewave* Forgive me for taking so long to respond? ))


"Possibly," Kayla answers her, racking her mind for the other people in the palace. "I mean, of course there could be other things here I don't know about...There's Shadow and that other woman..." She looked briefly startled, then her expression went stormy. "You don't think they're coming up here, do you? Also, i suppose this is the best time to ask it, so is there anything you could possibly tell us about Hari that might give us an advantage?"

[BlueWater26]

Shoko frowned. "Hari is scared of fire--that's her major and most easily-exploited weakness." She sized up Kayla and Yuri, looking distinctly disappointed. "Of course, neither of you are fire-manipulators...?"

The princess did not wait for the girls' answers. Instead, she rushed on. "The rose I'm stuck in controls the entire castle. Long ago, Hari anchored her mate's soul to this castle to make it a nearly living being. The reason I'm stuck in this flower is because a constant source of energy is needed to 'lock' the soul within. Once I die, Hari will need a new energy source, and the castle will temporarily be out of control. If you have any way to contact this soul, I'm sure he will help you. I'm quite sure he will jump at the chance for revenge. And if he won't...tell him Shoko requested it." Shoko paused for breath.

---

I'll need a new energy source soon. The princess won't last much longer. A visible smirk. Lucky for me, I have quite the selection to choose from. And I always did like the fox-boy...

Halfway up the steps, Hari turned dramatically on her heel to return to her outside garden. Her eyes gleamed with near-tangible greed.

---

"That's odd...Hari's aura is receding." Shoko now looked slightly hopeful, but her expression was rather difficult to discern as she launched into a new fit of coughing.

[zookie]

I'm not a fire manipulater...but Shadow is...We've got to get this over with before he gets here. After what "he'd" done earlier, Kayla was half-afraid Shadow would fight on Hari's side. She had no illusions about her own strength- she'd never be able to beat Shadow, let alone Shadow AND Hari AND the other one. And i bet Shadow could contact the soul of the castle too...this is so not good.

There was a slight rasping sound, like that of something brushing against the broken doorway; Kayla whipped her head around, expecting to see Hari, and was able to summon up a smile when she saw her staff bobbing along in the air towards her. She extended a hand and had to throw herself forwards a little when it stopped and clattered to the ground, its destination reached. Beaming, she stood it up, holding it firmly as she tapped the end on the ground, apparently just to hear the faint echos.


* * *


Don't tell her. Samhradh's mental voice was loud in the silence. Autumn turned to look at him, blinking.

The girl?

Yes.

Don't tell her what?

He smiled, ever-so-slightly. What you've done these past years. What you did after capturing me, back there in the hall. Anything about us, or about me.

Fhomhair considered this. Alright.


* * *


Kurama, quite frankly, considered it galling that he was still trapped like this. Experimentally, he was stretching his awareness in waves, feeling the dimensions of the rose spell weaken with every tug. He'd get out eventually, he was sure- plants were his thing- but he hadn't expected it to take this long. He was very surprised when he felt the one who'd done this to him in the first place approaching, and settled back into his confines so she wouldn't know what he'd been doing. He almost considered throwing in a few mental pleas to make it really convincing, but neither Youko nor Shuuichi had EVER been the type to beg.

[BlueWater26]

If Hari was short of energy and effectively weakened because of the last "incident" in battle, her face did not show it. Instead, as she exited the castle, she was relishing her act as a stereotypical villain--arrogant and easily defeated. Sort of, anyhow--the former was more prominent than the latter.

She stepped into her vast gardens, the rosebushes and thorny vines automatically parting to let her through and swaying menacingly. A few strides in...and she stopped at four particularly vibrant blooms. Her mere prescence--she did not bother to even conceal her aura now--strengthened the flowers, feeding the spells.

Hari drew in a quick breath as she examined the flowers. It had taken her more power than she would've liked to turn the Reikai Tantei into roses. She had even thought, for several minutes in the heat of battle, that they would overpower her. After all, the spirit fox's control and abilities were vastly superior to hers.

Speaking of the spirit fox...she selected the blossom that matched his energy print and began to perform the necessary spells that would transfer his energy.

---

"What do you MEAN, she's suicidal?" Koenma slammed his hands down on his desk, nearly spitting in George's face. "How can she be suicidal, ogre? She'd be dead already!"

The blue ogre cowered, clutching the file to his chest. "I...I don't know, sir! That's just what the file says! Twenty-four attempted suicides resulting in major damage in the Makai, but she never died for real...."