By Any Other Name (Daniel)

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The hard parts of this were taken care of. A potion to alter her voice, practicing with said-altered voice, a secret and soundproofed "black box" nearby a busy London street with two separate chambers, a series of carefully placed ventilation pipes that could carry sound clearly from one room to the next, an Imperius Curse upon one Crypt-Keeper "Gavin", a bladed hook, and a recently deceased corpse. All were in place. It was evening and the London nightlife would soon be crowding the area, giving Gavin plenty of audience with his tarp-covered cart.

All that remained was kidnapping the unsuspecting victim. That was certainly tricky, but not hard.
This discovery was more than worth the trouble... an actual Empath?! Even Evie didn't quite believe it. Having just a bit of cruel wisdom on the subject, she knew that there was a brilliantly horrid way to torment such a person, and that was what all the planning was for. 

Evie stood, upside-down on the ceiling above the sleeping Daniel, moving her arms slowly in the motions of a spell that would keep him fast asleep while Evie worked.

Once the boy was securely unconscious, Evie shifted her gravity partially back to the floor and began to gently drift downward. As soon as she was within reach, she put her arms around Daniel's chest and apparated away. The two appeared moments later in a small, candle-lit room. The insulated, concrete walls were all painted black. Only a simple mattress, the candle, and a spray of rose-petal scented perfume were present. She laid Daniel gently down upon the mattress and checked her watch for the correct time. Nodding with approval, she picked up the candle and dashed into the second room, closing the sliding concrete door behind her. She then sucked down the potion she had left for herself and waited the last few moments in silent meditation.  

Evie took in a few long, deep breaths. She focused on clearing her mind, pushing away how she currently felt. Her emotions ran neutral and distant. She focused upon sorrow and whatever she could dredge up to bring herself to that state. Her worst memories of losing her coven family flooded her mind. She focused on the feeling until tears ran down her cheeks. When the time was up, Evie then held her arms toward the boy and whispered the counter-charm that would bring Daniel out of what she put him in. 

Meanwhile, amidst the growing number of people, Crypt-Keeper Gavin set his tarp-covered cart up against the wall of a building. He dragged the tarp and the object within off and into the middle of the cobblestone street where everyone could see. Without flourish or hesitation, Gavin did as he had been told. He tore open the tarp -revealing the corpse to the crowd- and began to tear into its chest with a bladed hook. As soon as Gavin got a few cuts in, he would finish his orders by dragging the hook across his throat to kill himself. The Imperius Curse would be cleared.

Terror and fear erupted in the street nearby at the grotesque display... a massive pool of nearby horror for Daniel to wake up to. That and the persona Evie had made for this experiment: The Rose. Or just simply "Rose".

And speaking of waking the boy up... Evie dwelled on her sorrow, and in her newly-acquired elderly voice, began to weep... softly at first and then a little louder.

@daniel

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Dan hadn't been feeling that well lately, though he didn't know why. His vacation had gone well and all, but for some reason he was feeling dark inside, and he was annoyed by that. He usually didn't sleep that well but he had been passing out lately, as if he was more exhausted than usual. He didn't think that he had really been exerting himself more than usual... maybe his body was just trying to prep for game season. Tonight he passed out the moment his face hit the pillow. Maria wasn't home yet, and it was possible she wouldn't be coming home at all. He didn't keep track of her whereabouts.

Slowly he started to wake up, and as he did so a series of emotions started to bombard his mind. Sorrow, sorrow, disgust... did he hear someone crying? He tried to pry his eyes open, slowly, and rolled over a little. His arm slung off the edge of the bed, which was odd because his bed was a lot bigger than what he seemed to be on... maybe he had just moved to the edge in the night.

Wait, was he hearing... crying? "Maria?" he mumbled. And then again, louder, "Maria?" he slowly opened his eyes, trying to escape the grogginess.

@evie

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Good... Good, yes! Daniel was awake, groggy, and calling out a name...? Evie didn't know who the hell Maria was, but maybe she'd get a chance to peek through the boy's closet later. Maybe he kept a journal. For now, she needed to focus. 

"N-No... N-o... NO!!" Evie bawled. "No... I'm-s-sor-ry, D-Daniel." Evie sniffled a little for effect before continuing her stuttering cry. 

"I d-don't mean t-to sna-p. I'v-ve been so ov-ver b-burdened lately. I f-feel w-w-w-WEAK! I f-ff-feel tax-x-xed. K-keep-ping you ss-a-safe... s-safe from THEM!" Evie layed into the elderly voice's sobs. "Can y-you feel them, Dan-niel? The f-fear, the sorrow, th-th-the d-disgust? Ter-rible feel-lings. I kn-know." Evie sniffled some more. "I need t-to ss-speak t-to y-you."  

Evie needed to get his mind in gear. Let him ask questions. Convince him of a possibility while he is groggy and let the specifics fill in the gaps once his mind was clearer. What would the little mouse do with the bait? This would be interesting.  

@daniel

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The voice wasn't Maria's, no, but the distress was clear. He finally was able to open his eyes and then realized... he wasn't at home. He sat up incredibly quickly, too quickly, and suddenly the emotions slammed into him like a ton of bricks. He gasped as his head and chest split in pain. 

The voice was... apologizing? What? For what? He looked around, but was having a hard time seeing anyone. Where the hell was he? Wait.. keeping him safe from who? "From who? What?" he questioned, now fully awake.

"Who are you!? Who's there?" it sounded like... no, no. He wasn't crazy, right? There was no way he was just now starting to hear voices in his head. The emotions were too real to just be his imagination...

@@evie

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"In your head, Daniel," Evie answered, softly. "Relax. Y-you're okay. You've c-come a long way... lived through so much..." Evie paused even longer this time. She sobbed quietly for a moment, sniffling occasionally. "Daniel, you are an empath. A g-gifted one at-t that, but you do not face the emotions of others alone. N-no empath does." 

This was the part Evie was unsure of. She had come up with a narrative, but still needed to convince the boy that it was true. She had to reinforce that he wasn't crazy. If this worked... Evie will have gained a new toy. If it didn't... well... She could always wipe the memory and try again once she had figured out something else. 

"I d-don't have a name," she explained, the melancholy dripping like tears. "But I have alw-ways been with you, helping ease the load. Especially these past few years... murders, killing, anx-iety, paranoia, fear.... sadness... all around. Y-you have not felt ev-rything, D-daniel. Your power has," Evie sniffled again. "Me. Self-preserv-ation. What you feel... Repressed emotions... too much for me right now. I'm sorry they had to come back to you this way. I'm so sorry."

@daniel

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In his head? No, no, no. He was NOT hearing voices. She told him to relax, that he was okay and more. He shook his head, faster than was probably healthy. She was still sobbing and his chest felt tight. He tried looking around the room again, standing up this time. She mentioned his ability, saying that he doesn't face the emotions alone. "Yes, yes I do. This is just mine," he commented back, but his voice was soft that he wasn't even sure anyone could hear him but himself.

And maybe it WAS himself he was talking to.

She said she didn't have a name, that she'd always been with him 'easing the load.' She mentioned the last year and all the bad things that had happened. Wait... she was his power? The manifestation of it somehow? His repressed emotions were coming back to him?

"Oh no," he whispered.

@evie

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Oh no, came the whisper from the other side of the wall. Good... Yes, that was the seed she needed to plant. Negativity was easy to plant and dwell on. This, she proved herself as she brought her recurring thoughts and feelings of heartache to a close. It was difficult to let go of the rush those memories could grant her, though this was now the time for a little positive reinforcement.
Evie set her mind onto more peaceful things and positivity. Her mind quieted as she allowed herself to feel at peace, as if she were meditating. 


"It's okay," Evie said softly, now starting to breathe more regularly. She focused on how she felt toward her dear coven family. Caring, nurturing, loving, adoring almost like a mother. "It's okay. This is not your fault. Be proud of yourself. Be proud of your strength. We are a team, Daniel, and we will do better." Evie paused and made a happy sigh. "But I have kept you too long. We must go... but first, what will you call me?"

@daniel

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The feeling of peace that came next was confusing. Did that... maybe that meant he was talking to himself but himself was here for... himself. He had never been more confused in his life. He took in a deep breath, listening to the next words. He found himself leaning back against the wall, both hands pressing back against it as if it was giving him a warm hug. It was comforting him, whatever this was.

But at the mention of leaving, he paused. "No wait," he stopped. Was he really begging this thing to stay? And then the question of a name. He shook his head, his throat growing hard to swallow and his eyes stinging, "I don't... I don't know."

@evie

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"Something nice, I would hope." Evie offered. "Something lovely..." She feigned thought for a moment. She already knew what she wanted to be called. Something nice and quite lovely, but not without its thorns. "What about... Rose?" she asked, doing her best to feel content at the uttering of the name. 

It was easy to feel at least happy with the suggestion of the name; after all, she had come up with it. Contentedness was somewhat more difficult to muster given the circumstances, but she'd have to make do. Regardless, Daniel had already made some kind of objection toward her leaving, and the poor boy was already taking all of this with a quiet, but vocal confusion. Evie needed him to want more. She wanted him to still be pliable next time. If he genuinely wanted her to stay longer... perhaps he would lead with that next time. She was already planning a happier encounter for them after a few months had gone by. 

Without another answer, she began to silently cast the same Bewitched Sleep charm that she had cast upon him earlier. Energy from her wands built into a vibrating aether around her palms. She slowly opened the silenced door into the main chamber and extended her hands forward into the darkness to weave the spell upon the boy. She hoped it would work as well as it had before... 

@daniel

 

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Rose.

"Rose," he repeated. He wished he could reach out and touch it, her, whatever. That way he could really read the emotions and figure out if something crazy was going on. But... if this was all in his head then the emotions would just be his own, right? "Okay," he said out loud, breathlessly.

Then he started to feel sleepy again, and he shook his head, trying to stay awake, "don't-" but the sleep overcame him anyway.

@evie
(The eennd!)