• Mature • Mirror, Mirror, On The Wall

[Zana]

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His hands on her caused desire to flare, passion to ignite and her regret had been more than genuine when they separated. So, too had been her amusement when he said that he was not at all inclined to stop trying. Her eyes betrayed her emotions, at least with him, almost as much as his did to everyone who cared to learn their meaning. Their feelings on Peter were shared and Zana knew that Theo was convincing Peter the best he could. She determined that she would help every way she could, it was good for them both.

His words about an object he was attached to, though, provoked a different reaction from her and she just held on to his hand and listened. The belt, no, she didn't think so; it might be meaningful because his mother had given it to him, but not because of who it belonged to. The wedding ring, though? Yes, she nodded. "When we get home, actually, tomorrow we can try that? If we look at 'Trinket of Desire' in the morning, that would help." She looked at him and her expression was a little melancholy. "While I'm all they can think of, everything they dream of, I have nightmares. Wake up screaming nightmares. They stop as soon as the obsession has ended." With a bit of luck, she explained, they could explore it for a break or two and then stop it. That way, he would know how it felt and she wouldn't have slept.

Still, that was for the next trial and in this one, she kissed him with a depth of feeling born from knowing what was coming and then lowered her head and exhaled a shallow breath on his arm. Looking up, she recognised that it had worked before he spoke, but she had asked the question. She didn't pull her hand away, but neither did she return the gesture, her hand in his was limp and unresponsive as she looked at him.

"That it worked is evident," when she was like this, Zana could kill without remorse; in truth, she could do anything and it would not bother her. That she might sound insulting did not even occur to her. "However the purpose was to ascertain how well the control worked. It obviously is not overwhelming since you are not overwhelmed." There was no expression on her face, none at all. She was calm and neutral; simply devoid of any of the spark of emotion which usually drove her. "It is worth to measure how long you feel the emotion. Gauge how strong it is at it's peak."

There was no doubt, she was still herself with all her memories and yet, she very much was not. "If we plan on using this ability with clients, I need to learn how to pretend to be enjoying anything," she said. The lack of emotion led to lots of things, most of which were obvious, but her gaze on him was different. There was the obvious lack of attachment, lack of concern, care or.. anything. She looked at him like she did the chair or window. Her gaze was still, also, though normally, her eyes roamed over him as she spoke. She was much more unmoving than usual and her posture was different. In any moment, Zana leaned towards Theo even just slightly, now she did not. "I think it would be best to learn whilst I am like this. Would you agree?"

Then she looked at him and noted, without inflection, "your eyes are green."

They say, everything comes to an end.
Every emotion will break, even the strongest must bend.

[Theo Nji'Ryn]

"Have you ever used it before?" Theo asked, frowning curiously when Zana told him about the impact of this trinket of desire business on her. So, he wondered, the negative effect on her wasn't just a passing thing but rather it was as just as lasting as was the obsession? If that was the case, then, "Yes," he said. "Tomorrow, in the morning, and just for a short time." The ring ought to work as well as anything he guessed. It had been important to his mother. But it's importance to him was more complicated. Given to her by a man who'd abandoned her, pregnant and alone and who'd never come back. And yet she'd seemed to pine for him and had rarely if ever taken it off. For Theo it wasn't where the thing had come from, only that it was the only thing that was hers, that he had left.

Once she'd blown her breath along the arm and it had worked just as promised, he could plainly see the toll it had taken on her. But Theo couldn't have concealed the emotion that she'd imparted to him in the process. It had been as real as any he'd ordinarily feel on his own. "No, it wasn't overwhelming," he told her, keeping hold of her hand. "or at least not to the extent that I felt out of control. But yes, it worked." As for it's peak? "Laughter, I guess," he reasoned. "When I laughed. The feeling surged from nothing, peaked, and ebbed away again." If he was honest, he was still feeling the residual effects but they became weaker with each trill that passed.

"A little practice at playacting might do you some good," he suggested when she worried that she'd need to pretend in order to be convincing. As for another go? "I agree, but not this trial. You've been through a lot lately. I'd rather you'd ease into it." But then he nodded when she mentioned his eyes. "I can only guess what it means," Theo confessed. "and I don't spend much time observing the changes in the mirror. But I remember one time when I was...maybe thirteen or so, my mother was frustrated with me about something, and said my eyes didn't turn green anymore, as often as when I was smaller."

He hadn't thought of that in arcs, really, not till just now. But ultimately he shrugged. His eyes tended to reflect what he was thinking or feeling, and what he'd been feeling just now was unusual enough to have evoked the change. Whatever the case, he smiled. "No more this trial," he insisted as he stood but kissed her before he did. "Tomorrow."

[Alistair]

Zana

Knowledge
Acrobatics: Stretching exercises
Acrobatics: Touching toes
Dance: Ballet practice with bar and mirrors
Dance: Standing on point
Dance: Arc of the back
Dance: Shoulder positions
Dance: Ballet positions for legs and arms
Discipline: Dealing with boredom
Psychology: The loss of emotions
Singing: Breath control
Strength: Ballet exercises strengthen leg muscles

MB Ability: Breath of Life: Can be controlled with a shallow breath
MB Ability: Breath of Life: Does not have to be overwhelming
MB Ability: Breath of Life: Even when passing on less intense emotions, I lose all of mine

Loot: N/A
Injuries: N/A
Fame: N/A
Devotion: N/A

Points: 15

Theo

Knowledge
Detection: Movement in peripheral vision
Discipline: Maintaining control in the face of temptation
Discipline: Controlling your emotions in the face of another
Discipline: Sustained abstinence is tricky
Intelligence: Subtle means of gathering information
Intelligence: Information extraction via sex
Intelligence: Details and specifics are important
Intelligence: Hire people to be test subjects for information gathering techniques
Intelligence: Ask as many questions as possible
Investigation: Questioning techniques
Investigation: Determining details to protect others

Loot: N/A
Injuries: N/A
Fame: +1 General Good Deed
Devotion: N/A

Points: 15

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