Trip -- Private RP

[Rei]

Jumathos lounged in the shadows, enjoying the momentary peace. He liked being alone, and the alleyways behind the theatres were a perfect place to hide out. Oftentimes he would come here in the dark of the night, when nothing but the stars lit the ground below, and would simply walk, relishing the silence. Why he liked peace and quiet so much was a mystery to him: it wasn't that he disliked the company of others, he just appreciated having time to himself, to think and relax.

However, crowds, for some reason, intimidated him a bit. He tended to keep his social relations on the small scale, seldom meeting with more than three or four others at a time. What he really enjoyed, however, was that magical number one -- him and someone else, alone, in a place where no one could hear them. Then, if he felt like it, he could have a little fun. What was the point of having power over dreams, if you never used it? None, in Jumathos' opinion; he currently had an entire theatre-full of humans under his indirect control. It was amazing how much you could influence someone by simply slipping a notion into their dreams...and, of course, hallucinations were always an open option.

Jumathos' power was not unlimited, however. Though he was formidable, he could do nothing to completely control the mind of more than one creature at a time. All other controls were achieved through confusing sounds and images, subliminal notions, and other tweaks of the subconscious. Basically, he could create an entire dream and force it upon a person, whether they be asleep or awake. He had trouble with horror, however; his was a dream dominance, not a nightmare one, and his attempts at terror at best disturbed his victims, or triggered severe anxiety. He could not make a body writhe and scream like the truly powerful nightmare masters.

He did not complain, however. His powers were enough for him. They had never let him down; normally, individuals did not question their senses: if they saw or heard something, they took it as real, and he was able to manipulate them as he saw fit. Then, if they somehow figured him out and began to resist, he would simply engulf their consciousness in his own, trapping their minds within him until he felt like letting them out. Yes, there were advantages to being born with power...

In the shadows, the wolf-shaped Euclides yawned, then craned his head upwards to watch the stars.

][ No question why this thread is called "Trip" -- except for one: Will yours be good...or will it be bad? >:) ][

[Amaryllis]

Hop, hop, hop, went Leisebiile along the alleyways. Her cape was tied at a jaunty angle over her body, and she carried her magic wand tight in her teeth. The alleyways had always been, for her, a fun place - she had an innumerable selection of things to hide in, or behind, or between.... She only had to find a good place to squeeze into. Then, of course, it was a matter of waiting for someone else to come by. That was the part that sometimes got boring, but the wait was worth it when some innocent young Amuni came tip-toeing nervously through the darkness....

Wiggling her tail, Leise hopped past a nasty-smelling pile of something red. Wrinkling her little rabbit nose, she sped up. Yes, there were some downfalls to spending one's time in such a shady place. More than once, she had leapt out and scared some individuals that wound up scaring her a great deal more than she scared them. But she knew how to tell the difference, now, just as she knew how to make herself fade into her hiding place when one of the bad sort came by....

Ooh! Leise thought excitedly. I bet that's the back of the theatre! She slowed down her hop a bit, and got herself over to the sturdy old wall. She sniffed it, and was rewarded with the smell of fur tinged with the coppery smell of blood. "Yuck," she said when the second half of the scent reached her nose. She didn't like hunting, much - anyway, Sibine and Kael were better at it than she was. She liked to make a big spectacle; after all, if you were doing something you had to do, why not make it fun? Unfortunately, that usually scared away a lot of the other potential prey, and most Euclide got mad at her for that.

But, back to the task at hand. Sniffing about, Leise crept along until she found a pile of old bricks. It'll do, she thought in satisfaction, crawling into the heap and curling herself up so that she could see through a gap in the messy stack. Now, she only had to exercise what little patience she could muster, and this night might turn out to be fun after all.

crits.dracogrex.net/euclide/leisebiile.html

[Rei]

Jumathos sat up, abandoning the sphynx-like position that he had adopted for the last half hour. The silence of the night surrounded him in its majestic embrace, filling everything with added anxiety and magic alike. This was the hour he liked most; the hour when dreams ran rapant and he could do...well, basically whatever he liked.

Standing, he stretched his two cuffed forepaws by bowing and reaching forewards, like a cat. His tail wagged slightly as he yawned, canines flashing whitely, ears back; then picked up the pace as he closed his mouth with a snap. It was an unconscious movement; strange that a creature as far distant from dogs as a Euclides would pick up on one of their mannerisms. He raised his head and howled -- more for dramatic effect than to welcome the pale, round maiden of the night (at least, as he liked to think of her) -- then started off through the dappled shadows, his tail still wagging with subdued vigor.

He walked a few meters until he detected an odd scent. Pausing, he twitched his canine nose, taking in the night's olfactory colors. There were the normal nightly smells -- dark, water, sleep, anxiety, calm. But overlaying it were three new scents -- dried blood, fur, and a Euclides.

The dried blood and fur he traced to the theatre wall, stained a dark reddish brown from many a hungry Euclides who caught an unsuspecting human in a dark alley at night. But the other scent was harder to pinpoint. He knew the direction it came in, but all he could see was a bare, shadowed alley and an innocent pile of bricks.

Or a not-so-innocent pile of bricks. The more he scented, the more he was sure of it -- there was someone hiding behind them. He took a few steps towards it, then slunk forwards until he was just outside of jumping-out range. Steeling himself, he readied his reflexes, then adopted an unsuspecting expression and strolled forth in the direction of the hidden Euclides.

[Amaryllis]

Leise had been waiting for quite a while, and she was starting to get annoyed with ... well, with her race in general. Euclides were supposed to love dark, bloody, yucky places! Had every single theatre demon suddenly turned into a little lap-dog pansy, afraid of the dark and jumping at their own shadow? Pausing in her train of thought, Leise couldn't help but smile at this last image - oh, what fun it would be to see the greatest of puppet masters leaping like kittens on coals! Perhaps Leise had a sadistic streak after all, but she was quite sure she wouldn't be the only one finding it amusing.

Lost in her thoughts, it took her longer than usual to notice the presence of another. Her ears shifted imperceptably to better hear the approaching Euclides. He obviously was just wandering - though she thought she heard him hesitate at one point or another - not hunting. Smirking, Leise realized that this was the chance she had been waiting for. Tensing her muscles, she peered through the gap in the old, moldy bricks.

There he was - and what a handsome fellow he was! She wasn't knowledgable enough to immediately identify his type, but she didn't care all that much at the moment. He had some of the most stunning markings she had ever seen, perhaps only rivaled by Bindi's or Kotmaj's, and his coat had a lovely hue to it, almost gray but warmer.

Yes, he would be entertaining, but not just yet. She had to wait for the perfect moment to make her entrance. Delighted, she saw that he was wandering in her general direction - perhaps she was naive not to assume that he was moving that way for a reason. She was caught up completely, anticipating the rush she would get out of seeing him flail in surprise. Perhaps they could converse afterwards, some friendly banter.... Narrowing her pale white eyes, she crouched, plotting just where to jump. Closer ... closer ....

Thrusting hard as she could with her strong hind legs, Leisebiile smashed through the old, decaying bricks, tumbling swiftly toward the male canine. "BOO!" she shrieked, her cape fluttering madly like a ghost in the wind.

[Rei]

Jumathos, bracing himself for a fight when the bricks suddenly exploded outward, was startled to see, not the big, snarling, vicious Jiaro-wannabe that he had expected, but a dark blue lapine, dressed in a cheap magician's cape and clutching a fake wand in her mouth. He twisted nimbly to the side, reached into her devious mind...

And suddenly Leise found herself not in a dark, blood-drenched alley, but in the middle of the city square, surrounded by young Euclide and big, awe-filled eyes. The strange thing was, it was perfectly normal for her to be here. In fact, she had been here all along. It was a dream; all things made sense in a dream.

"Do it again! Again!" The younglings cried, almost jumping up and down in glee as they eyed the mass of colored scarves that were bunched up in Leise's hand. She was, indeed, the very center of attention. Why wouldn't she be? She was the best magician in the world, after all! In fact, she was halfway across the world right now, on tour! That's how much they loved her, she was wildly popular! Colored signs portraying her image were suddenly all up and down the street -- in fact, they had always been there, hadn't they?

The lights, colors, and gleeful children were such that it would be hard to spot the slinking, gold-swirled, gray-furred Euclides as it edged along a row of trees and disappeared around the corner.

Once he was out of sight, Jumathos paused to catch his breath. A dream of that magnitute took a bit of effort, but it wasn't anything particularly difficult (like, say, a nightmare) so he would be fine in a few seconds. Indeed, his energy came back fairly quickly as he set aside only a little power to keep the dream running until he was out of range. It was easy to sustain a dream, once it had gotten started; after the small details had been taken for granted, the individual's own mind started supplying them on its own, until Jumathos needed only to provide the base and the dreamer handled the rest.

[Amaryllis]

(( ... You make Leise a happy girl. ))

For a moment, Leise was a bit shell-shocked. What in the world is happening to me? she thought frantically. I was just -- She paused, wondering where she had been going with that train of thought. She had just done one of her more astounding, mind-bending tricks; perhaps she had been a bit addled from the rush of achievement and success.... Indeed, her smile and charm were back in an instant as she swished her cape and lifted her hands into the air. The crowd went wild, just like she wanted them to. Yes, this felt right - she was the Puppet Master for once, she had the entire crowd on strings. She could make them thrilled with awe, tremble with terror, shriek with delight....

Leise, the Magical Bunny, tossed her colorful, rainbow scarves into the crowd, where several little ones tussled briefly over who got to keep the blessed treasures. Tutting a bit, she shook her head. "Little ones," she said, to the light laughter of the parents and other adults in the crowd. Was that a defore Leise saw out of the corner of her eye? Perhaps an Amuni? How wonderful did a performer have to be to bring the three races together in amiable unity?

And now came the greatest trick of all. Brandishing her wand, Leise prepared the crowd with a long, purposefully drawn-out speech. "I know," she said, as the crowd hushed, "you all came here to witness a miracle. Perhaps word of it has reached you - though I must ask you not to pass on our little secret." She glanced over at a few ladies who looked like the talkative sort, and they blushed deeply. They had probably promised to tell all their friends about every trick, so that said friends didn't have to pay. Cheepskates.

"I must warn you," Leise continued, pulling the strings with what she thought was her own will, "this next trick might be too much for your feeble minds. I request that you ask yourself not how I accomplish it - that is for the magician only to know. Perhaps the method is beyond your understanding." Twinkling eyes suggested that this might not be the case, that it may be more rational than she was letting on.

With a spin of her cape, doves flew into the air. The audience applauded, but Leise was only warming up. With cool confidence and absolute charisma, she shifted into her anthro form, making it easier to step off the stage and onto thin air. A hush fell over the crowd, and Leise felt a rush of complete ecstacy flood her. She had never been able to do this trick! She didn't know why on earth she had gotten hot-headed enough to actually attempt it in front of an audience. Of course, she was only using the simple bits of magic hidden within her, but her mundane audience could have no idea of that.

Delicate steps carried her over the heads of the crowd. She reached down and touched the ears of some, but otherwise made no move to demonstrate that she was doing something she really ought not to be doing. When she had completed the lap of the performance area, she landed back on stage to thunderous applause.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls," Leise said, bowing, "I sincerely hope that my performance has been worth your precious time. Return to your mundane lives, though do not forget to find a place in your world ... for magic."

Perhaps it was a silly line to end on, but the audience liked it, and Leise rather thought it fit.

[Rei]

][ xD *page reader* ][

Meanwhile, Jumathos was walking down the alleys again, tail wagging slightly to the shift of his haunches, searching for a place where he really wouldn't be disturbed again. Although he enjoyed using his powers, he really had to think of some good ideas to plant in the humans' heads tonight. His last great achievement had just stopped playing, and he needed them to start writing another one so that they could perform it before profits ran out. He didn't want to give up the easy, human-attended lifestyle that he currently enjoyed every day. And, of course, the humans were far too stupid to come up with a real hit; at least, not without his expert advice. It was a good thing that these humans were creative enough to actually remember and expand upon ideas that they recieved in their dreams. It was not a perfect system -- occasionally they would begin work on something that Jumathos had not come up with, but that could usually be solved with a bit of selective hunting.

He had been walking for quite a ways, now. Turning down a dark alley, he found himself standing behind a local diner. It was a real greasy spoon kind of place; he could still smell the residual cooking oils and fats, and it must have been closed for hours, by now. Ah, well. It was dark, and quiet -- it would do.

Settling himself down in a corner, he adopted his thinking position -- laying down sphinx-style, cuffed forepaws stretched out in front of him, haunches straight, head bent slightly downwards with his nose resting on his paws. He released the last thread that kept the lapine's dream going. He was probably too far away for her to track him, anyway.

With a sigh, he continued his planning, formulating the concept in his own mind that would soon be filling the dreams of every sufficiently talented human in his theatre.

Now, what he had been thinking earlier...that might work, but the costume might be a titch too expensive...maybe if he substituted plastic for the glass bit on the headdress? Yes, that should work, but the script for the meeting didn't quite ring true, and if he couldn't fix it he couldn't bring her into the scene...

As he continued these musings, they became more and more vague. Not because he was finally working out the details, but because his thoughts were slowly becoming more and more sluggish...

A few minutes later, Jumathos was out cold, his nose making moist clouds of fog on the cool metal braces that adorned his two front legs. It hadn't occured to him that the route he had taken from the spot Leise had ambushed him had simply consisted of the first main alley he came across, then the first suitably dark, mysterious niche that had presented itself. It was well hidden from pedestrians, however, due to a large dumpster that had been partially pushed in front of it; only a few feet of the entrance showed.

[Amaryllis]

As her audience dispersed, Leise exchanged some lines of clever banter with several of the more outgoing of her spectators. It was a curious feeling of power, to truly know that these individuals had traveled substantial distances, just to see her performance! "Oh, but of course, I don't let it get to my head," she smilingly assured the male puppeteer that had brought the matter up. "I already have enough things going on up there, already, an ego is the last thing I need to deal with!"

When she had finally extracted herself from the crowd, Leise ducked down an alleyway, the sort that no self-respecting person would enter. Granted, a few more dedicated fans would probably follow her and, outgoing as she was, Leise liked her privacy. Groups were probably involved with their own chatter by now, anyway, and they had no place for her anymore. That was her cue to make her final exit.

Pacing down the dark, cloudy passageway, she heard voices behind her, murmuring quietly. She sighed - so there were a few more fanatical admirers. Perhaps they only wanted her autograph, but she couldn't tell for sure whether or not they meant her harm. After all, it took a sturdy soul to enter a place like this! They would only be fun if she could leap out at them, and she was a famous performer now, there was no time for that sort of thing....

No, she couldn't take the risk. She had so many performances, so many fans not to dissapoint...! Quickly, Leise began looking for a hiding spot. It was then that she noticed a small, dark opening, partially concealed by a cleverly-placed dumpster. Aha, she thought slyly, before squeezing her delicate frame through the crack and into the darkness.

[Rei]

Jumathos, fast asleep, was not aware of the quietly moving lapine that had slipped into his alley. Unconsciously, he shifted in his sleep, his head nestling down against his forepaws in a more conforable position.

][ Woo, long post. I almost thought I wouldn't make it, there at the end... ][

[Amaryllis]

(( Wow, your fingers must be having little finger-seizures. =O ))

Leise's ear twitched sharply at the sudden noise, and she whirled around to face the dark, sleeping shape, barely discernable from the blackness surrounding. Squeaking a bit, Leise skittered back a few paces, before pausing and sniffing. She could've sworn she'd seen that profile before, though she didn't have the foggiest idea as to where he would have been. Perhaps he had been a face among the innumerable in her audience, but why would she remember him? No, it must have been elsewhere....

What a handsome fellow!

Quietly, Leise padded over to where he lay, and nudged him with her nose. "You alive?" she asked in a hushed murmur. "This isn't a good place to fall asleep."

[Rei]

Jumathos awoke with a snap. Who was...he was...wait...where was he?

The instant of confusion was gone from his eyes almost as soon as it had begun. Of course. He had been planning out the plot for his next opera, but then...he must have fallen asleep. It was dark and quiet in this alley, and he had been resting with his eyes shut so that he could think better. How foolish of him -- it was late, he had been a bit tired; of course he had nodded off! He wondered how late it was -- had he slept away the whole night? Not good...he needed to get the details worked out and the dreams planted as soon as he could. Now he had lost a whole night, and the humans might start thinking up ideas on their own. As much as he hated reducing his own staff, he might have to order his slave to lead a few people out into the alley behind the theatre tomorrow night. Hopefully, though, that wouldn't have to happen...after all, day dreams were always possible.

As this thread of thought flitted rapidly through his mind, another detail began to register. He had been woken up by someone...a lapine, dark blue, with a fake -- oh, crap! How had she found him? He had left her happily wrapped up in her dream, and promptly ducked into the darkest, most secretive alley he could find. What was she, some kind of super-tracking vengeance nazi? But she couldn't have figured it out on her own, or she would probably be throttling him at the moment. And she wasn't. So maybe it was just a coincidence...?

"No, it's not. And it's also none of your business." He said curtly. Normally he would be a little more polite about it, but tonight he wasn't in the mood. He brushed past her and headed towards the partially obscured exit.

][ Jumathos: *steps on Leise's ego* Muwaha takethat. >
Me: -.-; *quietly puts him in a box* ][