knock me off my feet (open: faron woods)

[Doppelgänger]

[ Editor's Note: The two characters in this topic, DOPPELGÄNGER and ECHO FAUST, are traveling to Castle Hyrule. They began at Ordona Province (Minish Forest,) and they are currently advancing to Faron Province (Faron Woods.) ]

If the spring was indeed holy as legend had said, the DOPPELGÄNGER should have been burning in the water. He appeared as a small, frail nude human boy in the water. The boy had bright blue eyes accompanied by a nearly symmetrical face. Perhaps the only thing that was out of the ordinary was the scars from a whip that decorated the boy's back. It wasn't as if the DOPPELGÄNGER had suffered through the violence which the boy had. In fact, the DOPPELGÄNGER knew that the scars would scare away many people from enjoying the waters with his false form.

The DOPPELGÄNGER was about waist deep in the chilly water, and he had no desire to inch even further. He had yet to wet the blonde hair of the child he had taken form of, and he didn't want to soak himself too much. The boy's clothes had been discarded at the edge of the water; a dark brown tunic, a brown feather beret, and boots. It was another calm day for the DOPPELGÄNGER. The past few years had been calm, thankfully.

[Echo Faust]

Water, something Echo couldn't enjoy anymore; to her, everything around her might as well have been a gaseous existence. The ground, walls, life and sedimentary rock all were intangible to her; she is intangible to the world, a misfit to this space with no religion and no real place. Who could say for sure why it was that she decided to hang around bodies of water, no matter how big or small they are. Could it be some form of loneliness? A longing cry for help? Perhaps, just maybe, Echo enjoys torturing herself with the fact that she will never be able to enjoy something as simple as water ever again. Swimming, something she will never be able to do for as long as she exists; she will exist until the stars, and the moon, and the sky above her open up and bring forth the end of time.

Slowly, her eyes open once more to peer into the water that didn't reflect back her image. Only nature could really show what Echo is, only nature could understand that Echo truly is nothing. As if in a parallel universe, moving through a grey area of reality, she is destined to always live such a vicarious life. Though, she didn't have to live it without company; sometimes, that just so happens to be a bad thing. How she wishes she could enjoy this scenery alone, without worrying about anyone's physical form clouding her view of something beautiful. She had thought the male would have left already, for he'd been here for quite awhile. Unbeknownst of her presence her, she could very well sneak up on him and scare the life out of him (or at least get him out of this damned place)! She had half a mind to do so, but at the moment she didn't want to leave the place where her mind was: in a lone memory, a nice dream now, of a time when she could enjoy such simple pleasures.

[Doppelgänger]

The DOPPELGÄNGER turned his head to glance at the ghost that had been haunting the area for quite some time. The two had arrived at the spring just a few hours ago at about the same moment, and it seemed that both refused to cease their existence in the area. The DOPPELGÄNGER could have upped and left many hours ago, but he had no reason to move and the water provided ample comfort to his person without explanation. For the Poe, though, moving would be no difficulty at all. And the DOPPELGÄNGER, lacking manners, intended to make this very apparent.

"Don't you have someone to haunt or somethin'? Jeez. You ghosties are annoyin'. Jeez."

While the DOPPELGÄNGER wouldn't normally speak to another entity that didn't really have a true form in such a manner, he wanted to keep his persona up as the boy who couldn't keep his trap shut. The boy's blue eyes would reflect a smidgeon of annoyance at the continued existence of the ghost, but the DOPPELGÄNGER truly wondered if ghosts wanted to remain in this realm to begin with. Maybe he could strike up conversation with the outsider and make a friend for this young boy. It wouldn't truly matter to the DOPPELGÄNGER though, it was unlikely the girl would ever see the DOPPELGÄNGER again... let alone in the form of a small boy.

[Echo Faust]

To Echo's surprise, the young kid in the pool of water turned around and spoke to her in such a rude manner. That idiot! Did he have any idea whom it was he spoke so rudely towards? She could make his life so miserable, rip him to pieces and make him wish he had never been born! The heated feelings boiling inside of Echo boiled over onto her face, and her eyes narrow in a deadly manner to look at the male wading in the water. It is perhaps in all that madness that she couldn't feel something off about the other, something inhuman about him.

Echo's fingers twitch, her head tilting to the side as her teeth slowly expose themselves from behind those pale lips. "I'm sure mommy and daddy are looking for their only son," she spoke in a calm and soothing voice, "it'd be such a shame if he never came home"; the words flowed out of her mouth effortlessly, her mind dabbling in the idea of it.

[Doppelgänger]

The DOPPELGÄNGER would internally chuckle, but the child would youthfully stick his tongue out at the apparition. There was an enjoyable element to being able to screw with spirits, but the DOPPELGÄNGER didn't hold much sway over the already dead. In fact, it was probably his least favorite thing to do, but he lacked options at the moment. He considered leaving at that moment to go get other members of the town; a witch hunt would be an interesting even to lead.

"You'ze just an ghost!" the boy said after he retracted his tongue. The boy would then cross his arms and posture himself in the water with his head raised slightly up for the tough look. The bright blue eyes reflected courage. The boy had no fear of the spirit even if he was nude in a cold body of water. "At least I have a mom and dad!"

[Echo Faust]

Echo's eyebrow never shot up so far so fast, her face never adorning such an annoyed look ever! Damn the youth, damn them and their hurtful remarks! Sometimes children could say the meanest things and not even know it, and then when they try to act like bullies about it then it just drives Echo off the walls. She'd be damned if she'd sit here and let some brat mock her in such a manner! That boy's head is going to be hers, no matter what!

Slowly, effortlessly, her form floats forward; her eyes never leaving the other's own as she encroaches on his position. "But they won't have you, not for much longer" she spoke again with the same voice as before, her face slowly returning to the placid expression it once held. "I mean, then that way, you'ze would be a ghost too", she spites him by mimicking his vernacular as well; she figures someone his age wouldn't be able to appreciate such humor. She wonders why this one isn't afraid of her, especially since children are always normally afraid by what goes bump in the night.

[Doppelgänger]

It was almost too much for the DOPPELGÄNGER to bear inside the illusion that had been cast forth, but he managed to maintain the child's superior posture. The Poe would hopefully be at her wit's end in a matter of minutes on meeting the DOPPELGÄNGER, and then the DOPPELGÄNGER would have no reason to continue his meeting with the otherworldly outsider. After all, there was a queer aura that the DOPPELGÄNGER radiated if another was able to pay enough attention to him.

"Oh yeah?! Well... I'm ganna go get the priest from town and get him to send you away permanently!" the boy threatened as he took a step closer to the Poe that had floated to him. His eyes narrowed at the girl, and he stuck his tongue out at her once more. The DOPPELGÄNGER was wondering how the Poe would actually pull off killing a small boy; he had heard that the ghosts were relatively harmless from the few that had met them without them disappearing in fear.

[Echo Faust]

Echo tried her best not to react to such a threat, for she herself didn't know if such a thing could even be done by a god-fearing individual. She figures it wouldn't matter, for such a filthy creature would never be able to find her unless Echo wanted to be found. "You read too many books, little one" she says in a condescending sort of way. She's on top of him now, her hollow eyes looking down at his small bare form standing below her in the water. Oh, the feeling she got by being over such a helpless life; it's better than anything else she's ever felt before!

A single hand runs itself through her hair, a half-crooked smirk appearing on her lips. She couldn't help but wonder what it was that is going through the other's mind at this moment, she wishes she could tune in to his thought process and understand what sort of horrific and scattered thoughts he's having inside of that small little head of his. Oh, it would be music to her ears.

[Doppelgänger]

It would be music of laughter and chuckles, and the DOPPELGÄNGER could not stand it anymore. With a quick transformation, the boy would slide further into the water as he would knee and then buckle even further down with laughter that disrupted any quiet that the night could provide. Although he wouldn't transform entirely just yet, the boy's eyes would stare the ghost's own. In a brief flicker, the DOPPELGÄNGER's true eye color would be revealed to the Poe before him. The boy would then change his pitch entirely to reflect that of a demonic entity. It was as if the boy had been possessed by a spirit.

"You can't truly believe that you're invincible? I can taste your precious little soul the closer you get to me." the boy would exclaim. To further emphasize the false idea, the boy would give a villainous smile. The virulent smile wouldn't fade as the boy reached up to point at the ghost before him. "And I'm hungry."

[Echo Faust]

Echo wasn't quite sure if her demented mind was playing tricks on her or if the boy's eyes and voice suddenly changed into something different, into something evil. Her heart fell to her feet, and a cold shiver traveled throughout her entire form; this is something she hasn't felt since she was alive, being afraid for her life. What she couldn't recognize about the other before, his lack of humanity, now was very clear to her; it radiates from him like an evil aura, entering her essence and corrupting it with his own madness. It's intoxicating, making her feel light-headed, and her form falters as if she's about to be grounded by gravity.

She didn't know what to say, she couldn't say anything, for she was stricken with fear. She herself couldn't believe that she was feeling this right now, she didn't know what it was that was sitting in front of her; she didn't know what was going to happen, or what sort of capabilities the other - whatever it is - may have, but she really doesn't want to stick around and find out! It's such a shame though since she can't move, petrified with fear.

[Doppelgänger]

"Your fear is absolutely deeelicishious." the half-demon boy would then state. The smile that was once white teeth with healthy gums would transform into teeth that appeared to be sharpened combined with rotting, pungent pus-filled gums. A tongue would slither down and out of the child's mouth which was not that of a human, for it contained many wart-like bulbs on it. The boy still spoke normally; the DOPPELGÄNGER had no difficulty managing his illusion to make it appear as it was natural for the small child. "You Poe are like desert, and I cannot wait to have my fill."

As the illusion was magical, the DOPPELGÄNGER reached up with the boy's hand and stroked Echo Faust's hair. There were two purposes for the action; 1) he wanted to wake the girl out of her fear, and 2) he wanted to further show her that she was not invincible to his person. Of course, the DOPPELGÄNGER would mean no harm to the harmless Poe. Although a monster, the DOPPELGÄNGER was a creature that fed on delights such as the one that he was performing. He had no intention to adopt the customs of ruthless killing; if he killed off all of the people he had met, he wouldn't be able to perform his act anymore.

[Echo Faust]

Then, like a knife through her chest, her eyes widen and snap out of her frozen state. A hand running itself through her hair, herself being tangible to another; she's never felt anything like this in such a long time, and it absolutely broke her from the inside out. Her eyes, at the edges, fill with tears as she takes a deep breath in before recoiling away from whatever it is in front of her.

No words could describe the fear running through her, the mixed emotions, the horror building inside of her throat. Her hands grab at the sides of her head, her upper body leaning forward as she silently screams with eyes as wide as they were before. She tries to float off, but like a wounded bird she doesn't get too far. Whispering to herself, as if she caught some madness of her own, she shook her head trying to convince herself that this couldn't be happening; her hands only grew tighter on her skull, trying to pull the sick right out of her.

[Doppelgänger]

The DOPPELGÄNGER had already won his argument with the Poe that had risen earlier. The boy would slowly meld back into the harmless looking child that she had been so eager to try to scare. There was only one danger that had been presented by the DOPPELGÄNGER; he had presented his true eye color. That would only be a problem if the Poe was to ever meet him again, though. That would most likely not happen.

"And ya stay away!" the boy called after all the events had taken place. It was as if there had been a pause in time for the boy, because he went back to staring at the night sky that was lit up. The spring was getting colder as the night got later, and the DOPPELGÄNGER began his move out of the spring to the three articles of clothing that lay at the shore. "Poes are strange. I never quite understood them through all of my years." the DOPPELGÄNGER would say as he waded out of the water. He didn't care if the Poe overheard him. It would only serve the theory that she was a psycho ghost who had hallucinated a small child turning into a demon.

The DOPPELGÄNGER thought, as he dressed, that he should at least get the name of his victim.

[Echo Faust]

Echo found herself under the darkness of one of the trees that hung overhead. She couldn't snap herself out of her own mind, it was as if she had been touched by a ghost! The irony in that is almost too much to think about, but it's a good thing she couldn't think of anything at this point.

Echo found herself whispering Slaughter's name for one reason or another, as if calling out to her for help. It was different when the two of them had made contact, for she had been one with her for such a long time inside of her before she ever realized that the other had any sort of magical capabilities in it. Perhaps it was different with the other too, since she is a God of sorts. Oh, how different this all felt. Echo brings her hands over her face, fingers digging into her scalp. Madness is consuming her, the idea of her being tangible to another, is horrifying.

[Doppelgänger]

It is certainly difficult to roleplay with someone so tangled in their own character's head. The DOPPELGÄNGER watched the Poe float around with her hands on her head and face as if she was corroding as time aged. While the duo did have all day, the DOPPELGÄNGER grew tired of her antics and spat at the ground. The boy was fully clothed by this point, and he stared at the Poe without any intentions. The DOPPELGÄNGER watched her and her dramatics when she began to dig into her scalp. While the DOPPELGÄNGER was one for theatrical improvisation, he didn't find a ghost girl digging into her scalp entertaining in the least bit.

"When you're finally done eating shit, you should consider that we live in a magical world, fairy. What is your name?" the boy said and asked. Did it really matter if he got an answer? Not really. He was a little curious as to how the girl died, though.

[Echo Faust]

Echo's pride snaps her out of her little episode right quick, and she turns around with fury Hell wishes it had and points a vindictive finger at the male in front of her. "Don't you DARE talk like THAT to me! Oh my Gott!"

Her teeth are gritted and her whole face only amplifies the notion of just how pissed she really is. Now upright, floating a few inches above the floor, she scoffs as she turns her back to the male and crosses her arms underneath her chest. "Don't you dare ask anything of me, you disgusting excuse for life!" Her eyes shut as a 'hmph' escapes her throat, "you're something else, with your lack of manners and whatnot."

[Doppelgänger]

"Yeah, I am... aren't I?" the DOPPELGÄNGER said. His eyes would become bored with the girl who had switched from psycho to impossibly bossy. It was an uneventful evening to begin with. At least this bit had been a small slice of entertainment. His trick that he had done earlier was one that he had full intentions to do on other people, but intimidating ghosts didn't prove to be worth anything. He stood at the edge of the spring before he leaned down and picked up a small rock. He reared his arm back and sent the rock flying through the air with the intention for it to pass right through the ghost who had her arms closed. She probably had her eyes closed too -- her stance suggested it.

"I thought you'd be smarter. I guess you're newly dead." the DOPPELGÄNGER mused. He turned his head to look to the direction of the town. It was only about a quarter mile away, and the flickering of the torches could be seen even from this distance. He didn't need to return to the town, but he did need to act as if he was returning to the town.

[Echo Faust]

Echo wouldn't even realize that the other had thrown a rock through her, which is probably a good thing for the other would have got an earful about how rude and childish that was! The other's assumptions about her being a new addition to the famous living dead is all sorts of wrong, and that's enough to get Echo's feathers all riled up in a bunch! "You're wrong, so wrong", she muttered as she slowly turns around to face the male once more. She could barely make out the light sources coming from the distance, and she had a vague idea of just what it was they were coming for.

A hand runs itself through her hair, scratching at her scalp as a bored sigh is given to the atmosphere. This one, this thing, she knows what it is; she only thought such a thing was folklore, the stuff of legends. This is too cute, and she didn't even know how lucky she felt to be in the presence of something like this creature. Sadly, of course, it's got a stupid mind of it's own. "It's your welcoming party," she spoke softly, giving a nod in the general direction of where the villagers were coming from.

[Doppelgänger]

The DOPPELGÄNGER glanced again as the Poe spoke of the villagers that were heading in the direction of the spring. The DOPPELGÄNGER didn't know the reason that the villagers were actually heading to the spring, especially in the middle of the night, but he figured it probably was due to the religious shits that these people cared about. With a shrug, the boy gave a smile. There was an itch to show the Poe who he truly was, but he didn't want to spoil anything just yet. It would be sickening for him to actually show his true self to some otherworldly creature he had been pestering just a year earlier.

"I dunno why they're comin'." the boy said. "But I'ma headin' to Hyrule. Wanna go, eh?"

Even for the DOPPELGÄNGER, it was weird that he was offering the Poe a chance to walk together to a very far away place. Hell. A journey would be an interesting thing to take, and the DOPPELGÄNGER had yet to experience anything within the years. It would do him some good to actually get to know something. And maybe, just maybe, he might help this Poe become a physical being yet again.

[Echo Faust]

Echo didn't know what had come over the other to offer her such a chance to travel along side with him. She didn't know why she had been given the chance to walk amongst a legend, a monster that only lived in legends; she didn't know if she should, considering his chauvinistic nature! Could a creature like that even be considered a male? Oh, it just all was so confusing!

With a shrug of her shoulders, she pulls her hand out of the hair it entangled itself around and looks over at him with a single eye shut and the other giving him a curious look. "Sure, only because I've got nothing better to do." Her eyes look over to the side, towards some rocks off in the distance, thinking about how things went in the short span of time the two were together. Sometimes, she forgets just how fragile she really is past her lack of corporeal nature and her facade.