Katri wandered through Jastrey, finding herself walking toward the limits of the town. She had just started to leave on the road out, when a strong female voice echoed through her mind. She gave a small shriek and collapsed to her knees, clutching the sides of her head. Her hood fell back, revealing glistening, almost tear filled eyes and her mask fell to hang loosely around her neck.
"No, no, no, no." She muttered, rocking back and forth just slightly. "No, no. Please, not here not now..."
Ah but daughter, you neeeedd mee. The cracked, maddening voice of her mother repeated near silently on her lips.
"No! Not you, no! I need my mother, not you!" She whispered harshly to the crazed voice.
I am your mother. Just as I was before, love. The voice once again repeated itself almost silently from her lips as it echoed through her mind.
"You are not my mother! You are an image of the broken cracked woman that monster made! Leave me in peace!" Katri hissed, almost as though she were in pain.
You will never know peace, my daughter. Never. Who is Tatiana, love?
"I am!" Katri doubled over. She seemed in obvious pain, though no source for it could be seen. Her voice was still low, but hard when she repeated to seemingly no one, "I am Ana!"
No, you are not Tatiana. I did not name my daughter that. Katri fought in vain to keep her voice stilled from the woman's words.
"NO!" Katri's voice grew slightly louder. "I am Tatiana!" A maniacal laugh that was not her own burst out of her and carried on the breeze.
"No, I'm not hurt." Katri managed to gasp. "The voice...!"
You're not hurt, no. But you suffer, my poor child The malicious voice that was not her own spoke through her again.
"I'm not your daughter!" She cried at the voice, a noticeable change in tones was present.
"It's her voice! I can't..." she tried to say more to the healer, but her voice was choked and smothered by the other, softer yet harsher one. Katri appeared to double over in pain again, and looked like she was trying to scream for someone. Though, the name on her lips was impossible to read at this point.
You will never get rid of me. The cold voice echoed a bit more loudly than before. Just like your father thought he could get rid of me for you. I didn't leave you, see? Remember how you cried for me?
Katri began to do something she hadn't done in ages: cry. A few tears dripped down her pale cheeks. Her hands grasped at her hair, and then dropped down to wrap around her middle. It was like she was trying to keep herself from splitting in half.
"Stop it! Get out of my head!!" She almost screamed. She looked toward Branwyn for a moment, pleading, "Help me, please! I need-" Her voice was choked again by the maniacal laughter of her crazed mother.
Branwyn had always thought of the Uordeq race as a cold, fearless people, hearless and unfeeling. But that image was becoming harder and harder to hold onto. "Poor child," Branwyn said as Tatiana's hands grasped her own hair frantically.
Was the girl possessed? Or simply mad? Branwyn hesitated, but not long.
Certain that the girl's ravings would draw the attention of the Ressik soldiers, the healer dropped her sword and knelt down next to the uordeq. She wrapped the younger girl's shoulders in an embrace and did her best to ignore the chill the maniacal laughter sent down her spine. "May Istensia's light guide you from the darkness (Sooth)."
The voice lessened, retreating to speak only in her mind once more, for the moment. Katri slipped away from the healer's touch and rocked back on to the ground, wiping the few tears that had dropped from her eyes away. She looked to Branwyn. "Thank you. This veakness is the bane of my existence. However I do not know how long this affect vill last. Her voice grows stronger yet again..."
Katri sighed, drawing her knees to her chest and resting her forehead on them. She couldn't understand why her mother's voice had plagued her that way. It rarely ever got that bad, but when it did, it lasted until the voice grew tired or... She didn't want to think of who she'd have to see. Who she had tried to scream for. "This silence von't last much longer. I don't know if you vant to stay for the madness, healer."
"Istensia's light will help sooth the pain for at least a short while," the healer said, letting the girl move away without pursuit.
"Whose voice do you fight?" the healer asked softly, noting that the uordeq girl had let her face covering slip. She pretended not to notice, instead letting her eyes scan up and down the road as she collected her blade.
In the distance, she could see a regiment of Ressik's soldiers. But it seemed they were either not interested in Branwyn and Katri or had not yet noticed them.
"It will, but only breifly. I can feel the voice again." Katri slowly began righting her mask, but left her hood down. She followed the woman's gaze down the road and saw the soldiers as well. It would not be a good thing to attract their attention, but she didn't know how long she could continue to repress the persistent voice of her mother.
"The voice is vhat was left of my mother vhen she died." Katri's voice was hard as she gazed into the distance toward the men. "Vhat my father made her into." She knew she was saying too much, but she was still to weak and angry to care or to even bother wiping the emotion from her voice. The ice invaded ever ounce of her tone, something that would have angered her father. Thinking of him was all it took to turn up her mother's voice and change her expression from blank to furious.
"Voices in the dark, whispering dark thoughst, their will upon us, their servants. Haunted by our dark past and our decisoins. They urge us on, for their bidding. We are simply puppets, but we must gain strength to fight them and force our will on them." A voice silently comes, directed to Katri from the corner of the tavern.
She can't fight me. The voice of Katri's mother answered for her. Katri hissed, shaking her head, as if trying to escape the voice.
"How? How do I fight something like this," She struggled against the words echoing in her mind, threatening to choke her own words.
You can't. You can't escape me. You can't fight me, daughter. The tones were crazed, that of a mad woman, so different from Katri's own voice. Katri suppressed a shriek of pain. She looked toward the deputy, knowing he may be able to help her with his own experiences with possession or voices or what ever Gorepaw happened to be.
"I am not your daughter!" She snapped at the voice, struggling to stand and succeeding only to sit back up on her knees. It was like she had no strength when her mother entered her mind so strongly.
Atasatch draws his hood back. "It is simply a matter of not listening, like when someone constantly nags you. The solution is simple, but its mustering the strength is where many fail. They lose themselves and give in to the voices. The key is to not give in to always fight and assert yourself. You know YOU are in control. And that the voice that plauges is that and nothing more. A voice."
Katri struggled again against her waning strength and tried to stand. Again she is left only able to look up at Atasatch. It's not that simple. She isn't in control. Not completely. But I am stronger anyway.
Katri fought to cut off the voice, succeeding only in lowering it's volume. She hissed again, angry with herself. "I can't control her, " She answered him through gritted teeth behind her mask. "I try and try, but I can't make it stop. I have never given in... i don't know vhat else to do."
(OOP: that was going to have worked, mostly. but claire opened her mouth.. blame her.)
"Find her weakness, what weakens her and what strengthens you. When you find her weakness, open it up liek the throat of your enemey." At the last statment Atasatch's voice became darker and more hatred filled. He shook his head. "My apologizes, sometimes Gorepaw's influence takes me. And now that I have lost all of me that was druid its only that much eaiser.
"You'll forgive me when I say I have an idea of what you mean about the influence of another on your words." She choked out a coarse laugh, sweat forming on her brow. Knowing she was nearing the end of her strength, she tried to get up one last time. Her mother's cruel laugh echoing from her own mouth. She finally got to her feet and gave a cold, empty smile beneath her mask. "So far, I only know of one weakness she has. When I have no strength left, neither does she." Katri's eyes glimmered semi-triumphantly for a moment before she fell to the ground in a dead faint.
The healer hurried to the girl's side, quickly checking for any injuries Tatiana might have sustained in the fall. But the ground near the side of the road was soft and the uordeq appeared physically fine.
"I think we should let her rest," Branwyn said, looking at Atasatch. "Would you help me take her back to her cabin?"
Katri's eyes blinked open slowly a couple minutes later. She registered the woman kneeling by her, but as no more than a blur. She blinked again and everything cleared up. She slowly sat up and looked from Atasatch to Branwyn. She was pale and shaky, obviously exhausted and out of energy. Adjusting her mask, which had fallen slightly, and pulling up her hood, she slowly and unsteadily got to her feet. Nearly losing her balance, she caught herself on the nearest tree trunk. She righted herself and looked at the pair again, "I am sorry for vhat you have seen. I also thank you for your help."
The Uordeq was clearly ashamed of her lack of control, but she carried herself with the slight relief that her mother's voice was temporarily silent. "I believe that, after that, I need a strong drink and some rest. I vill be returning to the tavern if you vish to join me..." With that, she turned and began making her way slowly toward the tavern.
Branwyn stooped down and used a stick to inspect the underside of a small leaf. Apparently pleased with the plant, she dug it up and was in the middle of brushing the excess dirt off the roots when she paused suddenly, looking in the direction of the road.
The sound of a voice had caught her attention, but from where she was, she could not make out the words. It seemed to have come from the direction of the road.
She stood slowly and drew her sword cautiously, approaching the road as quietly as she could. Snap! A twig crunched underfoot and she cursed herself silently for the noise. Up ahead, she thought she could make out a female voice "No!".
Moving quicker now, she could see the black clad figure huddled near the side of the road. "I am Tatiana!" the uordeq said, followed by an unpleasant laugh.
Unsure if Tatiana had seen her, the human healer paused a moment, trying to look for who the uordeq was addressing. Was the uordeq trustworthy enough not to backstab someone trying to help? She supposed she was about to test that theory. "Istenia grant me your blessings," she whispered quietly. Seeing no one else on the road, Branwyn kept her sword in hand as she moved forward and broke free of the treeline. "Are you hurt, Tatiana?"