practicality

Thank god for expense accounts - that ought to cover the damage to that wall...

For the record, what ever else those...illusions are, they are also insubstantial, so don't bother trying to touch them. I'd question my sanity, except it appears I'm not the only one seeing these things, and last I checked, madness wasn't contagious.

(I suppose this is a good time to ask...do others recognize some of their illusions? I recognize some, and enough to guess the identities of the rest)

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She watched him, chewing lightly at the inside of her lip and resisted the urge to hug him. She wasn't a terribly good judge of when people were lying and when they were truthful, but he seemed heartfelt in his remorse.

A soft sigh escaped her. "Well, I hope you're not bluffing. I've only known you a few days and yet..." A smile brightened her features like a beam of sunlight for a moment. "It feels like a lifetime. I don't want to believe that you are a bad person." For once she didn't turn away, or drop her gaze. "So I won't. Just do me one favor? If you're ever in trouble, or you need to suddenly leave town... tell me? Don't leave me in the dark - just tell me what's going on." She kept her voice steady, with an effort, but she wasn't so sure about her expression... could he see the strength of her feeling on the subject? how she didn't want to lose another friend without knowing about it?

Tseng couldn't help but laugh softly at that. "I suppose in a way, you have known me for a lifetime. Out of the small handful of people I would consider friends, I didn't know any of the others when I was young. And...I'd like to think I'm not a bad person, but...I'm not always a nice one. I'm sure my subordinates could give you a full listing of my flaws, but suffice to say my job hasn't lead to a particularly normal, stable life." Her last words took him slightly off-guard, however, and he looked at her closely before replying - her face told him that there was some past hurt there...perhaps a subject for another time. "I will, don't worry."

Something cracked inside her, and she had to turn to look out over the gardens, swallowing hard and pretending to clean her glasses. Even after a few long moments, her voice was still rough. "I'll hold you to that. If you vanish on me, I'll hunt you down. I've read far too many detective stories to not know what to look for."

Tseng gave her a small, wry smile. "You'd make a decent Turk, you know. You've got the tenacity for it."

She laughed - a quiet, mirthless little chuckle. "If I had to do what you have had to... I don't think I would be able to handle it. Not nearly as well as you have."

She turned back to him, a little twisted smile torquing her glasses off-kilter. "I'm sorry to bring you all the way out here just to explain to me something you shouldn't have to think about, much less relive for me."

"Well, as I've said, things have been different for us lately. Less of the nasty bits - I think it helps that we're looking out for one man rather than an entire empire, and he's...grown up well, I suppose. You actually reminded me a great deal of one of the other Turks, although perhaps a bit quieter." He shook his head gently. "Don't apologize. It was something you should know about me."

"Still... knowing what I do about what could be asked of those under his employ, even though it was his father's orders at the time... It reminds me of working for the military. We were all given some training with weapons because if something should come up and they needed more soldiers at the front, or a way to protect the facility we were stationed in, even we desk workers and clerks would have had to take up arms and... and kill, no matter our personal feelings on the subject." She squatted down in front of a flower bed and traced the edge of a brightly colored pansy. "It's one of the many reasons I'm glad that I left."

She plucked a deep purple flower and stood, tucking the stem into the top buttonhole of his suit coat - a bright spot of color against the somber fabric. "Now, I would assume that those apparitions following you around are those that you've..." she faltered, "those you've dealt with in the past? Are they showing signs of hostility, or an intent to harm you?"

Tseng look surprised, though he stood still, head titled up slightly, while she put the flower in his buttonhole. "You worked for the military? I wouldn't have expected that, honestly." He looked down to meet her eyes again when she was done. "So far, they've just been staring at me which I think is actually more unnerving..."

She smiled much more sincerely this time - odd given her comment about leaving the military. "It wasn't exactly a choice, but I did enjoy my time there." That engaging smile faded slightly, eroding as time and grief scoured its edges. "To a point, anyway."

As though somehow expecting that the view had changed, she glanced around. "I would imagine. ... If you don't mind me asking, where are they?"

"You'll have to tell me about it sometime - if you don't mind, that is." His eyes flicked to the quiet figures surrounding them. "They're...all around us, really. Keeping a little bit of distance, thankfully."

She nodded vaguely, peering into the trees and bushes for any sign of the spirits. "Hm. Well, unfortunately, I can't see them... But I'm sure they're all too present for you. We could try to find a priest, if you like... Maybe hire them for an exorcism?"

He blinked at her in surprise. "Like a temple mage, you mean? I'm not sure where we'd find one of those around here. Not one that's familiar with the Lifestream, anyway."

A new thought crossed his mind, and he paused on the path, tapping his chin. "Actually...hmm. Its been twenty years, but it might work..." He spoke to himself more than Sheska.

She looked at him in surprise. "Your religious leaders don't know anything about life and death and what is beyond? That's pretty unusual, from what I've read..." He'd stopped, so she paused as well, cocking her head. "Are you all right?"

"No, they know plenty - when people die, their spirits return to the Lifestream, to become one with the life force of the Planet." Her question brought him back to.the present. "I'm fine, I just had a thought. There's a dance that's part of our funeral rites. It's supposed to show the dead the path back to the Lifestream. I was apprenticed at the temple for a year when I was fifteen, right before I left for the city. Normally it would be done by a priest-mage, but ours was very old, and I was the best dancer, so I would do it, and he wouod fuel the spell." He sighed. "Its been twenty years since I've done it, though, and I'm not sure it would work with just my power."

She was fascinated, eyes wide as she imagined how he would have looked dancing. "Is there some way you can take energy or... life force or something from me?" Then she subsided a little, remembering how clumsy she was and how she didn't even know how magic worked, let alone how to power a spell. "...Or maybe we can find someone to help power it."

Tseng shook his head. "I know enough of the outline that I could probably perform it myself, but I wouldn't be able to teach it to someone else, I think. And if there's a way to draw power from someone else...I don't know it. Like I said, I'm not a particularly skilled mage." He shrugged. "Still. I suppose the worst that could happen is that I trip and look foolish."

For half a moment Sheska forced down her disappointment and entertained the wild idea of stalling him so she could get a camera. "I don't think it would hurt!" she said, inwardly appalled at how eager she sounded in her own ears. "Does it have to be some place special? With certain elements attached, or lit braziers or something?"

Tseng shook his head. "Its always some outside, which is easy enough to accomplish. There are ceremonial robes and what not, but they're more to set mood, and to help get the participants into the right frame of mind for the ceremony. They're not strictly necessary." He spotted a flat section of open grass off the path In front of them. "That should be plenty of space."

She followed him over to the lawn-like area and hovered around the edge, thinking that she should stay out of his way. "Is there anything you need me to do?"

Tseng gave her a small grin. "Don't laugh if I trip," he replied as he removed his shoes and socks, and placed them on the ground, folding his suit jacket on top of them.

As he moved to the center of the clearing, he rolled the sleeves of his dress shirt up. "This is going to look a lot less impressive without the robes, I think." He stood there, eyes closed and arms loose, breathing evenly for a few moments. Then he started to hum quietly, almost to himself, and began the pattern of the dance.

He moved slowly and gracefully in a semicircle around the clearing, arms arcing as if the sleeves were much longer. As he danced, he opened up his small spark of power and tried to reach out to the spirits surrounding him, and show them peace. He faltered slightly a few times, but did not stumble, and came to a stop a few feet from where he started, eyes closed still. "I always forget how good my muscle memory is. And how calming doing that dance is."

He opened his eyes, and looking around him, sighed slightly. "No good. Either we're too far from the Lifestream for it to have an effect, or I'm just not strong enough."

She was staring, wide-eyed and with her mouth slightly open. It was the space of several heart-beats before she swallowed and shook herself into motion. "That was.... That was beautiful. I wish I knew the steps." The second half of his commentary registered with an almost audible click. "Oh, the spirits are still...?"

"Still there, yes." He spoke as he knelt to put his shoes back on, but decided it was warm enough to leave the coat off, and draped it over his arm instead as he stood. "And thank you. I'd offer to teach you, but to be totally honest, I'm not sure I could consciously recall the steps any more."

"Oh, no, that's all right. It has such significance. I would want to know what everything meant and somehow I don't think your priest has mysteriously appeared here too." She'd meant it as a joke, but somehow it fell a little flat. "Um... well, if the spirits are still there, we'll have to find some other way to put them at rest. They're not zombies or vampires... It might be easier if they were, though. Hm." She folded her arm across her chest, tapping her lips with her right forefinger and shuffling through what information she'd managed to gather on these things. "They follow you everywhere, right? There's nothing that seems like a barrier to them?"

"If Master Huang were here, he'd probably be more than happy to answer all your questions, although you likely wouldn't understand half the answers - he was fond of riddles." Tseng smiled, somewhat nostalgicly. "I wonder what he would think of what I've made of myself." He shook himself out of his reverie and focused on Sheska again. "As far as I can tell, no. Walls, heights, doesn't matter...where I am, they are."

She let the more painful past lie and concentrated on the disturbing present. "Hm. Some of the materials on protection against malevolent spirits and such suggest binding circles, and wards... I suppose walls wouldn't count as barriers unless the space inside is warded. They probably won't kindly wait outside while we ward against their entry, though. And I can't remember the exact diagram for the warding circle - I'd have to look it up again. But we could try that, if you like..."

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