a world yet u n s e e n [koto]

[Asha Vale]

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on a journey, i lost my way
as i stood still, my heart alone wandered
but now i can walk again
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Stuck in this strange place, this alien world, there was no way to escape the danger of being on her own. And yet tucked just outside the boundaries of this gigantic city was a little haven for someone as such as she. Asha ran and ran, seeing as how her wings were hidden and unusable at the current time. As she did run tears rushed down her worried face. Her crown was tilted downwards so that she could sprint head-long through the thick bushes and branches in her pathway. Her morphed clothing, which was equally as morphed as her physical body, strained against her long strides -- something she wasn't all that used to. As the faerie in disguise made her way from the harmful metals and otherwordly...things that resided in Akihabara.

This had all been a whim, really. A silly and ever-so-slightly stupid whim. It had been two days ago when Asha had requested that her parents let her take a peek into other realms. Of course they had protested; why should a Noble Fae need to go and involve herself with other races of beings? In reality there was no real reason. Ash should've been completely content within the protected walls of Álfheimr's cities. But the young woman was not. She was feeling oddly curious, mostly about the world of Humans. How could they be so blind as to not believe in the existence of Fae like herself, or Shifters, or Vampires, or any other "mythical" persons? It was simply intriguing.

And so in spite of her mother and father's complaints, Lady Asha arranged to visit the human world with a family friend who often went there for personal reasons. The process of learning mortal ways, however, was tiring and slightly boring. They seemed to go about doing what Fae did, but in a non-magical way. They did their jobs, participated in leisurely activities, and studied from schools. They interacted with family and friends and then went home to sleep for eight hours before doing it all again. What Asha thought was a much more vivid topic was their various languages. It wasn't just standard English, which most creatures were taught to speak regardless of race, but also hundreds of other languages that varied from regions and between a multitude of invisible boarders. Fascinating! They were going to a place called Japan, her Brownie companion told Ash. A modern, but beautiful place.

The blue-eyed Sprite agreed when they entered the new plane through a rather dingy little building. Immediately before arrival, the Lady and her guide had dawned a generous amount of Glamour. However, on her own abilities Asha had only been able to produce a girl a few feet all, instead of her regular few inches. The Brownie had to help her get to a semi-normal height of five feet, exact. Only her height, wings, and clothing changed. Her lovely transparent wings were completely hidden and her Courtly garb changed into a pretty pink sundress with golden accents. With the many fashions of Japan, the Brownie assured her, they wouldn't get a second glance.

They didn't, happily. The first few hours of exploring the Shops and the streets and the liveliness of it all proved exciting for Ms. Asha. She was enjoying herself greatly. That is, until she caught sight of something oddly shaped and skipped after it, leaving her guide behind. The object that she had been chasing disappeared before she could reach it and when Ash turned around to face her companion, she found she was completely alone aside from the hundreds of strangers that passed. Without Lady Brownie there with her, she began to panic. She didn't know how to protect herself in this world, or how to get around.

Instinctively, she ran.

This is where we join our Lady. The small patch of wooded area held a touch of familiarity to it, and hence Asha sought out comfort there. When she burst through the last of a tree line and into a tiny clearing, Asha stumbled and tumbled. Her legs collapsed beneath her and there the pink Sprite sat. She took no notice to the world around her otherwise -- someone could've easily come up and hurt her. Or the clearing could've been already occupied. But instead of paying attention to that, she wept quietly into her palms.

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-- character ♠ asha vale !
-- word count ♠ eight hundred three [803] !
-- status ♠ complete !
-- muse ♠ full !
-- tags ♠ closed, for koto !
-- template by ♠ myself !
-- top lyrics by ♠ natsumi kiyoura !
-- listening to ♠ katayoku no tori, akiko shikata !
-- notes ♠ rambling post is rambling? D8 sorry if you find any spelling / grammar mistakes. i didn't have the patience to go back and re-read.

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[Makoto]

Ah, insomnia. How Makoto loved it.

The blue-haired boy had lay in his bed the entire night, sleepless. Thoughts about his condition were like an annoying parasite: draining him of energy but keeping him awake. When dawn broke, he decided to take a morning walk through the nearby forest trail; perhaps the crisp morning air would help him clear his head and get some productive thoughts into it. However, when he tore the comforter off of himself, thoughts about his numb body became that much more apparent. The warmth of a bed and blanket that he was so fond of were no longer there. The rush of cool air that enveloped his body when he was no longer protected by a comforter was absent. With a deep sigh he threw his legs over the side of his bed, knowing that he wouldn't be able to feel the cold, hard wooden floor on the warm soles of his feet ever again.

After performing all of his regular morning procedures, like brushing his teeth and washing face, Makoto got dressed and grabbed his music player and a little something extra before heading out. With the headphones wrapped around his ears, he pressed 'play'. His music player was always on shuffle, so he never knew what song he was going to get when he started it up. The song that began playing wasn't one that suited is current mood, which he was grateful for. It was upbeat; it lifted his spirits and made him look forward to the rest of the day.

Despite the uplifting music, when Makoto began his walk through the forest trail, he once again became dispirited. A deep intake of breath yielded nothing more than the fresh scent of pine needles and wet grass. The air seemed more bland than usual, which is when he realized the the brisk quality of the morning air was missing. That cool air only felt in the mornings gave scents a particular sharpness to them, but now, Makoto was no longer able to perceive temperature changes with his current body, making the air rather dull and musky. Makoto let out a heavy sigh at his dismal situation. He found that he had been sighing a lot lately, and it was evident that being stripped of all physical sensation was in direct relation to this fact.

While walking along the trail, he noticed some broken branches and flattened grass that seemed like a man-(or animal-)made path deeper into the forest. Curiosity got the best of him and he travelled through the broken trail, emerging from the trees and into a small clearing that offered a decent amount of privacy. This privacy made him more comfortable about what he was going to do, which was what that little something extra that he brought out with him was for.

Makoto sat down on the damp grass and stared at the soft, pale skin of the underside of his forearm as he rolled down the left sleeve of his sweater. In his right hand, he held a brand new razorblade. Since he was incapable of growing facial hair, he had nicked it from his mother. She was another reason he didn't want to do this at home; she could have just walked in on him as he cut himself. The razorblade was hovering dangerously close to wrist, and even though he knew he wouldn't be able to feel it, he was still tentative about it. Any pain that he had not felt, but was supposed to in the past few days had always been caused by someone else. Something about inflicting pain on yourself just seemed wrong, but this was the only way he was going to truely know if he was void of any sensation in his body.

The razorblade had descended, and it was now touching his skin. Makoto cringed, thinking, "Fuck, I can't watch this. I can't watch this.". He clenched his teeth together and pressed the blade into his forearm, causing the sharp edge to break his skin and draw blood. The pain he felt was all mental -- a figment of his imagination. Ultimately, he knew that there was no pain involved. To finish off the experiment, he quickly ran the blade across his arm, extending the initial cut. He held up his arm and watched as blood ran down it, which caused him to let out an almost maniacal cackle. "Hahah, so this is it, huh? I really can't feel any pain. Not just pain, I can't feel anything. Fuck my life."

In his peripheral vision Makoto saw someone break through the trees and into the clearing he was in. The figure's sudden intrusion alarmed him, causing him to pull the sleeve down over the bleeding wound and toss the razor into the grass. Upon further inspection, Makoto discovered the figure was a girl, and she appeared to have been running from something before collapsing into a sobbing heap onto the grass. There was blood running down his left hand, and once Makoto noticed it, he shoved it into his pocket to conceal it from view as he stood up and walked over to the girl. "What's with girls and crying? Emotional things, they are."

Keeping a decent amount of distance between him and the girl, he bent his upper body down to get closer to her without have his crotch in her face. "Hey! You okay?" Makoto asked, forgetting to remove his headphones to hear the girl's answer.

---

tags: hina (Asha)
theme:persona 3 ost: troubled
attire: blue & white zip-up hoody, grey slim-fitting jeans, black & white vans
notes: took me a bit long to reply, sorry

[Asha Vale]

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on a journey, i lost my way
as i stood still, my heart alone wandered
but now i can walk again
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In the world of Fae, Asha was quite the young one. She hadn't lived even a quarter of a lifespan as some of those that occupied the Seelie Court. Half her distressed mind was blaming her stupidity on that -- her lack of competence due to age. Sprites were playful beings by nature, but were also the type of Fae that others went to advice. Most lived abnormally long lives, even among their fellow elfin beings and therefore were more often than not very wise. And yet here she was, a baby in the eyes of most, getting herself neck-deep in trouble. Most certainly not the sort of trouble she would hope to get herself stuck in back home, either. Asha could only imagine what awaited her back in Álfheimr. If she ever got back to Álfheimr.

But who could have predicted the large crowds that just so happened to crowd Japan? Certainly not herself. She had anticipated Akihabara being quite small in comparison to her own home. In some ways, it was. But that was probably the Glamour talking -- the Castle that the Court resided in was ginormous in itself, especially if you weren't even three inches tall. In reality her situation probably wasn't all that bad. If she could just maintain her human masquerade Ash could probably get herself back to the damp, gross little shop that acted as a portal between the realms. Although there was a much easier way that the poor girl was missing -- her race of people could easily transport themselves between the boundaries separating the different planes from one another. Meaning, if she kept her cool and understood her situation better, she could just shimmer home right this second. Of course that wasn't Asha's personal nature. She easily lost said cool and went into a worry mode. All she could think of now, sitting in the clearing with her head down and silent sobs shaking her frame was how in the world she was going to get to the portal.

Yes, the only problem was how to go about getting back to that little shop back in Akihabara. She wasn't sure how long her Glamour was going to last; while she was lucky that she had been blessed with the ability at all, (not all Fae did) Asha's illusions weren't all that strong. Hence the help the Brownie had to provide for her. But what was even more worrying was that even with her more potent magic, like her "Budding Blossom", it was all easily exhausted and after a short amount of time, unusable. There was no guarantee that she was going to last going back into the city. There was no guarantee that she wasn't going to change back into a vulnerable sprite in a matter of seconds, even. On the flip side it could easily last another hour if she put enough willpower into it. Sadly that was all she could do. Will it on. The question was how much determination the little woman could provide on the matter.

This matter was mulling over in her mind when a certain other question startled her.

"Hey! You okay?"

Asha would have never expected to stumble upon a human on her own. Nor count on that human to speak to her. Scared witless, she jerked her head up out of the haven her hands provided to stare with a horrified expression. The sight that awaited her was a young male that was bent at the waist to come more to her eye level. He had a head of dark, shaggy hair, contrasting her own colour greatly. He was taller than her, but that was a given seeing as how much height even two doses of Fae magic could give one person as naturally tiny as herself. The orbs that addressed her were a pale grey; a curious shade she would later think. Asha's green eyes stared into his with a frightened nature shining with the ever still livid tears. What her gaze failed to notice were the strange devices on the person's ears and the clothes that again, contrasted her own made-over look. Then again, in the long run, it wasn't those strange looking things on the side of his head that mattered, or how he dressed. It was something much bigger that she was missing. Something that currently was out of her view. Blood.

At the moment there was nothing for Asha to do about the bleeding boy, though. Her mind and body were both paralyzed for what felt like forever to the girl until finally, her beating heart pushed her to sputter to life once more. But she was uncomfortable being so near this person, this young man, and not having her Brownie guide with her. So Asha's weight shifted so that she sat on her rear and using her now bare feet and hands, (those simple shoes of hers being lost in her quest for salvation) she pushed herself just a little bit further away. Ash admitted inwardly that she was indeed scared, but what could the harm be in responding? He had asked if she was alright. He couldn't have bad intentions then, right? Stopping in the grass once again, her legs stretched out and her hands dropping uselessly in her lap, Lady Vale gazed once more at the boy who was just a few paces away. Round, salty tears once again picked up when she shook her head side to side, a universal sign for "no". Her soprano voice cracked when she found the will to speak and the sense to grip her Glamour tighter. "I...don't know." Asha truly looked like the model child for innocence now. If only those back home could see her pathetic state.

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-- character ♠ asha vale !
-- word count ♠ nine hundred fifty five [955] !
-- status ♠ complete !
-- muse ♠ average !
-- tags ♠ closed, for koto !
-- template by ♠ myself !
-- top lyrics by ♠ natsumi kiyoura !
-- listening to ♠ guilty pleasure, cobra starship !
-- notes ♠ i am so sorry i've kept you waiting. and for the general sucky-ness. again, i'm too 'rawr' right now to have the will to go through and check for spelling / grammar mistakes. sorrah! /repetitively head-keyboards.

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[Makoto]

Makoto's voice had apparently frightened the girl. When her green eyes peeked up at him from between the confines of her fingers, they were rimmed with tears and wide with panic and anxiety. He couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt; despite having a certain distaste for emotional people, he disliked seeing girls cry. In fact, he absolutely hated it. Being raised by a single, alcoholic mother, angry tears accompanied by regular beatings were not uncommon. Seeing this girl cry brought flashes of his childhood back to him, which quickly washed away any guilt he was feeling and replaced it the dreadful reminder that he would never feel anything -- not even his mother's abuse -- again.

The two were locked in a staring contest for what seemed like several minutes before the girl finally decided to move, releasing them from the brief trance by shifting her body so that she was now in a seated position on the grass. This caused Makoto to breathe a sigh of relief and return to a standing position. Given the way the girl reacted to his presence, he was not sure if she would be comfortable with him decreasing the distance between them, so he opted to remain standing where he was.

Makoto flicked his head to the side in order to get his dark bangs out of his face, but it proved only to provide temporary relief as they slowly set back into their place over his right eye. There was still a silence in the small forest clearing, the only sounds that could be heard being the singing morning birds and the occasional sniffle coming from the crying girl, who Makoto did a once-over of. She couldn't have been much older than him, and she was rather petite. Her pink hair threw him off a bit, but who was he to talk? He had blue hair. One thing that really caught his attention, however, were her shoeless feet.

Makoto was about to break the silence with an inquiry about the girl's missing shoes when she beat him to it, leaving him with his mouth hanging open as she answered his question. Her answer made Makoto furrow his brow; he didn't like when people gave him vague answers. It was a yes or no question. "I mean, you came running out of the forest like you were being chased by a monster, then suddenly collapsed here and started crying. Oh, not to mention that you have no shoes, so I would say that you are not okay." he said with an audible sigh. Most of the time he came off mean, but it is almost always unintentional. This girl didn't do anything to deserve his spite... yet.

"Do you need help or something?" he asked sincerely, holding out his right hand for her to grab should she need assistance standing up. He was about to offer his left hand, but he immediately remembered why it was being hidden in his pocket. Figuring the girl would feel more comfortable around him if there was some sort of familiarity between them, Makoto decided to introduce himself. "I'm Makoto, by the way, and if someone -- or something's chasing you, I wouldn't worry. I know kung fu." he joked, his lips curving into what was supposed to be a grin, but coming off as nothing but forced before falling back into their neutral position.

[Asha Vale]

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on a journey, i lost my way
as i stood still, my heart alone wandered
but now i can walk again
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Undoubtedly, Asha was one of those girls - mortal or not - that tended to cry with little reason. She was emotional and became easily distraught, as she was now. Often the sprite tried to reason with herself, to try and bring herself back into a rational state of mind. But could you blame her this time? She was lost in a world that she knew little to nothing of.

Er, sorta.

In truth Asha had visited the Human realm many, many times a few decades ago. In her wide open mind, full of an innocence that still lingered heavily with her character, that wooded area didn't even count as a plane outside her own, though. It was comfortable there. Warm and inviting. She would go almost every night either by herself or with other Fae her age and with the same noble status. They would sing and dance and have a good time, out of the prying eyes of their parents and elders who were too wrapped up in courtly duties and appearances to ever let loose. It was in that forest and that clearing that Asha had been able to get in touch with her more naturalistic side and finally feel more in tune with the nature she was meant to be in. But good things never lasted for long -- unless they turned into grander things. There had been a redheaded boy she had met one evening that she had come to grow extremely attached to. Even to this day Asha loved the company of her human friend-turned-Summoner.

In light of this you may think that Asha should've been completely fine. But a wooded area with no iron and little interference from faith is completely and utterly different from a City. A city which was larger than the Sprite could've imagined. And now she was in a small clearing which made her feel uncomfortably close to this boy.

A sniffle came from her tiny self and Asha shifted once more so that she could tuck one, the left, under her right knee. Glassy green orbs once again took in the figure of the boy and fought to keep control of her less-than-mastered disguise. Her breathing was still ragged and uneven, her chest heaving with the large gasps she took into her lungs. The air, the Lady noticed absently, held a peculiar taste. It wasn't pleasant and simply added to the trouble with her breathing, (what an awful place this must be to have such unclean air. The modern world, her Brownie friend had informed her, was full of impurities such as that but up until now, Asha hadn't noticed. Slowly this world was declining from splendor to a dim, ungodly place). Words once again floated to her ears and she flinched visibly. So maybe her answer hadn't been the most helpful but Asha was lost, both literally and figuratively in the mental state. She didn't know what to do at the moment, or how to talk to this person.

Choking back a whimper when a hand was offered towards her only because she quickly realized it wasn't meant to do her harm, but to help. Eyes round with uncertainty, the Fae glanced between the given appendage and the boy's face. He proceeded to introduce himself as Makoto - such an odd name - and give her a reassuring notion of knowlege of Kung Fu. Whatever that was. Slowly, with a notably amount of hesitation, Asha reached out to lightly grip Makoto's hand. Her clutch was feather light, her fingers only gently brushing against the other's skin before she hoisted herself up. Hurriedly, she fell back a step or two and curtsied, her head low to hide her blushing embarrassment. "I-I'm Asha Vale." the Sprite said, speaking for the first time since Makoto had originally addressed her, (she had to pause to fix herself, almost giving the boy her title as a Seelie noble). "It isn't exactly that someone is chasing me...its more I've seem to have gotten myself a little bit, well...misplaced, if you will. I-I haven't any idea where exactly I am..." Shyly, she peered from her bare feet - of which she just took into account, after Makoto had voiced the absence of her shoes - to look up at her company. "I-I'm very sorry for causing you trouble!" For a second time, she ducted her head, this time in pure apology.

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-- character ♠ asha vale !
-- word count ♠ seven hundred thirty two [732] !
-- status ♠ complete !
-- muse ♠ average !
-- tags ♠ closed, for koto !
-- template by ♠ myself !
-- top lyrics by ♠ natsumi kiyoura !
-- listening to ♠ silent for all these years, tori amos !
-- notes ♠ i'm baaaaack 8D
just forgive any mistakes because i don't have the patience to go and re-read

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