13: curse time!

[paladaddy]

Who: Shiro and OPEN
When: Monday the 8th, in the afternoon
Where: Villa + the area around it
Style: Action or prose
Status: Open

[So. This curse, it is kicking Shiro's ass.

Shiro isn't one to whine about pain. Hell, Rin broke several of his ribs once and he played it off like it was nothing. He has an incredibly high pain tolerance, and he is not one to complain about being hurt.

But this curse is really kicking his ass.

Taking away his abnormal (for a human) ability to recover from injuries and his tolerance for pain was a very uncool move on the part of the coral. Shiro has beat his body to hell and back over his 30+ years of being an exorcist, but it never really slowed him down. Now, for some reason, he's feeling all the aches and pains he really should be, and it is one of the most miserable things he's ever had to deal with.

Also, painkillers aren't helping as much as they should. Doubly-uncool, Vatheon.

Fortunately, in exchange for losing his awesome old man recovery skills, he gained a pretty cool power that doesn't involve moving at all, so he can just relax on the couch and mess around with people.

In this case, it means soul-poking everyone within the Villa, as well as anyone who happens to be right outside. Because this is one of the coolest things he's been able to do while in Vatheon, and he wants to see what reactions he'll get from people. It's not an invading poke, just a little 'oh hey there' kind of thing.

Unless your name happens to be Stein or Mephisto, then it's more like a mental shove. Friends get special-pokes.]

Comments

[circumsutus]

[The thing about poking Stein's soul is that Stein's soul is this huge, dangerous thing. And right now, he's even more dangerous than normal, because he's not completely in control. Shiro shoves at his soul, and Stein lashes back, follows the trail of spiritual energy to the source and strikes. It's not enough to cause serious damage, just enough to sting, a painful electric shock.]

[paladaddy]

[Wow Stein. Just go ahead and hit a crippled old man like that.

Though actually it's not as bad as it could have been, since the sting of an electric shock is preferable to the all-over ache he had been feeling all day. At least a shock of pain is temporary.

After he gets over the sudden pain, he's going to yell across the Villa at Stein instead of soul-poking him again.]

That wasn't necessary!

[circumsutus]

[He's as angry as he's ever been, and once he calms down he'll recognize that Shiro's poke should have at worst annoyed him.]

Learn some manners!

[He doesn't ever raise his voice, and here he is yelling at Shiro from across the house.]

[paladaddy]

You Learn some manners!

[Yeah no, he doesn't immediately get how weird it is for Stein to be yelling. He's still cranky about being soul-shocked.

He's also mature enough to keep yelling across the house.]

[Text]

[wavesofjade]

[She's not seen Shiro since this thing began, and she won't say she's not concerned about him. Not wanting to be too intrusive, she just sends him a short text.]

Shiro? How Are You Faring?

[circumsutus]

[He's seeing red, literally seeing red (once he calms down he'll revise his assessment of the phrase from being a metaphor to being an accurate description, but right now he can't even think). He's across the house and into the living room before he realizes it, his hand fisted in the collar of Shiro's shirt, pulling the priest up.]

If you talk to me like that again I will kill you.

[The words are a snarl. Stein's eyes are wide and his mouth twists in a tense pull of lips that might be a manic grin. He wants to kill Shiro right now, rip the priest apart in a fit that has nothing to do with curiosity and everything to do with rage.

Instead, he throws Shiro back down against the couch and stalks out of the room.]

[Text]

[paladaddy]

[He had been ignoring the SFC all day, but when he sees that it's the Dolorosa he goes ahead and answers it.]

Yeah I'm fine. I have just been resting at home.
How about you?

[keepsthefire]

[After all the commotion that morning, it's gone back to something resembling calm and normal in the Villa. Well, as normal as it can get during a curse, with Shiro more or less laid up, and poking at every soul that gets relatively close to him.

Currently it's Rin who has the unfortunate luck of being at the kitchen at the same time Shiro was on the couch. He could poke back, but he's feeling bad for Shiro's condition and figures a warning is in order first.]

... Dad. Quit.

[... didn't say it had to be a nice warning.]

[paladaddy]

[Okay, that was very unexpected. And Shiro just sits there on the couch for a moment, wondering just what the hell happened.

His first instinct is to get up and go kick Stein's ass for being so shitty, but that idea is quickly thrown away. With how he is right now, Stein probably would kill him, or at least horribly mutilate him.

So instead he'll soulpoke Marie to get her attention. She should know what the hell is up with Stein, right?]

[paladaddy]

[See, the whole soul thing is like a shiny new toy: Shiro can't resist playing with it. He had already been talking with Stein about it before this curse had even happened, which had made him even more interested in it.

But fine, he'll stop poking Rin, since he asked so nicely and didn't throw him down on the couch and all.]

Do you think the same thing happened to both of us?

[He's curious because he hasn't seen people's souls yet, just felt them.]

[keepsthefire]

[Rin wouldn't do that anyway. But there might have been more swear words involved if Shiro hadn't quit.]

Maybe... I'unno. I could try somethin', if it wouldn't freak you out.

[Digging in a drawer, Rin gets out a whisk for... whatever he's working on. He only asks because he doesn't know about what happened with Stein. And the whole possession thing, too.]

[paladaddy]

If it involves going in my head, I'll pass on that.

[As fun as soul poking is, he's still very protective of his mind. He was only able to calm down that one time because Stein was really good at the whole soul-touching-thing. Shiro and Rin are both new to this, and he doesn't want to risk hurting his son.]

[goodlifechoices]

[ Marie had actually missed all the shouting. As it was, she's just getting home and pops her head into the room to stare-- her reaction mixed between surprise and confusion. She has a whole armful of shopping bags clutched to her chest, filled with all kinds of completely random household items.

Really, that wasn't a thing she expected to come home to. ]

Shiro, since when did you...?

[ Her soul wavelength is just very soothing even to brush up against, wildly different from, say, Stein's borderline murderous and currently barely controlled strength. Enjoy that, Shiro, given that it is much less terrifying. ]

[paladaddy]

[Oh hey there you are! Stein will give her a friendly wave from his spot on the couch when he sees her.]

Yo. You've been told about the curses, right?

[Might as well start there, maybe something happened to her too.

The soothing soulfeels there reassure Shiro, too. If anyone can calm Stein down, it's Marie.]

[keepsthefire]

It's not really goin' in your head. At least the way Maka does it.

[That does get Rin thinking, though. He leans out the doorway to give Shiro a questioning look.]

Did some one do that to you?

[paladaddy]

...

[He looks away at that question. Mostly because he is frowning in the 'this is embarrassing to admit to' kind of way.]

Stein did, when I asked him about the soul-hugs you told me about. It was very unpleasant.

[keepsthefire]

... gettin' a soul hug from him would be unpleasant.

[Sorry, Dad.]

It doesn't feel like that when Maka does it to me. Hell I don't think it's supposed to. ... unless you're Stein.

[paladaddy]

Could you talk to her in your mind when it happened?

[keepsthefire]

Mmm... we were talkin' out loud, so I'unno. She was more focused on gettin' me calmed down.

[paladaddy]

Stein started talking to me in my head, and it was pretty weird. It didn't help that it felt almost exactly like being possessed feels like, and he did it without warning to. I nearly punched his face in for doing it.

[goodlifechoices]

[ She'll just go right ahead and drop all the bags in a chair as she nods. ]

Is that what that is?

You know, you shouldn't push yourself onto people like that. You could harm someone if you don't have the right training.

[ Suddenly sounding like a real teacher? Sure seems like it. ]

[keepsthefire]

Seriously? Geez... I keep tellin' you he's creepy as fuck...

[Rin returns to the kitchen, and back to what he was making.]

I woulda punched him for that. I'm glad it's not as bad when Maka does it.

[paladaddy]

[SIGHHHHH]

Stein told me the same thing. He also told me to practice, which is why I was just poking a little bit.

But that's not important right now. Something happened to Stein and he is really pissed off.

[He's totally not admitting that he might have had something to do with it.]

[paladaddy]

[He's not denying the creepiness here. It's just that Shiro is used to being buddies with creepy mofos.]

I'm kinda glad I didn't. Apparently he can electrocute people with his soul or something.

[goodlifechoices]

Stein is?

[ Her brows knit, and the question comes out like it is foreign to her. Stein wasn't the kind of man that did angry. He made other people angry, but that was usually because of some quirk or foible of his.

He had a lot of those little eccentricities, but he had never had a temper. ]