I'll Be Doing What Snow Does in Summer~(Open For All)

The Jenova City was nothing more now but a frozen wasteland, with many clouds overhead to block out any sunlight. Everything was encased in ice, from the tallest buildings that touched the clouds, to the smallest insect that was unable to find sanctuary. Walking down the streets of the city, people would be able to see the bodies of the city's population frozen solid in the positions they were in before the blast. Deep inside the ice, a bright light was visible in these bodies. These were the innocent souls of the city's people, unable to escape no matter how hard they tried.

The military had tried to reclaim the city but their efforts were only futile. Now that years had passed since the explosion, the city had changed. Now there were tanks everywhere, each of which were buried deep within ice. Beasts of all shapes and sizes patrolled the town, searching for any intruders that wished to harm their creator. At the heart of the city, there was a fortress made of ice.

Anyone who entered would have to climb up a tremendous and slippery staircase to find the only living thing left in this Godforsaken city. On the way up the flight of stairs, cartons of ice-cream would be found laying on its side. Each of them were empty with little to no trace of the substance. When the visitor had finally climbed to the top, they would find a dimly lit room. Most things were encased in ice while others remained clear from it.

One of these unfrozen objects was an old record player that was currently playing what seemed to be an incredibly sad tune. The music was composed mostly with slow low notes with an occasional high note that did very little to lighten the mood. As the song played a blob of water would emerge from the ice floor. Within this blob was a white orb that appeared very similar to a snowball. From this orb, an icy cold breeze radiated from it.

Eventually the blob of water would solidify and Nimba Yukishi would be fully formed in her regular attire. A slight blush could be seen coming from her cheeks before she looked towards the floor. "I haven't had visitors in quite a long time...", she spoke in a quiet and hushed voice as she twirled her fingers together. "Whenever I do though... They usually want to kill me. Do... You want to kill me too?", she asked now with her face raised up to her visitor, a single tear running down her cheek.

Guest

"Oh no no, my dear. I was merely curious about the stories behind this place. I see that sometimes the mad ravings of lunatics can sometimes be trusted. Oh, my dear, your complexion is just marvelous, even though I can see one too many bones poking out, and this dress holds a hidden beauty. Now, please, dear, no more of those tears. It is very unbecoming of a woman of your status." The cool, musical voice of Aelia Valerius de Clarmont stated, and she would have plenty more to say as the day went on.

She had heard about a girl who haunted this place, sending it into eternal winter years ago. She had to rip the thoughts out of a few of her meals, but, piece by piece, she was able to stitch together a rough idea. Aelia normally let her employees search out leads like this for her, but, considering the circumstances, she figured it would be better and safer if she came herself. Seeing the girl herself, she could smell the blood that flowed through her veins. It reminded her of that darling ice phoenix that had crossed her path some time ago, except her's held a darker scent: the scent of darkness and blood. Demons carried a similar scent, and Aelia had worked with a few of those in her time.

Still, she hadn't expected the creature to appear as a young woman. She barely looked 15, though her eyes showed her true age. She had lived through some horrors and had probably inflicted some of her own in her lifetime. No one would believe that if they saw the tiny girl before them, but Aelia's eyes pierced right through her. She had met countless people in her time on this world, and her ability to perceive the truth in the hearts of the creatures on this world was honed to razor sharpness.

Nimba's eyes went wide when she heard this, it had never happened before. The only people that ever climbed her tower had a single purpose behind doing so. No sane person would ever make the trip up here for nothing. "That is... Really surprising.", she spoke with a barely audible voice as she made her way to the record player to remove the needle and silence the sound. "Anyone who came here... Must have some sort of reason for doing so. The cold here is unbearable... At least to my few visitors. I can stand it. I was raised up in it after all. Nobody can really understand it like I do."

She quickly turned to face Aelia, out of fear that she would attempt to strike her down while her back was turned. Nimba then scanned the woman, looking her up and down. She didn't seem to be the insane type. She appeared to be someone who was very well off in life. "I'll ask you this one question... What do want from me. You obviously don't appear to be the kind that would just throw their life away. Are you looking to... Manipulate me? If so... It won't work. I-I won't be deceived again... I WON'T BELIEVE IN YOUR LIES!", she shouted at the top of her lungs as the memory of that single boy came rushing back to her.

Guest

"Oh my. Someone or something has caused you a lot of pain. If I wanted to manipulate you, I wouldn't be talking to you. My manipulations are much more......sensual. As to the cold, well, my dear, I don't feel it either. I haven't felt cold in over two thousand years. Now please, do not raise your voice at me like that again. It is quite rude, but I will forgive this time because I can smell your fear." Aelia said smoothly, merging her voice with the power of her allure in order to calm her. In some ways, it was a form of manipulation, but it was meant only to allow them to communicate properly. It was quite hard to do that when one party was screaming at the other. Aelia enjoyed hearing about different creatures and talking about their stories. She hoped she would leave this place knowing more than when she had arrived.

Nimba slowly calmed down, little by little with each breathe she took. She didn't understand what this woman's motives were but she was determined to figure them out. "You don't want to kill me... Or manipulate me.", she said almost in the form of a question. She eased up and slowly returned to her shy and quiet demeanor. She was so lonely these past few years and the idea of actually making a friend pleased as well as frightened her.

"I... I'm... S-So... Sorry., she literally forced herself to say. It was unlike her to apologize but Aelia's words held some sort of odd and soothing effect on her. Nimba left a moment of silence to fill the room before breaking it by asking, "Why... Did you choose to visit me?"

Guest

"I am a very curious person, and I do love to hear about all sorts of.....unique things. You, my dear, are very unique. So, will you indulge my curiosity have a chat with me? I promise not to delve too deep. I understand the value of secrets." Aelia told her. She was glad that the girl calmed down rather quickly. She had thought that she would have to work a little harder. Then again, she had assumed her allure would work at a much weaker level, but it seemed to hold the same lever of power. She would need to remember that in case things went sour.

Nimba was very hesitant about talking about herself but soon she would give in. She was allowed to keep her secrets or but she would probably make up lies to bend her story into a sweeter one. A loud cracking noise could be heard in the center of the room before a couch made of ice was formed in the sounds general location. Nimba took a seat on the ice and expected Aelia to the same as well if what she claimed earlier was to be taken as factual truth. "My name is Nimba... I believe you haven't given your name yet.", she said to her now that she'd fully relaxed and was capable of having a functional conversation.

Guest

"There you are. Lovely to finally meet you. I am Aelia Valerius de Clarmont. So tell me, my dear, how did you come about this place?" Aelia asked, following the girl's lead by taking a place on an icy seat. She made sure to watch her very closely for any possible falsehoods she might tell. The tongue may be made of silver, but the body rarely had that luxury.

Nimba looked into her eyes, noticing the odd way how Aelia was scanning her. It made her slightly uncomfortable but she was capable of enduring it. If Aelia even attempted to try something on her, Nimba would already have the upper hand. Nearly all the surroundings were made of ice and she could use the material to rip her body apart with a simple thought. So she didn't bother to set up any defenses quite yet.

"I was brought her by my mother and father. Before we came here though... We used to live in a small cabin up on the mountain tops.", she said as she pointed her hand up towards the ceiling of the ice fortress. As she did so, the ice that made up the ceiling slowly faded away and a great portion of the clouds in the sky cleared. Now mountains were easily visible from the fortress as sunny beams made their way to the two that currently reside in it.

Guest

"So you lived here before it became a wasteland? Interesting, and how did that happen?" Aelia ask, trying to go deeper. She cared not for the girl's boring aspects of her life. Some how she managed to freeze an entire city and keep it this way for years, Aelia respected that kind of power, but she wanted to know why and how. Always get to know your potential enemies very well.

Nimba sealed up the clouds and ceiling once more before saying, "Well I obviously caused it. I used my powers to encase nearly everything and everyone in ice. I'm a... Yuki-Onna. A Snow-Woman in simplest terms, we command the powers of ice and bend it to our will." She kept silent after that, she told the truth about how she turned the city into frozen wasteland but she didn't want to dig deep into reasons real. She knew that Aelia might ask why though but she would most likely keep quiet about it.

Guest

"And you simply did this because you were bored? I know you caused this, just as I knew you were a demon, thought I was unaware of the specific type. The power you wield is formidable, but how and why do you wield it? Why did you feel the need to bury this city" Aelia asked. She had to be careful, less her true reason for being here was revealed. This city had held an important store of hers, and it was suddenly destroyed. Aelia wanted to know why this woman did what she did. Her daughter had managed to escape the great freeze due to her undead nature, but she had lost a number of human employees, and Aelia did not appreciate that.

Nimba listened to her speak until the word 'Demon' came from her mouth. Nimba focused on this word more than the others. "Am I... Really a demon?", she asked in complete disbelief and shock. Her mother had told her that she was a Yuki-Onna a monster at the very worst. Sure she had a dark nature to her, but she thought it was only because of the series of events that lead her down this path. It never occurred to her that it was possible she was destined for a life like this.

"If I truly am a demon... Then it is all his fault.", she simply said as a boy who was frozen solid emerge from the ground. Deep inside was the bright light of his soul which was trapped for years in its icy prison. Unlike the others who had the possibility to be eaten by a wandering Kishin Egg, Nimba made sure that he was kept in a special place. His suffering would continue for as long as Nimba lived. He would be trapped with nothing but his own thoughts of grief and despair to keep him occupied, his suffering seeming almost endless.

"You want the reason why I froze this town? It's all because of him. He played with my emotions... Made me feel as if I wasn't alone. He was only using me though, manipulating my powers to his own means. When I finally found out... I erupted. My emotions took control of my powers and created the wasteland you see today., after she finished explaining, the boy's body slowly sank down to its original chamber.

Guest

Aelia heard her story and felt a stirring of kinship in the girl. Her sire had used her in such a way, but he simply forced her to do things she still regretted to this day. He didn't need to play with her emotions because the will of the sire is absolute. Still, she was surprised that the girl didn't know the truth of the Yuki-Onna. "The Yuki-Onna are Yōkai, which means demon, and the tales of the Yuki-Onna are all meant to keep people in on cold winter nights. You are a demon by blood, but you need not be wicked." Aelia told her. Introducing the blood nature of certain creatures could be delicate work, but this girl deserved the truth. In fact, she deserved the entire truth. "I need to be honest with you. I had a store here that was ran by one of my daughters. She was able to escape, but I had several workers who went missing because of what you did. I came here to investigate their disappearance and avenge their deaths if needed. I understand that you couldn't control the power that came over you, but you are willingly keeping this place like this. To avoid conflict, I seek the return of my workers, be they alive or dead." Aelia said, fitting her demand in at the end.

Nimba looked herself over, taking an entirely new look on herself. The concept was hard to grasp and made Nimba wonder just how pure of a woman her mother was. Nimba had a special place where she kept her father's bod, who was one of the unlucky people in the blast. She came to him every now and then to talk even though he couldn't respond. Unlike her father, Nimba's mother was nowhere to be found. Perhaps she ran away, unable to confront her very own daughter.

"A demon... By blood. My actions have clearly make me out to be one. I finally understand what you mean now.", she said, now accepting the fact of what she is. She then decided to follow the demand in appreciation of the truth she had given her. I'll be able to find some of their bodies... Some may be missing there souls though. Where is your store located?"

Guest

"It was called Bellezza Eterna. If you lived here, you may have seen it. It was located downtown in a group of shops. I thank you for doing this, but you must understand that, if some of them are dead, there must be a price to pay. I consider all my workers to be an extension of my family. You are helping me, so so you have started on the road to make amends. Let us hope that they are all okay." Aelia said lightly, but firmly. She did not want to come off as antagonistic, but she would not write off any deaths that happened. The families would need compensation, and they would demand justice.

((OOC: Sorry for taking so long to reply. I was at a sort of party.))

Nimba took a deep breath and pointed her hand out towards the fortress wall, causing it to disappear. Afterwards a massive ice bridge formed from the fortress all the way to the downtown district. "I'm afraid that not a single one of your workers will be alive. They were frozen for years after all. Their souls may be capable of reclaiming but there's still the possibility that some of the souls were eaten. What is the price for their deaths?", she asked her as she got off of the ice couch and made her way to the bridge.

Guest

"Some would say your death, but I, of all people. understand that death is not necessarily a price. First, you will restore this place and allow it heal from your attack. Then, you will return with me. Just as they worked for me, so will you. Do you agree to this?" Aelia said, not allowing any room for her sentence to budge.

The idea of death seemed simple and easy. Nimba wouldn't need to withstand the loneliness she felt for all these years. She could be nonexistent, free from thoughts and minor feelings of regret. Then the idea of working for this woman came up. She could actually be put to use as a worker instead of remaining her, alone for the rest of her life but then the whole ordeal slightly reminded her of being manipulated once again. If this actually could be considered manipulating her, Nimba would deny the idea. It's her choice to follow her or not albeit the fact that was because she was in debt to her. "I agree to your terms... It's the least a demon like myself could do.", she said as she motioned with her hand to follow her across the bridge.

Guest

"Very good. Now, let us go and get their bodies." Aelia commanded, turning around and walking down the ice bridge. Despite the fact that she was wearing a dress and heels, she moved over the slick surface with ease. She made sure to look as regal and poised as possible. Intimidation was a powerful weapon. She reached the end of the bridge and waited for the Yuk-Onna to lead the way from here.

Nimba walked down the bridge with absolute ease but didn't seem as eloquent as Aelia next to her. When they finally arrived at the end of the bridge, they were in the center of the downtown district. Ice encased the windows and doors of many shops and even the streets and sidewalks. Of the town. "Follow me.", she said before proceeding to travel down the sidewalks and alleyways. As they walked, many muscular giants patrolled the area but paid the two no attention. "These giants guard the city. I... Need them for protection.", she stated before stopping at the front of the store.

Guest

OOC: I appreciate that Elsa was your inspiration for her

IC: "Whatever for? Surely your power alone is enough to fight off any of the normal rabble." Aelia commented, impressed by the giants before her. True, they would stand no chance against her. After all, they were merely snow and ice, and ice shattered quite easily. The fact that the girl could make such creatures was impressive, however. Aelia understood why so many people went missing when they came to this place.

((OOC: Thanks Wing but my inspiration mostly came from Ice King, the Pokémon Kyurem, and another source I'll leave unmentioned. While constructing the character though, I noticed many similarities and started to make references to Frozen every now and again. X3)

"Meeting new people is always... Uncomfortable for me. Even if I'm going to eventually kill.", she replied to her before melting the ice that sealed up her store. "Using puppets... Just seem to make things easier.", she explained as she form a clone of herself out of the ice from the store windows. "I can use them to interact with others, without them even knowing that they were a fake., the clone spoke for her before melting away into the puddle it once was.

Guest

"They don't carry your scent. Be aware of that if you try to escape from me." Aelia informed her. The town looked so desolate. It almost made Aelia care, but she was hear for a purpose. "Now, dear, please undo your magic. It it time to wipe the slate the clean." Aelia told her. She did not want to command her, but, instead, she wanted to encourage her. She wanted the girl to feel as though she was moving forward with her actions instead of simply following orders.

Nimba gave a slight sigh, being a little bit reluctant to free the town but eventually she would convert all of the ice into mist. The mist then floated up into the sky and joined with the clouds above. The entire place was now as dry as a bone. Fully preserved blue bodies filled the streets while the souls inside were now easily capable of leaving their bodies and drift around where they may. There were some places and things that she kept frozen but she was certain that Aelia wouldn't care or simply wouldn't notice. "The city is free now Aelia."

» a summer ball ( open )
» Snow in the Mojave?
» The Snow-Woman Nimba Yukishi (Accepted)
» It doesn't snow in Nevada, right? (Arczy, Lani, and I. PM for invite)
» Summer Skate Sesh.