Artistic Expression (Oki's Awakening)

The day started off busy enough with many people coming in and out of the small business district that Oki’s shop resided. For the early part of the morning, Oki was kept busy with the various customers that came in to take a look around or purchase the an item or two from the shop; however, just as unexpectedly as the flood of customers had come in that same flood quickly vanished as the noon hour began to arrive.

With the calm coming from people moving to the bigger stores around and food, Oki had a moment to rest from all the running about it had done. As its body relaxed from the rush of morning, Oki felt the heavy pull of fatigue upon, a reminder that it needed to actually sleep before it truly collapsed. The being suppose it could just close the shop and take a nap. The small break wouldn’t harm business, but then again….it might cause the other shop owners to worry and come bothering the being. After all, the only time Oki’s shop was closed was when the being was not there or later at night.

Hrm…maybe it could just slip away to shrine for a bit and doze there. If someone wandered in Sasha would let the being know. Yes. This was ideal.

With a plan in mind, Oki stretched on the stool it sat on before sliding off and making its way towards the back door; however, as the being rounded the corner of the counter, it found itself stopping as a voice from outside drifted inside in a rather loud fashion.

Knowing for a fact that such a commotion would stop it from resting, Oki turned towards the front door instead and hesitated for a second as it determined the best course of action regarding this small problem. It would make no sense to lash out at whoever made the noise, so perhaps it was better to see what all the yelling was about. Maybe by facing whatever was happening directly, the yelling would cease and Oki could have its peace.

Mmm..yes. A logical solution indeed.

Drifting towards the front door, Oki made its way outside pausing in the door way as it blinked in the bright light. Without having to scan the area, Oki spotted the source of the yelling quite easily. It was a strange girl the being had never seen before. She was yelling odd things that were seemingly being ignored by most in the area; however, one look around at the nearest shops and the being could see a lot of frowns and glares being thrown at the girl.

Just how long had she been yelling? And why did Oki not notice until now? Strange.

Strange or not, Oki would eventually shake its head mentally both to knock away some of the haze of sleepiness and to focus on the problem at hand. Casually drifting over to the girl, Oki would pause within hearing range of the girl before opening is mouth to tell her off? Nope….

“So…what do these aliens and supernatural discovery have to do with the peace of Azores?”

That is right. In the short time it took Oki to move across to the girl, the being had forgotten its earlier annoyance as it instead tried to understand the subject upon which the girl was yelling about. Curious, Oki would keep its distance as it observed the strange girl, wondering where it was she had cropped up from.

Oki had asked its question as it kept an eye on the strange girl not sure what to make of her as cat-like eyes scanned her up and down cautiously. Oki was a naturally curious being and for the most part unafraid to approach most things; however, there was something about this girl that made the being feel wound up. Like it was being forced to study something it did not wish to study. While there was no threat of pain to be had should the being refuse such an order, there was something about the situation that kept the being rooted to its spot.

Maybe it was the girl’s strange reaction to Oki’s approach and question that caused this. As the girl became excited and began to talk once more, Oki found itself become thoroughly confused. It heard the words she was saying. It processed them, but something outside of sleep was keeping the being from fully understanding what was being said.

“I will… be a good story?” the being asked with a light frown as one gloved hand went up to its head. Pushing back its hat a bit, the being would scratch its ruffled black hair as the frowned deepened at the girl’s continued words about aliens and then---

Oki froze as a familiar word sunk into its mind. As it heard the familiar word slip out of the girl’s mouth, Oki’s green eyes would snap back to her as the being became very focused on her all of a sudden. Perhaps the being would’ve spoken to the girl some more, but around the same time the girl had pointed at the bear like charm that hung off Oki’s clothing and then a voice was speaking to the being.

It heard the voice and what it said, but the event was so strange that Oki didn’t know how to react at first. So for a few seconds the being was frozen in a state of confusion, shock, and fear as it remained still in its spot, but then slowly eyes would narrow as they refocused on the girl.

“I am not sure what you sort of games you are playing, but I am not very fond of this. Who are you and why are you really hear, Ms. Reporter?” Oki asked its voice quiet and serious as for the first time in years it allowed itself to sink back into old ways. Remaining prepared for anything Oki would keep a suspicious eye on the girl as its mind whirled for a moment more before becoming still and focusing on the voice it had heard before. It was a voice it had heard in a dream once long ago…it had saved the being back then, so maybe by trusting it once more it could be guide Oki through whatever insanity it was facing now.

Oki is listening, little voice. Oki is listening well. Tell us who this one is and what we should do, Oki spoke mentally back to the voice, the only safety in the insanity right now. As it waited for an answer, the being took a small step back. It wasn't sure what was going on, but it wasn't about to let whatever was happening defeat it either. Somehow...the being would survive. It had to.

Oki remained tensed as the situation only grew stranger. Ms. Reporter covered her mouth in response to the being’s question causing Oki’s eyes to narrow even more with suspicion. Why did it seem like she was hiding something behind that hand? And what was up with that face she pulled when she drew her hand way?

Nervous and perplexed, Oki took another small step back, but kept its ground when the girl began to speak once more. To her words, multiple questions flowed into Oki’s head as its eyebrows furrowed. None of this was making sense and yet as much as Oki wanted to know the truth, there was something about this whole situation that made it want to run. It felt as if it was in over its head as memories and reality slammed together to create a train wreckage that Oki was not enjoying. The exploding contradictions threatened to tear Oki apart as its mind couldn’t settle on a right or wrong path in this situation. It felt threatened, but why? What was it about the girl and the voice that was causing this? Was Oki going mad?

Staying within the swirl of chaos that was its mind, Oki continued to listen to the girl trying to pick apart logic from the madness, but it was difficult with everything coming so fast at the being. When the girl abruptly stopped in her speech and the world began to change, Oki went from confused and nervous to a state of shock and fear, Oki watched as the buildings lost their color and the people around them began to slow and then stop in their actions as time itself seemed to freeze.

It seemed impossible and yet…it was all happening. Looking around the area, Oki would take note of the oddness within the oddness, like the male that looked around in a panic, physically expressing what Oki was feeling. It would also take note as its eyes returned to the Reporter that she and itself still maintained their color.

But, but…

“Why?” Oki whispered as it looked down at itself trying to understand the madness before green eyes looked back at the girl blankly. “Eh?” Oki responded to her first set of words as the being watched how the girl appeared to be annoyed at the situation. She was muttering something that the being did not quite catch and then with a frown she looked up at Oki as she spoke.

“Yeah…you do that…” Oki muttered tonelessly in response to what it heard and then realizing what it was saying, the being shook its head as it looked at the girl as it took a step forward. “Wait a minute! You can’t just lea-?!“ and that was cut off by a mouth full of hat.

Truly peeved now, Oki growled as it fought with the hat for a moment attempting to nabbed the girl’s wrist; however, as the pressure was released and the hat was knocked away, Oki looked around the area steaming as it searching for the girl in a ruffled state. It had nearly forgotten the world had changed as it looked around a moment longer for the girl, but she was no where to be found. Sighing, the being looked down at the hat on the ground that had been left behind.

Picking it up,the being looked at the strange hat analyzing it a little as it wondered if it could perhaps find the girl with thi—

!!

The sound of someone shouting in pain startled Oki back to reality as it looked towards the sound and notice the only other person not frozen. The male from earlier was now falling to the ground as his form began to melt until he was nothing more than a stain on the ground. Making a face of displeasure at the scene, the being felt what small bit of humanity it had left within slip away as its blood ran cold and its skin became paler than usual as it saw what came from that stain on the ground.

A tongue and then the orb that swallowed the black stain on the ground….

“S-Shadow? B-but,” the being muttered the words in shock unable to comprehend how such a thing could occur as memories from the past came crashing forward. Oki didn’t know shadows by name, but it knew their forms and this panting orb was no stranger to the being. It could not count how many times it had been forced to face off with these nasty shadows in the lab, but the questions remained. Why was the shadow here? Was it the shadow that caused the shift in the world or the girl? Did Oki really have time to wonder about that now? The shadow was coming towards it now wasn’t it?

Frozen for a second, Oki would jump slightly as it heard the voice in its head once more. Like a blade, the sharp words would cut through the chaos in Oki’s mind allowing the swirl to settle as the voice reasoned with the being and gave it some instructions.

Persephone, huh?

Oki felt itself become steady once more as it tucked the Reporter’s hat away into a pouch on its belt with one hand as the other hand automatically went to the charm that hung upon it. It didn’t know exactly what was going to happen or how to even fight the shadow before it. While the shadows form looked familiar, Oki was never properly trained to demolish the things. It knew how to analyze and pick the dead apart perfectly, but fighting that was iffy. Still… maybe…just maybe Persephone would keep to her word and guide the being. Leaving its life up in Fate’s hands, Oki secured the hat away for later as its other black gloved hand would grip the charm in a tight grip.

With a crackling sound, the charm seemed to shatter in Oki’s hand as blackness began to slip through the cracks of its fingers.

Quickly flowing before Oki the blackness would twirl before reforming into a much larger version of the charm it wore. Fully formed, the bear like creature would stretch for a moment.

“Ahh! Finally, I hate being cramped up all the time!” Persephone told Oki her voice clear to the being even if her lips did not move and the words were not spoken out loud. With a light giggle, she would give Oki a wink as she grinned at the stunned being, then becoming serious, she would turn herself to face the shadow.

“Oh, it’s just one?” she said disappointed. “Well, that is okay. I am good with appetizers too, so let’s see what this baby is really made of, hmm? Get ready!” the bear would say before her eyes would shimmer as she glanced at the shadow coming closer and closer. Trusting Persephone to come through in time, Oki focused and took on a defensive position, its body automatically forming the basic posture it was taught for unarmed combat.
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Oki stayed tensed as the shadow approached with black liquid dripping from its mouth. The being’s mind was whirling from what was occurring, but at the same time Oki did not allow the issue to overwhelm it. As Persephone quickly analyzed the creature, Oki felt a strange tug inwardly before quite unexpectedly information was flooding through the being that it never knew before. It could see various data on the shadow coming towards, but how?

“We are connected fully now, so now you can see what I see and I what you see. Unfortunately we don’t have what that punk is weak against, but no matter this one is still lunch meat. Let me show you something else,” Peresphone’s voice told Oki before the data on the enemy was being pushed the side and a different form of knowledge was filling Oki.

Strange words were flowing through the mind, but somehow Oki understood them.

“I am not the greatest at fighting either, but at least we are synced up so we can work with each other. Just think what you want to do and I’ll obey,” Peresephone finished her explanation before falling silent. Nodding lightly at what was being said, Oki did its best to swallow the information before it was focusing on the creature drifting towards it.

It still had some space between itself and the shadow so maybe instead of attacking it directly Oki could use something with some distance instead. Right.

Jumping back, Oki would mutter something in another language. The words may not have been understood by the world, but Persephone sure understood them as she let out a giggle of pleasure. Floating upward into the air, a cold wind would surround the bear before it began to twirl quickly releasing a bombardment of ice shards at the on coming shadow in an attempt to strike it.
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(It has been brought to my attention that there is an error here. Recalculating)

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The ice shards that were flung at shadow hit there mark, the creature making some grunt of pain when it was struck. While this was indeed a small victory it could not be celebrated so easily. For you see, just as the ice attack worked the creature was shaking it off as it moved forward faster than before. Using momentum to raise that large black tongue up, the creature would whack Oki right in the back on the left side as the being did its best to turn away from the attack. The attack was strong, but thankful not enough to cause the being to anything except stumbled forward a bit before it was catching its balance once more.

Oki could feel the dampness from the whack sinking into its clothing and reaching its skin and while the feeling was indeed unpleasant with the discomforting being increased thanks to the stinging throb that accompanied it, the being did not wallow in its misery for long as it recovered slightly from the blow and looked back at the creature. Half of shadow's life was remaining, so it was best to finish this off now before the thing could do anything worse than what it had just done. Praying that luck was on its side, the being gave its silent command to Persephone to repeat her previous action once more.

With a nod, the bear charged up again and unleashed her attack.
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As soon as the ice hit the shadow that was attacking Oki and defeated it, Persephone went over to the quickly disappearing pile and lapped up some of the liquid with her strange tongue. She made a light “mmm” sound of pleasure, but seemed disappointed when she could not get more of the remains of the shadow. As weird as this scene was, Oki did not question what was happening. After all, Persephone was on its side and she had mentioned something about food beforehand, so maybe eating other shadows is just what she how she survived. It was logical enough and the assumption pulled at some buried memory within Oki; however, the being’s tired mind was having trouble focusing on pulling the memory up.  

Oki was on the edge of collapsing, even more so now that little battle was over. The being couldn’t explain it, but there was something about this world change and this situation in general that was eating up the little bit of energy it had. It was finding it harder to focus as sleep threatened to take over; however, the sleepiness was quickly shoved away as a sound from behind startled Oki.

Huh? the being thought as it heard the noise and turn to face whatever was coming now. It saw the tar like blob slide forward and shift its form becoming a rather fancy looking hand like shadow. As soon as the form was revealed Oki could see the data on it.

“Oho! Fancy Pants wants to be the main course, hmm? Well then, let’s have fun!” Persephone said full of energy. An energy that Oki did not feel at the moment. Still, the fact remained that it had a threat to contend with, so it had to stay awake to survive.

Right.

So this thing was weak to fire? Hmm…that could be problematic if logic was lining up correctly. Well, Oki couldn’t sit around for long. The being didn’t think this one was going be as simple as the first one. So then…to start off with something that might actually do some damage.

“Peresphone,” Oki called the bear’s name in a calm fashion as it pointed at the strange hand coming their way.

“Got it, boss!” the bear said as she floated past her owner and went straight for the hand. With claws growing long and fangs becoming sharper, Persephone would come down upon the hand in attempt to bit and claw it at one time as it made a strange sweeping motion.

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(I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks!)

Persephone's attack was successful; however, the blow was not very effective against the creature. Sure, it took a small chunk off of its health and Persephone seemed to get some pleasure out of getting a small taste of the shadow, but that pleasure was soon turned into displeasure as the hand decided to retaliate by lifting itself up and swinging itself at Oki.

Hardly having time to react, Oki could only raise one arm to at least protect its face from the blow; however, the hand’s blow still hurt as it smacked into its arm and left it stinging. The pain wasn’t as bad as the first shadow’s strike, but it still hurt.

Narrowing its eyes at the shadow, Oki gave the command for Persephone to use a different attack that perhaps could do better than the last attack one….  
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