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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Apr 27, 2017 6:40:58 GMT
"Yeah, fair enough."
Ralph didn't speak for several minutes after that and instead finished off the cookies while apparently taking in the surroundings of the park. However, he was really watching Namine out of the corner of his eye during that time. Even though he had only really spoken with her once before on any deep level, he could tell something was bothering her.
She had always been shy but now something else seemed to have deepened her timidity even further. Knowing there was no tactful way to pose the question he wanted to ask, Ralph merely spoke in a straightforward manner.
"Namine, what's wrong?"
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Post by skyeknight on Apr 27, 2017 14:20:00 GMT
Namine looked up at Ralph in mute surprise. What wasn't wrong? Vanitas was still out. People got hurt in the riots. It could have been worse but still... She was constantly afraid and now she was fighting to control powers that were unethical to use and practice which made it harder to contain because she didn't know how she wasn't using them in the first place. There were good things too. Omar wanted to adopt her. Her roommate Aqua was kind and patient as could be. It was just so much happening at once that she couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed by it all. Things hadn't quite reached that level of normalcy that she was used to. She was afraid it might not ever go back to that.
"S-So much has happened." she said. "I-I'm scared..."
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Apr 30, 2017 6:28:33 GMT
Ralph looked down at the young woman sitting by him and felt a great deal of sympathy for her. She was already such a shy and fragile soul and it was simply amazing that someone like her had decided to work for the police department, even if she was just a sketch artist. Bellerouge was a dangerous city even before the Black Wars had started and now the city played home to any number of truly powerful and terrifying beings, both human and Others. It was simply amazing that her delicate nature hadn't been shattered by the world that surrounded her.
"Namine, there's nothing wrong with being afraid..."
Ralph paused but continued to stare unwaveringly down at her from where they sat on the park bench. He had been about to start on his second sandwich put slowly laid it back down on its wrapper as he focused on Namine.
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Post by skyeknight on May 1, 2017 1:50:01 GMT
"But... I-I'm scared all the time."
That wasn't healthy. She knew it wasn't healthy. However, her mind automatically jumped to the worst conclusion of any situation. Like when Adeline told her she was getting lessons from Pitch Black. The man was intimidating, despite Namine never saying a word to him. Tall, dark and scary. She felt like she had assumed the worst of him because he was a demon. But it wasn't just Pitch, she had been cowed by almost everyone she met, tripping over her own words and quaking with the slightest of aggressive movements or behaviors.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on May 1, 2017 2:40:40 GMT
"Well, maybe you need to start asking yourself why."
He had a hard time believing that anyone could be frightened all the time, but he wasn't about to start arguing that point with Namine. It would be pointless and wouldn't help the young woman in any way. No, he needed a better approach and this was one of the ways he knew how to get to the root of someone's fears.
Often times the thing that people claimed to be afraid of wasn't actually what they thought it was. And he'd found in his work at an officer and a P.I. that sometimes the best way to help people was to lead them to this realization. Once they had moved passed the shallow surface of their fears, they could tackle the core of their problem. Hopefully the same would apply to Namine.
"Why do you feel so afraid all the time?"
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Post by skyeknight on May 1, 2017 12:46:47 GMT
She sank a little in her seat. There were lots of reason why she was afraid. Vanitas was a big one. She was terrified of him, even if she did live with a police officer and she had people looking out for her. That hadn't stopped him the first time he caught her. He had gotten out of prison so easily. What if he came back to get revenge? Her involvement (however unwilling) had led to his arrest. Her father as well. The man was safely locked away in prison but she had faced years of abuse at the hands of her 'father'. Those two things led into the powers she didn't have complete control of. She could feel whatever semblance of control she had over the magic fraying at the edges. She didn't want to hurt anyone.
"I-I'm weak. I-I'm always getting h-hurt."
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on May 7, 2017 3:25:19 GMT
"So what are you afraid of then? Being weak or getting hurt?"
Ralph by that point had pushed his lunch to the end of the bench and turned his complete attention to Namine. The girl seemed to be wilting even as he looked at her and he couldn't deny that she appeared to be the picture of vulnerable, but he wasn't about to drop the subject. Not yet.
"Namine, that's part of life. We all have moments went we feel weak and we all get hurt at some point in our lives."
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Post by skyeknight on May 8, 2017 1:25:55 GMT
"I get h-hurt all the time." she said softly.
By Vanitas. By her father. By the officers at the BPD who brush her off for nothing more than the sketch artist. They don't see her for a person sometimes. Just a tool and a means of identifying criminals. Some people weren't like that. Not Aqua, or Sunshine, or Shadow, but the officers not in the Others Unit didn't know what Namine did to make sure the pictures was 100% accurate each time.
"A-And now, I c-can barely control my own powers. I-I don't want to h-hurt anyone."
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on May 11, 2017 4:24:53 GMT
"Powers?"
Ralph's look of concern turned to one of mild confusion at Namine's words. He had always assumed that the young woman didn't possess any supernatural abilities but it sounded as though he was wrong. It might also explain another level of her fears in that she had powers but didn't know how to control them well when upset. And it seemed like the poor girl was upset almost all the time.
"What makes you think you would hurt someone, Namine?"
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Post by skyeknight on May 11, 2017 12:17:48 GMT
"I-I can... alter memories," she said softly.
It happened when she was a kid. Small accidents. But she had almost hurt a neighbor's kid to the point where he hadn't even remembered his own name. He had been bullying her, laughing at her and pulling on her hair. She had begged him to stop. When he hadn't, she didn't know how, but she lashed out. Her mother had come in and set everything right, including the boy and the mess Namine had made of his memories. Namine had been terrified ever since. She tried to repress what she could do. But now, she had no way of knowing how she did it. She couldn't practice it because of ethical reasons. If she didn't, she was a time bomb for when things would just happen, just like with the boy.
Adeline tried to help, but it only brought more anxiety since if Namine did something wrong, she could turn someone into a drooling vegetable with no memories. Shadow had wanted him to dig around in his memories but with a power she could barely control and barely understood, she had been too afraid to. She didn't like talking about it, because people looked at her strangely when they found out what she could do. Though, she supposed this was how Others felt all the time. Aqua couldn't go outside without her glamour. Ralph was three to four times her size. Pitch alone could make a child cry simply because he was dark and scary.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on May 14, 2017 7:00:39 GMT
"And have you ever hurt someone you cared for in the past?"
Despite his massive size and his deep chest, Ralph's voice was soft in that moment. The question seemed harmless enough but in fact was a great importance in his attempt to help Namine. Had the girl truly ever harmed someone she cared deeply for with her powers? Or were her doubts and worries, her fears twisting her mind in such a way that she believed she would only hurt them?
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Post by skyeknight on May 14, 2017 21:09:50 GMT
"Only an a-acquaintance." she said softly. "I was a l-little girl a-and my mom fixed what I did. But she's gone."
If she messed up now, if she hurt someone now, she didn't know anyone who could fix what she did. Hurting anyone wasn't in her plans. She didn't want to. She sank a little further in her seat, like a child who knew they had done something wrong. And she had. She had hurt that boy. Without her mother, things could have been quite terrible. It had been an accident. She hadn't meant to hurt anyone. Even now she could feel the magic pulling at her, aching for some form of release and she screwed her eyes shut. So many things she didn't want to remember.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on May 14, 2017 21:49:30 GMT
"And did your mother have the same powers you have?"
Ralph felt almost like he was walking a very young and very frightened child through their own mind and to a solution. Namine seemed to doubt herself completely and had no faith in her abilities. This alone would have been enough but now the girl seemed to be suffering from an acute type of anxiety or phobia.
Normally he would have lost his patience and left, him not exactly being the most supportive type, but he wasn't about to walk out on Namine. No, the girl needed help and he was going to try and offer some even if it wasn't much.
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Post by skyeknight on May 14, 2017 22:22:51 GMT
"I don't remember." Namine said softly. "S-She disappeared during the B-Black War."
Namine had been so young, maybe three or four at the time. She didn't know much about magic back then. Her mother mostly used in story telling and healing minor injuries like scrapes or bruises. Her father hadn't exactly helped the gift flourish in any way. He hated magic. He hated her for having it. He probably hated her mother in some way for having it and leaving him with a child who was magical. Namine had been so afraid of using it, that she simply hadn't. Because of that, she didn't know how to control what she had now.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on May 18, 2017 4:18:34 GMT
"Namine, then you're not alone."
He paused here, uncertain if it was wise to continue or if it would only make things worse, but the Giant felt like he had to try something.
"Do you honestly believe you're the only person who has ever hurt someone? You're not. People act out all the time in fear or in sorrow....in anger. They do things they would never normally do and come to regret it later. And it's not just something Others or people with special gifts do, anyone can accidentally hurt someone in a moment of weakness."
Ralph's words fell off for a moment, but he took in a deep breath and continued on resolutely. If he was going to help Namine, then he had to be willing to reveal his own mistakes.
"You're not alone because I've hurt people, too."
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