Wow. xD I'm not risky like that; I hardly ever change my appearance. Like, I just got a haircut earlier this week and it's the same one I've had...
Aerith nodded in response to Riku, glancing at him before she looked over at Sora. "Sora, this is going to hurt at first," she said softly, speaking to him directly for the first time in a while. "But once I'm past the first layer, the pain should go away. Okay?" Sora looked at Aerith and nodded, comprehending the words that she had spoken to him. But he wondered which pain she was talking about: the pain of her healing him or the pain of the spells. He didn't have the words to ask the question, so he shut his eyes and exhaled a breath, preparing for the same sharp pain he had felt before. Leon watched intently from his seat, seeing Aerith set her hand on Sora's forehead. He was sure she would begin again any second now, and hopefully this time, she could finish the healing without any problems.
Yup. xD It was an unpleasant experience. It took me over half a year until I finally dyed my hair too dark, and then it faded to my natural color....
Aerith hated to say what she was about to say, but she had no other choice; the longer Sora dealt with the pain, the less likely he was to stay conscious. She didn't know exactly what would occur when that happened, but she had a feeling it would be very bad. "Yuffie, can you switch places with Riku?" she asked the ninja. And then she looked over her shoulder at Riku, her green eyes landing on his aquamarine. "You're going to have to keep him still," she told him softly. "As long as that darkness is in his mind, him pushing me away will be an unavoidable occurrence." Sora heard the words partially, taking in Aerith's explanations so that he could think everything over later. He wanted to know what was causing him this pain, but he couldn't ponder anything that she was saying at the time.
Ugh, nasty. Dx I couldn't get my money back, because my aunt did it using a kit. xP
Aerith nodded, agreeing with what Riku said. She had seen how hard the Heartless were on Sora, and she couldn't imagine the pain he was going through. "If I can break through that initial wall, I can undo the chains of the spells that are causing him pain," she continued. She glanced over at Sora then, her eyes showing a bit of hesitation. "...But Sora needs to stay still long enough for me to do that." Clearly that wasn't going to happen, since his natural reflex was to push her away before the true healing could begin. If somebody would restrain him, though, then she could get done what she needed to do.
That's good. 8D I don't dye my hair; I had a bad highlighting experience when I was younger. xP It turned my whole head blond, and it was just awful.
Aerith looked away from Sora, giving him privacy to get a grip on his pain. She looked over at Leon and Riku at the table, able to tell by Riku's tone that he was very concerned. "The spells themselves are cast in a way so that they're not easily undone," she explained. "There's a lot of darkness that serves as a wall to protect the spells, and when somebody tries to break through that initial wall, well..." she motioned slightly to Sora with her hand. "Something like this happens." Leon furrowed his brows, looking from Sora to Aerith. So what did this mean? Did it mean that the spells were unbreakable, and Sora would be in pain forever? Or did it mean that there wasn't a simple way (or any way) to cure this? He kept his thoughts to himself, concerned eyes going back to Sora.
Wow. xD That's quite a surprise!
Aerith looked at Sora for a second longer after his eyes closed before her own fell shut as well. She focused her energy and her hand glowed with a faint white hue, the brunette entering Sora's mind again. She saw the darkness that surrounded everything, and her magic started to cut through the thick layer of blackness. Sora's eyes bolted open the moment Aerith's light started to cut through the darkness, instinct taking over as the pain felt like a knife in his head. He lifted a hand and grabbed Aerith's wrist, taking it off of his forehead. And then he lowered his head and gripped it tightly with both his hands, a gasp of pain leaving his lips. What...was that? It hurt even more than what he was already feeling! Leon tilted his head in concern, seeing Sora end the treatment before Aerith could get too far. Apparently whatever was going on inside Sora's head didn't want to be healed. That would only make things more difficult for them, then. But knowing Aerith, she could find a work-around.
Oh? What's the other?
Aerith saw the look in Sora's eyes and her own gaze softened further. "Breathe," she instructed him softly. "I'm going to get rid of the spells they put on you. Okay, Sora?" She would do whatever it took to heal Sora from this; he was a dear friend to her, and she wasn't going to allow any more hurt to come to him from this. Sora nodded slightly, Aerith's hand staying against his head because the movement was so small. He shut his eyes and opened his mouth a little bit, taking in a breath and then slowly exhaling it. If Aerith said she was going to heal him, then he believed her. Simple as that.
Oh, I see. xD
Aerith glanced at Leon for a moment before she looked over at Yuffie and then Sora, her eyes softening. "It's bad," she reported softly. "...I don't know how he managed to stay conscious all the magic they put on him. Or survive at all, really." Obviously, Sora was strong, but this just proved how strong he really was. Sora heard the spoken words, and he furrowed his eyebrows. Yeah, yeah, it was bad. He already knew that. He didn't care how he had survived; he wasn't out of the woods yet. He opened his eyes and looked to Aerith, silently pleading that they stop talking and take action.
Ah. xD Wow, I don't know how you're multitasking painting and RPing, but that's good! xP
Aerith shut her eyes in concentration, using her powers to look into Sora's mind. What she saw was a bit surprising: darkness. And lots of it. It covered up almost everything, but behind the darkness, she could see the chains of spells that had been put on Sora. After a few moments, she mentally withdrew herself, opening her eyes as a look of disbelief crossed her face. How in the world did Sora survive taking this much damage in such a short amount of time? Sora kept his eyes shut, only aware of three things: the pain, Aerith's hand on his forehead, and Yuffie's hand on his back. He hadn't been aware that Aerith had already seen some of what the problem was, the teen unaffected by that simple magic. "Aerith," Leon started from his spot at the table. "How bad is it?" He knew from past experience that she always looked to see how bad the damage was before she did any healing magic, and though he could only see part of her face from his position, he knew that she hadn't started healing Sora just yet.
Well, you're still online, so I'd say it's working. xD Mind if I ask exactly what you're doing?
Aerith sat down in a chair right in front of Sora, tilting her head slightly in an attempt to see his face. "Sora," she called softly, gentleness in her bright green eyes. She needed him to look at her, or at least take his hands away from his head. Sora opened his eyes fully when Aerith called to him, the teen wincing at the brightness of the room. He saw the look in her eyes, and he knew that she was trying to help him here. A heavy breath left his lips as he lowered his hands to his sides, leaving them clenched as fists. "Close your eyes," Aerith requested softly, seeing the pain in Sora's bright blue orbs. She had a feeling the light was making the pain worse than it already was, and she didn't have reason for him to keep his eyes open. When the boy obeyed wordlessly, she lifted a hand and set her palm against Sora's forehead.
Sounds good to me. ;D
Aerith looked away from Sora to Riku, who was still hovering nervously by his best friend. "I'll try," she assured him. "I haven't seen this before, but knowing how their attacks work should help me find a cure." She hadn't encountered the rare Heartless before, only hearing rumors and piecing together information based off of what others experienced. But her magic would cure this; it had to. She looked back at Sora as she rose out of her seat, heading toward the brunet. Leon followed Aerith with his eyes, seeing her pull up a chair and sit right in front of Sora. If she couldn't help him, then nobody could, for Aerith was the most powerful healer he had ever seen.
