[Our protagonist just returned to her 'home' dimension and talked to Landis.]
[He told her about how she was found and that as an undead she won't be able to 
gain sustenance in that dimension so it can't really be her home again.]
[The Elders were not pleased about her presence, but she was able to slip out 
before she could be banished.  Returning requires a sacrifice.  A literal 
sacrifice.]
[She's now returning to earth.  Mandy is presently standing over an unconscious 
Elda.  She's practicing with her scythe while she waits.  It looks like Elda 
wasn't too badly injured by whatever Mandy did.]
[Start]
* Kahlya staggers back unsteadily through the closet and reaches her hand up to 
her chest. She didn't have time to notice before, but she feels like her heart 
should be beating and she should be short of breath. The fact that she isn't due 
to being undead just makes it all the more weird a sensation.
* Mandy glances up when you arrive.  "Doesn't look like that ended well."
* Kahlya doesn't look at Mandy. She staggers for a second, then grips hard on 
her scythe, her knuckles turning white (well whiter). The rage builds slowly in 
her as a slow growl rises in her throat before she starts swinging it, smashing 
things wildly around the room with it.
<Kahlya> Stupid!  Stupid!  How dare they.  How DARE they!
* Mandy backs up to the door but makes no effort to either stop Kahlya or 
protect Elda.  "Kahlya?"
* Kahlya turns her head suddenly towards Mandy, again looking like she should be 
breathing hard but not having a breath in her. She snarls out a "WHAT?!?" In her 
direction.
<Mandy> You're not in control.
* Kahlya stares at Mandy for a little bit, then puts her hand to her forehead 
and closes her eyes. "Right. You're...right."
* Kahlya still picks something small and smashable up from near her position and 
throws it against the wall.
* Mandy nods and then, with a touch of regret, dismisses her scythe.  She walks 
over and hugs Kahlya.  "You want to talk about it?  Or want to do more smashing 
first?"  Her tone is not sarcastic.
* Kahlya closes her eyes and shakily puts her hands down, as if she's unsure of 
what to do. But eventually she puts her hands on Mandy's back and hugs her in 
return, tightening her eyes. "No, I'm... I think I'm okay. I just..." She opens 
her eyes and looks over at Elda for a moment.
* Mandy keeps hugging and lets Kahlya work out her thoughts.
* Kahlya lets go of Mandy for a moment and starts walking over towards Elda like 
she's in a trance. She takes out her scythe again and holds it off to the side.
* Grysar lets Kahlya go. "You want her awake for this?"
<Grysar> (* Mandy)
* Kahlya doesn't answer Mandy, walking faster towards her. The hands gripping 
the scythe twitch a little as she draws it back.
<Kahlya> (her = Elda.)
* Elda stays unconscious.
* Mandy shrugs and lets Kahlya work it out.
* Kahlya draws her scythe back as if to strike and holds it there for a moment, 
then lets out a sigh and lowers it. "No. What would that accomplish?" She tosses 
aside her scythe, almost unconsciously and then blinks as she realizes what 
she's done.
<Mandy> Hmm.
* Kahlya sucks it up and stands up straighter again. "Besides, I still need 
her." She goes over and gets the scythe then looks back at Mandy.
* Mandy smiles and summons back her scythe.  "Should I give her that fraction of 
her life back to wake her up?"
<Kahlya> You didn't try to stop me?
* Mandy shrugs.  "You were calm.  I trust you to make good decisions so long as 
you're in control."
* Kahlya looks at Mandy. Then starts laughing. Starts laughing wildly. "You. 
Trust me. Aha. Ahaha..."
* Mandy entwines her arms in her scythe.  "Well, maybe not *good* decisions so 
much."
* Kahlya smiles slightly and wipes her eyes with her knuckles. "You...you trust 
me more than I trust myself. How funny."
<Mandy> Huh?
* Kahlya smiles at Mandy wider and stands, scythe between her arms and behind 
her back, looping past her elbows. "Nothing. You said you took part of her life 
force? Impressive." She taps her cheek for a moment. "Annnd, a little scary 
actually."
* Mandy smiles at the impressive.  She smiles wider at the scary.
* Kahlya tilts her head to the side slightly, confused. "You *want* to be 
scary?"
* Mandy looks puzzled in turn.  "I dunno.  It's kinda cool."
* Kahlya puts her fists on her hips and straightens up, turning her chin up a 
little indignantly. "Now it may be "cool," but you're still too green at it. You 
have to use your scariness so that people don't expect it. People should see you 
as sweet but someone they don't want to cross."
* Kahlya grins and walks over to Mandy, ruffling her hair. "Good job, though. I 
think we can wake her soon though."
* Mandy nods at the reprimand.  "Yeah, that makes sense."  She grins with pride 
at the follow-up.  She walks over and places the blade of her scythe to Elda's 
chest.  A few moments later the woman wakes.  "Aiyee!"
* Kahlya grins slightly at her. "Welcome back to the land of the living, "Elda." 
We couldn't have you running out of here without explaining things better. Ooo, 
that would be soooo rude, wouldn't it?"
* Kahlya is in the direct path between Elda and the door by the way.
* Elda gets control of herself.  "Does that mean you aren't going to kill me?"
* Kahlya smiles at Elda. "Wellll, that all depends on what you have to offer, 
hmmm, doesn't it?"
<Elda> I don't really have power anymore.  I couldn't even glow a few months 
after I settled in.
* Kahlya taps her cheek looking pouty and contemplative. "I mean. I've gotten an 
offer for passage back to my other home for a sacrifice. It doesn't sound like 
such a bad deal..."
* Kahlya looks at Elda strangely for a second. "Glow? Well that's interesting. 
Tell me about this glow."
<Elda> I was a will-o-wisp.  They built this house over my swamp.
* Mandy listens with interest.
* Kahlya nods enthusiastically, waiting for Elda to reveal more.
<Elda> We used to lure peope, children mostly, into the swamps.  Sometimes their 
ghost stuck around after they died and became one of us.  But after the swamp 
was gone, everybody else left.
* Kahlya tilts her head curiously. "Is that what happened to me? I got "lured"?"
<Elda> Sort of.  There had been a warlock that lived in the house.  He used to 
astral project in that closet.  I had been able to attract a kid every other 
year or so, but they all got scared or didn't have the talent to trigger it.
* Kahlya smiles slightly. "So. When you found one who could trigger it, you 
thought this was your big chance. Then what?"
<Elda> I figured you might become company.  Or maybe I could possess your body.  
But it was harder than I thought.  It took a week.  The warlock must have left 
spells to keep his body going.  I was always afraid you'd come back and ruin 
everything, but you didn't.  You even left your memories.
<Kahlya> How could I have ruined it?
<Elda> I was weak.  I was just barely able to keep control of your body at 
first.
* Kahlya blinks. "So that really *is* my body?"
* Elda nods.  "I guess you constructed a new one when you materialized in this 
realm.  It was still linked though.  I think that was what made me sick.
* Kahlya rubs her chin. "Innnteresting." She turns to Mandy. "Mandy, you know 
anything about this?"
* Mandy hmms and touches both of you.  Elda flinches away for a moment but then 
allows it after looking fearfully at Kahlya.  "That feels right.  She has your 
life force.  Well, what's left of it."
* Kahlya sighs. "Well. That makes this difficult then..."
* Mandy steps back.
* Elda looks at you fairly wild eyed.  "What?"
* Kahlya walks away slightly. "You see. You're the cause of this. That means I 
hate you now. On the other hand, you have a viable body that, by all rights, 
belongs to me."
* Kahlya is still generally interposed between her and the door.
[Awareness check.]
<Kahlya> (Sense?)
<Grysar> (Sight)
* Kahlya turns around and grins at Elda. "That means I can't harm it."
* Elda lets out a breath.
<Kahlya> (That was actually supposed to go just before the check.
* Kahlya gestures to Mandy. "Nooow, I suspect that she can force you out of it 
on her own. After all, she already did part that anyway. And you're just getting 
sicker. But I'm willing to let you try to deal your way out of it before that."
<Elda> What do you want?  I'm not rich, but I'll give you everything I have.
* Kahlya blows out a breath slightly. "Haven't you been listening? I already 
*told* you want I want."
<Grysar> A sacrifice?
<Grysar> (<Elda>)
* Kahlya then grows a bit at Elda, bearing her teeth and clenching her hand and 
leaning in close. "I WANT MY FUCKING LIFE BACK!"
<Kahlya> (grows=growls)
* Elda whimpers.  "I.. I don't know how."
* Kahlya turns around. "Mandy. Can you get her out of there and leave that part 
of me still in there intact?"
* Mandy steps up.  "Hmm.. well, maybe... but... yes.  Yes, I could, but..."
* Kahlya turns towards her. "But?"
* Kahlya then looks coldly at Elda. "And you. You're pathetic. Even what little 
I remember of me being a human, I wasn't this whiny."
* Elda takes a breath a bucks up.  "Yeah, you had power even then.  Broke the 
rules all the time.  I just wanted a life."
* Kahlya smiles. "That's what I do." She then looks at Mandy. "Mandy?"
<Mandy> First, you'd lose your powers.
* Kahlya pouts. "What? Like...all of them?"
<Elda> So it's not really your life anymore.  It's been twenty years.  I love my 
parents.  I like being a bookstore clerk.  Do you really want to be me?
<Mandy> Everything.  She's totally normal now.  And I'm not really an expert at 
this.
* Kahlya glares at Elda. "For g--SHUT UP already."
<Mandy> Second, she dies.  She's not going to be able to live as a free spirit.
* Kahlya looks at Mandy. "Do you think I care about that?"
<Elda> Oh.. great, I die.  I'll listen to your advice, screw you.  You got the 
life you wanted, so did I.  It was a fair trade.
* Mandy shrugs.  "Don't know.  I thought you'd want to know."
* Kahlya rolls her eyes and walks over to Elda, kneeling close. "Listen you. I 
was *this* close to skewering you on the scythe *anyways*. So I would watch how 
you speak. Don't try to tell me what I want and what I don't want. Do you think 
I really wanted to face Death? Do you think I really wanted to DIE like this?"
<Elda> I didn't send you to face Death.  I have no idea why you came back or 
died here.  That's all you.
* Kahlya leans forward and pats Elda on the cheek, smiling gleefully. "Maybe I 
wanted a boyfriend. Having a body like that would be as good a reason as any."
<Elda> What, you died at a singles dance?
* Kahlya smiles and ignores her, stretching. "What do you think, Mandy?"
* Mandy shrugs.  "I dunno.  I like powers.  But you'd be alive again."
* Kahlya smiles back at Elda. "I might be back. Later. I have a pendant that can 
find you, Elda, so no use trying to run away."
* Kahlya stretches. "Buuuuut, for now. Enjoy your life. I can't do it right 
now."
* Elda stays quiet.
* Kahlya walks over to Mandy and ruffles her hair gently and teasingly. "I've 
got a good little apprentice right here I still have to train. I think I'll need 
this body for that."
* Mandy grins.
* Kahlya smiles wickedly back at Elda, showing her scythe off meaningfully then 
turns around towards the door, blowing Elda a kiss. "Don't fear the reaper, 
hun." She looks down at Mandy. "You ready?"
<Mandy> Yup.
* Kahlya heads out of the house!
* Mandy heads out too.
[End!]