Dec. 27th. Tracking Down the Danger (Nate, Rei)

[Nathaniel Bernhardt]

Thinning his lips, Nathaniel hesitated for just a moment. That thing was looming over him once more. The fact that it was that much closer freaked him out just a little bit, even if this is what he wanted more than anything else right now. To have that damn block gone.

He shifted his body closer to the kneeling priestess, folding his long legs indian style and extending his hands to hover mere centimeters above hers. Energy crackled against his skin, making the finer hairs on his arms stand on end.

Closing his eyes, he listened to Rei's breathing for a moment then settled down to match his breath with hers.

[Hino Rei]

Most people didn't have the patience for this. It took a long time for their breathing to match up; two bodies were rarely in perfect synchronization with one another. Eventually it 'clicked' and when it did the tingling began between their palms. This was different than anything she'd ever experienced before. Rei tried to keep her mind as blank as possible during this stage, ignoring the tingling sensation.

Though her eyes were closed she knew that the light beyond them was suddenly fading, at least within the apartment itself. Darkness surrounded them and suddenly.. she could see. It was not her physical eyes that had opened, but her spiritual ones. She stared at Nathan a moment then allowed herself to look down at the flickering light coming from between their hands.

Definitely different.

Yet she still needed to concentrate. The woman allowed this to slide past her and she searched for a spot deep within her, one of her chakras. It was nearly impossible to describe how this felt to anyone who had never done it, but in a way it was as if she had shoved her spirit "down" and then "out" towards Nathanial. The blockage was in him, so that was where they were going. Darkness descended again, when it lifted they should meet inside Nathanial's mind.

[Nathaniel Bernhardt]

Nathaniel wasn't really surprised by how long it took the two of them to synch up. Their basic personalities were just so ridiculously different. The reaction of their energies to each other though, that was intriguing. The energy fairly crackled and seethed between their hands, covering him in gooseflesh and rippling down his spine.

He followed Rei "down" and "out", feeling her push at his mental shields. Stretching out a mental hand, Nathaniel "pulled" her in and their energies mingled with stray thoughts flitting about like dust in the wind.

A perfect blue black bowl of stars soared overhead, shining with a clarity and light that hadn't been seen on the earth since the Industrial Revolution began. Memories hung like stained glass windows etched with strange symbols. The "ground" was gray black basalt gleaming with odd crystal formation and riddled with cracks from which a deep violet twilight glow was pulsing.

One boot heel kicked down at the ground, making the soft grinding sounds of stone on stone. "This is the barrier. All of these cracks...they just happened since I first met you. Meeting Makoto made them bigger, but I still can't get through."

Mentioning Makoto's name brought up the memory of their kiss in the alley and all of the sensations and fantasies that had followed after. The thoughts brushed up against Rei as they flitted past before he could catch all of them.

[Hino Rei]

The "scenery" of his mind was rather surprising, all in all. Rei found herself somewhat enthralled by the heavens glittering above and the beauty of it. She never would have expected such a thing from the man had she known him a thousand years. Then again.... Once more steeling herself against having any of those such thoughts leak, Rei was suddenly surprised by a wave of---

Her eyes widened at first and then narrowed considerably in the direction of the other "spirit" walking with her. Of course this was just an imagination manifestation of Nathaniel, built to help both of their minds cope with what they were doing... but it still worked the same as it did in the physical realm.

"It seems as if a fairly good portion has been blocked off," Rei noted, choosing to ignore what she'd seen... for now. Instead she dropped down into an easy crouch and poked a finger into one of the cracks as she mentally tested it. Whatever it was, it was old and well laid. It would take time, effort and a great deal of care to break it. Well... the first two, absolutely, but the third was really only important if he wanted to keep his sanity. She assumed he did.

"It flickered, a moment ago," she noted. "I'd be wise to find out just what triggers it, and if its only one thing or a series. If you say I'm a trigger, and you know yourself well enough that I'll believe it, then I wonder what would happen..."

Rei bit her metaphysical lip and eyed the cracks. Still crouched, she put one hand to the basalt and slowly called forth a small taste of her power; the heat coursed through her veins to gather in her palm, small wisps of "fire" showing about the edges of her hand.

[Nathaniel Bernhardt]

Crap!

That single word echoed in Nathaniel's mind as he clawed at those thoughts and pulled them back into his head, putting a firm lock on them. The inside of his head had been pure bedlam since he'd gone to the palace and now he couldn't even keep a rein on his thoughts.

Blue eyes slanted sideways to catch Rei's reaction to the bombardment. She flinched, but didn't say anything. The redhead stifled a small sigh of relief and quickly followed suit in his demeanor, acting as if nothing untoward had happened.

Saying nothing, Nathaniel merely nodded at the priestess' words and crouched down beside her. It was an odd sensation to be watching the woman's "hand" touch the barrier in his mind while feeling it at the same time. The instant she called her power up, he felt that too and the hair on the back of his neck stood up.

Tiny cracks splintered the basalt beneath Rei's hand, the light seeping through the cracks pulsing again in reaction. At the same time, Nathaniel's form next to Rei thinned out almost completely and he fell forward to his hands and knees, head hanging low as he hissed in pain.

"Warn me before you do that next time," he growled out, voice harsh with pain. This was the worst that it had ever been and he didn't doubt that if she tried tricks like that again his body was going to have, at the very least, a rather severe bloody nose and a migraine for the next week.

The light pulsed again through the cracks as if asking Rei to try touching it again, a very distinct feeling of "wanting out" permeating the "air."

[Hino Rei]

Rei frowned deeply at the response from the barrier. It seemed as if it could be blasted open, were someone willing to force it... yet the pain from Nathanial's "mental self" stopped her from trying it--as well as the fact that she was currently inside of his head. Rei didn't know what would happen to her if she did decide to blow it from the inside out and nor was she inclined to find out. "Right," She responded to his growl and stood, still staring at the pulsing light beneath their feet.

Eventually the woman shook her head, "Well, we know that it responds to me, at least. I don't think it would be a good idea to force it, though. That could result in damage, maybe minor maybe major, and it might even be permanent. Barriers are put in a place for a reason... and I think the best idea would be to find the reason and deal with it."

As she spoke she eyed the glowing cracks, feeling more than a little apprehensive about all of this. "I think that if we try, we can work our way, slowly, into these cracks. Guided meditation, readings, I'd like to get you in to the shrine and see if I can find anything.... and... call it a hunch, but I have a feeling that past life readings or hypnosis might bring something up."

Rei shook her head and a slight tug from the physical world shook her. Her image wavered a little, "I can't... We should call it a day. Start fresh on the problem later."