* Isaac is glancing over the math book, turning the pages a bit quicker than if he were actually reading... Granted, the book and him are both floating in the air, but that doesn't matter. * Mariah is studying as well, although she's doing it more slowly, probably because she actually needs to read over the material. "Hey, Isaac?" * Isaac looks up, breaking his concentration. The book falls to the floor. ~Yeah?~ Uh, I was wondering about something... ~What a coincidence. So was I.~ ^_^ ~But I bet they're not the same somethings.~ ... probably not. Mine was... uh, do you know a whole lot about spiritualism and shamanism and stuff? * Isaac sits up indian style. ~That's a good question. Depends on what you call a 'whole lot'. 'cuz I haven't known a lot about it until recently... except for the part about spirits. I've known spirits existed for two years now.~ * Mariah frowns and closes the math book. "Well... anything that'd be useful for me to know, I guess? If all this stuff with souls keeps up, I mean." * Isaac shrugs. ~Um, let's see... I know you can't keep them in a bottle, you can't really hurt them unless trained, Karasu's got something weird with him, that Tulpa guy is creepy. I'm sure I could do some research on the topic, though.~ Are you sure? All the stuff in the library's really... dense. * Isaac rubs his head. ~True. That Yoh guy knew more about shamanism than the library books did, and he's about as light-headed as they come.~ ~But that's what the internet's for, right?~ * Mariah nods, slowly. "... well, if we find anything that's right at least. There's the weirdest stuff about magic on there... ~Yeah. Most of the stuff on the net is total crap. But if ya find what's good, you got what's good. But back to your original question... I think a spirit, by this or any other name, is a ethereal representation of someone's will, thoughts, and ideas. In other words, their soul.~ Okay, yeah... ~Shamanism is the art of 'infusing', if you will, the shaman's person and the spirit's will into one body. In other words, two souls, one body. I think it only works if both are willing participants, but then again, neither Kai nor I wanted me to take his body without the other's consent. At least, that's how I *think* I felt just before I got sucked in.~ Oh, okay! Yeah, I thought it could only be by consent, but... man, if these guys can do it without, they're really dangerous, huh? ~Yeah. Ripping the host's soul out of their body, I would imagine, is no easy task. And in most cases, I'd think it'd kill the victim.~ Yet they can... * Mariah shakes her head. "*Man.* I'm getting worried about this, Isaac." ~You're worried? How do you think I feel? I can't really stop them if they decide to smack me around, and who's gonna hear me if I ask for help?~ ~'cuz I bet that Tulpa guy can do that kind of stuff...~ ... that's why I need to know this stuff. I might need it. ~Hmm... I see.~ ~How does your magic work, anyways?~ I mean... you're part of the team now, so somebody needs to be able to help you... and if these guys can do stuff like that, who knows what else they can do! It's kinda scary. ... uh, it's sort of intuitive. I study it a lot, but the spells just kind of... come, you know? ~So it's kind of like my psychic abilities?~ * Mariah nods. "I think so, yeah. Most of it's been... well, energy stuff. I'm trying to learn other stuff, like the tarot, but energy's the easiest." ~That's pretty cool. I mean, reading people's minds is cool too, but you get to shoot lighting and stuff from your fingertips! Like the emperor!~ ... except he's evil and stuff. I'm not evil! ~Well, yeah. But you got the cool powers anyways.~ I *guess* I do. Still have a lot to work on, though.. ~That's what you're here for, right? Seems it's what everyone else is here for.~ ... well, yeah, pretty much. But I think I need to work on physical stuff too. * Isaac rests his head on his hand. ~Yeah, that's true.~ * Mariah looks back to the math book briefly. "... so, uh, any idea where I should start with spiritualism? Research and stuff, I mean." ~No clue, really. Only person I ran into who knew anything about it at all was Yoh. He's an upper classman, and a shaman himself. He actually could see and hear me, though.~ ~I already did check the library, though. And it was lame.~ Yeah, the library doesn't have anything... maybe I should try to find this Yoh guy. ~I'm just warning ya, he's one of the calmest and most dense people around.~ That's okay, I can deal! I think... ~He's got a bunch of spirits which hang with him, actually. Only one I saw was some 400 year old samurai.~ ... wow. *Neat.* ~Or was it 600 years... I can't remember. It all looks the same after you go back some time, right?~ * Mariah nods. "I don't know that much about samurai, so I couldn't tell you... ~Yeah. I'm really going to have to get Kai into this shamanism stuff. He seemed pretty interested, so now all I have to find him is a teacher.~ ... oh, he wants to be a real shaman? That'd be good to have. If I learn some spirit magic and he learns some shamanic stuff, we should be prepared! * Isaac smiles. ~From what Yoh said, he's got some talent for it. And if he gets into it, then I'll be able to participate in the battles again.~ ^_^ Ooh, that's neat... ~Well, aside from telling you what they're thinking and any top sekrit information they have.~ ...that's pretty useful too, you know. ~I'm not really sure how it works, though. Eheh.~ Hey, as long as it works... ~Yeah. I hope the judges don't mind, though.~ ~Well, assuming they can tell. ~ Yeah, let's hope... I'm not sure they can, though. ~Well, as Sun Tzu said... "Secret operations are essentail in war; upon them the army relies to make its every move." What they don't know is our advantage.~ ^_^ * Mariah nodsnodsnods. "And you've fought for us, so you're on our team, fair and square... ~Yup. I just hope people don't start treating me like I never existed...~ Well, we won't, I know... * Isaac grins ~If you do, I'll make for certian you remember.~ ... yeah, you can poltergeist, can't you? ~To an extent, yes. I have some telekinetic abilities.~ ~Usually takes more effort than it's worth, though.~ * Mariah nods. "Yeah, telekinesis is hard, I've heard... ~But, um, geeze. I don't really know what you can do to counteract all the soul going around. I mean, next thing you know Karasu's gonna break out in song and we're gonna end up as backup singers.~ * Isaac smiles. * Mariah snickers. Man, and after he wouldn't dance... ~Next time, he will dance. Otherwise he'll discover how much of a pain having ice cubes in his pants are.~ ... I like your sense of humor. ~Yeah? That's good... one less person to snitch on me.~ ~So, I've been wondering. Where did you come from? You can skip all the details they'd tell us in Sex ed. Where are you from on the globe?~ * Mariah smiles. "Hey, I didn't hear anything -- I was studying... -- oh, me? I'm from America. Nowhere in particular." ~USA! USA! I was from the San Jose area myself.~ ~Excellent. Now I don't have to wipe your memory.~ ^_^ Oh, wow, California? That's really nice -- I'm just from Ohio... ~Yeah, it was nice...~ We went out there once for Christmas... man, it must be nice living somewhere that exciting. ~Ohio? I might have been passing thru there when, ya know... Bad stuff happened. I know I was going to Chicago by train, but I don't exactly know where _it_ happened.~ * Mariah winces. "... I don't remember hearing about any train accidents. Before I left, anyway." ~California isn't that exciting. Heck, San Jose was all suburbia, and no city.~ ~Even the weather is boring. "What's the weather today?" "Sunny, at 70 degrees, just like every day"~ ~I really don't remember where it happened, only that it was snowing and really cold...~ I dunno -- I guess I could call home and check about stuff, but... well, only if you really *wanted* to know. ~Nah, that's okay. Let's keep the specifics a sekrit for now.~ * Isaac 'sits' in the air, hugging his knees. ... so, uh, anyway, where's this Yoh guy live? ~He looked Japanese to me. Always wears a pair of orange headphones, really laid back. He said that if there was any slacking off, he'd be there.~ Well, I meant... where does he live here? * Isaac shrugs. ~Haven't the foggiest. I bet he's an upperclassman though.~ ~At least he didn't try to push me around. You'd be surprised what people think they have a 'right' to do when you're smaller than them.~ Oh, yeah, that's true... well, I'll see if I can find him and if he wants to talk. ~I could probably find out easily enough, though. He's got a... unique thought pattern. And being able to fly thru walls in this madhouse helps.~ * Mariah nods. "Maybe later... I'll start on my own, so he at least knows I care." ~Alright. If ya find out more about things that deal with the soul and stuff, let me know. I'm trying to figure out what's true and what isn't here.~ ^_^ I'll do my best, okay? ... for now, I really gotta work on this math. Stupid algebra. * Isaac looks over her shoulder. ~It's not that bad. Just remember your goal. Ya don't need to fill in all the blanks.~ * Mariah nods. "True... I just have to memorize this Quadratic thing. I should be okay... ... and the homework! ... man, I almost forgot. ~Just remember: 'x' equals the opposite of 'b', plus or minus the square root of 'b' squared minus four 'a' 'c', all over two times 'a'. o/~ ~ ~Yeah, they assign way too much homework for their own good.~ * Mariah nods blearily and looks back at her textbook. "Maybe I should make some flashcards." ... I really oughta go do this. No offense, Isaac, but if I stay out here, I'll keep talking and it won't get done. ~Flash! Maybe. I'll help ya study if you need. And maybe I can get Ao-Lang in on it too. Goodness knows Kai needs it.~ * Isaac sits up. ~Aw, okay. Be sure to write!~ * Mariah stands up, picking up her book. "Group studying, that'd be good... and I won't be gone *that* long! ... I hope." * Isaac looks down at his (read: Kai's) book that dropped earlier and 'picks' it up. ~Nah, Hope's somewhere else.~ He smiles at Mariah. * Mariah grins again and waves a little as she heads off to her room. * Isaac looks like he's got an idea, and goes over to the sketchbook he was working on earlier. The book falls to the ground again. (Poor book)