Here’s another art trade I made for my friend’s (@murtogg) oc, Viper! This one was a lot of fun to draw and I experimented a lot with the background and perspective. Drawing those boots was hard ya’ll!!
Summary: Somewhere at sometime, Misty had forgotten just how much work it took to stay alive
~
Living wasn’t quite as easy as Misty remembered.
As strange as it had felt when Ccarayhua first came to rest in the back of her mind, its absence lingered with her more than its presence ever did. Existing as a dark signer had been like living in a dream. There hadn’t been any need to worry about the eating or maintaining any other bodily functions. Every possible distraction could be set aside in order to drown in her hatred to the fullest.
In contrast, the second she awoke without that dark sigil, all Misty could focus on was the incredible effort it took to simply blink. Every beat of her heart fell like a terrible crash against her ears drum, and her lungs ached from the sheer strain of inhaling and then exhaling in such quick succession. Somewhere at sometime, she had forgotten just how much work it took to stay alive.
It was hard to tell if she was the only one to make such a mistake. After all, didn’t every good parasite try to stay undetected as long as possible? If she had noticed Ccarayhua’s sway then perhaps she would have not chosen such a dark path. Still, shame wormed its way through her heart. She didn’t know it was possible for it to feel both so overwhelmed yet empty at the same time.
So rather than face it, Misty ran away. Of course she wasn’t sure if anyone else realized what she was doing. She did make it her mission to put on her best smile, find the most glamorous location, and send all the most sickening of postcards she could find. Hitting her best angles was second nature by now. There were no responsibilities to hold her down. When in a crowd, she didn’t have to consider if she had sacrificed any of them to feed Ccaryhua. For the first time in a long time, she could be the person she was before Toby was taken away from her.
She didn’t realize it was still running though until one night she found herself drunk at some hidden, hole-in-the-wall club. The dance floor was so tiny that she found herself packed like a sardine in all directions. As the bass pounded and their bodies writhed in time, a thought came to her with startling clarity.
You’ve lived three lives and yet still nobody would notice if you disappeared.
One minute later she was in the bathroom, splashing water in her face. Ten minutes later she was hailing a cab. Half an hour later she was sprawled across her hotel bed. Five hours later she watched the night sky bleed into dawn.
You’ve lived three lives and yet still nobody would notice if you disappeared.
Even now, Misty couldn’t deny the truth.
Mutely, she reached for her phone. There had to be somewhere else she could escape to. Somewhere more unfamiliar, farther. However, before she could pull up flight times, a notification jingled across her screen. Without even really considering where it might take her, she clicked it.
“So, so, sorry for taking so long to check in on you! I didn’t have your phone saved, and so I had to do some digging to find this email address. Sorry if that was a bit much, but I figured it would be better to at least say something than--” The email rambled on, its writer’s identity still unclear. Frustrated, Misty scrolled down to the bottom to find one “Carly Nagisa - Neo Domino News” in the signature.
Over-sized glasses and a goofy grin flashed before Misty’s eyes, yet recognition only made the email stranger. Without her, Carly never would have had to be dragged into all the Dark Signer business.
On impulse, she typed up an angry reply. “If you knew what was good for you, you’d lose this email and forget about me.”
She spent the rest of the day, wallowing in a mixture of self-pity and rage. Beyond all the swirling emotions kicked up by the email though, an older, rawer wound pulsed in time.
Toby...knowing his murderer was six feet in the ground didn’t make his absence any easier to bear.
A ring cut out through the grief. At some point the sky had darken back to its night-time black, shrouding the entire room in darkness again. The only source of light came from her phone lighting up with another emotion.
“If you don’t want to be in contact, then this will be my last email. I’m so sorry if I was a burden to you. I’m always asking too much of others. Maybe I read too much into that night. You shouldn’t have to be responsible for me.”
Confusion bubbled to the surface. She tried sifting through her memories for what Carly could possibly be referring to but kept coming up blank. Frustrated, Misty pulled up the first email and read through it again.
“I’ve been having these nightmares again. I tried to talk about it with my friends, but as nice as they are, it’s clear they don’t understand. It’s different when you’re the one that hurt others.”
Nightmares, there had been one night, back before she fully accepted the role, that Misty had found her wandering their base. Carl had been obviously frazzled, so rather than question things, Misty had fed her some food and stayed with her until she had fallen back asleep. Even if neither action were necessary, Misty had though the routine would have at least brought some comfort.
She hadn’t thought much of the gesture. If anything, now it seemed as just another sign manipulation and deceit. But before she could slide down another rabbit-hole of rationalization and excuses, she couldn’t but remember that self-loathing could sometimes be a form of narcissism.
Misty sighed and fell back against the bed. No matter how highly Carly spoke of her, it was hard to view herself as anything but a burden herself. Still, those elder sister instincts tugged at her heartstrings. At the very least, Carly deserved an answer of sorts.
“I don’t know if I can help you, but please don’t think of yourself as a burden. If there’s something you feel like you can’t bring to others, then I will be there to listen.”
She must have fallen asleep not long after; even if she hadn’t done anything all day, most humans needed to sleep after being awake for over twenty-four hours. When she woke up next, it looked to be mid-morning. Considering she probably hadn’t showered in twice as long, Misty probably should have bolted straight for the bathroom. But despite herself, she reached out and pulled up her email again.
“Alright, but only if you let me lend an ear as well! Friends should be able to depend upon each other. Besides, I’d love to hear about how Paris has been!” There were plenty of sparkly and cute emojis to accompany the message, but that didn’t stop the pit of anxiety building in Misty’s stomach. For all her time away from Neo Domino, she couldn’t recall a single thing of note she had done besides feel sorry for herself.
This means you’re gonna have to actually get out there an enjoy yourself
As much as Misty wanted to find an excuse not to leave, that night together came back to her When she remembered how peaceful Carly had looked while asleep, heat rushed to her face.
I can’t make her carry those feelings too. Not now.
Still as Misty washed up and tried to plan out a proper gossip-worthy itinerary, she couldn’t help but consider how she wanted to one day be a reason for Carly’s happiness.
A.N. This fic was for Yugioh Mini Exchange. I had some nasty writer's block and ended up drifting a bit from the prompt I was given, but I hope I still managed to do these ladies justice
