Summary: And he looked down at me, with tears in his eyes, and said, "You shall be my legacy."
I don't know where I am.
I don't know what I am.
I don't know anything.
Everything around me, everything that I know, is completely black. I can't see, I can't feel anything around me. It's complete silence. That is, until I feel a burning sensation shoot throughout my being.
It hurts. It hurts so bad I scream and claw at whatever is around me with limbs I didn't know I had. The burning sensation shoots through my body, A body I didn't know existed. It feels as if someone is melting my very insides. The hurting does not stop for a long time.
Eventually, things go quiet again. And I quickly forget of the experience as quickly as it happened. An amount of time I am unable to comprehend passes.
Until, A voice from nowhere I can discern, orders me to stand. I do so without hesitation, and feel my legs struggle to support my weight as I lift myself up from whatever position I was in before. They throb with pain as they buckle and shake.
A secondary voice I don't recognize speaks aloud, "Subject is functioning and all vital systems seem to be running smoothly -- No errors thus far." this voice, unlike the first, is monotone and flat.
The first voice speaks immediately after, "Unit-878, I want you to lift your left arm into the air."
That, I do understand.
I lift my arm into the air as ordered, it feels light and brittle. Like it's a hollow piece of nothing. I keep it in the air as the voices ordered me to do--I don't know why I listen to them, but I do. It feels natural. So I do as I'm told. I clench and unclench my hand, but I quickly find out the three digits on it are sharp and pierce my own flesh. But it does not hurt me.
I hear a vicious hissing laugh fill my existence, and the first voice speaks up once more, "Repeat the actions with your left arm, Unit-878."
Just as I was ordered to do so, I unfurl my other arm and feel it slither and weave around itself. It shudders from the sudden chill of the cold air on it's otherwise soft and warm flesh. But it does not bother me.
I hear the second voice speak once again, this time a little bit more enthusiastic compared to before.
"Clear the area of all personnel--Activate it's vision systems."
And for the first time in my existence, How ever long I have truly existed, I could see.
Bright blinding light assaults me, but only from my right side. My left continues to be nothing but darkness. I let out a metallic shriek, one I did not know I was capable of. As I try in futile effort to cover my single source of vision with my arm. But I quickly find out that is also impossible, as my arm is far longer than the rest of my body. And I merely end up messily covering my face with some part of my elongated forearm.
"Unit-878," the first voice once again calls out, "From here on out, you are to listen to me with utmost obedience. Failure to do so..." the voice trailed off, almost as if it was unsure of what it was about to say.
"Failure to do so, will result in the termination of your existence."
I’m a young woman now. I have a lover, I have friends that make me happy, and I have my own life.
Yet I returned to the place of my former home. I returned without telling my love. She would worry far too much for me to be able to do this. I left her a note saying I’d be back in a week.
As I walk through the large field that my house used to sit in, it’s growing darker and the sun is already setting. But I have to do this, or else it’ll be hard for me to sleep at night. I already barely sleep.
I make my way through the brush and the dense forest; even though my body is still weak, I push forward. I don’t let the cuts or scrapes of thorns and twigs stop my advance.
I keep walking, even though it’s nearly pitchblack save for the small amount of light from the dying sun above. I know where I’m going, because the forest hasn’t changed much if at all. It’s like I’m a little girl again, making my first trek into this forest with my best friend.
I make it through the bushes and trees, and finally make it to the clearing I was searching for. It hasn’t changed since I was a young girl, still filled with beautiful flowers I cannot possibly name. The only difference is a large tree that seems to have fallen there. I walk over to it, and take a seat, wiping away the dead and dried leaves that had gathered there.
Now I stare up at the night sky, at the bright stars. They make the meadow I sit in seem like daytime. The flowers that shine during the day seem to reflect the starlight and glow even brighter. I stay there, in complete silence, with the only sound being crickets and other such insects.
I open my eyes, after having them closed so I could enjoy the sounds, and I turn to look around at the forest that again surrounds me. But I notice something that surely wasn’t there before.
Neatly put into a pile is a small collection of berries, on top of a makeshift bowl made up of flower petals. Not one petal is the same as the last, and each one was surely picked and placed together with care.
I scan the trees around me, and search for any nearby visitors. But I find no signs of anyone, or anything.
I gently pick up the flower bowl, and look back up at the starry sky above. I place a berry in my mouth, and smile.
I did my best to hide the bruises. Whatever harm my mother did to me, I covered up and concealed. My father would go on to hug me sometimes, he would pick up on how I’d flinch when he touched me. I’m pretty sure he knew something was wrong, but he didn’t take action until he finally saw one of the bruises.
He calmly asked me, “Who did this to you?” His voice was shaky, almost like he was both terrified and furious. I didn’t answer him -- I only blankly stared him in the face. He stared back at me, before embracing me in a tight hug. It hurt me when he did since my ribs were sore and my collarbone was none better.
That night, my father confronted my mother. The loudest and most borderline violent fight I’ve ever heard soon followed. His voice was more of a roar than actual words. It scared me, in a way, to hear my father be like that. But it was fine.
My mother, for the first time in my entire life, sounded frightened. My father just continued to lash out at her, demanding that they get a divorce and that he get full custody of me. I watched from the stairs as my mother was now the one to be screamed at in the face. She only turned from my father's tirade to look up at me from her place on the couch. She gave me a look of pure disgust.
I went back to my room, and sat in bed awake all night. The house was eventually quiet and things were fine.
Or so I thought. Because the next morning after, as soon as my father left to finish his last day of work, my mother decided to finally get back at me for her misconceived ideas of how I wronged her, how I broke up her picture perfect marriage and life.
While I sat at the kitchen table, eating some fruit my father brought for me earlier that day, she came up behind me, and struck me with some heavy object.
I don’t clearly know what happened after, but I knew I was bleeding from my skull. Badly. Everything that happened after the first blow was a blur. But she repeatedly kicked and stomped on my dazed body, kicking me from my spot on the kitchen floor to the grass outside. She just screamed at me, telling me how I ruined her life and everything she always wanted.
I only held my hands up in defense, not once did I try to openly defend myself by striking back. Even as I lay in a growing pool of warmth in the grass, I only curled up into a ball. I didn’t weep, nor did I try to save myself.
But for the first time in my life, I was afraid. Afraid of dying. The sound of my mother's screams and crickets chirping were the only thing to fill my senses beyond the pain in my skull.
It was a moment of weakness. What I did was nothing more than a young child’s desperation and bid to save their life.
I screamed. I screamed for him to save me. I screamed until my lungs nearly gave out.
The forest, and everything around it, grew silent. I’m sure that every living creature besides my mother knew what was silently brewing. She stopped her rampage, and glanced all around her at the forest that surrounded us. I honestly hope she knew deep down what was about to happen.
I hope when she heard the thuds, the sound of wet grass being pushed into the earth, that she knew what was coming for her.
Even though my vision was once again blurry and unfocused, I saw it again. That radiating white coat in the very edge of the trees. All I heard was a deep bellowing roar, as the sounds of trees shaking and hooves stomping came our way. I looked up as best as I could, just to see it cross the entire field in front of our home in what looked like three steps.
It was faster than you’d think something of that size could be. It was graceful, however, despite its rage. My protector came to my rescue, and quickly dealt with my mother. The last sight I saw before darkness took me was it slamming into her at speeds I didn’t think capable of any mammal. It dragged her screaming into the trees. I saw her try to claw the ground she was being dragged across in some effort to save herself. It continued to effortlessly drag her by one of her legs into the surrounding forest.
I didn’t see my mother nor my best friend after that. When I woke up, my father was sitting by my bedside crying into his hands. When he saw me move around and become aware, he started to cry even harder than before. He then held me best as he could and told me everything was going to be fine.
But I knew that everything was already fine. But if he felt fine as well, then I was happy, too. I was happy.
The days following that would be the best I’ve had up to that point. Being able to interact with another living and breathing being that wasn’t my parents was the most fun thing I ever had the pleasure of doing. We would do nothing more but play hide and seek, or I would simply trail behind it as it wandered, but I had the time of my life.
It seemed to rest inside a meadow deep inside the forest, in a clearing that held the most colorful and wide array of flowers I’d ever seen. The deer was gentle, and handled me with care. It would let me climb onto its back when the pain in my legs would grow too intense, or let me sit in its lap as I told it about my day. Though it would never say a word back to me, it didn’t have to.
It was my best friend, and I sorely hoped it thought of me as the same.
When the sun would begin to set, and I knew my father would home soon, it would carry me back to my yard. When my legs would grow too sore and tired to support me, the deer would carry my weight. On its back, my frail form most have looked like a child riding on a behemoth of a man. Despite its size, it was still far more gentle than even I.
Even my father noticed how upbeat I had become, though when I would tell him about my friend in the forest he would just laugh it off -- telling me that it’s nice that I made a friend I could spend my day with. My mother refused to even pay it mind. She was more happy that she didn’t have to see me all day.
Everything was perfect, for awhile. Picture perfect even. But like all things in my life, they never stay good for long.
Everything went downhill, when my state of health took a turn for the worst. I was forced to stay inside all day due to my body growing weaker. I was barely able to walk, let alone spend all day outside like I used to.
I could only watch the world from my window, looking out of it as my best friend stood at the edge of the forest like always. For the first few days it seemed confused, like it didn’t know where I went off to. I am sure it thought it was another game I was playing, as I could see it search the edge of the forest tirelessly day after day. After a week of relentlessly searching for me, it eventually gave up and went back into the trees from whence it came.
To say sadness and heartbreak hit me is an understatement. I had left it without warning of my sudden disappearance. “I’ll see you tomorrow!” I had told it, waving as I ran off to my house. I can only imagine how upset and confused it had to feel over me disappearing.
I was unable to leave my bed, as my legs were far too weak to carry me. I was left with the thoughts of my best friend looking under every rock and inside every bush for me. The heaviness in my chest did not go away -- not for an entire month.
It was only a month after my bedrest that everything reached a breaking point.
My mother and father been arguing non-stop ever since I became confined to my bed. My father would keep checking on me every hour to see if I was fine. This surely got on the nerves of my mother, who was already jealous of how he showered me with affection and gifts. Her bitterness started to reach whole new levels as she would come into my room just to verbally abuse me: reminding me of how weak and pathetic I was, how he babied me out of pity, and how much happier they were before I was born.
Even though I would cry, and sob, she would hardly hold back. In fact, it seemed to egg her on even more. I never looked at the outside world when she would do this; maybe if I did I would have noticed whoever was looking in at me as she yelled.
On one awful day, after my father left for work, she brought out a bottle of booze she had stashed and decided to drink the day away. This ended in her berating me even more than normal, and more vicious than normal. When she finally grew tired of my sobbing, she struck me across the face with a sharp slap.
"Stop crying, you little bitch!" she screamed into my tear stained face. "All you fucking do is cry and bitch about how your body hurts. What about mine? What about how I have stretchmarks after pushing out such a little waste of space?”
Her drunken form and voice were both nearly shaking with anger.
As I stared into her screaming face, I finally figured out what I needed to do at that point. What I would have to do to ensure everyone would be happy. I don’t know why it hadn’t clicked to me before that point, but something just finally snapped.
I shut up. I stopped crying. I wiped the tears from my face, and I shut up.
My mother continued to scream at me, but I sat silent. I did not respond, nor did I weep. I let her finish her drunken rant and waited for her to finally calm down and leave me alone, again. I sat in silence, and stared at the wall of my white room.
I did not dare tell my dad of what my mother had repeatedly done for fear of what would happen. I instead sat quietly, and only responded when talked to, both by him and my mother. My father noticed this change and tried to ask about it, but I told him everything was fine.
Things were fine. All fine. As long as I kept quiet, everything was going to be fine.
Even when my mother struck me down to the floor, after I tripped and knocked over a vase, things were fine. She kicked me in the ribs, but I was fine. I didn’t cry, nor did I weep. Because everything was fine.
My life has always been one of repetition. I’ve long grown accustomed to the same events repeating themselves in an endless series of mistakes. My most regretful misstep would have been that day in the forest where I made a friend. My folly was to make that friend, and then leave them behind.
Summary: My life has always been one of repetition. I've long grown accustomed to the same events repeating themselves in an endless series of mistakes. My most regretful misstep would of been that day in the sunny forest...
Notes: Child abuse and dark themes be here
When I was a young girl, no older than nine years of age, I spent whatever amount of time I could outside.
I was transferred from hospital to hospital without pause or break. I was born three months premature, with complications in my mother's womb resulting in my early birth. I was born sick, and thrust into a frail existence. That trend would not change even into my adult years.
We traveled around the world, seeing various doctors and specialists. My father, bless his kind soul, was a wealthy and optimistic man. Late at night, when my body would ache and my limbs would throb with pain that I could not endure, he would hold me in his arms. We would pass the time with him either singing me lullabies or telling me stories from his youth.
I was undoubtedly a daddy’s girl; I loved my father with all of my heart. It’s why it hurt even more when I would have to hear him and my mother arguing over my health and well-being.
I knew, even at a young age, how much it hurt him having to deal with my mother's bitterness over having to constantly move every other month. Even though she supposedly loved him, she had a funny way of showing it.
My mother, a cruel and resentful woman, was my tormentor in my lonely childhood. While my father would be away at work during the day, I would be forced to stay home with her and endure the scoldings or snide remarks. She hated me, or at least had built up years worth of venom over the fact I was the reason she never got to settle down with her husband.
Thus, despite my sickly state, I would do my best to play outside by myself rather than spend any amount of time with my mother. It was hard, considering the amount of pain my body would go through, but I heeded my father's word and did my best to work through it.
This became easier when we moved once again, but this time we moved somewhere special —a house surrounded by a thick and extremely dense forest. We lived alone there: my father, my mother, and me.
My father picked such a place due to the fact a doctor lived only an hour away from us, and that he thought being out in nature would help my body. He told me, “The forest is a special place, one of wonder and healing. I have no doubt that it’ll be good for you, sweetie.”
My life would become somewhat easier then, when I could play in the trees and fields that were around my home. I hardly had to deal with my mother, and I could do nothing but laze about the day while staring at the bright, blue skies above.
It was ideal, it was calm, and I was happy. For the first time in years, I was happy.
Things changed, however, when one day I met an unlikely friend. It had been a rough morning. My mother had screamed and shrieked at me for accidentally dropping a glass of juice during a moment of dizziness. I tried to reason with her, to explain that my legs had been aching and that I simply hadn’t eaten yet. But she would hear nothing of it, and so I was sent outside without lunch as a punishment.
I sat outside, sitting by myself in the middle of our yard. Hot tears streamed down my face as my stomach growled and groaned, while my legs were aching with a dull throbbing sensation -- one that would make it hard for me to even walk that day. So, I was confined to doing nothing more than sitting and crying in the yard by myself.
Or so it would seem, until something caught my young eye. Though my vision was somewhat blurry and unfocused, in that moment I noticed something odd near the edge of the forest. In contrast to the somewhat dark and earthy greens and browns was a distinct and frankly almost radiating white.
There, grazing on some berry bush a few paces into the forest, was a deer.
Except it was very clearly not a deer by any normal standards. Its coat was unnaturally white, and its antlers were large and complex. They shot out into the sky around it like large pointed pillars, jutting out in various shapes. Although its back was turned to me, I did not notice its most odd feature.
It wasn’t any four-legged mammal, but instead a humanoid that walked on two feet. Or, at least, that’s what I thought it walked on.
Any normal adult would have screamed and ran off in fear at such a sight, but me being a young child with a large imagination did not think of such a sight as something abnormal. At a time in my life where I believed in Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, and other such fairy tales, seeing such a humanoid creature did not frighten me.
Even though my legs were in pain, and putting pressure on them caused me to tear up even more than I already had been, I worked past it and got up onto my stinging legs. I made my way towards the white deer, transfixed onto its white coat and intricate antlers. I do not know what made me do such a thing, as my father told me to stay away from wildlife, but I slowly and carefully came up beside it.
The closer I got to it, the more details I was finally able to make out. Its eyes were a bright and pure gold, its coat was fuzzy and almost reminded me of sheep wool. The feature that struck me the most, however, was its small and fluffy tail, which looked more like a ball of fluff than anything else.
I admittedly have a weakness for cute things, and I did what any child would do when they see something they have a weakness for...
I reached out and grabbed it. Not hard or violently, of course. The beast didn’t even notice or pay me attention as I approached it before this. But as soon as I made contact with its body, it slowly turned its attention from the berry bush it was eating from and faced me.
It stared me with its golden eyes and I stared back. We both sat in silence, neither of us moving as I held its tail in my small hand; it held a small raspberry in its own. After a few moments more of our standoff, it then ate the berry it held and continued its foraging. It didn’t seem to care that I was now petting it, and still staying fairly close.
The deer—err, the creature? It was bigger than me by a… large amount. Its whole arm's girth was wider than the entirety of my entire body. It could have easily snapped me like a twig and used my body as a toothpick.
But it didn't. In fact, it seemed to quickly warm up to me. It turned to face me for a few seconds, then turned its attention back to the bush. I didn’t notice what it was doing exactly, as I was too caught up in touching and petting it, but it let out a loud huff to grab my attention.
I turned up from its fluffy tail, and looked up to see it holding a handful of berries in its palm.
"F-for me?" I asked it, staring into its bright gold eyes. It nodded, and dumped the berries into the lap of my favorite white sundress. It then returned to gathering its own berries from the bush.
We sat there for some time, eating berries while just listening to the birds chirp and the wind blow. What was formerly a quite loud and stressful day, turned into a calm and peaceful one.
Once again, despite my sick body, I was happy.
But, sadly, things were not meant to be, for the worst was yet to come.
Summary: A VERY QUICK JOKE THING I WROTE FOR FRIENDS ASDFEASADEDED
Notes: ITS GROSS AND BLOODY AND STUPID WITHOUT CONTEXT IGNORE THIS REALLY
"NAI, NAI, PLEASE! NOT SO DEEP, I CAN HARDLY HANDLE IT…" Shiro’s wimpy and pathetic voice yelled throughout the Ian household. It was quickly followed by the sound loud series of thumps against the wall, before ending in a thick and sudden rush of liquid. If you were inside the room, the room that contained the undoubtedly horrified and maybe even puking Shiro, then you'd know the full terror of the situation.
But to everyone else, most importantly, to everyone inside the house yet outside the room. Then the noises were of your utmost interest.
Ian placed a cup against the door, and pressed his ear firmly against his makeshift glass listening device In his other hand, was the TRUE FLESHY DEVICE OF LOVE(™) an item he bought solely for events like this. Rare as they were, he had to be prepared for all occasions. And this time? He was well prepared.
He reached into a side drawer by the door, and hastily pulled out a box of tissues. This was going to be an intense 30 seconds, and he had to make sure he was ultra prepared for any mishaps. Or else Nai would make him wash the carpet. Which means he would force Shiro to wash the carpet. Which means he had to TALK to the little welp. ew.
Regardless, Ian listened intently to the noises being made without. A wet series of squishes could be heard, followed by a low groan from Shiro. This caused Ian’s hand to begin shaking, god, just what was happening in there? the possible outcomes made Ian’s mind fill with childlike wonder. He would simply have to ask Nai later.
Of course, what was happening inside the room wasn’t anything that Ian was imagining. In fact, it may of been something he found slightly gross.
Nai sat next to Shiro, who was restrained on the bed. His arms and legs tied to each bed post, as Nai repeatedly slid a very large knife in and out of his gut. Shiro himself had a face of pure disgust and slight pain as Nai happily kept stabbing the demon. Nai herself? A look of pure joy as she gutted the poor boy.
The stabbing stopped, however, as just outside the door the sound of glass breaking and a girlish scream was heard. Causing both Shiro and Nai to stop their torture for a few precious seconds as they turned towards it. Nai raised an eyebrow for a few moments, but soon got bored of staring at the blood seeping from under the door towards their direction and returned to stabbing Shiro.
Summary: A kick to the face, a punch to the gut, he could taste iron in his mouth. Shiro had been in somewhat worse places than this, but he also didn't have to deal with two of the same problem at the same time.
Notes: HEY, THIS FIC IS REALLY GROSS AND CONTAINS A LARGE AMOUNT OF BLOOD AND OTHER SUCH NASTY THINGS. DON'T READYYY IF YOU DON'T LIKE THAT.
What a hellish day it had been.
Well, everyday had been hellish for Shiro since he got into highschool. It was a promising start, he made a few friends, had a somewhat decent home life. It really wasn't that bad, y'know? while he did complain, he didn't really mind it all.
Until, that one fateful day, that is.
He had the misfortune of meeting... Those two. His two candy coated nightmares that made his life go from ideal to a living hell. Ian and Nai, two identical twins that were the most precious and attractive brother sister combo you could imagine.
That is, if you didn't know how they were under that sweet exterior. And Shiro knew all too well how sour they really were under that veil of innocence and purity. Although they didn't really bother as many other people in the school (mostly because everyone tried to stay on their good side), which resulted in them homing onto the poor bitchy demon. Who had a habit of letting his mouth go at the worse times.
In fact, he was doing it right now. And boy, he wished had kept his mouth shut this time.
"H-Hey, Nai, I need a moment to relax pleas--"
The demon let out a gasp for air as he was pulled aside by his female tormentor—causing the poor demon to choke and have a coughing fit which was ignored entirely by Nai. She only stared down at him with a look disappointment and boredom.
"Are you out of breath again? Don’t I take you out for enough walks, you stupid mutt?” Nai said, continuing to stare down at Shiro, who sat on his bruised knees on the floor. The demon only let out a defeated sigh as he tried to actually stand up, these ‘walks’ were less actual exercise and more ‘drag Shiro around while he’s on his hands and knees.’ Admittedly, he was in a frilly pink skirt this time, but everything was the same old, same old besides that.
Shiro just let out a grunt as he attempted to put pressure on his knees in an effort to stand--Or, at least, that's what would of happened if Nai hadn't yanked on his leash. Causing the poor demon to take a spill and fall flat on his face, A surge of pain shot through his skull as he landed with a thud onto the tiled floor. Nai herself actually let out a gasp as that happened, but Shiro figured it wasn't for any normal reason.
His suspicions were confirmed, however, as Nai was now kneeling down next to the poor demon, she then yanked on his chain once more, pulling him uncomfortably close to her as she did so, before grabbing some random part of his skirt and began to inspect it thoroughly for... something. He wasn't going to press his luck and try to ask her whatever it that was bothering her. That never ended well. The demon could only hold his most likely broken nose in his hands as she went about her latest bitch fest towards the demon.
He didn't have to wait long-- as she would answer his non-existent question for him.
"You..." Nai bagan, still looking at the demons skirt that she held in her hands, "You... got blood on this skirt, the skirt me and Ian bought just for you..." Nai said, trailing off as she did so. She had a look of disbelief on her face now. And with it, Shiro could feel himself begin to sweat bullets.
He defensively put up his hands, no longer cradling his broken nose, "I-It wasn't my fault, y-you kept pulling me around so hard! You're the one that made me bleed everywhere by being so careless!" Shiro said with a shakey voice, preparing himself for what he felt like was a punishment befitting for the apocalypse.
But strangely, there was no violence, threats of violence, nor anything really. Nai just stared blankly at the skirt for a few seconds more before letting go of it and standing up. She lightly tugged on his leash, which confused the demon for a few moments-- He hesitantly began to stand up, half expecting a repeat of earlier. But instead was met by silence. Nai wasn't even looking in his direction now... That scared him a bit.
The next few hours of Shiro's life would have to of been his calmest in weeks. Nai did nothing more than rest his head on her lap while they both sat on the couch, she idly played with his hair while doing so, never looking him in the eyes or face once while she did. He did catch a glimpse of her eyeing his skirt once or twice, but nothing odd besides that.
Shiro himself would of enjoyed being in such a position with literally any other girl in his life, but the fact Nai did something so outlandish was terrifying. she was always the more affectionate of the Ian twins, but never to this extent. He felt even more uncomfortable finding himself actually enjoying being this close to her.
Shiro did his best to... keep his mind clean, admittedly Shiro was desperate and dealt with less than pure urges more than he liked to admit, (He was a young demon after all.) but to begin having them about someone that constantly made his life pure hell? He was starting to think that maybe he deserved this fate.
Well, uh, not this fate. But maybe a fate with less... soft skin, and nice legs, and sweet smelling hair, and--
"Shiro," Nai's flat voice broke the sweet silence that had filled the room for the last few hours, nearly causing the now flustered Shiro to jump a bit as it did, "Ian is going to be home soon. We have a special treat prepared for you tonight," Nai quietly said, wrapping some of Shiro's hair around her finger as she did so. Her gaze still never met his as she spoke.
A... treat? Shiro was utterly confused by that, he hadn't been given a gift of any kind before by the twins. Well, besides 'the gift of being in our presence' as Ian himself had put it. The poor demon boy wasn't sure if he should be vaguely excited or terrified by that prospect.
-------------
Some hours would pass, Shiro would pass out on the blissful pillow that was Nai's lap, and even had pretty swell dreams to boot. The demon considered it a pretty successful day by his now very low standards of living. He was... happy, for the first time in a long time. He was even cracking a smile!?
Shiro sat up from his resting position on the couch, finally waking up from his dreamy state of mind. It appeared Nai had let him keep sleeping while she left to do whatever she does in her spare time that isn't torturing him. While Shiro wasn't in the company of Nai's presence anymore, he was fine with it. He had his few hours of lap privilege, and those few hours were going to stick with him for quite awhile. Mostly late at night when he was most desperate.
I wonder if they're preparing that treat or whatever? Shiro thought to himself, he scratched the side of his head as he tried to listen to any sounds of nearby Ian's. But sadly (or luckily) it seemed like no one else was around. Which also worried Shiro greatly.
"Ian? Nai?" Shiro called out, "Are either of you there? What did you want to show me?" he waited a response, he took this quiet time as a chance to finally fix up his skirt. Really, Nai had rudely ruffled it up so bad earlier. He couldn't believe how she could just--
Shiro facepalmed, "I can't believe I just... ugh..." Shiro could feel his insides twist a bit from embarrassment.
Luckily for him, he wouldn't have to sit in a pool of lingering regret like he normally would. a familiar sweet and soft voice called out to him from upstairs, "Ooh, Shirooooo~" Nai's singsong voice called out to him, causing Shiro to shiver a bit. Part of him really wanted to believe it was for a good reason considering what happened today, but... no, it had to be. They had something special planned for him, right?
"Eh? I'm coming Nai!" Shiro called back to her, he took a moment to make a few last adjustments to his skirt, before making his way out of the living room and up the stairs. Surely, whatever she wanted, it couldn't be that bad. She wasn't like Ian, who constantly tormented Shiro.
"Hey, where are you, Nai?" Shiro said to thin air once again, he was unsure of where Nai had been calling him from. They had at least 4 rooms up here, and he didn't want to come barging into one unannounced. Who knew what they would do if he disrespected them like that? Eh, he didn't really want to think about it. Happier times were ahead.
Shiro knocked on the door closest to him, which turned out to be Ian's room. He wasn't sure why she'd be in there but it didn't hurt to check if she was. As soon as he landed the first knock on the door, it suddenly opened and Shiro was pulled into the confines of Ian's chamber of suffe-- bedroom.
What happened next, completely caught Shiro off guard. Mainly the fact that Nai had shoved him roughly against the nearby wall without much effort. And then pressed herself up against him in the process. She then stared into Shiro's eyes with a look he couldn't exactly pinpoint... it was a cheery smile, but one he had grown to fear due tot he fact it's the matching smile that both twins would wear when they were up to no good.
Shiro could feel his face suddenly begin to burn up, Nai didn't say anything she just wrapped her arms around Shiro, never breaking contact with him as she did. Shiro could of swore she even began to rub herself up against him a bit, but he was too shocked by the sudden extreme levels of 'what the fuck' to enjoy or even comprehend what was happening.
He was pretty sure his jaw was wide open, and hanging loose too. He tried his best to get a hold of himself, trying to weakly push Nai off him a bit. This was... what the hell was this? Was he still dreaming? is this one giant wet dream of his that he was having on the couch? God he wished it was, because he really didn't like how this whole situation felt.
"Nai, Nai what the hell is--" before Shiro could even spit out his highpitched and somewhat excited shock, Nai silenced him with a single finger on his lips, shutting up the demon far faster than anyone else had ever been able to. For reasons beyond his understanding, this caused Shiro's face to burn up even hotter than it already was.
Nai winked up at the demon, "Hey~ ian's not going to be home for a little bit longer. We could do lots of things while he's gone, y'know?" Nai cooed, repeatedly running her finger up and down his chest. It felt like she was drawing something on him, and he really enjoyed that for various reasons.
"Well, I, U-Uh, I," Shiro stumbled over his own words, any type of english was also beyond his udnerstanding. In fact, he was entirely sure he didn't even have a mouth. How do you speak, what are words, holy shit she's so warm and sof--
His train of thought was ruined, again, as he felt a suddenly rush of air leave his gut. Mainly because Nai had landed one of her legendary sucker punches into his stomach. He clenched his sides as soon as it hit, before dropping down hard onto his already bruised knees.
He was pretty sure that he let out what sounded like a minor squeal to anyone unlucky enough to hear him.
This got worse, as Nai grabbed him by his hair, and roughly pulled him up by it, forcing him to stare into her cheery and smiling face, "We're going to be doing so many things while he's gone. Who knows, maybe he'll get to join us?" Before Shiro could even react, his jaw was slammed shut by Nai slamming his lower jaw onto her knee. Causing a flood of both old and new wounds to suddenly burst with life as she landed her blows.
He could feel tears welling up in his eyes, he was whimpering, and was in a whole new world of pain. Neither of them had been this violent with him, and he hadn't even been hit this hard by anyone before. He felt like he was going to puke from the sheer amount of pain.
Nai let go of his hair, letting him drop to the floor and hold himself in pain. He tried his best to curl into a ball of sorts, but his bruised knees prevented that being a possibility. He let himself open for a few precious seconds, allowing Nai to land a heft kick into his stomach.
Shiro reacted by letting out a cough of what he felt was surely blood, he made the precious mistake of no longer shielding his face as he went into a longer coughing fit. Nai then stomped on his face a few times, kicking him in the teeth for good measure.
The world was starting to grow dark as she continued to kick and stomp him into the wall, with a dull numbness over taking the sheer blunt pain he was being subjected to. Right before he passed out and was taken by the sweet escape of sleep, he heard the door to the room creak open, and a manlier voice say a few words before laughing with Nai.
.....
Of course, Shiro wasn't lucky enough to of died right then. His demon body was tougher than that. But with that blessing, comes the curse of having to endure the pain that it would take to hurt a demon.
Lunch was the only time Reo actually felt somewhat alive, mostly because the allure of food was too strong, even for her. It would be even better if she wasn’t in the middle of an extremely loud and crowded cafeteria. And if it wasn’t also next to her brother, where they seemingly sat alone together, in said extremely loud and crowded cafeteria.
"I’m telling you, there was this creepy spider lady trying to lure me outside!” Reo’s brother said to his sister, letting out a shudder as he recounted the events of what happened.
"Yeah? And?" Reo replied, somewhat disinterested in his story, and more focused on struggling to get her straw into the juice box she currently held.
"Well, uh… I kinda got out of there soon as I could," he said, rubbing the back of neck with a sheepish smile. "I didn’t want to find out what would happen if I kept staring at her through the window, y’know?"
"She would’ve most likely eaten you alive," Reo said matter-of-factly, never averting her gaze from the straw and its soon-to-be juice box home. She wrestled with it for a few seconds more, before finally succeeding in forcing the straw into the hole.
Reo took a few moments to soak in her accomplishment before happily taking a victory sip and finally giving her full attention to her brother, who seemed to be watching her go about her business with a amused look on his face.
Reo responded to his amused look with a glare. “What’s so funny, nerd?” she said while still sipping away at her juice.
"Aha, oh, it’s nothing," her brother replied with a slight chuckle. He then stabbed his own straw into his own juice box and began to sip.
Although he never got to say it much, his sister did have a few odd habits that were pretty cute to watch; one of which was her inability to pierce juice boxes with a straw.
While chugging down his beverage, he gave his wristwatch a few glances, tapping his finger on the cafeteria counter as he did so. He honestly had no idea why he was getting so excited over this, but seeing his sister’s face was going to be worth it. He figured that was the reason.
Reo noticed her brother’s odd actions and turned towards him with a confused look. “What’s up with you? You keep checking your watch,” she said, raising her eyebrow with suspicion.
He turned away from her for a second, taking a few moments to stare at the counter he was currently tapping, trying not to smile.
"Mmm, after school, how about we go for a walk? I have something I want to show you," he said with a half smile and a shrug.
————
Reo was fairly confused and annoyed, to put it lightly.
Her brother had made her walk with him for what felt like at least thirty minutes since they got off the bus back home. They repeatedly zigzagged to various houses, and when asked why they were doing this, all he would say is “We’ll find it soon, don’t worry!”
"When are we going to find this magical house you seem so determined on finding?!" Reo said with a tired and aggravated voice, slowly walking up behind her brother. This time he seemed to be inspecting yet another house. She was so tired of chasing after him at this point.
While he didn’t answer her straight away, he seemed to be looking at his phone with a look of unmatched concentration. Whatever he was looking at, his face seemed to say it was vastly important.
"I finally found it! Reo, come here for a second," said her brother, quickly tucking his phone away into the back pocket of his jeans. Reo was hesitant for a moment; she gave her brother another tired glare before slowly walking up beside him. She honestly half expected this to be some sort of trap.
He gave her a reassuring smile. “Alright, I want you to cover your eye and walk with me, okay? Don’t open it until I say so!” Reo’s brother then stepped behind her, before using both of his hands to cover her face.
"Keep walking until I tell you stop, alright?" he said while almost sounding like he was trying to keep himself calm. His tone of voice was like a giddy school girl (and frankly, that terrified Reo to some degree).
Faintly, she could hear the front door of the house unlock. While she couldn’t exactly see anything, she could certainly hear the sounds of footsteps. It seemed two other people were joining them in whatever the hell her brother was planning.
After walking a few more feet, she was stopped by her brother in what she guessed was the middle of the yard.
Her brother’s voice called from directly behind her. “Are you ready?” Who was this nerd talking to? And why did she have to keep her eye closed for this person?
The much older feminine-sounding voice yelled back towards them. “Yes! Ready when you are sweeties!” Sweeties’? Who in the world would say tha—
Reo’s once darkened vision was brought back to the world of light; her eye had to take a second to adjust. There was an odd warmth and glow that was making it hard for her to see. It almost felt like some sort of flame...
After rubbing her eye for a few seconds, she finally got a good and unmuddied view of just who standing before her.
And when she was able to get said view, her heart nearly exploded.
A young girl with flame for hair stood before her. Reo blinked a few times, her head was trying to process what she was seeing. But she was dumbstruck nonetheless.
The girl with fiery hair stared back at her, mouth agape in awe, her orange eyes wide in the same shock the rest of her was currently going through. Behind her, a woman with the same orange hue hair ( and horns!) smiled with her hands on her shoulders.
Reo could have recognized both the smile of the older women and the hair of the younger girl anywhere.
"C-Chi…Chi?" Reo sniffled, still in pure disbelief at who she was seeing. Reo could almost felt like she was going to pass out.
"OREOOOOOOO!" Chiaro squealed out, running towards Reo at speeds that none of people present would have thought possible from the young elemental.
Before Reo could even react, she was pulled into a near rib-cracking hug. Chiaro had grown far taller than Reo, which was evident as Chiaro swept Reo off her feet into the loving embrace. Chiaro then nuzzled the cheek of the now blushing Reo.
While this was happening, Reo’s brother watched the scene unfold with Chiaro’s mother. Standing off to the side as the two childhood friends violently loved each other. Reo’s brother only smirked as he watched his sister burn up faster than he’d ever seen her before.
This got worse, of course, as Chiaro smooched Reo on the cheek, causing the ladder to turn about fifty shades more red than a firetruck. She didn’t protest to the affection, however, instead of actually saying anything she just hugged Chiaro right back and buried her face into Chiaro’s sweater.
"Oh," Chiaro’s mom piped in, "My darling Chiaro is actually sick, Reo, I wouldn’t do that if I were you."
The sudden blast of affection and loved then stopped as Reo slowly pulled back and turned towards Chiaro’s mom. “What,” she said flatly.
Chiaro then used the sleeve of her sweater to wipe her nose. “Yeah! It’s why I wasn’t at school today, Oreo.” She blew her nose into her sleeve before continuing. “I was supposed to meet you there today but I got sick! So your brother had us meet at my house.”
Reo blinked a few times, and then turned towards her brother. She let go of Chiaro, slightly pushing the other away as she began walking towards him. Her brother, however, didn’t have the slightest clue of what was coming to him.
"Yeahhhh, no need to thank me!" he said, rubbing the back of his neck with a smirk. "I’m the caring big brother, after a— WAH!?"
Reo’s brother let out a shriek of pain. He reached towards his crotch area, while dropping to his knees in defeat again. Reo glared at him, her eye almost looking like it was going to shoot a beam of pure hate into his very being.
"You freaking idiot! I’m going to get sick now! You couldn’t have at least warned me first!?” Reo said with a growl.
"H-Have mercy, ‘sis! It’s a reunion! We’re supposed to be happy!" he pleaded with the again advancing Reo, whose face showed neither mercy nor forgiveness.
"Mercy won’t stop me from getting a head cold." She raised her fist in the air -- this time it appeared she was aiming for his face. His soft, tender, and very breakable face.
With a resounding crack, and a gasp from Chiaro’s mother, Reo’s brother was out cold.
"Nice shot, Oreo!" Chiaro beamed in happily.
———
While the two would indeed both share the same cold—they would spend the following weeks together on the couch—Watching various cheesy movies for amusement.
Reo hadn’t, for the first time in years, felt that tinge of loneliness deep in her chest. Because as long as she had Chiaro by her side, she wouldn’t feel lonely anymore. And maybe she could even make more friends? She could even meet other kids around the street they lived on! Well, after her brother got out of the hospital. He knew the streets better than her, anyway. So she needed him in that regard.
Summary: Reo and Chiaro use to be the bestest friends growing up. But when Reo has to move away due to her family's financial problems, she loses all contact with Chiaro. Reo is then forced to deal with the loneliness that comes with losing her first and only best friend.
Notes: A fic with Pam's OC's! Check out her ultra cute art and see how precious they are for yourself! /notsosubtlepromo
It was a bright and sunny summer day. One of those days that made it seem like the clear blue sky was a vast ocean with specks of white island-like clouds dotting its surface.
In the middle of a backyard that resided in some suburb sat two young girls. Both lying next to each other on a white sheet their mothers had set out for them. The larger of the two was lying on her back, staring at the clouds slowly gliding past.
"Heyyy, Chichi," the larger girl asked, slightly nudging the littler of the two that was currently lying next to her, drawing with various crayons.
"What is it, Oreo?" the smaller girl replied, still pouring all of her concentration into whatever she was doodling.
A cyclops by the name of Reo whined, "Are you done yeeet? I’ve been waiting forever!" before rolling onto her stomach from her former laid back position.
"I’ll be done in juuuust a sec!" said her partner in crime, an elemental by the name of Chiaro, while putting the final touches on her soon-to-be masterpiece.
"And finished!" Chiaro beamed, quickly sitting up to hold her crayon drawing in the air.
"Ohhhhh," Reo let out a slight gasp in awe, quickly sitting up with Chiaro to get a good look of the drawing.
After finally getting a good look at it, Reo started to take in the little details of the drawing.
It was nothing outstandingly amazing, of course. It was a simple doodle depicting two stick figures standing under a tree together while holding hands. Under the two figures were various green scribbles with what Reo guessed were grass. The most noteworthy part of the drawing was the hair color Chiaro had given them both.
"Hey, my hair isn’t yellow!" Reo said, crossing her arms with a pout. Chiaro tilted her head while giving Reo a look of confusion, before letting out a small laugh and gesturing towards her own hair.
"It’s because we nearly have the same hair color, silly!" Chiaro reassured, giving Reo a warm smile.
"If we both had the same hair, then it would look like I tried to draw myself twice," Chiaro insisted. "And that make me look like a jerkface." Despite Chiaro’s continued reassurance, Reo continued to pout and look away from the drawing and her, causing Chiaro to quickly grow a frown that replaced the once happy smile on her face.
Chiaro then turned her attention back towards the drawing. She gave it a few looks over, trying to figure out any way that she could make it up to Reo. Reaching over towards the box of crayons, she opened the lid and stared intently at the various colors inside.
"Hmmm… Oh, I know just how to fix it!" Chiaro proclaimed. She quickly went through the box of crayons, grabbing an orange and white one before getting to work. Reo gave her a side glance, interested in whatever plan Chiaro had cooked up.
Chiaro’s former frown had turned into a look of pure determination as she scribbled away at the drawing. She had made sure to turn away from Reo and use her body to block the view as to not spoil the surprise. Reo could only helplessly try to get a peak around her tiny form to see what Chiaro was drawing.
"No peeking, not until I’m finished," Chiaro warned. Using her hands to cover the drawing and hide whatever she was doing.
"Fiiiine!" Reo said with a groan, before lying back down to look at the clouds.
A few minutes would pass, with the only sounds being a few chirping birds and some gusts of wind. The calm would be broken by the sudden sound of paper ripping and Chiaro letting out a minor giggle. Reo sat back up, raising her eyebrow as Chiaro now sat up looking at her with a wide smile on her face.
"What did you do?" Reo asked, noticing Chiaro was currently hiding both of her hands behind her back.
"You ready to see how I fixed it?" Chiaro beamed back, the smile on her face turning into a huge grin before she held up the two pieces of paper that were formally the drawing.
She had ripped it in two -- that much was obvious. But Reo was mostly surprised at the fact Chiaro had used the white crayon to blank out the orange haired stick-figure's eyes, before giving it one large orange pupil.
"See? Now it’s orange like you wanted it," Chiaro said while handing over Reo’s half of the drawing. Chiaro herself then neatly folded her half before slipping it into the collar of her shirt.
"Thank you, Chichi…" Reo said with an apologetic tone. Guilt was finally hitting her for her somewhat jerkish attitude from earlier. She had to really stop herself from getting upset over such small things
.
Chiaro’s smile grew a little wider. “You’re welcome Oreo! You can keep that piece and I’ll keep this one. Maybe we can even use them as I.D. to buy candy…” Chiaro said, trailing off as her mind filled with wonder at the possibilities.
Reo would be woken up from her daydreaming, however, as she pulled Chiaro into a tight hug. “I’ll keep it with me always!” she said into Chiaro’s shoulder.
"I hope you do, but it’s time to wake up now!" Chiaro said, pulling back from the hug and giving Reo a final smile.
Reo then gave Chiaro a worried and confused look. “‘Wake up’? What do you mean by that Chichi…?” Chiaro only continued to stare back at her.
"It’s time to wake up! C’mon now, it’s time to get up!" Chiaro’s voice slowly morphed from a high-pitched feminine tone, to a low and masculine-sounding one. It was a voice she subconsciously knew all too well.
In the real world, Reo was currently being shaken by her older brother who was desperately trying to wake her up in time for school. “Hey! Reo, it’s time to get up! C’mon, the bus is going to be here like really soon!” He pleaded with Reo’s sleeping form, who only rolled over while letting out a groan of annoyance.
"Shut up, nerd. I’ll be up in a few minutes," Reo’s tired and aggravated voice called back.
"It’s the first day of school, sis! We can’t be late for this!" Reo’s older brother continued to beg, almost sounding like he was being held at gunpoint. God he was so annoying. "Sis, sis we gotta g— GAH!" her brother let out a shout as pain shot through his body; Reo had violently elbowed him in the groin, She had a habit of doing this when he wouldn’t stop being his normal annoying self.
"I’m up. Leave before I decide to do it again," Reo said while gritting her teeth. She then glared towards her brother and his new home on the floor.
"S-Sure! I’ll be waiting downstairs!" with a fearful tone, he slowly picked himself up from the floor and hobbled his way out the door; gently closing it behind him as to not incur her wrath once more.
Reo turned towards the window that sat next to her bed, letting out a sigh as she noticed it was raining… again. The sky was a murky grey with various clouds blocking out any real sunlight. She hated weather like this.
———
After finally getting dressed and prepared for the day ahead, Reo sluggishly stomped down the stairs of her house, coming to a stop in the hallway connected to their living room that led to their front door. Her brother was waiting for her with a sheepish (and maybe even fearful) smile.
"Just in time," her older brother said a little too energetically. "The bus should be here in a few minutes!" He then opened the front door, letting some the smell of freshly wet grass and cold air in.
Reo could feel her eye rolling in its socket. “I can hardly contain myself,” Reo said with a sigh. She watched her brother walk ahead of her out the door, standing straight up with his hands around the straps of his backpack. He was walking like a total loser.
She trailed behind him slowly, coming to a stop at the sidewalk in front of their house. Her brother eagerly looked both ways down the street, trying to catch a glimpse of the bus before it arrived. Reo only stood idly next to him, trying to suppress the urge to suplex him onto the pavement.
Almost as if the Bus Gods heeded his call, the yellow form of the school bus soon entered their vision. And with it, the slight gasps of her brother’s awe.
"It’s so yellow. Look at how many kids are on it! Can you believe we’re returning to our old school?!" He was speaking at ten words a minute, and god was it annoying Reo to no end. It was bad enough she was woken up by her brother’s obnoxious behavior, but having to hear him be excited about school was reaching a whole new level.
As the school bus drew near, Reo took the chance to elbow her brother in his ribs, forcing him to let out a pained gasp as he fell to his knees with his arms wrapped around himself. The bus itself causally drove up to the two, opening its doors as Reo stepped on and walked towards the very back of the bus, ignoring everyone else inside as she did so.
With a sigh, she placed her backpack down beside her. No one else had taken the back seat, which was fine with her. She watched as her brother quickly recovered from her earlier attack and hopped onto the bus as well, quickly making his way to the back to sit with her.
As he did so, she noticed he had a fairly offended face and a frown. With another sigh, she punched him in the shoulder. “You’ll be fine you big baby,” she said before turning to face out the window of the bus.
"Everybody ready?" the bus driver called from her seat up front, Reo looked away from window and towards the bus driver. She didn’t notice on her way to her seat that they appeared to be some sort of... bug? She seemed to have more than one set of arms, anyway. After a slew of ‘yeah’s from various kids in the bus, she gave them a nod and returned her attention to the steering wheel.
"Hope you kids are ready to make it there in record time!" With a wide smile creeping across her face, she slammed her foot down onto the pedal, causing everyone in the bus to lurch forward at once; some kids even hitting the seats in front of them.
"W-who is our bus driver again!?" Reo said with a somewhat distressed tone. Her brother was clinging onto his own seat as the bus swerved and swayed. "I heard she was some sort of n-new driver! They never told anyone she was one of those beetles th-though!” her brother said, his own attention being brought to the woman’s rather colorful orange and black shell.
After a fairly dangerous and life threatening road trip, Reo and her brother soon found themselves dizzily getting out of the bus of the fairly demented beetle bus driver. Reo herself was the last one to leave the bus, deciding to wait until all the terrified kids had swarmed out.
While she waited until the flood of kids had left, she stared mindlessly through the bus window towards the school in the distance. It seemed imposing in a way… The gloomy and gray feeling that the rainy sky gave off certainly didn’t help either.
It had been quite a few years since she had last seen the school. And even longer had she seen anyone from it—she wasn’t even sure if her former friends were still around.
Her mind started to wonder again, this time about her former friends. And most importantly, about Chiar...
Reo was suddenly woken up from her thoughts, this time by her older brother, who shook her a few times while trying to get her attention with various ‘Reooooooo’s.
Almost as if he hadn’t learn his lesson the last time, Reo swiftly dealt with her brother, who used her elbow to once again land a critical blow on his side.
"Why do you have to hit me so hard," Reo’s brother said from his new spot on the floor of the bus. He weakly clenched his bruising ribs as he held back a whimper.
"Because you never know when to take a hint," Reo replied, giving him the meanest glare she could manage. Admittedly she was maybe a tad too rough that time, but thinking about the past always made her feel so lonely.
Being lonely.
That was a feeling Reo had gotten used to since her time in middle school.
She wasn’t exactly sure when it started, but after being forced to move out with her family so that her mother could find a better job, she was forced to left everything and everyone she ever knew behind. The lingering feeling of loneliness constantly ate away at her, somewhat.
She missed her friends.
She missed her best friend.
With a sigh, Reo helped her brother back up from the floor and they finally stepped off the bus together. Reo stared up at the cloudy sky and frowned, before slowly trailing behind her brother who, unlike her, seemed to have the same upbeat smile and air around him.
This was going to be a far longer day than she originally imagined.
Summary: Aran has always been a heavy sleeper. So much so, she would always wake up far later than anyone else in her group. One morning, however, she finds herself inexplicably awake and unable to fall back asleep.
She goes about her daily routine as normal, but happens to come across Marie going about her very own. What Aran sees, causes her to reflect on her last year with Marie.
Notes: I'm trash and love fluffy stuff. This is my first serious attempt at something more lovey dovey compared to my usual style of writing.
---
Aran found herself staring at the ceiling for what felt like hours now.
She was not sure why she was suddenly hit with the inability to sleep, but whatever the cause, it was doing its best to make sure she was nott going to get a full night's rest. Slowly, she sat up in bed and looked out the window that was on the wall adjacent to her bed. The sun had barely begun to rise. Just how long had she lay in silence counting the ceiling tiles? She stared at the steadily rising sun for a few moments more, before her eyes eventually wandered over to the sleeping form by her side.
Marie faced towards the window away from Aran. She always had a habit of scooting closer to it while asleep due to the slight crack in the frame. The cool air that seeped through helped her both breathe better and sleep more soundly.
A slight smile crept onto her face as she continued to eye the sleeping Marie. She was wrapped up in a giant comforter they both shared. With her hair done up in a pony tail, the sheer length would cause her to nearly strangle herself if she kept it undone. A fate Aran had to help free her from many times late at night.
She always looked so tranquil while sleeping, Aran could never exactly put her finger on it. But when Marie was asleep, she always looked like she was at peace with the world. Not that Marie was a brooding person when awake, but there was a peacefulness in her sleeping face that she lacked while both awake and aware.
Lying back down with a sigh, she returned to her former position under the covers. Staring at the ceiling once again, she found herself quickly growing increasingly bored. With a slight grunt, she turned onto her side to face the sleeping Marie. Inching herself closer, she wrapped her arms around Marie’s tiny frame. She was so small that she barely even took up a quarter of the medium-sized bed. To Aran, even Marie felt miniature when she held her in her arms. She stayed like that for awhile, holding Marie in her arms while listening to her quiet breathing.
After some time, she eventually slipped out from the covers. This caused Marie to toss and turn a bit; the sudden loss of Aran’s warmth had certainly stirred her. But she eventually calmed down once again, balling up the entire comforter around her body while lying in the middle of the bed.
"I suppose I might as well shower while I still have the chance", Aran mumbled to herself. She lightly scratched what she thought was a some sort of bug bite on her neck. Somewhat groggily, she made her way to the nearby bathroom, closing the door behind her softly as to not wake Marie.
Making her way to the sink of the oddly small room, she leaned against it and reached up to open the cabinet that was above her. Grabbing her favorite lime green toothbrush along with Elderberry brand toothpaste.
She held them both in her hands for a few seconds, before giving the toothbrush a glare. She swore that if it had a face, it would be smirking back at her right now. After placing both items on the sink counter, Aran opened the shower curtain and turned the shower faucet on high. With the easiest part of her day done, she now had to deal with the most daunting... No matter how many times she did it, this whole ordeal of brushing her teeth never got any less awkward. She was hoping one day that she would be able to do it without feeling like a loser.
While Aran struggled with simple hygiene in the bathroom, Marie began to shift in bed. The sound of rushing water combined with the now beaming sunrise was enough to wake her from her slumber. Waking up in a haze, she clumsily reached over to Aran’s side of the bed, expecting her to be fast asleep as normal. To her surprise, however, Aran was nowhere to be found.
Sitting up drowsily, Marie surveyed the room for any signs of Aran. Her barely-awake state not connecting the dots due to Aran’s repeated habit of sleeping in. Rubbing her eyes with her fists in an effort to wake up, she turned towards the source of rushing water.
"Ah, she’s in the restroom," Marie guessed, looking at the steam that crept from under the door. "I wonder why she’s up so early... I hope I didn’t wake her up." With a pause, Marie kicked off the comforter she was wrapped up in. "I suppose I should get ready, as well." Marie scooted over to the end of the bed, before coming to a stop at the very edge. Her legs dangled over the side and hovered a few inches above the wooden floor. She hesitated at first; she always hated having to take those first few steps every morning. The chill being let in by the gap in the window made the floor feel like ice.
------------------------------------------
Aran finally succeeded in both brushing her teeth and showering. For the first time in ages, she did her normal routine without damaging her gums or nearly slipping and breaking her neck. Relishing in her sense of accomplishment, she quickly slipped into whatever T-shirt and panties were left in the clean clothing basket by the sink. She really did not feel like dressing up in her normal attire today. Finishing up, it took her eyes a few seconds to adjust as she stepped back into the fairly well-lit bedroom. What she saw when her eyes were finally able to look past the steam and sunlight, nearly caused her to freeze up in shock.
Marie was sitting on the bed, facing the now-open window that let a light breeze in. She was wearing some sort of see-through nightgown. It was clear enough that Aran was able see every inch of her back and shoulders, which only furthered Aran’s shock as she finally got to have a good look at Marie’s body.
A bucket of what was presumably water sat a few inches away from her. Next to the bucket was a pile of bloodied bandages -- all neatly tide together in a bundle along with what looked like a few rags here and there.
Marie simply sat there, happily humming a soft melody. Aran watched, somewhat dumbstruck, as Marie carefully went about her business. Reaching into the bucket to grab a sponge, Marie used it to gently wipe down a series of open gashes on her right leg. That same soft smile that Aran adored never left her face as she did this. That is what got to Aran the most.
This was all routine to Marie. While Aran knew Marie was very sick, it was easy to forget that fact in the hustle and bustle of day-to-day activities. Marie never really complained or showed signs or being ill, and she always kept a consistent warm smile and soft voice.
"Oh, good morning Aran," Marie said, turning to her side slightly to look back at Aran, that same warm smile greeting her. "I didn’t hear you come in, I hope you slept well."
Aran could feel tears begin to well up. The longer she stared at Marie’s body, the more she began to notice the various scars and wounds she had. Along the entirety of Marie’s ribs and spine were a series of very long and deep-looking scars, while the rest of her lower body was in pretty good shape compared to her back and shoulders.
"If you give me a few minutes, I’ll get dressed and make breakfast", Marie continued. "I bought some berries and fruit from the local market in town. I heard Zahra loves fruits, so I figure I could make something with those for her. I want to make her feel welcome to our little home after what she went through."
Aran did not reply -- she only stood there in silence watching Marie.
"I think Zahra is really lovely, I hope she isn’t too upset about everything that happened." Marie reached over to the nearby desk that sat next to their bed, grabbing a fresh roll of fresh bandages she had prepared. "I'm going to spend some time with her today and ask her how she’s feeling."
Marie kept speaking as she unrolled the bandages. "Is there anything you’re hungry for? I could make some pancakes or waffles for you with the blueberries I got." After unrolling a decent length of the roll, she started to wrap them around her leg. After covering up to her thighs, she tied the bandage together in a neat knot. She then proceeded to tighten it, her smile disappearing for a few seconds as a pained expression overtook her face.
Marie really hadn’t noticed how quiet Aran had been during this, only taking notice when she saw Aran’s own upset expression. "Aran? Is something wrong?" Marie asked with a worried tone, her smile once again disappearing as a concerned frown replaced it.
"Y-Yeah.. I’m fine, just fine", Aran said with a shakey voice, before she walked over to the bed to sat behind Marie. Taking the bandages from Marie's hand, she began to unroll them herself.
Marie was suddenly very confused -- did she somehow upset her? Did her scarred body disgust her in some way? Marie started to feel a sudden mixture of self-conscious feelings and nervousness begin to bubble up. That was until Aran broke her silence with a quivering voice.
“H-Hey, how many mornings were you forced to do this alone?” That was a question Marie was not prepared for. "I didn’t know you had to change your bandages every morning like this. Why didn't you wake me up to help? Or tell me about it?" Aran gently grabbed Marie’s right arm. Her hands were shaking as she tried to wrap it just as Marie had done to her leg moments earlier. She struggled while doing so, her trembling hands making the bandages unwrap. "You shouldn’t have to do this alone..." Aran trailed off, her voice finally cracking.
"Aran, I—" Marie was cut off, as Aran began to speak again. This time she didn’t even try to hide the emotion that was in her voice.
"I'm sorry, I never even asked you about it. I can't imagine how it must of felt to do this all by yourself, while I slept all day like a selfish jerk." She tightened the bandages softly as possible, making sure to not cause any unneeded pain to Marie.
"Aran..." Marie turned to face her lover, heartbreak shot through her as she saw Aran’s pained expression. She still held Marie’s arm in her hands, staring sadly down at it. A few tears dropped from her face, and landed on the bandages. Marie then pulled Aran into a close hug, holding her tightly while gently running a hand down her back.
"I wanted you to get your rest, it was never a big deal for me to do it. I've been changing my own bandages for years now, far before I first met you." Marie could feel Aran tense up as she finished. Aran returned her lover's embrace, almost clinging onto her like a child.
Aran buried her face into Marie’s shoulder, her light weeping turning into full-on sobs. Marie could only lightly pat Aran on the back, humming the same melody from before in an effort to calm her down. Marie pulled back from the hug, and put her hands on Aran’s face. They stared into each other's eyes as Marie spoke. "I love you, you weren't doing anything selfish. I wanted you to get all the sleep you could, I know how you’re a heavy sleeper."
Marie gave Aran a soft smile as she started to wipe Aran’s tears away. "From now on, how about you help me change them, yes?" Aran could only reply with a nod, before she buried her face into Marie again.
They would spend the rest of that morning in bed lovingly wrapped in each other's arms. The two decided to spend the rest of the day like that, for now they could ignore everyone and enjoy their own little world. Breakfast and dinner could wait until later.
