Admittedly, it was pretty cold. As Kaori stood hidden amongst the trees and did a quick sketch of the clearing, she was grateful for her upbringing. She could imagine that someone unused to mountain weather would be in Hell right now.
She moved quickly and quietly; keeping all of her senses on high alert. Twice, she caught sight of him in the distance and was forced to back pedal through the forest. It was a bit annoying to have to do it while working on this map (daylight burned quickly this time of year), but her only choice here was to work around him or die, so.
Eventually, the sun began to set, and Kaori knew she was going to have to shift her focus. She'd sketched out a decent portion of the surrounding area, though there was a chunk of it that was still missing...Hmm.
Around her was nothing more than the sound of nature transitioning into nighttime, which she took as an indicator that her hunter might also be settling in for the night. Just to be certain, she climbed up again, and located the cabin. The lights were on, and she could see his giant silhouette in the window.
So the monster had a bedtime? Good to know.
She put thirty minutes worth of distance between herself and the cabin before finding a big, long, dry stick. The stars were out now, and with them the temperature was dropping rapidly. Using her fire starter and the stick, she made a torch, and used it to light her way.
While exploring around for a place to sleep, she spots a pathway she hadn't noticed in the daytime. Following it, she finds herself in a gloomy little swamp. Immediately, she feels a sense of serenity wash over her. Stepping closer to the water, she notes that the ground here is softer and wetter than the rest of the forest. All of the wood and leaves are too damp so she doesn't bother gathering kindling from here.
Still, this place had plenty of big bushes and a large, if mossy, hollow log she believes she can fit into. She looks around the swamp, feeling relaxed for the first time since she woke up. She kneels down next to the water, and, after brushing away some of the algae, she noticed that at the bottom of the swamp was a large pile of bones.
“!” Cool~! She wondered how they all ended up down there. Was there an alligator in there? Maybe some of the animals down there had gotten sick on some bad berries and became delirious? Wandered into the water and drowned? And who's to say those were just animal bones? There was a good chance at least some of the pile belonged to a human. After all, there was no way The Creep had only just started his little hunting people as prey nonsense, right? He seemed way too self assured and calm.
Regardless, there was something about the swamp that brought Kaori peace. She felt compelled to stay here for the night, and sat on the log so she could fish out the trail mix from her backpack and have a bit of it. There was plenty left for tomorrow by the time she couldn't stop yawning.
Deciding on the log, Kaori pushed out any plants, rocks, critters, and bugs and then pulled herself inside after putting out the torch. She used the backpack as a pillow and did her best to ignore the cold....
---
She woke up an hour or so before dawn, and crawled out of the log with a big yawn. She's a mess, her hair and clothes with moss and mud all over them. She doesn't really mind, certainly not with all of her other problems. She shakes her head and scratches at her hair to free it of bugs, and then finds a spot behind a tree to pee besides.
Sometime later, she’s finished the map, and is about to leave the swamp so she can start a fire when she catches sight of her captor off in the distance. Quickly, she hides in a bush and watches him. She sees him stop just on the outskirts of the swamp and give it a look over. Somewhere to her left, an animal sprints across some leaves. He takes notice, but instead of coming into the swamp to investigate, he walks along the perimeter; firmly refusing to step over an invisible line that separates the dry dirt from the swampy mud. Because he won’t come in, he doesn’t notice her in the bush at all, and eventually moves on once he catches on to a different sound in the forest.
Huh.
What was that about?
---
Kaori finds herself walking alongside the river she’d found yesterday. She washes her hands and face near the most active part of the waterfall and gathers water in her cupped hands to drink. Ice cold and refreshing~ She can see salmon in the river, and decides to catch one so she can leave the trail mix as an emergency ration. Rudimentary spears aren’t difficult to make, and soon enough she’s got a large stick with a pointy tip to use. Approaching the river, she catches sight of the sun hitting something metal; hidden beneath the fallen leaves. On edge, Kaori, nudges the end of the spear closer to the object, and nearly jumps a foot in the air when the bear trap she’d just activated snaps shut on the spear.
After catching her breath, she realizes that she’s got no other choice but to drag the trap out of the area. The snapping sound had been incredibly loud, and she couldn't risk him coming to investigate, only to see that the trap had been triggered but was empty. What if he reset it somewhere else and she wasn't as fortunate? No, better he not have access to it. Despite it being a giant pain in the ass, Kaori lugged the bear trap all the way back to the swamp and hid it amongst the bushes. She snuck back carefully to the river, keeping an eye and an ear out for the man and thankfully spotting him heading towards the large clearing.
Back at the river, she caught a salmon with the spear. She decided to risk the fire, since eating a fish raw wasn't the best decision health wise. The second it was cooked she started eating it, powering through the heat. She was about to be a responsible camper and out the fire when an idea struck her.
This was his forest. His land. Even if she didn't have to give a damn about it burning to the ground, surely he did? Surely he'd come investigate a smoke pillar if she left the fire going, right?
Time for an experiment.
Gathering her things, Kaori added some branches to the fire and left it unattended. She found a hiding spot that was as far away from the campfire as possible while still being able to see it. Then she waited.
---
When he arrives, she watches him put out the fire and look around for her in a state of disbelief. Haha! He searched the area, eventually noticing that his bear trap was missing. Hopefully he didn't have another one ready to go, but she had no way of knowing that just yet.
Eventually, he left the area, and Kaori decided to enact another experiment. She made her way to the other end of the forest, and lit another fire. When he dutifully arrived to put it out, she grinned to herself.
With this, she could control his movements.
And with that realization, a petty little idea came to her...
Once Mason returned to the cabin, he started prepping dinner. He had relatively fresh meat from the day before—he made a habit to hunt his food before this special annual hunt so that he didn’t have to worry about keeping the ice box full. He got a decent sized slab of meat out of said icebox, cut it up into smaller pieces, and threw them on the stove alone with some spices. It was a simple meal, but he didn’t really have the energy to make anything more fancy, not today. Once he was done, Mason took a seat at the table and began to eat.
After taking a few bites, something outside caught his eye. When he looked out the window, Mason saw the light of a fire flickering through the trees.
Seriously?
With a sigh, he got up, grabbed his crossbow, and set out toward the light, feeling a mixture of excitement and slight disappointment that all it took for her to slip up was night falling. Then again, it did get pretty cold up here.
Mason approached the fire fully expecting to see the girl there, but to his surprise, it appeared deserted. He frowned. No one who ‘likes camping’ is going to leave a fire just running like that….right? But after a quick look around the clearing (and then a not-so-quick look), he had to accept the fact that is exactly what happened. Grumbling obscenities under his breath, Mason put out the fire himself.
What kind of idiot was this girl? Was she trying to burn the whole damn forest down? She clearly had a sense of self-preservation, so he was pretty sure that was not the case. Maybe she’d just lost her mind a little in the cold?
Just as he had decided to give up and return to his dinner back at the cabin, another light caught his eye. Ah-ha! This time, he made way over to it quickly, and a little less quietly as a result. But when he arrived at the source of the light, it was the same as before: lit fire but completely void of any human presence.
Was she doing this on purpose? Was she trying to set the forest on fire? No....no there were much easier ways to do that, she wasn't stupid. But what then? What purpose could setting fires and leaving them unattended in the woods possibly serve?
With a sigh of frustration, he put this one out as well, glancing up to the trees from time to time and squinting to try and get a glimpse of her. No luck. Finally, with a sigh of frustration, he left he clearing and returned to his cabin to finish eating his (probably cold) dinner. Tomorrow, the gloves were coming off.
Beneath a tight canopy of treetops, sitting peacefully on the stump of a tree he’d felled himself, a large, burly mountain man sits and waits for his companion to wake up. Patience was a gift, really, it was, and up here in the mountains, where time could slow down to a crawl, patience was a friend he’d made long, long ago. Curled up on the ground by his feet was a young woman, a tiny thing, sleeping away the precious daylight. He glanced over at her as he adjusted the tension on his crossbow, looking for any sign that she was beginning to stir. Little did he know, she’d been awake for several minutes now.
‘...He’s humming to himself. He’s fiddling with something too, something metal by the sound of it....’
Kaori Saionji; 19. Japanese. Fluffy short brown hair. Possibly cursed. Several hours ago she’d been bought at some sort of underground auction for people. Several hours before that she’d been minding her own business and making her way hurriedly through the crowded city streets. She’d h a t e d it; hated the claustrophobic feeling of being surrounded on all sides by strangers with their leering, judging eyes. It wasn’t supposed to be a long trip into the city either, just a check-up at the hospital that she’d been putting off for literal years. It had taken a lot of nagging from her best friend to pressure her into going, but she’d eventually caved.
“For your health!” Tsumiki had insisted. “You never know what could happen!”
It was after Kaori had left the hospital, clean bill of health in hand and was on her way to the bus that she’d been grabbed by a stranger while passing by an alley. It was tremendously rotten luck for sure. But it wasn’t exactly the first or even second stupidly awful thing that had happened to her, so she could hardly claim to be surprised that it was time to confront yet another challenge.
But back to the present.
Several hours had passed between her time in the Auction House and now. She’d been asleep for most of those hours, thanks to being drugged, so she didn’t know how far away from her house she was. She’d woken up maybe ten minutes ago, and managed to remain still enough that the man who’d bought her hadn’t realized she was awake just yet. It gave her time to get her bearings at least.
Her face and her hands were cold; the mid-November air picking up now and then to nip at whatever skin was still exposed. She can tell that she wasn’t wearing her dress anymore, and was instead in some sort of pants, and maybe a jacket? They were nice and warm at least. Her hands were tied behind her back. She’d been placed on the ground and was lying on the grass. Outside. Thank God. She’d been right that the man who’d bought her was probably the one asking about camping. How deep into the woods were they? Were they up in the mountains? If only she didn’t have this stupid blindfold over her eyes.
.....
Deciding she was awake enough to be able to use her brain effectively, she took a deep breath and rolled onto her back, hinting that she’d finally begun to wake.
“Oh!” He said immediately. He sounded very close as he stood up. “Lookit you, already awake.” He nudged her in the side with his booted foot and she turned to look in his direction despite the blindfold. Tch. After a few more seconds of silence, he continued. “Looks like yer about ready, eh?” His heavy footsteps circled her body. She could feel him looking her over, making the judgment for himself that he was satisfied with what he saw. “Now, I’ll be takin’ the blindfold off. Stand up.” Despite her arms being bound, she rolled onto her stomach and moved so that she was on her knees. She was a little wobbly from being on the ground for so long, but she succeeded in standing up. He stepped even closer, looming over her. This close, she could feel some of his body heat. She hated this. “Mmhm. That’s better.” He gripped her blindfold and yanked it off in one motion.
There was a ton of information to take in at once as her eyes adjusted to the drastic increase of light. She took a few steps back, blinking and shutting her eyes a few times until she could see properly. Now, she could get a better look at him.
“....” Well, he certainly matched his voice didn’t he? This man was h u g e! He towered over her by at least a whole foot and was wide and stocky. He looked strong too. Okay. Right. Well, this wasn’t the first time she’d gone up against someone physically intimidating...She just needed space and time. Looking up into his green eyes, Kaori noted a distinct sort of...Offness, in the way he was looking at her. It was gross, but she could think about it later. Keeping him in her periphery, she looked at the area around him. They were in a heavily wooded area. Behind him on the ground was a little pack and some sort of weapon. He was mostly blocking it from view, but she was already putting together ideas. Nobody goes through the trouble of spending a ton of money on someone in a human auction just to have a nice peaceful time with them. So, that was obviously to use on her. He was already her enemy from the moment he’d placed the opening bid, but now, it was obvious that only one of them was leaving this mountain.
“Now then. The suits told me they couldn’t find any I.D. on ya.” Oh? She’d probably dropped it at some point when she’d been grabbed. After staring at her in silence for a moment or two, he continued, “Don’t matter to me either way, just thought I’d ask in case ya wanted ta share.” Share what? Her name? She thought about it for a moment, and, realizing that she certainly didn’t care to know his name, she decided to keep quiet.
Besides, she hated talking to people she didn’t like.
They stared at each other for a full minute, nothing but the sounds of nature to fill the silence before he shrugged.
“Suit yerself.” He said, and got back to business. After untying her hands, the man reached down and snatched up the little backpack. “Take it. You’ll need it.” She did take it, without a word even, and slid her arms through the straps. He made another noise of approval. “Yer job is to survive. Mountain’s a dangerous place. So I put together some supplies for ya.” Kaori nodded, feeling suddenly like she needed to be ready to move at any second. There was something about this guy that made her feel like she was staring down a wolf or a bear or some other hungry animal. With one more look over, he nodded to himself, seemingly pleased. “Alright.” He started to turn around, presumably to grab whatever weapon he had back there, and that’s when she made her move. Turning around swiftly, Kaori bolted away from the freak as quickly as she could. She heard him howl with laughter behind her as she sprinted away.
“Now that’s the spirit!!” He bellowed, and soon after she heard the sound of something piercing through the air. She felt it hit her backpack, but when he didn’t shoot another (it was probably an arrow), she figured he’d just been trying to scare her. Despite being small, Kaori was fast on her feet, and the boots he must have put on her made running through the forest pretty easy. Eventually, when she needed a breather, she kept walking, taking random lefts and rights to make herself less easy to track. She looked back down behind her, mindful of potential footprints, and purposefully messing them up if she left any.
Eventually, Kaori found herself in a clearing. Hating the idea of being so exposed, she hurried back into the cover of the trees. Mindful of the forest floor, she finally slowed her pace, using a large oak as cover while she caught her breath.
Okay...Okay...
Looking up at the tree, she realized that she could reach the lowest branch, and had an idea. Once her heart rate was back to normal, she made her way up into the welcoming branches of the oak and hid herself within the leaves. When she was fairly confident that she was hidden, she rested her body against the trunk of the oak and let herself recover from the burst of adrenaline.
After a few minutes of keeping an ear out for the sound of his footsteps, she removed her backpack and looked through the contents. She had the arrow he’d shot at her, might come in handy. She had a little baggy of trail mix. A fire starter, and a pencil and paper. It wasn’t a lot, but she could make due with it. The fire starter was surprisingly generous of him, though she’d have to be careful about when and how long she had her fires roaring... The pencil and paper took her a little by surprise. Did he want her to draw a map? Considering everything in her bag, and the fact that he’d bothered to change her clothes-
....
He’d...Changed her clothes...
At first, she hadn’t really put it together, but it finally dawned on her that the creepy mountain pervert had had to undress her in order to put her in this little outfit.
She hated this a lot.
UGH. AnyWAY. The fact that he’d given her all of this, made her realize that he was probably hoping she would stay alive as long as possible. More than just buying her to kill her, this was a full and proper game of cat and mouse.
Alright. She could play.
Peaking through the leaves, Kaori took note of how high up she was. She could see...A little cabin! Probably his. Taking out the pencil and paper, she began to sketch what she could see, including this big and wonderful tree she’d found. She noted ‘good hiding spot’ next to it, with a little heart, and then paused when she heard what sounded like footsteps. Looking down, she could just barely make him out, hunting her. He had that weapon with him at the ready, and she could just about tell that it was a crossbow. Huh. She didn’t dare move until he’d left the area entirely. Once she was fairly certain he’d gone, she finally climbed down.
Judging by how low the sun was already getting, Kaori decided she needed to work on this little map of hers while she still had daylight. First, though, she squatted down, stuffing as much kindling as she good into her backpack, just in case.
Mason always hated shlepping out to the city to get his new prey. If there was a way to do it without leaving his cabin, he’d choose it in a heartbeat.
When he first laid eyes on the woman up for auction, he was honestly a little dissapointed. She was a tiny little thing, looked like she’d break down crying in the first five minutes. He didn’t necessarily mind the crying, but it made the hunt painfully boring if it was from the get go.
As soon as the bidding started though, she proved the first impression to be wrong. Her choice not to answer at all was encouraging, so he put in the first bid. Quiet he could work with. Quiet could hide. Especially a little thing like that.
The other two bidders were not quiet. At first he could sort of tolerate it, or at least ignore their comments well enough to focus on the task at hand. But after the woman in the chair’s one definitive answer piqued his interest and he upped the amount a bit, the other two started bickering almost non-stop. When Mason met the gaze of the quiet woman, he decided to end the show right then and there. He could afford it, and in that moment, he found it hard to put a price on the sound of those other two shutting the fuck up.
The payment process was simple and quick, especially since he always paid in cash. Since he’d escalated to his full budget all at once, it was even quicker than usual; he just handed over the entire box to them and had them count the bills.
And then Mason was off. He drove her all the way back home in his truck, then parked and carried her the last stretch. She was easy to carry, lighter than previous years’ prey. But that would work to her advantage out here. Still… her clothes left something to be desired. She wasn’t dressed for the mountain cold, and he certainly wasn't about to let such an expensive purchase freeze to death the first night. He’d already set up all the traps before leaving—he’d found out the hard way years ago that it had to be the day of, lest another creature fall into the traps meant for the person he brought home. So he still had some time to change her into some of the smaller clothes he had lying around. They weren’t a perfect fit, but they’d definitely get the job done better than the stuff she had on. He folded those clothes and placed them in the corner of his cabin, unwilling to waste the fabric no matter how flimsy it was.
Finally, Mason got together a bag of some essentials for her to bring with her to further ensure she didn’t die the very first night, then brought her out to the middle of the forest and set her down, waiting for the drugs to wear off and her to wake up.
----
The smaller woman continued to please from the moment she awoke. That annoying woman at the bidding had been right—she could follow simple instructions, and follow them well. That was going to make the start of this much easier. When he took off the blindfold, her big, wide-eyed look was almost cute. Made her even more doe-like.
He wasn’t surprised when she declined to offer her name; she barely offered anything at the auction itself, at least verbally. He gave her a few moments to change her mind, but continued on when the silence persisted. It wasn’t that the silence bothered him—quite the opposite, really—but it was really time to get started if she didn’t want to chat. After giving her the supplies she’d need, he turned around to get his crossbow. To his absolute delight, she was already halfway gone by the time he turned back.
Mason fired a warning shot, one that was meant to solidify the idea of this for her (though to be honest, she’d already caught on real fast), and it hit its target dead on. The sound of her scurrying away quickly faded into the forest.
Now is when the hunt really began.
Mason started as he always did, stalking carefully through each clearing while still remaining quiet enough to alert nothing of his presence.
He even managed to startle an actual deer grazing in one of the clearings when it failed to notice him until he was feet from it. If he had been hunting deer today, it wouldn’t have even noticed that before its life ended.
He’d fully expected to see some sign of her, even this early in the game; most people left traces of some sort. But there wasn’t a single stray footprint in any patch of mud, not a single broken twig on the way to any of the more narrow hideaways. He didn’t even hear a single sound out of place. After checking all of his traps, he started to wonder if perhaps she wasn’t traveling by ground at all. He looked up to the trees with an amused smile on his face.
“Not a deer after all then.”
None of his usual prey was particularly good at climbing, nor was he, so this added an interesting new obstacle. But she couldn’t live up there; she’d have to come down sooner or later, even if only to get relief from the cold. And if she was dumb enough to light a fire…well. Things would change pretty quick.
As he made his way around the forest once more, he stopped briefly outside of an all-too-familiar swamp, frowning as he stared at it. Technically, he hadn’t checked in there, but there was a reason for that.
When Mason first settled down here, he could have sworn he saw two glowing eyes looking back at him when he passed by the area. But that alone wasn’t something that would scare him off; that could have been any critter’s eyes reflecting the moonlight in the wrong way.
The first and last time he set foot in that place properly, everything was quiet. Too quiet. Not a single bird was singing, not a single cicada was chirping, and the air itself seemed strangely stagnant. Another time, when he was hunting near the area, he saw a deer avoid escaping into the underbrush of the swamp at the expense of running through more open field. Whatever was in there, if a deer chose death over entering, it wasn't a place he ever wanted to be in again.
Well, if she was there now, she couldn’t stay there forever either. With a soft, barely audible sigh, he turned around and started to head back, keeping an eye out for any fires as the sun fell in the sky, and temperature right along with it.
After kissing his cheek to express how greatful she was, Rosie went back to eating her oatmeal.
"What time…Is the audition?" Asked Lawrence. Rosie checked the time before answering.
"It's at six-thirty. If I leave soon I'll have time to go home, shower, change, and grab my dance shoes before booking it to the audition." She thought about things realistically. "I'd wanna get some pajamas and a change of clothes, since I'm sleeping over for a bit~ And obviously I'd bring back those donuts. If I rush I can get everything done and be back before ten." It occurred to her that she could do everything much faster if he drove, but she didn't want to push. "What time do you go to work~?"
"I get in about 11 so....I leave around 10:45. I should be here at 10."
"That's perfect~" She stood up, bringing her bowl to the sink to wash it. "Do you wanna trade numbers~?"
"Trade....? Oh. Yeah. Um." After getting his phone, Lawrence looked down at it, then at her, then down at it, then back at her once more. "What's your number?"
After telling him, she put her shoes back on and asked him for her purse, which she needed if she was going to retrieve her phone, keys, and debit card. He nodded, and retrieved her purse from his closet. It's was still in fairly good condition, which pleased her greatly.
Delighted, she took what she needed from her purse, and was pleased to see her phone has just enough charge to last until she got home to her charger. Then, so long as he didn't seem unwilling, reached out an held his hands in hers.
"Thank you again, Lawrence~ I'll see you tonight at ten~?"
He was not unwilling, though he did seem a little shy, like he didn't quite expect it. He looked down at their intertwined hands a moment or two before looking up to answer. "Yeah"
Stepping outside of his apartment, Rosie reigned in her bubbling desire to jump and cheer and do cartwheels. She gently shut the door. She casually made her way down the steps. She casually made her way down the street. She lasted until he could not possibly see her from his window before she burst into a giddy sprint and ran madly; happily down the street. GOD. Never before had she been so happy to be outside!
Alive!! Alive and free and outside!!
Rosie ran all the way home, up her apartment stairs, and collapsed on her bed where she screamed into her pillows. She looked up only when she heard the concerned and upset meowings of her kitty, which made her quickly get out of bed. Scooping up her small white kitty, Rosie pressed about a zillion kisses against her furry self why she got her something to eat.
"Victoriaaaaaaaaa...I thought I'd never see you again!" Waaah! After many hugs and cuddles, Rosie managed to pull herself away from her cat long enough to put her phone on its charger. Afterwards, Rosie reminded herself that she was on a relatively strict timeline and made her way into the bathroom for the best damn shower she'd ever had.
---
With her overnight bag packed, and a sandwich in her mouth, Rosie texted her best friend to please come by and check up on Victoria for the next few days, as she was going to be out of the city for a bit. Making it to the audition on time, Rosie signed in and did some preliminary stretches while waiting for the director to make her appearance.
---
Dancing always put Rosie in a good mood~ Feeling light and airy as she made her way down the city streets, she nonetheless kept an eye out for any potential kidnappers. Keeping track of the one was more than enough. That said, if she happened to run into Ren, she'd insist that he give Lawrence a call. At nine-thirty, Rosie stood outside of Lawrence's apartment with her overnight bag, a grocery bag full of a few things she'd picked up at the corner store, and some take out for her dinner/his lunch.
[08/27/18 09:30 PM] Rosie: (Lawrence! It's Rosie. Please let me in~)
Rosemary's expresion made it difficult to regret the decision he just made. Even after she left, those bright and gentle smiles stayed with him like a warm glow of sunshine lingering on his skin after going indoors. But such a warmth was always ephemeral, and soon enough, he was left with the cold realization that he let her walk out the door.
He let her go.
Lawrence sat on his bed and stared at the new number in his phone for a while. It was his last connection with her, and likely the only way he'd be able to reach her again. He switched to Vince's number, staring at on of their recent chats and wondering if he should ask for help with the situation sooner than later. This was, after all, much more difficult than just burying a body. Once she went to the cops, it was going to be a whole mess of things that stressed him out even just think about. He switched back to Rosemary's number.
"....."
What if she did come back? The very idea of getting his hopes up was a frightening one, and yet he couldn't fully shake the feeling that it really was a possibility. With a sigh, he decided to wait and see for now.
Lawrence got up off his bed and busied himself tending to the rest of his plants for a bit. Once that was done, he made sure he had everything ready for work later, then went on the computer to listen to some music. He kept his headphones slightly askew so he could hear the sound of the phone if and when he got a text. He ended up checking the screen every so often too, just to be safe. When the text finally came, he picked up the phone instantly to read it.
[08/27/18 09:30 PM] Rosemary: (Lawrence! It's Rosie. Please let me in~)
Since Vince was the main person who visited him (and he had a spare key), it took Lawrence a moment to realize she was asking him to come downstairs to let her in.
[08/27/18 09:31 PM] Lawrence: (Ok)
He got up to and headed down to the front door, opening it slowly just in case. Something about this still seemed far too good to be true. When he actually laid eyes on her, standing there with a grocery bag in each arm, he blinked in surprise.
"The audition went really well," she said cheerfully. "Oh, I went to the store on my way back, it's a little heavy, will you help me please?" Rosemary held up one of the bags toward him.
"Oh. Yeah."
He moved closer to take one of the bags, then held out his other arm. She handed Lawrence the second bag to him, thanked him, and followed him back upstairs. He had to set the bags down to undo all the locks, but once it was open, he gestured for her to go in while he gathered things back until into his arms. Once inside, he set the bags on the counter and returned to the door, redoing each lock.
When he turned back to the kitchen, Rosemary was already putting things away. A lot of what she bought seemed to be non-perishables, which he supposed was for his benefit. There were still a few things that went in the freezer though, so he made a mental note to eat that first.
"I got Five Guys, is that okay?"
"Oh. Yeah, I like Five Guys." After a pause, he added, "Thanks."
Lawrence stood and watched her put things away one by one, visibly caught between trying not to stare and desperately wanting to look at her. Whenever their eyes met, he immediately looked away. It wasn't until she'd put away well over half of the groceries that it finally occured to him he should offer assistance.
"Do you want help?"
Rosemary looked over at him with light, pleasant surprise. "Sure~ Please help me with the tall people items."
He nodded, walking over and stealing another glance at her before starting to place containers up on the high shelf. He wanted to say something to her, something more meaningful than just offering to help with groceries, but he wasn't sure where to start. Maybe...asking her more about the audition?
"When do you know...if you got the part?"
"I made it to the final fifteen. They recorded us, so the director is going to take the next three days to make a final decision on casting~"
Huh. For some reason he assumed it was a one-time thing, but if there were a lot of people trying out, maybe they needed to do multiple rounds. That meant she was going to need to go out again for the next one. But if she already came back once...she was pretty likely to come back a second time, right?
"Do you like ballet, Lawrence?"
"....!"
"Not really." As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized what was wrong. It sounded like he was saying he had no interest in her dancing, and that wasn't true! Ugh....
"I don't...I-I don't think it's..."
"......." Ugh. He had to take a second to gather his thoughts, he had to figure out how to put this to words.
"Oh." She was clearly disappointed, but said nothing more before returning to her work.
"N-no I....That's....that's not what I meant." With a soft sigh of frustration, he tried again.
"I don't think it's bad, I just..."
"I've...never really seen one before. I never really had an interest because...I've only been to the theater once, for a play. A-and it wasn't....a great experience. Too many people."
"But if it was....you dancing...I'd like to see it."
Snuggling up to him was the obvious choice. The bed wasn’t the largest to begin with; plenty enough to fit a Lawrence, but not enough to fit an additional Rosemary without a bit of squishing. Rosie tiredly pressed herself up against him, resting her head against his chest. So encompassing was her exhaustion that it felt like she’d been awake for days, weeks, and years. She passed out quickly.
When she opened her eyes, Rosie was in the river.
For a moment, she was stunned and frustrated. Why was this happening now?? Did he kill her in her sleep? Was this actually some sort of eternal groundhog day and she would be forced to reset forever?
Rosie let out a sound of frustration, and that was what clued her into what was going on. A sound? Never before had she been able to make noise in the river. That angel person would talk to her, but she couldn’t answer. She couldn’t make any noise, nothing to disrupt the peaceful n o t h i n g n e s s that her beloved river provided. So…Was this a dream instead? Rosie looked around for the angel up in the clouds where he was usually hiding.
“Mr. Angel? Are you here?” He wasn’t. Or, if he was, he wasn’t answering. She laid back in the waters as she’d done so many times before. She hummed lightly to herself; the only sound in this entire white world…
The river had allowed her to live, so maybe it was so ingrained into her soul at this point, that her memory of it would now remain with her in dreams, even though she wasn’t dead?
Wouldn’t that be wonderful~?
—
When Rosie woke up, the sun was still up. Still wrapped up in Lawrence’s arms, Rosie realized that she hadn’t looped back to that chair after all. There were no real words to express her joy, just a full body sense of relief and a silent prayer of thanks to God. Feeling affectionate, she touched her nose to Lawrence’s and bit back a giggle. Alive! Alive, alive, alive~ She was alive~
Rosie drifted in and out of consciousness for the next while, ignoring her need to pee, until finally an alarm went off from Lawrence’s phone. There were grumbles from him, which she did giggle at, sitting up with a stretch and a yawn.
“Good morning, Lawrence~” Wait…No… “I mean, good afternoon. Heh.”
He woke up to soft, feminine giggling, which was extremely disorienting at first. It wasn't until he opened his eyes and saw Rosemary that the events of the previous night all came flooding back to him.
He responded to her greeting with a somewhat awkward smile as she gets up and heads to the bathroom. Just before she reaches the door, Rosemary paused and looked back at him.
"Would you mind if I made some breakfast?" He stared at her for a good five seconds before answering, as if trying to process the question.
"Huh?"
"Oh um....no."
"I mean. Sure."
With another smile, she disappeared into the bathroom, leaving him alone to start his afternoon. Lawrence slid out of bed and walked groggily over to his plants to begin watering them.
It still felt like a dream.
Once everything was watered, he grabbed a few of his herbs and started some water boiling to make tea. Rose came back out and started looking around the kitchen for ingredients to cook. She wasn't going to find a lot, but he figured she already knew that. Once the water was boiling, he set in the herbs to steep.
But it wasn't a dream.
While she continued to search, he went into the bathroom, used the toilet, and took a quick shower. Once out, he toweled off his hair and tied another towel around his waist before walking out to grab some clothes. He paused a few steps outside the door to stare at Rosemary, who was busy cooking at this point. It smelled like oatmeal.
It was real.
Lawrence noticed her looking at him out of the corner of her eye, which made him tense a little despite the warm expression. He quickly looked away, fetched his clothes from the closet, and retreated back into the bathroom to change. He came out a few minutes later, fully-dressed, and finished up the tea just in time for the oatmeal to be ready to eat.
There wasn't much of a dining table, so they sat together on his bed and ate in silence for a few minutes. Rosemary, of course, was the first one to speak.
"Today is...Today's Monday, isn't it? Heh, it's been so long."
He turned to her, nodding at the question. How long had she been...wherever she was? It probably was hard to tell at this point, at least for her. He knew how that was.
"I have an audition today. It's for a ballet at the Austen Theatre House. 'Carmen'."
Oh.
Oh.
Lawrence glanced away, immediately on edge. Of course she wanted to leave, why did he expect anything else? Everyone wants to leave. Had she been faking interest the whole time? Did she make up the weird dimensional traveling story?
No.
No, that didn't make any senes. She knew things that were impossible to know. She knew about The River. She was a dancer....of course she wanted to dance.
But what if she left and never came back? What if she came to her senses the moment she stepped out of that door? What if he never saw her again?
"I guess..." he began after a solid two minutes of silence, "you want to go?" Rosemary leaned in a bit, smiling at him reassuringly.
"It's a two hour thing, and then I'd come back here~ Probably with donuts. I'm seriously craving chocolate heh."
"I can...get you donuts." He knew that wasn't the point, but it was the only thing he could think to late onto. He was still seriously uncomfortable with the idea of just letting her leave.
"Do you still have my purse?" she asked. "If you want some extra reassurance, why not hold it hostage till I come back? I've got some important stuff in there."
She had a point. He hadn't really had a chance to do anything with her things aside from throw them in the closet, so they were still in fine condition. She would come back for those at least....right?
He heaved a heavy sigh.
"...alright."
"Thank you, Lawrence~"
He assumed that would be the end of it, that she would get up and leave, but instead she leaned up and planted a kiss on his cheek.
He mumbled something incoherent, but didn't sound upset at the very least.
Did Lawrence have a plan when he kidnapped you? Like was his idea to kill you and force you to see the river so that he could drag you back and have an immortal companion? Or did he just do it impulsively and then think "oh shit what do I do now. Idk bleed in this bucket I guess 😔"
Lawrence had absolutely NO plan.
Ren had a pretty clear plan of drug lawrence > take him back home and chain him up > HE WILL LEARN TO BE SPECIAL BEST FRIENDS JUST LIKE HE DID :D
But Lawrence went in without a single thought to the future whatsoever. He actually did want to try and make friends the normal way. But then things got out of hand and he had a little oopsie violent moment and he simply HAD to take MC back to explain the situation because if he just left them out there they'd charge him with assault.
Then, as usual for him, things went wildly astray from his intentions 😔and so at some point he figured maybe 'explaining the situation' to MC wasn't gonna work and he'd have to make sure they stay quiet in some other way which could also be fun but he's definitely not like that
She thanked him for his permission, and then answered his question.
“Because a few different Lawrences…Maybe like…Five? Told me that they couldn’t keep a lot of cold food in the kitchen because their fridge was broken.” Again, hopefully they were all just lying. Eventually, Rosie would have dinner plated. She handed him his serving of tuna casserole and got the both of them glasses of water before bringing her own plate and cup over to one of his tables. She stood while she ate, glancing out at the midnight city.
“Oh wow~ Your view is awesome.” She’d never gotten a good look out of his windows before. "We’re really close to the Austen Theatre.“ She had a sip of water. ”I did a show there last year~“ Pleased with the memories in her head, she went back to eating quietly for a bit, not wanting to overwhelm him. When dinner was done, she washed the dishes, yawning occassionally. Now that she was free, she could make herself slightly more comfortable. She slipped out of her shoes, leaving them by the closet, and took off any accessories, leaving them on the table. She was wearing a plaid pinafore dress, which, ideally, she’d take off too, but, ahem. She was exhausted, and didn’t want him to get anymore….Funny ideas. She crawled into bed as the sun began to rise, making herself small so he could fit too. She tiredly watched him get ready for bed.
“Oh.”
While it was possible that other versions of himself had broken fridges, Lawrence didn’t really think that was the case. He didn’t have to think long about why he—or any version of himself—would lie about the fridge working; his food just went bad faster than it should.
Lawrence sat on his bed while he ate, though was careful not to spill. When she mentioned the view, he turned to look. It was a nice view, though he didn’t enjoy it very often. Actually, speaking of the theatre, he would occasionally watch people go in from his window...not that he could see them very well. He kind of liked it better that way though. From this height, they none of the people seemed threatening. They were all just like tiny, defenseless ants that had no discernible identity.
When Rosie started undressing, Lawrence awkwardly looked away, though periodically he continued to look back over until he was sure she was done undressing. The only thing left was an admittedly cute dress as she crawled into bed and started watching him. Why was she watching him?
Oh yeah. He had to get ready for bed. After giving her one more look, he turned and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind himself. His thoughts began to wander as he brushed his teeth, let down his hair, and took off his shirt. What was he supposed to do with her now? Maybe he didn’t have to worry about it just yet...she seemed content enough at the moment, anyway.
When he existed the bathroom, Lawrence was still lost in his thoughts, and remained so up until he arrived at his bedside. The moment he laid eyes on her again, his paused, eyes widening as if he’d forgotten she was there. With a soft blush, he glanced away, trying to think of something to say before climbing in bed with her.
“.......” Nothing came to mind. With a soft sigh, he gave up trying, and slipped under the covers. It was a tight fit, but not uncomfortably so. She was warm.
Having received the go-ahead on both the pepper and the backstory, Rosie continued to work on dinner while she spoke.
“Let’s see…I’m 22, born in September. I grew up in Harper Bay, it’s a town about twenty minutes North from the city.” The soup was ready to be taken off of the heat, so she turned down the flames and moved the pot to an unused burner. “I went to All-Hearts Academy for my degree, although biology isn’t my first choice career wise." She made sure to taste what she was making. ”I’m actually a dancer. The bio degree is so I can have something to fall back on in between gigs, and right now that’s usually via tutoring.“ She had an audition on Monday, actually, which, God willing, she would finally be able to attend. Aside from dancing, she also had training in singing and acting. Neglecting to mention the acting in particular was a calculated move on her part, since she didn’t trust him to not immediately equate ’she’s an actress’ with ’clearly she’s manipulating me’.
Once everything was mixed she located something she could bake in and transferred the tuna casserole into the oven to cook for a bit. Distracted by her task, Rosie fell silent for a few minutes as she poked around his cabinets looking for clean dishes for them to use. Once she had plates and silverware waiting and ready, she remembered that she was standing a few feet away from her kidnapper. She yawned behind her hand, half actually tired as heck, and half taking a moment to consider what to say next.
Now that she was out of the chair, the blood was flowing through her body, relieved to finally not be sitting. That said, she had a feeling that she’d want to sleep sometime after dinner. Looking a bit sleepy, she glanced over at Lawrence’s bed, considering the likelihood of being allowed to sleep there tonight. Looking back at Lawrence, specifically at his body, she daydreamed for a bit about being pressed up against him in bed. He was a big guy, he might be fun to cuddle.
”Lawrence.“ She began softly. ”It’s okay if you don’t want it, but would it be okay if I took a nap after dinner?“ She motioned to the bed.
Lawrence listened quietly, taking in every bit of information. So she was a biology person...one of those smart college people. Still, she seemed nice enough...wait, a dancer? For a moment, Lawrence’s mind was flooded with images of that lithe, graceful form moving in perfect sync with different types of music. What a stunning sight that must be...it’s too bad those kinds of performances are usually for crowds. Maybe he could have her dance for him? Not now, obviously. But maybe someday.
At some point during the several minutes of silence, his eyes had drifted to her, watching every movement as if the cooking were a performance all its own. She must be a dancer...who else could make such a mundane task look so immaculate?
“Huh?” Part of him had been nervous that she’d caught him staring, but her words put him at ease again. He looked where she was gesturing—his bed. “O-oh um...” But where was he supposed to sleep then? Of course, he could sleep in the same bed...as her...
“....”
“Y-yeah...okay.”
Wait, did she expect to have the bed to herself?
“Um...do you....?” He paused, looking uncertain and pensive. Why was this so awkward to ask? What if she said no? He could tell her to sleep on the floor then. Or he could sleep on the floor. One of them would have to sleep on the floor.
“Do you mean....with me in the bed or...?”
"I don't mind either way. Whatever makes you comfortable!"
“Oh...okay.” In retrospect, he probably should have seen that answer coming. Honestly, the thought of being in bed with her made his heart race a bit...though not entirely in an unpleasant way.
“We can both be in the bed.” He fell fell silent again as the smell of the food started to fill the room, further relaxing him. His thoughts started to drift back to his earlier question.
“Why were you surprised about my fridge being cold?”
Permission granted, Rosie made her way into the kitchen, ready to see what she had to work with. She knew he had some non-perishables, and made a small noise of success when she found both pasta and cans of tuna. There was a whole shelf with soup in it, which made sense, soup was cheap and kept for a looong time. He’d probably just grabbed some of everything on offer, which was lucky for her, who quickly spotted a can of cream of mushroom. Setting her things on the counter, she poked into the fridge. She blinked in surprise.
“! It’s cold…” She murmured. She’d heard from a different Lawrence that his fridge was straight up broken, which made her wonder if it was more likely that he was lying, or that there were random differences between the different Lawrences. Hoping that it was the former (so she could maintain her one advantage of knowing many a Lawrence fact), she put the topic of the fridge on the back burner and kept poking around. No onions, damn, but there were some cheese slices left in the package. Nice~ While preparing what was going to become a simple tuna casserole, Lawrence finally spoke.
“Um…what do you usually like to eat…?”
“All sorts of stuff really~ My parents both love to cook, so I’ve tasted all sorts of things. But let’s keep it simple, my favorite foods are burgers, lassagna, spanicopita, gyros, chicken ceasar salad, etc etc~” After washing her hands, she dove in, preparing the food. She kept Lawrence in her periphery, still nowhere even close to trusting him. She considered what to do conversation wise while the water boiled. Lawrence, from what she’d seen so far, was going to require a bit of a balancing act. How much should she talk to keep him from stressing out on her? How much quiet time was best? She picked up his can opener, using it to free the tuna. "I was thinking, I know lotsa stuff about you, that’s gotta feel weird, right? Did you want me to tell you a bit about me? Or did you wanna just, like, chill out? Also, how much pepper do you usually like?“
Lawrence watched her curiously, finding that small noise she made when she found what she was looking for oddly endearing. Was she always this quiet? Or did she just know he liked it better that way?
He got a little tense when she went into the fridge, but that quickly turned to confusion when he heard her mutter something about it being cold. He’d been worried about her finding something spoiled in there, given that things tended to go bad a lot faster with him around, but the coldness is what she commented on? Wasn’t it...normal for a fridge to be cold? Did she expect his fridge to be broken? Or did he mishear?
When she answered his question about what she liked to eat, he nodded. He’d heard of most of those foods, and defintely liked the ones he recognized. That meant they at least liked similar things, so he was probably going to like whatever she was making, right? He glanced over the ingredients. Maybe...tuna pasta? No there was soup too...and cheese. Some kind of casserole? He could just ask, but...
“I was thinking, I know lotsa stuff about you, that’s gotta feel weird, right?”
Lawrence perked up a bit at this. It was really weird, and he did want to know about her, but small talk was something he was really...really bad at. While he was trying to decide how to deal with this, she asked about his pepper preferences, catching him off-guard. Lawrence looked at her with mild surprise for a moment before quickly averting his eyes again. So she didn’t know everything about him. That was nice to know.
“Normal amount of pepper,” he replied. “Not...too much. But spice is good.” He did want to know about her, but he wasn’t sure where to start.
“Do you...” he began, but trailed off, frowning at his own question-in-progress. Really? ‘Do you like plants’? Clearly she didn’t mind them, but that wasn’t the same as liking them. Plus she might lie about it anyway...then again was there really a reason for her to? Was he overthinking it? He was probably overthinking it. Maybe he could just ask if she had any family? He was kind of curious about that. Ugh, but what if she asked if he had any family then? He really didn’t feel like talking about that. Then again, maybe she already knew? That was an uncomfortable thought too. After almost ten seconds of silence, it finally occured to him that she had offered to tell him about herself, she never asked him to ask questions.
“Yeah...” he replied with a little sigh. “I want to know about you.”
“What? You want….do you think that’s a good idea?”
Vince took a moment to consider his answer. Lawrence wasn’t good with strangers in general, though like many shy people he tended to do much better with others when he had someone between he and them to act as a shield; either as a physical shield or a social one. Lawrence and Farz had met only very occassionally. That was usually when they were both high, and the lack of stress had cut down on the awkward bullshit that preceeded a lot of introductions.
“Honestly? I think you two would get on alright. I’ll be there with you, we can get baked ahead of time. She’s chill, dude, trust me~ I think you’ll like her.” Vince went on to explain that Rose was going to be stuck in her house for a while more, so they had plenty of time to figure out a time and place.
Later that very morning, Vince was reminded of Veni’s greatness when the little fox dragged his ass to the store with plenty of gift ideas in mind. He came back home with bags of stuff, and it was only once they got home that both men realized they had no idea how to wrap a present. If Lawrence was free, he was invited over for beer and to help Vince and Veni stumble through Youtube tutorials and tape. One might be impressed with selection of things on offer.
There was a nice smelling spa kit, a few different fancy looking perfume bottles, a few boxes of those assorted chocolates (one of which the boys devoured while wrapping the others), a large and fluffy stuffed elephant, and one of those charm bracelets you were supposed to add onto over time. Vince felt a little shy about that last one, though he wasn’t sure why. Now and then, he messed around on his phone, texting Rosie pictures of their progress without showing her what they’d gotten.
[Rosie] Eeee~ So that’s Lawrence and Veni right? I’m glad you’ve got such nice friends~ owo
[Vince] Yea! Me too : )
[Vince] You wanna meet em some time?
[Rosie] Sure! I’d love to meet your friends~
Pleased, Vince moved between wrapping up the braclet and having his conversation with Rosie. By the time they were done with everything they’d brought and were ready to kick back and relax, Vince realized they’d forgotten about the cat.
“Aaaa, fuck…” The three drunk men stumbled into a Rite Aid at about seven pm. Vince, noticing a female cashier asked her for a bit of advice on what to get a cat, which made things a bit easier. Naturally, he kept Lawrence close, keeping away anyone that looked like they might have any questions to ask him. Somehow or another, they’d left the store with ice cream and more beer as well as a few cute toys for Victoria, and Vince was pleased to call today a victory.
—
In the morning, Vince ordered breakfast, and the three men (with varying degrees of hungoverness) ate and watched tv. Sometime between his fourth pancake and his fifth sausage link, Vince found his thoughts wandering to Sano Kojima, that guy from the other night. Despite their sexy introduction, Vince hadn’t had thought to message him for a hook up. Meh, he’d been preoccupied. He took his phone out of his pocket and started up a new message.
[Vince->Sano]: Hey, this is Vince, wanna hang out?
It was a simple message, just to get the ball rolling, but for whatever reason, Vince found himself hesitating to send it. Why? Sano was hot, Vince hadn’t had any issues with him in the bar, had he? That said though, thinking about Sano now made Vince feel a bit sick, like there was something bubling just under his skin, itching to tear through and confront him. Sano had come over spouting some cryptic bullshit, but hadn’t that been a front to get closer to Vince?
But what if it was more than that? What if he knew more about Vince than he’d let on? Suddenly feeling a bit scared, as he wasn’t ready to learn who he’d been before he’d woken up in the hospital, Vince backed out of the messenger app and set his phone down. He berated himself for being a coward, and angrily stuffed a bite of waffle into his mouth while mulling over what to do.
Lawrence was still very wary of the idea of meeting this woman. But Vince seemed pretty confident, so maybe...maybe he could try. Especially if he was a little high first. Later that day, he was woken by a text from Vince. It was pretty early, only about 3:30PM, but Lawrence still felt well-rested enough. Still not wanting to think about Ren, he happily joined Vince and Veni to help wrap the presents they bought. He didn’t actually do a lot of helping himself (unless eating chocolate somehow counted), but it definitely helped him put his mind at ease.
By the time Vince was taking pictures that almost certainly included him, Lawrence was too tipsy to be bothered by it. And anyway, he was just sending them to Rosemary, right? Just as they were wrapping up, Vince realized he still had to get cat toys. At this point, Lawrence was drunk enough to agree to go to the store, but he still kept close to Vince, warily eyeing a few people who passed him by. They ended up crashing at Vince’s place and having a big breakfast the next day. Aside from the nasty headache he had, it was the best morning Lawrence could remember having for a while.
Eventually though, he was back in his apartment again, and his thoughts drifted toward his phone. Did he want to see Ren again? The answer should have been obvious. But then why did he have these lingering doubts? Why did he keep thinking about that stupid fox? Did he feel bad for him? Defintely not. So what was it?
Well, there was that body in the basement. Something about the idea of a corpse literally frozen in time just made him really...uncomfortable. When a body didn’t decay and return to the earth, it was just...stuck.
[09/15/18 2:42 PM] Lawrence: You should let it rot.
[09/15/18 3:53 PM] Ren: What?
[09/15/18 3:59 PM] Lawrence: It won’t decay properly if you don’t let it.
[09/15/18 4:02 PM] Ren: But then I’ll be alone.
‘Maybe you deserve to be alone,’ Lawrence thought bitterly. Then again, maybe he already was. Wasn’t that the whole reason Ren kidnapped him?
[09/15/18 4:03 PM] Lawrence: You already are.
Lawrence understood the comforts of having a corpse for company better than most, but it really didn’t seem like it was helping Ren. He clearly still felt very alone in that house. And why would he even want that man around anyway if he hurt him? Ren said they were close, or pretty much said that...ugh. It made about as much sense as his own relationship with Ren, he supposed. Or Rosemary’s relationship with Vince. Lawrence sighed.
[09/15/18 4:06 PM] Lawrence: I’ll help you.
[09/15/18 4:11 PM] Ren: How?
[09/15/18 4:12 PM] Lawrence: I know a place.
[09/15/18 4:13 PM] Lawrence: Meet me outside the forest near the end of that path coming off Beaker Road.
[09/15/18 4:16 PM] Ren: When?
[09/15/18 4:17 PM] Lawrence: Midnight tonight.
[09/15/18 4:19 PM] Ren: Should I bring anything?
[09/15/18 4:20 PM] Lawrence: Strade.
[09/15/18 4:22 PM] Ren: OK.
Lawrence seriously considered texting Vince about it before taking a nap, but in the end he decided against it. Vince would only try to talk him out of it—rightfully so too, it was a stupid idea. But it was something he knew he needed to do. And anyway, Ren wouldn’t try anything now that he knew Vince was around, right? Or maybe he could take care of himself this time.
Lawrence arrived at the forest’s entrance a little after midnight and spotted a car parked several yards away near the end of the alley. It only then occurred to him that the forest entrance wasn’t exactly the most obvious; there were no roads, no signs, not even much of a clearing to indicate where to enter the trees. That’s why he liked it: most people didn’t even know it was there. As he walked closer to the car, he saw a familiar face at the wheel: Ren. Even while avoiding direct eye contact, he still noticed that the man didn’t have his ears or tail out this time. Why? Lawrence knew about it now, what was the point of hiding it?
After staring a moment, Ren got out and went to the back seat to drag out what looked like a very large trash bag. Lawrence watched him struggle with it a moment before finally managing to yank it all the way out of the vehicle and onto the ground. Ren looked back over at Lawrence again, and they both stood there in silence for a bit. Lawrence wasn’t sure what to say here; he usually didn’t know what to say when it came to starting conversations. Thankfully, he didn’t have to decide.
“...hey.”
“Hey.”
Ren looked uncomfortable, even more so than usual. His ears twitched at every night time sound, and he looked like he thought something was going to come out of the darkness and grab him any minute. It felt nice honestly, being at such an advantage here. He knew this place, and he knew the woods.
“Come on.”
Ren followed him to the entrance of the forest, but after just a few feet inside, Lawrence stopped and turned around. The sound of Ren dragging that body along the ground was very loud, and he was going to get very irritated if he had to listen to it the whole way into the woods.
“Do you need help?”
“Oh um...I mean...I just can’t carry him…”
Of course he couldn’t—the bag was bigger than he was. Lawrence sighed and picked up one end of the sack. It was a little cold to the touch, probably because the contents had been frozen until recently.
“Can you hold half?”
Ren nodded. Together, they continued into the forest in silence. Lawrence knew they had to go pretty deep to dump a body, but that didn’t bother him. He’d gone out here plenty of times, sometimes to create art, sometimes to dump a body himself, and sometimes just to have some time alone with nature. As they drew deeper into the forest, the trees got more dense, until finally there was barely any light coming in at all. But it was enough—enough to see, and certainly enough to lead him to that little break in the trees that let a stream of moonlight in on clear nights. Tonight was not a clear night though, so he had to scour the ground for the remains of his older art projects among the leaves. Finally, he spotted one, and walked over to it. The mixture of deer and human bones were arranged together on the ground as if part of the remains of one creature, some which still had some flesh clinging to them. It was progressing nicely.
“Is...this it?” Ren asked uncertainty. Lawrence suddenly realized he’d been standing there for a good minute or two after stopping, never saying a word. Ren was eyeing the remains on the ground with unease—then again, he didn’t actually look any more uneasy than when they started this trip. It was hard to tell how he felt about the skeleton specifically.
“Yeah.”
Together, they undid the trash bag, took out the now largely thawed corpse, and lay it on the ground several feet from the other skeleton. There was a beauty to it, especially now in this dim light. The opening in his chest was asymmetrical (probably in part a result of being stuffed in that ice box at an angle for so long), but the effect was still there. It looked like two fleshy curtains parting to reveal the heart within, only to frame a gaping void instead. From what little he knew of the man, it almost seemed kind of poetic. He wondered what the tattoo on the man’s shoulder meant too...was it similar to his own? Probably not. Both men stared pensively at it for a while until a loud rumble cut through the silence.
Thunder.
Ren looked considerably more on edge now, if that was even possible, eyes darting left and right before moving back to Lawrence. Both his ears and tail were visible now. Was he afraid of thunder?
“Come on,” Lawrence said. “Let’s head back.” Ren nodded quickly, and followed Lawrence back down the path. The rain escalated from a drizzle to a deluge within minutes, pouring down so hard that even the tree cover wasn’t enough to keep them from getting soaked. As the sound of the thunder began to follow the lighting more and more closely, Lawrence realized it might be best to take shelter until it calmed down. No one would find them out here if they got hurt, after all, possibly not even Vince with all this rain. He glanced over at Ren, who looked absolutely miserable. He cringed at every flash of light, every clap of thunder, and nearly jumped into the air when Lawrence suddenly grabbed his arm. Even so, Lawrence didn’t bother to explain; it would be too hard to try and talk over the storm at this point.
Instead, he dragged the poor man more quickly along the path, and then over to a very big, partially hollowed-out tree. The resulting shelter was largely sealed off from the elements, but it wasn’t the most spacious inside. Even getting through the entrance was a tight fit for Lawrence (though Ren had no problem). Once inside, both men had less than a foot between them as they stared through the hole at the storm raging outside. Ren wrapped his tail around himself and covered his ears, shivering violently as the storm drew closer still. Lawrence was shivering a bit too, though for him it was more due to the chill of the September air against his soaking wet clothes.
Suddenly, an ear-splitting clap of thunder boomed throughout the forest, seeming to shake the ground itself. Lawrence flinched, not just from the sound of the storm, but the sharp yelp that came from Ren as he curled into himself further, sobbing softly. Lawrence’s gaze moved to Ren’s ears, which were now flat against his head. Right...he probably had really sensitive ears. Maybe this actually hurt him. The idea filled Lawrence with an uncomfortable mixture of schadenfreude and sympathy, the latter quickly over-taking the former.
With a soft sigh, he scooted closer and gently put his arms around the smaller man. Lawrence felt Ren cringe at the initial contact, just before looking up at him with a mixture of alarm and confusion. This time when their eyes met, Lawrence held his gaze. He watched Ren’s expression relax just a little...at least until another flash of light made his ears stand up again. Ren clung to him, burying his face in Lawrence’s chest as if trying to hide from the inevitable sound that followed a second later. The deafening crash made him pin his ears against his head again, and the shivering against Lawrence’s chest grew more violent. Feeling another pang of sympathy, Lawrence reached down to run a hand through Ren’s wet hair in an attempt to soothe him. Ren’s ears immediately stood up again at the touch, but slowly relaxed with each stroke. To Lawrence’s surprise, it was strangely soothing for him as well.
Soon enough, the gap between the flashes of light and cracks of thunder widened, and the latter slowly settled to a gentle rumble. Between the sound of the rain and the feeling of Ren’s hair underneath his fingers, Lawrence might have started to nod off if he was a bit more dry. Ren was warm though. At one point, he noticed Ren’s tail had curled around his leg, but he didn’t mind. It was kind of cute. Eventually, half-convinced Ren had fallen asleep, Lawrence moved his hand away. Ren looked up almost immediately, and their eyes met again. Ren’s were still a bit red and puffy from crying.
“Time to go?” Ren asked after a long minute. Lawrence nodded. Once they were both out of the tree, Lawrence led the rest of the way out of the forest, Ren following close behind in silence the whole time. At last, they reached the edge of the forest where they started. Ren looked over at his car, then back at Lawrence.
“Um...thanks.”
Lawrence nodded, staring quietly off to the side. After a few seconds more of silence, Ren turned away and started walking back to his car. Lawrence watched him in silence for a few yards, mulling everything over in his head.
“Hey…” His voice was just as soft as it always was, but the rain had slowed to a trickle, so it immediately got Ren’s attention. Their eyes didn’t meet this time, not directly, but Lawrence could see that Ren had turned back to look. “If you want to go back and see it sometime...we can.” The momentary surprise on Ren’s face quickly melted into a warm smile.
“I’d like that.”
---
Sano sat at his kitchen table, book open and forgotten on the wooden surface. Despite mulling over the events of that night at the pub for days, he wasn’t any closer to finding a solution than he had been walking out of there. He wanted to talk to Akira again, of course he did, but how on Earth was he supposed to follow up...that? Besides, if they were alone together again, he was almost certain Vince would try to go farther. And that would be bad. Right? Right??
“So what’s the new Akira like?”
Sano looked over to see Annabelle sitting beside him. He smelled some food cooking, likely her making breakfast. Given his pitiful bowl of oatmeal and single slice of toast that lay forgotten on the other side of the table, it wasn’t hard to figure out why.
“He’s not a salary man, is he?” she snickered, causing Sano to smirk.
“I don’t think even full amnesia could get Akira to be a salary man.” His gaze shifted to the fresh cup of coffee Annabelle must have put beside him some point recently. His smile faded.
“Oh, thank you.” He picked it up and took a sip, letting the hot liquid run down his throat as he thought of how to answer.
“Akira is actually....not fundamentally different from what he was like before. Which is interesting, I suppose, for various medical reasons. He’s still very much a ladies man...not just ladies either. He’s still a bit crass, perhaps more so than before, and his mannerisms are largely the same. Even his smile...” God, that smile.
Annabelle frowned. “So all he forgot is us, huh?” she asked, wrinkling her nose—objectively a sign of disgust, but it was somehow always cute when she did it. "All this cause the Demon Integration Assholes decided to send an ambassador into an active war zone." She took a sip of her own coffee. “Werewolves suck.”
“They really do,” Sano agreed before looking down at his cup in silence for a moment.
“I’m not sure...how to progress with this.” Saying the words aloud were simultaneously more uncomfortable and more freeing than he expected them to be. In general, he hated admitting he didn’t know something. He hated not knowing something. Sano looked up to see Annabelle take a bite of some food she’d gotten for herself (maybe she’d already had it? Ugh, he couldn’t focus on anything properly.)
“Invite him over.”
“No, no I can’t do that. I need a plan Annabelle, if I just invite him over...”
“Then what? Walk me through it.”
"I don't have one that's the problem I—"
Sano groaned softly and ran a hand through his hair. If he was going to have a honest conversation with her about this, he couldn’t truly avoid it. It was the crux of the issue, after all.
"You see...a few days ago, I actually talked to him personally. Without a plan. And it didn't...go very well." She looked at him with understandable surprise.
“I know.” He didn’t usually do anything without a plan, and if this wasn’t the epitome of why, he didn’t know what was.
“Does he know you’re his brother?”
“I certainly hope not.” Sano shook his head. Of course not. “No, no he doesn’t...I didn’t really get to that part.” She took another bite of her food.
“What I would do is write something like 'Hi, this is Sano from the other night. I'd like to get together and hang out with you, however, I need to clear something up.”
“That would have worked if I hadn’t...” Kissed him back? Made out with him in a public bar? He slid his hand over his face, already feeling himself start to blush.
“We were having two entirely different conversations. Apparently he thought I was flirting with him and...acted accordingly. The issue is I didn't stop him, so now something that direct isn't exactly an option. If it ever was an option..."
Sano was still just as aprehensive of bringing up the deeper truth of the matter as he was earlier that week in the bar. What if Akira didn’t believe him? What if he wanted nothing to do with it? Could he handle that kind of rejection? He heard the faint sound of Annabelle’s muffled laughter. and honestly he didn’t blame her. Even so, it made him blush more.
"Hi, this is Sano from the other night. I was drunk when we met and I REALLY need to clear something up."
Drunk. Drunk! People did all sorts of ridiculous things while inebriated! Sano let his hand slip away from his face to stare at Annabelle, eyes widened in slight surprise.
“Now that’s an idea. That would actually explain...a lot.” He picked up his cup and had another long sip, suddenly feeling a spark of hope for the first time in days. Once he put the cup down, he sighed contently, and actually smiled a bit.
"I don't know why I didn't think of that." The smile was short-lived though; even if he had an excuse now, it still didn’t seem right to clear it up purely over text.
"Still...'I'm actually your brother' is a rather impactful statement even when it's not coming from a man you just made out with. I wonder if it would be better to deliver it in person?"
“Yes, of course!” She looked around the room. “You should come with proof too.”
“Good point. There are a few options there—" he cut himself off when she got up and started looking for something, assuming she already had an idea in mind. Sure enough, Annabelle walked over and picked a picture off the wall. She smiled at it and even hugged it before bringing it over to him. It was a picture of all three of them on a boat during one of their trips after Akira and him had gotten close again...and before he left the second time. Sano took the picture and smiled at it as well.
“Perfect~”
“Do you want me to come?”
He looked up at her, pausing to consider his answer a moment. Showing up with a strange woman after texting the guy he made out with that they needed to talk might send the wrong message. Then again, even if Akira didn’t think Sano had accidentally cheated on his girlfriend, this conversation wasn’t going to be the most comfortable for anyone. He could only hope Akira took the truth relatively well.
"It might not be the best idea this time. I have a feeling that introducing things in small parts might be best.” He looked at her curiously. "Unless there was a particular reason you'd like to come along?" Annabelle reached up to forlornly tuck her hair behind her ear.
"He's my family too..." Sano’s expression softened a little.
"Alright. But I might need to hold off introducing you as my girlfriend until after I make it clear he's my brother." Annabelle nodded and smiled.
“Alright~”
After mulling over the proper wording for the text a while longer, Sano finally sent it later that day.
[09/15/18 2:02 PM] Sano: Hey, this is Sano from the other night. I’d really like to see you again, but I was rather drunk last time we met, and I’d like to clear a few things up. Is there a time we could meet again?
thinkin about crawling out of my skin and running away into the woods to become a forest monster and spending all of my time ripping up invasive plants
Once in the bathroom, Rosie took a look around. She wasn’t surprised to see more plants, it gave the bathroom something of a greehouse/sauna vibe. Rosie washed her hands and neck, dabbing a bit of alchohol on the back and then doing her best to put a bandaid on the cut. Most of Lawrence’s products seem to be homemade, which was interesting. Going off what she’d learned about him in her past lives, he’d probably learned how to make these things so he could avoid going to the store to get them in person. Did he have a bank account? If so then she should really introduce him to Instacart or something similar. She took this oppurtunity to also go to the bathroom too, and once she was clean from that she joined Lawrence back in the main part area of his apartment.
She managed to get a look at his kitchen before he handed her a cup of tea. Huh? Did he change his mind already? Knowing better than to make a big fuss out of it, she sat back down, ready to die. She thought over what she’d done wrong while taking a sip. She was surprised when he clarified that he wasn’t trying to drug her this time, which she doubted, but she kept such feelings to herself. The tea certainly tasted different from usual…
“Feeling your neck. Did it help you…understand…?”
When he’d asked that she’d been mid-sip, so she had to swallow that before answering.
”I think so. The shape of the human skeleton, the way the body pulses and pulls together. The way organs fit neatly together, there’s a beauty to it. Blood is immeasurably precious to the human body. There’s an appeal to seeing it in motion like paint dripping down a canvas.“ She sipped her tea. ”Oh~ You know, I don’t think I ever had a chance to tell you this, but I was a biology major in college.“ So if anyone had a chance of understanding him, she had a good shot~
When her stomach started to growl, Rosie looked over her shoulder at his kitchen.
”Is it okay if I make us something to eat?“ She paused, remembering what a few different Lawrence’s had mentioned having in stock. “Oh, I know you don’t have a ton of stuff, but I’m confident I can work with what’s here.“ She beamed, looking eager.
Lawrence perked up a bit at her answer. So she did understand! And she was a biology major too...he didn’t really understand that science-y stuff, but if it meant she understood his fascination with the human body a bit more, that was enough for him.
The sound of her stomach growling made his eyes move to the kitchen almost in tie with her’s. When she asked about making something to eat though, his gaze snapped back to Rosie. He opened his mouth to try and explain that he really didn’t have much, and part of what little he did have might have gone bad. She was quicker though; before he could get a word out, she explained she already knew about his low supply of...food. Did she know about things going bad too? Ugh...it was nice to have someone who understood him, but it was weird to have someone who knew so much about him. Still...she looked eager.
“Yeah...OK.” He wanted to ask about how much she knew on this front, especially since she knew about the whole...being partially dead thing. But despite his continuing curiosity on the scope of her knowledge about him, he was also growing increasingly uncomfortable with it. Maybe if he knew more about her, it would be less weird...?
He was horrible with small talk (she probably knew that too), so the ‘getting to know someone’ conversation didn’t really come naturally for him. After silently watching her prepare something to eat for a bit, he finally decided that was as good a place to start as any.
Image Description: a tweet from @SKATERBOYPERCE. Tweet reads:
best friends to lovers gives me so much serotonin its unreal. the jealousy they dont understand. the mutual pinning but not wanting to ruin the friendship. the “they don’t feel the same way”. the rest of the world waiting just for them to get together.
I found out something terrible today. Gatobob has blessed us with Lawrence in a suit… AND THERE IS ALMOST NO ART OF LAWRENCE IN A SUIT. I WILL NOT LET THIS STAND ANY LONGER!
