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 Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2012 10:05 am
All of this was starting to become overwhelming. Jericho originally thought it was stress, but no amount of relaxation seemed to be helping him out. The whispers were still around, and he was touchy as all hell. It was hard to think clearly, but after days of being afflicted like this, he knew something was wrong. And thus he went to visit Riley.
If there was anyone who knew how to deal with the mind, it was her.
Rubbing his head, he stepped into her room, looking for the mindflayer.
"Riley..? Are you in?" he called out, sounding a little on edge. What if she was busy? He didn't want to disturb her. Furthermore, what if something had happened again? Arrggg... these thoughts of his. Those sorts of questions always seemed to surface up past the little whispers most easily. It didn't make sense to him.
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Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2012 10:15 am
Riley's room was in abnormal disarray.
The bookshelves were emptied, and the books were strewn about the floor in a heap. The bathroom door was open, and several toiletries were destroyed, leaking, and/or unraveling on the floor. Riley was nowhere to be seen, but upon entering the study, it would be obvious where she was - clothing was being flung haphazardly out of her bedroom door into the study. And eventually, upon looking into the bedroom itself, one would find a horrendous mess to behold.
Where is it, where is it, where in Jack's name is it, damn it.. She chanted openly, audible once Jericho was close enough to catch her thoughts, until she finally let out a scream of frustration and tore her claws through a pair of designer jeans.
It was there, that she finally noticed Jericho, and turned her eyes up blankly to look at him. Oh. Hello, my dear. I didn't hear you come in.
Her hand was still through the hole in the jeans.
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Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2012 10:27 am
The room was a complete mess, which worried Jericho. Maybe something did happen. s**t. What if the Hunters swooped in and took her!? This thought was quickly killed off as something flew out the bedroom door. It seemed that she indeed was rather busy, seeing how she hadn't noticed him enter.
"Riley.. I hope you're not too busy.. I need.. help," he started before quickly looking over his shoulder, alert for any signs of movement. There was nothing visibly there, but that didn't stop his gaze from lingering for a little while.
"Ah.. I'll just.. come back later. You look really busy. I don't want to bother you," he said while taking a step back. His golden eyes darted to and fro, and he was looking rather antsy.
Had he not been so distracted, he might have realized that something wasn't quite right with Riley either.
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Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2012 8:33 pm
NO. Riley boomed out, dropping everything in her hands - some of which crashed and broke in the mess - and climbed out of her room to grab Jericho by the shoulders.
No. She repeated, slightly less frantically. You should stay. It would be better if you stayed, I think. Leaving me alone right now is.. She paused, her face pursing stubbornly for a moment, and shook her head. Tell me what you need help with. I'm sure that focusing on someone else's problems will help me to forget my own. Please, sit down.
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Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2012 8:38 pm
Oh s**t! Jericho was just about to bolt when Riley grabbed him like that. He tensed up greatly and slowly began to relax as she spoke in a less frantic tone. Something wasn't right here. Were there enemies in this room? The dragon's eyes darted from side to side, as if trying to pick up traces of such things. There were none.
Nodding, he took in a deep breath and sat down, albeit a little shakily.
"They.. They won't leave me alone. I keep hearing them. Too soft for me to understand but they're there. I don't know where they are but I KNOW THEY'RE THERE!" he said with wide eyes.
"It's driving me crazy. It's making me super edgy and it's been a lot easier than usual to set me off..."
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Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2012 9:28 pm
Riley's hands clenched on a small row of glass rods that were holding up a little structure, as Jericho explained his problem. The entire thing came down on her hand with a crash of glass, but she ignored it completely and turned to stare at Jericho wildly.
You hear them too? She whispered, almost hesitant to admit that she'd been suffering the same problem. I didn't.. no one else seemed to have - oh, Jericho.
A great sigh of relief overwhelmed her, and she moved to sit with a flop by his feet, resting her forehead on his knee.
I thought I was going crazy. It is the greatest of fears for us. But if you hear it too.. Her head lifted, and one eye arched slightly. The bad news is, I cannot help you with your problem because it is mine, as well. The good news is, you're not alone. And that, above all, gives me both great relief, and also great sorrow that you suffer from these absurd tricks of the mind.
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Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2012 9:39 pm
Hearing the glass crash down, Jericho cringed and quickly looked around. However, his attention quickly narrowed back in onto Riley as she mentioned hearing the voices too. For a moment, his eyes widened, realizing what this meant.
"You can hear them too?" he asked as well before letting out a sigh. As with his friend he was both relieved and distressed to hear about this. It was good to be able to relate, but at the same time he didn't like that she was suffering the same issue.
"Not being alone is a start. No one else I know is hearing them either. I.. I wish I knew what was going on. I'm not crazy. I'm NOT!" he said, with his voice rising towards the end, "Tiamat's s**t if I was I'd be even more useless against the Hunters. Not that I ever made much of a difference against them in the first place."
Closing his eyes for the moment, he took in a deep breath.
"I don't suppose you know what's causing this do you..?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 12:27 am
Riley chuckled shakily and shook her head. No, definitely not crazy. I have no idea what's causing this, but I just, ********, Jericho, you don't understand, I was really scared I was losing it-
They started up again, even as her voice choked up with the threat of tears, and her entire body clenched as they whispered and told her just how much of a failure she was for allowing this to happen. Her claws clenched hard into the fabric at his knees, and she let out an audible, feral growl.
I don't know what it is, but it needs to stop. Fast.
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Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 10:10 am
Even if it was brief, seeing and feeling Riley's fears well up like that rattled Jericho. It was hitting her pretty hard too. Grimacing, he couldn't help but feel like he had failed to keep this from afflicting her somehow, as unreasonable that feeling was.
"I agree... I can't.. we can't keep functioning like this. Do you think Nurse Cricket would be able to help at all? Or maybe the Guidance Councelor? Dammit I don't even know where to start for something like this," he groaned.
He didn't know if it was something in the mind or if something physical was somehow causing all of this. Or if it was something else completely entirely.
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Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 1:19 am
No. No! .. No. The myriad of emotions played across her face as she went from calm, to anxious, to calm again. We can't talk to them. We can't trust them, Jericho. Don't you feel it? We can't trust any of them, anymore. I don't want to.. no. We're going to have to figure this one out ourselves.
She turned around and leaned back on his legs, while sitting on the floor. Her own body curled up into a ball as she started to contemplate the problem.
I was, ah, worried that it had to do with.. you know. My little accident. Her fingers brushed against her abdomen softly, an unconsconscious movement. But it has to be an outside source, if you're feeling it too. Do you suppose the hunters have been putting something in our food or water supply? Or perhaps the air? These are the most likely of options..
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Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 1:28 am
Her words were making him anxious. Shifting uncomfortably, Jericho's eyes darted to and for. She was right. They couldn't trust the others. They would probably just say they were crazy. But he didn't know what they could do otherwise.
"Right right... And.. maybe. I don't know. But why aren't there more like us then?" he asked, "Wait... This is all kind of familiar. The puppet master. When it died, it nearly made my mind explode from all the things it was making me feel at that time. Do.. you think it could have to do with that? Arg, but there still aren't more like uss.... .dammit."
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Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 1:37 am
Riley turned her head up, her eyes narrowing slightly in confusion. How do you know there are no others? I don't know about you, Jericho, but I wasn't broadcasting my situation to others publicly. She turned her head back around, and rested it on her shoulders as she curled into herself. No one needed to know I was losing my mind. And I'd like to keep it that way.. this is just between us.
She turned around a second time, and her face was more than a little anxious when she looked up at him. Promise?
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Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 1:39 am
She had a really good point there. Though, the ones he had dealt with didn't seem like they were relating at all. However, there were many he hadn't spoken to since this all started. Furrowing his brow, Jericho soon nodded.
"Alright.. Promise," he said as he reached down to pull her up towards him.
"I just hope we can find some way to fix this problem. I... don't want it to stay."
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Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 2:20 am
Riley felt the tug of his hand on her arm, and she stumbled back up to her feet, only to fall into his lap. Her arms wrapped tight around herself, and she stared at the buckle of his belt with an unfocused gaze.
Of course we will find a way to fix it. This isn't forever. This is just another temporary problem caused by the distressing state of affairs the school currently endures. We've just got to.. think rationally.
Her eyes lifted up to his for a moment, and tinged with worry. Neither of them were thinking rationally, anymore.
Let's tackle this logically. When did the voices start for you?
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Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 8:29 am
Holding onto Riley, Jericho tried to think when the voices began. It was a little hard to pinpoint it exactly.
"Not long ago. A few days.. maybe a week ago," he said while closing his eyes. Had it been longer tan that? No. No. He was certain this was right.
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