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 Posted: Sun May 27, 2012 7:49 pm
Had it really taken her this long to stop by?
He had been the first to check up on her, so why had Riyo waited to return the favor? It hadn't really struck her that... Maybe the whole dream trial had shaken Titus up a little too. Not until he showed up in her dreams again. Though, with as realistic as the dream felt, it was hard to tell whether it was really him or not.
There was a lot to discuss with him this time. It wasn't just a simple matter of her feeling inadequate over her physical appearance. No, this was much more. This time, instead of a demanding pound at the door, it was a soft rapping.
She had hurriedly tried to iron out one of her black button-up dress shirts, though it was obvious the clothing was still wrinkly and unwashed. And other than that, all she had was a pair of pants and her heeled boots. No layers. No more hiding. She was what she was. There was no use concealing herself anymore. "Titus?" She called outside of the dorm room, the voice calm and collected. "May I come in?"
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Posted: Sun May 27, 2012 8:18 pm
At the current moment Titus was busy. Busy with craft time. His Uncle's dog had been picked up long ago and now with all his free time Titus was left to find something to occupy his time. His recent loss against a flightless Valkyrie had rubbed him the wrong way...so he intended to return the favor. Currently he had a broken dream catcher and was trying to affix feathers to the bottom of each piece. One black and one a creamy white with a bit of brown. Both prizes he had won and decided to flaunt.
"Insufferable little-" He had just been tightening a cord around the black feather when he heard the knock at the door and the voice.
....That voice.
Curious, Titus set the dream catcher pieces aside and made his way toward the door. Slowly he opened it though he stepped out of any direct line of attack. Slap me once shame on you, slap me twice shame on me.
"To what do I owe this pleasure?"
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Posted: Mon May 28, 2012 4:03 am
Riyo kinda figured he'd move out of the way pretty quick after the last greeting she gave him. It didn't really matter. She'd come over with no intention of laying a finger on him. "Actually, I came over for a few things." Her hands quickly found her pockets, nervously rubbing away at a stray pumpkin seed contained within. "None of which involve hitting you."
Did that mean she wouldn't if he said something nasty? Oh no, she'd definitely hit him.
The feline didn't wait for him to roll out the red carpet and welcome her in. She simply stepped in and had a seat on his big comfy couch. Jack damn this couch was nice. Why didn't she have a couch? "I guess... The first thing was I wanted to check on you. See if you were okay after everything that happened." It seemed kinda silly now, seeing him standing there. He looked alright. That didn't always mean something, however. "I was so caught up in my own issues the last time I saw you, I didn't think to ask." Moreover she hadn't really been thinking period. It wasn't a surprising thing that she hadn't asked... Riyo imagined not many people cared to ask about the nightmare demon's well-being. He might've liked it that way, she couldn't be sure.
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Posted: Mon May 28, 2012 11:10 am
"Came over for a few things?" Titus ask quirking a brow. "And who said I was worried about you hitting me?" Though the obvious answer was in his behavior and how he kept the door at the ready to block.
When the feline pushed passed him to welcome herself into his room the demon sighed. "Yes, please....do come in." He uttered sarcastically before pushing the door closed. Seemed he had company whether he wanted it or not.
"C..check on me?" That halted Titus in his step, a brow arched high as he looked at Riyo. He seemed to judge her for a moment, letting the note of concern sink in. She was worried about how he was doing? Rather late but it still counted in a way. "This...is a joke right?" The demon started to look around to see if there were hidden cameras in his room.
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Posted: Mon May 28, 2012 3:30 pm
Riyo chose to ignore his first question, kicking her legs out and allowing herself to get comfortable. She'd been here once before. It was the opposite of it's owner: welcoming.
When Titus practically froze, the feline looked up at him nervously. Had she been wrong to say something? "N-no." Why was he looking at her like that? "You checked on me... Is it really that surprising?"
... Wait. She answered her own question. "You know what? Don't answer that. The point is, yes. I came to check on you. So instead of naming the reasons why I shouldn't ask about your well-being, why don't you just tell me how you are?" Would that work? Riyo wasn't sure, but it was worth a shot.
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Posted: Tue May 29, 2012 7:22 pm
Titus was about to open his mouth and answer but it seemed Riyo had come to her own conclusion. Falling silent the demon wasn't entirely sure what to say. He had never been asked how he was before. How was one supposed to respond?
Again he opened his mouth about to speak but failed to let words form. After a second he let his mouth shut a perplexed expression on his face. "I'm not sure I know how to proceed." He admitted, treating the situation as if it were a complicated mathematical equation and not just a simple conversation inquiry.
Since Riyo had made herself comfortable, Titus decided to have a seat as well scooting the broken dream catcher off his coffee table and into a drawer within it. "So why the sudden interest in 'how I am doing?'" The demon asked leaning back into his couch once the dream catcher was out of sight.
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Posted: Tue May 29, 2012 7:51 pm
Had it... Really been that big of a deal?
Riyo had been asked how she was before as simple small talk. Surely the nightmare demon had experienced the same, right?
... Or not.
The ghoul's brow furrowed when he announced his failure at understanding the situation. She had opened her mouth to speak, but the item on his coffee table had finally managed to capture her attention. What was that? She'd never seen such a strange thing before.
But that wasn't what mattered right now, even if he did seem to be trying to hide it. "I..." Somehow Titus had managed to switch the spotlight back on her. "Is it such a crime to ask?" Wait, she was answering her own questions again. "Don't answer that one either." This was ridiculous. "Look. If all your body parts are in their normal place and you're not so miserable you want to die, then chances are you're probably fine. I just asked because I figured I owed you one for after the trials!" Her voice raised slightly at the end, her lips forming a straight line in a rather displeased expression.
Well, maybe that wasn't the only reason. Titus was a real a*****e. Probably in the purest concentration of a*****e Riyo had ever had the privilege of meeting, but there were these little specs of interesting qualities practically drowning in the douchebaggery that made him appealing. "Here. I'll make it even easier." The feline took a moment to look at Titus from top to bottom. "You look fine. In one piece. I just answered my own question again."
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Posted: Tue May 29, 2012 8:23 pm
Oh this was amusing. Apparently he was getting her flustered which made up for the awkward encounter. "But you're doing such a good job." Titus mused gesturing for Riyo to continue her very one sided conversation so far.
"Please, continue. Why not tell me how my day was. I do enjoy these simple pleasantries." Apparently talking about his own feelings wasn't Titus' strong suit but pushing buttons was. He certainly didn't make social encounters easy. It was a wonder why Riyo was concerned at all.
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Posted: Tue May 29, 2012 8:33 pm
Oh good grief. Riyo looked like she was about to ascend to anger level II, but instead her eyes narrowed in on the nightmare demon. If this was how he wanted to play, consider the pawns set up and the board ready for their moves. "Well lets see. I imagine you started the morning taking a bubble bath and painting your toenails. After that you picked up your skelephone and had a conversation with yourself since both of us know you have no friends, then you took to doing arts and crafts." Her hand gestured to the drawer he'd been quick to stuff his little creation in, a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. "I bet you went with the hot pink nail polish this time, didn't you Titus?" If he was going to insinuate that she was masculine, Riyo would have just as much fun portraying him as an effeminate demon.
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Posted: Wed May 30, 2012 9:52 am
Oh good grief indeed. Titus listened to Riyo's run down of his day with an air of indifference. His interest only seemed to peek at the end when she mentioned what kind of nail polish he had probably settled on. "Actually I like to do the candy corn pattern on my nails. It takes a bit more effort but so worth it in the end." He didn't want to admit he had been victim to nail polish treatment before, having an older sister opened up all kinds of terrible possibilities.
"I feel like we're bonding right now, you and I. With any luck our menses will sync up and we'll have all the more to talk about." Titus smiled slightly, amusement hinting at the corners of his eyes. "I have an older sister, you'll have to try harder than that." He explained.
"I guess since we are engaging in small talk tell me how are you? Seems a lot has been going on since everyone got back from the Isles...or what's left of them I hear." True Titus didn't have friends but from dream hopping and listening to nearby conversations he had picked up on what had happened for the most part. Aside from lapsing into a nasty dream of his own somehow, Titus hadn't noticed anything amiss until recently. Somehow the skittish and paranoid students eluded him.
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Posted: Wed May 30, 2012 1:55 pm
Oh, of course it didn't get under his skin. Obviously she wasn't trying hard enough... But at least he was being a good sport about it, she supposed.
Instead of getting all butthurt, Riyo just shook her head and sighed. His answer had been amusing, to say the least. "I think if our minds sync up all of Halloween might be in deep s**t." She pointed out, her own smirk coming back. "Believe me. Next time I'll try harder... T-chan." And she said it with such conviction, too. Definitely his new nickname. If he was gonna call her princess boil, T-chan would suit just fine.
It was obvious though, the fact that Titus had reciprocated the question surprised her. Did he actually care? Probably not, but at the very least he cared enough to ask. "Yeah. I heard too." On the outside, Riyo grimaced... but on the inside the feline was glad that she had been indisposed of at that time. "I guess how I am is a big reason to why I visited you. Before I answer your question, lemme ask you something... Did you come into my dreams again?" Her brow furrowed as she turned her head to him, trying to properly gauge his reaction. It didn't look like she was angry. On the contrary. It seemed the question spawned out of mere curiosity.
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Posted: Wed May 30, 2012 5:08 pm
As soon as 'T-chan' left her lips Titus visibly shuttered. It seemed that did the trick. The name seeped into his very being and physically hurt. He could almost see the sparkles. The horror....the horror.
Thankfully the conversation continued. "Your dreams?" Titus' expression was blank for a moment before a smile started to creep along his lips. "Have you been seeing me in your dreams? It's so good to know you miss me when I'm not around. To answer your question, no I don't think so. I've done my fair share of dream hopping but lately have kept to myself."
Now this was interesting. "So what did you dream about?"
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Posted: Wed May 30, 2012 7:35 pm
Huh, well. That was... Interesting. So it hadn't been him.
Instead of even acknowledging his snide comment of missing him, Riyo propped her head up with her arm and sunk as far down into the chair as far as she would go. Her expression turned thoughtful, if not a little sad. "I dreamt that I woke up. That this world and everything that's happened was just some terrible nightmare I had been engulfed in. My past was practically nonexistent. I lived in a little cottage with my father. He wore a stupid pink apron and called me princess all the time." It was a somewhat embarrassing fact to recall, but if she was going to tell the story, might as well tell it in full.
"It was strange. I could feel everything. If I pinched myself, it hurt. The first day... I let myself get swallowed by the illusion. I was so happy to finally have nothing to worry about that I just wanted to believe it without question." In that respect, she was a little ashamed. It showed on her face. She couldn't hide it. "But even then... I could still hear a little voice. It was faint, but it kept trying to remind me that things would never be that way. That they shouldn't be that way."
Shouldn't be perfect... "Day two I found out that you didn't exist. I didn't really believe it, but at the same time I couldn't bring myself to question such a beautiful existence. So quiet and serene."
Riyo's tail started to sway back and fourth on the couch next to her, like a hungry serpent looking for it's next meal. "By day three I could hear the voice clear as crystal. I'd asked my father about it. About the reality of the situation. He asked me... If the grass was greener up there."
The ghoul paused for a moment, unblinking. "If I was tired of falling down the bottomless pit yet. See, I've always seen myself as a never-ending downward slope. For every tier I sank, there was one lower, and another one, and another one, and I figured I'd never stop falling..." Her voice trailed off before she seemed to snap back into it. "It was prom day. I had no idea who my date was. That was when I found out nobody who ever caused me conflict existed, but I just wanted to see it through until that night. See what all the fuss was about. The red shoes were what finally set me back into the proper mindset." No. What really set her back was seeing the vampire boil there instead of...
Instead of someone else. Okay. So she wasn't telling him the WHOLE truth. "I ran away from it all and found the cliff face. I found the place they'd taken me out of. The pit I'd been falling down for so long. I knew I needed to jump, but I was scared. Scared that I'd keep falling forever...."
"... And then you showed up. I realized you'd been that nagging voice at the back of my head the whole time, reminding me how shitty I was for trying to cheat my way into a perfect world I didn't belong to. You offered to push me. Told me I could find a bottom this time. I asked, 'What if I can't?', and you replied, 'Well s**t, it can't get any worse, can it?'"
Riyo's head rolled slowly towards the boil, her eyes giving him an unimpressed look. "And then you shoved me off the edge of a cliff."
After a moment, she added, "And I thanked you for it."
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Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2012 12:25 pm
Titus wasn't quite expecting the in depth story that Riyo was laying out before him. At first his features showed a snarky confidence but as her story went on it began to fade into confusion.
Dreams hadn't even been safe for him lately so he had steered clear of them for the time being. What she was describing was odd though, almost eerie. Titus wasn't certain what it was like for a normal dreamer but being stuck in dreamscape was terrifying for him.
It was interesting though to hear about this perfect little world the feline had created for herself. There was nothing practical about it and it was at least reassuring that Riyo had some sense to realize something was amiss. Titus would have felt compelled to nag her about it and was almost pleased to hear in the end it had been his voice pestering her.
When she finished up with the fact that she had thanked him for pushing her off the cliff that smile slowly started to return. "So....you did miss me." Was what he got out of that story. He chuckled lightly sitting back into the couch though the next thing he said was a little more serious. "So did you find the bottom?"
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Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2012 1:46 pm
So maybe she had.
There was no point in arguing with him about it. It was probably the truth. Pure and simple. She had missed him. Missed conflict. Missed the conflicts that he threw at her. He was different. A different kind of ally. Most wouldn't even consider him an ally at all.
"I did." She answered softly to his serious question, looking away from the boil and letting her head rest on the back of the couch to stare up at the ceiling. "I found the sharp, rocky bottom. I felt my bones separate and my flesh tear like paper at the sheer pressure gravity inflicted from the instant stop. It was so painful... But... Such a relief to finally stop moving after years of a perpetual fall. I could finally think clearly."
Riyo's eyes closed, thinking back to the weeks prior when she had been an existential mess. "The weeks I spent in my room, I was trying to find myself. It sounds stupid, but I was so confused as to how I was supposed to put the pieces back together. Laying at the bottom of that cliff, I realized that they didn't need to go back in the exact same place. I could put those pieces wherever the Hell I wanted. Even toss some of them if I didn't feel like I needed them. But because of that, I realized how dissatisfied I am with my life." And when you realized such a thing, there were only two options. Die, or change.
"So. I've decided that I'm going to face the root of the problem." The way she said it made it sound so simple, though the cat demon realized more than anything just how hard it would be. "I'm going to face my nightmares. If I'm destroyed in the process, I'll know above all else that I tried." She added a shrug at the end, opening her eyes to look back at the nightmare demon. It was hard for her to hide the fear she felt just thinking about doing such a thing. About visiting that white building again. Seeing that woman. Yes. It was clear she was scared, but there was also determination in those eyes. She was prepared to kick the a** of anyone who stood in her way.
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