[ January 1st, ~ 1 am ]

Iduna found her way home alone.

It wasn't out of the ordinary for her these days. Ever since Merric had moved out, Jenn had been alone. Sure, she had friends, she had parents, but it wasn't the same without her brother. Merric had been there her whole life, and even though he was more than a decade older than her he was her closest companion. Yet, for months now he'd been distant and a shadow ever out of her grasp.

The chibi senshi walked through the lit streets, shivering. She'd forgotten her coat in the chaos, in the panic. She'd fought monsters but nothing had prepared her for what happened. The black monsters weren't so bad when you put them next to the people who fought each other. Hurt each other. The half monster woman who held her up and threw her into another person.

Iduna had no idea that people existed like that. Her internal radar thing had been one solid mass of darkness and fear. It terrified her that people could have that much anger and darkness in their hearts. It frightened her that even kids like her weren't safe from it's wrath.

She trembled and crumpled to the ground under a lamppost. She was scared, so very scared. She wanted her brother but he'd disappeared. He'd forgotten her, left her to fend for herself. Her brother, her friend, her protector. The henshin shimmered from her as Jenn fell into a fit of sobs. He wasn't here, he wasn't coming for her. He couldn't protect her. He wasn't going to. He hadn't for a long while. She pulled the phone out from her small purse and high lighted the name for her dad, and hesitated.

Things were not as happy as they let on when friends were over. In the year Merric had been moved out (maybe two), Jennifer had heard more arguments and more clashes than in her entire life. The first few months had been terrifying, never knowing if she was going to hear sirens or if she'd find one parent dead in a pool of blood or walked out. As time went on, she grew desensitized to it. It usually went something like this: her mother would drink wine after dinner in the living room. Her father would come down from grading papers to find the empty bottle on the table.

It would, predictably, escalate from there.

She hated it, but every time she tried to fix it, one or both of them would yell at her instead, calling her a brat, telling her to do her homework and stop crying. In the last few months she'd decided to keep her mouth shut and pretend to ignore it. She ignored the arguments, ignored the throwing of objects, and ruled over her court of dolls and ponies. At school she fell into her role of 'Princess Jennifer' with pride; being the teacher's pet and the highest in her class meant her mother's drunken anger was never turned on her. Besides, presiding over a court of low commoners was empowering to her.

Yet, her parent's monsters were less scary than the real, breathing monsters she's seen tonight. She dialed the number and waited.

Her father picked up, groggy but concerned.

"D-daddy... the party... it... it..." she never got much farther before she devolved into a puddle of sobs.

She slept with the lights on that night, trembling beneath her blankets.

[ WC: 573 ]