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 Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 12:22 pm
Xiu relaxed slightly when it was revealed that the figure was Riyo. A Riyo who looked worse for wear--poor ghoul!--but it was still clearly her. Slowly, Xiu glanced between the two Riyos, her brows furrowing in thought. The older bakeneko's attitude seemed to mirror what she saw in the ghoul in the waking world, but the little one's attitude...
It was such a great contrast. The older Riyo seemed pessimistic and jaded, closing herself off to others, while the little Riyo looked as if she were desperate for company. It seemed much of this had to do with...their father?
Hmm.
Keeping a hand on the little Riyo's shoulder and pulling her close, Xiu shook her head as the other ghoul spoke. "But isn't it lonely? Not trusting anyone and distancing yourself..." There was a pause, and then, "...Do you...do you even trust yourself?"
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Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 4:10 pm
"Lonely? Hah. There are worse things than loneliness." The taller Riyo responded immediately, but seemed taken aback by the question of whether she trusted herself or not. "What's not to trust?" She asked and gestured both hands towards the small child practically clutching to Xiu for dear life.
"It is... Terribly lonely." The child sighed, her eyes slinking to the ground as she switched her grip to clutch the fabric of Xiu's clothing. "She won't even push me on the swing... And she won't tell me what she does... Up there."
A small pointer finger gestured up to perhaps something tucked behind the fog, until it seemed to cave into the ghoul's whim. The mist began to peel back, and off to the side was a large building. Not quite skyscraper height, but more than a few stories.
The taller feline scowled as the large structure came into sight, grabbing the smaller ghoul's outstretched hand to pull her away from the baku.
... But not because she was mad.
Immediately the bandaged hands cupped over the smaller ghoul's ears as the doors opened. At first, only a hissing noise flowed out of the building much like the musty fog that surrounded them, but sharp, almost bullet-like words followed.
"You took everything from me, you b***h." "I ******** hate you!" "Look at what you've done to me." "There are no good words to describe what you do." "What a miserable creature you must be." "Please don't take away my money.. It's all I have left..."
All from different voices in different states of pain. None of the words seemed to effect the small child as she stood and blinked, her eyes glancing up towards her larger counterpart... Who was bleeding.
The larger demon winced at the painful onslaught, but let out a big sigh as the doors closed. Her hands slowly retracted from the ghoul's ears. "You don't have to do that, you know!" Little Riyo scoffed and crossed her arms. "I can handle it."
The bigger figure simply shook her head. "I've done many terrible things to people." She admitted, to both herself and Xiu. "But... It was all necessary." At least, she was trying to convince herself it was necessary. "So I could look out for me, cause nobody else is."
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Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 6:13 pm
"It's just, you don't seem to accept yourself," Xiu spoke carefully, motioning towards the little Riyo with her newly freed hand, "You...you sound like you don't care about being alone, but...what about this ghoul here? Aren't you ignoring and suppressing her feelings?"
Xiu hadn't dived into many of these kinds of dreams since arriving in Amityville, but her parents and uncle had told her a lot about them. Was this one of those dreams where the dreamer's psyche was split into different parts? It was like the persona and the shadow: the former was the mask that Riyo wore in public, while the latter was the side of her that she repressed.
There wasn't much time for her to dwell on this, though. She was a little alarmed when the little ghoul was pulled away from her, but she realized the reason for it when the doors of the building suddenly swung open. Xiu bit her lip at the voices. Though she was confused--were they yelling at Riyo? Why?--the animosity in some of the voices frightened her, while she felt a hint of pity for others.
When she turned back to look at the bakenekos, her eyes widened slightly at the sight of the older Riyo bleeding. Taking a step forward, she held her hand out to the ghoul. "Who...who says that no one else is looking out for you? And if they were to genuinely look out for you...would you accept their help?"
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Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 6:46 pm
As the older-looking Riyo started talking, little Riyo let out a hmph and ran to the other side of the playground to retrieve something.
The larger of the two watched her run off, though didn't seem to let her out of sight... "Yes, I am... I am suppressing them. For good reason." One that it didn't look like she would explain... Yet...
As a hand was held out to her, the feline practically stared holes into it. Reaching her own out, it looked for a minute as if she would take it... But immediately smacked it away. "Genuinely look out for me? I doubt anyone understands what they're looking out for. You really haven't seen anything yet."
The sound of little feet running toward them caught bigger Riyo's attention, immediately smacking her head and looking away. "Jeez..."
Little Riyo had apparently done a little craft project. Two cardboard wings were pinned to her back, one with black crayon and the other with white, and in her hand was a stick with a pointed rock tied to the end of it. "Haha, Guess who I am! Guess who I am!" She chanted and ran around the two with a big smile on her face. "Can't dwell on the past too long, friend! Gonna miss the present!"
"Shut up! I hear that enough." The bigger one hissed. "That idiot doesn't know what she's talking about."
"Aww... But she's nice. AND smart! I like her. I think we should be friends with her too~"
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Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 11:02 pm
She had expected her hand to be smacked away, so Xiu didn't seem particular bothered by that fact. However, she did frown at her words. "Then tell me, Riyo. What is it that I'd be looking out for? Should you let people decide for themselves rather than automatically assume that they're going to reject helping you?" Maybe it was because she was, in a sense, in her own element, but Xiu seemed a lot more assertive than usual. Then again, she was here for a reason, and that was to help Riyo. The ghoul had come to her for help--or to volunteer, as she had called it--so she would try to do exactly that.
She perked up when Little Riyo came running back. At first, Xiu was silently, blinking a bit blankly at the new additions to the young ghoul's appearance. After a few seconds ticked by in silence, she smiled, and then laughed.
Little Riyo was just so precious. "Hmmm, I don't know! I wonder who you are?" Xiu crouched down, pretending to think for a moment before brightening up, "Oh! Are you...Hel?"
And again, Xiu was treated to another glimpse of the conflicting feelings. There was the older Riyo's refusal to accept Hel, and the little Riyo's desire to become friends with the reaper. Did the Riyo in the waking world struggle between these two all the time?
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Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2011 5:21 pm
The larger, stoic Riyo laughed, which was creepy in and of itself. But... It turned into a nervous laugh. She didn't LIKE the way Xiu was calmly prying information from her. It was unsettling, and she was getting too close.
"That." The taller ghoul pointed forward, and much like previously, the fog slowly started to clear. Less than fifty feet away from where they stood was a huge, foreboding building, circular in shape with an eerie white color on all sides. As if it was, ironically, a sick kind of clean. One could almost smell the bleach.
Was it... A hospital?
A big nod followed Xiu's guess. "Yay Xiu! You got it right!" Turning around, the little ghoul seemed to pull something out of her pocket and held up a... Paper cowboil hat. Crudely made, but you could at least tell it was a hat. "You win the prize, partner." Oh Jeez, cute overload.
But as soon as she saw the other building appear, a frown cracked through her usually happy demeanor. "... I don't like that place." She whispered, her hands reaching to grasp Xiu's clothes once again. "... We don't know what she looks like anymore." Who?
"That." The taller Riyo repeated. "Is why this side was created." As she spoke, she gestured toward herself. "That is why we are the way we are..." Her eyes narrowed on the doors, as if cautious that they may open any moment. "I tell you this, not because I want you to go in... I wouldn't wish that on any living creature... I tell you this to warn you." There was a moment of sincerity in her voice, as if she wasn't thinking for herself, but for the sake of the baku.
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Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2011 6:02 pm
Xiu wasn't sure what to think when she turned to see the large, white building. To her, it was just as ordinary--albeit somewhat unnerving--hospital building, but it was clear that the two Riyos, both older and younger, did not share the same sentiment.
She had laughed when Little Riyo suddenly mimicked Mot (it was probably the cutest thing she had ever seen), but her happy expression had disappeared with the little ghoul's smile. That building must have been something special if it could cause such a cheerful ghoul to react in such a way. She let her clothing be grasped without any complaint, reaching out to put a comforting arm around the ghoul. Little Riyo's words, however, puzzled her.
"'Her'?" Xiu echoed, stooping down so that she was eye level with the shorter demon, "Riyo, who is this 'her'?" And what did she have to do with a hospital building?
Her gaze snapped back to the older bakeneko as she began to speak again. The reason this side was created, and the reason they were the way they were...were the answers located in that hospital, then? Slowly, baku rose back onto her feet, trying to keep her voice steady as she spoke. "If I were to go in there...what would I find? Who would I find?"
She wasn't even sure if it was a good idea for her to try wandering in--or if it was even possible--but she wouldn't be of any help if she didn't find the answers to some of her questions. As it was, she still didn't have a clear picture on what was plaguing Riyo's dreams.
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Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2011 12:34 pm
At first, little Riyo could only shake her head with her eyes clenched shut, as if the very idea of whatever hid behind those walls pained her. Slowly, reluctantly, she started to settle. "I um... Mm..." The ghoul tried to explain it, but it seemed the words were glued to the roof of her mouth.
"What you would find doesn't matter." The taller one immediately followed up. "You don't want in there. Nobody actually wants in, but all of them want out. It's a-"
Her mouth ceased moving as the doors of the building flung open like a wooden gate would give for a battering ram. As if someone had flipped a light switch, the sullen mist cleared, tossed out of existence. Around them were structures made completely of glass. Glass trees, glass buildings, glass vehicles, and glass light posts. Some were already cracking from the noise of the doors.
A stomping sound broke the second long silence, coming directly from inside the now open portal. The glass trees began to shatter.
There was a figure in that doorway, dressed in pure white. It was hard to tell from the distance what exactly she? Yes, she. What she was wearing... But what could be seen was the fact that she was hunched over, the short blonde hair long enough to cover the features of her face.
It appeared that the very sight of this person brought both Riyo's to freeze in fear. "We need to run.." The older one whispered. "WE NEED TO RUN." It was an afterthought, however, as serpent-like objects slithered to them with a breakneck speed. Upon closer inspection, one might be able to see that they were the straps used to secure patients to their beds.
Before either of the two felines could even take a step, their legs were tightly wrapped with these practically sentient devices.
"XIU!" The little one screeched as she was yanked off of her feet and dragged towards the building.
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Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2011 5:08 pm
Things were happening far too fast. Xiu struggled to keep a grip on her calm persona as she watched the glass objects shatter around them, and then...who was that stepping out of the hospital? She opened her mouth to greet this new figure, but her words were cut off by the older Riyo's panicked whisper. "Get away?" She echoed, casting a quick glance over her shoulder at the bakeneko, "From wha--"
Her question was answered even before she had a chance to finish voicing it. Xiu visibly bristled in alarm when the straps came flying out at the two felines. She immediately made to grab at them, but she missed, her fingers grazing the older Riyo's clothing. And the younger...
"R-riyo, hang on! Both of you!" The sight of her friend (because in Xiu's mind, Riyo was her friend) and the sweet little ghoul getting dragged off was a horrifying one. Dangerous or not, the baku began to pursue them, having no intention of letting them disappear beyond those doors. Not alone, at least, and not if she could help it.
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Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 10:11 am
The straps began pulling faster as the baku pursued, the smaller Riyo screeching the whole way while the larger of the two struggled to get free to no avail. both of them knew where they were going and why... But neither could even process what the outcome might be.
As the two passed the remaining objects, on their descent to what one could only assume to be disaster, they began to burst, puddles of broken glass now decorating the scene. It was barren and painful to look at.
It didn't take long for the duo to disappear into the building, the figure following them to their destination. Luckily for the baku, the doors were closing slowly, allowing ample time for her to enter.
When they finally shut, it was loud and bellowing as if there would be no escape. The inside was dank and dark, a little darker than most hospitals. Most of the walls were that same blinding white, and the smell of sick and bleach mingled together like a deadly concoction. On the wall directly in front of the doors, there were garbled letters on their last hinges, doing their best to spell out "7th Layer Asylum". The worst kind of hospital, in Riyo's opinion.
A couple of stray straps retreated down the left hall, where muffled screams could be heard. Ten rooms down, a door slammed tightly shut. Inside, tucked behind a sheet of 'protective' glass, both Riyo's sat strapped to chairs in a cubicle-like room... Right across from the figure.
It was much easier to see now that the woman sitting across from them was in a patient's gown, her hair practically mirroring little Riyo's. Another point of interest was the fact that this woman's feline appendages were pure white, much like everything else in this place, and her tail was much thicker and fuzzier than the two in front of her. The hair was still covering up her facial features.
Both young cat ghouls looked terrified, horrified at the sight before them. Neither wanted to move as if at risk of being devoured by some vicious beast.
"Fancy seeing you here." The figure whispered as it leaned back in the chair, a smile apparent in it's voice. "I knew you were bound to show up here eventually."
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Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 4:40 pm
Xiu tried to ignore everything else, the glass pieces crunching beneath her shoes as she dashed for the door. What in Halloween was going on here?! Despite the many times that this had happened, the baku still wasn't used to the fact that some dreams would take a sudden turn without any warning at all. She watched as her friends--friend?--was pulled into the hospital, the figure following after them. She was a little alarmed to see the doors starting to close, but...no, nothing to worry about. She would definitely make it.
The sound of the doors slamming shut behind her made Xiu shudder, but didn't dwell on it for long, her gaze sweeping the interior of the building. Wrinkling her nose, she covered her mouth and nose with a hand as the smell assaulted her. Ugh, this place was...
Her gaze caught the letters hanging on the wall in front of her. "...Asylum?" Why would they be in an asylum, and what did this have to do with Riyo?
Her head jerked up at the screams, and the she saw them: the straps disappearing down the hall. At once, the baku was running again, trailing after them with no intention of letting them out of sight. Unfortunately, she was too slow--the straps slithered through a door that promptly shut itself. What now?
Xiu peered through the glass and into the room, her stomach clenching uncomfortably as she spotted both Riyos with...the woman. Was that...? It didn't matter right now. Balling one of her hands into a fist, she pounded against the glass. "Riyo!" Whether the figure could see or hear her, she didn't know, but she supposed that she would find out very soon.
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Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 10:01 pm
Either the figure didn't notice Xiu or she wasn't ready to acknowledge her.
"You tried so hard." She continued, a careless hand gesturing to the side. "To be someone else, didn't you?" The sound of the woman's voice came through the intercom and resonated through the whole building. This was it.
When little Riyo heard Xiu's voice, her terrified face turned towards the glass, though she just couldn't seem to speak. Whoever this was, she feared more than death.
"But in your efforts to be different led you in a circle, didn't they?" She hissed, sitting back up and moving to her slightly awkward feet.
Immediately little Riyo started to cry. "I'm not like you!" The small feline said miserably, looking at her larger self. "We're not like her, right?"
The larger of the two could only shut her eyes and turn her head away in shame. No. It was true. There was only so much she could do about it. Either leave herself open and take more damage... Or close herself off and become the lonely woman she had feared for so long.
"Yesssssss. Look at you. You're a terrible person. Moreover, you try to pass it off as necessary. Haha! I knew it. I knew it all along."
The small child looked back to the window momentarily, then to her other self. "Why would you do this to me?!" She screeched, tears gracing the straps that held her down. "I wanted to make people happy... I wanted them to smile when I came into a room, not scowl! Don't you think we got enough of that?!"
Her other persona seemed shocked at the sudden uproar. "But... I protected you! I kept you safe. How can you look at me with contempt after all I've done for you?!"
"YOU'VE DONE NOTHING BUT RUIN ME! I HATE YOU!"
That was...
That was it. Both Riyo's seemed to have an aha moment as the words repeated through the microphone.
She hated herself. She despised what she had become for the sake of trying to save what she had. Every time she had tried to take comfort within the confines of her mind, it had been a lie. A filthy, dirty lie.
The glass keeping Xiu out slowly started to crack, the two Riyo's shattering with the wall and leaving the one seen on a daily bases tied down to the chair. Those red eyes were completely blank, as if one word had managed to break the world she held together with tape and popscicle sticks.
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Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 10:47 pm
It was hard to watch, but perhaps it was for the best that Xiu was blocked off from them. When she sensed that something important was happening in Riyo's mind--a realization that was setting in--she immediately stopped pounding on the glass. Standing behind the barrier, she was silent as she listened to the exchange. Were these the thoughts--the nightmares--that had been plaguing the bakeneko's mind for so long?
Xiu's eyes widened as the glass began to crack. Taking this as a warning, she turned around and ducked just as the wall shattered, raining little bits of glass down on her. It was an instinctive action more than anything, but once she was certain that it was safe, the baku slowly rose to her feet and glanced into the room.
"Riyo!" There was only one Riyo now, but it was the one who she was used to seeing. Rushing in the room, she crouched down beside the chair and immediately worked on undoing the bonds. As she did so, her gaze flickered up to meet the other ghoul's. "Riyo? Riyo, can you hear me?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2011 12:06 pm
Riyo didn't say anything when Xiu tried to get her attention. The ghoul's gaze was now fixed on the one in front of her. She couldn't look away. For whatever reason, she just couldn't bring herself to look away.
"I'm sorry Xiu." She finally said as the woman started to approach. "I realize now why I fight so hard to keep you guys away..." Her voice slunk down to a whisper as a hand came down upon her shoulder.
"There is nothing of worth here. You are useless, Riyo. Absolutely useless. Just like your b*****d father. It should've been you here on that day... But it's obvious now that fate did you no favors by keeping you out. What a waste."
With her other hand, the woman moved the hair from her face.
... She looked just like Riyo, except with terrifyingly blue eyes. It was what the ghoul had feared.
They were exactly alike. She had become what she always dreaded. "It doesn't matter now, though. You're here for good, aren't you?"
The younger feline's body started to shiver and shake as she looked up at the face. "No... No!"
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Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2011 8:42 pm
She had gotten most of the bounds loose--just one left. However, Xiu paused to look up at Riyo in surprise, eyes widening slightly at the apology. "You...no, Riyo." She frowned, her brows furrowing with disapproval as she heard the voice of the woman standing behind Riyo. Her gaze slid towards her briefly, and then moved back to her friend. "No, Riyo. Don't apologize for that. I...I understand a little better about why you do it now."
She felt silent for a moment. When she spoke again, her voice was firm. "And you are not useless--not in the least! No one here thinks of you in such a way--not me, or Mitsu, or Mot, or anyone!--but you need to stop thinking of yourself as useless."
Xiu finally managed to work free the last strap at last. Noting how the bakeneko was shaking, she reached out to rest a hand on her shoulder, trying to ignore the woman as best as she could. "Riyo, no matter how alike you two may be, you are your own person."
The easiest way to get rid of this nightmare was if she were to eat it, and Xiu would...but only as a last resort. If Riyo could get through this one her own, with pushes in the right direction from Xiu, then that would probably be the most beneficial path for the bakeneko.
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