{PRP} Bump in the Night (Pavlov & Zahavah)

[divena]

"You're more than a little bit whack-a-doodle, aren't ya?" Zahavah asked, frowning. "Well, I can tell you that there's nothing there. See?" she pranced around him, hoping lightly from one hoof to the other. "What do you think you see, anyway?"  

[Angelique DelaMort]

"A gruesome, messy sight..." he managed cringing as the dark red insides of the bugs stained the mare's hooves. Still, she looked unaffected and blissfully unaware of the horrors beneath her feet. The crunching echoed in his ears. "Yes, I suppose you're right. I'm more than a little bit whack-a-doodle, as you call it."  

[divena]

"Do you always see gruesome horrible things? Or do you see good things sometimes? Wouldn't be so bad if you saw good things," Zahavah considered for a moment then grinned. "Do you ever get confused with what's real and what's not? Bet you do, if you see things that no one else does. You don't seem very good at telling the difference. Not that I could really tell, having just met you and all. I don't usually talk this much."  

[Angelique DelaMort]

The stallion closed his eyes and shook his head, "No, no good, I'm afraid. Actually, that's why I am always afraid. And your observations are correct, I can't tell what's real and what's not real. Not very well at least. I have to depend on the reactions of others, provided that they're real. Sometimes I'm not even sure of that." He exhaled deeply, "It can be, in all, a little maddening. Even when I know something's not real, it still affects me, makes my skin crawl, inspires stats of panic...in short, at least my existence is never dull, nor peaceful."  

[divena]

She studied him for a long moment before grinning. "That sounds like fun to me. I bet you get harassed by a bunch of folks because of that. At least, your condition seems like it's a recipe for disaster to me. Plenty of scumbags looking to make someone like you suffer just so they feel stronger. You ever been picked on by real folks before? Or could you even tell what with not knowing real from hallucination?"  

[Angelique DelaMort]

"I try to keep to myself," he said quietly trying to take in a calming breath. "I don't do well around others. I tend to make them nervous, though I don't blame them. I make myself nervous all the time. But I have to admit, what those that target me have tried to do is nothing in comparison with the horrors of my own mind, I suppose there is a bitter comfort in that." He quirked his head at the small mare, "I must admit, I am curious as to why you haven't run in fear yet? Or at least turned your back on me in disgust. Those are the common reactions I tend to inspire...and I suppose you feel nothing crawling over your legs and hooves?"  

[divena]

“Nope, I don’t feel a thing,” she answered with a dismissive shrug. “Should I? No, don’t answer that. I really don’t care. As for why I haven’t run, you’re interesting. You don’t get many interesting folks. Besides, the way I figure it, if I hang out with you for a bit longer, I might get a decent fight or two. Most folks won’t pick on me because they know better. I’ve got something of a reputation, you know.” She preened a bit at that. It was a hard won reputation, and possibly one that was mostly in her own head. But she was a confident little scrapper.  

[Angelique DelaMort]

Pavlov tilted his head in perplexity at her statement. "You want to fight? More so, how would that work? Do you plan to tackle my unseen demons?" He could not imagine how that would work (and he had a Very good imagination).  

[divena]

“That… hadn’t actually occurred to me,” she admitted, sheepishly. “Not really sure how I could fight something that doesn’t really exist. Though the idea has potential…” she considered that potential for a moment. Could she fight an unseen demon? If his monsters were real and not figments of his imagination, then she probably could. She might need the help of a shaman or angeni, but she had no doubt that her skills were up for the challenge. But if the monsters really were just his imagination, there wasn’t much that she could do for him. “I was actually thinking of just fending off anyone who tried to pick on you.”  

[Angelique DelaMort]

"Oh," the stallion said in the small voice. "That...that might actually be very helpful. Perhaps then I could go among other soquili more often. That might be nice. Um, maybe if you're going to be along anyways...you could um, just maybe, help me in figuring out what's real? And maybe what's not really there...if it's convenient for you, that is..."  

[divena]

"Sure," she shrugged a bit. It'd be no skin off her nose. "I could definitely point out who's real and who isn't."  

[Angelique DelaMort]

"Who, what, where, any or all of the above..." he said slowly trying to think of all the ways things could go wrong for him. "Any of that would be very helpful."  

[divena]

"Well.... might be easier if you told me what you saw. I mean, I can only see what's there, not what's in your head."  

[Angelique DelaMort]

"Oh right..." he said quickly. "Well, I'm guessing the creepy crawlies aren't really there...for starters."  

[divena]

"I don't see any creepy crawlers, so nope," she agreed just a little too cheerfully. "No creepy crawlers here. What else do you see? Oh! Hey! Have you ever considered that maybe real things merge into your hallucinations and that you just don't see anything the way normal people see them? Like, do you really see me the way I am, or the way you see me?"