Welcome to Gaia! ::

_____Day after day, that pretty little ghoul across the hall came in and out of her apartment. Every day she looked stunningly beautiful, ornate and elegant, tempting and sultry, frilly and innocent, she had such a wide range of fashion! She was polite, pleasant, and so very lovely; whoever raised her did a very good job from the looks of it. But even despite all of that...there was a certain..sadness about her. For every smile the ghoul offered, every cheerful good morning and good afternoon, there was some underlying melancholy that had the old witch across the hall growing increasingly concerned for her.

Well, it was time to put an end to that.

_____Wilhemina Holtzer was an old witch, a spinster; she had never married, never visited the pumpkin patch, just had a lot of minipets and a lot of food in her home. She also thought of herself as something of a savior for young scarelings and well anyone was a scareling in comparison to her, really. It was for this reason that she stood outside Junko's door today, waiting all morning for her to finally leave her apartment. When it happened the ghoul was her usual polite self, and it seemed she had opted for something frilly and innocent today. Ah, how perfect! Junko smiled at the old witch, bowing her head politely and greeting her in her usual manner before attempting to excuse herself and make her way down the stairs to leave for whatever it was she had planned for the day. But oh no, Wilhemina had a mission today and she was not going to let that sweet young ghoul mope away. Not this time! Not on her watch! She had called out to the ghoul, surprising her with her insistence that she come in for tea. Junko, unable to say no, ultimately accepted her fate and followed her curiously into her apartment. What Wilhemina had planned for her was very surprising to say the least!

_____Three days later Junko and Wilhemina stood in the middle of a town. Not just any town, either. A human town. Junko's eyes were wide as saucers and her jaw dropped as she watched humans walk right on by without even a glance in her or Wilhemina's direction. A week in the human world, living among them and surviving and blending in, showing she could have her very own passport to come whenever she wanted. It was a change of pace Junko hadn't been expecting but...but maybe she needed this. Maybe this would help keep her mind of Seiji.

"Now, I'll show you how to make yourself visible to humans when we get to my little house here in town. You can live there with me for the week, make yourself at home, do whatever you like. I trust you, dear!" Wilhemina croaked pleasantly as she ushered Junko toward a nearby house. It was average looking, it was clearly built by humans for humans. Oh, what would they think if they knew it was occupied by a witch? They entered the home and immediately Wilhemina set to opening windows and curtains to let the air and light in and help with the stagnant air of an unused home. Meanwhile, Junko had looked all around the house while wandering through it. Eventually Wilhemina caught up to her. "Your room is through this door here," she explained while opening a doorway to a cute little guest room. "You can set your stuff down here. Now! Before we get started..your hair. It's lovely, but...I've never met a human with hair quite like yours. Ohhh, and those eyes of yours. Hm. Perhaps a pair of human sunglasses will do. Good thing it's sunny today. Have you ever been to the human world before, dear?"

Junko nodded. "Yes, ma'am. Amityville Academy hosted several field trips to the human world but we were all disguised for them, I never showed my actual face.." Did she look human enough for that? Already she was working on braiding her hair to attempt to give it the illusion of a slightly shorter look.

Wilhemina smiled and clapped her hands. "Very good! You fix your hair and I'll go start lunch. We'll work on concentrating your fear for visibility when we’re done." The old witch then wandered off into another part of the house, her creaky old voice could be heard singing as she left Junko's sight. When finally alone she sat down heavily on the bed, still intricately braiding her hair. A week in the human world...this would certainly be interesting.

_____The next day Junko was urged to wear something not so attention grabbing. She needed to blend in, not stand out. Her presence alone was going to be enough to get people looking her way so she really didn't need to parade around in all of her cultural pride. It took time but eventually she settled on a simple black sheer dress over a cream dress that stopped just above her knees, knee-high socks, and black heels to match. Her hair was braided and styled until it didn't touch the floor; the best Junko could do was to her knees without looking absolutely ridiculous. It was close enough. Finally she was given a pair of big obnoxious sunglasses to cover up her glowing eyes. Thankfully it was a bright, sunny day.

"Now, to anyone who asks! You are my granddaughter, your name is Abigail. You are visiting me while your mother and father are traveling overseas for work, but they couldn't bring you along for..whatever reasons you want." Junko made a slight face. Abigail? Eh..okay. If she insisted. They walked down the sidewalk, and Junko found herself unable to stop herself from looking around at everything. She clearly wasn't familiar with this place but at the very least she didn't make a spectacle out of it. The old witch seemed amused by the ghoul's quiet excitement. They went undisturbed for the most part save for the occasional polite greeting. It was a simple walk to the park, around the park, and then finally home.

Tomorrow would be more extensive.

_____A nearly blinding brightness woke Junko the next morning. She winced and sat up, hands over her eyes and her body shying away from the window. It was so bright! What was that!? She opened one eye enough to get another eyeful of light. Too much night. It was unnatural, at least to Junko. The bright morning sun was aimed right at her window and its light peeked through the dark curtains she'd closed over her window. Blindly she reached for the sunglasses she had left on her bedside table, and now she was very glad she had done that. She was still squinting even after she put on the large sunglasses. How did humans see anything with a sun this bright?! Junko sorely missed the orange pumpkin sun as she climbed out of bed and made her way to her closet. Dress..human.

...How did humans dress? Wilhemina had chosen her attire the day before and it was nice enough, but not really Junko's style. Maybe she had something around here that would help her out. She closed the closet doors and made her way to her window, carefully peeking outside to look down at the street below her. There were a few humans on the street, mostly men in sharp suits on skellyphones and mothers in jogging attire with tiny little scarelings in what looked like the strangest stroller she had ever seen. It looked like a cage! Were human scarelings unruly? Did they need to be caged until a certain age? How peculiar for a human. Right? That was strange, wasn't it?

Sighing, Junko walked up to her closet and started to dig through it. What did she have that wouldn't get her strange looks in the human world? She pushed things left and right, looking them up and down with a critical eye. Most of what she had brought was black..that was fine, right? Humans wore black, she'd seen it during field trips when she'd been a student. She pulled a strapless dress, one she recalled Lizzy had given her. This would do. It had a long skirt with a pattern depicting old-style Japanese art, and most of it was blue or a lovely shade of blue-green. Black tights and matching heels would do just fine, all she needed still would be those 'sun'glasses she had been given the day before. How were humans able to see here? It was so bright.

You can do this, Junko. You've got this. She stood before her mirror and straightened out her dress, looking herself up and down while taking a deep, calming breath. You can do this. "Remember, no talking. There's time for that later, but we need to get...adjusted, and prove we can survive here without drawing attention to ourselves. Got that?" Glowing green eyes narrowed at her reflection in the mirror. There came a huff from a gruff voice.

"Look at me, I'm big and bossy and all that. La de da~."

Junko scowled. "Mistress."

"Yes, yes, I get it. Silence."

"Right..well...let's..go, then." Steeling herself, she took a deep breath and stepped out the front door. Junko winced at first, squinting her eyes despite her big sunglasses, but he managed to adjust well enough by the time she was down the front walkway and on the sidewalk in time for a young man to pass by her. He slowed, glancing back at her to look her up and down and then flash her what she supposed was a charming smile before he continued on his way with a quick wink in her direction. Junko frowned. Well..that was...strange. Shaking her head, she walked in the opposite direction of the young man. It was so strange to walk among humans and pretend she was one without some sort of disguise; it was even stranger to have to walk among them and pretend her hair was boring and lifeless like theirs. But thankfully there were much more distracting things to keep her attention off her feelings such as the leaves on that tree. They were green. Why were the leaves green? She stopped to gaze up at it, even reaching up to pluck one off the closest branch in her reach and then continue down the sidewalk. It was soft..alive? Weird, she'd never seen green leaves before. And those flowers were strange. So..bright and happy looking. That one was yellow and taller than her! Weird. Twirling the leaf between her fingers, Junko stopped at a street corner and looked up at a camera on the side of the building beside her. She took a step forward only to hear an obnoxious blaring horn and feel the grab and pull of someone taking her by the arm and dragging her out of the way of the street in time for a shiny red sports car to swerve out of the way of just barely avoiding hitting her.

What. Was that.

"Whoa, chick! You gotta watch where you're going? You blind're something?" Junko's shoulders raised defensively as she whirled around, slapping away the hand of the human calling her 'chick'.

"There's no need to be rude! I didn't see it." She looked her rude rescuer up and down, assessing him. He was a young man, probably only slightly older than herself, and he was dressed in a fairly familiar way to an extent. There were small holes in his earlobe lined with black rims, and the rest of his left ear was lined with various different types of piercings, and he had a stud shining from his right eyebrow. His hair was originally brown from the looks of it, but it seemed he had decided to messily color it various shades of blue and green for a poorly done ombre effect. Well. Okay. However it was his clothing that got her most critical eye.

It was..passable, she supposed. His jeans were too tight, though perhaps human males were not designed in the same manner as--no. Don't think about that. She at least knew a few boils who would approve of his choice of boots, or his t-shirt and open sleeveless hoodie design. The corner of her mouth twitched, a small frown touching her features before she forced herself to look up again. The young man stood with his arms crossed.

"Yeah whatever, just don't go walkin' into streets without looking. Jesus, you're gonna get yourself killed're somethin'." Shaking his head, he rolled his eyes and started across the street. Junko huffed, cheeks puffing as she pouted and turned in the direction he was walking, fists clenched tight and held low at her side.

"My name is Junko not Jesus!" Wait. Wait! Nonono! She was supposed to be Abigail! Craaaaaap. But he didn't seem to reply, he simply waved his hand in a dismissive gesture beside his head without even looking her way. Junko's eyes narrowed behind her sunglasses. Rude. At least he didn't say anything. Sighing, she crossed her arms and waited. There were signs with lit symbols on them, one was a white figure and the other was an orange hand. It wasn't difficult to figure out what the hand meant.

The rest of the day was rather uneventful as far as days go. Junko explored the town, familiarizing herself with the streets and alleys and places around her. Would Wilhemina allow her to scare one of the days they were here, perhaps? It sounded like something that could be fun for her to do right before she left. Oh, the opportunities! She was smiling quietly to herself as she walked up to the front door of Wilhemina's door and let herself in. The old witch was in the kitchen at first, though she soon came out wiping her hands on an apron to greet her.

"Did you have a good time on your first day, dear?" She asked with a big smile. Junko nodded, removing the sunglasses and beginning to free her hair from its confines.

"Yes! Humans are still as strange as ever. May I--.." She blinked, sniffing. "Are you..cooking?" Her smile faltered. "Last time I ate in the human world it was..disgusting. It was like eating dirt, it actually made me sick..?" Was that not...normal?

Wilhemina laughed, waving a hand. "Don't you worry, child. I simply cook to keep up with appearances. Neighbors in the human world can be quite nosy, so if I don't cook or make cookies every now and then they get suspicious."

Junko's eyes widened. "Oh! That does make a lot of sense. May I assist you?"

"I would be delighted, child! Come, there was also something else you wanted?"

"Ah, yes! I was hoping I could perhaps ask you some questions about this town and humans in general? I saw a few things today that I was never taught about, or..well...some of them are different from what I was taught," Junko admitted sheepishly, blushing as she plucked an apron off the hook and tied it on.

Wilhemina gave a chuckle and nodded her head. "Not a problem, my dear. Ask away!"

_____The last four days had been quite fun for Junko. She had begun to create a character for herself. The sun was not something she found terribly pleasant, so after the second day she had added a pretty parasol to her attire. Parasol, sunglasses, it was the perfect combination. The town was lovely, if a little bright for her tastes, and she found it almost inspiring. Already Junko had sketched out four different designs that she wouldn't have come up with had she not explored this town. She was actually rather excited to start making them when she returned to Halloween!

Suddenly something gave a slight tug tug at her skirt, causing her to stop walking and look down at a tiny little scareling likely not older than five years old. Junko smiled and bent her knees, resting an arm on her lap to keep herself steady once she was eye level with the ghoul. "Yes?"

The little girl frowned. "Is it apposedta rain?"

Junko blinked. "I don't..think so. Why do you ask?"

"Then home come's you got an umbrella?" She pointed up at Junko's parasol and Junko, as if she had forgotten what the little scareling meant, looked up at it as well.

"Oh! Well, you see, I'm very sensitive to the light, but I still like to go outside. So I cover my eyes and use a parasol for shade, and it helps keep the sun off me." Junko smiled. The little girl's eyes widened.

"Are you a vampire?" She asked in what could only be described as a loud whisper. Junko's eyes widened.

"Wh-what? No! Nothing of the sort!" She laughed. "I'm very much alive. Besides, ghosts are way more impressive than vampires." And though the little scareling couldn't see it, she winked and finally straightened up again. "I have to get going now. You be good, okay?"

Still gazing upon her with awe, the child nodded and ran off. Junko chuckled, shaking her head as she continued along down the path. Cute. But she had errands to run, she couldn't stop at every person and chat. At the very least less people were asking her about why she had so much hair, or how much hair she had, or how she took care of so much hair, or if it was all her real true to God hair. She didn't know who God was, but she always answered yes anyway? How did her neck not get sore, did she have back problems, if only whatever made her hair so big made her tits or her a** big instead--excuse you, she felt her figure was quite perfect as it was. Boils were so rude sometimes. Her sunglasses stayed on once she was inside the grocery store, but at least she closed the parasol and put it in a cart. She still thought this place was strange. A mart that should sell walls, it was even in the name, but it didn't. Why bother with that? Honestly. She stopped a moment to search through her purse and find her shopping list, pushing her cart once she had it in hand.

"Abigail?" A woman's voice called out as Junko passed by an aisle. She almost didn't stop.

"Psst! That's you!" Hissed The Mistress where no one could hear Her. Junko blinked and turned her head to look over her shoulder just as Wilhemina's neighbor came out from the aisle she had passed. Oh, right. This lady. Wilhemina had warned Junko about her; she was a busybody, constantly asking Wilhemina questions and getting suspicious that the old woman didn't spend a lot of time in her house. Wilhemina only lived in this house every few months with the story for humans that she often needed to visit her son and take care of the children while he worked. Junko had worked well with the story saying she needed to bring the girl here instead of staying away from home. Most people took it well.

This neighbor, however, was nosy.

Junko smiled. "Hello, Missus Tully," she greeted with nothing but politeness, "How are you?"

Missus Tully gave Junko a too-sweet smile. "Oh, I'm just fine, dear. Came out for a bit of shopping, my grandson is coming to visit and I plan on making his favorites." A pause. "Do you have a favorite dish?"

"Not really, I'll eat a little of everything," she answered without batting an eye. Missus Tully frowned briefly, but she quickly regained her smile. This little mystery was a tough cookie to crack.

"Why don't we walk together, I would so love to get to know you better," she crooned. Junko's smile strained slightly. What was she up to?

"Sure.."

_____Just another quiet afternoon. Junko was doing her usual errand run in addition to being on the phone with a fussy client. She didn't know how creeple who only had two arms to carry everything did it! It was hassling even with the help of her hair! "So you want a third dress, one to match the first one--" she blinked, sounding unsure about her next question, "--for your hazmutt?"

Yes, apparently.

"Ah, all right." What. "Just bring her by and I'll measure her up." What.

What.

Shaking her head, Seiji was her next call.

"So then she's like, can you do clothing for minipets? Uh, yes. Of course!" She laughed, "now I have to make a dress for a hazmutt. Are they similar enough to Scareons and Pygmy Foxes, I wonder?" Chuckling, Junko shook her head and started making her way across the street. She grinned. "Of course I can do it, I can do anything." Another pause as she stopped in front of her apartment building. "I know you can't stay over but do you want to come by for dinner?" She asked as she began fishing around in her purse for her key. "I feel like cooki--gah.." Her key had fallen to the ground. "Hm? Oh, nothing, just dropped my key." A long tendril of hair reached for it.

Another hand grabbed it from the ground instead and Junko smiled. "Oh! Tha--..." Her jaw dropped and glowing green eyes widened with a look of shock when she looked up to see who had helped her. Longer hair, a tired face, dull brown eyes that looked right back at her from a face she would never forget. "A..actually...let me call you back. Huh? Oh, no. I’m fine. No, really. Just a surprise visitor..love you, too.." The call was ended and the phone put away.

She took a deep breath as she regarded the woman before her. The same height, her hair pulled up and braided and tied with strips of fabric and ribbons of all colors and sizes in an effort to keep her hair from being wrecked out and about in the streets, and the same face as Junko...only older, and paler, and more tired. It was not a face she expected to see ever again let alone in front of her apartment. Junko straightened up and cleared her throat. "....." she hesitated and bowed her head. ""

"leave?!> Shrieked The Empress. Junko winced and looked around. If She kept on like that creeple on the street would surely notice and start staring, or worse they would start talking. "sixteen years! Took care of you when you whined and moped and sent you to that school and this is how you repay us?!>"

Junko held up her hands and shook her head. "" A panicked look was given to the creeple across the street when The Empress began to shriek 'STOP?!' Oh no, oh no..!

Finally The Mistress stepped in. "too hard to get where she is! If you want to scream at her like a crazed banshee, we’ll do it inside!>" The key was taken from Junko's hand and shoved into the door of the building, then another tendril of hair opened it and gestured for Junko’s mother to go in first. The woman frowned and bowed her head, quietly making her way into the building. "" The Mistress barked.

Junko sighed and followed behind them, not saying another word.

"Now.>" The Empress barked out the moment Junko's mother crossed the threshold into Junko's apartment. The ghoul frowned and nodded, setting her bags down by the front door to begin preparing what The Empress wanted. Meanwhile Junko's mother wandered further into the apartment. She had not said a single word, and honestly Junko could only remember a small handful of times since breaking down to the pressures of her second mouth. Junko glanced back at her as she walked around the small space inspecting things with a blank look on her face..as always. Sayuri and Kuro had at first been excited that mommy had returned home, Momo as well, but the two pygmy foxes quickly backed away and huddled in a corner at the sight of Junko's mother. Even Sayuri recognized her. Momo, confused, followed them and curled around the two small foxes. What was their problem?

Junko's shoulders sagged and she turned back to her cookies, slipping her phone out of her sleeve then.

Quote:

Text to: Seiji~! <33
Hey! Sorry I was so sudden about ending the call. <3

Text to: Seiji~! <33
Just saw someone I really was NOT expecting to see! It was really surprising. Even a little startling!

Text to: Seiji~! <33
I love you! =D I should have dinner ready after they leave.

Junko looked back through the window again to find her mother had come across a framed picture of herself and Seiji. That was when an emotion actually started to twitch at her face. Dull brown eyes widened, thin lips pursing, and a hand reached down to pick it up and give it a closer look. Her other hand touched Junko's face in the picture, a thin finger petting her cheek as pursed lips turned down into a frown. Her bottom lip quivered slightly, not that Junko could tell. "" She asked aloud, her voice soft and airy. There had been a time Junko had thought it was the most beautiful sound in the world. Instead it broke her heart.

"" Junko began, "" Glowing green eyes warily watched for Her reaction. Junko stepped into the open doorway between the main living area and the kitchen. Her mother looked shocked by the news and looked up from the picture to her daughter’s face. She really looked at her. She hadn't seen her little ghoul in four years. Four. Years. And in those four years she had truly bloomed; her hair was so long it trailed behind her, her face was soft and lovely, her eyes..literally glowing? That was different. And she had grown so well into her body with curves and long legs and a beautiful figure. Even her skin looked flawless. On top of all of that her dress was spectacular, she couldn't even tell if it was made or bought. It hurt to see how much her Junko had grown without her, how well she had grown without her, but somewhere in those dull eyes Junko swore she could see a hint of pride. She had a beautiful little ghoul who was strong and independent and getting married.

The Empress was not as impressed. She scoffed. "<Marriage. And where is this wonderful husband-to-be, hm? Not here! Does he know you leave home? Does he see how you dress? Like some kind of street walking tart.>" Junko stiffened. Unseen, The Empress' mouth turned up in a cruel grin. "ungrateful little monster! Pack your things. We’re taking you home where you belong. Teach you manners.>" Junko's mother’s eyes widened with surprise at that. Apparently it had not been part of the plan.

"" The Mistress huffed. "you and her no-good father, she is a success.>" Junko put a hand over her heart.

"" Her mother finally interjected. A long tendril of hair wrapped around her face to shut her up. Junko clenched her fists. She hated The Empress.

""

"Go on. Speak up," The Mistress hissed.

She cleared her throat and nodded. "know me! I...I make a lot of money doing what I love! What my mother taught me! There are demons, wealthy, high class demons! Who speak of my skills and talents!>" The one and only thing she could thank TG for was spreading her name around to get her business. He really did hold true to his word. "understanding boil who loves me. And you are not going to take that from me.>"

Her mother smiled, her palms pressing together and her fingers resting against her smiling lips. Again, The Empress was not impressed.

"that, didn't I?>" She snarled, "Junko. How dare you speak up to your mother!>"

"<You. Are not. My MOTHER!>"

The apartment went silent.

The Empress tightened her grip on Junko's mother's head, fuming like a volcano under pressure and about to blow its top. Junko stood frozen in her spot in the open doorway.

What did I just do?!

The Mistress let out a delighted cackle.