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 Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 4:05 pm
Riyo looked terrible.
Now, the ghoul had never had what you would call pleasant dreams, but they usually didn't matter because by morning, she didn't remember anything from them. But this...
She'd go to bed and wake up an hour later screaming. And then it would repeat for the rest of the night. Worse than that, her memories of it were very vague. Bits and pieces, little snippets of recollection... And Riyo knew it was the same thing over and over... But not a clue as to what it was. She was over it, the cats were over it, and moreover she was sure everyone in the demon dorms was over it.
That's when word came around to her about a specific girl she happened to meet. A certain baku who was looking for 'help' in expanding her dream-affiliated abilities.
Maybe this was the help she needed.
.. Not that Riyo needed help.
It was a quiet evening when the feline knocked upon the white-haired ghoul's door, finding the information on her whereabouts rather easy to obtain. And for a moment before the ghoul reached her balled fist up to knock, she went over how she would lay this down in front of the ghoul.
Yes. Yes, that would work nicely. "Xiu?" She called out firmly as she gave the fellow demoness's door a rap. "It's Riyo."
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 4:58 pm
Xiu definitely hadn't been expecting any visitors today. Dropping the novel she had been reading onto her desk, the baku stood up, peeking over at her door with a puzzled expression. Who could that be? With the door muffling her visitor's voice, she was unable to determine whether the speaker was even male or female--all she knew was that they had said her name.
That, and Arashi suddenly woke up from his nap, looking very alert all of a sudden.
Well, only one way to find out who it was. "Coming!" She hurried towards the door and pulled it open. The moment she did so, the storm melonkit jumped out off of the bed and darted out of the room. Xiu opened her mouth to cry out in alarm, but froze as she realized that the feline was curling himself around their visitor's legs, purring loudly.
...Oh, this could only be one person then.
Hello, Riyo," She greeted, even before tilting her head back to look up at the ghoul's face. Once she did so, however, the small smile on her face immediately dropped. "R-riyo, you look...are you alright?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 5:36 pm
As Arashi ran out to meet her, Riyo scooped the melonkit up in her arms with no hesitation in scratching behind the fellow feline's ears. Oh yes. It was obvious Riyo probably wasn't in the best health judging by her bloodshot eyes (with 5 lb bags accompanying them under either side), frazzled hair, and disheveled clothing.
"Yes. I look terrible. I know." The ghoul groaned at the followup of Xiu's greeting and shook her head. "But that doesn't matter right now. I have a proposition for you Xiu. I would like to volunteer myself as a... Specimen... To your dream study thing." Might as well put it out there up front to know whether she was wasting her time.
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 5:43 pm
While Arashi was purring happily, butting the Riyo's chin affectionately with his head, Xiu was staring at the ghoul in surprise. Was she...asking for help, perhaps? Judging by her appearance, it didn't look like she had been getting much sleep lately.
Then again, Riyo hadn't asked for help directly. Instead, she had described it as her volunteering to become a specime--
"E-er, just volunteer, Riyo. Not specimen." The latter sounded more...dangerous, or it sounded as if Xiu didn't care about the people whose dreams she invaded (which was certainly not true). After looking at Riyo thoughtfully for another moment, she pushed her door open wider. "U-um, please come in!" Or should they go to Riyo's room? Wherever the feline ghoul was comfortable to sleep would work, really.
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 6:55 pm
"Volunteer, whatever." Riyo grumbled, though she couldn't hold back a second long smile as Arashi gave her a happy cat greeting.
Wordlessly, she carried the melonkit and herself into Xiu's room, having no objections as to where this might be conducted. "I do have some... Mmm... Conditions, should we do this." She explained once she was fully in. With a gentle hand and a pat to the cat's head, she placed Arashi on the floor before reaching into her coat pocket. What she pulled out was a piece of paper, and on that piece of paper was a rather professional looking little contract. While Riyo was aware a demon contract would be quicker and more concise, she tended to avoid them considering how badly they sometimes went in the business.
"The gyst of this says that you will not speak of anything you may see or hear while in said dreams, and that anything experienced would be strictly confidential between you and I." Riyo said simply, setting the paper down on the nearest flat surface. Had she hand-written that? The letters were very pleasant looking. "It's just a precaution." And by precaution, Riyo meant she was securing her own a**. Obviously she couldn't control her dreams... Or what was in them. So sensitive information... Was a possibility.
"I tend to enjoy my privacy, after all."
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 10:37 pm
Ah, this was...certainly the first time that anyone wanted her to sign a contract before she did her dream-diving thing. Leave it to Riyo to be careful! She reached out to take the sheet from her desk, skimming it quickly as the ghoul spoke. Well, she wasn't asking Xiu to do anything outrageous here--as it was, the baku had kept quiet about what almost all the dreams she had gone into--and if she saw anything personal in Riyo's, she would keep it to herself as well.
Grabbing the nearest pen, she signed her name neatly on the contract and then held it back out to the ghoul. "I promise you, Riyo, that I will not speak about--or even refer to--anything I see in your dream." A pause. "Except to you, if there's anything you want to talk about."
That seemed reasonable enough, at least. Eying her room, she gestured towards the bed and the couch, indicating that Riyo should pick one or the other. Considering the poor ghoul's state, Xiu didn't think that it would take long for her to drift off to sleep.
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Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 8:32 am
Riyo watched carefully as Xiu signed across the dotted line, letting out a sigh when the ghoul handed it out to her. "I believe you." The ghoul said softly and retrieved the paper to place back where she had pulled it from. Though, when the baku added the second part, Riyo held back a cringe. "That... Won't be necessary." At least that's what she thought.
Instead of moving to the bed, the feline moved towards the couch and sat herself down, removing only her hat so it wouldn't fall off her head when she laid back. Was she gonna try to sleep sitting up?
It was something she had grown used to in her days of being a working stiff. Sometimes she just... Fell asleep in her chair, woke up, and did more work. Very convenient that way.
"Nice couch you have." She yawned, half-confirming Xiu's assumptions that she was close to sleep. "Very soft..." Her eyelids grew heavier until she couldn't keep them up anymore. It was why she had been working so hard at cleaning her room. The second she stopped for a seat was when she lost consciousness. "Need to... Get me one... Mm..."
And there she went. Out like a light.
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Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 12:19 pm
Poor ghoul. The baku looked at Riyo sympathetically as she drifted off to sleep almost immediately--clearly she hadn't been getting much rest lately. Before she sat herself down and got to work, however, Xiu skittered to her closet to pull out a blanket, draping it over the bakeneko's sleeping figure.
With that done, she sat down on the ground, back pressed up against the couch. Honestly, she was a little nervous what she would see the Riyo's dreams--the ghoul always kept to herself, so it would be likely that Xiu would see things that Riyo wanted to keep hidden. No matter, though--if Xiu could be of any assistance, then she would do her best to help.
She saw the mental path to the bakeneko's dream spring up almost instantly when she closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she braced herself and started forward.
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Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 5:06 pm
Fog.
There was fog everywhere. Thick, almost suffocating white surrounded on all sides, and a deathly silence overtook the area.
... Until the sound of a rusty chain swinging ever so slowly back and fourth cut through the mist like a knife through butter. Back... And fourth. Back... And fourth.
It was coming from straight ahead. The sound emanated from an old and decrepit swing set, surrounded by other various playground equipment. A slide, a seesaw, monkey bars... All of which looked like they hadn't seen a child in decades.
But the swing was the point of interest. It beckoned the attention of all that saw and heard it's lonely, yet tired cries.
What was more important, however, was what sat quietly on the swing. A small ghoul, who couldn't have been older than five years, sat stationary on the slightly swaying swing with her head hung low. Short, golden blonde hair, pointy little cat ears on either side, and a face that spoke miles for her condition. Much like the swing set....
She looked incredibly lonely.
Though much like the playground, it appeared she had seen better days. The cute dress she was wearing looked dirty and tattered, her black and red stockings had holes in it, and the small black shoes on her feet were scuffed...
The only clue that she wasn't some kind of statue was the fact that she heaved out a small sigh while swinging back once. Other than that... The child was still as a board.
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Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 5:36 pm
The atmosphere here was...
It was strange. It seemed like such an open space, but at the same time, there was something closed off about it. Perhaps it was the fog--Xiu felt as if she was being sealed in. And with no life milling about, it felt so...empty--ah.
What was that sound?
Frowning, the baku continued forward, following the sound as well as she could. Slowly, as she got closer, the playground came into view. However, she didn't pay much mind to most of the equipment, her gaze scanning the scene for one thing in particular. "Where are the swings?" She murmured, furrowing her brows, "I'm sure they're--there they are."
And there was Riyo too.
At least, she assumed that it was Riyo--though a great deal younger, the ghoul had the same blond hair and cat ears that the older bakeneko did. What was she doing out here alone? Hoping that she didn't startle her too much, Xiu walked forward, the corners of her lips tugging upwards in a soft smile.
"Hi there," She greeted, taking care to stop a short distance away, "What are you doing out here?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 6:15 pm
A gasp escaped the ghoul's mouth as her eyes shot up to meet the stranger.
The swing stopped, and for what seemed like forever, all the child could do was look at Xiu as if she was some divine figure of epiphany.
And then... "OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH!" The ghoul squealed and hopped off of her swing, running around the baku and examining her to make sure she was real. "AAAAAAAAH! You're real!" So to speak. It was a dream, after all. "I'm so happy! I'm so excited! I-"
And then the ghoul paused as she returned to the front of her visitor. "Oh, uh... S-sorry. Momma says I shouldn't do that." She admitted with a small blush of her cheeks, though there was still a giant smile on her face. "It's just been so long since I've seen someone!" Oh... Oh right.
"I'm Riyo... It's nice to meet you... And I've been out here 'cause I've got nowhere else to go!" And then she did the traditional curtsey right before reaching out to take Xiu's hand, her tiny fingers trying to curl around the giants. "Will you be my friend? Please say you will. The maids said if I ask reaaaaaaaally nicely, nobody can turn my cute face down!"
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Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 6:28 pm
Xiu gaped in surprise at the little ghoul hopped off the swing and started running around her. She was so energetic and happy and...
...Was this really Riyo?
Yes, yes it was. Xiu finally snapped out of her stupor when the little ghoul introduced herself. Unable to resist, the baku grinned and ruffled the ghoul's hair, crouching down so that the two of them could be eye level. "Hi Riyo, nice to meet you!" Ah, she was so adorable! The baku let her take her hand, gently holding her small one in her larger one, "I'm Xiu!"
Xiu had to admit, the maids were right--nobody could turn down someone as sweet as Riyo. At least, the baku certainly couldn't. "Of course I'll be your friend! Did you want to play a game?"
The dream seemed to be going well so far.
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Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 8:27 pm
The alien feeling of being in contact with somebody made the small ghoul shiver from joy. "AHAH! Quit itttt~" Little Riyo tried to sound serious, but couldn't help laughing shortly after the little whine. "Yaaaaaaaaay, I have a friend!" It was like she had won a prize from a claw machine or discovered an extra present at her birthday party, amazing.
"Ah! Xiu! Lets do the seesaw! I've never had anyone to seesaw with, and it's no fun sitting there by yourself..." It was obvious that, if anyone knew about that, it would be her just by the way she said it. With a soft smile and warm eyes, the small feline started to pull Xiu towards them. "We just gotta be quiet, cause-"
"-We wouldn't want to attract our attention."
Little Riyo froze mid-step as someone (or something) else finished her sentence., the grip on Xiu's hand tightening as a shadowy figure took slow strides out of the milky beyond. An odd smell followed it's appearance, like a combination of gasoline and roses. The first thing really noticeable was bandages. Old, filthy bandages wrapped around this humanoid shape. No skin showed through the outer layer of gauze. Nothing... Besides those red blaring eyes, not unlike the ones little Riyo sported.
"You." A bandaged finger extended and pointed at the baku, some unknown black substance leaking from behind the disgusting compress. "We want you out." There was something... Off about the voice. In a way, it sounded a lot like the present day Riyo did... But distorted. "We do not care what your name is, or why you're here. You need to get out."
As the finer details came into view, it was easier to see what was around the thing's torso. A business suit. Perfectly clean and pressed somehow. The red tie would've added a nice touch, had there not been those bandages... And were those bits of glass lodged inbetween some of them?
"No!" Little Riyo shouted and practically hugged Xiu's arm. "She's my friend! You never let me have any fun. I don't like being cooped up in this place all the time!"
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Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 9:30 pm
Aah, how was it possible for the little ghoul to be so cute? Xiu felt her heart melt, her tail giving a little wag as she began to nod at the request. "The see-saw? That sounds fine with--"
The new voice suddenly made Xiu bristle. The end of her tail puffed up a little as she moved to pull the little Riyo close, her gaze focused on the new figure. She took in the bandages with a small frown, but her frown deepened even further as the figure pointed straight at her.
They...they could see her?
Did that mean that this was also Riyo then? Or could this simply be another character in her dream (in which case, they shouldn't be able to see her...but Xiu had noticed her powers changing lately). And that voice...
Despite the fact that her heart was pounding, the baku gave a firm shake of her head, and then looked right at the figure. "Who are you? Why do I need to get out?" Her gaze flickered down to little Riyo, and she offered her a small smile. "It's okay," She said softly, "I'm not going anywhere."
Hopefully, at least. Considering that this was Riyo's dream, she wasn't sure if anything would happen to pull her away from the little ghoul attached to her arm.
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Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 6:13 am
"We don't like questions." The creature answered back simply, allowing her arm to return to return to her side. "This is no place for you. We don't like visitors."
"I like visitors~" The small ghoul taunted, hiding behind Xiu. It didn't seem like little Riyo was as much afraid of this thing as she was annoyed. "She's Riyo. And she wants you to get out 'cause she's a BIG FAT MEANY FACE." The small ghoul tried to mimic the voice of the creature, sticking her tongue out afterwards.
At the little insult the creature received from little Riyo, she slumped over. "... We hate kids." With an exasperated sigh, the 'thing' reached it's hands up to unwrap the bandages around it's face. It was, indeed, Riyo... With a lot of cuts and bruises across her face. "Look, you ungrateful little diva." Oh, look. Her voice was normal. "We've been over this time and time again. Remember what happened to 'Daddy'?"
A big frown overtook little Riyo's face. "... H-he left... But! I bet he'll come back some day. Then we can do aaaaaaaaaaaalll kinds of things together, like we used to! I just gotta be really good." It was a dreamy thought, and she couldn't help but sigh.
"... He's not coming back and you know it." The bigger Riyo replied with narrow eyes, which turned up to Xiu. "I don't trust you. I don't trust you, I don't trust anyone affiliated with you, and I don't trust anyone else in this Jack forsaken world. Why should I, when I couldn't even trust my parents, eh?"
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