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 Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 2:20 pm
So many things.
So many memories.
So many habits.
So lost.
A clawed hand held out the long skeleton key, which met its destination with a clink. She could feel the cold emanating off the tall, foreboding residence to which she ironically called home. No… It was just a house. This was no home. It had never been a home.
Earlier, Riyo had gathered only the essentials before stepping out of her dorm room and locking it up tight (with Felix on her shoulder as usual). It felt… Almost wrong. Moreover, the cat ghoul didn’t understand why it felt wrong. The very fact that it made her feel wrong was… Well… Wrong. She DIDN’T like it there. She DIDN’T care what happened to the idiots that surrounded her. No! She didn’t give a s**t if they left and she never saw them again.
… But that was a lie, wasn’t it? Perhaps she was a good liar, but lying to yourself got old after a while. Even as she stepped in the limo and watched the academy fade in the background, a sinking feeling in her gut made the ghoul dread her destination. She never had enjoyed going back to that house. Not after a day at work, and certainly not after this.
Now here she was, standing in front of an unlocked door, her hand shaking as she turned the knob. What greeted her inside was nothing but stagnant air and the empty feeling. There were no screams of joy. No loud patting feet that signaled an inevitable hug.
Just… Air.
The feline’s face remained stoic as she stepped through the threshold and onto the slightly dusty hard wood floor. In front of her was a fireplace that hadn’t seen a good burning kindle for some time. Maybe it would tonight. Maybe not.
It seemed, however, as the door shut, the mood grew more sullen. After she remembered her dream thanks to Xiu, the prospect of coming home seemed more and more grim. She could already see the memories running rampant around the dim room with only the windows for illumination. Footsteps of paths once treaded, puddles of tears once shed, and corners of warmth where she sat for long periods of time and imagined she was somewhere else. For thirty minutes, all she could do was stand and listen to the deafening sound of silence fill her oversensitive ears. The mute atmosphere was maddening, and eventually she walked further just to hear the sound of her own footsteps.
Felix had remained quiet, until she started moving again. The scrappy little hazcat took that as his cue to jump off of her shoulder and onto the lip of the fireplace, as he had made this his spot a long time ago. He knew his master was uncomfortable, but the winged creature couldn’t understand why. He was probably the only one who knew that every day of every hour of every minute, there was something bothering her, but nobody knew why.
The shuffle of boots climbing a stairway echoed through the lonely house, sharp corners and archways driving the idea of an uncomfortable space farther. The second floor certainly wasn’t warmer. All the doors in the hall were shut tight, sustaining secrets behind their small crevices. One fancy door at the front of the area had a large, ornate A carved into the most likely expensive wood… And appeared as if it hadn’t been touched in years. Riyo appeared to ignore its very presence in favor of the door at the very end of the hall.
She didn’t care about anything in the room. Not the perfectly folded comforter that adorned the bed, not the crimson curtains that gave the room a soft red glow. No, she could care less about any of those things.
The most important object in that room was the bottle of wine that sat patiently on the nightstand. If it wasn’t a school she was attending, this would be the norm for her temporary dwelling. Oh, and would you look at that. A corkscrew conveniently placed next to it. With a professional’s touch and a flick of the wrist, the magical bottle was opened. It was how she had been able to live in that house for so long. The secret to her (in)sanity.
By the time the scene had gone dark, the bottle was empty, and the normally collected cat ghoul was stumbling around like an idiot. “I CAN DANCE IF I WANT TO!” She bellowed out as she stood at the top of the stairs. “CAUSE I LEFT MY FRIENDS BEHIND.” Or did they leave her behind? All of them had left for home before she did, after all. “Those… Bastards!” Little did she realize it was a small admittance to the fact that she DID consider them friends.
“I don’t need THEM..” Her fist rose to the heavens and she shook it with the might of a drunk. “I… Do need them I guess.” Too busy to notice that her body was leaning forward, she continued the thought. “I… Miss them. I miss them a lot. It’d be nice if they were h-“ SMACK. Thump, thump, thumpthumpthump… And then silence. It wasn’t the first time she had taken a tumble down the stairway, but at least she had barely felt this one.
“Riyo.” A meek, childlike voice called an undecided amount of time later. “H-hey. Wake up. You shouldn’t sleep there!”
Groaning, the feline slowly opened her eyes, shocked by what she saw.
It was… A little Xiu. “Did you get a boo boo from the fall?” She asked in that shy baku sort of way Xiu spoke. Before Riyo had a chance to reply, another voice spoke up. “Yeah, partner. That was a long drop.” Oh sweet jack. Not Mot too. Yep, there he was. A little version of the cowboil came up behind Xiu and peeked over her shoulder. “I…” The intoxicated ghoul started before a little white puppy came up to lick her face. “Mitsu?” Yep, it was her. The happy bark confirmed it. And then a kick to the head spoke louder than words. “Get up, friend! We have adventures to do!” Well, almost as loud.
“What’re you… Doing here?” She asked wearily to the children surrounding her.
“You wanted your friends here! So we’re here.” Mini-Hel immediately responded.
“N-no. You can’t be here. This is a bad place. You need to-“ The sound of clacking heels against the hardwood floor sent the bakeneko’s eyes into saucer mode, her head turning towards the entrance. One heel was all he needed to see before she started screaming and…
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Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 2:21 pm
… Woke up. Eyes darted desperately around the room to ensure the last thing she saw was indeed just a vision. What time was it? “Ugh.” Oh, her head. Her head was pounding. Must’ve been some time in the very early morning, because the bump from falling downstairs felt like it was coupled with a hangover. What a crippling combo.
Riyo practically crawled into the kitchen to warm up water and make herself some relaxing tea. Just enough to calm her nerves. Before she could get her kettle out, however, a certain piece of paper from a certain asylum caught her eye. What was she going to do about that? What could she do about that? It was a situation in which only she could do anything about it. The ghoul couldn’t send anybody like she usually did. It had to be her. The very thought made the mood in the house more dismal. <******** the tea kettle. With an alarming speed, the ghoul flung the sad sack of tin across the room, which smashed into the wall and left a rather unpleasant dent in the wallpaper. Instead of being bothered by the loud ‘klang’, the sound seemed to satisfy her more than irritate her (even considering the massive headache). Okay, forget the tea. It was time to sit down at the table. Silently, her razorblade pupils crossed over the words on the paper time and time again. “I don’t know what to do.” She mumbled and lifted her hands to her forehead. Oh Jack her headache was getting worse. “I don’t know what to do!”
A vibrating sound in her pocket temporarily brought the girl out of her stupor. A clawed hand reached in to view the message.
From Lyle:
You’ve got a shitload of paperwork waiting on your desk. I know you’re on vacation so how about showing some initiative, Miss President?
No. No! She didn’t want to deal with that right now! Riyo didn’t want to see that smug b*****d’s face, she didn’t want to receive a lecture on how he was ‘doing her favors’, and most of all, SHE DIDN’T WANT TO DO ******** PAPERWORK.
…. That was it, wasn’t it? Dear sweet Sally, she had changed. The school had changed her. She didn’t want to sit there and watch her life toil away at the proverbial hands of her mother’s monster creation. She didn’t WANT to go numb while filling out form after form of bullshit. She wanted time. Wanted to learn about the things she wanted to learn and do the things she wanted to do without feeling the weight of so many on her shoulders. The ghoul… Wanted her own life.
But she was trapped in the shadow of her parent.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!” Was she evolving or devolving? The ghoul clutched her head tightly with all the thoughts spinning around like wasps. It felt like her head was going to explode!
*POOF*
Suddenly Riyo felt an extreme change in height. At that very moment, it was like her whole body had condensed. What was this? Why was the table so high? The ghoul tried to look down at her hands, but they weren’t moving like they were supposed to. Oh Jack… What was this furry black appendage? It wasn’t her tail… It was…
A paw. HER paw. Which meant…
SHE WAS NAKED! Oh, and she was a cat. There was that too. ‘HOLY’ “Mrow!” Her voice! She had none! Oh s**t. Ooooooh s**t! Immediately the feline hopped down from her chair and tried to run around in a panic, but the fact that she was now four-legged escaped her, and the ghoul ate dirt when she tripped over her front paws.
It took about an hour for her to get the whole ‘walking with four legs in a rhythm’ down pat, but when she did, her first stop was the mirror. The first thing she noticed… Was her height. She was so small! Not even appropriate dog-mauling size! And why were her legs so long? Well, she supposed her legs were normally pretty long, so it sort of made sense. Sweet Sally…
For the first time in her life, she thought of herself as adorable, and honestly Riyo didn’t know how to feel about it. She needed to get back to her actual form. But how? She didn’t even know how she got here in the first place! ********… ******** familiar meow caught her by surprise as her head immediately turned to the doorway. Felix? It was obvious that he immediately recognized her, and that he was somewhat confused.
‘Felix. I don’t know what to do.’ She tried to say, yet received no reply. Did he even understand her? Riyo had assumed for a long time that her mini companion was pretty smart, considering the behaviors he displayed.
Though, receiving no reply did not mean he didn’t understand. A nod came from the nergal, and he trotted up to the closet. He was gesturing towards the handle. Why did he want to let the others out? She had meant to do it earlier today, but with everything that happened prior, the idea slipped her mind. What it would do, she wasn’t sure… But what the hell. ‘Okay. You have the wings, go for it.’
It took the hazcat a few tries, but eventually the door creaked open, and a flood of felines flowed out with a vengeance. All of them, as always, greeted Riyo with open paws and loud purrs. Before she could ask what was next, her companion charged towards the door with the army in tow. What were they… Were they trying to get out?
‘W-where are you going?!’ The resounding answer seemed to be ‘FUN!’ It didn’t take long for the cats to get the front door open, and out they went, though Felix made sure to wait for their master, who reluctantly followed. A few stayed behind to close the door. How often did they do this?
Well. There really wasn’t anything else to do, was there? She could either follow or worry that she wouldn’t find a way to shift back.
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Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 2:22 pm
They seemed to be on a mission towards town, running, trotting, gallivanting their way closer and closer. It was sort of like being in a circus of adorable creatures, now that she thought about it, yet for once Riyo had nothing to say. She could only watch as her cats made merry amongst themselves in ways she had no idea they could.
And then a couple of them started to go in a different direction, and another group down another alley. Sabbath, her demon cat, went off on his own as she sort of expected, which left Riyo, Felix, the poptart cat Tim, and Chard the ghost kitten. Usually Riyo was the leader, but seeing as the ghoul had no idea what the hell they were doing, she had no choice but to follow the hazcat. Eventually, the group came to a fence-line with trash cans beside it that happened to be just high enough. First Tim jumped, his amazing butt rainbow flowing behind him, then Chard joined behind in precision as if it were a walkway, which left Felix and Riyo.
‘Oh hell no. I’m not going up there.’ A hiss followed her attempt at communication, tail prickling out. To which the nergal gave her a simple nudge towards the can. Sure, if Riyo were in her true form, she wouldn’t be so nervous about this kind of thing. Standing on two legs was perfectly natural to her. This wasn’t! Again she was nudged.
‘Fine, a*****e. I’m going to jump up there, and if I fall into whatever’s hiding behind that ******** fence, you can feel guilty about my demise.’ Cautiously the small black cat positioned herself to crouching position, an awkward jump following the dinging sound of a disturbed trashcan. ‘******** this is harder than it looks…’And another leap sent her up to the thin fence post. Oh Jack. Oh dear sweet unholy jack. Now that she was up there, she could see what was hiding behind the fence… So to speak. Invisible dogs. Three of them, and they sounded hungry.
‘FELIX WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!’ A yowl escaped the black cat’s mouth, long legs shaking nervously. The two in front looked back at her nonchalantly, their eyes practically beckoning her to continue. Were they not bothered? No, no they weren’t! She felt the fence move as Felix jumped in behind her calmly, trying to nudge her forward. With a gulp, her shaky feet took their first steps forward on the fence.
Hey. This wasn’t too bad. It was like learning to walk all over again, only she had a much better foundation of the idea this time. ‘O-okay. I got this…’ Slowly, her long legs grew more confident with each baby step she took, even as the dogs barked below. The whole situation felt… Empowering to say the least. It was as if, in this form, her problems were miles below her. By the time they got across, Riyo was moving like a pro. Across the way, they hopped onto a low gutter and climbed the contraption to the roof. ‘So… Why are we…?’
All three cats sat down and looked up at the sky. It was… Cloudless. There was a beautiful scene played before them where the moon acted as their narrator, guiding their attention to each sparkling star that greeted them with a kiss to their vision. There was something different about looking at the sky from a tall building. Something almost cerebral.
Before she could say anything about it though, the cats turned around. What was..?
Turning her head to look over, Riyo immediately moved her body the rest of the way around. It was the day coming to chase away the night. She couldn’t remember the last time she watched it… Or the last time she had the time to watch it. The small black cat had thought for so long that being out here was nothing but a nightmare for cats, with all the dangers and disasters waiting to happen, but just by coming out on a night like this, the ghoul quickly realized she was belittling her own species. They were cats, fully capable of adapting to any circumstance they were placed in.
So… Wasn’t she?
It was like a bright light lit up in her little skull and smacked her across the face. Yes. That was what she had to do. Adapt and overcome. ‘Okay. I get it.’ The little feline sighed, continuing to stare up at the sky. ‘I don’t have to roll over like a dog and accept the scraps I’m given.’ But then… How?
Another *POOF* signaled the return transformation, the small cat morphing back into a tall humanoid.
With furrowed eyebrows, the ghoul looked down at herself. “What the ********?” Huh. Well… No matter right now. She’d have to figure out how to control that later. Her attention swayed to the three cats staring up at her expectantly. “I suppose no matter what, I’ll at least have you guys around, huh?” Big clawed hands reached down to scoop up the trio into her arms, the sound of mews and meows like a chorus to her ears. “That’s enough fun for tonight, though. Let us return.”
… When she figured out how to get off the building.
It took a while, but Riyo did finally manage to find her way back. At first she did her usual routine. Shower, dress, breakfast, go downtown and pick up papers, but her mind remained with the school, and on her newfound power. How were her friends? What were they doing? Were they back from their own vacations? How had those gone? Could any of them help her with the whole shapeshifting thing? Why did she suck at controlling all of her powers? Ugh.
“We’re going back to Amityville. This is no ‘vacation’ anyways.”
So they did. *THE MOST ORIGINAL ENDING EVER*
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