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 Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2012 6:54 pm
They were back.
Technically speaking, so was Riyo. She'd been out of her head for so long, it almost felt strange to be opening the door and stepping out of what had been her wooden cocoon for the past week.
"Delivery for Miss Riyo." A man held out a plastic bag containing cheap and undoubtedly comfort food of some sort... Chinese, to be exact. Generally speaking, the feline didn't eat cheap, but now more than ever it didn't matter what she ate. She just... Wanted food. Real food. She hadn't eaten properly since...
Well, since the dream, honestly. Her thoughts had been so consumed that she herself neglected the desire to consume. And oh, did it smell magnificent. It was like a punch to the nose. The feline could practically feel herself drooling over what was most likely the least expensive food her mouth would ever come in contact with. "Thaaaank youu." The mangy-looking ghoul screeched as she put more than the needed amount in the man's hand before snatching up the bag greedily.
"Uh... Y-yeah. Sure." With payment in hand, the man scuttled off as fast as he could, finding her presence slightly... Disturbing.
Not that anyone could blame him. Riyo had let herself get a little... Ragged. For a moment, and only a moment, the ghoul considered eating all of this and going back to sleep... But after seeing the sparse messages she received about the trip on groanspring, something pinged at her innards. Guilt? Worry? Sadness? A combination of all three?
Her friends had no doubt worried about her... Maybe it was time to repay that.
Throwing on her regal looking jacket over her red top and pj pants, the ghoul scooted down the hallway with a big bag of take-out in her hand. Nervously her bare feet stopped in front of a certain Baku's door, staring up at it in wonder for moments. She was doing the right thing, right?
A soft rapping, unlike Riyo's usual demeanor echoed inward. "Hey Xiu. I uh... I ordered Chinese and they brought me extra so... I figured I'd give some to you." Just how terrible had the trip been? Was it anything compared to the death trials? Was it... Worse? "Y-you know. If you're interested..."
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 12:48 am
What were they saying?
Xiu squeezed her eyes shut, the brows creasing in concentration as she tried to make out the whispers that would occasionally haunt the corners of her mind. They came and went as they pleased, muttering and hissing for a few seconds before fading back into silence. She wasn't sure if they were talking to her, to each other, or to themselves--the fact was that she couldn't understand a word of what they were saying. It was either too faint, or too fast for her to catch.
Needless to say, these voices were making the baku a little more jittery than usual. The sudden knock on the door had Xiu yelping in surprise as she jumped to her feet, eyes wide and hands clutched over her chest. She heard someone's voice--or was it the voices in her head again?--and her heartbeat picked up. Who...who...
"R-riyo?" The familiarity of the voice sunk in slowly, her tense body relaxing ever so slightly. Making her way towards the door, she pulled it open with a slightly sheepish smile. She looked from the ghoul, to the bag of take-out, and then back. "Hi, Riyo! That's really kind of you to offer! Do you want to come in? I can make some tea if you want to eat together!"
And her company would be most welcome. There was the fact that Xiu sorely disliked being alone while these voices were plaguing her, but she was also genuinely concerned about Riyo. How was the bakeneko holding up? She hadn't seen her in a while--not since, w-well...--and it was clear that it had taken quite the toll on her. At the very least, the baku took some relief in the fact that Riyo had come to visit her on her own.
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 8:04 am
The yelp didn't go unheard. In fact, it made the feline just outside jump in place. "... Xiu?" Was she in trouble? Had she taken a nasty fall and couldn't get up now? Had she- Oh, no. There she was.
Immediately when the baku appeared, Riyo's eyes glanced up and down for any sign of trauma or injury. "Uh, yes. Lets do that. Tea would be..." Try not to sound over-exited now. "Great." Obviously it was hard to just assess the ghoul from looking at her. She'd have to watch the ghoul closely. Or... You know. She could just ask how Xiu was, but even for abnormal Riyo that wasn't going to fly.
Riyo scooted in past her fellow demoness with bag in hand, gently unpacking the somewhat cute little boxes out onto the ghoul's table. Did the feline know what was inside any of them? Oh Hell no. She just told them to bring her whatever was good and lots of it. "So... What were the four clans like? If you want to talk about it, that is." Might as well start out talking about something that had the potential to be pleasant. Mort had said the trip started off great, after all.
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 10:50 am
Shutting the door after Riyo, the baku immediately head to the kitchen so that she could start boiling the water for the tea. She felt herself relax slightly at the knowledge that she had a real, solid person here for company right now. Jack knows that she would have gone insane--hopefully not entirely literally--had she been left alone with those voices for much longer.
With the kettle on the stove, Xiu moved back out to where the bakeneko was, a small smile tugging at her lips at the sight of the boxes. "How cute! And this really is um...quite a lot, isn't it?" It all smelled quite good too, the familiar scents wafting up from the boxes. Mmmm, Chinese food!
The question caught her off guard, but after a moment of hesitation, she decided that it wouldn't do any harm to talk about it. Besides, if Riyo didn't know already, she needed to be told why the horsemen were currently residing in Halloween. "The first two weeks were nice," She admitted, smiling slightly at the memory, "We went to classes and we got to explore. I went to the Isles of Conquest and Death, and they were both very beautiful. But now..."
Her smile dropped, as did her voice. "There was a delay in getting us home...and then the Hunters showed up. The islands...they're all gone now."
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 12:32 pm
"Yeah. I guess I went overboard." Not having the strength to wait on her baku friend, Riyo picked one of the boxes, grabbed a pair of chopsticks, and started shoveling food into her mouth as fast as she possibly could. It certainly wasn't attractive, but when did Riyo make strides to be anyways?
"These damn wooden sticks aren't very effective for eating." The ghoul mumbled in-between bites, wrapping her noodles around the tips cautiously. Maybe that's why Xiu was so poised. It almost felt like you had to be to eat with these contraptions.
Riyo listened to Xiu's explanation of the trip, nodding occasionally as she recalled a detail or two. It certainly sounded nice and not at all like-
Wait.
T-the islands were gone?!
Riyo choked on her food at the news, setting the chopsticks in her food box and pounding on her chest as she looked at the baku wide-eyed. "W-what?! She finally stammered out with a gasp. "They're... Gone?" The ghoul's expression grew dismal as she tried to compose herself for a moment. What did that mean?
An unwanted flashback played in her mind of the destruction they'd seen in the death trials. Were they... One step closer to that?
Quietly the feline located a seat and curled up in it, holding the food to her as if it would save her from the nightmares. "Xiu... Do you think... That dream from the death trials... Do you think that could actually happen?" Her eyes seemed immediately drawn to the floor as she managed to ask the question, her tail gripping the back of the chair tightly as if it might dissipate out from under her.
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 1:39 am
Xiu appetite had pretty much been thrown out of the window by this point, but she still picked up the wooden chopsticks and pulled the apart. Her gaze was focused on the food as she spoke, ears drooping slightly.
"Yes. They...they were destroyed by the hunters. The islands and everything on them...including almost all the horsemen from each of the clans." Whatever the hunters did, they had ensured that most of the clansmen would not reform or survive the attack. Just how man clansmen had...? She didn't really want to think about it.
The baku paused to get up from her seat, walk into her kitchen, and come back out with a fork. Setting it down in front of Riyo--just in case she preferred the fork to the chopsticks--she pressing her lips into a tight line and considered the question. The dream from the death trials, huh?
"I...don't know," She admitted, speaking carefully,
"As they are right now--and especially with the Horsemen living on Halloween ground for the time being--the Hunters are definitely still our enemies." They had already tried to capture students during the trip--she wouldn't have put it past them if they tried to convert them into weapons.
There was a long pause, and then she looked up at Riyo with wide eyes. Ah--she didn't want to give her friend the wrong idea. Hastily, the ghoul added, "But with the horsemen here as allies, I doubt anything like that will happen right now."
She chose to keep quiet about what they had seen during the trance class on the isle of Death.
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 7:55 am
Riyo's eyes only momentarily left the floor as Xiu sat a fork in front of her. Well, she had complained about it. Shaky hands immediately switched the torture devices for the fork, returning to what was now an obligation of nourishing her body. She didn't like the way the food tasted or smelled, honestly. But it was so good to feel and taste something warm and cooked that it didn't really matter. Eating in and of itself was an experience, she supposed.
One that went better with optimistic conversation.
This had been her fault. She had been the curious one, as usual, and though Xiu tried to remedy it at the end with the "I doubt anything will happen", the fact that she added "right now" made the feline's ears twitch nervously.
"You know what?" Riyo started, scraping the bottom of the little box with her fork before finishing off whatever was left. "Lets not talk about this." For once, curiosity could take a seat in the back. The demoness was trying her hardest to crawl back out of the hole. Right now, it would probably be best for both of them if she refrained from asking questions like 'is everyone else alright?' or 'Did something bad happen to you?'
"I'm not trying to ignore the bad news, but I think it can wait until a time when we can handle it better." With that, the ghoul opened her second box of food. This one would probably be eaten slower. Now, lets see. Small talk. Riyo was bad at small talk. "Uh, did you learn anything interesting in the classes?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 1:59 am
Truth be told, Xiu was relieved when Riyo decided to change the topic. While the baku found it necessary to share such information when asked--after all, all the students had a right to know what was going on--it wasn't something she really wanted to talk about extensively. She still felt her stomach knot up every time she thought back to the moment of the islands' destruction, and talking about it just brought the visual image back into her head. Grimacing, she shook her head--as if attempting to shake it out--and clung to her friend's new question like a lifeline.
"U-um, yes! The first week, we learned things like...making incense! I wasn't very good at it though." The memory actually brought a small smile to her face. Despite the fact her incense had came out average at best, it had still been a lot of fun. "I'd like to try it again sometime."
Xiu took a break from talking then to pick up her chopsticks, taking a few bites of her food. Her appetite was still gone, but considering how she hadn't eaten all day, she knew that it was best if she put something in her stomach. When a high pitched squealing noise sounded from the kettle on her stove, she excused herself so that she could go and prepare the rest of the tea.
"The first class was pretty great in general," The baku called from the kitchen as she tended to the tea, "And then the second week..."
She trailed off into silence. The only sounds that came from the kitchen were those of tea being poured into cups, and those cups being set onto a tray. The baku said nothing else, but when she walked out of the kitchen, the somewhat neutral expression she had been wearing before had turned into an anxious one. Quietly, she moved forward and set one of the cups down in front of Riyo before sinking back down into her chair. "Er, I don't...think you'll like what I learned in the second week, so..."
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Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 6:26 am
Incense? Certainly not something she pictured when she thought of the horsemen, but her knowledge was limited to begin with so honestly, who was she to judge? At the very least, it seemed that Xiu had taken away one pleasant memory from the experience.
But... What about the second class? The baku said she had been at death isles the second week, so...
The clanking of a teacup temporarily distracted her from the food in her hands, choosing to trade out for the no doubt hot beverage. "You're probably right." Old Riyo would've begged her to know. This Riyo was quite content to take Xiu at her word, at least for now.
The porcelain met her lips and for a moment, the ghoul went silent. Yes, this was much better than the food. Even if it was hot. Even if it burned her tongue. "I'm quite alright with you not telling me anything right now. At least, I'm trying to convince myself of that." Leaning back in the chair, her posture finally started to relax as she looked up at the ceiling. "I'm tired of damning myself for the sake of answering a question. I suppose it sounds a little escapist, but I'm not running away. Rather, I'm turning around and dealing with something bigger first." Was that right?
The feline finally looked back down, a little miserably, and looked at the food she'd set to the side. "I don't know if it's right to refuse knowledge. It doesn't feel right, but I don't like making you talk about things you don't want to talk about, either. Moreover, I just... Don't think I can handle more bad news. Is that weakness, Xiu? Do you think I'm being weak?"
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Posted: Fri May 04, 2012 1:13 pm
Xiu wrapped her fingers around her teacup, lifting it to her face and letting the steam warm her. As silly as it may have sounded, tea was probably the main thing that kept Xiu from going crazy from the strange whispers in her head. There was never a better time than now to take advantage of the drink's calming effect.
She took a small sip and then shut her eyes, emitting a quiet sigh of appreciation. The voices seemed to fade into the background as she focused her attention on Riyo, head cocked to the side as she listened to her friend speak. At no point did she try to interrupt--the baku simply sat there, tea in hand and eyes bright and alert as she took in the bakeneko's concerns.
Her expression was unreadable when she suddenly stood up, grabbed her things, and moved so that she could slide into the seat directly beside Riyo. Whether she liked it or not, the other ghoul would find herself enveloped in a hug. "If you're asking my opinion, then no, I don't think that you're being weak." There was a pause, and then she drew back, holding her hands on her lap, "As it is right now, I think it's more important to focus on the present than the past."
"Even if it's hard, I don't...I don't mind telling you more, but I'm not going to force it either. When you're ready, then I'll be happy to fill you in."
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Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 9:18 am
Riyo's eyes lifted to focus on the silent baku, a little surprised when she switched her seat to one closer. "What-" It would seem she didn't have time to ask. Before Riyo knew it, she was in Xiu's arms.
She didn't fight it. She couldn't fight it. This was something she had wanted, and only realized it after she 'died'. Was it shameful to admit she craved these things? Xiu would probably say no... But Xiu probably didn't understand the kind of pride Riyo had grown up on.
Instead of saying anything, the demoness just let out a soft sigh as Xiu pulled away. Of course she didn't think the bakeneko was being weak. She always saw the best in people, didn't she?
Maybe that's why Riyo found so much comfort in her presence. Because even a wretch like her could find some sort of solace with the ghoul. "Yeah... The present."
long, thin fingers reclaimed the teacup. "I only want to hear it if you need to talk about it. I know you'd do the same for me." The feline took another sip of her tea. "Do you ever get tired of being the person everyone goes to?" At least, Riyo assumed everyone would go to her. She just seemed like a natural.
"I'm not... Asking to be facetious. I just can't comprehend how you work sometimes."
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Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 11:12 am
Poor Riyo--how much of a toll had that trial taken on the ghoul? Xiu couldn't help the flicker of irritation that passed through her at the memory of what the horsemen had chosen for their death trial, but just as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared. She couldn't forget that the horsemen were now undergoing their own problems. The least she could do was cast away any former misgivings and do what she could to help.
Perhaps that was just how she was. Riyo's question earned a surprised look before her features settled into a smile. She took a sip of her tea before answering, the corners of her lips quirked up as she shook her head. "The people who come to talk to me are my friends, and they know that I'd be willing to listen and do what I can to help." She set her teacup down and grinned, picking up her chopsticks again that her appetite had returned slightly.
"I just hope that I can be of help, even if it's just listening." Sometimes that was all that she could do. At the very least, she could offer an ear and some moral support.
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Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 12:48 pm
Why did Xiu have to be so kind? It scared Riyo a little. Not the kindness itself, but the fact that said kindness made the ghoul no more immortal than she was. If anything, it threatened her. She imagined the baku would probably take a sword to the chest if it meant her friends could be happy.
"I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit. Sometimes listening is all anyone really needs." Riyo mumbled, a finger circling the saucer much like Deacon had done in her room before the student exchange. "I guess... I realize that now. I've realized a lot of things in the past few weeks. Funny how you go looking for knowledge, but the things you really need to know won't hit you until you stop looking."
The ghoul was quiet for a few moments. Almost unmoving. "Like how I should've never forced myself to live a life I didn't want."
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Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 9:31 am
Xiu was silent for a moment, and then she grinned, cocking her head to the side. "Is that so? Well, even if it's sometimes the only thing that I can do, I'm glad that I'm able to help others by listening to them talk." She was grateful for those who had heard her out during her most difficult times as well. Really, where would she be without the people who she called her friends? When she thought about it now, life had really been quite lonely before she enrolled in Amityville.
Her expression softened as Riyo continued, and she reached out to rest a hand on the other ghoul's shoulder. Though her voice was softer, there was a hint of optimistic encouragement in her tone. "I know this sounds kind of cliche but...what's done is done, right? Maybe there are things you regret about you past, but all you can do is look ahead and focus on the present and the future."
If there was one thing about Xiu, it was that she was full of cheesy lines, and that she could apparently say them all with a straight face. More than that, she believed in them. While her heart was still heavy over what happened to Riley, the stronger part of her mind encouraged her to look forward and find a way to ensure that this never happened again. She had no doubt that Riyo was capable of the same thing.
With a smile, she leaned back in her seat. "Besides! Now you have us, and we'll support you along the way!"
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Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 10:17 am
That was almost exactly what Hel had said, too. She was starting to see the value in such an idea.
"I think... I need to deal with the past first." Riyo mumbled softly, her eyes focused on the cup. "There's something I need to do. Something very important before I can actually start moving forward."
Her hands reached up to comb through her golden hair. "I have to... Go see my mother. It's something I've been putting off for a long time, but.."
Riyo stopped, trying to think of the best way to continue. "Where she is, and just the fact that it's her makes the whole endeavor particularly difficult. All the phobias and fears I have... Are because of her."
It was obvious just thinking about what she had to do scared her. The look in her eyes was unmistakable. "I don't know what's going to happen to me, or what I'll be like when I come back, but I know for certain now more than ever that it would be very hard for things to get worse as it stands."
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