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 Posted: Tue Dec 31, 2024 2:38 pm
She must have fallen asleep, but it had been good sleep, and when Monika woke, she was warm. Cradled against a broad chest, and she could hear a heart beating. It was…
Well. Comforting wasn’t a strong enough word to describe how it felt. She could count the heartbeats. If she wanted to she could have…and there were arms around her…and they were strong and real…
Perhaps…perhaps if she had made this all up…if she were still in stasis…that…
But no. Why would she have made this up. This wasn’t something that she was used to. Wasn’t something she ever had before everything happened…this. Was completely new.
Slowly, Monika opened her eyes and gave a soft sigh. “...Dylan…I think. You are real. I think…maybe. This isn’t all just in my head…”
She wouldn’t look at him, in case she was wrong. If she was, this would simply melt away and she would fade back into whatever half stasis…whatever…
“...I’m…still not completely sure but…I want to believe it…”
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Posted: Tue Dec 31, 2024 3:11 pm
Dylan had carefully scooted them onto the bed when she dozed off so he could lean back against the headboard. Sleep wasn’t likely to come so he didn’t want to bother trying. He simply let himself get lost in his own thoughts, which were primarily of his time alone back home. The desire for connection with others was ebbed and flowed.
It came when he thought of his family and friends, long since lost to the Madness before succumbing to their ends. Their deaths, along with countless others, were far from peaceful. He missed them, and longed for them. To hear their voices, to spend time with them again.
It went when he thought of all of the loss he’d already suffered, how he’d been left completely and utterly alone when his entire world effectively came to its end. Somehow he survived, and there was a part of him that knew why. He understood it, somehow, yet refused to accept it. It was almost cruel to expect anyone to live such an empty, hopeless existence.
Almost needless, he thought at times, yet he had no choice. No means of escape until only recently.
He slipped out of his thoughts when he felt her stir against him, and his lips turned up in a small smile when she said his name. With her words he found relief from his concerns for her from earlier, when she first came into his room.
“I am very real,” he said again, “I promise. I was thinking, perhaps what might help you believe it is if I told you a bit about my world? What I remember of it, anyway. Did you ever visit, back before…”
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Posted: Tue Dec 31, 2024 3:28 pm
Monika hummed softly and twisted herself, looking up at him finally. “...You haven’t talked about it. I don’t think I ever visited Haik…and I haven’t gone back to Jishui since I’ve been on Earth either…I suppose. I’ve always been afraid of finding out that it was all fake and I’m still…just trapped.”
She didn’t…know if she believed it, but she still thought it. And the thoughts were loud enough to drown out the rational mind.
It wasn’t…absurd. Trauma left marks, she knew that. She understood that but. It was so hard to feel like it made sense. Which…didn’t make sense.
“...I would love to hear about your world. I would love that a lot, Dylan.”
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Posted: Tue Dec 31, 2024 6:34 pm
His smile widened when she accepted his offer to share a bit, and he nodded before closing his eyes, trying to think back.
“Before absolutely everyone and everything had gone mad,” he started, “even then it was, to me, still a beautiful place. Well worth the efforts I went to in order to try and slow down the decline. My planet is primarily water. Islands dot the surface, where a deathly storm is permanently raging. In the history books it’s recorded that civilization was, at some point, forced beneath the surface. Technology, and eventually the people, adapted.”
He pointed to the gills behind his ears, his eyes, a cluster of scales, and spread out his hands for her to see his claws. “Our body temperatures are also lower than most surface-dwelling species,” he went on.
“Technology advanced quickly once we were able to create a system that allowed for us to establish trade contracts with other planets. On the whole, I think in terms of comparison to something here on Earth…perhaps the closest thing might be an animated movie I came across some months ago, Atlantis: The Lost Empire. There are more differences than similarities, honestly, but I think it paints enough of a picture to give one an idea.”
Glancing down, he asked, “Have you ever seen it?”
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Posted: Tue Dec 31, 2024 6:44 pm
Monika listened, her face relaxing into a smile as she did so. It was…fascinating, though the thought of everyone going mad…that…that sounded terrible…but. As she had often said, Chaos does nothing but destroy…
Reaching out, she took hold of Dylan’s hand and squeezed it lightly. “That sounds beautiful. I would like…to see it someday…if you ever feel up to a trip…and no, I haven’t…we should watch it today, if you want to?” If it showed something like his old home…she wanted to see it.
She wanted to be there for him, just as she knew he was there for her. “I haven’t…dabbled in much animation, but I think it’s lovely. And the people who make the films and shows are so talented…but I think I understand a lot more why you were just…swimming around the reservoir…”
If he was used to living underwater? That would be a big change. It was a big change. “You fit on Earth well, I hope you know…”
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Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2025 9:27 pm
Ever since he learned that his homeworld was but a press of a button away, Dylan hadn’t dared to even try and press it. What if he got stuck? What if Chaos overpowered this new power to visit at will and he was again subjected to an eternity of being all alone, living what was essentially a half-life. Just surviving until he could he could escape again…
Dylan took comfort in the feel of her hand in his, and he gently squeezed her hand in turn. “I’ll take you one day,” he said, his focus on their joined hands as though the contact was helping to keep any unpleasant thoughts at bay. Ultimately he looked up at her and smiled, unsure how to comment on his preference to stay at the reservoir, but appreciative of her compliment to his ability to blend in.
“I’ll get the movie, you get the snacks?”
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Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2025 5:30 pm
Easy. It was the only word that really described how it felt to spend time with Dylan, and Monika liked it. A lot. She finally, slowly let go of his hand and nodded. “That sounds perfect. As always. Thank you, Dylan…I appreciate that I have you, and I promise I don’t take it for granted…”
How could she? He kept her sane, and hopefully…she was able to do the same for him.
Hesitating before she made her way to the kitchen, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his cheek before withdrawing and making her way to the kitchen. She felt back up to snuff…and now her cheeks were just a bit warmer than they had been.
And her heart was thumping just a bit more quickly.
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Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2025 5:45 pm
He felt a wave of relief wash through him when she seemed to find herself back at center, so to speak, and at her thanks he gave a little shake of his head. “I’m just happy that I’m able to be of any help to you at all,” he said through a broadened smile. He realized a short time ago that there was little he wouldn’t do to help her, though he kept that thought to himself. And while at the start it was to pay her back for her kindness, at some point it changed to simply wanting to help, to be there for her.
A thought quietly crossed his mind when she kissed his cheek, the sensation as foreign as it was fascinating. His cheeks warmed quickly as she slipped away and headed for the kitchen, and he blinked dumbly at her retreating figure for a moment.
Dylan took a second to correct his previous thought, wondering if beyond simply being there for her…maybe he wanted to be with her as well. Though perhaps now wasn’t quite the time to be pensive about it, so he tucked the thought away and followed her out.
For now, he was happy to settle into a movie and snacks with her. There was time to think about the rest of it later.
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