Chapters Time and death intertwined
Morrow groaned, reaching back and stretching out his back. His eyes hurt, his hands were sweaty and what was that damn smell in the air!? The sky seemed too blue to bear and he closed his eyes, slowly sitting in a chair his body almost seeming to fold in on itself as if the bones in his body had turned into toothpaste. To his left a fire felt like it was blazing but he ignored it, trying to make his body stop feeling jittery from all the traveling. His most recent host had been the most indecisive person he had met in a long time, and made morrow take him to three different locations before finally settling at the LOCATION THEY HAD STARTED AT. For that one Morrow had charged him more than he normally would, and just told the confused man that was his usual price. That would show him…
The spot next to him that felt hot got hotter, and confused now he opened his eyes and looked to his left to find… well a figure. Her figure was a bit smaller than average, with a small bust and smoky-black colored fur. Her eyes were closed hiding the color of her pupils, but they seemed to have graceful lashes, a bit darker than her fur. Her hair was… well it was litteraly fire. Blue fire the color of an ocean converted to flame to blue lightning in from bottom to top, flickering and seeming to play along her head but still have the same physics as hair, falling along her back in short curls while being a bit longer in the front. Her tail was also nothing like a normal tuff of hair, but instead a long curving scythe the end being blue like her hair, seeming sharp enough to cut the bench she sat upon in half.
She wore something like a robe, but this unlike her seemed a bit ragged as if torn by age, and surprisingly barely long enough to cover her thighs. Her feet were bare, and on one leg a pair of scissors could be seen tied to her leg by a red band. Despite all this though, despite her strange atire and look… he found himself attracted to her. It was of course now, while he looked at her his eyes turned red and suddenly he couldn’t see. Or at the very least, not the present. His eyes saw in the future the two of them together, sitting on the couch pressing to each other happily and then next him being beaten by a black cat on the head as she laughed nearby. Then finally a tender moment between the two, with lips meeting and eyes closing. Then as he blinked, it was all gone.
“Excuse me miss, are you alright? You seem sad,” he asked, smiling a bit incase she was jumpy. It turned out she was, so jumpy that for the next three seconds Morrow couldn’t see her. Not until he looked up at least to find her hurting back down and, by some chance, straight into his lap. Only now he saw her eyes, pitch black as a moonless night yet seeming to gleam as she stared at him in evident surprise. “Wait a minute… you can see me?” she asked, seeming confused before looking down and realizing she was in my lap and quickly pushed herself out blushing just a bit. “A-and able to touch me?”
She raised an eyebrow, looked around at their surroundings and pointed with a finger to the nearby school. “If I could be seen by everyone I think they would all be screaming..”
My vision turned a bit red as I saw what would happen, and looked at her realising what she was. I watched, as she sadly opened the scissors and waited as the youth struggled to move them. “Ah, i see,” he said simply as he tripped backwards, and was evidently crushed as the scissors closed. they both stood there in silence for a second, then one second later they were back at the bench and he sat back down his eyes going back to their natural pale color. She looked at him, then poking him in the ribs she asked “So how are you doing that?”
She stared at me, seeming to consider the offer before slowly rising, warily, and nodded. Then we were off, this time walking since it seemed she wasn’t used to my special type of movement, and we headed on towards the home in the distance. He found his hand drifting towards hers, and without noticing as she walked the back of her hand touched his just a bit, barely a single spot of skin. He thought it still felt nice though.
As she walked in he saw her take in his small but comfy home, with a kitchen, hallway with two guest bedrooms one of which he occupied, and a little living room to relax in. “Huh, how do you manage to afford this place?” she asked over her shoulder as i walked in behind her. “Turns out taxi’s get pretty good pay, and I get to charge extra for being the fastest around,” I said proudly, although decided not to mention the more or less constant eyepains from my job.
It was strange how it worked, almost as if his speed and ability to transport others was linked to his eyes. It seemed whenever something happened like travel or time manipulation Morrow’s eyes stung a bit more. He had to buy eyedrops constantly to keep them from hurting, but it still wasn’t as bad as paying for gas. “I think your more than a taxi morrow,” she said with a small smile before beginning to explore. As she did, he went and began to prepare dinner it being that time of day, a nice steak and garden salad.
Scenes seemed to play through his head in a red haze while he worked, and before long he felt the feeling of heat behind him as she watched, seeming interested as he cut and cooked the meat in long strips. She even jumped as he turned his head and asked if she wanted to learn how. She responded with a nod, and he showed her how to make the garden salad giving instructions from over her shoulder and from the stove while he finished the meat. Around thirty minutes later everything was finished and they sat down to eat, Morrow sliding his steak strips into the salad to eat together while she ate them separately.
Author's Note
Inum is an immature incarnation, most people cannot see or interact with her
Time and death intertwined
“Why are we doing this again?” Inum questioned, following behind me into the clothing store. We had gone for a walk, or it more seemed I had to drag her into a walk with me, down the road to find something to do. Despite the long day the only thing that hurt was my eyes, and my body seemed to be put on springs. Every step felt like I could suddenly bounce up into the sky, Inum staring up at the blue blob in the sky as she would wait for me to land.
“Come on Inum, no offense about your tastes but you can’t exactly wear a cloak all day and expect not to be stared at,” I called over my shoulder, immediately heading for the girl’s clothing section. Somehow I knew with red tinged vision if I turned around that Inum would be frowning doubtfully, but I kept on walking. They had a fine selection today, at least I think they did, because her eyes lit up like lightbulbs when she saw them. Which was a bit strange, since her eyes were like a void that I just kept finding myself getting sucked into.
Her bladed tail swished happily back and forth while she looked through the mostly black clothing, and I noticed that most of it was lacy. Crisscrossing patterns like black spiderwebs tying together the chest while the rest of the dress seemed to slim down to fit a smaller figure, coming with a matching pair of dark blue jeans. The corners of my mouth perked up into smiles while I looked through the men’s section, knowing with red vision if I looked I would find her happily going around the rack trying to find anything else.
After a bit shrugging I headed for the changing room, going outside of the changing room she was occupying. Funny how one second she thought nobody would see her, and the next she went into a changing room when she could have just changed in the open. Pulling the curtain back a bit my head poked in looking around for a second before I spotted her. She made a surprisingly cute tomboy, the black lacy top fitting her snuggly outlining her perfectly while still holding a practical feel. The jeans hugged her waist and outlined her b - before my mind could finish any thought having to do with that I suddenly found an annoyed face before my own.
“A little privacy would be nice Morrow,” she grumped pulling the curtain closed right in my face, lightly smacking my nose in the process. “I couldn’t help it I couldn’t tell what you looked like under that cloak,” i complained playfully, rubbing my nose lightly not noticing the blue light emanating from my fingers.
“Then at least wait till I get out of the changing room!”
“But where is the fun in that? Then i see you all serious but you looked so cute the - “
“I’m not cute,” she grumped, poking her head over the curtain. Well, she tried at least before her head vanished again and re-appeared with red tinged cheeks and a pouting face. It seemed the little death was to short to look over the curtain… cute~
“Mhmmm sure, anyway want to get anything else before we head back? Maybe a blue jacket?”
“Hmph, sure.. “ she responded, opening the curtain and going for the clothing section again finding a black hoodie. For a tomgirl though she still seemed to have surprisingly girly taste, the hoodie having small frills on the end and a deeper cut in the front. She slid it on then looked to me, and once again I found myself lost in those eyes. A void was supposed to be empty and suck everything in, yet it almost seemed like her eyes were… full. Full of future and promise, full of wishes and dreams and full of hopes. Full of every single good thing you could imagine, and the feeling only amplified when she smiled.
“Let's get going, or atleast you get going I have another job to get to,” she said flippantly, walking by to the door before stopping at the doorway looking at a poster. Tilting my head I came up behind her, in the back of my head noticing the fact she was half a head shorter than myself, before realising she was looking at the carnival. It was in town this week, through some magical means coming with a ferris wheel and even a few other large rides.
“Is your job by any chance at the carnival?” I questioned and she jumped, seeming surprised I was still there. She turned to the carnival and nodded, frowning a bit. “So how does your power work, do they only die if you cut the thread or…?”
“Well, it's more like cutting it just a bit before the death. Most of the people I cut are seconds away from death at any one point and it's almost like I can see their thread running from their head to my hand, but I mostly cut those who are going to have a very painful death,” she explained while tracing turning to face me. “That boy earlier, if he didn’t get cut he would have slowly died under those boxes with a punctured lung, broken leg and neck… he was stupid to be carrying all that in the first place, but he would have died a slow and painful death if he wasn’t cut a bit early,”
“Huh…”
“What?” she asked, tilting her head questioningly. I started walking, thinking it over and she followed, frowning slightly at my silence. I processed what she told me in my head, turning it over and poking at it from multiple angles. “If you could save them, before they got hurt would you?”
“Well… that seems like playing with fate a bit, isn’t it?”
“You cut threads a bit before they are ready, your already playing with fate,”
“Touche…”
“But when you think about it this is a moral dilemma, is it worth killing someone early to let them avoid pain when they could be found and helped later? Or should you save them when they were meant to die, disrupting timelines and playing fate like a flute, shaping it to your own tune?”
Inum was silent for a while, looking up into the starry sky in thought while she walked with me. I wasn’t sure where my feet were taking me, it seemed like they had set a course and I was left to follow, like a mouse in a maze. I thought about it for a while, then coming to a conclusion I put a gentle hand on her shoulder and stayed silent, continuing to walk. After a hesitant second she leaned into the hand just a bit and closed her eyes, frowning to herself.
Soon we started to see lights in the distance, bright and dazzling even from a distance and I finally figured out where my feet were taking me. We were at the outskirts of the carnival, and after a second I turned to Inum smiling a bit. “I think death deserves a day off from playing executioner, agree?”
She looked to me, and after a bit nodded and we walked in together, looking around. First things first I had to order a ticket to watch the show, how could I not they had lions. Who could resist watching people play with big fuzzy cats? The show didn’t start for a bit though, so we found ourselves heading for a shooting gallery, pistols laid out for guests to try and shoot the small targets. I smirked, and payed the three dollars it required before picking up the pistol cockily.
“Well someone seems confident, you a master marksman or something?” Inum teased from next to me, watching as I took aim. In five seconds all three targets were down and i was left to blow a stream of smoke from the tip as both Inum and the stallman stared at me slack jawed. The red glow that had been emanating from my hand and transfering into the gun subsided and I layed the gun down, smiling at the man. “I suggest making sure its not jammed, could be a problem~”
“How did you do that so fast?” Inum sputtered as the stallman grabbed the gun and checked it, still staring a bit.
“Oh simple, the guns are rigged so the bullets are a bit heavier then they should be so they drag more and miss even if you have perfect aim, so I just sped up the mechanics of the gun so it shot the bullets faster and the extra drag didn’t matter because it was suddenly a lot faster,” I explained casually, pointing to a big stuffed cat in the top. I liked cats.
Inum stared at me for a second, then lowered her head, shaking it with a smile. “You are a bit ignorant, huh?”
Some time later we were at a strongman test, and Inum was staring at the hammer with a mischievous look. “Morrow Morrow Morrow Morro-”
“What?” I asked smiling and chuckling a bit. “Pay the guy real quick then act like your moving the hammer with your mind, he can’t see me after all,” she said and I shared his mischievous smile and payed the man who seemed confused. Inum grabbed the hammer, and suddenly it seemed almost as if the mostly hidden marks on her hands seemed to… move. I had once read a story where a man hurt people through tattoos he stitched onto his own body, and what she did almost reminded me of that.
The blue coloring on her hands seemed to stretch and twist up her arms, going just past her elbows before turning jagged, almost like teeth. Along the blue that now covered her forearms little blades of her natural color appeared, and with a heave she lifted the hammer like it was a toy. I reached out a hand and acted like I was manipulating it with magic, amazed at the show of power. Then suddenly swung my arm down as she heaved again and sent the hammer crashing down, hitting the trigger and causing the bell to ring loud enough to sound even over the roar of lions, the trumpeting of elephants and the talk of hundreds of people. Silence fell soon after, and as everyone stared the tattoos on her arms shrunk and went back to normal as she looked at me and smiled.
The circus was mostly standard, but there was one act that neither of us had expected. A basilisk, giant, silent and a dark blue color emerged from the shadows of the backstage and the crowd hushed, transfixed by the giant snake. Next a woman came out, wearing very little clothing and turned to face the snake. It turned to her in response, and she began doing a slow, hypnotic dance which seemed to make the dance sway like you saw when a flute was played.
It slowly got closer and closer to the woman, and before long it had slid one of her hands into its mouth. She kept dancing though even as it slowly began to swallow her, swallowing her arm then her other arm. Finally it took one big gulp and swallowed her top half into its mouth, her back legs kicking. Then the serpent slithered backstage and the crowd gave a hesitant chorus of clapping. Inum was clapping with them, seeming to have been fascinated by the performance.
At the end of the circus the all came out including the woman and her snake and took a bow, and this time the crowd erupted into cheers whistles and clapping, a few coins even being tossed on to the stage from the seats. As the circus headed backstage to refresh for their final show the crowd dispersed, talking among themselves as they left the crowded tent Inum and I following behind. I felt tired, spent but content. We had one a couple big prizes, seen an entertaining show and relaxed together for a while.
Inum seemed a lot more comfortable now, staying by my side, laughing joking and generally teasing most of what I did. Well, atleast teasing when she wasn’t acting like a mother, chastising me when I did something a bit risky. Like when I tried doing a backflip over a hay bale and ended up falling onto the hay bale instead. I didn’t hear the end of that till the show had started.
“This has been one of the more fun days of my life,” Inum mused softly, smiling a bit up at the sky. I looked up with her, the dark night reminding me of her eyes. I smiled, and looked to her to find her looking at me. Our gazes locked together again, and it felt… indescribable. My heart beat faster, my skin seemed to warm and her eyes seemed like one of the most beautiful things I had seen. She herself seemed to be having her cheeks tinted with color, and the heat radiating from her body seemed to intensify. Then the moment was broken with a loud bang of color and noise as the firework show started.
The two of us watched in silence, both smiling just a bit as the colors flashed in the sky where they dazzled like a new set of stars. The next time I looked at inum, it almost seemed like a piece of those stars had been put into her eyes, a faint white spot emanating from the center of each eye. Then the fireworks ended and we stood up and left the carnival. Exhausted of walking from the day I traveled us to the home, and promptly went towards the bedroom I usually slept in, turning to see Inum.
“You can stay in the guest bedroom if you like, it should be comfy enough,” I said warmly smiling a bit.
“Wait.. alone?” she questioned, her eyes seeming to flash with fear for a second.
“Well yes, it would be a bit weird if we slept together wouldn’t it?”
“But… alright, goodnight Morrow,” she said, and I swear I saw a plan flicker through her eyes before she turned to her bedroom and went in. “goodnight Inum,” I called after her and went into my own room, laying down on the bed and almost instantly falling asleep.
Time and death intertwined
As I woke up I felt… warmer, than usual. My body seemed hot and flustered even though I felt fine. As I tried to turn in bed I felt something drag a bit along my side and froze, recognizing the blue tinted hand gently wrapped around my shoulder. Turning my head I saw Inum happily sleeping next to me, pressed to my side in her clothes from last night close, a small half smile on her face.
I couldn’t help but stay still and watch her, contemplating my situation in my head. Then, after a minute of waiting my body slowly turned to face her and I wrapped one of my own arms around her, pulling her a bit closer. Her body felt even warmer as I did, as if a fire burned from the inside of her chest and made her like a living heater.
Realizing something, I smiled and reaching up slowly began to pet her fiery hair, watching the flames play on and around my hand, the motion causing embers to come off of her hair yet it only felt a bit warmer than usual. Otherwise it acted and felt like normal hair, not even singing the bed. “Uhm… hey,” a voice said a bit shyly and I realized she must have woken up from the sensation. Looking down I found her looking at me, blushing quite a bit to the point her face looked as hot as she felt. And her fingers had gently grabbed a hold of my side. “Hope you don’t mind I snuck in next to you, you were just cool and I couldn’t sleep,” she said quickly, seeming afraid of chastisement or anger.
Instead I smiled and gently ruffled her hair, her face turning to one of surprise as I did so. “Its okay, you gave me quite the peaceful sleep little Inum,” I teased, and she blushed even more pouting. “I’m not little your just huge!”
“I’m only a bit taller than average silly~”
“No your a giant now shush,” she grumped, turning her head still pouting yet seeming not to mind the fact her hair was still being petted. I laughed softly and slowly untangled myself from her and stood up, stretching my arms out. I hadn’t been lying about the sleep either, the warmth had sunk into my very bones and they felt longer and stronger than they usually did.
Inum got up as well, watching me from behind her hair before slowly getting up. “Hey uh… mind if I change real quick? I might have grabbed a few extra pairs of clothes from the store while you weren’t looking,” she said cheekily, looking to the side and tapping her fingers together. I nodded and she quickly seemed to almost vanish with how fast she moved, leaving a few wisps of blue fire before retreating into her room. Going into my own closet, I found out her shopping had also included a few of my own shirts cheeky girl.
I found her at the table looking towards the hallway to the bedrooms, wearing a light blue top held onto her small form by straps on her shoulders, the barest hint of a black bra showing on the side of one strap. She was wearing jeans this time, but this time they were shorts and seemed to be very lightly singed at the tips to give it a more ragged appearance. She smiled a bit as she saw me, and I smiled back walking over and preparing the stove to cook something good.
“Hey Inum, any ideas for what to do today?” I asked casually, and she thought about it for a second then smiling held up a single finger. “One thing at a time Morrow, lets get past breakfast first,”
“Fair enough,” I responded and looked into the fridge grabbing out ingredients to make an omelette. I felt her press against my back a bit as she looked around me to watch as i prepared it, and even helped with cracking the eggs.
She could use a bit of work, little shards of eggshell getting in with the yolk but she did mostly well, cracking the eggs and applying salt and pepper to the eggs as they cooked while I prepared some of the bacon to get mixed in with them. Soon we were finished and sat down to eat with the pan in front of us and two plates.
She ate slowly, seeming to watch me more than eat but whenever I looked in her direction she looked somewhere else, blushing just a bit. After a bite I smiled and teased “This is pretty good, although you look a bit better,”
“S-shush…” she replied evidently flustered, but the red tint on her cheeks made me smile. I wasn’t quite sure why, but when I saw her happy it made me happy, and my mind pondered that while I continued to eat. Red tinted the edges of my vision and time seemed to pass faster than usual as visions and thoughts passed through my head while we ate.
All of a sudden one of the visions seemed to blister, and as it rubbed past my vision I saw myself standing in front of a mirror, watching as my eyes rapidly changed colors. It was strange, they went from red, then to blue then even yellow. Purple was next, then green and this time when the green appeared it looked like my left side was on fire, before it went to orange and a single spot on the mirror seemed to warp before the me in the mirror winked and the vision faded. I think future me just made a time paradox, great that would have to be smoothed out later. “Oh… is that why my eyes hurt?” I asked out loud, and Inum looked at me strangely. “Wait, you didn’t know what you were doing?”
“No how would I? I don’t usually stare into a mirror,”
“But whenever your eyes turned yellow you traveled and you seemed to be able to control that pretty easily,”
My hand seemed to want to say hi to my face for a second as I slapped it over my eyes, leaning back as the full realization hit me. “I just thought I was a really good taxi driver!”
Inum stared at me for a second, then began to giggle uncontrollably before starting to laugh. Before long I was laughing with her, food forgotten and we both laughed so hard we were left panting and we looked at each other, smiling just a bit. Then, surprisingly she got up and took the seat next to me, sliding her plate to her new position. I looked at her, then shrugged and continued to eat myself, the two of us soon finishing the meal.
I stood up from the table smiling a bit before excusing myself and heading for the bathroom to relieve myself. When I finished, i looked into the mirror and watched my eyes, wondering if they would change like they did in the vision. The usual red haze that usually came from time to time happened and this time I saw my eyes turn red. It was like a deep scarlet pool had opened up in both eyes, and as soon as the haze lifted they seemed to shrink like they were evaporating until it was my normal pale eye color. I wonder how I hadn’t noticed this happening, but at least it explained a lot.
When I came back out I saw her playing with her hair a bit, grasping the fire between her fingers like it was normal strands of hair and playing with it gently, watching as the flames flickered out from her grasp. I came up behind her and gently rested my hands on her shoulders and she jumped, evidently surprised. Then she leaned back into my hands and closed her eyes for a second. Even though I didn’t do anything it seemed as if that second stretched for a minute, the silence closing around us and the world faded to black for a second. It was just us in a plane of darkness and silence, then the second was broken and her eyes opened again. “You know, it's hard being alone for so long, not being able to talk to anyone…” she said sadly, looking at me all the while.
“I have to imagine, but isn’t it nice not being seen every once and awhile?”
She snorted before responding “Sure, once out of a thousand times,”
“How long since someone talked to you?”
“Too long to remember… although I think the last time was maybe ten years ago,”
“How long since your last date?” I asked casually, and that spark of emotion that had been building since last night suddenly bloomed into a full fire, and I realized the emotion was love. I should have figured that long ago from when I had first seen her, that red vision of a kiss. She blinked, blushed then began stammering. “W-what!? W-what do you m-mean?”
“I mean, would you mind going on a date with me later? I have a good feeling about us,” I said, smiling warmly.
“But we have known each other for a day!”
My mind whispered otherwise, and at that moment it seemed I had known her for my entire life, or at least my future life. That felt like a load to dump onto her though, so I just smiled as she looked everywhere but me, seeming flustered. Then after a solid minute of her avoiding my eyes she looked at me and nodded, a small smile quirking the corners of her lips. That's about when I fell back in relief, half expecting her to say no since we had only just met.
Five hours later I was standing in front of my body mirror, checking the sleek black shirt I had put on and black pants, seeing if it looked alright. The front of the shirt looked like a tuxedo, and it was one of the nicer clothes I had. After a bit of straightening I walked out into the main room and waited for inum to get ready, one foot tapping on the ground beating out a quick rhythm. Another five minutes passed like this, then she emerged.
She was wearing a black top like she had the night at the carnival, but this one hung off one shoulder covering her chest but leaving part of her stomach exposed. She wore tight black pants that hugged her lower body and she seemed to have managed to do her hair in a bun, the ends of the flames flickering with purple as well. She smiled at me before walking over, gently poking my chest. “Nice tux, or should i say shirt~?”
“Just call it a tuxedo, makes it sound more fancy, “ i teased and she giggled softly, smiling a bit more. “So where were you wanting to eat?”
“I thought you had a place picked out, did you not?”
“Well not exactly, but if you want I know a pretty good spot,”
She seemed intrigued by the restaurant, a strange mexican and Italian mix that served food from pasta to tacos. They even had a few strange combination foods, like mexican rice mixed in with thin noodle spaghetti, with mexican cooked ground beef in meatball form and a side of refried beans. Funny enough that's what I ended up ordering though, it just seemed too interesting to pass up. She ordered a simple salad and steak, and we ate in partial silence, other times engaging in jokes and teasing at one another. We also talked about the night before, and which act we liked the most. I had liked the lions the most and to my delight she also liked that the best, and while eating I secretly covered my eyes while looking for a path where we got that cat.
“You know, despite what you think your very pretty,” I said casually, smiling just a bit at her as her cheeks turned the smallest bit red. “No i’m not silly,” she responded, ending up brushing a strand of fiery hair back into place. “But you are, I mean purple and blue hair - “
“fire, “ she interrupted, “not hair, but fire,”
“An adorable smaller frame with a big amount of attitude~”
“Hey now we talked about this, i’m not small you're just giant!” she pouted, her cheeks puffing out and lips sticking out in an adorable pouty face. I laughed softly, trying to stay quiet as to not disturb the other customers eating, before starting to eat myself giving her a wink. She began to eat as well, still with just a hint of color in both cheeks as we finished our meal.
After paying the bill I stood up and stretched, cracking my back before looking around slowly. It was dark out by now, and there were very few customers still here. Inum stood up as well, and offering her my arm we walked out into the city only to find past the little overhand of the restaurant it was raining. It wasn’t a light pattering of rain either, but a downpour, as if the sky were trying to drown the world underneath it.
Inum looked out into it and frowned, clutching the corner of her dress with obvious distaste. “Does rain still touch you?”
“Abiotic things touch me, living things can’t see or interact with me though,” she explained, and patted her hair with an annoyed look. “Its always annoying when it rains, it lowers my temperature and sometimes makes my fire go out,”
I frowned, starting to think before bringing her with me starting to quickly walk through the downpour. It felt like a hammer was bashing against my head and shoulders, and Inum’s hair immediately started flickering. She was already left shivering, and the usual heat that radiated from her seemed to dim immensely, as if struggling to keep her internal temperatures stable. Without another thought I pulled off my shirt and held it above her, catching the rain with it instead and letting me take the full brunt of the rain.
She stared at me and my bare chest, then tried to push the shirt back towards me. “Come on put your shirt back on, your going to catch a cold,”
“Your going to do the same if I don't do this,”
“Just put your shirt on its oka - “ she was cut off as I suddenly walked up to her, picked her up and laid the shirt on top of her, starting to walk back in the direction of the house. She gave an indignant noise and struggled for a second before shooting me an annoyed look. “Morrow, put me do - “
That was all I heard before she was silenced by a kiss, me leaning down over her and pressing my lips to her own. Her eyes widened in shock and she seemed to freeze, not moving away or kissing back as I looked into her eyes. Her lips were warm and soft, like a pillow and only after a second did I pull away. Then, gently as possible I tilted my head down and rested my forehead against hers, wrapping my arms close around her and pulling her close to my chest. I closed my eyes, and I could hear her breathing quicken, her heart beat strong against my hands as I held her.
I opened my eyes and looked into hers, which now held a small white dot for a pupil in each and I smiled. It looked like a single shining star in the middle of oblivion.
“Just let me love you…”
Time and death intertwined
Usually, a good way to end a day was to fall into a deep sleep with peaceful dreams and someone you hold dear’s side pressed against your own. Instead I was stuck sniffling and blowing my nose as Inum looked at me frowning. Her new eyes were even more beautiful than they had been before, but now the edges were crinkled a bit with concern as she handed me another tissue. “I told you you would get a cold silly…” she sighed, shaking her head in bafflement.
“Worth it, your hair didn’t go out and I got to hold you for the first time,” I responded happily, wiping my nose before relaxing a bit.
Incarnation’s immune systems worked incredibly fast, and the cold would be gone in the morning we both knew. They couldn’t get sick, diseased or die by any natural causes, especially since most personifications could turn off if they are seen or not. Its like fading out of the world into another identical one, just where your not noticed. I myself could technically speed up the ailment and make it pass faster, but I was avoiding doing that both for the eye pain and that it would make all the symptoms hit at once, and I didn’t think sneezing that hard would feel exactly pleasant.
A hand reached and gently wrapped around Inum’s shoulders, and after just a moment’s hesitation, she leaned in just a bit. I gently drew her in and pulled her to my side, giving her a gentle squeeze. She looked to me, smiling just a bit before leaning over and gently resting her head on my shoulder. I smiled back, and after a second rested my head on hers, the flames seeming to gently lick at my face. Her body was warm, like standing at the perfect distance from a fireplace.
After a bit she shifted a bit pressing closer, then asked a simple question softly, one so simple that all it required was yes or no.
“Do you love me?”
I thought about it for only a second, vision going red and hazy before I turned my head just a bit and kissed the top of her head delicately. “I want to share every moment of the rest of my life with you, I want to get to know you and all your cute little quirks, I want to grow friends and meet new people with you at my side, and I want to be with you like a fire wants fuel,” I said slowly, looking into her eyes as I spoke. “So if that's love, then yes, I love you Inum,”
“... good, just wanted to make sure,” she said with a smile, her cheeks turning rosy red. I had the feeling it would take her a bit before she admitted any feelings, but I knew they were there, growing and growing and I loved to see it develop.
Some might think being able to see the future means you can’t be surprised by what happens in life. That seeing the future is like knowing the ending, and because of that it makes life boring. Instead though, what it really did is let you see every moment that the people you currently know evolve and grow into what you see, and it's an amazing sequence. The best part about it, is you get to love them and help them every stage of the way. People say the past is what makes the person, good or bad. But really it's the decisions they make that shows what they really think and their true personality, that's what determines what kind of person they are. Everyone is the hero of their own story, and if someone keeps trying to make the right choices, make the right changes, then they really can be the hero they hope they are.
Squeezing her gently I smiled, then thought for a second before gently poking her stomach. It took a few more pokes before she opened an eye looking up at me. “Mmm?” she questioned, snuggling her head more into my shoulder. “We should get washed, i don’t think rain counts as a shower~”
“Mmm… nu,” she said, before hiding her face in my shoulder. I smiled playfully and gently began to rock her, slowly hiding one hand under her slow enough for her not to notice though. “Come on Inum, you’ll feel a lot cleaner when your showered,”
“Nooo I don’t wanna, and you can't make me,” she pouted, looking at me with that same pouty face she did earlier. My smile only grew as I shook my head, eyes closed while very gently scooping her up and carrying her to her room. She clutched close to my chest, evidently not wanting to fall and looked up at me with a disgruntled glare. “Strong meanie…”
“Come on it's for your own good little death~,”
“Hrmph,”
I put her down gently inside her room, before retreating into my own to pick out pajamas for after the shower. Then I simply waited, laying down on the big bed while in the bathroom I heard the water turn on. Time seemed to pass like a stream, and soon I realized thirty minutes had passed and even the quiet humming that had been coming from down the hall had stopped. Slowly I stood up, just a bit worried, and holding my clothes walked out into the hallway and rested an ear on the door to see if everything was okay.
I could hear the water running, but that was it no sound of movement or action besides the rushing water. Now I faced two options, either open the door and make sure she was alright, or go back and wait for her to finish. Of course I picked the first option, and slowly opened the door so it wouldn’t make a sound and peaked in. My cheeks lit up a bit as I saw her in the shower, water running down her form and outlining her figure, but she wasn’t moving. She was on her knees, head down with her hair flickering and seeming to almost absorb the water, letting me guess she had the water hotter as a preference.
After another second of consideration I walked in, pulling off my own clothes and placing them neatly on the floor out of the way before putting my usual towel on the rack. I reached a hand in next, testing the temperature of the water to find it was fairly hot, making my skin slightly uncomfortable from the heat. I turned it down just a bit before slowly going in, closing the glass door behind me and crouched down next to her. I put a hand on her back gently to find her chest steadily rising and falling, and almost instantly I realized she was asleep, a small smile curled on her lips.
I slowly sat down, making sure my length was pressed down and away before very gently sliding her into my lap, wrapping my arms around her stomach gently. I leaned her back against me to let the water run on and off her front before resting my head gently on top of hers. “Morrow…” she murmured softly in her sleep, and I blushed thinking she must have been dreaming of me. After a second though I also smiled a bit, and proceeded to gently wash her back with soap, feeling the slippery bar slide over her lean muscle and smooth skin.
“M… M-morrow!?” she cried, suddenly waking up and finding herself being held froze almost instantly, cheeks flushing bright red. I blushed as well in embarrassment, and slowly kissed the bridge of her nose looking at her. “H-hey… I didn’t hear you making any noises so I came to check if you were okay… then I saw you sleeping and didn’t want to wake you up,” I explained a bit nervously, not sure how she would react. She was silent for a second, seeming to think then her cheeks somehow turned more red and she leaned a bit away, gesturing to her waist.
I slowly began to wash her waist and a bit lower with her permission, making sure not to go anywhere private while she watched my face, her own blush starting to fade as she got used to me being there. Once I had got everywhere she stood up, keeping her legs closed and let the water run down her back and wash off the soap, cleaning her and leaving her back partially shiny. After a second I stood up as well, and gently kissed her on the mouth tilting her head towards mine. She returned it, and we stayed like that for ten seconds before smiling I turned around and she washed my back while I got my front.
Both of us felt even more comfortable with each other as we put on our clothes, even though we both faced the other direction. It wasn’t the time to do anything, and neither wanted to be “spoiled” about the other, although we both had gotten small glimpses. We both still wanted a bit of privacy, and neither felt quite comfortable enough since we still hadn’t known each other too long. After clothing we shared an embrace before going back out to the couch, sitting right next to each other and looking at the tv. “Hey, any shows you want to watch?” I asked, picking up the remote and turning it on, putting it to NETFLIX,”
“Hmm.. ever seen Harry Potter? I haven’t gotten a chance to see it yet and I would be interested too,”
“Sounds good, and if that's the case lets start with the first movie,”
“Wait… there is multiple?”
The next hour was spent watching the first Harry Potter movie, both of us enwrapped by the concept and action scenes. She joked and complained as she watched, pointing out some of the plot holes while I just smiled and listened and watched, amused by her critique even though she had never seen it before. Our world had those with horns or wings, those with horns being able to cast magic and it seemed to be based on that, an entire school of gifted magicians practicing the arts.
As the movie progressed Inum talked less and less, and before long we were both laying down on the couch, Inum having ended up on top of me while we watched contently. One arm was wrapped around her waist while her head rested against me chest we both watched as Harry had his very first adventure. After the hour passed the movie ended, and we both relaxed with each other, in our own little perfect world as the night went by.
After a bit more time she turned towards me, resting her gaze on my own before we pressed closer together. My arms twined around her back as her own found themselves around my shoulders, and we pressed close enough that I could feel her warm breath tickle the skin of my throat. I tilted my head down as she tilted her own up and we kissed again, both closing our eyes and enjoying the peaceful moment. Time and death intertwined into a kiss, the universe seemed to have everything go… perfect, in that moment. Everything clicked into place, crime stopped all over the world for a minute and those who should have died managed to survive. Those with not much time left found themselves with enough to speak, and those hurt with fatal disease found a cure suddenly insight. Then slowly the moment faded, and the universe went back to how it was except changed by a single unity.
The two of us slowly pulled away from each other, then smiling I placed another gentle kiss on her throat. She smiled back, and then slowly turned back around to face the TV again.
“Hey Inum, up for another movie except this time with popcorn?” I asked softly, rubbing her sides gently.
“Hmm… sure, but you can’t eat all of it I want some too,”
“No promises~”
Time and death intertwined
My hand slowly caressed Inum’s fiery hair as we laid on the couch that morning, both having fallen asleep from watching the movie. The flames seemed brighter than last night, and the edges were naturally tinged with deeper blue and even a bit of purple. Her skin seemed healthier, a shining black like onyx while the blue on her hands seemed to radiate more heat than the rest of her body. She felt warmer in general too, almost softer.
She made a soft happy sound as her head pressed into my shoulder, face resting against it while my hand continued its motion along the top of her head. Before long her arms found their way around me, and the bit of coldness that had crept into my skin from the night in only clothes seemed to melt away, her heat growing warm and tender, like that of a purring kitten, pressed up against your leg. Then she pulled her face out of my shoulder and gave me a smile, the happiest one I had seen on her face the last few days. “My body gets warmer the happier I am..”
“Ah I see, well then I need to make you warmer~”
“Oh? And however will you do that hmhmhm~?”
“With lots of cuddles, love and a couple kisses,” I responded smiling at her playfully, and she opened one of her eyes to look at me her own smile growing. “That will work~”
A few hours later we were at the table, eating a meal we had cooked together. She had managed to cook some pretty good bacon up, then the two of us combined her bacon with my omelette mix and managed to make something like a bacon wrapped omelette, with onions, peppers and little bits of bacon covered in three blend cheese. It was amazing, and despite the popcorn last night we managed to finish a 12in pan of it. Only problem was we were both so stuffed we could barely move. We both sat at the kitchen table like we had before, joking and talking pleasantly. Then, an idea struck me.
“Hey inum, have you been feeling any different recently?”
“Mmm? Not really, maybe a bit stronger with a side of love, but that's mostly it,”
“Have you ever heard of yin and yang, hun?”
At the use of a nickname she blushed, then it slowly faded as she thought about the question. Then I saw what I knew I would see, a flash of recognition passed through her eyes and a hand shot to her face. I nodded, smiling and slowly got up, sitting next to her. Her eyes seemed to shimmer, as I slowly leaned over and rested my head on her shoulder.
“Yin and Yang is symbolism for everything good comes with a bit of bad, and everything bad comes with a bit of good… the colors to symbolise this is a wheel,”
Slowly the shimmering grew, and as she clutched her mouth with a hand a slow tear fell from both her eyes.
“Yin, like a teardrop with a black spot… then yang, which is a black teardrop with a white circle… “
Tears now freely fell from her eyes and onto the ground below, soft gasps coming from her mouth as she tried to stifle her soft sobs. I slowly leaned up, and with two fingers closed her eyes, before gently kissing both of them. The tears continued, then soon feeling compelled my own turned a strange, multi colored state while my own began to leak moisture as well. Slowly and carefully I rested my forehead against her own, closing my eyes while picking her up and moving her onto my lap.
We sat like that for a time, head to head, tear matching tear. My hand slowly caressed her back while her arms wrapped tight around my back, and before long the tears dried up. We kept sitting their though, clutching one another both smiling before lips met lips and we kissed again. A slow, long kiss that left me feeling lightheaded. Then pulling away just a bit from one another, I spoke four soft words while staring into her eyes, like the void with a single star.
“Welcome, Incarnation of death”
Now we roamed the streets, Inum seeming mystified as people looked at her and a few even waved, smiling friendly. The nice thing about the small town we lived in was there were very few unfriendly, and everyone was interested to meet the mare with fire for hair. A few little kids even came up to her and asked in squeaky voices how she was doing it, much to her delight. Whenever they did she would smile like a small child herself and crouch down, letting them see her hair wasn’t hot much to their amazement. Then after answering a few questions she would gently usher them back to their waiting parents, almost like a mother.
“Your pretty good with kids, huh?” I asked as we walked through the park, one hand gently wrapped around her waist. She nodded smiling a bit and wrapped an arm around my back. “I guess so, I just like them they are always so innocent, untouched by hardship and life and lies… no other time you can be like that no matter how hard you try,” she said softly, watching with a small smile as a game of tag happened further down in the park.
“So your not innocent hm~?” I asked with a playful smirk, and she blushed punching my arm lightly.
“S-shush or i’ll cut your thread,” she grumped with her pouty face, and I couldn’t help but poke her in the side.
“You can’t~”
“Mmm.. maybe not but I can shush you,”
“How will you do that?”
“Easy!” she said happily, then reached up and covered my mouth with one of hers. When I looked at her face it resembled a cat’s that is about to pounce, the corners of her mouth lifted up just a bit as she gave me a playful look with her eyes. I laughed softly behind the cover of her hand, before gently pulling it off my mouth.
“Hey no fai - “ she managed to say, before making a surprised “eep!” sound as I gently twirled her around in place, making the black dress she had been wearing flair just a bit before catching her, looking down at her smiling a bit. She looked back up at me, blushing to the point her face was like a tomato before softly whispering “meanie..”
“Oh shush you liked that,” I teased softly, pulling her back up gently to her feet as she glared at me a bit.
“No I didn’t, I didn’t like that at all,”
“Lyer~”
“Hrmph,” she grumped again, but still pressed against me lightly as we found our way to a shimmering fountain. We sat at the edge, and sliding my hand over she took it, both of us looking up at the sky. It was bright and cloudless, a sea of light blue with very faint sparkles of the distant space hidden behind the light of the sun. Although who needs a night sky when you can look to your lover’s eyes and see the night sky there?
“Funny how fast your life can change,” she said softly, looking down at our held hands. I nodded, and slowly leaned back careful not to do it enough to fall into the water. A red haze took my vision again and flashes of the future flew under my eyelids before I opened my eyes and looked over to her. “All the world needs to change is effort, all it takes to change your life is effort and a true want to do so,” I said softly, looking into her eyes again. “When someone truly tries, anything is possible,”
“That's true I guess, although for me it was more luck,” she said softly rubbing the back of her head, then I softly swore under my breath looking into the sky. A soft chuckle was heard and a four leaf clover slowly fell from the sky onto my forehead, and I sighed. I didn’t know how that irish bastard did it, but he messed up the future a bit and had me meet Inum a bit early. Not that I minded though, but still it was the principle of the matter. I could still remember discord cursing him as well when I had one that blackjack game against him.
“You know its funny, it seems as if I’ve been what I would consider the perfect life with death,” I mused, and Inum giggled softly. “Your stuck with me now too, so get used to it~”
I sat back up again and pressed Inum to my side before smiling a bit, giving her side a gentle squeeze. She smiled back, and we shared a brief kiss before I looked to her clothes, and realized she was wearing the same top she had originally got. “I think we need to get you some more clothes before you run out,”
“Aww but now i’ll be seen and you’ll have to pay for them,” she protested softly, then I smirked.
“Incarnations can decide to be unseen, just focus~”
Ten minutes later we both walked out of the store with a bag of clothes each, strutting out with confidence. I even had grabbed a pair of shades for the occasion, but they seemed to not like my eyes very much. Despite the sunglasses being normal they seemed to interfere with my eyesight a bit making it blurry. After a little bit more I pulled them off and placed them on a random guy’s head as we passed by.
Suddenly as we walked my vision was blocked by a hard red haze, but this was almost solid to the point I couldn’t see past it, and in that haze I saw in the next day a pink colored person with red hair and a beautiful form, if not as nice as Inum’s, outside the door tilting her head confused. A single word seemed to shimmer above her head, spelling “love”. It seemed we would be getting a visit very, very soon.
Author's Note
If anyone is curious, an immature personification can become complete when they find something to complete them, this is usually another personification either through friendship or love. Inum's missing piece was morrow, he was the bit of Yin to her Yang.
Time and death intertwined
I had been roaming the town I lived in for a while, following some people around while watching others hug and generally enjoy each others company. The sights often made me feel happy, but a little twinge in my own heart went off whenever I saw it. As happy as I was for the couples I saw, most of them had red threads leading elsewhere, with only around two out of ten of the couples I saw actually connecting. Those were always the happiest, the ones who had found their true love whispering soft things into their ears or sharing quiet kisses in little private places. When I was younger and had first started seeing red thread couples I had always gotten curious and wandered in after them when they retreated into their house for the night.
Some of the couples watched movies together, some cuddled next to a warming fire. These were always the cutest moments to see, but I mostly didn’t stick around long so they could have their privacy, even if they couldn’t see me. It just wasn’t polite to watch, although sometimes I was sorely tempted to see what happened next. Most of the time this was when the place they went to was the bedroom, but as a principle I never went in. Whatever they did in their was strictly them time, and I hoped I would have my own at some point.
That was the other reason my heart twinged when I saw others though. I could see everyones red strings, even the green man I saw casually flying through the sky sometimes had one far, far away. In Fact it seemed almost as if it spanned the world, and I could only wonder who it linked too. Sometimes the thread seemed to connect right next to him, but that had to be impossible because I would see them… right?
I could see everyone’s red thread and who they were destined to love, except for one person. I couldn’t see my own red thread, as if fate found it ironic that love couldn’t find her own soulmate while everyone else could. Fate was very, very mean. Then I saw the strangest couple I had ever seen, and I couldn’t quite describe it.
They sat on the fountain together, embraced and looking to the sky when I noticed them. The first thing I noticed was the red thread connecting the two, and my heart gave a happy little jump. Then my eyes took in the full sight of both of them, and I had to keep my jaw from falling open. Mostly because it would be impolite to gawk so obviously, but who could blame me? The boy was a pale blue with even lighter blue on his hands and markings around his eyes. For that matter his eyes were a strange pale color, almost white yet seeming to have a strange shine, making them look like shining opals. His girlfriend was the much stranger one though.
Her hair was a shimmering curtain of flickering blue flames tinged darker blue and even purple at the tips, but it seemed to move like normal hair as she turned her head towards his, the fire shifting as if it were resting on her shoulders. Her eyes were pitch black like space, and each even had a single sparkling dot in the middle, like a shining star to fight back the night of her eyes. Her body was a charcoal black, complimenting her boyfriend’s light blue tones along with her deep blue tinted hands. Grey markings were on visible parts of her body, and a tail like a long scythe emerged where a normal tail would be.
I myself had earlier figured myself to be bi, and even though a red thread didn’t connect me to them I still felt connected in a strange way to the two of them. They were both attractive in their own ways, but it wasn’t quite that. It was the way their bodies almost seemed to shimmer when someone walked by them, and I realized they were also personifications. They must be hiding themselves from the view of normal people, which made sense since everyone liked their privacy.
As I turned to walk away and give them that though, I felt a strange prickling sensation along my back and I turned around the find the boy’s eyes had turned a vibrant red. They almost seemed to ooze a red vapor, and his face looked hazy from the red mist around his head. Even though he was still looking at the sky it felt like I could watch him turn his gaze toward me over, and over, and over. It was like his eyes were everywhere around me, and it gave my neck an uncomfortable ache as though I were being watched.
Then he blinked, and the red haze along with the red in his eyes were gone, as if it had never happened. His eyes seemed older though, as if he had seen more than most could in just a few seconds, and then he was back to normal, turning to kiss his girlfriend's neck while I turned away, shivering just a bit. For some reason though I felt rooted, and after a bit of time thinking I decided to watch and follow them home, too talk to them. If I could see them they could see me, so I wouldn’t be able to sneak in anyway.
Some time later as dusk began to set in the sky I watched as the two emerged from a clothing store talking to each other and laughing, evidently joking with each other. They both carried a bag in their hands and the boy wore sunglasses, and I had to wonder if they had just taken the clothes. Most of the time I had just walked around naked since it was much more freeing especially since most people couldn’t see me unless I wanted them too, but the other half of the time I took an outfit from a store then returned it later after washing it in someone's home while they were asleep.
As they walked home I followed behind from a distance, and before long as the crowd thinned we reached a cozy looking home, the two walking straight for it. I followed behind still, but began to speed up once the crowd grew less and less. A few minutes later they reached the house and disappeared inside, and I walked up to the front door taking a deep breath. I prepared myself mentally, then knocked on the door.
After a minute of holding my breath, literally, the door opened and I breathed again, if a bit raggedly. The girlfriend stood at the door, giving me a strange look as I caught the breath I had been holding and cleared my throat, giving a friendly smile.
“H-hello, how are you?” I asked a bit nervously, my hands reaching behind my back to play with my fingers a bit. She seemed to consider me for a second, then responded, tilting her head a bit to the side. “I’m… well, what brings you here?”
“I saw you two at the fountain and I had a question I wanted to ask,” I quickly rattled off, looking to her trying to hold onto my smile. Her own lips perked just a bit, and I noticed her body flicker, showing she wasn’t used to a physical form yet. “Yes?”
“Are you by any chance personifications? I was just curious because I haven’t seen many others…” I asked slowly, watching for her reaction. She seemed shocked, her eyes wide and blinking, staring just a bit. Then I noticed the red thread connecting her to her lover seemed to move and the boyfriend emerged from behind her, smiling a bit as he casually rested his head on top of hers. Her cheeks turned a bit red from the motion, but she was too busy staring to completely notice him.
“Hello, yes we are notifications and you can call me Morrow,” he responded in a soft, joyful tone and held out one hand. This seemed to surprise the girlfriend as well, and she looked up at him with a questioning look. His response was a kiss to the bridge of her nose and her body noticeably arched to press to his. I blushed from the sight before clearing my throat again and took his hand giving it a shake. “My name is Amelia, and i’m the personification of love,”
His smile turned the smallest bit mysterious, and he shook back. “ I know, feel free to come in and take a seat on the couch, the three of us should talk a bit,” at this he whispered something soft enough into the girlfriends ear that I couldn’t hear, and I noticed the slightly suspicious look that had formed on her face fade away, replaced by that same small smile. Realizing her line of thought I quickly tried to find my words, stammering just a bit. “O-oh don’t worry i’m not here to like steal him or anything don’t worry, I was just uh curious and….” I faded off softly rubbing the back of my head embarrassed and she gave a small laugh. “I’m Inum, and its nice to meet you Amelia,” she replied with that same smile, and ushered me in and onto the couch, sitting on a seat nearby the couch.
Morrow retreated into the kitchen, to cook something I could only guess, and Inum looked me up and down, seeming to be judging just a bit. I smiled and subtly opened my arms a bit to give her a better view, and after a bit more she sighed mournfully. “Ahhh your so much prettier than I am,” she mused, shaking her head a bit. This had not been what I was expecting and I blanched, looking at her in surprise. “What? No not at all, your very beautiful Inum,”
“But I don’t even have that many curves my chest is smaller and i’m small,” she whined, looking down at her body with a small frown. I couldn’t help but giggle softly, and standing up for a second I walked over and traced a gentle hand along the side of her body. Her skin was smooth and silky, and despite being more petite she wasn’t lacking anything, her physice making her both cute and and beautiful, if not quite “womanly”.
“You look fine hun don’t worry about it,” I reassured softly, and went back to my seat as she looked doubtfully at me. For a second my eyes were drawn to the red thread connecting her heart to morrow’s, noticing how strong and healthy it seemed. The two had been really made for each other, and I felt that same twinge in my heart I usually did. She seemed to notice my look and tilted her head and looked where I was looking, confused. “I can see red threads,” I explained softly, pressing two fingers together before stretching them out to make a tiny red thread appear between them. “It links two people meant for each other… “ as I spoke i drew the fingers together, the thread getting tighter and more compact. “And when the two people meet it is guaranteed to be a healthy relationship, like a soulmate,” I finished, the fingers meeting and twisting around each other gently.
She seemed surprised, and look towards the kitchen the look of surprise fading away as passion flickered in the white dots of her eyes. I smiled a bit, then sighed loudly leaning back on the couch. “I’m so jealous!”
“Huh?” she asked looking surprised, her eyes going back to me as I sighed loudly. “I can see everyone’s red thread except my own, I have no idea how to find my soulmate even though i’m the incarnation of love,” I grumped, flopping onto the couch and looking at her from behind the seat of the couch. “Incarnation of love is supposed to have a lover, not be the only one without one!”
“There is one out there don’t worry,” she said calmingly smiling a bit, holding back a few giggles based on the way it almost looked like she was having hiccups. I pouted softly, and that's when they broke out, breaking into soft laughs as she walked over and patted me on the head gently, crouching down to get on my level. She petted my hair gently, and it almost reminded me of a mother, her smooth gentle fingers both soothing and warm.
Morrow emerged from the kitchen holding a steaming pot in one hand, the heat evidently not affecting him as he placed the pot on the living room counter. I thought that over again when I saw light burn marks on his hand, but a blue glow seemed to come from his eyes and the burns faded completely. He blinked a few times as if his eyes were moist, then waved to the pot.
“Help yourself, I made spaghetti tonight for us,” he stated proudly, before grabbing plates and utensils dealing them out to the three of us. I pulled off the top of the pot to see a mass of sauce covered noodles with mushrooms, bits of tomato and a few peppers mixed in along with what appeared to be ground beef. Using the offered grabber I pulled some of the food out for myself before passing it to Inum who did the same. Inum smiling a bit dealt out Morrow’s food as well while he grabbed drinks, and as he returned he gave her a warm smile.
The three of us ate together in silence, enjoying the food and company silently. The main reason it was silent I guessed was because the three of us were shoveling the food down like it was our last meal. Personifications didn’t really need to eat, but it felt natural to do so and always seemed to provide more energy and proper nutrients as it should. Watching Inum eat especially I had the feeling her body would turn any sweets she might have into nutrients, and if she chose, fat in the right places. Personifications had a build based on what they were like when they changed, but it was possible with time just like normal to develop a different body type.
After a solid fifteen minutes of eating we all began to slow down becoming full, except for morrow. He kept going at the same pace for another five solid minutes while me and Inum had a pleasant conversation. When he did finish, he looked to me with a smile and his eyes flashed yellow. Inum seem surprised, and he held out his hand to meet with that wide, mysterious smile and gave a wink as inum’s hand found his.
“Amelia, I think it's time we find your soulmate don’t you think?”
Time and death intertwined
I felt multiple things, and wasn’t sure which I felt more. I felt… confused, happy, like exploding, all of the normal feelings. It was like someone had told me I was actually a dog and that I had been having a lucid dream this entire time. Before responding I even pinched myself to make sure, but it still hurt just as much as it would normally, and I let out a breath I had been holding out.
“What?” was the only word I could say, staring at him in disbelief. His yellow eyes seemed to shimmer and in them I could see the entire world spinning faster then it even normally could before seeming to stop and zoom into a single spot. The entire process only took about two seconds, and I blinked surprised. “Future sight has its perks, plus your supposed to meet him now anyway so grab on you two,” he responded with one of his mysterious smiles, and slowly I grabbed his shoulder. Then I was simply… gone.
A feeling of mild disorientation took hold of my body, and for a second I couldn’t tell which direction was up and which was down. Then as if the world was violently being snapped back together. My stomach didn’t feel quite right, and as Inum watched me worriedly I headed over to a bush to squat for a second and make everything stop spinning. I felt like heaving out the dinner I had only recently had. Then everything went away as I saw a red thread attached to my chest and I froze.
The thread seemed to be lightly tugging in all directions at once, as if my power was seeking out who too attach too, and I realized that it probably couldn’t connect until I met the person I was meant to be with. A sneaking suspicion told me that was probably because of the fact I myself was a personification, and the pony I was about to meet was also one. Then I saw Morrow crouched next to a tree and he waved me over, and after a second of hesitation I walked over, feelings of sickness gone.
My mind tried to rapidly guess what he, or she, would look like. It seemed to flash through every single body type I had seen all at once, but none seemed to fit. As I came within ten yards of Morrow the thread attached to my chest suddenly went taught and stretched to a spot next to the tree morrow was crouched next to, and I saw him. At least, I thought it was a him.
He wore no shirt, and his chest and arms rippled with subtle muscle, and he even had a six pack. The strange thing was the seeming softness to his body, which looked almost feminine even on the manly frame. He wore a pair of pants, baggy and a bit torn and as I got closer I saw his body was covered in a slight layer of fur, which was the reason for the “soft” look he had to him. His face was angled, with a subtle jawbone and larger eyes. His tail was like that off a lions, covered in fluff with an even fluffier end.
His tail twitched as I got closer, and as I did I got a better look at his colors. He was mostly purple on the sides with orange stripes like the opposite of a tigers along the purple, and a line of white fur covered his chest and went down. His hair was white and long, framing his face with orange tinted edges. Then slowly he opened one eye and looked at me. His eyes were a scarlet color a bit brighter than the color of blood, and he tilted his head curiously. “Well this isn’t how I’m usually woken up, hello there,” he said calmly, tilting his head at me then Morrow.
His eyes got especially wide as I was suddenly on his chest smiling wide and running my fingers along the fur of his chest.
“Ahhh! He is like a giant kitty!” i squeaked, and nuzzled my head into my chest closing my eyes and hearing the heartbeat. I felt him shift under me, seeming confused but not trying to pull away. Then my eyes widened as I felt a hand grab me by the scruff of my neck before being picked up and lifted off the ground. Inum was holding me and giving me a disapproving look while my feet dangled a few inches off the ground. The markings on her hands had seemed to grow, and she gently bapped me on the nose with one finger. “If you don’t get a hold of yourself I’ll spritz you with water like a cat,” she warned, waving the finger back and forth.
“But your not my mother!” I whined softly, trying to squirm out of her grip. I heard Morrow snicker softly behind the two of us, and Inum gently elbowed him in the ribs. “Well then don’t act like a child and I won’t have to be your mother, “ she huffed, then slowly put me on the ground again but kept her hold on my neck. I pouted a bit, but the expression melted off when he looked at me with a small smile. “So, may I know who all of you are?”
A few minutes later we sat in a circle around him. Well, most of a circle since I was trying to slowly scoot closer without Inum noticing, but still mostly a circle. He frowned a bit, and looked at his hand as a small squirrel darted down from the tree and rested on the hand. He smiled, and brought the hand to his chest before gently petting the squirrel’s head with a finger. “Personification huh? I had honestly thought everyone could do this,” he mused, and lowered the squirrel to the ground to let it scamper off. I wish he would hold me too his chest…
“Nope, most people can’t do what we can either,” morrow responded with a kind smile, before he pointed to me and said simply “She has a crush on you already, I can tell,”
This gained Morrow a look of daggers of the most hot flame he could imagine shooting from my eyeballs at him, but he didn’t seem to notice smirking just a bit. Byron, which was what he had said his name was, blinked in surprise and turned to me. “You want to… crush me?” he asked confused, and I blinked right back at him. I had never encountered someone so unused to figurative speech I myself was left speechless, and Inum stepped in shaking her head. “It means she likes you, Byron,” she explained patiently, looking between me and him. He made a soft “ahh” sound, then looked at me tilting his head. “So you want to mate with me?”
My jaw simply decided not to stay closed anymore, and I was left gapping at him as Morrow began to laugh, loud heartfelt belly laughs. Inum even heard a small smirk behind her hand as she waved her hand at me and him as if saying “explain”.
“U-uh well ye - I mean no, no,” I stammered, blushing profusely. I poked his hand gently, and he opened it looking confused. I took it with my own, and tried to explain, my power letting my feelings be felt by him so he could understand without me having to speak as much. He seemed surprised, then looked into the air as if observing the north pole lights before looking back to me. “So.. its more a wanting to love me then mate?” he said slowly, as if testing new words he wasn’t used to. I nodded, and slowly tilted my head back looking to the sky.
The nature of love was a very, very complicated thing. It was feelings all mixed into one strong cord that wanted to connect and fuse with another, but it could happen in many ways. Love couldn’t simply be described as an emotion or mix of chemicals causing a certain reaction. It couldn’t really be described as just wanting to experience the pleasures of the body either.
Love could be many things, which is why it was complicated. It was different for everyone and everyone's emotions put into that cord change and shift based on who it connects to, what the person has gone through and the personality of the person. That's what the thread between soulmates represented, the perfect combination to make a seamless rope. But when one really thinks about it, they can’t think of love as a general thing. Instead it had to be asked to themselves, a very simple question. “What is love to me?”
I looked back to him, and slowly squeezed his hand and got a bit closer. I nodded, and gave him a small smile. After a moment he returned it, and I slowly stood up, him standing up with me. We didn’t love each other, not yet. To love someone you had to know what love was to them, and what it was too you. Once you do that, then nothing can ever, ever separate you.
Inum looked between the two of us, then nodded to Morrow who grabbed her hand. She grabbed mine, and I gripped Byron’s tighter. Then just before we transported and Inum wasn’t looking I quickly petted the top of Byron’s head, leaving his face surprised as we went back to the house.
We ended back up at the house, and Morrow frowned looking down the hallway that I guessed linked to the two bedrooms. “Hmm.. i’m not sure where you two can stay, since that’s Inum’s room down the - “
“Just give them the room, “ Inum said simply, cutting him off before he could finish. He looked at her and she smiled, her eyes twinkling with mischief. “I would just go to your bed anyway, and we haven’t even gotten to properly go to bed together,” she teased, and he sighed as if he minded. The hand slowly wrapping around her waist said otherwise, but I didn’t mention it too busy petting Byron’s head.
The big cat seemed interested by the feeling, his tail flicking back and forth questioningly while he looked to me with a raised an eyebrow. I simply shrugged and smiled, and he rolled his eyes smiling a bit back before turning to watch Morrow and Inum share a gentle kiss. His eyes widened a bit, and his tail flicked again, his expression awed. He had said when we first met he usually lived in the forest and didn’t see many people, but I hadn’t realised that meant he had never seen a couple kiss before.
I slowly began to play with his fingers distracted by the fur there too, and his fingers started to wiggle on instinct as if he were scratching under the chin of an animal. I smiled and didn’t quite hear everything Morrow said, so I just said “Yup!” and nodded while still watching his hand. Morrow seemed amused by this, then shrugged. “Alright, enjoy sleeping together then,” he called over his shoulder and holding Inum to him the two of them walked into their room leaving me to gawk at their backs. Byron smirked at me playfully, emotion starting to show through his stoic shell and he winked.
I blushed, considered my options and looked at the couch. It was a bit older and beat up, and didn’t look particularly comfortable. The kitchen table didn’t look any more comfy either, and I didn’t like sleeping sitting up. As my eyes turned up no possible places to sleep, I looked to the bedroom down the hall to the bedroom and sighed. Recalling a word I had once heard, I took a deep breath and when let it out, spoke the word in the middle of the exhale. “scheisse,”
Time and death intertwined
My mind slowly wandered its way back to wakefulness, and I found myself with warm, strong arms wrapped around me. My eyes widened, worried and tempted by the idea of what could have happened during the night, then memory slowly waded back over. My body relaxed, and closing my eyes I pressed to him, smiling a bit and closing my eyes. Maybe this literal cat could be sweet.
Last night
He slowly laid down ontop of the bed, it seeming to fold under him and his weight as he sighed softly. He had pulled off his pants and now simply wore a large pair of boxers, and trying to avert my eyes to anywhere but there cheeks aflame, I myself pulled off my top and shorts before slipping under the covers, feeling a bit self conscious. He noticed this, blinked then laughed softly pulling up the blanket to go under himself. “That explains how you stay warm, I had been wondering how people could stay warm while they slept,” he mused still chuckling, and I looked at him surprised. “You mean you really haven’t ever slept on a bed?”
“Nope, well maybe in a past life, but when I first woke up I was in the forest,” he explained, eyes going distant. “I woke up, surprised and wondering who I even was. Then I saw the trees, the wildlife and immediately felt at home, even though a part of me knew this wasn’t a normal home. I slept, talked with the creatures of the forest and watched the city from the forest, fascinated by the lights and large structures,”
“Did you ever go and explore the city?”
“A few times yes, I noticed some people give me odd looks as I explored, and I think it was because I looked so surprised by everything,” he mused softly, looking at the roof of the building. “It was like a completely different world then what I was used to, a world of rock, stone and glass where people worked on electronic devices for most of their work and where giant machines helped construct new wonders, the place i felt most at home was the library, where it was quiet except for hushed whispers and the ‘whoosh’ of air made by paper as pages were turned,”
I nodded, taking all this in. I could understand what he meant, remembering the act that had happened a few years ago causing the banning of any construction or hunting near the forest. The surprising part was this had been done by the republicans while most of the democrats didn’t want it to happen. The act had still been passed, but do to the strange turn that it had seemed to take people suspected magic had a role in it. I think it was that green guy I saw floating around every once and I while, but that could just be a guess.
I was snapped out of my thoughts back into reality when Byron shifted and turned towards me, looking at me with a small smile. “If you wouldn’t mind, I would like to introduce you to how i slept in the forest,” he said softly, and I blinked, confused.
“Uhm i’m not sure I want to sleep on the ground,” I responded, rubbing the back of my head confused. He shook his head, then touched the bedpost. I noticed, the wooden, bedpost. Almost immediately it looked healthier, stronger and the small patterns in the wood seems to shift and move like they were real. Then it slowly growed, the wood spiraling up like small trees as little shoots of leaves sprouted from the wood.
I stared in awe as all four corners of the bed grew and grew until large, thick leaves formed out of them quickly seeming to tie themselves together before producing another, until above us was something like a canopy, the dim light shining through the leaves giving it a green glow and showing the veins of the plants. Then, slowly the bed itself changed a bit, the fibers of the blanket and sheets turning green and smooth. Then he pulled his hand away, a bead of sweat present as he wiggled his fingers a bit, like he was stretching it out.
The small changes had made the entire room different, giving it a feeling as if we were laying outside. I turned to him, pleasantly surprised as he smiled a bit. “The forest can be beautiful, and in my opinion it looks best… “ he trailed off as a hand reached up, making a finger gun before slowly twisting, and the paint on the walls shifted color, the walls resembling green forests while the roof turned an amazing purple and orange. The colors seemed to mold together, and the position of the light even seemed to change, making it look like a setting sun. “.. best at twilight,” he finished with a sigh, staring at the ceiling which now had small stars barely visible through the twilight light, and I watched him and the ceiling, struck speechless.
We laid like that for a while, watching as the sunset slowly faded, and as the light moved to behind us and changed to a silvery shine, like the moon. The sky darkened and more and more stars appear, twinkling down at us as we watched. It took me a bit before I realized we had been watching the sunset in reality and had been watching for a few hours already, and feeling tired I yawned, trying to stretch out my limbs. Then a warm, strong heat was next to me and I turned to find Byron pressing against me a bit, his eyes closed and a small smile on his lips.
“Oh.. h-hey there,” i stuttered softly, turning to face him a bit more. An eye opened to look to me, and he laughed softly. “Don’t worry i’m not going to do anything, night is a time for sleep and relaxation,” he soothed, and then very gently slid one arm over me. I didn’t do anything, feeling stunned as he slowly drew me close to his chest.
He was warm like the blanket that covered us both, but it was different warmth then usual. It was like his fur had caught the suns rays and were warmed from the inside, and as I was pressed to him I felt his heartbeat beat against my back, strong and sure. When I looked down, cheeks tinted red I saw the red thread connecting me to him had gotten a bit bigger and stronger, even tinted with green and my eyes widened. I had only seen something like that happen once, when I had first seen Inum and Morrow.
The edges of their threads had each been specially tinted, showing both put just as much in as the other one side tinted black and blue while the other a rainbow of colors. Now I saw tiny fringes of pink appearing on mine as his had turned green, shocking me. He had been so factual, so sure of what love is and all of a sudden it had turned much more emotional than what he had described before. Then in a soft tone, he responded to the question that had burned its way into my brain.
“You told me what love was, and you showed me with your own feelings.. I don’t completely understand it yet, but I find myself drawn to you, and i’m willing to try,” he said softly, and after a second I smiled a bit and pressed to him, just a bit. “I guess I am too then,” I responded teasingly, and slowly, as we both fell into sleep, I swear I could feel a soft purr build up in his chest as I fell asleep.
Present
I slowly stretched out, pulling away from him a bit to let my arms and legs fully extend and get full feeling again. I felt eyes on my back and I turned to see Byron looking at me, eyes hazy with sleep. Then the haze cleared and he smiled, pressing a hand to my back, then his fingers started twitching. At first I was confused, then my body completely relaxed and my mouth involuntarily formed into an ‘o’ of complete happiness as his fingers seemed to push away any strain, tension and wariness in my limbs.
The next couple minutes was me just squirming a bit while he worked magic on me, or at least that's what it felt like. My toes were curled and my fingers twitching a bit, and he laughed softly drawing his hand away. All I could do in response was lay like a puddle, so that's exactly what I did. “So i’m guessing you're not used to special massages?” he teased softly, and I did my best to nod, but I had the feeling it was just me lolling my head in a more or less up and down direction.
His hands slowly scooped me up, and I felt like liquid as my body naturally fit into every crook and cranny of his arms as he sat up and pulled me onto his lap. It took me a solid minute before I had control again, and for the first time in a long time my body felt completely fresh and new. I sighed loudly, then relaxing against his chest I said simply “If thats apart of the package you come with i’m all yours,”
He laughed, and I felt his hands slowly massage he stomach as he did. He shook his head a couple moments later still smiling, and I turned my head up to look at him. Even though I was reasonably tall, even while sitting he was still a bit taller, which really just let me look up at his face easier. He smiled down at me, then after a second I slowly pulled out of his lap languidly, feeling like a cat who had been sunbathing. My body felt warm and refreshed, and I smiled over at him while I pulled on a new top and pair of shorts.
He watched for a second, his cheeks turns a bit red for the first time before turning away and sliding on a new pair of pants himself. After a second we both turned to regard each other, then he walked over and touched my neck. I felt a warmth against my neck that slowly spread along my body, making me stop, a bit surprised. I watched as intricate green lines spread along my body, taking up designs that looked almost like vines and trees spiraling down my legs and arms. I felt it swirl up a bit onto my face, and I looked at him a bit confused. His cheeks turned red again and he shrugged, smiling a bit.
“Your colors I had the feeling would look really nice with green, and i think i was right,” he said a bit embarrassed, and after a second I nodded, then waved towards the door smiling. “Come on Byron, lets go get some breakfast,”
As we went out into the hall we saw Inum sitting at the table, seeming to be stretching her jaw a bit as if it had cramped. Her hair was a bit disheveled too, the flames flicking around messily in random directions. It was evident she couldn’t exactly brush them, that or something else had happened. Morrow seemed in a good mood as well as her though, Morrow humming a soft toon as he cooked and I noticed her tail was slowly wagging under the table, as if she didn’t want Morrow to notice. She was such the little tsundere.
“Hey you too, sleep well?” I called, smiling as the two of us walked over. Inum looked to us mouth already open and producing words before she cut off surprised. “Yeah we slep- oh wow, you're looking different,”
“Mhm, apparently Byron thought I would look good with green,” I mused softly, reaching back to poke him with a finger. I felt him shrug and say over my shoulder “I don’t think I was wrong either~”
Morrow caught by the conversation turned his head to look at us, and he smiled nodding a bit. “Mhm it does look nice,” he called warmly, and then went back to cooking, seeming to be working on pancakes today. Byron and I took our seats across from Inum, and the three of us began to chat for a bit talking about the news and just random topics. A couple minutes later Morrow finished and walked over with a plate stacked high with both plane and blueberry pancakes, and Byron gave a small act, starring in ‘open mouthed horror’ at the blueberry pancakes before saying in an overly dramatic and sad voice “Noo bob! And is that Jerry and Rick too?!”
He pointed to three blue berries on the top pancake, and Inum smirking playfully grabbed it, and promptly chomped all three blueberries at the same time to, giving him an evil look. “Mhmm, and they are quite tasty too~”
“NOOO!” he cried in vane at the loss of three blueberries, then promptly grabbed one himself and ate a piece containing a blueberry before shrugging. “I never liked Billy anyway,”. The three of us laughed, and then we all began eating, each taking their prefered type and toppings. By the end of it all four of us were stuffed like turkeys, and I groaned leaning back a bit. This had been a good day, with good company and a good morning.
The only question that remained in my mind before flying out to reach the ears of those sitting with me.
“So, where to now?”
Time and death intertwined
Author's Note
Warning! This chapter, as you might have guessed by the title has heavy sexual implications
Lust
I had been a bit worried all day. I knew that Byron still wanted to be with me, and I still wanted to be with him. How much that woman had affected him though surprised me though, and I didn’t like it. That night there was an uncomfortable silence that grew between us, Byron with his back pressed against my own. My mind was racing, heart beating and hands cold with sweat. Then he slowly turned around, letting me feel the firm muscles of his front as his large arms wrapped slowly around me. Then just like that, I felt safe and fell asleep.
That morning I found him frowning a bit and pulling some boots on along with a jacket, muttering to himself quietly. I watched him for a while, mind trying to comprehend what I was seeing. “Where are you going..?”
“Oh morning sleepy head, you missed breakfast, Inum left your plate out and used a small flame to keep it warm,” he said, both warmly and brusquely as he walked over and kissed my forehead. I kissed his cheek in response almost instinctively before I slowly got out of bed. “Okay, but where are you going?”
“I need to draw out that woman, I think she has her eyes set on me and I need to get them off…” he growled softly, his lips peeling back a bit to show the slightly sharper canines of his teeth. I looked, a bit worried before pulling on a blouse and pair of pants. “I’m coming with ya,”
He seemed to consider for a second, then sighed, nodded and walked to the kitchen. I just kinda clung to his back, feeling like a backpack on his giant back. He walked to the table, blew out a small blue flame before handing it to me to eat. It was some simple buttered toast, with a whole in the middle filled with a sunny side up egg. It looked pretty good, and soon I was digging in as we trudged along, using my legs to hold onto him. I have strong legs, by the way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh, she felt that big lumbering giant going out. Lust, stretching out her body like a cat slowly stood up off of the bed of last night’s entertainment. He was currently passed out on the bed with ruffled hair, but it wasn’t like she cared. She simply waved at her own body and a pair of underwear simply shimmered onto her, although she wouldn’t need any more of course. For someone big and dumb like that tiger she could have come in a baggy trench coat and still seduced him. She could feel the small purple mark she had put on his stomach just… pulsing eeever so nicely… calling to her.
She made sure to leave a note on the man’s desk, simply saying in a mimicry of his hand writing that he had just had the night of his life. Lust, or as some knew her Lilith, or Lil or some even as Sonnada. She personally prefered Sonnada, simply because it was just more pretty. That's all a woman needed after all, to be pretty and devious. Those who didn’t meet those standards didn’t deserve the men they carried on their arms. Those with those standards she let keep their men, each entrapped by the persons beauty in a haze of lust. Anyone else was fresh meat.
Her lips quirked in a slow smile, hips swaying as she walked as she left the man to have his girlfriend walk in on him in this situation. Sonnada wondered if they could somehow pull through, or if she would be too outraged to even handle him. Oooh if only she could stay and watch, she ever so loved watching the fragile thing mortals called “love” shatter and break. But today she had bigger prey, and she hoped he would be bigger than the last man, he had been disappointing…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I watched over Byron’s shoulder, before he cringed and stopped, looking down at his chest. What he saw, whatever it was made him freeze and I craned my neck to try and also take a look. On his stomach glowed a small purple mark, pulsing with a sickly light. It was in the shape of a scorpion’s barb, and I noticed the pulse grow stronger and more often, as if it was tracking someone. Then my eyes found Byron’s, and I saw the haze that was there before it cleared at the sight of me.
Some venom can end lives in seconds. Some can make people go crazy with pain, or experience illusions to the point they can’t tell what's real. It seemed even without a barb this woman could leave her own source of venom, a tracker. It seemed the more it pulsed the more influence it pushed into Byron, and I saw his eyes lose focus as he grunted again, for what I couldn’t tell. To my surprise I saw the red thread connecting us start to turn just a bit purple, and he started to reach towards me with that same expression.
I stepped away, both scared and surprised as he turned towards me with a predatory glint in his eye. The thread turned more and more purple as he got closer and closer, and I started to panic. “Byron, stop it you're scaring me!” I cried out, trying to push him away. His chest felt like a brick wall though, and with a growl he grabbed me and pulled me to him. He seemed to crush me to his chest as his hands explored my back and my panic grew. Then a single second of clarity came, and turning my head, just before he did anything we kissed.
The haze faded almost instantly, and his vice-like grip loosened to the point he was hugging instead of crushing, his arms folding against the small of my back. He kissed back, and I saw out of the corner of my eye the thread turn back to red. Then slowly, as we pulled away the purple stinger on his chest faded, and I sighed in relief. “Don’t scare me like that…”
“Sorry hun… my mind was so foggy I couldn’t think straight…”
“Wait… ‘hun’?” I questioned, ears perking a bit at the word. He smiled, and leaning down we shared another kiss, which was, sadly, cut off by a loud annoyed huff sound from behind him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What the nine hells had that pink ball of fluff done!? Lust could feel the connection she had built with Byron suddenly breaking and shriveling like it had been poisoned. Which was NO FAIR considering thats what she was supposed to do. Really what was it with this girl messing with her theft? The nerve!
She couldn’t help but sigh loudly, and the sigh turned annoyed as a car passed through her stomach. Right, don’t stop moving in the middle of the road. That was a bad plan, but she couldn’t help but be annoyed at what she knew had just happened. Things had just started getting good too, then she could feel it got ruined by some bubbly feeling. It made no sense, so she just kept going.
Only a few moments later she saw the two sharing… a kiss? Who actually kissed their partner like that it wasn’t meant to be so drawn out. She looked like she was trying to suck out his tongue with how long their lips were pressed together. She came up behind the big lug, tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for him to notice her. Instead the ignorant prick kept kissing, her own patience trickling away. She didn’t have much of that, so it only took about 10 seconds before she let out a loud, annoyed exhale of breath.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I watched as Byron simply reached out, seemingly by reflex, before smacking the woman they had seen yesterday straight onto the ground. He had hit her right in the forehead, and both turned in surprise as they saw her blinking up at the sky, seemingly dazed. For some reason she was in only a pair of purple underwear, and after a second she sprang up to her feet before screeching at such a high pitch only Byron reacted, flinching back.
“What in the nine hells was that for!?” she cried out, stomping up to him and seeming to be trying to look menacing. It wasn’t exactly her strong suit, even her tall frame still having to look up to look at Byron face to face. She looked like wrath incarnated as beauty, and the realization finally hit. “Oohh, your Lust aren’t you?”
“No i’m the damn business attorney, but out princess,” she shot at me, before turning back to Byron poking him roughly in the chest. Despite her size the push made him take a step back, showing off she at least had some strength in that bundle of curves. “What's the big idea you big lug, you were supposed to be coming with me to the house so we could play, not to kiss some random girl,” she hrmphed, and I saw something like blue smoke seep from her lips as she talked.
The words seemed to flow into Byron’s head, and he frowned for just a second his gaze hazing. Then he simply shrugged, and when he blinked the haze was gone. This, more than anything seemed to catch the seductress off guard and she stepped back, frowning. “Hm, you have power with your words? That's a new one, although it won’t work on me,”
“Sit,” she commanded, and instead of blue smoke a tendril, transparent but easily see-able seemed to flick from her head and try and enter Byron’s. The command never reached his brain though as the red thread connecting me to him simply slapped it aside, stretching to block the tendril.
She didn’t see the thread, and stomped her foot in annoyance, reminding me of a spoiled child. Then Byron, calmly picked her up by the top of her head, brining her eye to eye with him. “Lust, can not trample over true love,” he said simply before tossing her. Except the toss sent her light form rocketing away in a blur, and all she could say before she was gone was “that is the cheesiest line I have ever heard!”, then she was gone. Then just like that, it was over. We stood in silence for a second, then faced each other. Then I let out a deep sigh, and leaned against him a bit groaning, “That was so anticlimactic!”
“Yeahh, she isn’t that smart it seemed, at least not smart enough to figure out it wouldn’t work,” he responded rubbing the back of his head. We stared in the direction he had tossed her, then I started to walk in the direction of the city. “Where are you going?” he asked following behind, and I turned my head to smile back at him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lust hadn’t really been flung as far as they had originally thought. She had landed on her butt around a mile away, and while she was still furious she couldn’t help but marvel at his strength. She had underestimated that tiger, although she still thought that little pink princess didn’t deserve him. All she had done was watched and kissed him.
Sonnada smiled, playing with her hair with a finger as it changed in appearance, along with the rest of her body. The only time she ever changed was when she had hard prey. She almost hopped he would catch her again and that this would go on for a while. A part of her was saying this wouldn’t go well, and she would probably end up being launched again. She didn’t mind too much though, she just wanted to attack a purple thread to him somehow.
After all, she had already done it to a third of the city by now…
Time and death intertwined
Does the night dream? Does it in the waking hours rest its head on its shoulders and drift off to sleep, where the world is black and filled with glossy stars? Does the night want others to dream under her, and feel the absolute peace that she does? No not really, in fact I’ve actually been awake for nearly five days straight watching a little house mostly outside of the city. The night doesn’t need to sleep - I need to stop referring to myself in third person, I do need to sleep.
Although that would probably have to wait a bit, since it was night and I could… see, all of them awake. They were on their livingroom sitting down and they seemed to be playing some kind of game, based on what I had seen of Inum’s preference probably some game involving killing. She was a strange one, but she seemed kind and from watching her I could tell she wasn’t rude, she could even be considered motherly.
The night - ahem, I, had eyes everywhere, almost every star letting me see through it at any point, and most of the time I could be watching half the globe at any one time. My possibilities increased as the day got later and later, from better vision from more stars coming out to even any spell cast most often at the night, which gave me a fairly wide arsenal. A couple were even offensive from what some of the gangs used, although I usually simply didn’t use them since I didn’t really need to. Plus most involved another person, and it's not like I could have a tea party with day, I had no idea where he was.
After a second of concentration my body, which had been black mist spread out wide condensed into my form. I’m not that curvy, and honestly i’m not completely proud of my body. I didn’t want to change it though out of pride, and it wasn’t like it was bad. At the very least I had a big chest, so I think that got me at least some points. After a second of hesitation, I reached out and knocked on the door. The racket that had been coming in quieted, and after a few seconds Morrow opened the door followed by Inum, Morrow smiling a bit.
“Hello night, nice to see you,” he greeted me warmly, waving me in. Inum, who I had expected to act jealous or concerned at this greeting instead smiled and gave a small nod, before holding out her hand. “Hi, I’m - “
“Inum, it's nice to finally meet you in person,” I responded smiling a bit, taking her hand and giving it a gentle shake. She seemed surprised, and I saw out of the corner of my eye red hair and a pair of eyes peek over the couch, staring at me like a cat. She seemed to take all of me in, staring especially at my chest before a pair of white arms slowly pulled her back down by the top of her head. A few hushed words were shared, but I lost focus of the two as Inum cleared her throat softly. “O-oh, sorry my name is Axia,” I finished embarrassedly, I wasn’t used to talking to people so it was a bit weird to do it so much. Inum nodded, seeming to take the name in before gently taking my hand and leading me to the couch across from the one Amelia and Byron were sitting at.
Amelia was still staring at me a bit, and Byron had one arm wrapped around her shoulders looking to me as well. He smiled a bit, and I nodded towards him, smiling just a little as well. Even if weird it was nice to interact with people, it didn’t get to happen to often. The night - ugh, I need sleep - I, am a bit lonely. Morrow sat on one side of me and Inum on the other, both looking at me. Finally after a bit of time Amelia slowly slipped out of Byron’s grip and came over, poking my forehead gently. “Well your pretty,” she pronounced with a smile, and I felt my cheeks turn a bit blue in surprise. My blush was a slightly different color then most I noticed, but at least it went well with my paler skin. “You look like an entire galaxy from the waist up, and your top is white like a star,” she mumbled, one of her hands actually tracing along my side as she talked, going across my black jeans and white tanktop that I usually wore at this hour.
“W-well, i’ve never considered myself pretty but thank you,” I stuttered a bit, rubbing the back of my head and looking away as I felt the blush increase more.
“You have eyes like Inum too!”
“Hm… she’s right,” Inum commented, looking at my eyes a bit more closely. Byron and Morrow, wisely, weren’t saying anything about what I looked like. Both were smart individuals who knew not to comment on other girls without permission. Inum was getting a bit closer, looking me in the eyes while Amelia was struggling against Byron as he wrapped his big arms around her and slowly dragged her back to the couch.
I mean they were both right in their descriptions of me, from what I had seen of myself in mirrors. My eyes were black like Inum’s, except unlike her white dots mine were green orbs with a thin ring of the same color around it, making it look like a planet. My top half was white, my hands black connected to the white section by blue while my hair fell down my back to my shoulders in a purple curtain, part of it framing my face a bit. From the waist down my body became black like Inum, connected to my top by the same blue as my hooves and my feet were white, again connected by blue. My tail was a swirl of colors of space and the galaxy, purples and violets combined with pinks and even a bit of blue with white stars scattered through. It wasn’t even really a tail either, more like a cloud in a faintly tail like style.
“I guess she is, but i’m not that pretty if I am,” I responded, and Inum smiled a bit before poking me in the arm. “So your the personification of the night?” she questioned, poking again gently.
The next few minutes were spent talking about me and having everyone introduce themselves, which was nice. I knew their names from them talking at night, but they rarely talked about what they symbolized. I could guess a few, but Byron and Amelia had been a bit of a mystery.
“So, why did you come to us tonight?” Inum asked finally, and I nodded to all of them in general smiling a bit.
“I can get a bit lonely, and you all seemed like nice people so I wanted to come in and say hi and maybe stick around,”
“That's fine by us, a babe like you wo - “
Byron’s hand gently fell on her head like an axe cutting her off like a switch as she fell to the side. He gave me a small smile, before saying simply, “She can get a bit… excited, when meeting new people,”
“I can tell,” I responded with a giggle, then looked to Inum as she tapped my shoulder.
“What she said is true though, your free to stay although we don’t have a room for you, so you’ll need to sleep on the couch for now,” she said with an apologetic smile, and I smiled back. “Oh no that's perfectly fine, mind if I sleep now though? I haven’t slept in five days,” I responded happily with the smile, and she blinked, seeming surprised before she and Morrow got up and let me have the couch. All it took for me to fall asleep was my head to hit the cushion.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I woke up in the morning feeling refreshed, and with a yawn I stretched out, cracking my neck a bit where a few ache’s resided. When my eyes opened I noticed Morrow sitting across from me, staring at a piece of cloth while his eyes changed colors. They went to red, the page wilting a bit with age, then blue renewing it as good as new, the paper as fresh as when it was made from a tree. He didn’t seem sad, but he was alone I noticed.
“Hey morrow.. where’s Inum?” I asked, rubbing at my eyes a bit while looking at him.
“Oh she and Amelia went out for breakfast today, which I thought would make it a great time to go fetch your lover,” he responded cheerfully, and what I was going to say stopped in my throat. “U-uhm, lover? But I don’t need one,” I said, as if trying to blow it off. He smirked at me a bit, then walked over gently taking my hand.
“Come on don’t be an introvert, a lover will let you almost never be lonely,”
“But I don’t need a lov - “
My words were cut off as he teleported us, eyes turning yellow in a flash and my body felt like it went through a sudden vertigo. My stomach seemed to flip, and it took most of my resolve not to throw up immediately at the new location. “Sorry, should have warned you about the sickness,” he apologized, rubbing the back of his head. My response was a glare, but I think it didn’t have the effect I wanted when it felt like my face was as green as my eyes.
I didn’t really like going out and about in the morning, especially so early. Most of my powers came with the night, and left in the morning so I could only do the average personification’s tricks. This didn’t usually matter since I slept in the mornings, but it left me feeling a bit uneasy. Then a flash of blue caught my eye, and I looked up from my stupor to see someone prancing around the fields.
Morrow had ended us up in a farmyard, with tall waving fronds of wheat and brown patches of vegetables and fruits each in their own areas. Going through the corn was a blue form, wearing a simple dirty pair of farmer’s clothes and wandering around, reaching out with a hand so it brushed against the wheat stalks. She seemed sad, eye’s downcast as she left the wheat and started to walk down the road. Or at least, she seemed sad till she noticed us.
“People!”
By the time the word was out of her mouth she was standing in front of us, smiling wide and jumping in excitement. “You can see me too! Oh this is great!”
“O-oh, uh hi,” I stammered taking a surprised step back, and she looked to me still smiling but it decreased to a more natural level. “Hello, I’m pomella it's nice to finally meet people I can talk to,” she said happily, taking my hand and shaking it. She was cute in a cuddly kind of way, and while I didn’t feel any flutter in my heart, I knew it was definitely a possibility. I smiled, patted her head and responded simply,
“Hey Pomella, i’m Axia,”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the house…
“Hey Byrrroooon, home alone?”
“Go away lust,”
“I brought flowers!”
“It's also with poison ivy I can sense it from here,”
“... it adds to the aroma?”
“Get out Lust, better luck next time,”
“.... damnit”
Time and death intertwined
My sword flashed to the right as Inum’s scythe sliced a line towards the side of my head, parrying the strike as my body twisted up and into the air, my arm flicking out almost instantly in a counter. Inum noticed, and frowned in concentration as fire suddenly propulsed the scythe as she let go, letting the blade spin and force me to retreat, creating a foothold out of the darkness of the room to jump away. Another burst of fire slowed the spinning scythe and she grabbed it by the hilt, spinning it in her fingers before going to a ready stance.
Her scythe was black, the metal at the end jagged and sharp like broken glass, while her usual clothes had been replaced by not even her darker robe I had seen her wear before, but a form-fitting black combat suit, allowing her easy mobility. I wasn’t wearing much at all, just some tight workout pants and wrapping to keep my chest from getting in the way. I glanced at my sword, making sure the edge of the weapon created from the night wasn’t damaged from the earlier deflection, but its surface still shined like stars.
I looked up to see a blast of flame heading for me, and I dodged to the left as swift as a cat. That wasn’t quite fast enough though, and the fire grazed the top of my right arm, singeing it a bit. It hurt a little, but instead of taking a second to pause at the pain I kept my forward momentum, using a small aspect of the night to make the weapon appear in my left hand before slashing. Inum was caught off guard, and the butt of her scythe was barely enough to keep the blade from going deep into her side, instead deflecting the edge and causing it to run off of her skin leaving a red line.
She was on guard now, and the swing with the second sword missed completely, Inum launching herself into the air by pushing her scythe into the ground and backflipping in midair, swinging with her momentum towards my head. Both swords flashed into position, and the jagged point of her scythe was stopped cold inches from my face, the force of her swing sending me down to one knee. The point started to extend with blue sparks and I pushed up with both swords,causing her to step back and try to regain her balance. Then with a thrust both swords went deep into her stomach the moment her guard was up.
She cried out in pain and jumped back, causing the swords to leave her stomach in a splatter of red, while all I had to wipe off was a scratch on my left cheek. She was panting, and after watching her for a second I clapped, and suddenly the black, dark room we had been fighting in lit up, then deteriorated. With it went the wounds on our bodies, and she sighed in relief, her scythe poofing away in a small burst of blue fire.
My own swords dissipated with the light, and a bit worried I walked over to her, checking her pulse. “You need to work on utilizing your fire more, you did better but if you had used fire to push me away when I thrusted you could have forced me back,” my voice sounded out a bit horsley, and I cleared it before patting her back.
“Damnit do we have to use the ‘real pain’ simulator when we fight? It feels like i'm dying at the end of our fights,” she whined a bit, rubbing at the spot the swords had gone.
“Sorry Inum, but pain is a motivator, and you wouldn’t have died from that, in fact if you reversed your power over death you probably could have even put the wound into stasis and not felt anything,” I responded flippantly, frowning a bit. Since Inum and I had gotten home, I had asked her for some combat training and she had agreed, since we were both out of practice. Or at the very least I was, she had never trained her skills. The second fight she had done a lot better in the first though, in the first I had to coach her on how to bring out a weapon, and she had been clumsy. She was a fast learner though, and this time had manage to both singe and cut me.
She stopped panting, seeming confused and looked up at me. “I can?”
“Well technically, I mean personifications have a reservoir of power they use to attack and use their special magic, some have a set amount they can use while others have no limit, but instead of a limit their power can physically or mentally hurt them,” I explained, bringing her over to the couch so we could sit while I explained.
“For example your boyfriend Morrow, he has no set amount of power, but his eyes hurt the more he uses it and based on how intensely he messes with time it can hurt more and more, if he pushed as hard as he could he could go partially blind and would need powerful magic to heal it, and if he did that…” I went quiet for a second, thinking before continuing. “I think if he went full power until he couldn’t, he could reverse global time for up to 5 minutes, the size of a city up to 3 hours and the size of a place like this house around a day… if he focused his power into a single spot it could probably rip a hole in time, which would probably act as an instant anti-aging sphere, turning a sword back into ore, or a patch of skin into cells incapable of forming skin,” I finished, frowning a bit. Inum seemed shocked, and looked at her own hands as she made small flickers of flame appear at her fingertips.
I put an arm around her shoulder, pulling her too me smiling a bit. “Don’t worry though, for you it's nothing as bad, since you were made early your power isn’t as vast, and you have a limit based on your temperature, if your more cold then its higher and warmer then less, I noticed you used your fire less when you had a cold sweat going,”
“Ah… i see,” she said, frowning a bit. I realized I probably wasn’t exactly cheering her up, and I gave her shoulders a squeeze smiling more. “But anyway your improving a lot in just those two fights, so great job,”
“Thanks,” she responded, and a small smile curled her lips. I sighed softly in relief, then out of the corner of my eye noticed a couple blue feathers fluttering in the air before Pomella decided to jump into both my and Inum’s lap. “Hey there!” she greeted with a squee, taking Inum’s hand in hers before shaking vigorously. While Inum stared at her dumbfounded, my eyes were rapidly switching to the feathers on the floor, and the pomella currently in our laps. Damn, the girl was fast.
Inum gave a shake back, then smiled a bit. “Well hello, i’m guessing you're the one Axia and Morrow brought back?”
“Mhm! My name is Pomella, it's nice to meet you!”
“Its nice to meet you too, I’m Inum,” Inum replied with a wider smile. Pomella smiled just as wide back, before sitting up onto Inum’s lap looking at her. Inum wasn’t exactly the tallest person in the house, but even she was a bit taller in Pomella, the blue ball of excitement a bit bigger than the size of a child. After we had brought her back she had wandered off before the others were back, and I had to guess had been there to great Amelia and Byron when they came back home with Inum.
I reached over and slowly petted Pomella’s hair, smiling a bit myself. The small girl gave a small sound of happiness, and Inum’s eyes got wide and shiny. “Did you just - cute!” Inum wrapped her arms around Pomella, smiling wide as Pomella hugged back, smiling even though I had the feeling she had no idea what was going on. I had to agree with Inum too, the little blue ball of excitement was cute.
Amelia peaked over the couch to my right, smirking evilly as she looked between me and Pomella. She saw the look and smiled, giving a loud “Hey!” as she saw her. Byron walked up behind Amelia and picked her up, slowly tracing the green lines on her body. Her face resembled a smirking cat’s, pointing between me and Pomella as Byron brought her to the opposite couch and placed her in his lap. “Red thread~” she sing-songed, relaxing back against Byron’s chest as I looked to her, confused.
I looked to pomella, but she was currently being pampered by Inum who was fusing over her like a mother. Morrow came over next, smiling and sat down on my right, before saying softly, “Hey Axia, what are your thoughts on Pomella?”
“Hm? Oh, well she is cute but I don’t really feel romantic interest towards her,” I responded, rubbing the back of my head. I didn’t understand how I would be able to fit with the child, especially with how energetic she always was. Right now she looked like she was vibrating in Inum’s lap from all the attention. Morrow considered, then waved to Inum, catching her attention before nodding his head to their room. She tilted her head at him questioningly, but nodded gently sliding Pomella off her lap next to me before getting up and following Morrow into their room. Byron, catching the singal retreated with the still smiling Amelia into their room, leaving me and Pomella alone.
As I looked to her, I noticed immediately how calm she was, especially compared to most times. She looked to me and smiled a slightly shy smile, which seemed to contrast with how she had been since I met her. “Is everything okay?”
“Mm? Oh yeah, I just tend to get excited with others around,” she said embarrassedly, and slowly slipped into my lap, and without thinking about it my arms slowly encompassed her and pulled her closer. She smiled and leaned back a bit, and to our surprise her head was just high enough to find its way past the wrapping on my chest and slip under, leaving her head in the middle of my chest. My cheeks heated, but I didn’t attempt to remove her from the spot. Instead we sat in silence for a second, before she gave a happy sigh and leaned back a bit more. “This is one of the comfiest places i’ve been in a while,”
“W-well, i would hope so…” I mumbled softly, and she giggled pulling her head away looking up at me. “Sorry didn’t mean to do that,” she apologized, and I shrugged. It had been a surprise, but I couldn’t say it had been unpleasant. Her head had been like having air conditioning pressing against my skin, and it had felt nice. “So Pomella, what are you the personification of?” I asked instead, trying to change the topic. She looked confused, tilting her head at me before asking simply, “Your all personifications? What's that?”
“O-oh, you don’t know,” I stammered, surprised. She had seen like one who would know, but she didn’t, staring at me blankly. “Nope, I mean some guy a while ago when i was like 13 told me I was one and that he was one, but I can’t remember what he said exactly,” she said slowly, as if brining up a distant memory. “You forget a lot in 12 years,” she finished, shrugging simply a smile. I stopped, surprised having half expected her to be an early bloomer.
“Oh, your not a mature incarnation, are you?” I muttered to the air, and she frowned a bit.
“What do you mean, i’m mature I -”
“No no, sorry I mean as in you didn’t become a personification when you were supposed to,” I corrected quickly, thinking for a second. Her head had felt so cold, it was probable she had control over ice, but that didn’t narrow the spectrum enough. Immature personifications tended to rely on their secondary powers, like inum with her fire and I was guessing Pomella with her Ice. Those who matured tend to be better at using their natural powers, such as Morrow with manipulating time with ease, or myself with my magic.
I ruffled Pomella’s hair gently, trying to think of what she could be before a small sound that escaped her lips caught my attention. It was a soft “chirp” sound as she pressed her head to my hand, smiling happily. “Wait a minute, did you just chirp?”
I needed to make sure this small flightless bird got her wings.
I had to help her become a full personification.
Time and death intertwined
Author's Note
any hard to read text is backwards and upside down.
ǝdɐɔsǝ part 1
My hand glided smoothly down Pomella’s messy hair, her body feeling a bit cold but not uncomfortably so, and I felt my arms tighten around her a bit. The small bird was sleeping in my arms as I laid down, having suddenly conked off mid conversation. I didn’t mind too much, it just meant I got a second to think, although my mind was partially focused on her for any signs of waking. I couldn’t tell when she would wake up since she was in a dreamless sleep, so I was careful, making sure not to move too much under her even when my Chest seemed to find its current predicament uncomfortable.
It took another five minutes before she woke up, blinking once after opening her eyes before yawning a bit, smiling at me. “You know, your an amazing bed,” she said softly, snuggling closer and I laughed softly, wrapping one arm around the small of her back. She looked at me, then tilting her head pulled away, looking at the worn out clothes she wore, then my own. She seemed to think, then a split second later she had seemed to appear next to the couch, pulling off her clothes. I eeped, and closed my eyes blushing and confused. She giggled, I guessed at me, then a few seconds I felt her lay back on top of me, but she felt almost like she was wrapped in a cold vail, and slowly I opened my eyes.
Her old clothes lay discarded on the couch on the floor in a heap, lumped up together. What she wore instead looked like flowing mist, as if dew had frozen in a dress around her, while at the same time looking like the breath of a person frozen in air, like a plume of white mist. It seemed to swirl around her form, getting denser in the right spots while misty in others, and together it looked like she was wearing a top, similar to the one I was wearing. Her pants was more like a long skirt, and she gave a cheeky smile, and I noticed her cheeks tint ever so slightly with red. “So, do you like it?”
“M-mhm, it looks good on you,” I stuttered a bit, then cleared my throat and gave her a gentle squeeze. I heard her softly chirp, and we laid like that for some time, the moment seeming frozen in time as we held each other, simply relaxing in each other’s arms as we held each other, the world faded out leaving only us. All I could see was her eyes, a beautiful green that put emeralds to shame, and I felt my heart speed up as her eyes found my own. I could feel her for a time become the very center of my world, and even though I hadn’t quite loved her before, I felt my heart thump more and more in response to the moment, and with her being my world I felt my head gravitate towards hers. My eyes closed, and as I got closer and closer my heart beat harder, faster and louder, seeming to drown out all other sound. Bm bm, bm bm, bm bm, bm bm, bm b -
The moment was ended rather suddenly as I heard a door open, and my head fell back with my eyes popping open, letting me see how close me and Pomella’s lips had been. I felt both relieved and sad, since I wasn’t sure I was ready for that just yet. A few moments later Inum and Morrow came walking in, both smiling a bit Inum taking a slightly sassy stance with one hand on her hip as she looked at us. “Hope we weren’t interrupting anything, I was hoping I could maybe fix up little Pomella’s hair,” she teased, looking to the two of us. Pomella pouted, looking away. “But i don’t need my hair done, it's fine how it is!” she protested, and I chuckled softly slowly sitting up causing her to go with me.
“Come on little birb, your hair is looking a bit messy,” I teased softly, and she responded by pouting even more in my general direction. I laughed now, giving her a gentle squeeze before slowly picking her up. She felt light as a feather in my arms as I gently deposited her into Inum’s lap, even as she squirmed just a bit. “Nooooo my beautiful hair!”
“Oh quiet silly, i’m not going to cut it off,” Inum scolded softly, bapping her on the head with a finger before smirking evilly. “Unless of course I have to~”
Pomella’s mouth, which had been opening suddenly snapped shut, eyes wide. There was silence for a few seconds, then Inum laughing softly, grabbing a comb before starting to slowly do Pomella’s hair. “I was teasing Pomella, don’t worry,” she said softly smiling, and I watched approvingly as Pomella relaxed back against Inum, the bit of tension that had rammed its way into her shoulders seeming to leak out like water.
As I watched I felt the couch dip a bit as Morrow sat down next to me, watching the two of them as well. To my surprise he seemed a bit worried as he watched the two, and the worry seemed to double as Inum held out a hand and made a small bit of fire lick up between her fingers. Pomella watched it amazed, before realization slowly donned in her bright eyes, and she turned to look at me and Morrow wide eyed. “I'm the incarnation of retribution, aren’t I?” she asked softly, looking to Morrow. He met her eyes as Inum continued to do her hair with a mother’s focus and after a second nodded. Pomella turned her head to look at Inum, and I saw facts and realizations shoot past her eyes.
She stared at Inum for what felt like eternity, and after one eternity Inum looked back, her eyes meeting Pomella’s. Another eternity lasted, then it was simply over. Pomella blinked, smiled and pressed back against Inum gently, giving off a small chirp of contentment. Morrow let out a huge sigh and relaxed, closing his eyes and simply laying there for a second.
“Thank god it went like that, I was so worried she would start disliking Inum,”
“Why would she do that?”
“Retribution and death are kinda natural enemies, if Inum hadn’t been so friendly from the get-go then Pomella would have started to dislike her for the simple difference in their elements,” Morrow explained, opening an eye to look over at me. “Its why Pomella uses ice and snow while Inum uses fire, they are natural opposites,”
“Ah, i see…” I murmured, staring at the two as Inum slowly combed out Pomella’s hair, and with a few expert twists got her hair into two pigtails, and smiled gently squishing Pomella’s face between her eyes, talking in a high pitched and excited voice about how cute the small bird looked. Then everyone in the room’s attention slowly drifted to the door as it seemed to… deteriorate.
The wood seemed to chip away, bit by bit before seeming to become dust, swirling backwards into what almost looked like the void. That void shifted, shaped and Pomella flinched away from it, her eyes widening. Then the second I blinked it was gone, the door and the void and in its place was a figure dressed in a black tuxedo, wearing a large brimmed black hat, reminiscent of a cowboy. I couldn’t tell what their gender was either, it seemed like every time I tried to look at anyplace that would tell my vision blurred and I looked away to have it turn back to normal.
Even though I couldn’t see their face I felt them smile, but it also felt like a frown at the same time. “Hey everyone! Nice to see you three, and nice to see you again little Pomella,” the voice sounded out, sounding a bit warped making the gender hard to identify. The figure crouched down and waved at Pomella, who shrank back into Inum. Inum glared at the figure, and flickers of flame appeared on the back of one hand. They seemed to smile even more, and simply shrugged. “Sorry about the mishap hun, I had thought you were already a personification sorry I warped your senses so bad,” they apologized softly, and after a second Pomella gave a tiny nod, seeming at least a little less scared.
“What are you doing here?” Inum questioned in a low tone, and the figure turned to face her a bit more directly before standing. “Well i’m here to often an escape room made specifically for you four, interested?”
“Sure, sounds like a good challenge,” Morrow said beside me, and I turned surprised to look at him. A small smile had stretched across his mouth, and I noticed the figure seemed to shift just a bit uncomfortable under his gaze. They cleared their throat, then turned to Pomella. “I swear you will come to no harm little one, it's just an escape room and you can all leave if you can’t get out,” they promised, and after a second she nodded as well, seeming much less scared of him then before.
Inum hesitantly nodded next, and he turned towards me now. “I’ll do it too, thank you sir,” I responded formally, and the figure paused. They turned towards me, and my reality seemed to squirm and shift before my eyes. “Did you just assume my gender?” the figure asked slowly, and after a second I nodded. They seemed to stare at me for a second longer, then shrugged and the strange warping stopped. “At Least your honest about it, alright when you guys are ready step through here,” the figure said cheerfully, and snapped, making a black door appear in the middle of the room.
Morrow was the first to walk through, saluting the figure before disappearing into the inky black that awaited past the door. Inum slowly got up next, and after a hesitant step cursed under her breath and simply jumped in, closing her eyes as she went through. I got up, and walked to Pomella helping her up and gently pulling her to my side. I felt our heartbeats begin to beat in the same rhythm, and after a smile passed between the two of us we jumped in together. The figure stood there for a second, then slowly closed the door giving a soft chuckle.
“˙˙˙ǝdɐɔsǝ uɐɔ ʎǝɥʇ llǝʍ ʍoɥ ɹǝpuoʍ ᴉ”
To be continued...
Time and death intertwined
Axia blinked, and as her eyes adjusted to the strange light the room came into focus. It was about as big as the living room, but it was split into six different sections. One was lively, with flora and fauna growing in wild bursts, animals creeping around the inside. One was a blank space, void of anything except for a single dot. Another was like the night sky, illuminated by an unseen light. The fourth was a sheet of Ice, glassy and transparent hinting at infinite snow beyond.One shone with a pink radiance, shimmering with small hearts passing through the doorway. The final door was blocked by a wall of flame, the entire span of the rainbow flickering through its colors. Everyone looked at each other, nodded and each went to their respective doors. It wasn’t like the hinting could be any more obvious. At Least that's what I thought until I saw our names was above each door. I sighed, then slowly walked into the night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The dot expanded as I walked into the oblivion surrounding it. I could sense the pressing darkness close the door behind me, leaving me in a strange space. I had feeling, yet I had no body. I could see, although I had no eyes. I could feel walls, yet none existed. It was like I was in an entirely invisible world, and I had just walked into it. I sighed, and while no sound came out I could still hear it.
I began to walk, or at least tried but it seemed like I was locked where I stood, giving me pause. Movement wasn’t a thing in this strange place, so how was I supposed to escape it? Doesn’t escaping imply moving? As the thought of movement flashed through my head though I felt myself drift, not in any direction but just randomly. “Ahh, so that's how it is,” I whispered to myself, then thought of moving towards the dot. I slowly felt myself drift in its general direction, but even so it seemed I wasn’t getting closer. I had figured out how to move, but not how to get closer.
I noticed there was a single visible thing in the corner, a ticking clock. Its hand rapidly switched color, and I recognized them as my eye colors. Red, blue, yellow, then that strange purple I had seen myself use in the future. I didn’t have eyes, I couldn’t change empty space’s color. The clock was ticking down, and I realized it was a timer. I had only three minutes to get to the dot, or I failed the escape room. I thought of running and I felt myself move faster, but not fast enough since the dot never got closer.
The space around me seemed to shift and ooze around my senses,then I realized I was starting to… feel, myself. In my mind’s eye I had imagined myself running down a corridor, like I would normally. It seemed this world was governed from my thoughts, because as I looked down I saw my body, and around me greasy black stones that resembled a medieval sewer’s, like I had imagined.
Then my mind finally realized the implications of these factors, and a smirk, mostly mental so I could actually feel my mouth stretch to make the expression, then imagine my eyes, pale and grey. As I continued to run I felt them manifest, and after a second turn yellow. The yellow on the clock faded out, now at 1 minute, and I felt myself suddenly move 10 times the speed I had before. It was a mental hassle, imagining the running, walls and eyes plus the yellow pigment all at the same time. But it was working, and as the seconds ticked down the dot got closer and closer.
When there was only 10 seconds left I reached the object, and stopped looking at it. It was like a star, but curved like a teardrop. The sound of the clock was audible now, and I stopped staring to quickly snatch the object. As soon as my hand touched the object I felt myself get thrown through the passage I had ran and into the starting room. A small pedestal had risen up from the ground, and after a second I fit the teardrop into the open space of the pedestal. It gave a ding noise, then began to glow white. I wonder how the others were doing…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The flames tickled a bit as I passed through, and i stopped in the doorway to pass my fingers through a patch of flame. It flickered around my fingers, then I was through. The light behind me diminished, and I turned to see it had vanished, replaced by something looking like a black hole. That was most of the world actually, but a few seconds later I noticed the dark gravel round underfoot, and I began to walk. The area was quiet and devoid of life, and left me feeling… uncomfortable.
It reminded me of how I had felt till I met Morrow. Empty, void of friends or families and left to deal with my strange abilities alone. I had felt so, so alone in a world where I couldn’t talk to anyone. A world where I was passed through like a ghost. Only now, I couldn’t see anyone else and I truly, was alone. The darkness was oppressive, and I felt my arms wrap around myself on their own as a shiver passed down my spine. Then, distantly I heard crying.
It was soft and faint, but slowly I walked towards the sound, still clutching myself as a freezing wind slowly picked up. The cries slowly got louder and louder, and before long I saw a boy, young and frail hunched over a ditch. I started to run, and the wind picked up seeming to cut straight through me, chilling down to the bones. He had brown hair, was so skinny I could see his spine through his skin with torn up baggy pants on. He laid crying over a slumped figure, his small frail arms wrapped around the form. I felt dread building in my stomach like a lead weight as I got closer. “Are you alright little boy?” I asked softly, coming up behind him.
He turned his head so swiftly I was afraid it would snap, fearful wild blue eyes snapping onto me. He shrieked and curled even more on the form, tears forming at the corners of his eyes. “Why did you do it!?” He screamed, and the lead grew double in size. “Why did you kill grandpa!?”
“I-I didn’t!” I stammered, taking a step back. His hands clutched at the figures form, and I noticed the white hair and pudgy belly of the man. His eyes were closed with one hand clutched to his heart with a pained expression on his face.
The boy grabbed his grandfathers shirt and began to slowly shake him back and forth. “Grandpa… Grandpa please wake up…. Please I need you Grandpa…”
His eyes leaked tears that caught the darkness and glinted back at me evilly. I hadn’t even noticed I had fallen to my knees next to the boy, my emotions seeming to tear me from the inside out. The boy began to beat one frail hand at the mans chest, then one eye opened looking at me as he screamed, “You killed Grandpa! How could you he didn’t need to die! You monster!”
I couldn’t even respond, my lips felt stitched together as tears streamed down my own face. The child began to let out horrible, messy broken sobs as he rested his face on the old man’s shirt. I felt words circle around in my head, ones I had heard a while ago spoken by the one I had loved. “Is it alright to decide when someone dies and when someone lives? What gives that right to decide?” and as the words passed I slowly stopped crying. I came close, wrapped my arms around the child and held him. He seemed reluctant at first, then pressed to me still sobbing as I held him.
The weight in my chest slowly got lighter and lighter, and as the child’s sobs slowly died and he was left sniffling and staring blankly at the corpse of his grandfather I gently touched the old man’s chest. Then, with a gentle hand raised it. The boy’s eyes locked onto my hand as a ghostly vision of the old man rose out of his body following my hand, and after he was fully out gave a loud yawn. He slowly rolled in mid air, eyes closed before opening to focus on the child.
“Why boy why do you cry? There is no reason to cry for I am free, now I get to talk to your grandmother and finally give her that slow dance in heaven I had always promised,” he soothed, cupping the boy’s cheek with one hand. The boy stared at him wide eyed face alight with surprise. Then slowly he smiled, and nodded. Then there was a bright flash and the world was gone, and in my hand a black teardrop shaped gem shone with a wet glow. I sighed, breath still a bit shaky and slowly stood up. I managed to pass the test, I came over my guilt for the grieving.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I frowned as the pink light blinded me momentarily before fading away, leaving me in what appeared to be a bedroom. On the bed sat a couple, one on each side facing away from one another. One stared dreamily forward, a dazed smile on her face while the man looked on worried, head resting in palm as he stared at his feet. They weren’t connected by a red thread, and I noticed the woman’s lead in the way she was looking while the man’s was off some other way, leading to a place far away. One happy, one sad both together.
After a hesitant moment I walked over and rested a hand on the woman’s head, then the man’s. The woman was fantasizing about her newest passion, someone who made her feel like she was the most amazing woman in the world and who she felt like she could love forever. Not a single one of her thoughts were on her boyfriend sitting only a few feet away, except for how he made the bed more uncomfortable to sit on with his weight. The man was worried about his girlfriend, wondering why things had been so different recently and why she never seemed to return the love he gave her. He felt like his hands made her wilt, and his lips made her shrink away as he spoke.
It was obvious neither were exactly enjoying their current relationship, but for entirely different reasons. One had lost interest, and the other had noticed and worried it was their fault. The man slowly laid down, looking at his girlfriend’s back and I could feel a pang of sorrow shoot through his heart as he called out softly, “Want to relax for a bit?”
“Mmm? Oh uh, yeah sure,” she replied, and I felt a pang of guilt from her as she slowly laid down next to him, followed by a feeling of awkwardness. The two laid there, still looking away from each other and I frowned. As the personification of love I could either split these two and push them too find their true loves, or I could knit back what was broken and fix the two. Doing that though would be delicate work, and I might have to erase certain memories to do so which felt completely wrong.
So I sat and watched, playing with my hands out of habit while watching the two, trying to figure out what to do. After a bit I sighed loudly, and got up starting to pace hoping the movement would help. My brain didn’t know what to do, I felt sympathetic for the guy who still loved her, but I could see why she would want to go to this guy who makes her feel so good and happy which her current boyfriend can’t quite reach. A sudden breakup would leave sore relations between the two, and could interfere with both their lives later. Yet staying together could lead to the girl loosing the man she truly loved, and then she would grow more and more bitter until they broke up anyway. That thought passed through my head, but close behind it was an idea.
I headed over to the girl, then slowly laid down like she was phasing through her and after a second into her, seeing her thoughts and gaining some measure of control over her, putting the actual her into a state similar to hypnosis. Then pushing a suggestion into her head she said after a pause,” Hun, there is something we need to talk about…” with a soft, gentle tone. He looked over to her, eyes understanding and he nodded, slowly sitting up. I prompted her to do the same, then slowly take his hand in hers. Then after a second I left her body, and she took a deep breath before starting to talk.
She explained how she had met a new friend recently, and how he made her feel and how she couldn’t stop thinking about him. The boyfriend, while seeming a bit sad nodded and listened in silence, keeping his eyes on hers. When she was finished speaking and out of breath he began to talk, saying how he had noticed she was being different, not seeming to care as much about the relationship and how it had made him feel. I felt pangs of guilt and sadness come from her as he spoke, tears slowly rolling down from her eyes. He paused to gently wipe her tears away, giving her a smile before continuing.
Some time later the two were embracing, and after a second she slowly pulled her head back and kissed him, and he kissed back, tension in his shoulders fading away. Slowly after a second the red threads that had been leading elsewhere from the two dimmed, the boyfriend’s going away completely while the girl’s turned more green and dimmer. Then a red thread, vibrant and strong formed between the two as they drew even closer. Some people are meant to be together from the start. That doesn’t ever mean a relationship can’t become stronger, even if they have problems. Nothing, not even love, is ever final.
A spot over the thread glowed a vibrant red, and I took the small crystal heart looking at its surface. Then the room began to fade away, leaving me to head back to the lobby.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vines slid over my back as the forest seemed to greet me into its fold, wrapping around me and pulling me in deeper as the gateway back slowly closed back up. It felt like I was in the jungle, thick vines hanging from absolutely giant trees, with a green canopy stretching above light shining through turning green on the way down. In the shadows under bushes and clinging to the side of trees beetles and other bugs scuttled and crawled around, while smaller animals chirped, squeaked and made all other kinds of sounds.
I wandered around for a bit, brushing my hand over plants and the backs of curious animals only to watch them scurry away after the first touch, leaving me smiling. I had never been in the jungle, but I had to say I liked it. The only part I didn’t like was how many shadows seemed to crawl under bushes and trees along with the bugs, especially when it seemed to shift and wriggle in supernatural forms. After a bit I noticed it wasn’t just my imagination, and every shadow was reaching for me, some even seeming to peel off the ground or trees to reach for me with black tendrils.
My power flared without my realizing, and an entire cloud of fireflies suddenly spurted from a nearby clump of plants, and began to swarm my body not hurting me but illuminating my body keeping the shadows from touching me. The shadows touched life, and as they did that life died, vines shriveling and animals crying out in pain as the shadows touched them. Before I realized it I found my body running, my mind seeming left behind as I struggled to keep up with my instincts as it ran from the darkness, leaving the cloud of fireflies behind me. Red eyes seemed to gleam from the darkness as the shadows consumed the light that the fireflies had let off.
My body started jumping, spinning and cartwheeling around, jumping from tree to tree as my mind tried to think of a way out of this mess. No matter how far I went or how much faster I traversed the jungle the shadows were right behind me, pricking my soles with tendrils of black. My power started jumping into plant to plant, making vines push me forward boosting me as I continued to run from the blackness that awaited me. Then it touched my foot, and I felt… nothing. The shadow didn’t burn, it didn’t freeze my foot or feel like anything. Infact it felt completely normal as it washed over my foot and up my leg.
My mind finally caught up, and that's when my body slowed and came to a stop, letting the shadows catch me. They consumed me, then a second later I realized it hadn’t been some evil presence, just the sun setting at a rapid pace. I laughed, relieved and opened my palm, the fireflies from earlier gathering to my hand forming a sort of globe. Then to my surprise they dispersed, leaving me with a golden key. Then the jungle night slowly faded away, leaving me in darkness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The night let me enter like a soft curtain of stars, and a second later the light from the lobby faded leaving me in the starry night. It didn’t feel too different from when I was stretching my senses, and closing my eyes I smiled letting my senses flow on the stars. Each star became like a glowing eye letting me see the entire night sky, but beyond layed nothing but blackness. I thought about my options, then focused on a single star, looking at its details.
It was different from a normal star, more like a fragment then anything else like a chunk of the galaxy left floating around. It felt like I had a giant invisible hand as I inspected the piece, then tried bringing it to a nearby piece grabbing it as well and pushing the two together. They seemed to almost melt together like lava, molding and forming a small sphere with bumps and indents all over. With a little bit of molding it became round, and that's when the idea of the escape room clicked. I smiled to myself, and began to stretch out with multiple hands, a hundred no one thousand no one hundred thousand, grabbing all the little bits of star matter strewn around. The sky became darker and darker in general, but the center became brighter and brighter until it began to illuminate the corners that even the individual pieces hadn’t been able to reach.
Before long one giant sun was before me, and I marveled at my work feeling the hands that had covered the night like an invisible army fade away. After a bit of time the center of the star seemed to crack open and inside was a single piece of the original bits of star, and it floated to me forming a ring in the palm of my hand. Then the world began to fade, and slowly I headed back towards the door that had opened up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Man, this area was cold! Even having control over the ice and snow of the area it still chilled me down to the bone, although that could have been do to my lack of clothing. The equivalent of a snow phoenix didn’t need clothes I had thought, and now i was stuck out here and dammit I could feel my legs chafing against each other. Okay I needed to finish this fast, it was way too cold in here.
As I walked through the frozen wasteland, I noticed the pieces and remnants of my farm scattered about, pieces of the old barn stuck in drafts of snow the red paint already scratched bare by the wind. I looked the south and noticed that where the city I had always known now laid in ruins, the city frozen and in pieces. Lights still flicked in shattered windows, and from here I could see frozen forms stuck mid stride laying on their sides. My heart felt heavy as I continued to walk, a feeling of apprehension spreading through my body.
The snow that had been blowing into my face slowly began to diminish, which at that point I wish it had gotten even harder to see rather than easier. My house, now a pile of rubble covered in snow, was all that was left. My feet started to run without my brain telling them too, but at the time I didn’t care. My thoughts were only on two things: Momma and pop. I ran as fast as I could to the house, crunching on the snow but not falling in and within seconds I was at the rubble, panting and rapidly pushing away the snow.
Each piece felt as heavy as three of me, but my body felt stronger, more powerful than it ever had and I continued to push and push until my eyes were greeted with the sight I had feared. Under all the rubble laid my parents, eyes closed. Their hands were grasped together, and as I gently opened their hands I noticed both of their wedding rings had cracked and frozen, laying in their grasp. To me, instead of metal I saw the last line of defense, the last thing that could keep my parents together even in death: broken.
Oh, hi ground my knees seemed to say as I fell to them, unable to support my own weight as I stared at the open palms of my parents. My heartbeat was like a drum in my ears, each beat harder and sooner than the last till it felt like it was trying to run straight out of my chest. My hands reached up and clutched at my face, but I couldn’t blink as I continued to stare. “Nonononono no no no… please god no don’t do this please,” I prayed as hard as I could, tearing my eyes from their corpses to stare into the sky. “Please help them oh please god please, help them they did nothing wrong they didn’t deserve this!” I shouted at the sky. But nobody answered.
Big, wet tears began to fall down my face as the last hope of my families survival fell from the heavens to the ground and shattered. And just like that I felt myself shatter, and I opened my mouth to let out a scream that seemed to split the world in half. The world itself seemed to shake as my scream resonated with the very earth’s core, and as I screamed not caring who heard or what happened the very earth tore in two, a chasm forming under me, the house and the city dropping us. Air rushed into my face, and then my cry was suddenly cut off, leaving me silent as a mouse as the world snapped down on everything I had held dear.
All i knew was a light, one that shone from me and the crack that had been left when the world had swallowed us whole. It was a bright green, like an emerald shining in the light as my eyes glowed with heat that felt like they would burn themselves out of my sockets. Then slowly the world cracked back open, and everything began to slowly float out including myself. My scream had cut off long ago, lost in the depths of the earth as the snow that had sunk my life into the drain cleared.
The world became clear and sunny, and the rubble I had come back to seemed to raise itself and knit back together into its original shape. The barn’s pieces floated up and put themselves back together before setting itself on the ground next to the restored house. I was left gasping as I looked around the see the city had been fixed, and the frozen people were getting up, dazed but alive. They looked around, then slowly got up seeming to head back for their homes rubbing their heads. I had stopped paying attention to them a while ago though, already inside the rebuilt house and in my parents arms.
They smiled down at me with gentle, loving care and I felt tears, this time ones of pure joy begin to slide down my face. For the first time in so, so long, even if it was a mirage I finally got to hug my parents again. I finally got to have a family again. They both slowly leaned down, kissed the top of my head, then straightened giving me their wedding rings. They had stayed broken, and now instead of a single copper band and silver band the two had fused together. One half was silver metal and the other copper, and I smiled gently taking the ring. Then the world faded out, and I found myself dropping back into the lobby.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I placed my golden ring in the small pedestal that had risen up before joining the rest of the group, having been the last to come out do to the time it had taken to fuse the sun together. Nobody really talked, all seeming deep in thought about their own experiences. All except Pomella who had a smile plastered to her face as she watched the pedestals. I smiled, then hearing the sound of movement turned to watch the pedestals descend into the ground, before one large one arose out of the ground, a single key of flicking oblivion present in its holder.
I considered it for a second, then slowly grabbed the key and tried turning it in the air. The air split and shattered away, leaving the same gate that had brought us here in its place. As I watched Morrow went through, then Inum than everyone else leaving me looking around the place. I had to wonder, would we ever see this place again? This room? After a second to ponder I shrugged, and jumped through the portal to follow everyone else.
Time and death intertwined
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. Time and death intertwined
I let out a groan and stood up from her chair, my body aching from sitting so long and stretched, my joints audibly popping in multiple places. my eyes hurt from staring at the computer screen in front of me for so long, but I was almost done with my job and I had to finish, even if it did entail another few long hours. I took a few seconds to close my eyes and relax, trying to think of my entire body tensing up then the tension flowing right back out. Then my eyes opened and I got back to work, fingers barely touching the keys as I tried my hardest to finish the project I had set myself on as soon as possible.
A few hours later - or was it only one hour… either way, I was on my way back to my house, feet hitting the pavement of the sidewalk in audible clicks that helped me find a constant sound in the bustling town around me. I began to hum a tune after a bit, closing my eyes and simply letting my feet carry me home. They knew where they were going better than I did probably. I felt cold a few times along the walk, but nothing a little shiver didn’t ward away. Within some amount of time I reached my house, and with a sigh of relief I opened the front door and fell forward.
I felt the air rush by as I simply fell forward, my long black hair whipping in a sudden wind from the outdoors as I fell. Then seconds before I hit the ground I instead went through it, my body falling through the ground to emerge standing a few feet away, no longer the same. Oh, why hello there everyone! My name is Jean, or as some very few know me Kabalig! Well, actually nobody knows me by that name, and only one person knows me by Jean but it still counts!
Bet you didn’t expect me to talk to you did ya? Well I happen to be the personification of opposites as some of you might have guessed or figured out, and since the opposite thing most people would expect me to be able to do is talk to you, so here I am doing it. Oh and before most thing this will last long, I might as well describe what I look like. I am first off female, so for any of you who guessed that good job! Second I have average bust and curve, and I can actually modify my body or appearance to other people, which is why I often appear as more of a black cloud so I can stay mysterious.
I found myself lying on the bed a few seconds later, the floor having swallowed me like a whale and leaving me on the queen sized bed I called mine - although it was shared, to be fair. I relaxed into it, snuggling into the soft and fluffy pillows as my bones finally got a chance to rest. My body felt tired from the long day of working as an accountant, figuring out bills and prices for a company so large it couldn’t name a third of its high ranking employes. The main reason I actually worked even though I was a personification was too have something normal I could look to compared to all the madness being the personification of opposites was.
Even though I had more power than most other personifications, could twist reality and make alternate dimensions that others couldn’t imagine (which is how I do it!) it was all too hectic. I didn’t get to socialize very much since whenever someone wanted to know me my mind automatically tried to make me as mysterious as possible. It was kind of annoying, I had so much power I literally couldn’t control what it did. Only one had been able to properly communicate with me, and that had just been a lucky shot on his part. Although, he always got lucky shots since he was the personification of luck.
Luke came into the room slowly, rubbing at his eyes with a hand before looking up at me and smiling. “Hey there Jean, how was work today?”A lot of years ago…….. like a lot lot
I found myself wandering the small patch of farmland that the one girl had come from, exploring and checking where she grew up. Her parents were worried sick about her, and I felt bad for what I had meant to do, thinking she had already become a personification. Instead, I ended up scaring her so bad she became one pre-emptively. I couldn’t really do anything about it, I just had to hope someone could help her, maybe another nice personification could explain to her what it meant… as for her parents I hoped they wouldn’t morn for too long, and that that girl could talk to her parents at some point and explain. I was broken from my thoughts as a random four leafed clover fell from the sky, slowly sinking down until it rested upon my forehead. I stared at it for a second, confused, before simply blowing it away.
I watched as it floated away, before glowing like a miniature green star and flashing bright, causing me to close my eyes with a startled cry. Slowly the light that was haunting my eyelids faded, and slowly I opened my eyes seeing dots of light still flickering in and out of existence in my vision. Then my eyes completely focused and I saw a man standing in front of me, mostly green with sparkling blue eyes, floating at the same level I was. I suddenly felt the usual chaos that rampaged in my head subside, and for the first time in a while I felt my head clear and let me think straight.
“Why hello there, who might you be miss?” he asked smiling, holding a hand out to me. I blinked in surprise before slowly taking his hand, the darkness that usually hid my features fading away.
“How did you know?”
“Lucky guess,” he said with a shrug still smiling before looking at me closely, seeming to be examining my features. I felt my cheeks flush, not used to being looked at, before his smile grew a bit more and he gave my hand a shake. “My name is Luke, what's yours?” he asked, looking at me with interest. I felt my brain spike like it usually did when asked a direct and I gave a mysterious smile, slowly pulling away. “You’ll have to give that a ‘lucky guess’ to learn that~”
“Ooh I see how it is, what do I have to take you on a magical horse ride into the sunset to learn~?”
“Maybe, it counts on if the horse has flees,” I teased, poking him in the ribs gently. He didn’t have too much muscle on him, but he was more lean and seemed like he was more agile rather than strong. He smiled, and wiggled his fingers in the air before bringing them down to the ground suddenly. I felt my power spike again although I wasn’t sure why and instead of anything happening he was left looking at his hands in confusion.
“O-oh sorry about that, I didn’t know what it was doing,” I stammered, giving him an apologetic look. He shrugged, smiled then slowly put a hand to my forehead. The spikes of power I had been feeling every so often slowly subsided, becoming more like gentle hills rather than jagged spikes. I sighed in relief, and looked up at him in confusion. “What are you?”
“I am a personification, specifically one of luck,” he boasted proudly, his chest puffing out a bit. I marveled at him for a second, before asking, “how does luck manage to calm opposites?”
“It's always a chance to something happening, if a person will be born or not, if a couple will meet that kind of thing and i have the power to edit that chance at will,” he explained, sitting down on the air - somehow. He looked at me, seemed to consider me then smiled, offering me a hand. “Would you like to hang out a bit? Maybe i can help temper your powers a bit,”
After a second I took his hand and nodded, a small smile actually forming on my lips at the new bond found.
Present
Looking back we had a fair amount of fights, the two of us having fairly different personalities my own worried and constantly busy while he was carefree and was more likely to be found floating around then actually using his powers. When he did we actually sometimes had fights on if he was using his power on our relationship and was actually messing with me. What if the entire relationship was a lie, or the only reason we were still together was because he was editing his chances?
At the end of the day though we found ourselves both cuddled up together, tired of fighting and slept on it, and most surprisingly both of us usually ended up waking up and apologizing to each other. We both knew each other’s weak spots and nerves and often played off them when we fought, so in the morning it was almost traditional that after a fight we say sorry for anything we said and find comfort in each other rather than anger. I had the feeling that was actually both of our powers working together, his editing chances for us staying together and my own doing the opposite of what would usually happen which could be a lasting grudge between the two lovers.
A relationship with two entities who could alter perceptions and realities could be tough, but just as rewarding as any other relationship. Luke had helped me manage my powers better, and as long as I let them out later I could bottle up all the crazy in my head, allowing it to be stored and actually used in large scale projects. One of those had actually been the escape room, playing off of so many opposites it was almost normal yet not, which had made it fun to create. Something with so many loopholes and opposites going against opposites couldn’t be explained except for one word: ¡ʎzɐɹɔ
The next morning the two of us got up together, yawning and stretching from slightly uncomfortable positions before I slowly stumbled out of bed going to grab my clothes. For some reason the office had decided to screw me and call me in for the day, apparently because Bob couldn't come in even though I had specifically asked to be off today. When I had gotten home my clothes had actually simply fallen off my body to make cuddling in bed easier, but it made it a pain for collecting. When I got to them the first thing I did was manipulate the opposite of what they were, dirty, and made them clean. Then I thought of the opposite of what they were, and they changed colors completely and the tomboy like outfit became a pretty green work dress.
I slid it on, finding it fairly comfortable if a little itchy and sighed, popping my back in multiple places as I prepared to head back to work. “See ya later hun, what was the plan tonight?”
“Hrmm.. mmmm… wait wuh?” he groaned sleepily, still lazing around in bed.
“Weren't you taking today off?”
“Yeah but they decided to screw me, so we will have to move our plans to later,”
“Alright then, Weren’t we going to go visit that little personification family, maybe play a joke or two on them?”
“Oh, mmmm… it would be better today to just talk to them or watch them, maybe we can even introduce ourselves properly and make some lasting friends,”
“Hmm maybe but probably not, see ya hun!”
“There can be no probably not with me love! And see ya later,” he called after me, and I smiled rolling my eyes and kept on walking to work.
Time and death intertwined
Here I was being dragged off by both Inum and Byron as they headed for a game store a couple miles away. It seemed like both of them had shared a look, said some kind of color like “green” or “black” then smiled. Then here was me suddenly getting pulled by my arms towards the door blinking in surprise. Morrow had sat down and watched us with a small smile as we left, and I could only wonder what I had coming.
Inum, who had been leading us, apparently had a terrible sense of direction. She first accidently brought us to the grocery store, then a hair salon and even a berry stall. The funny part was every time she seemed so confused and always checked around the area to make sure she wasn’t just a bit off. It took us till evening to finally find the proper store, and I personally was starving. I wasn’t exhausted, since personifications had much higher endurance and just natural senses, but we can still feel hungry.
The game store’s name seemed to be a play off of the well known role playing game DND, representing a dragonborn shooting a flaming arrow into the red neon sign, saying “Dragon’s Lair”. I personally didn’t know too much about it and hung back as Inum seemed to geek over it a bit, Byron right next to her. Then a realization hit me and I poked Byron, frowning a bit. “Hey you live in the forest, how do you know what any of this is?” I questioned, poking him in the ribs. He smiled and gestured to the building, then the forest he had lived in being close behind.
“I usually come here on fridays, it's how I got news and learned how to play,”
“Play what?”
“Well, magic,” he said simply, then waved me in as I frowned and followed behind. Inum was already inside, seeming to almost be bouncing around like a kid in a candy shop. It made some sense since she could finally play whatever this “Magic” was, instead of only watching. The casuals sitting around watched her with different measures of surprise, before she went over to the counter and motioned for me to come over as well, and I noticed Byron snap and make a swath of vines appear from his hands in a box shape, before fading away to leave him with a pile of sleeved cards which he started to shuffle.
It seemed like most of the people there were staying at his display, Inum expertly picking out cards with a skull symbol at the top right, seeming to put them together to form a simple deck of cards, which she then paid for. I wonder how much money Inum just spent from Morrow’s wallet…
The cashier cleared his throat, and I noticed his hair was tinted with blue as he smiled and motioned me over. After a second I came over, looking around at all the boxes behind him. “Hello there, here for magic?”
He asked in a friendly tone, giving me a carefree smile before motioning to the spots that held so many cards. “Uhm… I guess so, those two kind of dragged me in and i don’t know what magic is,” I mumbled, motioning with a thumb at Inum and Byron as the two of them began to play a game. He nodded, seeming thoughtful, before grabbing a box and handing it to me. He motioned to the two, then smiling simply told me to learn from them.
The cards were as they said, and as I watched my soon-to-be-boyfriend and Inum play I noticed the cards seem to cast small holographic images above the cards, attacking in a small simple battlefield in the middle. They turned cards depicting land in the background sideways, Byron doing it to forests while Inum swamps. Inum as if trying to fit what she represented seemed to play a lot of things that killed off Byron’s creatures or created zombies, while Byron played creatures of the forest, and by the end he somehow managed to win with a swarm of squirrels.
I looked at the highlighted symbol on my box and noticed it was red, and after a moment I sat down then turned to Inum asking, “Hey can we do a game? I think I understand how to do it,”
“Mm… sure, say if you need any help,” she replied moving a seat over so we were facing each other before I pulled out the, what I guessed to be, premade deck. As I shuffled and drew I noticed the small green lines on my hand seeming to wave back and forth, and each seemed to tint a bit red. I stared for a second, then shrugged and looked to my hand. I thought it was about average, and after deciding turn order we started.
I didn’t do to well at first, although that was mostly because I wasn’t used to it. I made what Byron called “rookie mistakes” such all lands or getting turn order confused. It only took around 10 minutes before I was overwhelmed by the small amount of zombies hording my hands, and after a second I sighed, feeling righteous and asked for a rematch. She nodded, then the two of us went back at it. This time it went a lot better.
The green lines flickered like flames, and I heard Byron talk about the color I was using, red. It was the color of passion and emotion, and releasing this I tried to do something. I remembered the green prominent on that flying man, and focused all my emotion, my thirst for victory, passion for Byron, and even the enjoyment for the game. Suddenly the tinted red exploded across my hand from the green stripe, and as I drew my next card it was exactly what I needed.
The next five rounds went perfectly for me, it was almost like I was onfire as I put out multiple small, but fast wolves, each doing damage before Inum’s slower deck could respond. She was low by the time she cast her first spell, and it only took a fire spell to finish her. She seemed surprised at the outcome, then Byron smiling stepped in, popping his fingers all at once and settling into a confident stance.
Even with fast creatures he put out a couple of wall based creatures that my own couldn’t go through, and that left him to build mana as I drew more spells. Before long he played a bit, scary creature but before it could see the end of his turn it got torched so bad it went down immediately. Finally a massive burn spell came out, and I played it with a flourish, causing all his medium walls to fizzle and burn. Next came the wolves, and by the time he had another big creature out he was so full of holes he didn’t have a chance of winning.
He blinked, surprised and I smiled tiredly at him, the red on my hand fading back to its normal green. It seemed by pumping emotions into the green of my hand I could play red with very increased luck. The downside to this was how much energy it took to keep it up, and knowing how luck bites the second I would let up on the pressure it would most likely have me miss one of the most important spells in the deck. Byron, seeming impressed leaned over and kissed my forehead gently, and while I sat surprised a small thrill went through my body and I felt partially re-invigorated.
After saying our goodbyes to the owner of the store we headed out, walking down the street in search of a good place to eat. It was times like this I wish we had Morrow who could just teleport us to restaurants, but instead we had to search and walk. At the very least it didn’t take too long though, and an hour later we were seated at a pizzeria, and to my surprise Morrow sat with Inum with a mischievous smile. “I’ve been epecting you,” he intoned darkly before Inum lightly punched his arm, smiling at him while rolling her eyes. “Oh shush you, your paying for dinner tonight~”
“Nope, I think I already paid enough today,” he said simply, and while Inum’s face took a look like that of a caught puppy’s he gently pulled his wallet out of her coat pocket and put it in his own.
Inum seemed to order light as if trying to lighten the bill that would fall on her head. Morrow as if trying to compensate ordered a bigger meal, and Inum’s response was to shoot him a pouting look before he slid an arm around her shoulders and pulled her onto his lap, which seemed to cheer her up a fair amount. I myself leaned against Byron a bit as we waited for our drinks, smiling a bit from the gentle warmth coming off his body.
“So what were you up to while we were gone Morrow?” Inum asked, her head leaning backwards into the crook of his neck. He shrugged before stating simply, “Nothing too much, mostly just slept and figured out where you guys were most likely to eat,”
“My sleepy boy~” Inum teased softly, and he shushed her with a kiss while Byron and I simply talked about the game. He questioned how I had gotten such good look, and I told him showing him by focusing my emotions into the green line on my hand. He watched, entranced before focusing on his own hand, then after 30 seconds of intense staring subsided with a sigh. “I think it works with me because I represent an emotion, which means I can channel it,” I offered, making the stripe go back to normal. He nodded slowly, as if thinking it over in his head, then slowly took a drink from his water and looked at the roof.
Another hour later the four of us finished our meal and Inum begrudgingly paid the bill, although she didn’t seem too upset about it. I had a feeling that had something to do with whatever Morrow had whispered into her ear, but knowing her it was probably just promises of shirts. Byron had one arm put around me, and I leaned back into his grip, simply letting my body completely relax. We sat for a bit, the four of us taking a break from talking and just enjoying the silence, before getting up and heading for the front door. Then, slowly a girl with long purple hair got up, walked over and past.
She was covered in a black dress and it seemed as if her tail was like a scorpions minus the bared tip, and the end of it slowly traced against Byron’s body. I felt his body immediately heat up and his face flushed, but she kept walking like nothing happened. I turned to look at him, confused and he shook his head nodding towards the door. I felt… confused and worried, worried because of the effect she had on him and confused about how. Then once we got outside he started panting, clutching his chest and casting a dark look towards the restaurant. “That woman is not normal… that's a personification,”
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Lust couldn’t help but laugh at the look the cute tiger cast at the window where she had just been watching them, and with a flick of her tail she walked to her booth and relaxed slowly on a random man’s lap. He flustered sooo easily, it could almost be considered adorable. She slowly licked her lips as she reclined on the man’s chest, and plotted on how she could get that tiger away from the pink girl. He didn’t seem smart and already interested, so that should be very easy. She couldn’t help but wonder how he would… taste. And while she so casually planned how she would get her next victim the man she laid upon freaked out, face flushed and body sweaty as his girlfriend looked at him worriedly. He asked to excuse himself, and promptly got up and left for the bathroom as she was left too look after him, concern and confusion written on her face. But first, Lust needed to satisfy herself for the night.
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Amelia gently rubbed Byron’s shoulder’s as he breathed heavily, as if he had been choked and she gently checked the red thread running between them. It was still strong, sturdy and untouched, and as she did Byron gently hugged her to his chest. She went with his hands, looking up at him as he relaxed and did his best to explain what had happened. “Her touch was like… electricity, it made every part of my body scream ‘ go get her’, but then I saw you and the mental temptation went away, leaving only my body flustered,” he said quickly, as if trying to explain himself. I smiled and slowly kissed his chin, then turned back to the restaurant as the four of us stared. It seemed the red thread relationship had saved the two of us, but what could that woman do to most?
WHat had she already done?...
Author's Note
Personifications can be bad too afterall... and what happens if a bad Personification goes rampent?