Coup de Grace!

“That’s not-!” Her protest stutters and halts there as she struggles to finish it. But it wasn’t true, of course! She had only ever fought shadows! While they were borne of the cognition of real people, she wasn’t actually hurting anyone! Not... Not truly. 

But her father’s shadow was real enough, wasn’t he? And he died all the same. 

But she didn’t do that! And the thrill that she got from fighting, well... That was different! She never wanted to hurt people!

Top of head: Sibling affection/parental affection

Hair: Yearning

Ear: "I want you to hear me out."

Nose: "You're so cute."

Cheek: "I want to tell you I love you."/Deep affection/Devotion

Neck: Dislike/Hate/Disdain

Shoulder: Worry/Concern for other/Fear

Waist: Possessiveness/"You are mine."

Over the heart: "I love you."

Butt: Sexual attractiveness/lust

Hip: Interest

Back: Wanting to kill/will betray you one day

Stomach: Fun!/Silliness/"Wanna go cause some trouble?"

Forearm: Indifference/Don't particularly care for

Biceps: Aggravation/Irritation/"You are an idiot."

Fingers: Friendship/amicable

Wrist: Fear of losing you

Knee: "Don't worry, I'm here for you."

Chin: Beauty/attractiveness

Thigh: Sympathy/empathy

Calves: "I will cause you pain."

Sector five-!? Her exploring had taken her this far!? Gods.. if she had her wings it wouldn’t be so much of a hassle.. or if she had any sort of powers to her, she’d be fine. But she didn’t have anything to aid her - and she was so tiny. The woman seemed really nice, could Venti still trust her? She’d still act formal, there was no point in hiding her personality and just acting as a child. That was just weird.

❛  The place they had put me at was in sector one. I was trying to find anyone I knew around here but..  ❜

She shook her head. She found Lest, but couldn’t remember the sector he was in. All she knew was that it wasn’t in hers. This was way too much for someone as her in this form! This had to be some weird trick from someone.

Oh no, Sector One? That was much too far of a walk for anyone, let alone a child! She doubt that she’d be able to make it home by nightfall on foot. And who knew what unsavory types were lurking about at night? What was more, how she worded her plight concerned her even more. 

‘trying to find someone she knew’. Did that mean she was alone here? Haru had the good fortune of finding her friends, so maybe the same could happen for this girl, but for now, leaving a child to wander on their own was something Haru simply couldn’t abide by. First thing was first, made sure she got home safely. 

Keeping her expression soft and kind, Haru answered her once more. 

She supposes that it’s not much of anything, for people to seem surprised. In fact, she could be the first troll that they’ve ever had the pleasure to see! That in itself is a strange, almost sad thing. It seems only fair to understand one another, so, Feferi is happy enough to chat back and forth with most anyone. This girl included.

“You’re QUIT-E welcome!” 

Feferi giggles, fins fluttering and smile toothy. She’s rather fond of short hair, and the other girl’s appearance is one that she finds terribly charming. 

“Oo)( la la. I WIS)( I could pull off s)(ort )(air like t)(at! I t)(ink mine would just go POOF! -End of story. T)(oug)(, you’re a )(uman, rig)(t? T)(ey live on land.” 

“Ah, yes, I suppose that’s true.” For Haru, the idea that anyone she could hold a conversation with wouldn’t live on land, but she was friends with a talking cat from an alternate world formed out of people’s cognition, so... At this point, anything was possible! Besides, this girl certainly seemed like the type who could live underwater. (Haru might have spent a second too long staring at her gills in fascination). 

Haru is a goddamn Disney princess, early to bed, early to rise to the chorus of chirping little birds. It’s absolutely disgusting.

While she is a morning person, she is also easily thrown off if her sleep schedule gets compromised. Lets say a group chat gone past 1 or 2 am? 

          “ One can’t be too careful, yes! ” A giggle came out from the brunette, who returned the smile to the girl. To be honest, this could be as dangerous as her world was. She experienced the scientists’ plans once, and if they wanted, they could destroy their precious city along every human life. But she would do her best to prevent it, even if that meant she needed to sacrifice herself. Not that she found her life meaningless, but lives besides the one she had, were important. 

          “ As I said, I’m fine! I can still move! ” She replied, still smiling. “ By the way, I have never seen you before! Are you a new face or something? ” Well, not that she met everyone here, but she could say it wasn’t just a few.

“Hm? Well, yes, I suppose. I haven’t been here too long, anyway.” Although Haru wasn’t sure how the girl could tell either way. The city was so densely populated, after all! And it only seemed to be growing larger as the days went by. How these scientists kept track of their supposed “test subjects”, Haru couldn’t imagine. Still, a friendly face was always welcome. 

“My name is Haru Okumura. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She bowed politely, going through her usual pleasantries.

Find my muse moving in their sleep to a dream or nightmare

The sound of gears clanking and the whir of machines blend into an odd melody in her ears as she stalks through the halls of the space station, her path marked by the illuminated lights coursing through the floor. Like veins, twisting into some horrid imitation of life. The culmination of her father’s twisted desires. She’s alone, axe gripped tightly in hand.

... Alone? No, wasn’t she supposed to be with someone else? What was she doing? 

That thought drifts away as soon as it comes to mind. Just keep walking. She spots a shadow in the form of a drone, monitor twisting in a set rotation as it rolls around. It hasn’t noticed her yet. Good. Best dispose of it now. Get it out of the way. (Wait...)

She ducks behind each corner, slowly closing in... (No, this isn’t right. Stop...) 

And at just the right moment, as it turns to head back...!

Haru awakes with a gasp, but isn’t shaken from within the confines of her room. Rather, she’s out in the cool night air. On the street, arms reared back with a mallet in hand. What...? 

A strangled cry tears through her ears, causing her to look down, and see a man, a complete stranger beneath her, cowering in fear. From her?

The mallet clatters to the floor in her shock, but before she can say anything, the man scrambles to his feet, taking the opportunity to escape. But why? What was she doing here? What happened? Was she sleep walking? What...? 

@psycupcake

☠ ll►「 It’s a calm night, and you’ve found yourself to be a bit restless lately. Staying out, haunting the alleys where people usually don’t go. It’s not that you don’t want to talk. It’s just that you have a specific handful of people you want to talk to, and you can’t reach them. They’re in another universe. In a different organism.」

「 In your daydreaming, you notice a girl take a turn into sector three. The one you live next to.  You’ve wandered there once yourself. It’s seedy at best - deadly at worst. Usually, you’re pretty mindful of popping up in front of people and scaring the shit out of them. But you are under the very stupid assumption that this girl doesn’t look like the fighting sort, especially when it’s so dark out. So in your hurriedness, you forget. You materialize out of the murky alleyway you were in, cropping up in front of her like it’s the most natural thing in the world to do. It is to you, anyway.」

“Hey. It’s not my business but you should really find a different route or use the train. Sector three is actually pretty dangerous. I saw a two guys get into a knife fight once walking through there, and that was in broad daylight.” 

Haru had of course known about the bad reputation that Sector 3 had. Every city, no matter how bizarrely made, had it’s seedy areas. And people made no secret about the dangers of this areas. Under normal circumstances, Haru would never think of coming here by herself. But after seeing a certain someone get off at a stop here, she simply couldn’t turn her head away. 

Amelia had owned a small flower shop in the neighboring district. She seemed to have been here for quite a while, but was always kind to newcomers, even to Haru. They had carried many a pleasant conversation, and the older woman had even been kind enough to offer a few plants for Haru to decorate her apartment with, free of charge. But she always seemed to carry a certain exhaustion on her shoulders. Perhaps that’s why she ended up following her off the train, a small pit of dread beginning to form in her stomach. And it only grew as she turned, shoulders hunched into a dark alley, only lighted by some flickering neon signs. 

Haru’s hands tighten around her mallet, a familiar anger beginning to mix with her anxiety, only fueled further by Milady’s enthusiasm. Was Amelia-san in trouble? If someone was hurting her in any way... 

Haru’s feet began to move unconsciously, the dull pink illumination on the pavement flickering on and off, as if beckoning to her. 

And then suddenly there’s someone inches from her face floating and talking at her. 

A startled yelp escapes her lips and her arms are swinging forward, mallet crashing into the boy’s sides. 

When nothing else comes after the pained “oof” and small crack, Haru cracks her eyes open to eye her attacker... But he doesn’t seem intent on attacking her at all. In fact, now that she had a moment to think, she realized he had actually been warning her. 

“Oh- oh no!” 

Her mallet falls to the ground as she dashes towards the stranger’s side. 

“I’m so so sorry! I didn’t realize-! You just appeared so suddenly and my arms moved on their own!” 

Her arms hover over him worriedly, afraid he might lash out if he touched her.