#blueforestfires

STEPHEN  KING’S  ‘THE  BODY’  SENTENCE  STARTERS.

“That’s natural, I suppose.” Lucifer tipped his head. “But then again, I don’t dream at all.”

That made no sense. Of course, humans in general made no sense. If Yukio was the one being scary, he should be the one they're scared of.

@blueforestfires

Confusion didn’t last long; she knew what had really happened and who was responsible before she would have had a chance to even go home and gather some herbs that she knew would help, let alone actually go see Rin. Part of her wanted to go find Suguro first, though she was not entirely certain what she would have done if she did so -- probably slap him very hard, first and foremost (when had she become so impulsive and violent? she had to think about that sometime), and then drag him to Rin by his ear so he could apologize.

But Suguro was somewhere she was not privy to, and neither were his two friends, so she was stuck with what she knew was the more sensible choice anyway; going home and then going to see Rin.

His first mistake had been getting onto a crowded train. His second mistake had been doing so alone.

Rin had realized that he wasn’t ready for this about three seconds after boarding the train and got off quickly at the next stop, but the damage had been done; he found himself in the most secluded corner of the train station he could find, hyperventilating and clutching his upper arms so tightly that his claws had ripped holes into his shirt and torn at his skin. He still had his glamour on, but barely; he still looked somewhat normal to those without a temptaint, but his glamour had weakened to the point that those with one could see through it to his full form almost completely.

Everybody was looking at him, he could feel it. They were all staring at him, closing in on him, knocking him down and beating him to a pulp again— Rin gasped and dug into his arms further, soaking his sleeves with blood. “You’re not there anymore, it won’t happen again,” he muttered to himself, shaking his head. As he did so, he caught a flash of blonde hair out of the corner of his eye. The only person he knew with blonde hair was—

“…Shiemi?”

     Monaka normally did not take the train when she came into town. She had her servants drive her. It helped her stay calm, after all she was still having a few issues with going outside and a group of people wasn’t exactly helping. This time she decided to try it however. It didn’t help, but it was a short distance. That was the only thing she kept telling herself, until she got off. She waited until the others got off before she got off, and then she saw the boy in the corner of the platform. 

     She stopped for a moment when she saw features on him that were kind of like Nights, and yet they weren’t. Monaka remembered Night’s feline like , features, she also remembered what the demon looked like that took over her uncle. This poor boy looked different, but he didn’t look scary. He just looked scared. She came closer, and then stopped when he said the name, and looked around. There was no one else. Did he mistake her for someone else. 

blueforestfires

Shiemi was both sad and excited that her exchange student program was coming to an end in America. It had been such a huge honour to be able to partake in such a thing, especially considering that she hadn't been attending high school (or, really, school at all) for that long when the opportunity arose. She hadn't hesitated, though; she'd always been a traveller at heart, wanting to see all he could of the world, hoping still, even with how much she'd grown, that somewhere she would find her own personal Amahara.

She hadn't been alone there; she even had a classmate she'd known beforehand go with her, but she did miss her friends at home, and so, she was looking forward to coming home just as much as she had been looking forward to leaving. Truthfully, she'd probably needed this break. Between her struggles to keep up with schoolwork, helping her mother out at the shop, tending to the garden in her grandmother's place, and getting herself immersed in the world of demons and Exorcists, she had been starting to feel mentally drained. A part of her felt guilty for tossing everything to the side, but she also felt relieved to be able to, and, for a while, that relief overrode everything else.

She'd been wearing regular clothing (school uniform, mostly) in America, so it felt good to finally put on a proper kimono again, even if it was probably not the best attire for a walk in the forest. Yet she felt more like herself than she had in a while, her geta hard against the rocky ground, her familiar clinging to a lock of her hair. The clearing seemed to have not changed at all while she was gone; the little house looked just the same, and so did Rin's mother, sitting on the verandah with a cup of tea in her hands. The only difference about her was that she had a thick band of gauze wrapped around her neck, but she smiled without a care in the world when she spotted the blonde, beckoning her closer.

“It's so nice to see you again,” the woman said warmly. “Would you like to sit down and have some tea with me? Rin is at Southern Cross with Shirou at the moment, but he should be home soon. I'm sure he'll be happy to see you.”

The young girl clambering through the forest was a bit of an odd sight. Odd, for those who were used to how she usually looked; she was not a stranger in this forest anymore, but she looked vastly different today. Instead of her usual kimono, she was wearing a pair of brown pants and a loose, green blouse, and a pair of boots.

She had had an idea, and now all she needed was to convince her best friend to join her on this adventure.

Shiemi found the clearing almost automatically now, but she didn't step into it; it was never advisable to come into a demon's home uninvited, even if said demon loved you a lot. So instead, she held her palms around her mouth, and shouted to gain his attention, given that he was somewhere near.

A solitary mission was going to do him some good -- that was what Fujimoto Shirou had thought. It was hard to trust anyone these days. But, then again, ultimately, it was only demons that were untrustworthy. Mephisto had some foul plan going on all the time, too, and the Dragoon (with a newly acquired Aria Meister -- he'd had to occupy his time with something, after all, in those long evenings spent in the hospital) didn't like spending time in his company much, not these days.

God knows who had decided that this forest was a good place to send him to on a mission, but here Fujimoto Shirou was, following the trail of the mapt that had been given to him, not remembering that it was also the path he had once followed while bringing a young half-demon to his home -- not even remembering the possibility that said half-demon might have just happened to be today's target. There had been odd rumours about this forest, and Fujimoto had volunteered himself. Some would have said that it was not a good idea, sending him alone, vulnerable as he was -- but, in reality, he was much like a wounded animal; perhaps more vulnerable than before, but also much more dangerous. Though not yet officially a Tamer Meister, he also had a few summons, both in his mind, and on paper, tucked safely away into his uniform's pockets, for desperate situations. His eyes stung a little, but his sight was adapting quite well.

Something moved amongst the trees.