#lelica

"Twinkle twinkle little bat, how I wonder where you're at!" Nesian crooned as he pushed the couch into the corner of the living room. The front end of the couch facing the wall, "Up above the world so high! Like a tea tray in the sky!"

Lelica was sitting on the couch as Nesian was pushing it, looking at him with a single raised eyebrow as he grinned and sang the refrain. He has sung the song 5 times through by the time they reached the corner, and he flopped over the couch onto his back, grinning up at her, "Now now, isn't this a much better view?"

The unamused glance returned as she looked at the grey wall in front of her with a small sigh. Might as well humor him a bit she guessed, "It's rather...simple."

There was a legitimate gasp, "Simple?" he put a hand on his hip, "Ridiculous! You are seated near the very corner of creativity, the edge of ingenuity, the shore of skill!" he puffed up dramatically with each declaration, "The window of wit, the gateway to gumption-"

"It's a wall." she frowned, "The window is literally right there." she pointed behind them.

Nesian seemed to completely deflate into the cushions of the couch for a moment before puffing right back up and sitting up, "Ms. Dilled I daresay your tea party privileges will be revoked if you keep this behaviour up!" He stood with assertiveness and folded his arms, "Submit your apologies to Sir Kalpana and I'll consider not having to jump to such dire consequences," he pointed to the canteloupe nearby with a firm nod.

With a groan, Lelica shoke her head and folded her own arms.

-

Screaming...crying...Lelica!

Nesian was up in an instant, "Where is she?! Lelica!" he cried out before having his arms painfully wrenched behind him, sinister laughter surrounding him. He was kneeling on a tile floor,

"You see, you made us a little deal, don't you remember now?" said a voice with a thick accent, "And you lost more than that."

Another scream and Nesian's blood boiled, "You let her go now!" as he lunged forward, his arms were yanked back so hard he felt his shoulders pop from their sockets, and a hard punch hit him straight in the jaw, rattling his brain and making his vision spin as he hissed.

"You see we had to keep her all together until now, but you, we can take you apart now." There's a sick smile and the glint of a saw, "Just like they're doing to her..."

"Lelica!" he cried out as another scream rang in his ears, "Leave her alone!" he fought against the large brute holding him. He had to go, he had to help her. He had to save her!

He gave kicks at both of them, managing somehow to get out of their hold and run out into the hallway. He had no idea where he was...where had they taken them? Where had they taken her? He lost a bit of rational thought when he heard more crying sounds, but then tried to go to follow them to their source-

Only to be tripped and have his head bash off the tile, making the previously dull headache grow stronger. Though, it wasn't quite as painful as his arm being stepped on and crushed under one of the henchmen's boots.

"Aw, well, looks like that arm is broken..you won't be needing it anymore will you?" he could see the saw right in front of him, coming down at the already dislocated shoulder. In his struggle, he didn't see the other, who was far taller, step on his other arm, crushing it practically on the first step. He couldn't help but let out a scream, gritting his teeth as more of Lelica's filled his head.

"Or that one."

-

Lelica was cowering in the corner, shaking and crying, pulling at her hair. Her hallucinations had gotten to the point where she couldn't distinguish fantasy from reality, and that wasn't good, because now they could hurt her that way. The monsters were terrifying and too familiar to handle, making her shrink down as they advanced.

"Back you fiends!" there was a wild cry as Nesian leaped in front of her, wildly swinging his walking stick, "You vile globs of inky filth! You flakes of sawdust up an elephant's nose!" with another cry he swung his staff down with such force that he broke through the carpet.

During this 'onslaught', Lelica looked up at the other, and somehow he was helping. As he flailed crazily, it looked to her as if he was knocking out the monsters; killing or smacking them away.

"Have at all of you!" he kept going until he felt a small tug on his pant leg. At that, he paused and turned around, looking at the now smaller looking Lelica.

"Goodness! Those ruffians frightened the muchness out of you!" he kneeled down and carefully picked her up, and though she would usually protest, she was silent now, "Fear not! I have a solution, and yes! It is better than orange marmalade! That's only for bruises you know. No this, this requires a very special touch, more so than that of a rabbit's or a faeries!"

He continued babbling on until he reached her respite block, motioning towards the recuperacoon, "There! Coon. There's always a coon of rejuvenation, wouldn't you say? Otherwise, where would we get butterflies?" he paused and seemed to actually be in though as he walked over to the coon, "From the freezer! Of course!"

Lifting her up, he set her down in the coon, that same gentleness reappearing.

"Nesian, you've got my back right?" Lelica asked, her voice, as firm as it was, shaking a bit. She backed up, seemingly for emphasis until she could feel the other's presence behind her, her knuckles lime as she gripped tightly to her Vorpal blade. Her usually orderly hair was a mess, stance nearly feral and ready to attack.

"Of course I do," came the confident voice, followed by an unsure laugh, "What kind of partner do you take me for my dear Lelica?" he spun his bladed walking stick in his normal, gloved hand for show before grasping onto it and facing the enemies that were coming closer to the both of them.

Dolls they looked like, deranged, monstrous dolls. No souls, eyes black and made of dripping chunky, black crude oil, letting out shrill screeches as they sauntered towards them.

In this moment, Nesian found himself thinking clearly about what the F in FLARP stood for, fatal.

-

"Marmalade, of course! How could I have been so silly!" Nesian trilled, skipping to the kitchen and opening the bottom counter cupboards quickly until he could open no more, "It's escaped!" He cried out, rummaging through every space and tossing out things ranging from bowls to monkey wrenches, including popcorn and lengths of ribbon, "Plum?" he scowled, taking out a jar filled with reddish purple preserve, "All we have is plum?! And it's preserves! Blasphemy I say!" he shouted at the jar before throwing it out the window.

Lelica, meanwhile, sat on the couch, looking very unamused. Occasionally she would lift up her arm to look at the bruise there, listening to Nesian ramble on and on in the kitchen and wondering how on earth she had come to meet this mad troll, and why she even stayed.

"Ah!" he smiled, marching back out into the living block with purpose, a jar filled with orange in his hand, "I found it! Little bugger was hiding in the corner of the oven!" plopping himself next to Lelica, he reached in his pocket, taking out a cloth napkin and a small spoon before using the strength of his robotic hands to open up the jar and brandishing the spoon like it was a grand weapon, "Spoons! Lovely things spoons. All purpose!" he gave a wild grin, scooping out some of the orange substance and putting it on the bruise, then spreading it around with the back of the spoon. Putting the napkin over it, he tied it with surprising gentleness under her arm, "Perfect! That should be all gone by tomorrow. Orange always does the trick! That plum though," the frown returned, "That dastardly plum would've caused havoc! I'm surprised no one's realized the true evil of such a fruit!" he was really getting into it now, arms flailing a bit, "It's like blueberries! Even the worms shudder at the vileness of such awful fruits! Worms! That's what those plums and blueberries are, nothing but lower than worms!"

As he continued on his senseless rant, Lelica tuned out a bit and looked at the 'bandage' on her arm. Pressing down on it a bit, some of the substance leaked out and got on her fingers. Sniffing it, and licking it, she sighed and shook her head.

It was actually orange marmalade.

-

"Nesian! Watch on the right!" Lelica grabbed onto Nes's sleeve and the other flipped her over his back in an almost practiced manner so she could crack and slice that monsters china face off, the oil and fire bubbling and falling to the ground.

"We never should've trusted this bastard!" Nesian shouted as he pulled her right back to his chest and out of dodge when a three headed one with proper arms threw a flaming coal projectile at her. Nearly losing his balance, the shorter of the two grabbed onto his coat and pulled him upright. Her dress was a mess with oil, lime color, and it she looked far more stressed, yet far more angry and determined than Nesian had seen. It was impressive yet intimidating.

"How is he even doing this? Why is he doing this?!" she growled between pants, the two of them still trying to fend off the numbers of enemies that just kept growing.

"If I knew I would tell you and maybe we could do something!" Nes prepared to swing his staff at another monster, but suddenly they all fell to the ground, the tar moving away from them...and to something. A loud rumbling noise sounded in the distance, and the ground beneath their feet shook.

Nes felt his blood run cold, until he felt his hand being grabbed. Turning, he saw Lelica looking up at him with a scared gaze now, despite the one a few seconds ago.