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 Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 2:36 pm
Ashori still had both eyes shut. Actually, she was still dreaming. In her dream, the thing had gotten her. It was on her, tugging her wing away and-
Her eyes snapped open and she looked up, staring in stunned horror at Lake. There were tears in her eyes, from both pain and fear, and she was hugging herself tightly. She took one quick look around and then closed her eyes once more, taking a deep and shaky breath.
When they opened again she appeared calmer, but still definitely shaken, maybe even a little out of it. Slowly, she pushed herself up so she was sitting. The back of her shirt was torn open and stained with blood, as were her wings. It stood out much more on white one than the black.
She turned her head and stared at lake through wide, unprocessing eyes, like she wasn't sure what was happening. But her hair had shifted out of her face, leaving the red right eye very obvious, with the black marking beneath it clearly visible.
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 3:07 pm
Lake was not prepared to take any chances. As soon as Ashori had stirred, he removed his hand and glared at her stonily from the bedside. He, too, appeared slightly different, more readily equipped to handle her if she lost control...his canines were glinting, protruding slightly from his mouth, and his skin seemed to have become several shades paler, almost blue. The tips of his fingers seemed longer, more pointed, his nails almost claw-like. A low growl rattled around in his throat, and he waited patiently for Ashori to say something, poised and ready to subdue her if need be.
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 4:04 pm
Ashori gazed blankly for a few more seconds, then blinked. This seemed to snap her out of it, and it finally clicked what had happened. Her eyes widened in alarm as she caught sight of Lake, and she scrambled back on the bed, leaving a trail of blood in her wake. It was still trickling down her back from the new gashes, which had opened exactly where two scars had been.
She looked around wildly until Shiro suddenly jumped forward, landing on her shoulder. Her whole body jolted in alarm and she almost flung him off in a panic, but caught herself at the last minute.
Calm down, he murmured gently. Heal yourself before you pass out again.
She hesitated, then sniffled as if she'd been crying, and even wiped her eyes. "K-kay..." she whimpered, but at first didn't do anything. She just stared cautiously towards Lake again, slightly confused and looking rather pitiful.
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 6:47 pm
At the girl's sudden reaction, Lake, too, seemed to snap out of it, and stepped backwards, away from her, as a familiar expression of fright passed over her features.
He flinched slightly, as though she had struck him, and lowered his eyes...all at once, the fangs were gone, and he looked entirely human again...he took another step backwards, and felt his back connect with the wall of Ashori's dorm. He opened his mouth uncertainly, then closed it again, falling silent. His narrow shoulders sagged slightly, and he began to edge around the perimeter of the room, careful to keep his distance between the two of them, not wanting to frighten her any more.
...What was I thinking...? Of course she's still afraid of you, who wouldn't be?! Just because...just because she has wings...because she can transform...that doesn't mean anything!
Nonetheless, his blank expression was given away by the look of extreme hurt and disappointment in his crimson eyes...he kept his head lowered, edging around, away from Ashori toward the door.
I should just go get the nurse or something. I...I should get out of here.
FLASH.
'Monster! Freak!'
'Oh geez, what is that?!'
'You...you're the one who...'
'You're that...that THING!'
'Get away from me!'
'Holy crap...AAH! SOMEBODY HELP!'
'WHAT IS THAT?!'
'GET IT AWAY!'
'Mommy, I'm scared!'
'DEMON! DEMON!'
'It's coming closer!'
'Is that...wait! It's...is it human now?!'
'RUN AWAY!'FLASH.
Lake gritted his teeth and turned his head to the side, squeezing his eyes shut. "Damnit," he growled...his hand was clutched at the coin around his neck, and he quickly let it go, shooting another glance to Ashori's crumpled heap on the floor before wrenching open the door.
"J-Just hang on!" he said harshly, still staring at the floor. "I'm...I'm not going to hurt you...um...I'll...I'll go away. I'm gonna go get help. Hang in there."
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 7:14 pm
For a split second, Ashori had thought he was going to attack her. She'd heard the growling, seen the changes, and had been terrified. It wasn't like she'd hadn't been attacked before. She had, on several occassions, which is why she'd come back to Ria even though it'd done nothing for her before. At least here she wouldn't be attacked for being different. So far, the only confrontation she'd had was when she'd done the attacking.
And because she was used to being attacked, she'd been truly scared of him for a moment. But now he was back to normal, and she felt a sudden wave of guilt as she lifted her head, staring into his eyes with both of her own.
She was completely silent, sitting her knees, with both hands in front of herself, pressed against the floor as she kept herself sitting. Though her arms were shaking, looking ready to snap and let her crumple. The wings were draped haphazardly around her, the feathers on the right one ruffled and bloodstained.
She suddenly seemed to lose the strength to even hold up her head, and it flopped forward, chin against her chest. The pendant she wore dangled in front of her, glinting lightly. "A-are you... leaving?" she whispered weakly, eyes shut again. The room had begun to spin.
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 7:30 pm
"...Yes," Lake whispered. He closed his eyes and stepped backwards into the doorway. "...Don't worry. I'm leaving." He looked down at her for a moment, then turned away, shoving his hands into his pockets and storming from the room.
"The monster is going away!"
His trench coat billowed out behind him as he strode away in sudden anger and unexplained hurt...hurt that he didn't understand or process, and therefore converted into more anger. He didn't so much as spare Ashori a backwards glance, despite her condition, and left the door wide open, leaving the trembling, bleeding girl within.
Damnit...now what...?
Pay phones. Pay phones were good. Providing you had quarters...which he didn't.
"Grr..."
He broke into a jog, his eyes darting hurriedly back and forth...the lobby was not too far away, and he spotted it in the distance after about five minutes or so of flat running...he rolled his eyes and veered toward it, coughing slightly and cursing his yet-to-be-kicked habit of smoking as he did so.
"Move!" he bellowed, shoving a girl out of the way of the first phone he spotted and grabbing the reciever, ignoring her cry of alarm and indignation. One scarred, nail-bitten finger traced the list of numbers provided next to the device, and he quickly dialed the one marked next to the hospital's name.
"Emergency response, how may I help you?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 7:51 pm
Ashori's eyes widened in surprise, but she didn't, or rather, couldn't lift her head. She just stared blankly at the ground, looking utterly shocked. "D-don't leave..." she whimpered, but for all she knew, he could already be gone. Her eyes were open, yet everything was blurry and fading. Her senses were dulled by her own blood, and she couldn't tell if he was nearby or not.
A few seconds later, her arms gave out and she crumpled face first against the ground. Her cheek pressed against the carpet, her wings spread on either side of her, and partly hiding her again. Before she knew it, she'd started crying, silent tears running down her face. He left.. he left...
Shiro nuzzled her cheek gently, but she ignored him. Her eyes stared blankly at the wall directly in front of herself, unseeing.
A short while later, Ashori could be found once more in the bed. The bloodied sheets had been replaced by fresh ones. Her room had been turned into a temporary hospital room. She had a needle in one arm, keeping her stable. Another thing attached was replacing lost blood. One of the doctors had bandaged her back, though it was awkward wrapped around the wing's base.
They tried to get information out of her, but everytime they asked her a question, she wouldn't respond. She just continued gazing ahead, unblinking, but slowly regaining her sight as the dizziness began to ebb away. However, she was still crying, and the doctors had to speak to Shiro instead.
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 8:28 pm
"...And is there anything else we can do for her?" the doctor said hopelessly to what appeared to be a small, three-eyed dog. He had struggled not to resort to having this conversation with an animal, as it went against all his logical thought processes, but there seemed to be no way around it. Ashori simply wouldn't respond. "We have given her ample blood transfusions, of course, and her own healing ability is simply fascinating. I daresay she'll be fine, though we will have to monitor her closely. Now..." he glanced down at his clipboard. "Is there anyone we might contact...family...friends...and notify them of her condition?"
-
Lake wasn't entirely sure whether Ria administrators would approve of him sitting on the roof of their dormitories.
But he didn't really care, either.
He extracted the mostly-dead cigarette butt from between his teeth and tossed it down the slanted tiles, watching it roll into the gutter before lifting his gaze to stare out over the grounds. His elbows were resting gently on his knees, his dark hair falling forwards into his face and hiding his expression. He doubted anyone would find him up here...generally, people did not search the rooftops for others. And nobody would be looking for him anyway.
"You can't stay up here forever."
"Watch me." Neither of them bothered speaking telepathically...no one was around. Though Lake could never truely be sure if the dark, three-inch demon existed, and was not, in fact, a figment of his own twisted mind, conversations with Nat were unavoidable. They were always together...whether either of them liked it or not.
"Are you brooding?"
"No. I'm sitting."
"Smartass."
"Dumbass."
"Touche." Nat put his hands behind his head, hovering lazily in the air by Lake's shoulder. "You're thinking about that chick.
"Go to hell."
"Can't."
"Want me to fix that?" Lake sighed audibly and drew another cigarette. "Just leave me alone..."
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 8:44 pm
Shiro hesitated, and shook his head. He knew it must be odd for them to have to be speaking to him, a miniature three eyed dog, but frankly, he didn't care. Yes, she will be fine. Thank you for your help. As for people she knows... He paused, then frowned towards the doorway. The only one would be a boy who goes by the name of Lake Hikari. I'm guessing he's the one who called you here.
Ashori was busy trying to roll over onto her stomach, and feeling quit pathetic for being unable to do so. She'd been propped up on her bed, pillows resting against her lower back so nothing was pressing against the wings. But she didn't want to be propped up. She'd much rather be curled up in a ball and hiding under the covers. She felt less exposed that way.
But currently, she seemed to be having difficulty moving herself very well. Her fingers twitched occassionally, and eventually she began lifting one arm up and attempting to push herself over, but one of the doctors set a hand on her shoulder to keep her still, fearing she'd fall out of bed and hurt herself again.
This doctor was wondering to himself whether it was really alright to leave her, and jumped in alarm when Shiro replied. But the group reluctantly gathered their things and left, leaving the strange canine to tend to the just as strange girl.
He pawed lightly at her arm, but she just lifted both hands and buried her face in them, her cries audible now as she continued her quiet sobbing, seemingly unable to stop. Shiro was left with no clue what to do, and simply hoped she'd cry herself to sleep and feel better when she woke up. He wasn't sure if that'd happen though.
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Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2007 4:22 pm
He was still sitting atop the roof when a young intern found him at last, and appeared to have no intention of cooperating...by now, he had worked himself into a rather foul mood, and did not have any plans to talk to anyone.
"U-um...excuse me sir...but do you know anyone by the name 'Lake'?"
"..." The red eyes narrowed, and the doctor began to look nervous. "Who's asking?"
"W-well, you see, there's a young lady friend of his who is currently under our care, and-,"
"Ah, geez." Lake rolled his eyes and put a hand to the back of his neck. "Quit bugging me, I had nothing to do with it."
I don't think.
"S-sir, it's just...um..." the intern sighed. "Are you Lake Hikari?"
"Leave me alone."
"So you're the one who called medical help for that young lady!"
"..."
Disheartened, the intern called up to him again. "...Won't you come down? Please? She...well...um...her...her dog was...asking for you." He looked awkward for a moment. "I mean...I think it's a dog...uhh..."
"I said, leave me alone."
"You should go see her, sir. She has nobody else."
"She doesn't want to see me," Lake growled down at him. "I can guarantee that."
I'm a monster to her. Just like everybody else.
"Come on, man." The intern sighed, dropping his professional air. "Look, you obviously don't want to go...but she really doesn't have anybody else. Even if you leave right after...I'm sure she'll appreciate that somebody came by...that somebody cares. You know?"
"..." Lake closed his eyes. "...Will you people leave me the hell alone if I do?"
"...Yeah. Sure. Whatever you want."
Lake stood up slowly and slid down to the edge of the roof. "...Fine."
"Sir-,"
He jumped, and the intern let out a horrified gasp, flailing madly before Lake hit the ground feet first and straightened up.
"D-don't do that," the man stammered.
"Just shut up and take me to the damn girl."
"...Right this way."
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Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2007 5:25 pm
Ashori hadn't moved. She was still in her bed, propped up with pillows against her lower back in an attempt to keep her wings from pressing against anything. They were spread out, half open on either side of her, starting to curl around to evelop her, but not quite. She was just about slumped forward, but barely holding herself up. Her hands were still hiding her face as she continued crying quietly to herself. Shiro was sitting on one raised knee, watching her helplessly.
However, she suddenly stopped, drawing in a sharp breath of air. Slowly, she parted her fingers and peered upwards through them, eyes widening as she saw Lake standing there. She was momentarily stunned into silence. Hadn't he left? He'd gone, just like everyone else! But now he was back... She completely overlooked the doctor who'd brought him, just staring almost without blinking.
Her hands slowly dropped, landing like dead weights in her lap, then curling into fists. Her face was red and tear stained. "B-but you'd left..." she whimpered faintly, voice near a whisper. "Y-you'd left me a-all alone..." A few more tears slid down and she wiped them away, but they were quickly replaced by more. She bit her lip hard, revealining fangs, in an attempt to keep back a fresh wave of sobs.
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Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2007 5:35 pm
"..."
The intern looked between them for a moment, then smiled and headed back toward the door. "I'll leave you two alone for now."
The door snapped shut quietly, but Lake did not acknowledge it...he simply stood in the middle of the room, a few feet away from the bed with his hands in his pockets. His lips were a thin line across his face, and he held his gaze on Ashori for a moment or so before lowering his head toward the ground. Then, silently, he walked over to the chair and sat down. He didn't look as though he was planning to leave any time soon.
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Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2007 6:10 pm
Ashori tried looking back at Lake, still oblivious of the intern's presense, though she did finally jump when he spoke. She looked at him quickly, then back to Lake, blinking a couple times under his gaze. She half expected him to leave again, actually. But instead, he came towards her. She just stared through wide eyes, her expression a strange mixture of alarm, uncertainty, and relief.
She sniffled a few times and wiped at her eyes again, but tears continued streaming out. And she managed to choke back another sob, biting harder on her lip. At first she managed to stare Lake in the eyes, her own almost pleading and both currently visible. Then she couldn't stand it and looked away.
The silence was almost deafening, and she opened her mouth in an attempt to speak and break it. Only, she couldn't think of what to say. So she stared in front of herself at the bed, letting the silence invade even further, her hands clenched around her blanket. She was trembling, but it was hardly noticable.
"Y... you left.." This time, her voice wasn't even a whisper. It was barely even audible.
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Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2007 7:50 pm
"..."
He regarded her silently from the chair, his position showing her that he had no intent of leaving...his red eyes were brilliant, intense beneath the strands of ebony hair, his skin alarmingly pale in contrast...nonetheless, he showed no expression. His hands were still in his pockets, his body almost motionless. Then, finally, he spoke.
"...Yeah." He tilted his head to the side slightly. "Sorry...that I didn't leave sooner. I...uh...didn't mean to scare you." He lowered his eyes, frowning. "You weren't...supposed to see that. Sorry."
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Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2007 8:17 pm
Ashori slowly turned to face him when he spoke, eyed him for a second, then looked down again. I-I didn't want you to leave.." she whispered. She hesitated, hands fidgeting with her blanket that lay over her legs as she thought about what to say. Her cheeks were slowly flushing red and she bowed her head, allowing her hair to fall forward and hopefully hide her face.
"I-I was scared, yes..." she admitted faintly. "B-but I also.. thought of myself..." She bit her lip once more, bowing her head a little further and shutting her eyes. Again she tried to wipe away tears, but again they just continued falling. But at least she was crying silently now, and her expression didn't really show it. The tears just fell on their own.
Shiro had jumped over to the bedside table and sat in complete silence, just observing what was going on from off to the side.
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