6th ☆

[adropofjupiter]

[1: Wednesday 8/17 - Action (340 Brady Lane)]

[After escaping Spades, Marisa ran to the first place she could think of where she would be safe, sneaked inside and hid. In a certain magician's room. Under her bed. At least until she calmed down. Sadly, she wasn't hidden quite as well as she thought she was...]

[2: Thursday 8/18 - Phone/

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[hangedhourai]

*Alice is in her room, pouting with the covers up to her chin. She's still in her nightwear despite it being later in the day which is very unusual for her. In fact, if Marisa thinks about it, she'll realize that she's never seen Alice in her nighties unless she bothered Alice very late at night. Also her hair is uncombed, she hasn't eaten... yep, she's a mess.*

[adropofjupiter]

[Marisa knows she's not supposed to go into the bedroom without knocking, but seeing as Shiki was out in the living room, she decided it was safe to just come in.

So she did. And stared at what she saw. She wasn't the prettiest sight herself, not with her still recovering from the results of the curse and her currently hidden bruises, but Alice looked HORRIBLE. So grabbing the nearest doll and climbed into the bed with her friend.]

[hangedhourai]

*Alice didn't turn to face her friend but she didn't kick her out of bed either.*

Marisa... are you...

*No, let's not be nice. Better to just act normally, right? Or try to anyway... so even if it's forced Alice will try to be her regular old self.*

Y-You didn't knock...

[adropofjupiter]

Shiki's in the living room, so I knew it was safe.

[There was a slight hoarseness still to Marisa's voice. But it didn't stop her from tucking the doll under the covers with Alice before laying down next to her, gently combing her fingers through the youkai's hair.]

[hangedhourai]

*Alice doesn't move to lean into her friend but she also isn't trying to wiggle away either.*

He's probably still mad... ah, well, are... are you well?

[adropofjupiter]

No... And neither are you.

[Alice couldn't wiggle away even if she wanted to since Marisa throws an arm about her.]

Why's he mad? He didn't seem mad. Just... quiet.

[hangedhourai]

Of course I'm not... I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't have asked. It's almost guaranteed for us to suffer.

... It's because he doesn't understand. Then again, I probably don't understand him either.

[adropofjupiter]

Misery loves company, ze. It's why I'm here. And I missed you. I want to be where I'm safe.

[...]

I'm listening, Alice. Talk to me.

[hangedhourai]

It's safe here for now... but in the mornings... you should leave before the milk is delivered.

I can't... understand Shiki. I believe it is because he is always so close to death. He treats it with respect, mind you, but he's still so overfamiliar with it... because of that, I cannot understand what he is thinking in a time like this. I do not understand how he can have such little regard for himself.

[adropofjupiter]

...what happened?

[hangedhourai]

I-I... drank the milk and died so... after that, no matter what I said, Shiki brought all of the bottles in and drank them one by one by himself... I have not felt this weak in quite awhile. Even when other things happened I had my magic to protect me... but I cannot stop him from hurting himself.

[adropofjupiter]

You died?! Oh, Alice... [She squeezes Alice a little. After a moment of silence...]

I kinda... I think I understand him...

[hangedhourai]

*Alice puts one hand over Marisa's and just rests it there.*

Well, that was my third time... b-but the other times it happened so quickly and this... n-nevermind. I don't want to think about it.

... If you understand, then please explain it to me.

[adropofjupiter]

I know it might not make sense to you... but I think I get it.

Alice... he loves you. And watching you... suffer. Die. There... there wasn't anything he could do about it. He can't go kill the Milkman. He can't kill the milk. Yeah, he told me about his power. He loves you... and he couldn't do anything to stop what happened. And there's nothing worse than having all that power and not being able to protect the ones you love.

...so he's doing the one thing he can; he's preventing it from happening again, consequences be damned.

And I understand this... because I'd do the same thing for Patchy.

[hangedhourai]

... I am an incredibly weak and pitiful creature. I would never have the courage to do something like that. Not for anyone. Not after knowing it could kill me.

But it hurts too much to watch him get hurt. Doesn't he understand that I love him too? I cannot do anything...

[adropofjupiter]

[Marisa leans over to give Alice a soft kiss on the cheek.]

No, you're not weak and pitiful. You're just afraid.

You've always held yourself back, afraid of going all out, afraid of giving it your all only to have it fall short. So you hold back, to give yourself an excuse, a comfort zone. And that's not a bad thing, ze. But it does mean it's hard for you to take chances. You worry too much about 'what if'.

Shiki? He's fearless, but being fearless doesn't mean he has an absence of fear. It means he doesn't let the fear control him. Same with me. We both know life's too short to worry about the 'what ifs'. Yeah, he's youkai now, but he's so new to it he might as well still be human.

But it'll be okay, ze. It'll eventually be okay.