Dec. 29th, video; Evening

[wiredgod]

[It had been eating at her for days after that discussion with Emil. She'd wanted forget--all three of them had tried to forget, and it had gotten them nowhere. The vivid scar along their spine reminded them daily of those events

Comments

video;

[ramenandawesome]

I was wondering what your other form'd be like, Lain-chan.

video;

[wiredgod]

[The panda lifts it head, looking to the video] ...It's called a 'red panda.'

...I turned into it before...at Halloween, but... [She looks away again and sighs, resting her head on the ground] I was hoping it was just a bad dream.

video;

[ramenandawesome]

[ well, naruto at least, doesn't look bothered by this. at all. ]

I dunno. You look kind of like a really long cat. It's cute.

video;

[wiredgod]

[dskjgh She sits up, surprised]

C-cute? You think so? [Can a red panda look embarrassed? Because this one's certainly attempting too.]

[Video]

[r_a_m_1982]

[Ram is not sure what is going on.]

[Video]

[wiredgod]

[She doesn't even notice he's there. She just sighs]

[Video]

[r_a_m_1982]

...Lain? Why are you a very strange looking cat? [WHAT EVEN IS A RED PANDA.]

[Video]

[wiredgod]

[She turns her head, looking sadly at the video] It's called Red panda.

[She's not sure how to easily explain it] ...I wanted to see if I'd made it up, but I didn't. I can still change into it...

action;

[heavenly_earth]

[Seeing the red panda, Neji blinks, memory of where he's seen the transformation coming back to him in a flurry of remembered panic. He drops what he's doing and looks for her, and watches the animal shake for a few moments before approaching with the same tentative steps he'd taken on Halloween- just before she had tried to throw herself off the rooftop of Casualty Communal that night]

Lain...? Are you alright?

action foreverr

[wiredgod]

[Her ears raise, twitch, and then she sits up to give him an almost pitiful look of sorrow]

...I'm okay. [Pause. Her ears flatten against her head] ...Not really. I just...

Why did this happen to me... [She doesn't mean this, as in her panda form, but the entirety of events that led up to her receiving said form in the first place]

[heavenly_earth]

[Her mental state is relatively stable then, at least and he crouches down in front of her, taking in the sorry look her animal expression wears with a frown of his own. He reaches out to touch her head, fingertips brushing over red fur with a curious texture- and hesitates

Because I wasn't there to protect you, is the immediate answer that comes to mind, sharpened to a painful degree of guilt that's difficult to swallow. He hadn't been there- and neither had her former Meister.]

..I don't know, Lain. I wish we could have rescued you before this happened.

[wiredgod]

[She tilts her head into the gesture, rubbing her head against his hand. There is something like a smile on her face, or as close to it as she can get with this body]

I was a nobody back then. You didn't even know me back then.

...All the friends I'd made had been taken home, except Yoko-san, Lee, and Gaara, or were kidnapped like Naruto.

[Her ears droop somewhat] ...Byakuran-sa-- [She stops, not wanting to use the honorific that had been instilled in her] ... Byakuran had been sent back as well.

[She steps up to him, closer and nuzzles his hand as if to be comforting] I was an easy target, I suppose...

[video]

[fortressmommy]

L...Lain you're a ...a...panda?

[Helga has seen some pretty strange things since she found herself in Death City but a person turning into an animal was new. It didn't take a genius to see that the girl was not happy with the turn of events and Helga chews on her lower lip before saying brightly.]

You look really good though! I like your tail!

[I like your tail...really Helga could you sound more like an idiot?]

Um, do you normally do that or is this a new thing?

[video]

[wiredgod]

[Said tail swishes a little as lain looks up]

It's, um.. I've been able to do it for a while.

I just haven't really done it since Halloween. [A pause I was hoping I'd just dreamed it up, but I guess not.

Re: [video]

[fortressmommy]

Oh.

...

I think it's pretty neat.

[Helga awkwardly rubs her arms, she isn't sure what to say to make Lain feel better.]

[video]

[wiredgod]

Thank you. [She doesn't think so--especially not with what she had to go through to get it, but she appreciates her trying anyhow.]

It's just...something I have to deal with I suppose.

[Video]

[chaos_squirrel]

...Lain? Is that you? Oh, no, are you all right?

[He's pretty sure he knows the answer to that question, but he asks it anyway.]

[Video]

[wiredgod]

[her ears flatten against her head and she sighs]

I guess it wasn't a dream after all.

[Video]

[chaos_squirrel]

Is that what you thought?

[Video]

[wiredgod]

I can't pretend we were kidnapped, or that...that all those things happened.

...But I thought maybe this part--turning into an animal--had been just make believe. One part of it I could let go.