Fantasy Ghosts From The Past

[Veno]

Her shoulders relaxed a little as he gave her an answer that she couldn't really argue with, or fully satisfy her, she watched him as he turned and continued to walk off. She waited just a moment, allowing him to get a few paces ahead before she continued on behind him. Twelve didn't say anything else, she just thought to herself as she followed behind him, allowing his explanation to sink in.

Eventually, after walking for a while they would arrive at his home. Unfortunately, Twelve didnt regain any other memories while on their way here. Once Boman opened the door and walked inside, Twelve hesitated for just a second at the door, peering inside with slightly narrowed eyes. As if she was inspecting for some kind of trap; merely out of habit. Eventually though, she invited herself inside, and timidly walked forward. She allowed her attention to be pulled to about everything within the room, as she couldnt remember ever being inside a home before. There were many things that she had no knowledge of, and couldn't understand their use.

There was a bit of curiosity that began to flicker within her as she walked around, inspecting certain pieces of furniture while she listened to Boman and the kitten. She spent a few minutes prodding around, opening up a few cabinets and drawers with just a flicker of interest within her optics. Eventually though, she would focus her attention back towards Boman and the cat, watching the small animal silently from a small distance as she messed around with the cuffs on her wrists. She still felt hesitant to touch, or handle the animal, in fear of injuring it. However, she did find herself liking the little beast quite a bit, and she continued to watch over it from a distance.

 

[Derpy Dev]

"And here we are," Boman announced when they arrived. Admittedly, his house was nothing special. Quite the contrary in fact. It looked dirty and drab, and he knew from experience that it was in fact even smaller on the inside. He had plenty of coins in his savings stash. Perhaps it was time to buy a new one?

Twelve didn't say anything as she followed him in, and he noted how wary she seemed as she peeked into the house to make sure it was safe before going in. There was basically no room to sit down except for a couch that had all seats except one filled with miscellaneous garbage and household items, most notably a snapshot created by a light mage of his mother and father and a small potted fern.

"Er... sorry about the mess," he blurted out without fully knowing why. He never noticed or found in uncomfortable, but Waven had called it disgraceful enough times that Boman knew it wasn't in the best condition. Regardless, Twelve still stayed silent. She seemed to do that a lot.

He turned his attention towards the cat in his arms. He put the little thing down and it looked at him and meowed.

"Please feed me," the meow said.

"Feed you? Go hunt something." In response, the kitten looked down towards it's three legs and then back up at him with another meow.

"I can't run."

"Well that's hardly my fault." An awkward silence passed.

"OKAY FINE THEN." He started looking in his ice box.

It was an interesting invention. He still wasn't sure how it worked, even with his similar magic. The king's alchemists made some amazing things. No other kingdom had inventors that great after all, Valeniel was quickly becoming a technological superpower because of them. Waven, as usual, didn't think so, and got snappy whenever Boman brought the alchemist's up.

Boman shrugged off that line of thought and brought out some sliced pork for the kitten and put it in a bowl. He had to admit, the eagerness with which it leaped into its feast amused him.

"Hey do you want anything to-" He started to ask Twelve if she was hungry, but looked up to see her opening all of his drawers.

"Hey!" He snapped. "D-don't open those! You wouldn't like it if I looked through your crap, now would you?" He was beginning to realize that she was slightly... feral.

 

[Veno]

"D-don't open those! You wouldn't like it if I looked through your crap, now would you?"

Twelve paused a moment, he hand currently buried into one of the drawers as she looked over her shoulder towards Boman. She didn't fully understand what he meant; "I... dont have anything for you to look through?" She spoke slowly while staring at him. Regardless, even if she did, she couldn't understand why it would pose a problem. She stopped for a moment, staring at him in silence, until the sound of rustling ensued as she looked back down to the drawers, looking through them curiously.

"Whats this...? And this...? " She mumbled quietly as she inspected some of the many items she pulled out. Closing that drawer, she eventually went on to the next- and was immediately greeted by the face of a well-kept book. A cook book to be precise.

"huh?" She breathed out, hesitating before she pulled it out and lifted it up, looking at it with a slightly tilted head. "A book?" She knew what it was, despite having never seen a book before within her current memories. Twelve leaned herself against the drawers as she opened i up, peering into the pages with narrowed eyes. "A cooking book? Cooking...? What...- What does any of this mean... ? What..." She breathed out lowly and quietly as she glared at some of the instructions and ingredients.

"Do you do this?" She asked while looking up to Boman, still holding the heavy book as she flipped a couple more pages, until something caught her eyes. It was in the baking section, she stared down at the image on the page her eyes opened up wide and bright for a moment as her mouth opened in slight shock, taking in a small breath. Examining the picture, she felt something warm in her chest, she could almost smell it. A childs voice rang within her ears, "Mmm- Aaaugh Its soo goood! You always make these the bestest! Another! ... Please!"

It was her voice, long ago... and what she just experienced was her first positive memory; albeit was only auditory. Twelve let her breath go, a little shaky before she looked over to Boman and quickly advanced forward without warning. "This one." She pushed the book towards him, only stopping when she was directly in front of him and she was holding he book out to him, rapidly pointing to the baked sweet on the page.

"This one! Ive had it before! i-... I remember it. I liked it. " She looked back down to the page- it wasn't anything fancy, just a type of cookie. She stared at the page for a second, before looking back up to Boman. "Make it. " Her words first came out almost as a demand, sharp and quite rude, but after a moment of thought she slowly corrected herself in a slightly awkward fashion. "Uh-... Can you... make it?"

 

[Derpy Dev]

Twelve, for a brief moment, stopped moving. Boman let out a sigh of relief, until he heard the next words she spoke.

"I... don't have anything for you to look through?" She spoke slowly while staring at him. She immediately went back to looking through.

"Stop that!" he snapped. But it was too late. She opened a drawer and found a variety of cookbooks. "What's this...? And this...?" Boman could barely hold back his embarrassment and could only stand and watch as she picked up a large book on baking various sweets.

"A book?" she asked as she opened it up and flipped through some of the pages.

Yes, a book. Thank you Baron Obvious. Now put it down. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to unleash that snark.

"A cooking book? Cooking?"

Can she even read?

"What does any of this mean?" She shifted her attention towards him and asked a another question, "Do you do this?" He blushed, then stammered, then looked away. How lovely. How the hell was he supposed to explain something like this? He imagined what he could say.

"Oh it's just a hobby I started some FIFTEEN YEARS AGO."

"It's nothing big, just my LIFELONG FUCKING PASSION."

He just imagined with horror what Barrett and Waven would say in response to that when Twelve inevitably spilled the beans. His imagination was interrupted, however, when he was stunned with a look on her face. She flipped to one page in particular... then stopped. In a moment, she no longer looked like some kind of beast, like a prisoner, like a suffered soul, instead she looked like a child as a faint smile crossed her lips as she stared at that page. And once again, he was struck with that sense of familiarity from her.

She practically leaped towards him with the book in her hands, holding it out to him to show him the page that had interested her. Her motion made him jump, but he quickly came too and realized she meant no harm. Instead, she meant to show him a recipe for a cookie-specifically, a cookie from the kingdom of Mottona, and was carried over to Valeniel by refugees during its civil war. The odds of that being why it interested her were low, after all she looked nothing like a Mottonan, she couldn't be from there. The cookie was called a Doust, and he hadn't made it in thirteen years.

"This one! I've had it before! I... I remember it. I liked it." What? What? Who the hell could she have been for him to have cooked for her? No, not her. It couldn't have been her, Twelve must have had a family member that made them.

"Make it," she demanded. The sudden harshness of her tone surprised him, and it seemed to surprise her as well. She immediately sought to correct herself.

"Uh... can you... make it?" The awkwardness with how she asked that... combined with the sudden life he had seen in her eyes... he couldn't bring himself to say no. Not to that.

He sighed and plucked the book out of her hand and laid it flat on the table, the only place he was careful to keep clear. He then walked over towards a counter and handed her a bottle of water.

"Go wash your hands off with that outside, and only come back in when I say you can. I need to take off my armor if I'm going to make these."

 

[Veno]

Twelve watched as he took the book from her grasp, setting it down onto the only clean table while he then instructed her to go wash her hands; thus agreeing to bake the treat. She couldn't really explain it, or fully understand the feeling, but a bit of excitement began to swell within her chest- perhaps she used to really like that cookie?

"Okay!" She exclaimed, her voice a little more lively than usual as she turned and hurried oit the door with the bottle of water, closing the door behind her.

She couldn't decipher whether she was excited over the fact that she had a memory of something positive, or simply excited for the food. Perhaps it was both.

Doing as instructed, twelve washed her hands as best as she could with the bottle of water, closely inspecting her black left hand as she does. When looked at closely, small scratches, as well as crimson stains could just barely be recognized.
Twelve waited outside, eventually bringing her gaze up to meet a few people walking by- glaring at her. Twelves short, peculiar sensation of excited slowly dulled down as she watched the people passing by, her muscles a little tensed.

Eventually though, Boman would allow her back inside. Once she was called to, she quickly made her way back inside, and immediately locked her sights onto boman- for the first time not dressed in any of his protective armor. Twelve instantly paused where she was, flinching just a little as her breath hitched at the sudden, instinctual thought that invaded her mind:

'His guard is down, now is your chance- kill him'

The voice that she heard barely sounded like her own- yet she could tell it was still entirely herself.
Twelve frowned and just stood there for a second, drawing in a deep and slow breath to calm herself down before she turned her head to the side, rubbing her neck almost without thought.

It took her a moment, but with a bit of hesitation she dropped her armor as well, every last bit of it-aside from her left arm, which could not be removed. She felt a bit safer around him without his armor on, allowing her to be comfortable enough to make things fair and remove her defenses as well.
Brushing off that alarming, instinctual thought from her mind, she looked back to boman and made her way over, holding out her hands. "I washed them." She stated while watching him, eagerly waiting for him to start, because she was oddly excited to watch.

She continued to inspect boman, eventually commenting while she leaned forward a bit, narrowing her eyes as she watced him, tilting her head just a bit.

"I thought... you were bigger." The armor had made him look a lot more large and intimidating than he really was.

 

[Derpy Dev]

"Holy shit..." he whispered while holding the breastplate in his hands. A massive dent sat in its center from where she had hit him, and he could see that she had bruised his chest pretty badly as well. Did she really do that? He sighed, there was no hiding that from Waven. How could Boman explain this? That the girl didn't mean too, and couldn't control it?

What would Waven do about it? Would he throw her out? Kill her to eliminate a threat?

He thought about that for a moment. No, Waven wouldn't do that. He wouldn't kill her immediately based off of one man's story. Still. This would lead to consequences down the line. After breathing out a sigh, he pulled on a short sleeved shirt, as long sleeves, however warm, would impede the task at hand.

He briefly wondered why he was doing this.

"Come in Twelve!" he shouted.

As he heard her steps outside the door, he kept thinking. It was because he could remember her, because she felt familiar, because he knew her. He didn't know who she could be; the list was narrowing down quickly. He had known many merchants who had passed through the town, he had initially thought she could have been one of them. But the Doust cookie... that was one detail that stuck out. It was a simple cookie in design, yes. Dough and some chocolate shavings with a couple cherries as well. But it was foreign, which was not too welcome nowadays, so it was not commonly sold by anyone. So whoever she was had to have either interesting tastes or interesting connections.

She opened the door and stepped inside.

At first, he thought he was about to see her lively if unexpected smile again. Hell, part of him had looked forward to it. But when she looked at him, she frowned and he could hear her hold her breath. It was hard to read the expression on her face, but it gave him a chill. In a moment, the room became tense and dark.

Finally, she let out a slow breath and turned her head away while rubbing her neck awkwardly. Boman felt his own muscles relax and breathed out a sigh of relief himself. God, why was he so terrified of her now? She had already tried to kill him once, a second time shouldn't have messed him up that much. Maybe... maybe this was a mistake? Maybe he should have just sent her too Waven and went on with his day?

Just as those blasphemous thoughts crossed his head, she dropped her armor, pushing away the blackness that ordinarily coated her pale skin. He couldn't help but smile at that. A sign of good faith, a reminder to him that this was no mistake. He was doing exactly what he needed too.

She held her hands out to show she washed them, and then, after a moment of inspecting him, stated what was on her mind.

"I thought... you were bigger." His smile faded and he gave her a scowl. It wasn't really a harsh one, just one that rang the familiar tune of annoyance.

"Oh really?" he asked dryly. "I hadn't noticed. Thanks for informing me." He turned towards the ice box and pulled out eggs, then reached to a higher shelf to pull out some flour, sugar, and measuring cups and bowls.

"There's some more water over there," he said while motioning towards a jug on the floor. "Bring it over here for the batter."

 

[Veno]

Twelve almost grinned a little at his dry, sarcastic response- She found the sarcasm relatively amusing.

"There's some more water over there, Bring it over here for the batter."

Twelve nodded, shifting her gaze towards where he was gesturing, and hurrying over once she spotted the jug of water. Without much difficulty, She quickly lifted it and hauled it back over towards Boman. She paused half way for just a moment to look at the kitten, currently curled up on the couch... The sight of such a small, innoncent thing brought a faint smile back onto her face as she admired adorableness... However, she still could not bring herself to touch it. She was too afraid. She quickly continued over to Boman, placing the jug of water down onto the counter before fixing her attention to all of the ingredients he pulled out.

"Oh, What are those?" She inquired as she shuffled a little closer to get a better look at them. Twelve's diet for such a long time consisted entierly of a few nuts and types of fruits that could be found in the forest, and a plethora of fish- usually uncooked, and sometimes mammal meat. Which means that she- in her current memories, had not seen or experienced any ingredients such as flour, eggs, or sugar.

She followed her question with another curious, and almost excited inquiry. "What do we do first?" As she looked up to Boman, once again inspecting his face, as if she was trying to figure something out subconsciously... Because still, there was something painfully familiar about him.

 

[Derpy Dev]

He turned around after seeing her smile and nod, then run off to get the water. Cherries. How many did he have?

Damn. Not many, this would have to be a small batch. These were fairly large cookies however and for only two people, so they'd make do. He pulled them out and set them on the table, and soon saw Twelve put the water jug on the table. He wondered if she was completely oblivious to how adorable her smile was. In a way, he found her smile rather surreal as well. When she was her usual stern self she didn't seem so familiar, but right now? He knew her, he'd seen that smile before. But where?

"Oh, what are those?" Her questions interrupted his own. Was she talking about the flour?

...holy hell, did she really not know what those ingredients were? He had the worrisome thought that she'd pursue that answer until he explained it in painful detail, but luckily for him she quickly snapped back to focus on the task at hand. "What do we do first?" He could hear the faint tune of excitement in her voice, and it was infectious.

"Well we-" He started. "Crap. Never washed my own hands." He grabbed the bottle of water and stepped outside-though he never really left, he just leaned out of the doorway and rinsed them off quickly, leaving a small puddle outside the door. Whatever. He rushed back inside and towards the table without closing the door.

"Okay!" He started once again. "First, have you ever cracked an egg?" Assuming she hadn't, he kept talking without waiting for an answer. "Hit it against the rim of the bowl until it cracks like this." Here he demonstrated. "Then you pull it open like so, while being careful to keep the shell from getting in it." He finished his demonstration and threw the eggshell into a small bucket that always sat under the table. "I need you to do that to..." He peeked towards the open book quickly. "Seven more eggs." He passed her the carton and starting measuring the flour into a bowl.

 

[Veno]

Twelve watched closely as he cracked the egg, and in a smooth, seamless motion he dropped the inner contents into the bowl, before throwing the shell out. "Oh." She hummed out quietly as she leaned over the bowl, looking at the yolk inside of it. It had a very odd appearance to it; and an even odder smell. She spent a few moments inspecting it before looking back towards Boman as he pushed the carton of eggs towards her, telling her to continue the task.

"Seven more? Okay. Seven more." She repeated as she looked down to the carton full of eggs. "Okay..." She mumbled to herself as she reached down and slowly picked up one of the eggs. She seemed a little hesitant, unconfindent with her abilities to do such a good job. She had never done this before, something so simple, so gentle and mundane as cooking was far off from her usual survive and kill lifestyle. This showed when she made her first attempt to crack the egg, as instead of a gentle crack, she ended up completely obliterating the thing as it was crushed into many little pieces, the contently spilling over her hand and onto the counter. Twelve jumped slightly at this, gasping a bit when it broke. "Ah-! Uh... It didnt work." She mumbled slowly, narrowing her eyes a little, frowning a bit with dissapointment before she hurriedly threw out the remains of the egg shells, and took another into her hands.

The second attempt wasn't much better than the first, resulting in another wasted egg; she was like a child trying to bake for the very first time... Or perhaps even worse.

However, the third attempt was workable. Although completely rigid, and slow, and far from smooth, she managed to successfully get a broken yolk and the whites into the bowl, while successfully keeping out any shells- at least she thought so. When she finally managed this, her eyes lightened up a little. "I win this battle." She mumbled quietly beneath her breath to herself with a slight, amused smile. She then proceeded with the rest of the seven eggs. Eventually, she got the task done- it was far from graceful, and most of the yolks were broken, but she was still proud. However there was quite a mess on the counter and on her hands.

Turning to Boman, she held out the bowl, a bit of egg yolk dripping from her finger tips.
"I finished. "

 

[Derpy Dev]

"Seven more? Okay. Seven more." He turned his focus towards his measuring. He put the flour in a bowl, and added some sugar. At this moment, he heard what sounded like an egg splattering and Twelve's voice.

"Ah-! Uh... it didn't work." A mess was all over the counter and her hands. Lovely.

Great job Boman. You could have given the demon girl with poor self control any task, and you gave her the most precise and difficult one you had. Good freaking job. Perhaps it wasn't healthy to give yourself sass and sarcasm on a frequent basis, but it was force of habit for Boman.

She attempted a second egg, and he could tell she was trying this time-just not enough. It wasn't much better than the first, and several small bits of shell were in the bowl.

"Be precise about it," he cautioned. She tried a third time, and he had smiled when he saw that she got it right this time. Of course, it wasn't expertly done-it felt painfully slow and the yolk was broken. Same time, he didn't need whole yolks for this.

"I win this battle," she mumbled in that half-whisper of hers. He swore that if Waven hadn't trained him to pick up on all sounds and details, he wouldn't understand this girl most of the time. Nevertheless, he heard that comment and couldn't help but smile. He turned back to his measuring.

"I finished," he heard her say. He turned around once again to see holding out the bowl with egg covered hands.

"Lovely!" he said while taking the bowl and putting it on the table. "Let's get you cleaned off now though." He took a bottle of water and led her outside. God, was he happy right now? He couldn't let that distract him from keeping an eye on her. He needed to be careful after all, to keep his guard up.

He found that very, very difficult when happy. How the hell did Mavera do it?

 

[Veno]

Twelve nodded and promptly followed him to the front door to clean off her hands once again. She watched as the water was poured over hands, washing away the egg and few shells that were stuck to her skin. Twelve waited a moment before looking back up towards Boman, and pleasantly found that he was smiling. Did he always smile like that? She examined him for a moment before slowly smiling a little herself. "Why are you smiling like that...?" She breathed out with a small sigh before looking back down to her hands, examining her palms silently before slowly pulling them back away from him, and closer to herself.

'What do i do... to fix this. To fix myself...' She thought to herself slowly, before then suddenly jumping as a voice rang through the air.

"BOMAN!"

A quiet gasp and yelp came from Twelve's vocals as her body stiffened. She immediately turned around, her armor naturally spreading up her arm until it covered up to her shoulders. her gaze sharpened onto Barrett, standing on the street with his hands shoved into his pockets, glaring at them. Barrett took a moment, looking at Twelve with a small, silent scowl.
"What the hell are you doing? You have been gone much too long with that thing. It shouldn't be out in the city like this for so long." He spoke out while advancing forward, watching Boman with narrowed eyes and a raised brow. "You know that thing is still not safe, we should be letting Waven keep an eye on it." Barrett explained his concerns, it seems he had come out looking for them.

Twelve kept a sharp glare focused onto Barrett, watching him with sharp eyes, like an animal locked onto its prey, or perhaps its predator. She didn't move much at all either, instead, just standing stiffly and cautiously.

 

[Derpy Dev]

"Why are you smiling like that?" Twelve muttered. He checked himself again. He couldn't help but ask himself the same question. Why was he happy? Was he happy that he was no longer haven't to do this alone? Happy that he had someone to share this with? Happy that he might have found a lead about who she was?

...heaven forbid it, but was he happy because of Twelve?

He had no idea why that thought terrified him.

"Who's happy?" he asked, his face taking a more serious expression. "I'm not happy. Do I look happy?" He didn't think he fully eradicated the smile on his lips. He didn't need to though, a familiar cry did for him.

"Boman!" Barrett shouted.

The reaction from Twelve was immediate. She immediately grew armor across her arms and shoulders. Not wanting an incident to spark, Boman stepped in front of her casually and handed the water bottle to her, hiding the motion from Barrett. He didn't want her doing anything with those hands, and he was terrified of her losing control again right now of all times. He locked his eyes onto the ally only in profession, but Barrett's own scowl was directed towards someone else.

Twelve.

Oh shit.

"What the hell are you doing?" He continued. Did that man not know how to moderate his tone? His voice spread across the entire property. "You have been gone much too long with that thing. It shouldn't be out in the city like this for so long." He stepped forward and Boman did the same. "You know that thing is still not safe, we should be letting Waven keep an eye on it."

"Hey Twelve," Boman shouted towards her, "Mind stepping inside for a moment?" He turned his focus towards Barrett, while keeping his guard up to make sure Twelve didn't charge in from behind. It was why he asked her to go inside after all, he didn't want Barrett, the man who had tried to kill her twice now, to spark some beast side of her.

"She is fine where she is right now," he said. He didn't know why, but Barrett's refusal to acknowledge her gender or humanity pissed him off. "Besides, my superior is Waven, not you. So unless he tells me to do something with her, there is nothing left to say." Boman's strategy when it came to these matters was simple, be blunt and direct about what you were saying. Make your point clear and inarguable.

It was how he lived his life after all.

 

[Veno]

Twelve was glaring straight past Boman, her eyes locked onto Barrett, even after Boman moved in front of her. Her stress only rises when she watched Barrett step forward. Just after, she heard Boman asking her to step inside. For a moment, Twelve didn't move, however, eventually- with a bit of thought she looked back to Boman, and finally, she slowly made her way inside. However, She didn't close the door- she didnt want to, the thought of closing the door so she could no longer see her enemy was far from comfortable. So she just backed up, and sat herself down on the ground relatively far back, listening from inside with her armor slowly growing to cover the rest of her body, until just her head was normal.

"Boman. You can't possibly be this stupid. You think this is a good idea? You think have that- Oh... Right, sorry your sensitive- her in your home, under only your eye is a good idea? Its in her instinct to just kill and attack, Waven dealt with her episodes already before. Honestly, I just think that they will get worse." He continued forward until he was up on the porch with Boman, his arms crossed, stubborn as always. "We need to bring her back- Waven still needs to decide where she will spend the nights- and i highly doubt that his decision will be with you. The best option is putting her in one of the holding cells in the basement, its the most sturdy and safe, she wont get out there. Dont try a-" Barret slowed down and paused on his rant, annoyance laced in his voice, and strong opinions clear, when he looked down and noticed the damp patch on the wood, from where she had washed her hands. However, what really caught his eye was the bit of blood that he saw, that had been washed from her hands from earlier.

"What... Is that. What did she do. Don't fucking lie to me Boman. "

 

[Derpy Dev]

"Boman. You can't possible be this stupid." Perhaps that was fair. After all, he was the one who invited the demon girl into his house after she had almost killed him.
Twice.
Still, it pissed Boman off.

"You think this is a good idea?" Barrett continued, "You think having that - Oh... right, sorry you're sensitive" Screw you too Barrett. "Her in your home, under only your eye is a good idea? It's in her instinct to just kill and attack, Waven has dealt with her episodes already before." He had? Was Barrett just talking out of his ass, or did he know something Boman didn't?

Barrett didn't wait for Boman to finish processing that. "Honestly, I just think that they will get worse." He continued walking forwards and got onto the porch, which caused Boman's eyebrows to furrow further. "We need to bring her back - Waven still needs to decide where she will spend the nights - and I highly doubt that his decision will be with you." Boman wouldn't have been able to repress a chuckle at that comment if he had tried, the absurdity of what Barrett seemed to be implying was too great. "The best option is to put her in one of those holding cells in the basement."

The smile disappeared and turned back to a scowl immediately. "It's the most sturdy and safe." He just went on and on, didn't he? "She won't get out there." He started to say something else, but slowed down enough to let Boman get a word into this one sided argument.

"First, she has already escaped one dungeon," he snapped. "So even if it was ethical to leave her in one overnight - which it isn't, in case you didn't get that - she'd escape in no time. Second-"

"What... is that?" Boman was damn sick of being interrupted, but he followed the guard's gaze. It had landed on the pool of water on the porch where they had washed hands. A bit of egg was there, as was a small amount of blood.

He hadn't wanted Barrett to see either. Yet here we are.

"What did she do? Don't fucking lie to me Boman."

He caught sight of Twelve, and if he could describe her as anything, it was on edge. This was a disaster waiting to happen.

"I'm pretty sure she always has blood on her," he stated as he turned back towards Barrett. Which wasn't exactly a lie, she probably did. It was like him carrying a sword. And she had only bruised him, so it wasn't his blood. So he left out the detail that she had assaulted him in a mad frenzy. "I'm currently trying to make her look at least slightly like a civilized human being, and that starts by washing off blood. Which would you rather people see in our ranks, a half-demon girl, or a half-demon girl covered in blood?" He felt himself getting tense and ready to move. He suspected, deep down inside, that he was about to have a problem. And if Barrett was dumb enough to try something...

Well Boman wanted to be ready to step backwards. He could only control stone, right? So would standing on wood make his abilities mute?

 

[Veno]

Barrett glared at Boman, his eye brows furrowed with irritation. The two were entirely opposite, and would likely never see eye-to-eye. Barrett didn't care about Twelve at all, all he cared about was securing absolute certainty of safety for himself and the humans, which was definitely not being achieved by giving her so much freedom. Personally, he would only be partially content if she was chained up. Although Barrett may be annoying to Boman and his ideas and plans, in a way, he was looking out for Boman, just as he was looking out for the rest of humanity. He didn't have any trust for Twelve, and even though he despises Boman, he still knew he didn't want him killed- it would be a loss.

"This is ridiculous, move aside dammit. Im taking that thing to Waven, its better to prevent a problem than wait for it to happen." Barrett advanced forward, roughly pushing Boman to the side in order to get passed. He took heavy steps into the house, pulling out his sword as he did so and pointing it towards Twelve. "I'll kill you, so don't try anything. Stand up and follow me." He demanded as he walked closer towards her, stopping a safe distance away. Of course Barrett wasn't dumb- he knew how strong she was, and knew he likely wouldn't survive a battle with her, if she decided not to comply. So, he was not planning on playing fair. His other hand held a small needle behind his back, full of a sedative to knock her out if things wen't wrong.

"I'm taking you to Waven, the teacher that brought you here." He informed in a cold voice, hoping she would be a bit more compliant if she knew she was going to Waven, the man that promised her answers. Twelve's entire body stiffened as she glared at him, her eyes nearly glowing with ferocity.

As barret attempted to get her to come with him, he thought over everything Waven had told him. He couldnt barely believe it- something as terrible as this beast, was once human? A part of him did feel bad, but that didn't matter. It was unfortunate, but he would gladly kill her if it meant bringing safety the people of his kingdom. Because the thing he is staring at, he knew wasn't human anymore, and could never go back.

A quiet meow broke the tense air, Twelve looked down to the small kitten, sitting itself down and looking up at her. Twelve found herself momentarily distracted by it, and slightly calmed down as her shoulders noticeably relaxed a little bit. Barrett took this chance, and before Twelve realized it, he had tackled her into the ground, allowing his full weight to slam her down onto her back. Thick brought a small scream from Twelve, gasping as her back hit the ground. Gritting her teeth, she snarled out "GET OFF!". Before she could do much though, he jabbed the needle into the side of her neck.

It didn't really effect her, not yet at least. So, in reaction, Barrett was thrown off of Twelve, who then watched as the kitten- frightened, bolted out the door.

Barrett Grunted as he hit the ground heavily, cursing lowly as he did. Twelve was now standing, staring at the door for a moment while she held onto her neck, until a sharp, quite terrifying gaze fell back onto Barrett. In absolute silence, she lunged forward, and much like she had with Boman, she attacked him. Whether she was simply angered, or it was a response to survival instincts, or she was losing control like before was uncertain, though her eyes did look slightly washed over, and it was clear by her movements, she was aiming to kill.

"BOMAN! DO SOMETHING, FUCK!" Barrett shouted out, as all he could do was attempt to hold Twelves razor-sharp claws just inches away from his throat. He kicked at her, as she was atop of him, but nothing he did made any progress on getting her off of him. "YOU REALLY WANT THIS THING NEAR YOU? YOU REALLY WANT THIS THING TO BE NEAR WHERE YOU SLEEP? ITS UNSTABLE BOMAN CANT YOU SEE TH- AGH!" He could no longer hold against her strength, and her arm passed forward. due to his movements, it was a miss, but her claws managed to slice at his shoulder, creating a gash.

 

[Derpy Dev]

Boman still wondered why Waven had kept Barrett around. Even the most brilliant men could make foolhardy mistakes. Because however he looked at Barrett, he still saw one glaring flaw. That man didn't know how to use the mind God gave him. So instead of listening or thinking, Barrett simply glared at his so-called ally.

"This is ridiculous, move aside dammit," he ordered. Boman sighed. "I'm taking that thing to Waven, it's better to prevent a problem than wait for it to happen." Barrett pushed Boman aside.

"It's better to not cause a problem in an effort to prevent one," Boman reasoned. Maybe he should stop recycling quotes from his teacher.

Or maybe not.

The fool stomped into the house and fixed his eyes on his target, who was glaring back at him with glowing orange eyes. Were they glowing before?

"I'm taking you to Waven, the teacher that brought you here." It still rang not of a request, or a suggestion, but a command.

She wasn't likely to follow it.

"Barrett, you really need to slow down," Boman cautioned. "Let's keep talking, or hell, let me take her to Waven, the person who hasn't-"

He fell silent, however, at the complete idiocy demonstrated by his fellow guard. Instead of listening, the madman tackled the demon girl.

The person who hasn't done exactly that, he finished internally.

It was only a heartbeat later before Barrett was kicked off of her, and he practically flew out the door onto his back. The kitten ran off with surprising speed as Twelve stood up and began rubbing her neck, which was now covered in darkness as well as her head.

He started stepping forward, but immediately stopped when he saw the look on her face. It was chilling. She no longer looked anything like a human. She looked quite a lot like how Barrett imagined her. Not a girl, but a fiend. Not a soul, but a thing. Not a person in need, but a creature that was willing to kill and destroy anything if it meant she could see the next day's sun.

And that look was directed straight towards Barrett. She lunged.

As Barrett started screaming in a panic, Boman started to think. She needed to calm down. If that meant he had to restrain her, he might have had to do exactly that. But that would require doing something he didn't like the thought-facing her wrath. For Barrett's sake no less.

She slashed open his shoulder.

Boman ended that line of thought immediately. He rushed over and grabbed the hand she slashed him with, and took an action he normally avoided-he froze their hands together and pulled her towards him with everything he had. She would just be able to smash the ice, sure-but this gave her crucial seconds to pull herself together.

"Leave this to me you idiot!" he shouted at Barrett. "I think you've done enough!"

Innocence
​

"Well hello there," Mavera said sweetly as she leaned down towards the little three-legged kitten. It looked scared, and it must have been scared by something. Was there a beast nearby?

Perhaps I shouldn't have gone off road, she thought. Waven only told me to get the girl, not sneak up on her.

She pet the kitten, and it seemed to relax a great deal. It seemed sweet and innocent, content and happy. In a way, it was everything she wanted to be. Happy. Cheerful. Capable of feeling anything other than this hollow hatred.

She felt a pang of jealousy, but pushed it aside. Her days of killing for such small reasons were over. She wasn't a monster anymore.

She heard shouting. She stood up quickly and listened, but she already knew where it was coming from.

"Bo," she muttered as she broke into a run. The hell did you do this time?

 

[Veno]

Aiming for another strike down towards Barrett, Twelve was shocked when she suddenly felt some restriction, quickly followed by her being yanked back and off of Barrett. She gasped loudly as she stumbled into Boman, She fell back into him, sending the both of them tumbling down to the ground, with her on top. "A-AGH LET GO!" She shrieked out, her voice slightly broken as she shifted her focus onto Boman, and the block of ice now attaching him to her. She looked panicked and desperate, and barely in control... She couldn't quite help herself. She immediately tried to break the ice, and normally, she would be able to... But for some reason, her attempts made no progress, while her breathing seemed to grow rather heavy and shallow. After a minute or so of struggling against Boman, kicking and scratching at him, she began to slowly calm down. her movement slowing and weakening until she slumped herself back against his chest, her mouth opened slightly as she panted heavily. It was clear that she wasn't just 'waking' up from the out-of-control self, whatever sedation liquid Barrett had injected into her was now taking effect. And soon, while she wasn't knocked out, the danger was entirely removed as she now made no sound, or movements while her body weight leaned back entirely onto Boman. Her heart-rate had also clearly decreased. She likely wouldn't really react to anything for now... It was as if she had been drugged- because she was.

It was clear, Twelve was not stable. She had lost control over herself after getting shocked, frightened, or maddened by Barrett- reverting back to her old, primal, kill or be killed instincts. Her monstrous tendencies.

A silence came over the house as Barrett just sat there now, staring at Boman and Twelve with furrowed brows. "We need to lock that thing up." He sighed out lowly. "It needs to be on a short leash." She groaned out while tightening his grip on his injury.

 

[Derpy Dev]

Boman had not looked forward to the next minute, and rightly so-after all, she immediately fell towards him, and they both tumbled to the ground-enraged monster girl on top. He did what he was trained to do, he pulled his head inwards and protected it with his free arm. The wise thing to do is not to get in this situation in the first place, he thought. Yet here we are.

She quickly started to slow down her barrage of cuts. It was a surprise, but a welcome one. After waiting her out through the most painful minute of his life, she came to a full stop and just collapsed on top of him. This wasn't... natural. She wasn't just snapping out of it, he had seen what that was like. This was exhaustion, a full shutdown. Slowly, Boman melted the ice holding them together and pulled her off onto the porch. He winced as he tried to stand up-looking down, he could see that his shirt's front was mostly bloody shreds. I'm gonna have to see the doctor about that. He turned his gaze towards who was likely his least favorite man in the world at the moment.

Fucking Barrett.

"We need to lock that thing up," he said. Boman gave him a scowl after hearing that comment. "It needs to be on a short leash."

He face palmed and gritted his teeth before responding to that. "If you tackled me, I don't think that you'd get a better reaction." Boman growled, then sighed, and then exploded. "For the love of God Barrett! Could you try anything FUCKING DUMBER? You knew that wouldn't end well, you fucking had too! And you tried it anyway! Did this accomplish anything? Anything at all? IS ANYONE HAPPIER?"

"Ahem," interrupted Mavera. Boman turned towards her with an infuriated look that didn't seem to faze her. She calmly stepped onto the porch and reached over to pick up Twelve.

"Waven told me to bring her too him. Go get your wounds checked out." With that, she immediately started to walk off. Boman was wiling to let her, and directed his icy scowl back towards Barrett.

 

[Veno]

Barrett visibly tensed a little, groaning out lowly and rolling his eyes as Boman started lecturing him, shouting with clear, complete rage. "Oh shut the hell up Boman! Excuse me for caring more about the wellbeing of humanity than a single person- who, by this point, is barely even that! You really think she's salvageable? Come on... Stop living in a damned fantasy!" He snarled out in retaliation as he sat up, rubbing his small injury with a bit of a wince.

Just then, Mavera walked in- and without saying much, aside from explaining what she was told to do, she went over and picked up twelves limp body, and made her way off. Barrett watched with furrowed brows, his eyes a bit narrowed; glad to see the beast was finally being taken back into Waven's custody- and there was no way she would put up a fight, not in her current condition. Though, he couldnt know how long the sedative would work for.

Barrett could feel the icy cold hatred directed towards him, as Boman glared straight at him. Without any hesitation, he returned the hard look, stubbornness and irritation laced within every fiber of his being as he tightened his grip on his.

"I gave her the choice to get up and come with me; she decided to not comply instead... she was ready to attack, her very presence is a danger to everyone around her. Sure- I tackled her, but only after I deemed the situation to be too risky- You saw that look in her eyes... If she were the one to have attacked first, I would be dead. And so would you." He explained lowly while watching him.

"And yes, It did accomplish something- now that thing wont cause any issues to Mavera or Waven for the next couple hours or so. " He snorted before standing up completely, clicking his tongue lightly in annoyance. His gaze flickered towards the kitchen for a moment, before shaking his head. "Your a fucking idiot for trying to get attached to her. She's better off dead." With that, he picked up a few things that had fallen from his pouches and moved towards the door. "I'm going to the doctor." He finished, his voice sharp, and low... However, he had managed to remain partially calm during this argument with Boman. Because in a way- he understood why Boman was pissed at him... What he did was stupid and reckless, but in his mind... it was still the best course of action for him to take. You wouldn't wait for another soldier with a sword- clearly hostile and refusing to cooperate- to attack you first. Its kill or be killed.

----------------------------------

Twelve was completely out of it as Mavera carried her back towards the camp. Not a single movement, nor a single sound escaping her vocals. Her head was lolled back, with her mouth opened slightly, and her chest heaving slowly. Once they would enter the training grounds to meet with Waven, a few of the other training soldiers would have their attention stolen by them, a couple stopping their sparring to look over with questionable and thoughtful looks. Many laced with confusion.

 

[Derpy Dev]

"She's here Waven!" Shouted Mavera in a voice that was quite unusual for her. It was devoid of the usual cheer and happiness. Instead, it rang of frustration. Surprised by this, Waven turned around to see an angry Mavera carrying an unconscious Twelve. Immediately, he rushed forward and helped his pupil bring her into the dormitories and onto a bed.

"The hell happened?" Waven asked.

"Dunno sir. All 'ah know is that when I got there, she was like this, Bo and Barr were shouting at each o'er, and neither looked in the best condition. 'specially Bo."

He sighed in response to that. He was confident if he asked those two, both would give a different answer. Instead of dwelling on that, he checked Twelve's pulse. It was too slow for her just to be napping or to have been hit in the head.

"She's been poisoned," he said lowly, "But she should live. If it was a normal poison, it's likely that she won't be out long." Mavera nodded

"What do we do now?" she asked.

"We wait."

Consequences
​

Boman made one decision as he walked towards the doctor's place-he was never going to try to be a hero again. He walked alone of course, he couldn't bear the thought of Barrett seeing him like this. So Boman kept walking alone, leaning on a crutch of ice to support the weight of his body. It felt heavier now than it ever had. Was that just blood loss?

He diverted his focus towards the crutch. He knew he could make constructs out of ice, he just normally avoided doing this because they usually turned out... well, like this crutch. Misshapen and a bit heavier than it should be. One day, he'd learn to properly control the size and weight of these. Until then, this would have to do.

"My god... Boman?" A familiar voice said. Boman looked towards the source, and saw a familiar face from a short bit back. Florin. Boman imagined that he didn't look quite as badass now as he did on the night he saved this man. Caked with blood and pale, while leaning on a makeshift crutch while stumbling down the street.

"You must be thinking of someone else," he replied sarcastically. He was about to continue, but the interruption came first.

"Wh-what happened to you?" Genuine concern was on this man's face, even though they were practically strangers.

"Just trust me when I say that there's too much bloody context to explain easily." Boman sighed and continued on his path.

"Here, let me help you!" Before Boman could say no, Florin already was helping him walk to the doctor. "You did the same for me not too long ago, it's only right if I do the same." Boman felt too exhausted to press any sort of argument. Instead, he let his thoughts travel back to Barrett.

Your a fucking idiot for trying to get attached to her. She's better off dead. Those words still rang in Boman's head. They couldn't be more wrong. The first part was Barrett, as usual, reading a situation wrong. He wanted to know more about Twelve, nothing more. He wasn't 'trying' to get attached to her.

...even if he couldn't help but feel like it was happening.

Soon enough, they had reached to door of the doctor's place. "You can let me go now," Boman said as he wrestled his way out of Florin's arm.

"It's okay, I can walk you a little-" Boman didn't let him finish that as he interrupted while stumbling inside and into a wall.

"I'm fine, I'm fine! I'm... I'm fine..." Those were the last words he spoke before he collapsed on the floor unconscious.

 

[Veno]

"Gracia! Come inside won't you? Oh goodness gracious what have you been doing? You are filthy! go clean yourself up young lady, or theres no dinner for you!"

Twelve stood in silence, confusion laced within her troubled eyes as she slowly turned to look over her shoulder to realize her surroundings. She was in a field of grass and sun-yellow flowers, hills and trees accompanying the peaceful landscape that encompassed a small village. "Where am I...? Whats going on...? Is this... Is this another memory? But..." Twelve slowly lifted her hands up a bit, examining her palms in silence. She had control of herself, she was not just seeing a memory of hers- she was watching it from a third-person view.

"Wha- No fair!" A bright, chippy voice called out, a young child.
"Alright, so i guess your not hungry then?"
"... mmmmAaaugh Okay okay! Bo-! I'll be back in a bit!"

Twelve watched the scene unfold before her, a simple and once forgotten memory as a young girl with short brown hair ran into one of the houses in the outskirts of the town, the door held open by a lady in her mid thirties. The child's tiny hand waving to a young boy that stood not too far off.

"Bo...?" Twelve mumbled quietly, perplexed and uncertain, she frowned a bit and slowly stalked forward.

'This... Is this really a memory? then... That was me? That child? Was that my name? Gracia?' Twelve walked over towards the door of her home, reaching out she ran her black fingers across the wood. Then suddenly, it opened. This startled Twelve, she jumped a bit and quickly stepped back, however, she found that the wood merely went through her, she watched as the lady called out.

"Boman! Why dont you come and have dinner here tonight. Maybe you can help me with dessert."

Twelves entire body stiffened just then. 'Boman?' With wide eyes, Twelve quickly spun around, staring at the young boy across the field. 'No... Thats Boman? I... I did know him...'

'I was just a child. A normal kid... I really was just a human- Waven was right... I...- I had a family... and a home.... and a... a friend.' Twelve watched with a slightly ajar mouth as the boy ran inside, and the mother followed after him with a hearty chuckle. Twelve, while unable to understand it fully, could feel a few tears rolling down her cheeks. Without much thought, and quite idly, she walked through the walls, following the mother and two children into the house.

Twelve, eventually, ended up crouching down against a wall, watching as the mother began preparing dinner, and the two children- apparently Herself and Boman- Roughhoused and played around for a bit, until Gracia ran up to her mother to avoid Boman, who was trying to tag her, and grew interested in her cooking and quickly demanded to help out.

This memory was longer than the others she had before... and oddly pleasant. However she found herself in an unending feeling of shock and silent contemplation. That really was herself, for so long, she had finally found herself. Her name- "Gracia."

She was happy... And then, they ruined it. They ruined her. They created a beast. They changed her- they removed who she once was. 'They stole it all, they stole everything, my arm, my name, myself, my life, my emotions, my humanity, my thoughts... my family'. She still didn't even know who they were. Her curiosity, her confusion and peace quickly swelled with instead hatred, fury, anger, and sadness.

She couldn't stop the voice within her very skull from spitting out a low 'Ill kill them' As she shut her eyes tightly, allowing blackness to engulf her.

....

And then, a seering pain.
Twelves eyes shot open with a scream, her body writhed, the sound of chains ringing within her ears, every other sound drowned out and foggy. Her sight blurred by the blood that hid dripped into her eyes, though she could see the puddles of red fluid accumulated below her upon the stone ground. All she could think about in these moments was pain, it felt as if a fire was being set off within her veins, knives digging into every inch of her skin while a metal cage slowly squeezed down upon her heart. An empty needle laid on the ground a few feet away. She could not think, all she could do was feel as her insides burned, as if she was being killed from the inside out. Her head snapped up, and just shortly, with blurry eyes, she saw the man in the lab coat... And finally, it ended.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Twelve awoke. Her eyes snapped open and she was greeted by herself hyperventilating. Her body trembling and her eyes wide. It had happened again, it became painfully clear that she hadn't simply been unconscious the entire time, as at some point after they brought her to the room- she awoke on her own, and had no control of herself. She began fighting and freaking out blindly, causing any persons that had been in there to evacuate; otherwise she surely would have killed them. Now, she found herself in the corner of a room, Large spikes of blood around her, almost like she had caged herself within them, a puddle of blood beneath her crouched self, and her claws dug into her other arm, where many brutal gashes were currently trying to heal- obviously inflicted by herself.

It was almost immediately after she awoke that she hunched forward, coughing profusely and throwing up a bit of blood, She stared at the floor, shaking a bit as she coughed, while she dug her nails into her shoulder connecting to her permanently black arm. 'They did this... Its their fault.... its their fault...' She shut her eyes tightly, tears building within her eyes, clearly distressed as the spikes around her finally disappeared, returning to their liquid state.

She felt weak, and terrible tired, as well as very warm- whatever poison she was given was still partially in effect.

-----------------------------

Eventually, Florin would manage to get Boman's unconscious body to the doctor, who immediately freaked out a bit over his state- endlessly asking worried questions as he was ushered over to a bed.

"What- What the hell happened! What did he get himself into this time?! Jesus... Boman." The lady gasped out as she looked over him, wincing at the many cuts that lined his body. "What kind of beast did this. Was he on another mission? Goodness..." She quickly got to work, stitching up his wounds. It would take a while to mend every injury that he had, but eventually, she finished, and could do nothing else but wait as she left him within the room on the bed- a cold cloth upon his forehead.

Barrett was in the room beside Boman. "Those two are always getting into some kind of trouble. " She sighed out as she dropped herself down into a chair, and looked up to the ceiling. Now just waiting for the both of them to awaken.

 

[Derpy Dev]

"It's a safe guess that this wasn't planned, right?" asked Mavera. Inside the dormitories, you could still hear Twelve screaming and smashing anything that moved. Wisely, Mavera and Waven had stepped out as soon as she started slicing herself open. Waven shuddered in revulsion after spending a second too long thinking about it.

"You've really outdone yourselves with this piece of work, haven't you?" he muttered. He turned towards Mavera, who was looking back at him. She looked concerned, but still couldn't wipe that faux grin off her face. Typical. He looked around to the other students, who seemed stunned at what was happening inside the dormitories.

"Will you go on?" he snapped. Immediately they went back to their regularly scheduled sparring. He then turned his attention back towards Mavera.

"Go check on Boman and Barrett at the doctor's, make sure they're okay." That wasn't the only reason he was asking of course, he would rather deal with Twelve by himself. Mavera nodded and ran off.

Eventually, the screaming stopped. Slowly, he cracked open the door to reveal Twelve sitting in the corner of the room.

Dear god, blood was everywhere. Several large spikes made of the stuff surrounded her, a macabre cage of her own design. They immediately melted when he entered the room. Sighing, he got his guard up and stood ready for anything before he opened his mouth.

"Hello there, sleepyhead."

Dreams
​

An unsightly image. An unforgettable moment. A paralyzing dread. A madman's design. A consuming horror. An approaching end. A chance for redemption. A soul in suffering. A cry for help. A denial of love. A curse upon curses. A day to end all days. A cease to be human. A cease to be redeemable. A wild panic. An act of betrayal.

A cry of shock and horror as Boman sat upright in bed. He clutched his chest, and was pleasantly surprised to see no blood on it, just stitches. Why were there stitches there? Where was he? He slowly came to and remembered. He started to get up, but his wounds hurt too much, he immediately collapsed and groaned.

I blame you for this Barrett.

 

[Veno]

"Hello there, sleepyhead."

Waven's voice immediately snapped Twelve out of her own circling thoughts, she flinched a little, and slowly raised her head a bit while hesitantly pulling her nails out of her flesh to allow the wounds to close themselves up. She didn't say anything for the moment, instead, she just looked towards him, sitting within the mess of blood- she was a mess herself, her arm covered in blood and wounds that were still trying to fully repair.

"It... it happened again..." She breathed out slowly with a frown as she looked around the room before she tensed and lurched forward, coughing out once more and nearly throwing up again- though she managed to keep it in this time as she slapped a hand over her mouth. This was the third time today. For a moment, she no longer thought about the incredible memories she had dug up... As there was an important, pressing issue- was she really quickly losing full control of herself? This time looked like the worst, but she had already gone through this two times before in the same day.

'Boman!' Her eyes snapped open wide, while her stomach twisted into a knot and she drew in a sharp breath. Hurriedly, she forced herself to her feet and quickly began making her way towards Waven. "Boman! Wh-Where is Boman?! I hurt him... I...- Augh" She didn't make it far, as she inevitably fell to the ground, she was still incredibly weak and lethargic, both from the poison, and from the loss of control. One of her hands gripped onto her aching head, while she shut her eyes tightly. Her breath came out a little shakily and heavy, her hands shaking just slightly.

It took her a moment to regain her own composure, though she eventually spoke out in a breathless, shaky voice. "D-Did i hurt anyone? Waven I... Its getting worse. I- Icant control myself, I keep losing it... losing myself... I...What do i do? Ive lost myself." She breathed out shakily as she stared down at her bloodied hands, a bit of blood lingering on the corner of her mouth, while tears were clearly welled in her eyes. It was clear she was back in control of herself- Though clearly troubled.

--------------------------

"Your up!" The lady doctor exclaimed as she peeked in through the door, and stepped inside, her usual perky smile put on upon her face while within his conscious presence. "Come on, don't go moving so much. Here." She hurried over and helped Boman up to his feet, carefully guiding him back over to the bed. "Can you remember what happened? A friend of your's brought you here." She informed.

 

[Derpy Dev]

"You're up!" the doctor shouted as she made her way into the room. As usual, she seemed way happier than the current circumstances allowed her to be. Wearing a grumpy frown, Boman started pulling himself off the ground, only to find out that his lack of strength did not let that be an easy process.

"Come on, don't go moving so much." She calmly yet quickly strode over and helped him get back onto his bed, despite his redundant insistence that he didn't need help. Luckily for him, she ignored this. He sighed and collapsed onto the bed face first.

"Can you remember what happened?" She asked. "A friend of your's brought you here." Boman rolled over and looked towards her.

"A friend? Who do you..." here he took a pause to think. "Ah, Florin?" Suddenly a rush of adrenaline came in as remembered the seriousness of the previous events.

"Twelve!" he shouted. "Where is she? Where's Barrett?" He pulled himself off the bed, and once again collapsed onto the floor with a thud and a groan of pain.

Idiot. She's probably fine, after all. And here you are, freaking out about her.

"Let's just say it's been a long fucking day."

Pain
​

She slowly raised her head and looked at Waven. "It... it happened again..." A rhythm of sorrow rang with her words. She sat on the floor in her corner of the room with a look of pain on her face. Suddenly, it changed to a look of shock and horror.

"Boman!" She shouted suddenly, as if she had gained some memory of what had happened. "Where is Boman? I hurt him..." Almost immediately, she got up and started rushing towards the door. But just as quickly, she fell onto the ground again. How weak was she? Her wounds seemed to be healing slowly as well. Was she poisoned? Waven tried to soften his expression a touch, though he felt like he was still glaring. Mavera was so much better with people, why did he try to deal with this on his own?

"Did I hurt anyone?" she looked at him from across the room, and her eyes were filled with regret and hopelessness. "Waven, I... it's getting worse... I- I can't control myself, I keep losing it... losing myself... What do I do?

"...I've lost myself." She almost seemed to have choked on those last words. With a sigh of sorrow, Waven walked towards her and sat beside her on the floor. "I'm not quite sure what you did myself," he started, "And I'm even less sure about what was your fault, but what I do know is that both Boman and Barrett were on the scene and injured. I suspect that Barrett had it coming."

After a moment of silence, he kept talking. "I don't know how you have as much control as you do. It's a curiosity, I can tell you that much. But there are things we can do to help you, all right? You aren't fully gone quite yet." As he said this, he was thinking about how to get her into meditation. He didn't know how much that would help her, but he knew it would help at least a little.