[hr]ATTN: [@PaulHaynek] [@Enkryption] [@Restalaan] [@The Irish Tree] [@Rezod92] [hr][h3]Collab with Enk[/h3][hider=A Spider Web Made of Vines]Having finished her long conversation with Carroll about the future, about tomorrow, and Gwen, Cecilia would make her way to answering the summons. Neither she nor Carroll had a stake in these matters, but, for the sake of Kerry and Gwen, as well as Eula and Liliana, and even Shizuka, they decided to play along with the nonsense and noise. However, as she passed through, she saw Kerry, and happened to overhear the blacksmith: [quote=Revuel]"[color=cyan]She... The child is no longer with her. ...This group of monsters is probably the most I am weary of.[/color]"[/quote] Shizuka would feel the flare of Chaos Magic, as Cecilia followed the path of Revuel, and picked up a rock from the ground, winding back like a baseball pitcher - preparing to blow his brains out for the implication that they'd done something untoward her child. Cecilia would feel her throwing hand being enveloped by a familiar webbing, strengthened by Taoist magic. She would turn to find the source of resistance - Atsuha. [color=9e0b0f]”Do you not think it too early in the morning to be using allies as target practice, Cecilia-san?”[/color] "[color=4169E1][i]Standing in the way, again, are we,[/i][/color]” Cecilia asks, looking back. [color=9e0b0f]”I’m trying not to have comrades kill each other.”[/color] Atusha quickly retorted. [color=9e0b0f]”However, please don’t think I don’t understand the sentiment. If we are to take his implications at face value, I would be resentful in your place.”[/color] She looked at Revuel with a bit of ire as he passed by. [color=9e0b0f]”I feel that it’s more likely that the man just isn’t as privy to yōkai biology. Hate him, think lowly of him, hell you can even yell at him. But your first reaction is a bit…extreme to say the least, Love. ”[/color] Cecilia snorted, crushing the rock in her hand. "[color=4169E1][i]Meddlesome...[/i][/color]” [color=9e0b0f]”You may come to find me much more than that.”[/color] Atusha said, releasing the webbing that was bound to Cecilia’s wrist. [color=9e0b0f]”You remember your little comment from last night? The one about the type of relationship I’ve built with my little sister? I must say you have some nerve!”[/color] Atsuha walked closer to Cecilia, until their faces were roughly a foot away from each other. [color=9e0b0f]”You’ve barely but a glimpse of the type of life we’ve lived up until this point, what we’ve been through, what we’ve had to endure. You spat at me for preaching to you about your life, but you do the same to me?”[/color] Cecilia may have wondered where the little sister in question was currently, as Atsuha was here by herself. Was Hinami still in bed, perhaps? "[color=4169E1][i]Seems you don't know how “yokai” biology works, either, Little Miss Spider,[/i][/color]” Cecilia says. "[color=4169E1][i]That little kiss we shared, it triggered a power in me called Temporal Telemetry,[/i][/color]” she says, "[color=4169E1][i]In order to turn you Human, even temporarily, I had to go back in your history...[/i][/color]” "[color=4169E1][i]Every. Single. Minute.[/i][/color]” Cecilia looked at Atsuha through heavy-lidded eyes, before lighting a cigarette, and drawing. "[color=4169E1][i]Take a hit,[/i][/color]” she says, "[color=4169E1][i]You need to mellow, before you level more accusations.[/i][/color]” Looking at the cigarette, Atusha’s anger had momentarily vanished and was replaced by an uncharacteristic fluster. She began blushing and looked at Cecilia as if she were mad. [color=9e0b0f]”H-have you lost your mind?!”[/color] She exclaimed. [color=9e0b0f]”I mean, what kind of example would I be setting for Hinami if she were to catch wind of me, or gods forbid [i]see[/i] me smoking? I mean, due to our gifts we don’t have to worry about things like lung cancer, but still… ”[/color] "[color=4169E1][i]Gifts,[/i][/color]” Cecilia scoffed, "[color=4169E1][i]Moving on. Do either of you have an original thought in your head,[/i][/color]” she asks, "[color=4169E1][i] You're supposedly sisters, but you come off as symbiotic parasites.[/i][/color]” Atusha hissed at Cecilia’s comment, rather echoing her words from the night before. [color=9e0b0f]”Are you more than just sardonic one-liners and cigarette smoke?”[/color] "[color=4169E1][i]Judging by Kerry’s many affirmations, I'm a pretty good fuck,[/i][/color]” Cecilia says. "[color=4169E1][i]Now, stop deflecting. You didn't just happen across my path. Speak your piece.[/i][/color]” [color=9e0b0f]”Oh shove it! You think just because you can view a person’s memories like some picture show you’ve got them all figured out?!”[/color] Atsuha snapped. [color=9e0b0f]”And what do mean we come off as [i]parasites[/i]? We are together because we love each other in a world where the notion is becoming all the rarer.”[/color] "[color=4169E1][i]Yeah, yeah, let's skip the melodramatic posturing, this time, eh? Neither of us have time to duel for Most Dramatic, so let's just cut the bullshit,[/i][/color]” Cecilia blew smoke over her shoulder, "[color=4169E1][i]You know exactly what I mean. Hinami doesn't need you to survive. You need Hinami to need you,[/i][/color]” she says, "[color=4169E1][i]As long as she needs you, you don't have to face yourself and what you did. You made your sister into a Mamono, and the spell recoiled on you.[/i][/color]” Cecilia dragged, "[color=4169E1][i]Tragic, that. Get over it.[/i][/color]” Atsuha spat a bit of venom at Ceclila’s feet as an act of defiance. [color=9e0b0f]”Fuck you! You think you know everything, don’t you?! You certainly are a queen! So quick to look down on others and make light of their situations!”[/color] "[color=4169E1][i]Yeah, yeah. Listen, did we not do this dance last night,[/i][/color]" Cecilia asks, "[color=4169E1][i]A dance that left me so annoyed, I thought I assaulted Kerry,[/i][/color]" she says, plainly, "[color=4169E1][i]Normally, I don’t raise to anger to a point that I don’t remember things, and Mad Hatter’s have extremely keen memories.[/i][/color]" "[color=4169E1][i]Yet, all I can remember after “talking” to you is waking up, covered in blood, bites, and stings...[/i][/color]" Cecilia looked up at Astuha with a lazy, yet slicing side eye. [color=9e0b0f]”Nghhh”[/color] Atsuha began to wince. Cecilia’s indifference to her anger was winning out in their current scuffle. She found out the hard way that Cecilia would always have a retort to her claims, and that there’d never be an end unless one of them just up and walked away. Truthfully, after last night, the Mad Hatter’s words had weighed more heavily on her mind than she’d care to admit. To be more accurate, she [b]knew[/b] deep down that she was right. With a defeated sigh, she looked at Cecilia dead in her eyes. Any ire that was at first present had now subsided, and all that remained was a bitter sadness. [color=9e0b0f]”Tell me, Cecilia Lewis.”[/color] Atsuha said. [color=9e0b0f]”What do [b]you[/b] think I should do? What CAN I do for my sister, for US. For each other?”[/color] "[color=4169E1][i]You know what the answer to that question is,[/i][/color]" Cecilia says. "[color=4169E1][i]It’s the same answer I gave, and the same answer you rejected.[/i][/color]" [color=9e0b0f]”Cecilia-san…what else would I have if not her?”[/color] She said weakly. [color=9e0b0f]”Skarsneek-kun has perhaps shown me my first hint of romantic love, something I feared I’d never know. But, Hinami, she’s…she’s my everything. She loved me for me, even while she was sick and dying. Even when our wretched, self-serving, pride-blinded father kept me from seeing her, she always thought of [b]my[/b] well-being! Why wouldn’t I give the world to her? What could we possibly have to gain by being apart?”[/color] Atsuha’s eyes were red, but did not form tears. It was something to ponder if she even had any left at this point. [color=9e0b0f]”Cecilia Lewis, belittle me until time ceases to be and sentient life turns to dust. But, if nothing else, understand that I love my sister more than just an escape from my blunder. I beg you. I just wanted her to be happy…”[/color] Cecilia sucked in a breath, as she took everything in, and blew smoke out, as she hopped back, and sat on a front porch railing. Turning her back to Atsuha, she would suddenly hang form her knees, and let her hat fall to the ground. "[color=4169E1][i]You seem to think the worst of me, while begging me to see the best in you. I’m not belittling you. I take no joy in this exchange, nor the last, either. I scraped my way out of the mud and the blood, every time, but this isn’t about me, and it’s not about you,[/i][/color]" Cecilia says, "[color=4169E1][i]It’s about her. From the beginning, you needed her more than she ever needed you. I didn’t call you a parasite to be cruel. It’s the truth of the matter - in your words, in your deeds,[/i][/color]" she says, "[color=4169E1][i]Someone loved you, unequivocally, unconditionally. Someone asked nothing from you. Then, she died, and instead of letting her rest, and that love go, you brought her back to life. Never once considering if she found peace from her sickness on the other side?[/i][/color]" Cecilia blew smoke into the air, "[color=4169E1][i]I’ve seen a lot. I’ve done a lot. I’ve locked people in temporal loops to keep them alive, only to lose them - time and time again. I didn’t understand why, until I saw Hinami, and realized something...[/i][/color]" "[color=4169E1][i]Tell me, Hangai Atsuha,[/i][/color]" Cecilia says, mirroring her initial tone, "[color=4169E1][i]If you won’t allow her to die, do you not owe her the right to live her life, with, and without, you?[/i][/color]" [color=9e0b0f]”I…”[/color] Atsuha seemed to have trouble finding the correct choice of words. [color=9e0b0f]”Hinami, she…knows so little of the outside world. But, I suppose that’s the point, isn’t it? I say that I wish to be her protector until we both greet Jigokumon, but it seems that she’s been saving me this whole time. After our rebirth, I just wanted us to get away from it all. We ran, we fought, we survived. I suppose you have to wonder if you really call that living.”[/color] She stared at the ground, no longer able to look Cecilia in the eye. Was it to hide her weakness? [color=9e0b0f]”We took on odd jobs, solving other people’s problems to make ends meet, all while ignoring our own. Or, perhaps, [b]my[/b] own. We now find ourselves here. I felt that the job that Kyōkō-sama offered to us would pay quite handsomely, to the point where we wouldn’t need to keep running around anymore.”[/color] She looked off to the side, a faint smile. [color=9e0b0f]”You know, even though our lives were hard, and we never really made any friends, she smiled through all of it. Bless that girl’s heart, no matter what happened, she never stopped smiling. Not even once. She was so happy, it was my…!”[/color] Atsuha's eyes widened, holding her hands in front of her mouth. Stopping herself mid sentence, she looked at Cecilia, tears finally having formed under her eyes. "[color=4169E1][i]Continue,[/i][/color]" Cecilia says, "[color=4169E1][i]Finish your breakthrough.[/i][/color]" [color=9e0b0f]”Hinami. She…she was my reason…to live.”[/color] She said meekly. Atsuha’s legs lurched over, and her abdomen fell onto the dirt below. She held her hands to her face as she began sobbing and whimpering, clear streaks of liquid dampening the earth. "[color=4169E1][i]Such is the conclusion I reached. Those people I wouldn’t allow to die... it wasn’t to keep them alive, but to keep me alive - sane...[/i][/color]" Cecilia says, "[color=4169E1][i]If they dead because of me, what did that says about me? If I kept them alive, then I wasn’t a failure, I didn’t lose... I didn’t fail...[/i][/color]" she sighed, "[color=4169E1][i]Hollow victories are no victory at all, so... I let them die, and I took up smoking. A cigarette for a memory, each pull and push, each burning and cooling exhale, a send off to someone long lost, someone recently passed.[/i][/color]" "[color=4169E1][i]We’re losers in this world, but I’ve embraced that, and learned to cope.[/i][/color]" Atusha’s sobbing began to soften, looking back up at Cecilia she squeezed the dirt under her hands. [color=9e0b0f]”Cecilia-san. If letting her go truly is the only way to save her, then…it can’t be here!”[/color] She said, almost panicking. [color=9e0b0f]”I can’t let her go here. The place is poisoned with hatred and blood, and every single person who isn’t a member of this force wants to put her head on a pike! She has to be taken away from this place and allowed to see that the world is so much more than this!”[/color] "[color=4169E1][i]Do whatever makes you feel better. It's second nature to you, at this point,[/i][/color]” Cecilia says, lifting herself up, and standing on the railing; donning her hat with a flourishing bow, "[color=4169E1][i]I'm not in the business of changing you, just defending my position.[/i][/color]" Cecilia would straighten out, and fix her hat in both hands, "[color=4169E1][i]I'm sure she'll follow along and do whatever you ask. It's second nature to her, after all.[/i][/color]" Atsuha quickly stood on her feet, and walked closer to Cecilia. [color=9e0b0f]”No! This isn’t about me anymore. It [b]can’t[/b] be about me anymore! This is about Hinami finding out what’s best for her, for herself! I believe…leaving with my love is still the best decision, ultimately. But, at least I know she’ll be taken away from this place, and then I’ll...talk with her and get her to understand. That would be the best…start for her path…”[/color] Atusha looked down to the ground once again. [color=9e0b0f]”She just needs a path opened for her. That way, she can find her own way. One better than what a failure like me ever granted her…”[/color] "[color=4169E1][i]Funny how much of that outburst was, unsurprisingly, you making decisions for her,[/i][/color]" Cecilia says, walking the rail, "[color=4169E1][i][b]We’ll[/b] take her away. [b]We’ll[/b] get her somewhere safe. [b]I’ll[/b] talk to her, and [b]I’ll[/b] open a path for her, so [b]I[/b] can let go.[/i][/color]" Cecilia paused, and grabbed the sloped roof, and hoisting herself up acrobatically, before sitting down, "[color=4169E1][i]Lots and lots of “me, me, me,” and less and less, “she, she, she,” for the sake of “we, we, we” is what I hear.[/i][/color]” The sadness began to leave Atsuha’s eyes, and what replaced it was a neutral - but tired - expression. [color=9e0b0f]”Well, after this battle to rescue Takeshi-san’s father, you wouldn’t be hearing anything else from me. Cecilia Lewis, you are the only person aside from my father who has filled me with such vexation, and yet at the same time you are perhaps one of the few people who has seen me for me. Even more so, you’ve seen Hinami for who she is, and what it is she actually needs. In spite of everything, I will not forget what you have said last night or today. For that, I suppose thanks is in order.”[/color] Atusha clasped her hands together and placed them at her navel, following with a formal bow. [color=9e0b0f]”Someday in the future, Hinami will be her own person. And, if fate allows, perhaps I will be as well.”[/color] Cecilia crossed her legs at her ankles, right over left, and lit a new cigarette; leaning back upon her left palm, she would blow smoke into the air. "[color=4169E1][i]Hinami didn't even get a chance to make her own decision from the start. You came here to speak on her behalf. As long as you have such an impulse, that will never happen.[/i][/color]” Cecilia looked down, "[color=4169E1][i]I'll believe your potential, when she stands before me without you and speaks her own mind. What little remains.[/i][/color]" Atsuha no longer had the gull to look Cecilia in the eyes. Instead, she turned away and began heading back to her quarters. Leaving the Mad Hatter sitting alone on the railing. Unbeknownst to perhaps both of them, Hinami wasn’t actually still asleep back at her quarters. She had been watching the conversation from afar, using one of her sister’s talismans to conceal her mana, and had hidden herself among the bushes. Cecilia took a deep drag, and blew smoke into the air. The cloud drifted about, as all the others had, and settled. Standing, Cecilia would flip back, and over the back of the roof; springing up behind Hinami, and squatting beside her - blowing smoke into her left ear like ASMR. "[color=4169E1][i]Funny thing about Glitterdust,[/i][/color]" she whispered, "[color=4169E1][i]Its meant to be shared amongst Mamono, so it seeks them out,[/i][/color]" she says, "[color=4169E1][i]That's the inspiration behind my [Prey Spores].[/i][/color]" Hinami’s body jittered at the sudden puffs of cigarette smoke blown into her left ear. Jumping away for just a moment, she blinked twice looking dead at Cecilia. [color=7bcdc8]”Y’know, I never liked the smell of cigarette smoke. I remember that Otō-san used to smoke them all the time.”[/color] Hinami said. [color=7bcdc8]”Glitterdust, huh? Never heard of it, must be unlike the Taoist sorcery my family practices.”[/color] Hinami made a small sigh, pausing for a moment. [color=7bcdc8]”So, you of course probably realize that I was listening to everything you and my Nee-san were discussing. About our past, our relationship, and…me..”[/color] Hinami was oddly, articulate, in her current discussion with Cecilia this morning. She didn’t speak with the simplistic candice or poutfulness of a child. She spoke, well, like a typical young woman would. "[color=4169E1][i]I regret to inform you, your traumatic backstory is not going to stop me from smoking,[/i][/color]" Cecilia says, "[color=4169E1][i]Continue, however.[/i][/color]" [color=7bcdc8]”Umm, I wasn’t telling you whether you can smoke or not…”[/color] Hinami replied. [color=7bcdc8]”Before I got sick, I used to think that people who smoked actually looked kinda cool doing it, despite not liking the smell.”[/color] She let out a small laugh before continuing. [color=7bcdc8]”Apologies for the tangent. You know, I don’t think I ever actually told my sister about the thoughts I had in my final moments. I was so sick that I barely remembered them at first. But, meeting you and having you peer into my mind like some kind of psychic, I’ve somehow started to regain more sense of my past life.”[/color] Hinami began to intently eye the cigarette that Cecilia was holding, inspecting it a bit. [color=7bcdc8]”I had no idea of the burden she placed on herself. While I was bedridden, I wondered why she would fuss over me so much. I was as good as dead anyway, so why did it matter? I wanted her to live a good life for the both of us, and made peace with being taken to the gates of the afterlife. When I was first brought back, I didn’t have a conscious mind, just a feral instinct to feed and rage. Overtime, the essence of my mind began to return. I was happy, I suppose, but maybe that was just because I didn’t know any better. My sister, she was…truly lost…wasn’t she? ”[/color] Cecilia would reach into her breasts, and pull up a second cigarette, "[color=4169E1][i]Take it. They won't bite.[/i][/color]” Looking at the cigarette for a moment, Hinami would take the bud from Cecilia. Snapping her fingers, she lit it using a small blue flame. Putting it in her mouth, she took her first puff, but quickly began coughing it up. [color=7bcdc8]”Ugh!”[/color] She exclaimed with vitriol. [color=7bcdc8]”I can’t see this being an acquired taste! The obsession older people have with bitter tasting things is lost on me!”[/color] She tossed the bud to the side, taking a moment before she stomped it as she forgot that it needed to be put out. [color=7bcdc8]”Well, as I was saying, Sis was so focused on me that she neglected herself. She wanted to heal me, but I think it’s time she allowed herself to heal. If forcing herself to be my caretaker is the root cause of that, then I’ll become my own caretaker. I think it’s only right by the captain and everyone else that I help rescue Takeshi-Dono’s father, but after that…”[/color] Cecilia would raise a hand, and pull time back in the cigarette. "[color=4169E1][i]These are no cheap, and I have so few,[/i][/color]” she says, "[color=4169E1][i]Just because you're shit at holding smoke doesn't mean you can waste my things, but...[/i][/color]" she smirked, "[color=4169E1][i]...the actualization was nice to see.[/i][/color]" "[color=4169E1][i]However, moving on, unless you'd like to try again, continue your thought.[/i][/color]” [color=7bcdc8]”After that, I’ll be leaving this place. I think I’ve had enough kill-or-be-killed to last me a lifetime, and it’s not like we’re soldiers or anything. But, I don’t think I’ll be leaving with my sister and my brother-in-law. This is something that I have to do alone. She’ll likely be upset, even though she ultimately wanted it. But it’s only right that I make the first step.”[/color] "[color=4169E1][i]Uh-huh,[/i][/color]” Cecilia says, "[color=4169E1][i]Nothing I can do. I'm not stopping you.[/i][/color]" I'm[color=7bcdc8]”I don’t see why you would, unless you want me all to yourself?”[/color] Hinami said, chuckling a bit. [color=7bcdc8]”I kid, I kid. But, having a conversation like this with you makes me feel, I dunno, good I guess? Given what you’ve done for us, it feels nice that I can talk with you about my earnest feelings. Whelp, my sister thanked you, so I suppose I should too.”[/color] Hinami, as her sister before her, made a formal bow as she stood up. [color=7bcdc8]”Thanks a bunch, Cecilia-san. I don’t think my mind has ever had such clarity before. I’ll make sure it doesn’t go to waste!”[/color] Cecilia relaxed on her palm, and looked up, "[color=4169E1][i]And, what if I said that I do? Then, what,[/i][/color]" Smoked filled the air, "[color=4169E1][i]I saw something in your memories, too. Before Kerry, there was you. I saw myself. Unseen by you, but recorded - watching, wanting, spying.[/i][/color]" "[color=4169E1][i]Hindsight is truly crystal clear...[/i][/color]" Standing, Cecilia would flick her cigarette - the flame going out - as she passed Hinami. "[color=4169E1][i]I can't really say what I wanted from you, for us,[/i][/color]" she admits, "[color=4169E1][i]Maybe, I just wanted sex. Maybe, I wanted a family. Maybe, I wanted to see you rebel. Between Atsuha and Skarsneek, I could never get close, and now...[/i][/color]" Cecilia sighed, "[color=4169E1][i]Maybe is just a fancy sign on a fork in the road, saying “Yes” or “No”. I'll be seeing where “No” takes me.[/i][/color]" Hinami looked back at Cecilia as she passed her by. She didn’t really know what to say in response to her final statement. But, a part of her felt sad, for some reason. [color=7bcdc8]”Well, I guess it’s time to prepare to go down my fork in the road as well.”[/color] Hinami made a sigh of her own. [color=7bcdc8]”Farewell, Cecilia Lewis. You truly were one of a kind. I sincerely hope that you one day…find a true friend.”[/color] The click of lighter would be the only reply, as the flame crackled, and Cecilia blew smoke into the air; the cloud washing over her, and becoming a smokescreen for her to vanish into. A Mad Hatter was, first and foremost, a magician, and Cecilia didn't say goodbye, if she didn't want to. [/hider] [hr] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/xbORVmj.png[/img][img]https://i.imgur.com/0zvnz6I.png[/img][/center] Shizuka awoken and washed early, as he usually did. He ate lightly, as he felt that Takeshi's call would be accompanied by...busy work. As he made his way to the young lord, he was passed by Revuel, ever the weary. He showed concern over the strange sorcery he sensed coming from the yōkai last night. The bulk of it in particular stemmed from the fact that they could no longer sense the child that Kerry was carrying. Shizuka didn't quite understand the implication, but he at least understood Revuel's unease. However... [color=royalblue]”Revuel-san...”[/color] He began. [color=royalblue]”I too, no longer sense the child. But, let's not our unfamiliarity with yōkai biology get the better of us. I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation, and I trust that they've simply found a way to keep the child in a more secure location. At most, it would be best to ask Kerry-san and Cecilia-san themselves as to the whereabouts of the child. But, I believe it's best to worry about that later.”[/color] Shizuka eventually made his way to the courtyard, and sensed that the Hangai Sisters would be arriving soon. He imagined that Skarsneek, Gringor, Cecilia, Kerry, Liliana, Carroll, and Eula wouldn't be far behind either.