[IC] The Promise

[pyroman]

Booker walked slowly as he reached the abandoned house. He had heard many things about the old house, many of them he didn't believe at all. It was mostly just ghost stories about 'the owners of the house, who apparently haunted the house and cursed anyone who trespassed onto their territory.' Or many things similar to that at least. He was at the house because he was curious as to what made the house so apparently haunted. Did the house look impossibly old and broken down on the inside? He didn't know, and none of his friends knew, so he was going to debunk the myths about the house once and for all.

His steps picked up as he neared the door. The house did have an odd aura about it, but that was probably because no one had visited he house in a number of years. His hand extended out to the door knob and grabbed onto it, the cold metal leaving a strange feeling on his hand as he twisted it and pulled the door open. It was still the middle of the day, so he didn't worry about bringing a flashlight or anything, and with a cloudless day like today, he wasn't worried at all about being trapped in the darkness.

Slowly and carefully, Booker walked into the house and took a look around, inspecting the area to see anything that would give the place a reason to be feared. The house itself didn't look all that bad. it was old, that was for sure, but it wasn't anything some heavy duty cleaning couldn't fix. He didn't touch anything as he looked around the house, but as he looked around the main room, he found an old doll all by itself. He was curious as to why it was just there, and slowly approached it and knelt down to it. He hadn't touched anything else in the house as of yet, and the doll was going to be the first.

[HylianRose]

That was all it took, the doll opened her pitch black eyes and smiled up at him warmly. "Hello." She begins, her voice cold and hollow. She looked him up at down. Things certainly had changed since the last time she woke up. She looked around the room, her black eyes scanning the room. If she had a heart, it would be sinking right now.

He's gone...

The house was broken, old. There wasn't a single life form around save for them. Even his picture with her hung from the wall, slanted and broken, a fragmented past. He'd been kind to her, though not to anyone else. He was a lonely man, cruel to most. She'd seen past it. He was must kinder than he let on. Her brows furrowed and her eyes closed. She'd dealt with this before. It was nothing new, just another scar. She looked up at the new man before her. He looked very kind though looks could be deceiving. She put on a smile for him and put her hands in her lap sweetly.

"If you stay true to your promises, I'll stay true to mine!" She yelled, a broken smile on her face. "If you so wish it, from now on, you shall be my master. However, if you break me, or let harm come to me, you will suffer. If I let you die, I will suffer." She explained to him. She used her broken arm to lift her shirt, revealing several scars over her body. "You are not the first nor the last. So, will you take my offer?" She asked, holding out her hand to him.

[pyroman]

It moved. It talked. It was talking to him. Booker froze in fear at the doll who was talking to him. This couldn't be true. It was just a doll, and this was just a house. There was nothing haunted or supernatural about it. But here it was. The little while doll with pitch black eyes and a broken smile. He wasn't sure whether to be scared for his sanity or sad to wonder what kind of things had to have happened to it to make it smile like that. He didn't know what to say to it. Promises, something about promises. Also about him being it-her, master. His eyes once filled with fear had calmed down to a more logical state. He had to put his own beliefs aside it be wanted to know what she was talking about.

He didn't take her hand. Not just yet. He had a few questions for her about the agreement, and he would like to have some answers before he shook her hand. He had a calm smile on his face as he breathed in slowly, and looked at the scars on her body. "Can I ask you some questions before I take your offer? I would like to know exactly what I'm getting myself in to before I'm already in it." His voice was slow, calm, and full of curiosity, as he asked his question and elaborated slightly on it.

[HylianRose]

She smiled widely, raising her hands up in excitement. "Of course!" She yelled, her voice still cold and hollow. "Whatever questions you have, ask away." She said, putting her hands back into her lap, waiting patiently.

They were all a curious bunch, humans. Every single one of them had questions to ask, she could careless. It didn't matter to her. The more she tried, the more she hurt, so she'd long since stopped trying. This was her curse, she had no choice. Still, she enjoyed being with the humans. They were so emotional, so... interesting. It was interesting to think that despite not being real, she felt so broken, so painful. She had no nerves, no way to feel pain, yet her nonexistent heart longed for security, for peace of mind. It longed for a loving hand once again.

She never asked for this either. But, she had to admit, being with these humans showed her a thing or two. The bond, allowed her to feel emotions, it allowed her to be human for that short while, to feel pain just like they do. Though... She felt emptiness was just as painful a sting as any wound. Loneliness... Brokenness. Forgotten, tossed aside like some forgotten toy. They all did that in the end. Well, most of them. Some of them kept their promise. But most... most forgot about her long after they'd broken her. Of course, they'd all payed the price, but then.. so had she. She always suffered. That was the one thing she never told them. Regardless who broken the promise, she was always hurt, she was gained a scar...

[pyroman]

He was glad that he was able to know a few things before blindly walking into this deal of sorts, and with a small smile and sigh, he nodded at her. "Okay." He had a few questions that he wanted answered as soon as possible, and one of two others that could wait until later. "What do you do? What can I promise to you, and what can you promise me?" Those were the three most important questions that he had on the top of his mind. He wanted to know what was expected of him, and what he could expect in return. If he was going to make a deal, he wanted to know these things. He also wanted to know what she was able to do on her own, since she was only a doll, as he saw it.

He was prepared to do what he could do to make her happy, and he was going to make sure that no matter what, she wouldn't be hurt under his watch. Her face said so much about her, and despite that fact that she was only a doll, he could see that she was filled to the brim with many emotions. He couldn't read them, but he could just see that she had seen much more than she should for just a doll.

[HylianRose]

She tilted her head slightly, a smile forming on her face. "What do I do? Well..." She began slowly, her head bent in such a way that it almost looked broken. "When the promise is made, we seal the deal in blood and you give me a name. From that moment, I will become whatever it is you need the most, be it a friend, a lover, whatever. I will become it. I will be human..." She explained, the smile fading. She hated explaining everything. It was so taxing and... boring.

"For the promise..." She began again, looking up at him with her sharp black eyes. "I promise to protect you to the best of my ability. I will not let you die. I will always be what you need, and I will always be there for you. I will never turn my back on you and I will never leave you." She explained, her crooked smile growing a bit more genuine. "All that you must promise, is the same. Will you, in return, protect me from harm? Never let me die? Be there for me?" She asked, lifting her head up at him. "Promise that, and the deal is done." She told him, crossing her arms like a small child.

[pyroman]

He sat there in silence as she explained it to him. She would become whatever he wanted for her to be, human, as she said it, and all he had to do was keep her from any harm. At first thought, it seemed simple enough, but the world was a dangerous place, and there were so many ways to get hurt. He was going to do everything in his power to protect her from the world and everything in it. He wouldn't shelter her away from the world, but protect her from anything that might cause harm. After a moment of silence, Booker smiled at her and nodded his head. "Alright!" He said happily. "I promise that I will protect you from harm, won't allow you to die, and be there for you whenever you need me!"

[HylianRose]

She smiled, a sad smile, for she knew what would come of this. Well... she thought she did. She held out her pale porcelain hand out to the man. When he took it, a needle came out of the palm of her hand and stabbed him. His blood flowed onto her hand and she pulled away, smiling. The blood moved up her arm covering her in shimmering red, so bright that she appeared to glow. Soon, it was so bright the man wouldn't even be able to see her anymore. Her body morphed and changed, growing several fee, through probably still a foot shorter than the man. As the glow died, pink hair flowed out, floating gently down to her waist.

When it was all over, a pink haired girl with light brown eyes stared up at the man, a bright smile on her face. She wore a simple white dress accented with flowers both yellow gold and green. "Hi Booker!" She exclaimed as she pulled her hands behind her back and leaned forward, smiling as big as she could manage. Her heart and soul filled with the emotions of the girl Booker needed. A frail girl that needed protecting, a girl with an outgoing, happy nature, one that would fill his life with the happiness he deserved. She had to admit, she liked this body, these emotions. They felt nice, though... something crept up inside of her, a nagging feeling.

What?

It was like... she was insecure... Well, that was never knew. Almost all humans were insecure in some way but it was... different with this girl. She tried so hard to hide it that it just bottled up inside and grew so large that it was a wondered she was able to contain it. Maybe that was what Booker needed, someone that needed him. Well, she needed him now. She needed him to find his way into her heart, her real heart and fix whatever was there. He also needed her to help him. In what way, she really didn't know yet. That was something she had to figure out on her own.

[pyroman]

Although he had noticed the sad smile that the doll had given him, he decided not to question the reason behind it's sadness and simply shook the hand that was offered to him. Booker forgot what the next part was. Would something just happen, or was there something more spiritual about it? He hadn't believed in the supernatural until just now, and since there was a talking and fully animate doll talking to him, he was led to believe that there were other kinds of spiritual things out there. Before he could think any more, his hand was stabbed and he was sure that he had lost some blood. Quickly, Booker retracted his hand and applied pressure to the wound so that it would stop bleeding for the time being. Hie eyes watched her as she became a red color, and eventually forced him to look away from her and shield his eyes.

He kept his hands in front of his closed eyes until he had heard the same voice call out his name. Booker lowered his hands and looked at the woman that was now before him. She was certainly taller than the doll that was just there, but still about a foot shorter than him. He was somewhat tall, so the difference in height didn't bother him all that much. The thing that did bother him was the fact that she was in the image that he had seen in his head multiple times. The first time he had seen the image of the woman before him, he had fallen in love with the thought of an actual person like that, and held onto it in his mind. He was curious if her emotions were the same as the one that he had thought of, but he would save the questions for later.

"Hello...!" He looked at her still a little shocked at the change. How did she know his name? He didn't recall telling her his name, but maybe it was when she had taken some of his blood, and she knew about him, like his name and what he wanted. He couldn't answer that question himself at the moment, he just wanted someone. Someone that would be there to help him, and someone that he could help. He didn't know if there was more, but he hadn't really questioned it before, so he never really had an idea of what he wanted when it came to something like that.

"Since you already seem to know my name, then can I know yours?" If he wasn't the first person to have done this, then maybe the previous people she had been with had all had a name for her. Maybe the very first person had given her a name and she continued to use that one. He didn't know, but that was why he was asking in the first place.

[HylianRose]

She smiled mischievously, giggling at his response. "I don't know!" She shouted, smiling for him wildly. "I don't... have one?" She continued, tilting her head. She was starting to change. It was inevitable. She only retained a few of her emotions as the doll. Most everything else was taken over by the persona. She blinked, looking around. "I... I don't know my name. Where am I?" She looked around, confused, her smile gone.

I... where am I? I don't know where I am! Who am I?!

She turned to look at Booker. "All I know is your name... Booker..." She explained. She stopped, saying his name again, playing with it, letting it roll off her tongue. She smiled looking back up at him. "It's a nice name. I like it! Booker!" She told him, her smile growing once again, her problem from before forgotten. She twirled and danced around the room happily, her spirits high again, not a care in the world.

I feel like I could fly. If I jumped from a high place, would I fall or would I fly?

She giggled to herself and turned back to look at Booker. She smiled sweetly and walked back over to him. "So... What now?" She asked, looking around at the abandoned house. "This place is really pretty... It's so broken but... I don't know why. It makes me sad but happy in a way. You know?" She asked as she walked around, looking at the pictures on the wall. There was one with a man and a doll. She looked at the doll. It seemed very... familiar but she couldn't place how. The man too, looked familiar. "Where are we anyway?" She asked, looking back at Booker.

[pyroman]

Booker didn't have anything to say about the sudden change in personality. Sure, the doll was happy and smiling before, but she seemed very giddy and excitable now. He didn't have any problem with it, since it contrasted with his usual quiet and contained personality. He liked the fact that she was so different from him, but if she didn't know anything other than his name, then he would have to help her learn more about herself. While he was thinking, he hadn't been fully listening to the woman, and was currently replaying everything she had said so that he could answer her correctly. "This is an old house that was supposed to be haunted, and my friends wanted to go and see if it really was haunted or not." He informed her as he stood up off of the ground and truly noticed the height difference. "I don't truly know why your happy and sad, but I guess it's because of the house, and how old it is, so many memories that could have been here when someone lived in the house. Maybe your sad because after so much time in the world, this is what the house has become now."

"So... You don't know your name? Would you be okay if I gave you one then?" He wasn't really sure about how to go about giving her a name, so he decided to simply act like she suddenly appeared until he got a better idea of how to treat the past between the two of them.

[HylianRose]

"Hmm..." She hummed, listening to his words as she looked around. He had a point... "Yeah. This house seems to have been through so much, maybe I'm just feeling that..." She told herself, trailing off.

She spun around at his next question, a bright smile on her face. "I don't mind at all! Just... make it a good one." She told him, giggling and sending him a big grin.

Why don't I remember my name? Don't I have one?

She sighed, pushing the thought away. Right now, all she needed was him, Booker. His name for her would be enough. She didn't even question why he was the only person or thing she really knew about. She felt akin to a small child, though she seemed to know a few things about the world. Like how to use a cell phone and how to drive a car. She also knew how old she was. The realization washed over her and she lit up, looking over at Booker.

"I know how old I am! I'm nineteen!" She shouted, excited that she knew something. She looked up at him, smiling, happy for herself.

[pyroman]

Booker looked at her as she somewhat agreed to what he had told her. Maybe it was possible that she had a connection to the house, even though she was now a completely different person? He wasn't sure, but he couldn't really be asking her questions, since she probable didn't know any more than he did at the moment. When he was given the 'okay' to give her a new name, he began to think of one, and when one had finally came to him, he smiled at her. "I know! Your name i-" He was stopped by the young woman as she revealed her age to him. She was nineteen, as she told him, and that meant that there was a four year difference between the two of them. He didn't really see the reason to bring that up, but he felt like it was just something the he should know. He smiled back at her in the same manner that she did to him and thought some more about names. Now that he knew her age, he felt like he should have a better idea on what to name her. He smiled up at the sky as another name came to mind. "How about Casey?!" He said happily.

[HylianRose]

She looked at him, her head tilted at the name. Casey? She said it a few times, playing with the name in her mouth, molding it, seeing how it felt. After a few moments, she lifted her head up a bit and smiled up at him. "I like it! Then, from now on, my name is Casey!" She told him, already dancing circles around him.

As she did so, she asked him. "So... What now, Booker? Are we going to go explore?!" She asked, excitement in her voice. She felt genuine happy now, being with this man. Part of her understood why and part of her was still confused. It was weird. It was as if she knew everything and then nothing at all. She didn't know how to describe it, it didn't make any sense. She knew everything there was to know about everything except for herself. She supposed that was normal and something she'd have to figure out on her own. Maybe that was just a part of being human, the chance to learn new things.

[pyroman]

Booker didn't know how he would describe the newly-named Casey. He loved her personality and looks, like the image was taken from his own head, but he didn't know what to classify her as. She was definitely his friend, but just calling her a friend didn't seem to do any good for him. She was four years younger than he was, and although he enjoyed her company a lot, having her act as a girlfriend or lover just didn't seem right. She was young and filled to the brim with energy and curiosity about the world. It was like she had become the little sister that he had always wanted. He liked the sound of calling her his little sister for the time being, and he was sure that she would be happy to be called that as well. He smiled at her as she danced around him.

He laughed a little as he thoroughly enjoyed her energy and nodded to her slowly. "Yes, Casey. We're going to go and explore. Come on, let's go and have a nice walk around our part of the city." He smiled at her kindly and motioned her to the door as he simultaneously walked over to it and held it open for her, silently telling her to walk through so that could get going.

[HylianRose]

She turned to look up at him as they exited the building. "Our part of the city? Are there parts I can't go to because they don't belong to us?" She asked, genuinely confused. She wasn't quite sure what to think, she thought the city was pretty normal but that was something she didn't know about. Maybe she wasn't as well learned as she thought.

She walked outside and smiled at the light and the greenery around them. It all looked so beautiful. The sun was shining, the trees were green, everything seemed perfect. To some, it might have been creepy, run down, but Casey only saw the beauty of it. She smiled and took in a breath of fresh air, feeling as though it was the first time she'd ever done so. Which to her, it kind of was. She knew about it, she'd just never experienced it herself. It was weird, it was as if she knew everything yet everything was so new at the same time. She didn't quite know how to explain it.

She walked out towards the forest, not waiting for Booker and walked up to a tree, placing her hand on it, feeling the bark. She turned and smiled at Booker. "I love the outdoors. It's always so... fresh, so new." She told him, smiling warmly. There was something about her that seemed so wise, so old yet so incredibly young and naive.

[pyroman]

Booker could only laugh a little as she had inquired about what he meant when he had said 'their part of the city'. He shook his head at her with a soft smile on his face look at her. "No, I didn't meant it like that." He said to her. "I meant that the city is very large, and when I meant 'our part', I meant the immediate area." While he was explaining, it seemed that Case didn't bother stopping to hear his explanation and was already walking through the forest. It didn't take long for the man to catch up to her, and when he did, he stopped to hear what she had to say. She was right though. Nature, to many, always seemed to be the exact same. To Booker, he saw that it was ever-changing, and no matter what time of the year it was, it was always different than the previous day.

Moving away from his thoughts, Booker smiled at Casey and took a few steps ahead of her. "Well, we should be going. There's a lot to see around the entire city, and we only have so many hours of the day." He spoke in a light tone as he smiled at her and motioned for her to follow as he continued walking onward.

[HylianRose]

"Okay!" She shouted to Booker as he walked. She followed behind him closely, a tight smile on her face. She could barely contain her excitement now and she didn't know why. What was the city going to be like? Booker said it was big. How big was it? Where would they be staying? What and who would she see? She had so many questions. Like, what sort of people would she meet with Booker? Would they be kind? Mean? Gentle? She didn't know and it excited her.

Normally, one would think someone of her size and apparent demeanor would be frightened and nervous, but she watched everything with open eyes, not wanting to miss a single second of it. She watched as birds passed by them and the wind blew through the trees and the grass. She watched Booker as he walked. He walked with such confidence. She giggled, watching him. She had to wonder what sort of person he was but somehow she already knew deep down.