J I E
(MIDDLE RING - PARADE ROUTE) Patterns of color formed unnaturally at every angle. They followed her line of sight, creating auras around each stranger and object. It was a beautiful spectacle, and zen would never cease to dazzle Jie when in the right mood. Though she could feel the hazy edges of reality growing sharper, the drug still held an obvious hold. It had taken increasing amounts to subdue her, and would surely damage any novice who was willing to try. Of course, as the singer continued, the world only grew more lively. Out of her errupted a crowd of strangely formed creatures, all eager to listen. A cat the size of a Satomobile had draped itself along a tree as if weighing nothing, while ghost-like lights filled the rooftops. Equally happy to entertain, she continued her performance until a large and menacing shadow approached in the distance.
Jie had always seen it very infrequently, a monster that would hide at the edges of her buzz. It was large with the body of a centipede, carrying multiple faces as if they were trophies. It would shift its appearance at every blink, and could hold the likeness of almost any animal as well. In her lucidity she could contribute it to zen, having heard stories of
Koh the Face Stealer as a small child. Her sister would pass down such stories, attributing the tales from those of their parents. Too young to remember the two, they lived through lore of far-off lands and times of what the world had been like eons before the
Great Panic. She could hardly believe of fabled monsters from the spirit world, though as she aged, their contents traced into Jie's view almost daily. Even small, insignificant-seeming beings such as frogs or lemurs would take impossible shapes.
The girl had tried her hardest to only take zen when unemotional, as her most murky hallucinations would become drawn to the slightest of upset. Monsters like Koh would appear, whispering about all the misdeeds that they were willing to do. Most sat at the horizon however, and always present no matter her mood. Though Jie had become used to them, it was nevertheless jarring to see stranger visions crop up.
"-off the stage," A suited man ended, pulling the girl out of her stupor. He was tall and covered the black shadow that eyed her from far away, for which she was fearful for. Even as she moved to regain her original view, the creature had vanished, as had most of her other friends. "Naughty boy," Jie said steadily. Though it was clear to anyone that she was on a heavy dosage of
something, the girl still attempted to keep up her playful act. "If you wanted a signature, you could have waited...You can't get special privileges, handsome!"