A visitor?! Could it be? Oh- I'm so glad you've come! Is it to meet me? No no, it couldn't be. You didn't come for me, you came for a tale of the Louds. Didn't you? Hmph, fine, I'll tell you a tale alright. A tale when they first met me. Well, except for that Lucy girl, she's a good disciple of mine...
It begins with Lincoln at the sitting room fiddling with a video game. And he was doing quite well, in fact, he was doing better than he ever had done. Consequently, he didn't want this golden steak of his to dissolve. So he kept his business away from his other sisters as best as he could, especially from Lori.
She had been hounding his sisters for the whereabouts of her phone. They toiled away for an answer to give, but none could be found. Stoking her already blistering fury. Now Lincoln had ears, quite good ones at that. So it was no surprise to him that Lori would eventually come barging into his session with a most asinine request. She didn't utter a word as she loomed close behind, she had no need.
Lincoln soured in dull wrath as he pressed pause on his controller. "*Sigh*, no Lori, I don't have your phone," Lincoln began.
"Lincoln, I've looked everywhere for it, except here," Lori uttered in brimming resentment.
"Then look again," Lincoln retorted spitefully.
"Look Lincoln! I don't have time to look for it again! Bobby might be calling me right now! And I wouldn't know!" Lori reasoned desperately.
"Sucks for you," Lincoln dismissed unsympathetically as he unpaused his game, jumping back into his little world. An act of defiance that Lori would not be having. So she stormed directly into Lincoln's view. "Lincoln,"
"Lori," Lincoln mimicked, ducking his head around Lori to face the screen.
"*Growl*, Lincoln, you've got five seconds to either get up, or that thing goes off" Lori threatened.
"Whatever," Lincoln dismissed stubbornly, keeping his eye on the prize.
Consequently laying the final straw on Lori's back. "Really? You wanna be like that? Fine! I'll do it right now!" Lori proclaimed, reaching under the TV set she grasped tight on the largest cord connected to his gaming console.
"Wait- no! Please!" Lincoln beckoned but unfortunately for him, he was simply...
"Too late!" Lori proudly announced, much to Lincoln's chagrin, as he looked on in mourning at the guts of the gaming console. And the TV's lack of a signal.
He collapsed onto his knees, devastated... "You monster!"
"Sorry Link, but next time, maybe do what I say, kay?" Lori smirked from up high.
Burning up Lincoln's distraught shock, leaving nothing but flaming hot hatred in its wake. "Do you have any idea how long it took for me to get up to that part-" Suddenly right at that moment. Lincoln and Lori froze solid, as Lori felt something deep in her pocket vibrating.
To which Lori smacked her forehead in realisation. "Of course I left it on silent!"
"You're kidding me," Lincoln uttered, stuck in a stupor of both shock and awe.
"Yeah, well uhm," Lori paused, taking in Lincoln's dumbfounded look. "Well look on the bright side! At least we learned something, right?" Lori suggested, but Lincoln didn't answer verbally, rather his pained blank stare told Lori all she needed to know.
"Actually, I leave that part up to you," Lori added, slowly but steadily leaving the scene of the crime. And Lincoln alone to writhe as he keeled over onto his side, bundled up in a ball of defeat.
That was, until that disciple of mine appeared from behind the couch. "Hi Lincoln-"
"Ah!" Lincoln shrieked, bounding onto his feet in fright, till he met with Lucy's ebony bangs. "How do you even do that anyway?!"
"Practice I suppose," Lucy answered with an unsure shrug. Adding to Lincoln's suspicion.
"Practice like, sneaking?" Lucy almost gave an answer, but relented at the last second, she shook her head.
"Magic tricks?" Lincoln asked unsurely, to which Lucy didn't answer.
Lincoln groaned internally at that. "It's magic, isn't it?"
"Not entirely" Her lips curved into a barely noticeable grin. "But it plays its part…" Lincoln raised a brow in confusion.
"Then what's the other bit?"
"I'd rather not go in-depth, but let's just say if I wanted something to happen. Then I'd go to my friend, and put in a little favour," Lucy explained, making Lincoln purse his lips in intrigued thought.
"Just, keep it small though…" Lucy disclaimed.
"Small huh?" Lincoln repeated, turning his head behind him, facing the stairs, hearing Lori already on her phone. "Is revenge small enough to ask?" Lincoln inquired.
"Tsk, and here I thought you didn't have a dark side," Lucy complimented, making Lincoln raise a brow in confusion, before widening his eyes in realisation.
"Oh- no not like that kinda revenge, just enough to like, *sigh* I dunno, get Lori to stop being so, airheaded?"
"Hmm, I think that can be arranged…"
Come nightfall, I had already heard Lucy's request and accepted it wholeheartedly, as the plot she devised was so devious I could never resist.
And that plot, of course, was to take her to a place, where all Lori knew was naught.
So I plucked her out of bed and into the palm of my hand, course she didn't know that. And without that clarity, fear gouged out whatever tender warmth was left as she gazed all-around at the ever-lasting abyss of space. She begged and pleaded to know where she was, getting her estranged answer at the sight of Earth close enough that she could only hope to grasp it within her delicate hand.
I could feel that she wasn't sound of mind at the sight of her home so far away. So I held my children's prying hands back, at least for now...
Instead, I let her delirium spread further as she surveyed the decaying grey crater speckled landscape. At first, she believed it to be the moon since she was close enough for that to be a possibility.
But a closer look told her that this ground far more resembled flesh than rock. Noting that the ground beneath her pulsated… breathed even. Heaving her unwavering fright over her quivering shoulders, she almost fell into what felt to be the edge of yet another crater.
However, this was no mere crater, this was an entire canyon of hidden viscera. Massive expansive blue pulsating veins carrying my children's drink. Following the veins up led her eyes to greater ravines. Ravines so deep they revealed one of my many bones.
A sight that made her think maybe this wasn't just something, but rather. Someone. Of course, I alone wasn't the sole living being here as Lori herself quickly found as she spotted a pink blotchy creature feasting upon my vein. Narrowing her eyes Lori spotted another, and another, countless more lined along my vein. All of them digging their nail-less elongated fingers into my vein synchronously, cupping their hands in wake of the blood that spilt forth that they drank from with their toothless mouths freely.
Lori fancied herself mad, for the sight before her was so maddening, that Lori simply couldn't draw any other conclusion than mania finally overtaking her. But this was no illusion, as staring right back at her were all my children. Their eyeless sockets all ogling poor Lori ravenously as blood trickled down their pink, bare chins.
Until suddenly the flesh underneath Lori's feet rumbled and shook. The craters behind Lori pushing forth like rapidly expanding balloons, madly scraping against my decayed, fraying skin.
Where's all that Lori could do was watch on in despair. As the horde of millions on my necrotic arm quickly turned into trillions upon trillions of terrifyingly steadfast forces of savage instinct.
Utilizing their blunt claws to scale over each crater in their wake. Looking back one final time, almost every crater had finally been ripped away. Waves upon waves of them closing in so closely upon poor Lori that they ripped and tore each other in two, just to get to Lori faster.
She didn't know where she had gone wrong, she just wanted a rest, not this. And truth be told, tis a pity, for I wanted to study her this close for just a little while longer.
Oh well, let the horde quench their thirst I thought. As beyond hundreds of them grasped at Lori's frail flesh, hacking and slashing at whatever fresh blood they could then drink from, for my blood gets quite, bitter after living off it for as long as they've lived...
In truth, I could have kept her there. Left her till my offspring rent her flesh down to the very bone if I so wished. But lucky for her, I'm much too merciful.
Lori shot up from her bed drenched in sweat. She darted her eyes around her bedroom, finding that she was all alone in the mid-day rays. She looked under her clothes trying to discover any claw marks. None were seen of course, she knew she wouldn't find any, it was just a silly nightmare.
Then how is it that she could recall every graphic detail...
"Sleep well?" Lucy appeared just out of Lori's view, much to Lori's fright.
"GAH!" Lori jumped back into her bedsheets, darting her eyes around trying to find how she got inside despite the locked door.
"Never mind how I got in," Lucy dismissed callously, astounding Lori's shaken mind.
"D-did you just read my mind?" Lori raised an accusatory finger.
"No, you guys are always wondering how I get around is all..." Lucy explained, putting Lori's suspicions a little more at ease, though that didn't say much.
"Okay then," Lori replied as she furrowed her suspecting brow.
"So, did you sleep well?" Lucy pressed.
"I guess, *sigh* sorry, I just had this, super weird nightmare..." Lori began, to which Lucy took a seat beside Lori.
"Do tell," Lucy encouraged.
After the end of Lori's retelling, Lucy stood up from where she sat "Thank you for the story, hope your next night's slumber goes much, smoother..." Lucy wished, pacing out the room whilst bearing the sliest grin I or Lori had ever seen. Only adding to Lori's ever-growing anxiety...
Later on in the day, Lori and Lincoln collided when they were both attempting to go through the stairs.
"Oh! Uhm, sorry Linc, I can't talk right now, sorry!" Lori apologised in quite a perturbed tone.
"Hey, wh-what's the rush? Is something wrong?"
"No Lincoln! Everything's fine! Just *sigh*, look I'm sorry about yesterday, I should've like, thought first before I did all that. But that's not the only thing that's bothering me"
Lincoln understood her shame for yesterday, but, what was this other thing? "It's not?"
"No... *sigh*, can you talk to Lucy for me? She's acting really weird today"
As soon as Lori mentioned Lucy's name, it all just about fell into place for the snow-haired boy as he aimed his crosshairs at Lucy's door. "Yeah, I think that can be arranged..." Lincoln obliged, much to Lori's elatement.
"You will?! Oh-my-gosh, thank you Linky!" Lori thanked with quite the smothersome hug.
"You're, welcome... sis" Lincoln got out just barely.
"Oh! Ehe, sorry..." Lori let go in slight embarrassment as Lincoln came crashing to his knees. "You're not, mad about yesterday right?"
"Uhm..." Lincoln sat in thought for a moment as he caught his breath. "Let's just *huff*, let sleeping dogs lie, yeah?"
"Yeah..." Lori agreed, the silence drawing Lincoln's eye towards Lucy's dreaded door. "Welp, good luck in there, twerp" Lori smirked as she ruffled his hair before going on her way.
"Hey! What did we just agree on?" Lincoln chided playfully as Lori slipped out of view, setting his sights back to Lucy's door. His brow furrowed in determination as he approached, and turned the door's knob open, being greeted by Lucy lying flat on her bed.
"Ah! Welcome, brother dearest," Lucy greeted with a knowing smirk.
Much to Lincoln's confoundment. "W-what? Ugh, look I know you did something to Lori. And you better tell me what that thing was,"
"I merely did as you asked, that is of course making her not so, airheaded as you put it" Lucy relayed.
"Well yeah I know that but what did you do?" Lincoln bellowed impatiently.
But Lucy just smirked at his ire. "Nothing... I just called in a favour from a friend, but that's about it from me," Lucy confessed.
Merely fueling Lincoln's growing wrath. "Alright you better give me a straight answer right now or I'm getting mom up here-"
"How about you just thank me for what I've done for you. And then go back to that little game of yours. Besides, if you get mom here, then I'll be forced to incriminate you for your involvement in all this as well, hm?"
Lincoln wanted to further argue with my disciple, but even his stubborn nature saw the frivolity in doing such. "*Sigh*, fine, you win! I'll leave you be," Lincoln gave in, carrying himself out of Lucy's room.
"Yes Linky, let sleeping dogs lie..." Lucy grinned eerily at Lincoln as he closed Lucy's door behind him.
Will you ever tell them of me?
"Not yet, not until they've all borne witness to you, at least in the same way Lori has."
This was the last thing I've heard from my messenger since...