"Do not pray for an easy life; pray for the strength to endure a difficult one."
-Bruce Lee
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Of Impulse and Fey
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Just like Natsuki, I had issues with those who felt like it was their right to invade my privacy. I had boundaries. Noticing my tone, she narrowed her eyes at me. "Yes," Natsuki said, testing the waters, "I have. But your mental walls are beyond fortified. I've never seen such strong walls, it's a miracle you get anything in there in the first place." Albeit being glad to know that my mental walls were sound, I felt my fury bubble to the surface. What right did this woman think she had to waltz right into my head without permission? Frowning, I opened my mouth to give her a piece of my mind, pun fully intended, when she spoke again. "How lonely is it in your head?" the blue haired goddess asked me wistfully. "My people, as I said, were a hive mind. There was always a delightful buzz inside my head, at times it could get annoying, but it was there. It was my life.
It was like standing in the center of a crowded plaza. Several voices mixed together, none of them the same, running around in circles inside you; they were my family. It wasn't until I heard those voices scream in agony that I realized how important they were to me. And it wasn't until those voices ceased to exist altogether that I finally realized that my life would never return to the pleasant state it once was. Now all that is left is a never-ending silence inside my mind, like the rest of you humans. How do you live?" She lifted her face to look directly into mine, heartbreaking eyes pleading for an answer. I had nothing to say. I had absolutely no idea how to answer that. She straightened swiftly most likely embarrassed at her sudden outburst. Taking a bite from the cake I set in front of her, she returned to what I could only describe as normal. The heaviest mask she carried lifted off merely seconds ago returned to her face, blocking anything else that threatened to slip through. All of her vulnerability, gone. My ire began to fade; I had no idea what kind of suffering she was feeling because she went out of her way to seem strong. A wise man once said: "The worst part about being strong is that no one ever asks if you're okay". The last of her kind, I wonder what it would be like if I were the last human of earth and everything I knew was destroyed.
"That is the reason why you can't dream by the way. It's because your walls are so tough that not even you allow yourself to dream. You're the worst case I've ever come across." So, she knew I had trouble dreaming, wonderful. "Yeah, you already mentioned it," I deadpanned. I couldn't remain angry with her because she wasn't used to certain human ethical reasoning, but I still felt a little residual heat at being called a worst case scenario. Thinking on her question a bit more, I scrounged around for some semblance of an answer that I could give her. "I don't know," I said taking a seat across from her, "I suppose that humans wouldn't like all the noise in our heads. We prefer to have the solitude and peace within ourselves. Still, that could be only because we've never experienced a hive mind like you have before." Natsuki looked at me with such utter befuddlement that I felt a little corner of my mouth lift despite myself. She looked really cute like that. My dog-turned-alien let the topic go, unable to comprehend the logic. "When will the male human come ho-…," she caught herself by choking on a breadcrumb, "When will the male human return?" she amended.
Twisting myself to lean back on both my elbows, I did my best to hide my elation that Natsuki thought of this place as "home". "When the weekend is over I expect. That is unless he arranges to stay longer at the spa, we have the whole house to ourselves until Monday." My companion grunted noncommittally in response and went back to devouring the last morsel of cake on her plate. My wolf loved the cake so much that she nearly finished half of it. I was pretty impressed with her appetite, and glad that she enjoyed it. When we had gone upstairs to prepare for bed that evening, I was none the wiser of who had been lurking in my backyard.
…
"Tch, I can't see a damn thing." Marguerite growled as she hid in her usual spot between thick bushes. All she could see was her 'Zuru-chan with another woman. It irritated her that her lover was so flighty, but no matter, Shizuru would always belong to her. Always. It was too bad that 'Zuru-chan was mindful enough to draw the blinds on the glass sliding doors that led to the porch. It skewed her vision, and right now she wanted to know who the hell was the other broad. Ah, again, it didn't matter. The ruby-eyed lovely never stayed with the other women for more than a night or so anyway. Deciding to head back home, a stupid twig broke under her foot causing her to jump and rustle the gigantic bushes that her fair maiden kept in her backyard. Damn bushes, she was going to have a talk about removing them when the time was right. Shizuru's light came on, and Tomoe snaked further into the said shrubbery to keep from being caught.
Slim fingers gripped the ledge that blocked Tomoe's view of the woman who looked out into the yard. Tomoe knew that these weren't the hands of her fated bride to be, they weren't as long or as tapered. Miffed that the pathetic bimbo thought she could protect her Shizuru by scoping out the noise for her, Marguerite had half a mind to jump out of the shadows, slay her final competitor, and fly into the night with her beautiful Shizuru in her arms. Alas, it wasn't time yet. The bitch was thorough though, after a few tense minutes the hands left their post on the ledge to shut the window and draw yet another set of blinds. Those were so going to go.
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I had cozied myself up in one of the many spare bedrooms in my home when Natsuki's voice came over the baby walk-talkie. "Ah…human, could you please report to my room?" Her voice was so smooth that I thought I was already dreaming. Report? I sat up and frowned at her choice of words. What did she think I was, her subordinate? I was sorely tempted to deny her "request" when she spoke over the walkie again. "My wounds are bleeding through the dressing." Grudgingly, yet surprisingly quickly, I rose from my warm bed and hurried toward my room. (We decided that she stay in my bedroom because it was the closest room to the stairs.) To disgruntle me further, when I reached her room her dressings were a pristine white. "It would be best if we stayed in the same room together tonight," the extraterrestrial stated with steady and level eyes. If she hadn't said it with such a straight face I would have thought she was scared. Just as I was about to tease her about it she continued, "I heard rustling from the bushes beneath this window. I have felt like we were being watched and this now confirmed my suspicions. It would be best that the both of us stayed in the same room in case our intruder would like to try to take us on."
I nodded jerkily in agreement as I felt a small shiver run down my spine. I went back out into the hall to open the linen closet in search of extra blankets and pillows. Returning, I went around to cozy myself on the chaise lounge I kept in my room. It was plush enough to sleep on for a night or so. As I began to position myself in ways I thought I would be most comfortable I noticed Natsuki staring at me in disbelief. "What?" I asked innocently while settling in a nice position. "Did you think that I would not be considerate enough to allow you to sleep in your own bed, human?"
"No," I said slightly shocked, "of course not."
"Then why are you making yourself at home on your couch?"
"Well, I….well what do you want me to do? I'm not going to kick you off the bed."
She held my gaze with an air that was supposed to make me feel stupid, and although I'll never admit it out loud, it worked. "This bed is big enough for the both of us tontzae," she said as she scooched over one side to make room for me. "What does tonzaei mean?" I questioned, snuggling into the warm spot of the bed that Natsuki had just finished occupying. "It's pronounced tontzae. It basically translates to a softer, playful form of idiot." I huffed in annoyance, but was too content in rolling around Natsuki's warmth and scent to care. When we had fallen asleep that night I felt like I had my puppy all over again. The familiarity of the situation gave me the best sleep I had had in ages
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The following day had me extremely worried. Natsuki's wound was not healing properly or as quickly as I thought it would. Considering how her body managed to mend itself before my eyes on the day of the incident, the healing process now was by no means up to the same caliber as before. My blunette was currently trying to sleep off the pain. I dutifully stayed by her side on the chair that I kept beside my bed stand because she suddenly flared up with a fever and groaned in discomfort in the small hours of the morning. I turned my head to see the chaise lounge we had been fighting about the previous evening. Running the scene again in my head had me smile a little. She did care, at least to some degree. I thought that with all the time we have spent together Natsuki didn't really care about Reito and me, only our hospitality. Still, her wound bothered me.
I carefully did my best not to wake her when I started to stand over her to inspect the infliction further. It only looked like a mere scratch now, but was inflamed with an angry red color I was sure that rubbing a feather against it would cause her agony. I wanted to ask her to what happened the other night, maybe it could be the answer why her wounds weren't healing, but I wanted her full trust. I wanted her to call Reito and me by our proper names, not "male human" or "female human". I wanted her to love me. I jolted at the realization and swiftly put it in a place of my mind where I wouldn't have to see it again. It's funny what your mind can conjure up sometimes. It was then that I recalled our conversation in the kitchen yesterday. Natsuki had the gall to try and run rampant inside my head. My thoughts are private; they were not meant for show. I know I am being childish about this, but she really has no right. Natsuki took in a shaky breath causing me to look to her in alarm. She continued to sleep though, which was a relief because I had no idea how to soothe her pain.
As I continued to stare at her I felt a small click of understanding lock into place. Natsuki can connect to minds. Somehow, some way, she was able to slip her name into my subconscious mind. I didn't come up with it myself! I had mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I was happy that I wasn't as bad a case of "mental block" as I thought, but on the other, I didn't have the creativity to come up with a suitable name for her on my own. This was beginning to be way more that I originally bargained for. Taking a cleansing breath, I centered my thoughts and walked straight out of the room. Maybe a good session with my naginata would help.
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The pretty earthling seems a little restless today, thought Natsuki as she painfully sat up from a third unsuccessful attempt at a nap. She had noticed that Shizuru was gone, and from the distinct sound of movement from a room below, was in her exercise room. A loud grumble emitted from her stomach causing her to sigh in defeat, "Yeah, yeah, I hear you." Not wanting to bother the human, she winced her way downstairs to prepare a meal. It wasn't until she began to rummage for food did she realize that she had no idea what to eat. The ingredients were foreign, and the objects used in the kitchen were beyond her comprehension. In her entire journey down on earth, she had not once cooked a meal for herself. Hiding as a dog had gotten her out of having to do so. Wielding a heavy circular object she had seen Reito use multiple times before, she grabbed some odd things from the fridge. How hard could this possibly be when the pretty human had managed it a day before?
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BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
I rushed upstairs at the sound of the smoke alarm, slipping on the wooden floor with my sweaty feet. I was nearly finished with my session when the alarm went off. As I neared, the kitchen was flooded with a sinister, choking cloud of smoke that crawled into the back of my throat and stung my eyes. Hurriedly, I grabbed the fire extinguisher from the little closest under the stairs (everything is in there, isn't it?). From what I could see, whatever was on the stove caught fire and I quickly doused it with the contents of the canister. Without skipping a beat, I proceeded to fling open every possible opening to ventilate the house. Waving away the immediate dark air in front of me, a silhouette of a crumpled heap began to take the shape of Natsuki from the corner of my eye. I immediately hauled her unconscious body into the hall where the air was a bit clearer while trying to contain my fit of coughs. In the better light I could see that she was not okay. I checked her vitals as I warily took note of barely scab. It was a brighter and even more furious shade of red that it had been earlier that I was sure she passed out from the pain. Her pulse was erratic and I knew that if I couldn't slow it down soon she would have a heart attack.
I needed to cool off the wound first. Rushing back to the kitchen, I grabbed the oven towel that miraculously escaped the flames, dampened it, and grabbed a handful of ice from the freezer. The chilly pack in my hand, I laid it on her scabs. A few seconds later she came back around. By now most of the smoke had dissipated and she groggily opened her eyes. "Does anything else hurt?" I asked focusing on her wounds. Natsuki took in a breath to speak but choked on the air. She was too weak to sit up on her own, so to help, I strategically sat behind her. I sat back on my heels and draped her across my front so as to keep the icy towel on her cuts. Now that she was lucid, I thought she would wince in displeasure at the towel, but to my surprise, sighed in relief. We stayed in that position for a couple minutes, the smoke clinging stubbornly to the walls before floating away into the windows. By her silence, I thought she passed out again. "I'm fine. It's just the wounds that hurt."
I jumped a little because I was convinced she was unconscious.
"Do you need to stay here for a little while longer? Or do you think we can get up back up into the room where you can be comfortable?" I asked near her ear. I would be lying if I said that this position didn't dredge up my pent up desire for my extraterrestrial, and at the most inopportune moment too. Her warmth was coming back, and her weight pressing up against me had me ruthlessly assorting my thoughts into their proper places. I needed her off me as quickly as possible. It has been an excessively long time and this situation was not romantic. Unfortunately, she shivered in response causing my arousal to needlessly heighten. "I believe I can make it to bed. Can you?" she answered somewhat smugly. If she were anyone else and this were a good time, I would have mauled her right there. Nevertheless, the come on was surprising, and this was a completely unideal scene. So, instead, I regretfully pouted and drew her up to stand. Slowly we crept up the stairs and I laid her on the bed, to which she instantly fell into a deep sleep.
When I had finished tucking her in, I proceeded to unstrap the towel of ice from her. I had taped it down to her because she said it felt nice. The ice had melted quite a bit, and the remaining droplets were sliding sensuously over her left breast, before gathering into the t-shirt I lent her, creating a small dark spot of moisture. I wasn't aware of my rapt attention of the sight until my frostbitten fingers informed me that I had been grasping the towel too tightly. Shaking my head to clear, I looked over the wound and gasped. She was completely healed! That was impossible. Then again, it is impossible for a human. A thin silver like scar was the only indication of the hit. I gently began to prod at the scar and found that it had truly healed. My hands drew up the blankets up to Natsuki's chin mechanically before going back downstairs.
I was definitely going to need some tea now.
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The sweet aroma of my strongest green tea filled my nostrils and calmed most of my nerves. The sip of the warm evergreen liquid chased away the rest of my apprehensions and settled me further. Taking another quick sip, I set my cup down and stretched my arms over head. What the hell just happened? I surveyed the damage of my once spotless kitchen. My stove was most obviously the source of the flames with its charred black stovetops. Something I imagine should have been a skillet had a neat hole in its center and was dripping a batter of some kind from the handle onto the floor. There was a scent in the air that I couldn't quite place, but sickening all the same. Shuffling through the battlefield, I saw Reito's gigantic tub of mayonnaise on its side next to one of the open windows. I should I have known, Natsuki inhaled the stuff. With a quick shudder of revulsion, I started to pick up some of the vegetables (at least I'm hoping that's what they were) off the floor when an object hit my head with a resounding clack! Rubbing the offended area, I looked up at the ceiling. At least five spoons and four knives were stuck onto the ceiling by what looked an awful like peanut butter. "I just can't win can I?" I sighed.
A/N: *Slam= dramatic entrance* I...*pant*...made it on time...I'm so glad. Honestly guys I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to post today. Thank goodness I was able to pull through. I just started class again and I'm running around like a headless chicken for supplies and parking spots. I barely had time to churn this out. (So I'm really sorry if it's poor quality.) I am determined to continue the updates every Friday, but they may come out later in the evening- at least from where I am. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this installment of "Of Impulse and Fey". I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!