A/N- Here's some more confusion...and just when I had everything
straightened out too... More stuff may start to take longer, due to me
having to think up some more bits of the slowly oddening (Word?) plot. Half
of what I had originally planned to write has gone up in smoke, due to lots
of incoherity (Word?...again...) that even _I_ can't explain. But other
than that, this is going well. One more thing: setobsessed, if you like
stuff like bitter ranting about the perfection of other characters, then
try reading "Drink Up". I call Tea an obsessive ^_^. But I warn you now,
it needs some revising...
Disclaimer- Oi...this thing again? Please refer to either chapter one of this story for an informal disclaimer, or chapter one of Mind Invasion for the exceedingly formal and long-winded version.
Another/Note- Eh...Another Note, Author's note, what's the difference? This chapter has been fixed of the little or not so little puzzle of the green eyes. Read chapter 4 (When it's typed) for more information.
Whence You Beckon, I Shall Come
Seto spent that night alone on the shores of the lake. He spent the night watching the stars and trying to sort out everything he'd heard, everything he'd learned since waking up under that tree. He felt his mind begin to balance out, felt that familiar layer of carefully crafted casual indifference wrap around him once again like a comforting cloak.
He forced his fear and frustration away from him to a place where he could study it in the hopes of understanding and overcoming it. He dove deep into himself, seeking the answers to the questions he hadn't known he'd asked. Answers to questions he hadn't found the words to ask. He sank back into that comfortable place where nothing could touch him if he didn't want it to.
He watched the moons set and the sun rise. He knew the moment when the night birds left off and the morning songbirds took up, their sweet melody filling the air. He knew when the morning sun burned the dew away. He knew when the first breeze rippled across the lake, marring the smooth perfection.
And he knew when the tiger reappeared beside him.
//Do you hear it?//
Cocking his head, Seto pricked his ears forward.
//Hear what?//
The tiger stretched out beside him, flexing its claws.
//They're calling for you, Seto. Can't you hear them?//
Straining to hear, Seto caught it...the faint sound of half-familiar voices calling his name. He could hear pain and misery in those voices. Sorrow, and a deep aching sense of loss. He could see their tears, both shed and unshed in his mind's eye.
//Who?//
Laying its head down on its paws, the tiger watched the lake as the wind played across the surface.
//The ones you would die to protect. They're calling you.//
Closing his eyes, Seto swallowed against the knot of raw emotion that clogged his throat. It burned in a way that nothing else could. He had felt those people's pain as though it were his own. Seen the anguish in their eyes. And he knew it was for him. All for him.
//Why can't I remember?//
//Because you don't _want_ to remember, Seto. Because it's safer living in a dream world than it is to face reality.//
Snorting, Seto mirrored the tiger's pose, blue eyes sagging shut as though they were too heavy to keep open any longer.
//You sound like someone I know.//
//Really? Who?//
Slitting open one eye in annoyance, Seto growled softly in warning. The tiger seemed to delight in teasing him.
//You remind me of...//
Seto trailed off as he realized that he couldn't put a name to the fragment of memory that had come to him. It had been there at the forefront of his mind, but the moment he'd consciously reached for it, it had flitted just out of reach.
//I...can't remember.//
Lifting its head, the tiger angled a look at him, crimson eyes sympathetic.
//You will, if you want to.//
Baring his fangs, Seto got to his feet, heading towards the lake.
//Is that all you ever do? Offer me cryptic words of advice and speak in riddles?//
Seto's eyes narrowed as the tiger's mental laughter filled his mind, sweet and rich, like honeyed milk. It wrapped around his thoughts, slipping past his guard until it reached the very center of his being.
//I don't know...you called me to you.//
That stopped him in his tracks.
//What?//
The tiger rolled onto its back, leaving its soft underbelly vulnerable to attack as well as the warm rays of the sun. Seeing it, Seto recognized it for what it was. Absolute trust. Something that was rare as any precious stone to someone like him who'd never known it.
And he was wary of it. Fearing some hidden price tag that he wasn't ready or willing to pay, but would have to in the end.
//You called to me, Seto. Brought me from where I was to where you were. You might not have been aware of it at the time, but you called to me.//
Seto stared at the tiger.
//Does that mean you're stuck here?//
One crimson eye pinned Seto where he stood.
//This is the Dreamscape, Seto. The only way to be 'stuck here' would be if I was to lose myself, and I have a very firm grip of who I am. You, on the other hand...that's a different matter entirely.//
//But last night you said - //
//That I'm only as real as you want me to be? That's still the truth, Seto.//
Growling as the last of his patience was being worn away, Seto spun and plunged into the lake, wincing as the cold water hit his skin. He waded in until it reached to the top of his shoulders, feeling the mud that still clung to his fur soften and fall away.
//Talking to you makes my head hurt.//
The tiger laughed again, wriggling a little to get at the itch on its back that it just couldn't reach.
//You should know by now that nothing is ever what it seems. You've begun to take far too many things for granted lately, Seto. Assuming things that you shouldn't.//
Ducking his head underwater, Seto came back up spluttering and snorting water from his nostrils. Shaking his head to get the water out of his ears, he began wading back to shore, blue eyes locking with the tiger's own crimson.
//And what, pray tell, might those things be?//
The tiger rolled back onto its stomach, head resting on its paws once more, tail twitching. Blue eyes narrowed at the sight, Seto shook the water from his fur, a wicked gleam in his eye as the tiger bared its fangs at him in annoyance as crystalline droplets struck the its fur.
//I can't tell you, Seto. You need to figure that out for yourself.//
Seto's snarl faded out before it had even begun, as he flopped bonelessly down beside the tiger, stretching his neck out a little to as the sun beat down on them.
//You really do remind me of him. All secrets, mysteries, and glib replies.//
The tiger purred, crimson eyes slitting.
//He sounds like an interesting person.//
Flicking an ear, Seto leaned against he tiger's warm mass as a cool breeze ruffled his wet fur, sending a chill through him.
//He is. And annoying, rude, stubborn, idiotic, dense...there aren't enough words to describe him, really.//
//How...sweet.//
Regarding the tiger out of the corner of his eye, Bad couldn't help but feel a twinge of amusement at the look in the tiger's eyes. It looked almost...affronted?
//You'd have to meet him to understand.//
//Ah.//
Seto smiled to himself at the tiger's mental tone of voice. Dubious and still more than a little insulted. He didn't even notice when the sun's warmth began to lull them both to sleep.
A/N- This chapter has been brought to you by a half day of school and the Brain Control Card. Again it shall aid me in my time of non-reviews. So, once more, I'll use this magic card on you. Brain control allows me to control you for one turn. You see that bluish button on the lower left? Click on it and review this chapter. My turn is now over.
Disclaimer- Oi...this thing again? Please refer to either chapter one of this story for an informal disclaimer, or chapter one of Mind Invasion for the exceedingly formal and long-winded version.
Another/Note- Eh...Another Note, Author's note, what's the difference? This chapter has been fixed of the little or not so little puzzle of the green eyes. Read chapter 4 (When it's typed) for more information.
Whence You Beckon, I Shall Come
Seto spent that night alone on the shores of the lake. He spent the night watching the stars and trying to sort out everything he'd heard, everything he'd learned since waking up under that tree. He felt his mind begin to balance out, felt that familiar layer of carefully crafted casual indifference wrap around him once again like a comforting cloak.
He forced his fear and frustration away from him to a place where he could study it in the hopes of understanding and overcoming it. He dove deep into himself, seeking the answers to the questions he hadn't known he'd asked. Answers to questions he hadn't found the words to ask. He sank back into that comfortable place where nothing could touch him if he didn't want it to.
He watched the moons set and the sun rise. He knew the moment when the night birds left off and the morning songbirds took up, their sweet melody filling the air. He knew when the morning sun burned the dew away. He knew when the first breeze rippled across the lake, marring the smooth perfection.
And he knew when the tiger reappeared beside him.
//Do you hear it?//
Cocking his head, Seto pricked his ears forward.
//Hear what?//
The tiger stretched out beside him, flexing its claws.
//They're calling for you, Seto. Can't you hear them?//
Straining to hear, Seto caught it...the faint sound of half-familiar voices calling his name. He could hear pain and misery in those voices. Sorrow, and a deep aching sense of loss. He could see their tears, both shed and unshed in his mind's eye.
//Who?//
Laying its head down on its paws, the tiger watched the lake as the wind played across the surface.
//The ones you would die to protect. They're calling you.//
Closing his eyes, Seto swallowed against the knot of raw emotion that clogged his throat. It burned in a way that nothing else could. He had felt those people's pain as though it were his own. Seen the anguish in their eyes. And he knew it was for him. All for him.
//Why can't I remember?//
//Because you don't _want_ to remember, Seto. Because it's safer living in a dream world than it is to face reality.//
Snorting, Seto mirrored the tiger's pose, blue eyes sagging shut as though they were too heavy to keep open any longer.
//You sound like someone I know.//
//Really? Who?//
Slitting open one eye in annoyance, Seto growled softly in warning. The tiger seemed to delight in teasing him.
//You remind me of...//
Seto trailed off as he realized that he couldn't put a name to the fragment of memory that had come to him. It had been there at the forefront of his mind, but the moment he'd consciously reached for it, it had flitted just out of reach.
//I...can't remember.//
Lifting its head, the tiger angled a look at him, crimson eyes sympathetic.
//You will, if you want to.//
Baring his fangs, Seto got to his feet, heading towards the lake.
//Is that all you ever do? Offer me cryptic words of advice and speak in riddles?//
Seto's eyes narrowed as the tiger's mental laughter filled his mind, sweet and rich, like honeyed milk. It wrapped around his thoughts, slipping past his guard until it reached the very center of his being.
//I don't know...you called me to you.//
That stopped him in his tracks.
//What?//
The tiger rolled onto its back, leaving its soft underbelly vulnerable to attack as well as the warm rays of the sun. Seeing it, Seto recognized it for what it was. Absolute trust. Something that was rare as any precious stone to someone like him who'd never known it.
And he was wary of it. Fearing some hidden price tag that he wasn't ready or willing to pay, but would have to in the end.
//You called to me, Seto. Brought me from where I was to where you were. You might not have been aware of it at the time, but you called to me.//
Seto stared at the tiger.
//Does that mean you're stuck here?//
One crimson eye pinned Seto where he stood.
//This is the Dreamscape, Seto. The only way to be 'stuck here' would be if I was to lose myself, and I have a very firm grip of who I am. You, on the other hand...that's a different matter entirely.//
//But last night you said - //
//That I'm only as real as you want me to be? That's still the truth, Seto.//
Growling as the last of his patience was being worn away, Seto spun and plunged into the lake, wincing as the cold water hit his skin. He waded in until it reached to the top of his shoulders, feeling the mud that still clung to his fur soften and fall away.
//Talking to you makes my head hurt.//
The tiger laughed again, wriggling a little to get at the itch on its back that it just couldn't reach.
//You should know by now that nothing is ever what it seems. You've begun to take far too many things for granted lately, Seto. Assuming things that you shouldn't.//
Ducking his head underwater, Seto came back up spluttering and snorting water from his nostrils. Shaking his head to get the water out of his ears, he began wading back to shore, blue eyes locking with the tiger's own crimson.
//And what, pray tell, might those things be?//
The tiger rolled back onto its stomach, head resting on its paws once more, tail twitching. Blue eyes narrowed at the sight, Seto shook the water from his fur, a wicked gleam in his eye as the tiger bared its fangs at him in annoyance as crystalline droplets struck the its fur.
//I can't tell you, Seto. You need to figure that out for yourself.//
Seto's snarl faded out before it had even begun, as he flopped bonelessly down beside the tiger, stretching his neck out a little to as the sun beat down on them.
//You really do remind me of him. All secrets, mysteries, and glib replies.//
The tiger purred, crimson eyes slitting.
//He sounds like an interesting person.//
Flicking an ear, Seto leaned against he tiger's warm mass as a cool breeze ruffled his wet fur, sending a chill through him.
//He is. And annoying, rude, stubborn, idiotic, dense...there aren't enough words to describe him, really.//
//How...sweet.//
Regarding the tiger out of the corner of his eye, Bad couldn't help but feel a twinge of amusement at the look in the tiger's eyes. It looked almost...affronted?
//You'd have to meet him to understand.//
//Ah.//
Seto smiled to himself at the tiger's mental tone of voice. Dubious and still more than a little insulted. He didn't even notice when the sun's warmth began to lull them both to sleep.
A/N- This chapter has been brought to you by a half day of school and the Brain Control Card. Again it shall aid me in my time of non-reviews. So, once more, I'll use this magic card on you. Brain control allows me to control you for one turn. You see that bluish button on the lower left? Click on it and review this chapter. My turn is now over.