Jessica seemed to be beyond human speech. Her hazel eyes glistened with
fear and confusion, but the emotions seemed to be one and the same. Fear,
she reasoned, is often caused by not understanding something; to have
something baffle you. Humans tend to rely on their minds (unless they are
dense) and when they find themselves unable to fathom something, their
world crumbles. "Humans put far to much trust into their own mental
capabilities. There are just some things we'll never understand."
Koenma nodded thoughtfully and murmured, more to himself, "I think it would be best if you went back to earth now, with Kurama."
Unable to answer verbally, she just nodded and turned to go. She froze as Kurama reached out and touched her arm, but she refrained from looking at him, or reacting at all. She just stood there, breathing. "Koenma-sama, what about the stone?" He asked sharply. Jessica was reminded of Yoko's tone of voice.
Though Jessica could not see the prince as he answered, she suspected that Koenma had a deeply annoyed look on his face. "That will be all for today. Be sure you are not spotted on the way to Yuskue's."
Shanta felt the weight of the world slowly breaking her, crushing her from the top down. She was prone to sudden migraines. Intense waves of pain flowing through her mind like acid, eating away at her very thoughts, incinerating them, burning them to cinders. The dreams weighed heavily along with the world, and she knew that they should not be kept secret. But who could she tell? Certainly not Autumn. Autumn had already voiced her opinion on that subject. She had told her she was a nutcase. Jessica might understand. Yes, Shanta reasoned, Jessica would understand and believe her, especially in light of recent events. But Jessica had been gone for hours. It seemed she had slipped away with Kurama after she had fallen asleep. Shanta had questioned Yuskue as to their missing tomodatchi, but he had merely said, "Aw, they'll be back soon." That had assured her that she had gone off with Kurama.
"I never woulda thought it was possible," Autumn said with a grin, falling onto the couch beside her younger companion. The television was on some random channel, apparently news, but it was set on mute. Shanta sat cross- legged on the far end of the couch, her eyes of the pages of a thick novel. She looked rather sick, her face drawn up as though trying to fend off pain. Sweat trickled down the edge of her face. Autumn reached for the remote, which lay on the messy, cluttered coffee table, but stopped. "What are you reading?" She asked, her eyes intense on her friend's face.
Shanta did not lift her gaze from the book, but muttered, "It was in Jessica's bag."
"You stole one of her books, and you're reading it?" Autumn tilted her head to the side and settled herself more comfortably against the cushions. She had an odd expression, halfway between confusion and being impressed.
"She's been gone for hours. Yuskue's not talking."
"I know. But you didn't answer me; what are you reading?"
Shanta heaved a sigh and snapped the book shut. She lifted a hand and tossed it across the room. It landed with a thud beside what was left of Yuskue's first tricycle, which his mother had never had the heart to get rid of. She may have not always been sober, but she dearly loved her son. "That's just it, I have no idea. Last night, Kurama handed it to her, asked her if she understood what it meant. But it's not in English, or Japanese. I don't get it."
"Maybe it's in German." Autumn smiled as though she made a joke. "C'mon, why are you so bent on reading it? Probably just some stupid book."
"Or it could be something about the stone. Or the whole deal with the freak show in the library."
"Or it could be nothing."
Shanta remained silent and snatched the remote from her friend with a malicious vigor. "Baka henjin." She insulted, her eyes now on the TV. She proceeded to surf the channels to find something worth watching, but found nothing. For once, she wished she could just go back to reading. She wanted to know what was in that book; what it contained and who wrote and why Kurama gave it to Jessica in the first place. But that just didn't seem possible. Shanta briefly pictured Jessica just a few hours before, pouring over the book, reading it with perfection. Why could she understand it? To Shanta, it was a bunch of meaningless gibberish signs.
"Give me the remote," Autumn groaned, making a half-hearted attempt to retrieve the remote. But she didn't really care what they watched. It was just incredibly unsettling to watch the TV continually flicker and change to another channel. Stop for a moment, just long enough to register what was on, then change again. She knew Shanta was just doing it out of listless boredom, but did she really have to do it for so long? Why not just let her have the remote for a few minutes? Autumn was just as restless.
"You can have the remote when I..." She drifted off into the obis, her words suddenly dropping off into a void. She suddenly sat up straighter, pulling one leg onto the couch and resting her arm on her uplifted knee. "Autumn? Do you remember of second night here, in Tokyo?" When her friend nodded in response, she continued softly, "That dream I had? 'Member? Do you remember what I said?"
"That it was a vision." Autumn answered without much enthusiasm. Where was this girl going with this? "And I told you that you were nuts."
Her eyes narrowed into thoughtful slits, her mouth drawing into a frown. "Did I talk in my sleep? I must have, or you wouldn't have woken up. So wud' I say?"
"I dunno, something about Jessica being not real."
"No, that's not what I said. Couldn'ta been. "
"If you know what you said, why you askin' me?"
"Because I want to be sure."
"I heard you say, "No-not real-Jessica-tell 'em Autumn-" and a bunch of other stupid crud. What does this have to do with anything? So you had a dream about Jessica being an Anime character or something. Big deal. What da'ya want me ta do 'bout it?" She sounded annoyed. Shanta backed off, remaining silent lest she further anger Autumn. She needed Autumn to tell her exactly what she heard, and she would never do that if she was irritated. So she'd have to wait.
Sorry for the shortness of the chapter! It would be longer, but I'm kinda at a loss. Writers block is evil!!!
Koenma nodded thoughtfully and murmured, more to himself, "I think it would be best if you went back to earth now, with Kurama."
Unable to answer verbally, she just nodded and turned to go. She froze as Kurama reached out and touched her arm, but she refrained from looking at him, or reacting at all. She just stood there, breathing. "Koenma-sama, what about the stone?" He asked sharply. Jessica was reminded of Yoko's tone of voice.
Though Jessica could not see the prince as he answered, she suspected that Koenma had a deeply annoyed look on his face. "That will be all for today. Be sure you are not spotted on the way to Yuskue's."
Shanta felt the weight of the world slowly breaking her, crushing her from the top down. She was prone to sudden migraines. Intense waves of pain flowing through her mind like acid, eating away at her very thoughts, incinerating them, burning them to cinders. The dreams weighed heavily along with the world, and she knew that they should not be kept secret. But who could she tell? Certainly not Autumn. Autumn had already voiced her opinion on that subject. She had told her she was a nutcase. Jessica might understand. Yes, Shanta reasoned, Jessica would understand and believe her, especially in light of recent events. But Jessica had been gone for hours. It seemed she had slipped away with Kurama after she had fallen asleep. Shanta had questioned Yuskue as to their missing tomodatchi, but he had merely said, "Aw, they'll be back soon." That had assured her that she had gone off with Kurama.
"I never woulda thought it was possible," Autumn said with a grin, falling onto the couch beside her younger companion. The television was on some random channel, apparently news, but it was set on mute. Shanta sat cross- legged on the far end of the couch, her eyes of the pages of a thick novel. She looked rather sick, her face drawn up as though trying to fend off pain. Sweat trickled down the edge of her face. Autumn reached for the remote, which lay on the messy, cluttered coffee table, but stopped. "What are you reading?" She asked, her eyes intense on her friend's face.
Shanta did not lift her gaze from the book, but muttered, "It was in Jessica's bag."
"You stole one of her books, and you're reading it?" Autumn tilted her head to the side and settled herself more comfortably against the cushions. She had an odd expression, halfway between confusion and being impressed.
"She's been gone for hours. Yuskue's not talking."
"I know. But you didn't answer me; what are you reading?"
Shanta heaved a sigh and snapped the book shut. She lifted a hand and tossed it across the room. It landed with a thud beside what was left of Yuskue's first tricycle, which his mother had never had the heart to get rid of. She may have not always been sober, but she dearly loved her son. "That's just it, I have no idea. Last night, Kurama handed it to her, asked her if she understood what it meant. But it's not in English, or Japanese. I don't get it."
"Maybe it's in German." Autumn smiled as though she made a joke. "C'mon, why are you so bent on reading it? Probably just some stupid book."
"Or it could be something about the stone. Or the whole deal with the freak show in the library."
"Or it could be nothing."
Shanta remained silent and snatched the remote from her friend with a malicious vigor. "Baka henjin." She insulted, her eyes now on the TV. She proceeded to surf the channels to find something worth watching, but found nothing. For once, she wished she could just go back to reading. She wanted to know what was in that book; what it contained and who wrote and why Kurama gave it to Jessica in the first place. But that just didn't seem possible. Shanta briefly pictured Jessica just a few hours before, pouring over the book, reading it with perfection. Why could she understand it? To Shanta, it was a bunch of meaningless gibberish signs.
"Give me the remote," Autumn groaned, making a half-hearted attempt to retrieve the remote. But she didn't really care what they watched. It was just incredibly unsettling to watch the TV continually flicker and change to another channel. Stop for a moment, just long enough to register what was on, then change again. She knew Shanta was just doing it out of listless boredom, but did she really have to do it for so long? Why not just let her have the remote for a few minutes? Autumn was just as restless.
"You can have the remote when I..." She drifted off into the obis, her words suddenly dropping off into a void. She suddenly sat up straighter, pulling one leg onto the couch and resting her arm on her uplifted knee. "Autumn? Do you remember of second night here, in Tokyo?" When her friend nodded in response, she continued softly, "That dream I had? 'Member? Do you remember what I said?"
"That it was a vision." Autumn answered without much enthusiasm. Where was this girl going with this? "And I told you that you were nuts."
Her eyes narrowed into thoughtful slits, her mouth drawing into a frown. "Did I talk in my sleep? I must have, or you wouldn't have woken up. So wud' I say?"
"I dunno, something about Jessica being not real."
"No, that's not what I said. Couldn'ta been. "
"If you know what you said, why you askin' me?"
"Because I want to be sure."
"I heard you say, "No-not real-Jessica-tell 'em Autumn-" and a bunch of other stupid crud. What does this have to do with anything? So you had a dream about Jessica being an Anime character or something. Big deal. What da'ya want me ta do 'bout it?" She sounded annoyed. Shanta backed off, remaining silent lest she further anger Autumn. She needed Autumn to tell her exactly what she heard, and she would never do that if she was irritated. So she'd have to wait.
Sorry for the shortness of the chapter! It would be longer, but I'm kinda at a loss. Writers block is evil!!!