This has been a long time coming, I know. But, here it is! :P
Enjoy!
Doors
His friends were quiet for a few moments, an awkward hush filling the cramped space.
Then, Yosuke spoke, "Actually . . . I think you're right. We do."
"Do we, though?" Chie added, rocking on her heels as a way to expend energy, "N-not that I think we can't trust them, but . . . ugh, I don't know."
"Honestly, I believe our counterparts already know we are keeping something from them," Naoto put in from where she stood leaning against the wall, "At this point, we are only delaying the inevitable. And, to further assuage any unease, remember; this isn't our world. To tell them wouldn't have the ramifications like it otherwise would."
"That's true, I guess," Rise acquiesced quietly, crossing her arms in thought. Others were nodding along too, but some still looked uncertain.
"We've been keeping our persona a secret out of habit more than anything," Yu pointed out softly, looking at each of them, "Truthfully, I think telling the truth would help us now more than it would hinder us."
"So you suspect that same?" Naoto guessed.
Yu nodded her way, and at the questioning stares he received, he explained, "I know you all felt it too, when we did that test. We didn't just gain magic from nowhere, guys. It has a source."
Everyone's eyes lit up in realization, but alongside it rose even more questions that Yu knew he wouldn't be able to answer.
"But then, that's a whole new can of worms," Yosuke said, frowning, "How are we using our persona in the real world?"
"Well, maybe it's cause a magic?" was Kanji's input, the boy's brow furrowed tightly, "I mean, s'not like our own world. Maybe . . . uh . . ."
"We could summon our personas in the tv world because it was actually a manifestation of human unconsciousness, right?" Yukiko added, "So, is this world like that too?"
"I doubt it," Naoto said, bringing a finger to her chin, "While indeed magical, it is not a world made to reflect the innermost thoughts of a person. It has, to put it simply, a certain stability like the physical world does."
"Besides, we already figured out we couldn't actually summon our personas," Yosuke reminded them, "But that's what makes this 'magic' we're pulling off even more confusing."
Yu crossed his arms, reflecting on all they'd been through for a few moments. Yosuke was right, they couldn't summon the physical manifestations of their persona. But somehow, their powers were still within their reach. Not because of any magical blood or lineage, Yvir had made that perfectly clear (and if they had, that would have been an entirely new and unwanted mystery), but simply through will. So what had changed? Obviously the world, but was it as simple as that?
There was simply too much they still didn't know . . . but that could change.
"There's too many pieces we don't have right now," he surmised, calling everyone's attention to him, "And that's exactly why I think we should tell our counterparts the truth. They might be able to put our information with their knowledge of how their world works together and come up with an answer."
"Maybe . . ." Yosuke said, before falling back into the practical, "But still, even if it doesn't, I don't think we can really keep our personas out of this anymore."
"Yeah," Rise agreed, "And like Naoto-kun said, they already know something. They were really pushing for it at the end there."
Chie sighed, but was nodding now, "I guess all of that makes sense. It's just weird to . . . come out like this so easily, I guess?"
"Is a bit strange . . ." Kanji agreed with her, but a moment later his expression shifted into a determined one, "But hell, we got nothin' to lose doin' this. And I think these guys would get it more than anyone back home would, too!"
"Well, they did say other worlds weren't uncommon knowledge here," Rise added with smile, amused.
"We'll probably have to explain what tv's are, though," Yukiko mused, eyes staring into the distance as if she were playing the scenarios out in her head.
Chie snorted a bit, "Yeah, probably!"
"So we're all agreed, then? We talk?" Yosuke pressed, vocalizing what Yu was already feeling.
Everyone exchanged a look, before a single, unanimous nod was made and several voices rose up in tandem, "We talk."
Yu smiled. Good, he knew they would understand. They'd been keeping this back for too long.
"Erm . . ."
He blinked and looked over at Teddie, who was shuffling awkwardly on his feet.
Yosuke noticed as well, "What's wrong, Ted? You don't think we should tell them?"
The bear shook his head quickly, "No, no, I don't think that! We should tell them! It's just . . . if we tell them about our personas, we'll also . . . have to tell them about our Shadows."
The mood dropped at that, the sobering reminder hitting them all like ice water. Of course, it wouldn't be much of an explanation without sharing everything they could. That didn't mean he couldn't understand his friends very sudden discomfort.
"Right . . ." Yosuke murmured.
"Hey, we can tell them about Shadows, but, I mean, we don't have to tell them details, do we?" Chie asked, looking discomfited as she kneaded her hands together.
"We shouldn't have too," Rise put in sharply, "Just enough so they understand how we got our powers, sure, but that stuff is personal! They can respect that!"
"Yeah, I . . . really don't wanna talk about mine," Kanji said, a visible shudder wracking his body.
"Same," was the pretty unanimous chorus that replied.
"A concise explanation should suffice," Naoto said, though her posture was a little more tense than before, "As Rise-san mentioned, there are certain personal boundaries that should be maintained."
"Agreed . . ." Yosuke said, crossing his arms like a cold wind had just blown over.
"That should work," Yu said, nodding, "And I'm sure they'd understand."
"Should we . . . talk to them now?" Yukiko asked after a few seconds of uneasy silence, glancing at the closed door, "Or should we wait?"
"Well, I'd say 'the sooner the better', but it looked like they were about to talk about something important themselves," Yosuke said.
"We can ask them when we can talk. That seems like the best move for now," Yu said, deciding an invitation for discourse was best. The nods he got in reply confirmed that the others felt the same.
Beside him, he heard a rustle of clothing and a pat, and he looked over as Yosuke began speaking to Teddie, who still looked troubled, "Hey, don't worry so much. You being a Shadow counts as personal stuff, too, you know. You don't have to say anything."
"Mhm!" Chie chipped in, smiling encouragingly, "Sides, even if you told them, I really don't think these guys would care all that much. I mean, half of 'em are . . . different too."
"They seem like the kind of group who'd be more curious than anything," Rise said.
". . . You really think they won't mind?" Teddie asked after a moment, wringing his hands together, "I mean, aside from you guys, I've never told anyone else . . ."
"I think, in the end, it's your decision, and we'll support whatever you decide," Yu said without hesitation, placing a comforting hand on the boy's head, "Just ask yourself this; do you trust them with that secret? Answer that, and the solution becomes easier to see."
That seemed to do the trick, because the bear was soon smiling up at him, gratitude in his eyes as he spoke, "Okay. Thanks, Sensei! Everyone!"
Yu ruffled his hair briefly before dropping his hand, glancing at the door, then his friends, "I'll go ask. We'll most likely have to wait, though."
"Sure you don't want one of us going with you?" Yosuke asked.
"Want to see Yvir again, huh?" Chie asked, her smile a teasing one.
Yosuke flushed, scowling, "N-no, I just don't want Yu going anywhere alone if he doesn't have to!"
"Aw, that's sweet of you, Yosuke-senpai," Rise smiled as well, eyes twinkling, "Buuut I think Senpai can handle himself. "
Yu gave the brunette a reassuring look, "They're just down the hall. It'll only take a second."
Yosuke sighed, "Yeah, I know. It's just after everything we've been through, splitting up doesn't sound very appealing anymore."
Everyone's eyes fell to the floor, silence returning once more. No one said it out loud (he doubted anyone wanted too), but they were all thinking the same thing.
Yu understood Yosuke's hesitation and the others unspoken concern, and they were right to be cautious. But he was also fairly confident that they would be alright, especially with the champions so near.
"I doubt we can have a safer place right now than with our counterparts," Yu reminded them, expression and tone reassuring, "And it'd be a little strange if we all went. I promise, I'll be right back."
Their expressions relaxed a little, but there was still a nervous air that hovered over the room like a cobweb, tingling against his skin. But there was little else he could say that could ease it. So, with one last reassuring nod, he opened the door and stepped back out into the hall.
The trek was short, the room dinner had been held in only a hallway down, and soon he was standing before a familiar door he'd walked thorugh only ten minutes prior. Leaning in a little closer, ear angled to the ornate wooden frame, he tried to see if he could catch any snatches of conversation, only to grow puzzled when he heard nothing at all.
Standing back, he lifted a hand and knocked, loud enough to be heard from the opposite end of the hall.
. . . no one answered.
Eyebrows rising a little in confusion, Yu tried again, harder this time. Still nothing.
Were they not inside?
He tried the knob, and the door swung open without a hitch. Beyond lay only an empty room.
Alright . . . Yu thought, a little spooked now.
Where could they have gone? Why? One would think their counterparts would have told them they were going somewhere!
Stepping into the room, he looked around, finding nothing except a cleared table and lots of chairs. It was darker now, most of the candles snuffed out and the gray light from outside having faded in the wake of the setting sun. Without the warming glow of the candles and the tantalizing smell of food, the room was . . . a little less inviting that before.
The wood grain creaked under his feet as he walked further inside, eyes roaming the table in search of a possible note or clue, only to once again come up dry. Worrying at his bottom lip, Yu started contemplating going back to his friends and beginning a search, when a slight movement out of the corner of his eye kicked his reflexes into overdrive.
He whirled around, hip catching against the corner of the table as he jumped away from the dark mass of shadows rising up in the corner. His back hit something hard and broad a second later, leaving him trapped and helpless as the thing rippled and bulged like vaporous ink, and it was too close to the door to try and flee past. A low buzzing began in his ears, like tv static, never growing louder or uncomfortable, but humming just on the edges of his periphery. Then, all at once, the roiling mass solidified together into a coherent shape, and white eyes peered out from the dark with piercing scrutiny.
Recognition rose up in Yu's mind, and he sighed.
It was just Xirskam.
He leaned back, taking a moment to breath and wait for his heart to calm, head nodding against whatever he'd run into. The buzzing grew just a tad louder, and strangely Yu didn't find it annoying. In fact it was . . . almost familiar . . .
"You really need to work on letting people know you're there," Yu breathed, looking accusatorily at the tall Shade.
The creature's reply sounded vaguely reminiscent of a snake's rattling tail before it petered off into familiar silence, apparently deciding that was a substantial answer.
Yu sighed again, body relaxing further against the thing he was leaning on, when it suddenly struck him that there wasn't anything in the room with these same proportions and lengths except the door, which last he looked was across from him. Curiosity reawakened, he stood up and turned around.
He found nothing. Just empty space dominated by a table and a few chairs. But as soon as he moved away, the buzzing disappeared.
That cinched it. Yu had not been imagining things! He had felt something, he was positive!
Steeling himself, brow knitting together in determination, he stepped forward and reached out with a tentative hand, searching slowly, carefully . . .
His fingers came to a stop about a half-foot in front in of him, bracing against something cool and hard and completely invisible to his eyes. But the buzzing rose up again, almost urging him on, letting him know he was on the right path.
He almost leapt away when a pale, vaporous mist suddenly rippled out from under his fingers, rolling over the air like liquid smoke and expanding out in a perfect ring that quickly undid the magic hiding the object from view. Inch by inch like a parting veil, hard wood as rich as mahogany was revealed, ornate carvings of trees and winged beings slipping into view with each passing second until at last a large, beautiful door was before him, tall and imposing and most definitely not supposed to be here.
The buzzing in the back of his mind grew louder, insistent, familiar, and it was really starting to bother Yu way he couldn't put his finger on where.
He trailed his fingers over the wood, tracing over the carvings and feeling the varnish glide beneath his fingertips. His hand brushed against the golden knob, the molded protrusion cool against his skin, and with an almost idle motion, he wrapped his fingers around it.
The buzzing grew louder, and this time it was accompanied by a twinge of motion in his very soul that made him freeze.
Izanagi!
He reached inward again, calling out, but the moment had passed. His persona was silent once more.
But it had done enough. Now he remembered why this felt familiar. It had happened every time he had pressed through the tv to enter the other world! Could it be possible that this door led to the same place? But how could that be? And why was it here?
Without thinking, he twisted the knob and made to pull it open, when a clawed hand suddenly gripped his arm in an cold and vice-like hold. Yu froze, craning his neck over his shoulder to peer up at Xirskam, who had come silently to his side without him even noticing.
The Shade met his startled silver eyes with an even gaze, then shook his head, claws remaining clasped around the boy's arm in unspoken command. They did not press hard enough to tear even his clothes, but he could feel their sharpness through the fabric, like blades composed of slivered ice. Swallowing, Yu gradually released the knob, and he watched as the door faded away into obscurity again, vanishing behind the veil that hid it from sight.
Xirskam let his arm go right after, stepping back and half-merging with the shadows in the corner, body flickering between solidity and murky intangibility as it settled to watch him.
Yu shifted from foot to foot, unsure about what to do. Was this door a threat? Xirskam didn't seem overly concerned about it until he tried to go in (which, admittedly, wasn't a very smart idea on his part), and it still didn't answer the question of where the champions had gone.
Well, he could try asking Xirskam, but the Shade had never been much for conversation before.
. . . eh, what did he have to lose?
"Hey . . ." Yu's voice was soft, and Xirskam's white eyes brightened in intensity. Yu tried not to be intimidated by it as he gestured to where the door had been, "Where are the champions? Do they know about this door? Is it dangerous?"
The shadows around Xirskam's body flickered like black fire, upper body leaning just a bit closer while his eyes glimmered with thought.
Then, contrary to expectation, in a voice simultaneously as deep as a chasm and as light as a hissing breeze, he spoke, "Danger only to you, small one. Without the magician as your guide, you would meet only peril."
Yu stared, stunned to silence. He . . . really not been expecting that to work.
"I have always been able to speak," Xirskam said, sensing his surprise, "I simply choose not. I do not like your spoken tongues."
Yu stared, then gave his head a brisk shake. Right, he had questions. Lots of them. And if Xirskam was willing to answer . . .
"Right, sorry," his apology was quick as he dove into the heart of the issue at hand, "Anyway, what magician? Are you talking about Yvir?"
Xirskam nodded, his s' rolling into a hiss, "Yessss. That one."
"So, he knows this door's here?" Yu probed.
Another nod, "It is his. It would be strange if he did not."
Yu blinked, "What? This is . . . his door?"
Xirskam lifted a claw, ebony digit pointed at the unseen subject of their discussion, "The plane beyond this threshold is of his make. A sanctuary disconnected and protected from outside influence, where he and his companions can meet and converse in private. They are there now, in discourse."
Yu's gaze shot to the general area of where the door was, then back, "They're inside there now?"
"Yesss," the Shade shifted where he stood, smoky body sounding like sand running over granite stone against the floor, "But do not follow. Those without an invitation face danger."
"Is that right . . ." Yu's mind was only half on what he was saying, gaze perusing where the door had been in newfound interest. So, that was where the champions had gone . . . a plane apart from this one. But why had it reacted like a tv screen? It couldn't be a place like the tv world?
Could it?
"Why aren't you with them?" he asked, looking back at Xirskam. He doubted the Shade would have the answer he really wanted.
The white of the Shade's eyes shrunk, then expanded, "I was tasked with watching you. Watch, and ensure safety."
Ah . . . so they hadn't left them completely alone.
"Thank you," Yu said, wondering if this was seen as a chore in the extraplanar creature's eyes.
"I simply follow my master's command," Xirskam said, dismissing the gratitude. Then, with a touch more consideration, said, "But you are welcome."
Yu smiled a little, then asked, "Do you think you can tell them that me and my friends would like to talk with them when they come back?"
"My master and I can share thought. Whatever message you wish conveyed, I can relay it to him," Xirskam promised, and Yu thought the creature might have nodded, but it was too hard to tell.
"Thank you," Yu said, this time with earnest gratitude. Might be a bit more roundabout than he'd have wanted, but at least the job was done.
That was when the door leading to the hallway suddenly creaked open, and Yu saw not one, not two, but several shapes crowd inside the threshold. Oh boy . . .
"There you are!" Yosuke was the first to shout, looking less than pleased as he came inside, "What was taking you so long?"
"Yeah, we were starting to get worried, Senpai!" Rise was next, slipping inside in a rush, face pressed into a pout.
"Sensei!" and that would be Teddie, the bear crashing headlong into his stomach. He tried not to wince too noticeably.
"Where is everyone?" Chie asked, looking around the empty room in confusion, "They were supposed to be here weren't they?"
"Spooky. And its raining again, too . . ." Yukiko observed, a familiar gleam entering her eyes as a story started weaving itself together in her head.
"Oh, don't start, please," Chie pleaded.
"Yeah, really not in the mood right now, Yukiko-senpai," Kanji added.
Yukiko was right, though. He hadn't heard it before, but listening, he could here the tell-tale patter of rain against the roof.
"Have you actually encountered them yet, Senpai?" Naoto asked, eyes scanning the room in a way that was much more meticulous than the others.
"Uh . . ." Yu didn't get to finish, because that was when Xirskam moved and proceeded to scare the crap out of everyone.
"AH!" Chie, Yukiko, and Rise screamed.
"WHOA!" Kanji and Yosuke cried, leaping back.
Naoto jumped, fingers squeezing the table edge as she fought to control her composure while Teddie's arms constricted around Yu's middle tightly, and he was sure that if the bear had had his fur, it'd be standing on end.
Xirskam's eyes shone, and Yu was certain he saw amusement lighting up the white fire they were composed of. But he did not speak like before.
By now, everyone had recognized the Shade and were calming down.
"Geez, you scared us," Chie breathed, pressing a hand to her chest. Annoyance flashed through her eyes, "Can't you let us know you're there?!"
The Shade did not answer, merely settling back to watch.
"Course, you're not gonna talk," Yosuke groused, metaphorical hackles lowering.
"A-anyway," Naoto cleared her throat, "Have you talked to our counterparts yet, Senpai?"
"Well . . . sort of," Yu started slowly, "It's a bit of a story . . ."
He explained his recent strange encounter slowly, from the door to his conversation with Xirskam and finally the promise that their message would be delivered. By the time he was finished, everyone was looking beyond him, to where he'd said the door was.
"There's a . . . door here?" Chie asked skeptically, eyebrow raised.
"And Yvir made it?" Yosuke asked, crossing his arms.
"That's what Xirskam said," Yu replied, shrugging.
"So he can talk . . . I knew it," Yukiko said to herself, looking vindicated about . . . something.
"How come we can't see it?" Kanji asked, eyes straining in concentration.
"I imagine something like this is protected," Naoto said, looking thoughtfully at Yu, "How did you find it again, Senpai?"
"By accident," he replied. Turning around, he continued, "Here, look."
Reaching out, he touched the space where the door had been, and he heard gasps rise up behind him as the magical entryway reappeared in all its ostentatious glory.
"Wow, there really is a door!" Chie exclaimed.
"Ooh, can we go inside, Sensei?" Teddie asked, scampering closer in excitement.
Yu shook his head, "No, Xirskam said it would be dangerous if we entered alone. Besides, there's something I need to talk about."
He glanced in Xirskam's direction out of habit, then forced his eyes back to his friends. No, they'd already decided to come clean about this. It didn't matter if the Shade overheard.
"When I touched this door, I was reminded of the times we entered the tv," he said, drawing everyone's attention back to him.
"The tv?" Rise asked.
Yu nodded, "You know that buzzing you get in your head? That feeling was here too?"
Yosuke was catching on quick, "So, are you saying . . . that this door leads to a place like the tv world?"
"I don't know," Yu replied honestly. He really didn't.
"You said this place was a product of Yvir's magic, or something similar to that," Naoto's face was set deep in concentration, the same look she'd get when she was putting the pieces she'd been given together, "In a sense, a place possibly based off of subconscious thought and emotion. If it works like our world does."
"It could be," Yu acknowledged with a nod in her direction.
"Can I try it will quick, partner?" Yosuke asked, stepping up to the door. He scarcely waited for Yu to get a word in, for his hand was already pressing against the varnished wood, and Yu knew he felt it because a his breath hissed through his teeth as his shoulders went rigid, "Hey, you're right. It is like that."
"Hey, let me try!" Chie shouldered her way through and slapped a hand against the door, jerking a little when the same feeling arose within her, "Whoa . . ."
"So, is it the tv world or not?" Kanji asked, watching.
"Hm, perhaps something similar. There's a lot about the magic here we have yet to understand," Naoto reasoned, dropping her hands to her hips.
That was when Yu felt the wood beneath his hand slip away, displacing his weight for a moment and nearly sending him falling forward. He rightened himself just in time, starting back along with Chie and Yosuke as the door they'd been wondering over opened wide.
Yvir was standing in the threshold, one eyebrow curved up while his lips twitched into a bemused smile, "You know, most people knock when they want to get someone's attention."
Yu abashedly rubbed at the back of his neck, face flushing with heat. But even as embarrassment ate at him, his nagging curiosity drew his eyes to the space beyond the sorcerer, catching a glimpse of an emerald tree, a marbled pillar, and light as bright as a midmorning sun, as well as a whiff of soil and flora. Then what little view he had was lost as the space was dominated by a grinning gloaming, who had thrown an arm around Yvir's neck and was gazing at them with a twinkle in his eye, "So, Xirskam tells us you're ready to talk!"
"It's about time," Rhysana pushed past both men and stepped through the door like she wasn't also stepping between two separate planes of existence, "Honestly, we were starting to think you didn't trust us!"
Yvir rolled his eyes, "You met them a week ago, of course they didn't trust us."
Rhysana clapped the tips of her thumb and fingers together in a mocking motion before returning her attention to the group, "Well, if you're finally feeling comfortable . . ."
She stepped aside and held her arm out to the door where Yvir and Tirin stood, smiling, "Care to come inside and have a chat?"
(*)
Everything was rotten.
That was the only word to describe this lonely, desiccated place. The trees were stunted and gray, only a few still standing with their withered and broken roots, most having fallen to the earth log ago. Pools of mud and mucous-like sludge rolled over the barren ground, bubbling at intervals and releasing noxious clouds of steam that smelled of decay. The sky was gray, heavy with rain that would never fall, roiling and surging with a life it's earthen counterpart could never hope to mimic. Few, if anything, lived in these forgotten woods anymore, the animals having fled to safer pastures in times long since gone.
Even still, she heard the whispering.
All around, with no cause or reason, the echoes of life still clung. A bird's call here, a scampering of a squirrel there, the voices of a laughing man and his child walking by like nothing was wrong.
And, if she looked close enough, one could almost see the translucent forms hovering at the edges of periphery, silent, shadowy figures that followed her every footfall.
It wouldn't be long before her wandering drew the attention of the one she wished to find.
"Well, what do we have here? A lovely new plaything who wishes to dance with us in the mud?"
No, not long at.
Smiling, she turned around to face her goal, face as composed as glass when she came face to face with a visage of beauty that belied the dead and dying things around them. In shape, a woman of youth, as lovely as the flowers that dare not bloom here. A woven gown of stormy gray clung to her body, diaphanous and revealing, interwoven with string of pearls and other small trinkets that glittered and shone. A dead rose was woven into the lady's luminous hair, petals crinkling with every step, bare feet squishing into the mud without a care as she circled her prey. But she knew that this beauty was only superficial.
A pretty little lie.
"Greetings," she said, bowing humbly, "I have come with an offer I think you'll find most tantalizing."
"Oh?" the woman's lips stretched into an almost comical 'o', black eyes growing wide with mock wonderment, "And whatever does this messenger bring to poor, pithy, pathetic little me? In these woods? All. By. Her. Self?"
"Just as I said. An offer," she replied, keeping low in supplication.
The mud at her feet shifted once as the ruler of the dead woods came to stand just before her, and she wrinkled her nose at the lingering smell of rot that assailed her senses.
"And just what kind of offer? Please, do tell! It's been so lonely here of late, no one ever comes to visit!"
She founder her eyes wandering to small rise in the mud at her feet, seeing the contours and ivory gleam of an eye socket and cracked skull. Hm, a 'visitor', perhaps . . .
She stood straight, and did not even flinch as she made eye contact with the lady, who's face had suddenly and drastically changed. Gone was the youthful skin as supple as a peach, and in its place was cracked and rotted flesh that hung from bone and putrefied muscle, the inner workings of her jaw visible as she smiled long and wide. Her eyes had sunken in, glazed orbs that had lost their luster and color, her hair falling out in clumps to tangle in the muck below. Her dress sagged around her now skeletal frame, bony fingers teasing around the fabric as she swished it from side to side.
"Aw . . . already so much more respectful than my other suitors," the creature said, tone light and laughing as a centipede crawled out of her mouth and into her greasy hair, "Alright, I'll humor you, my little plaything. What does such a funny creature wish of the dead, the drowned, and the damned?"
"An alliance," she replied quickly, folding her hands together. She waited a breath . . . then dangled her bait, "One I'm sure even your mother would fear."
The woman's smile vanished, and the trees around her gave a violent, cracking shudder that sent several toppling into the murk, waves of mud disturbing the silent tranquility of rot.
"My mother?" the lady asked with a voice like ice and death.
"Yes," she continued, smiling herself now, "And if you care to listen, you might just have a way to have that 'conversation' you've been wishing for, for so long."
The woman's bony fingers cracked as she bent them up and down, up and down, fury roiling like a mass of maggots beneath her rotten skin . . . then she smiled, face melting back into that beautiful lie as she spoke in tepid calmness, "Please . . . continue."
We don't actually get to the conversation here, I know. Soon.
But you do get a gross lady! How about that?
Rate and review, if it pleases you.