4th Course - Salt [Video]

[starofpleiades]

[In the late evening, the video suddenly turns on as there's a loud thump and a splatter, like something wet just hit the ground next to the vine. At the first, the picture is dark and its hard to make out the shape there. A trembling silhouette, hunched over as it rises unsteadily off the ground - the form seems small and thin, but draped in lengthy darkness - hair? - but also the limbs seems somehow... too long. Claws?

What little light there is reflects off the eyes of the cats coming to greet the new arrival, but as they draw closer, they hiss and their hair stands on end before they turn and run. The figure in the dark collapses back onto the ground again, curling up, shrinking in on itself.

For a moment, all is still. Then there's a soft, muffled noise as that huddled figure trembles. Sobbing. The vine finally sheds some light on the situation, illuminating the curled, dripping wet form of Kazumi, curled up in a glen on the grassy floor, clutching herself and sobbing quietly. It's a few moments before she opens her eyes, looking around, noticing the vine for the first time. She looks helpless, lost, but her first question isn't "Where am I?"]

Who am I? What am I?

Comments

[tookupthesword]

You... said she was trying to kill you, right? It's really only natural you'd want to live, right?

[starofpleiades]

Mm... but even so, I didn't want to... not like that... [Holding her hands out, she stares down at them; luckily, the blood was long since washed from them by the rain back there. For a moment though, her fingers seem longer, sharper... but then they're normal again, trembling from the cold.] I didn't... why did this have to happen...

[tookupthesword]

[... Must be bad lighting, yeah.]

Why? Because I'm damn sure SOMETHING is out to get us all! All of us who made a contract! The moment one is made, BAM, everything goes to hell! I wasn't sure of it before, but now? We're just being picked on like some play things!

[Of course, she is unaware of just HOW bad things really are. But essentially she just hit mass paranoia and is oddly correct in a meta way.]

Kazumi! Look at me. I... can't say I've been through what you have just been through. [SHE HOPES.] But you can't let all of this get to you. You have to be better than that.

... I don't want to see you turn out like me, okay?

[starofpleiades]

No... the contracts... I mean, I knew! They, my friends- [Her friends, oh god, she can't hold back a sob and it takes her a moment to continue] they told me but this... why did Satomi have to... is it all my fault?

[Sorry if she's not being the most coherent. She takes a moment she cry and tremble against Sayaka for a second again]

Like... like you?

[tookupthesword]

[... It's a long shot, but... maybe it's a good idea to draw her away from her own crisis.]

... Yeah. I've done some... really, really bad things. And... I'm worried you might do some of the things I did.

[starofpleiades]

[Do? Do what? Kazumi doesn't even know what she'd do... should she even do anything?]

I... I don't know what to do anymore... I don't know who I am anymore...

[tookupthesword]

... Kazumi, the girl who wanted to have a pillow fight with me? [... Sayaka is cursing herself already.]

[starofpleiades]

I... yeah. That was me. [Surprisingly, reminding her of her time in the Garden helps her calm down a little] That... was me, wasn't it?

But I thought I was someone else...?

[tookupthesword]

Well, things that you did should still be things YOU did, right?

[starofpleiades]

I... yeah... Kazumi did all those things. I did. My time here was... real, wasn't it? [She looks up at Sayaka with teary eyes, desperate for some kind of confirmation]

[tookupthesword]

Well, I sure remember it! I mean, not that I pried into what you did, but I'm sure you could ask around.

... Or I could pinch you, if you want?

[starofpleiades]

Eheh... that's okay. [She sniffles a bit and wipes at her face a little.]

Yeah... I guess this place... was just for me. Not Michiru or any of the rest of them at all...

[tookupthesword]

[... Sayaka wants to ask. So badly. But she thinks that would be bad.]

Hey now, don't go hogging everything to yourself, leave some for me too.

Anyway... we should probably get you dried up, right?

[starofpleiades]

Heheh... yeah, I will... [She sighs, slumping against Sayaka tiredly. With some of her initial hysteria calming down, emotional exhaustion is creeping up on her] Mmm. Yeah...

[tookupthesword]

[And thus, Sayaka feels like she actually DID SOMETHING RIGHT FOR ONCE.]

... So, my place, then? If you can answer.

[starofpleiades]

Mm. [Another quiet nod, and, though she's still leaning on the other girl, she'll try to get up and walk so she's not just dead weight being carried around]

[tookupthesword]

... Just so you know, I should probably carry you. I mean, I'm sure you can walk just fine... but something weird is happening here again.

[starofpleiades]

Something weird...? [Well, now that she's up, she's not leaning much weight, just clinging close, but the way Sayaka says that makes her wonder if there's something to worry about]

[tookupthesword]

Well... it's one of the reasons why I was jumping around so much. There's these flowers and they do... something and you end up getting lost.

And no this isn't just me.

[starofpleiades]

Oh no... well, I can keep up so! Just... lead the way.

[tookupthesword]

Are you sure you can keep up? I really wouldn't want something to go wrong...

[starofpleiades]

Mm. It's fine. I... I can do that much, at least...

[tookupthesword]

Well, just grab my hand and I'll try to navigate us there.

[starofpleiades]

Okay... [Moving her grip to Sayaka's hand so she's not clinging to her, Kazumi gets ready to follow. She's a bit spacey and slow, but she keeps up and doesn't fall down]

[tookupthesword]

[AN HOUR LATER due to having to work around things and being slower...]

... So, I took a route that I didn't know that well for the return trip.