Chapter Text
"Just out here, right?"
"Yes, please. I'll call you back when we have everything ready."
"Thank you!"
You watched as the door shut, and Noelle walked back out from the 'clinic' part of the clinic, back out into the reception area, turning on her phone and taking a seat in an unoccupied area a few chairs away from the few other people currently in the...what was the word again- Cardiologist? Psychiatrist? Soulologist?
Whoever made a job out of looking at souls. You didn't know the exact fancy name, what with this being your first visit and all.
You didn't blame yourself, though. The past few days had been full of new 'firsts' for you, after all. Your first time outside of Hometown, Your first- well, second time in a car, but the longest you'd ever been in one.
The farthest outstretching landscapes you'd ever seen, The tallest buildings you'd ever seen, the widest farms you'd ever seen- You were looking forward to watching out the car window again on the way back.
...Whenever that was.
[you good?] You began to type, as Noelle opened up the notes app.
"Mhm." She nodded back. "Just...some of that was a lot, yaknow?"
[is that not routine stuff for a checkup]
[I wouldn't know because]
...You paused.
[yeah wait shit I wouldn't know what routine is]
"...Most of it." Noelle sighed. "My mom's gonna be back there breathing down their necks anyways, but...there was just more stuff they had me do than usual."
[the blood sample?]
"They usually do that."
[evil ass cold table with the big scanning machine?]
"Also pretty normal. For...here, anyways."
[the questions?]
"The first few were normal, but..."
[but?]
"The last few questions they asked were...well, not normal." She continued, before glancing over to her side and lowering the tone of her voice back down to a whisper. "The uh...diet stuff and the travel stuff-"
[and the memory loss thing?]
"-Yeah, that too. It's like...they think I'm sick, but...they don't know either? I just...I need a second to think."
[Fair enough] You typed, as she retreated back to her home page. You'd probably be best waiting it all out, then.
...However long that would take.
You didn't blame her for being upset with the questions, if you were putting everything together correctly, they were implying something wrong on a far deeper level. You hadn't noticed anything yourself. Nothing of substance, anyways- nothing that would cause a problem.
...At least, you hoped there was nothing.
Seeking to distract yourself, you began to look around the room for another focus to drown the thought out.
Your gaze first landed on the window, pouring out light and a greater view of Eastwood City.
A population of...what was it she'd said again, 30,000? 40? You struggled to imagine that many people in a single area, but if what you'd seen online was true, but it...was. Thousands and thousands more people than you'd ever seen together before, just going about their lives.
The car ride over hadn't exactly done the thought justice, but at the same time, how could you have expected it to? It wasn't exactly silent, between Dess and Carol and Noelle, and you'd always kept your eye on the window, but it was hard to do so with all the noise in the background.
Rolling hills and thick forests slowly turning to concrete and buildings, the road expanding from one lane each way to several on either opposite side, massive billboards regarding an armadillo monster's business, or something about a raccoon that Dess described as greasy(even if you hadn't see it yourself) It reminded you of the Cyber City, just less....well, cyber. The buildings and the people and the billboards all blurred together into this mosaic of stone that you found yourself transfixed by, until before you knew it, you found that the car had come to a stop.
A psychology clinic, Noelle had said. Or, rather, a section of a larger company that handled therapy and literal soul work, at the same time. Different divisions, you could only assume. You didn't have much more time to investigate or think on the subject before she went in and they started scanning her and asking her about gas station sandwiches and whatever "cysticerpsycosis" was.
Something you'd think of later, you thought, as you tore yourself away from the window.
The reception area of the office was rather barren otherwise. Stacks of magazines on a nearby tabletop, commercials whispering from a TV in the corner, too quiet and dim to focus on.
Posters and fliers that lined a section of the wall. Advertisements and Faces too far away to read, alongside larger ones that you could only see the pictures from. Scans or representations of the Soul of a monster and the soul of a human, with "Know Yourself!" written below in bright colorful letters.
One displayed the Human Soul, resting somewhere between the ribs, you understood. It wasn't much more complex than you were, and...you'd had first hand experience, after all. Ignoring the bisection and innards and several lines underneath you couldn't read, anyways.
The one that displayed a monster soul, however, was a completely different story. You recognized some of the diagram, zoomed-in images and particular cell structures, but nothing beyond a point. A part of you wanted to compare it to the navigation app on Noelle's phone, with how many stretches and sections and veins existed within.
A soul splayed out, maybe? Opened inward from the center, and spreading the rest of its influence throughout the body? There was some amount of the upside-down heart shape you could still make out if you squinted, but...
You'd just wait for the explanation the doctors would give her. Or failing that, seeing as the internet had finally come back on back at hometown, you could look for yourself.
...However long that would take. However long you'd still been waiting.
Barely 10 minutes, you saw, if the time upon her phone was anything to go by.
...You sighed. Or, thought of sighing, anyhow. You were running out of things to look at. Aside from whatever she'd been reading on her phone, Noelle was the only one left in the waiting room, aside from the two others you'd already passed in a hurry on the way in. And looking over-
Well, looking over, you quickly realized your mistake.
The only other two people within the clinic were humans.
Not entirely unexpected, you supposed, given the size of the city, but they were the first other humans you'd seen in...well...ever.
Your attention instantly hooked, you looked over towards them from the corner of Noelle's eye.
The farther one, with dark hair and darker skin, dressed in a black skirt and blue sweater with white lines upon its arms, was idly tapping on a phone with a cracked screen.
You wondered why they were in the clinic. Something with the soul, you could only imagine, but they seemed fine, aside from their skin.
Or...was that just a normal human thing?
[how many colors do humans come in] You quickly asked, typing into the search bar of Noelle's phone.
"...What?" She quickly said in turn, seemingly needing a moment to gather her senses after the question. "I...don't know? It's a...why are you asking?"
[that girl over there] You continued, gesturing her phone over towards the two. [that is a girl right]
"I...think? I'm not gonna go up and ask her or anything, but-"
[well assuming it is]
[thats the sunburn thing Kris was talking about before right]
[you can sunburn a soul?]
[can sunburns get that bad?]
"It's not a sunburn! She's just-" Noelle began, quickly whisper-hissing into her phone in an unexpected panic. "She's normal! And- and that's really bad to- wait no, I mean- It's bad to ask that! It's- It's normal! She's supposed to look like that! Just...hush!"
You looked over again, seeing the girl give Noelle a side-eye for a moment, before rolling her eyes and going back to whatever she was doing prior.
The other human then, maybe.
Smaller between the two, with lighter skin and brown hair instead of black, wearing a puffy jacket and a yellow-blue polka-dot...scarf? handkerchief? cloth? A yellow-blue spotted something that poked out from beneath, they fit far closer to the mental profile you'd built of what a 'human' was, but even still, their skin was offcolor. More pale and white than Kris's was.
Beyond that, they couldn't seem to sit still in their chair as the girl beside them did. Fiddling with the edges of their hat within their hands like Ralsei did with his scarf, humming a tune beneath their breath, tapping their foot to the floor impatiently, as they too seemed to search for something to starve off boredom.
Maybe they were here for cysticerpsycosis too, you thought.
"Light, please-" Noelle whispered to you once more. "Stop staring at them-"
[that ones color is a lot closer to Kris]
"And that's something you'd only be able to tell if you were staring at them! It's not nice to stare at people you don't know!"
[I dont mean anything by it]
[i'm just curious]
"Well...when we get back home I can show you a video or...something! But please just-"
[why -is- Kris yellow actually]
[is -that- the sunburn thing? since the sun is yellow?]
"I...I don't...know, actually." Noelle said, the fierce and panicked tone in her voice fading away as she gave the question thought. "They've just...been that way for a while."
[are they sick?]
"I don't...Oh, wait, actually, I do think I know. They have uh...uh, what's the word...cadence? no..."
[justice?]
[jussive?]
[gustier?]
[im just spitballing with autofill does that sound like it at all]
"No...it's...It starts with a j, I know, But I just don't remember the-"
"Jaundice!" An unfamiliar voice suddenly spoke from beside you. "Ya'mean Jaundice, right!?"
You flinched in response, your control over Noelle's arm flickering as the rest of her yelped in surprise and scooted towards the opposite edge of her seat, quickly looking over and seeing the lighter, younger human leering over and staring back.
"M'sorry! Didn't mean ta' scare none! S'just cause I remember havin the same thing once!" The human enthusiastically continued. "Well- I didn't have it have it, n' it just turned out ta' be a' big ol' scare, but my Mama n' Melody what went out over to the pharmacist, n' got somea' those vitamin gummy things I kept forgettin ta' take, n'-"
You watched as the human abruptly stopped talking, peering back down and looking at the screen of Noelle's phone.
"..Wait, who was you talkin' to?" They asked, as she quickly pulled her phone back and away. "I thought you was on one of those text ta' speech things with one of those robot talkin' websites, but...you just had your notes page up! S'that gotta do with why you're in here?"
"I-I...I don't-"
"S'alright! I say things I'm thinkin' out lout sometimes too! N' I gotta put notes together like that sometimes too, N' I get distracted like that sometimes too!" The human continued, drawing their face closer and closer as Noelle scooted back farther in her chair. "N' then sometimes I lose track a' what I was writin' in the first place, n' Melody says I probably get a bit a' that from mama, but-"
"Clover, buddy- cmon. Leave her be." You heard the other human say, as they in turn leaned over, pulled the other back into their seat. "...I'm so sorry. he's-"
"Oh- I'm real real sorry!" The lighter human interrupted again. "Was I buggin' you? Didn't know none, I was just curious was all!"
"I...I really don'tfeelcomfortabletalkingtostrangersI'msorry-" Noelle quickly sputtered out as she uprighted herself within her chair.
"No, you ain't gotta! S'my bad still! I ain't even introduce us yet!" The lighter human said again, before pointing either index finger in a direction, one towards themselves, and one towards the other human. "My name's Casey! N' that there's my sister Melody, but everyone I know calls me Clover, so you can just call me Clover too!"
"It's...nicetomeetyoutooI'mNoelle." Noelle quickly said, as she hesitantly pocketed her phone.
You watch as the lighter human, Clover, extended their hand out for a handshake, grinning a toothy grin.
"Pleasure's all mine!" Clover cheered, as they reached their hand out to close the distance, and enthusiastically shook her hand with enough force to shake her arm in its entirety. "So! Whatcha here for? Me n' Melody came out what cause we're gonna be movin soon, n' that means we gotta get looked at again real quick! N' we usually can't cause a visit's somethin' like 300 bucks each, but whenever they gotta call me in n' take a little bit for somethin, Mr. Sunnyside gets us in fer' the checkup for free! N-"
"Casey J Cardinal?" A voice called out from the clinic's door, freezing Clover in their tracks.
"Uh...Oh- That's me! M'comin!" You watched Clover say, as they let go of Noelle's hand and quickly jumped back off from the chair. "S'real nice meetin you, miss Noelle! Hope what you're here for goes well n all!"
The door closed behind them before Noelle could respond. She breathed a sigh of relief, you felt a tension lift from her shoulders, and silence fell back over the waiting room once more.
"...Hey." The other human, Melody, you believed Clover had called her, said. "...Noelle, right?"
The tension returned, as Noelle forced a smile and turned back to face them.
"...Yep!" She quickly squeaked out in turn. "I...I'm... I wasn't really looking to-"
"Yeah, I could tell. But...thanks for doing it anyways." Melody sighed. "...Lot of shit going on, and I'm sure he appreciated it, and I'm...really sorry he just went off like that. Tried to get him to calm down, but he just...doesn't get some stuff. Not unless you tell him, anyways."
"Doesn't get...what?"
"Social borders. Room reading. Matching other people's uh...energy. You know, that kind of stuff." Melody continued, gesturing about with her hand as her head stared down to the floor. "He means well, he's just...enthusiastic, you know?"
"...I get it." Noelle sighed in turn. "More than you know probably, faha-"
"You got someone like that too?"
"...Something like that."
"Well, from someone with another...something like that, then. Thanks." Melody said, pulling back a lock of hair and revealing a tired smile. "I'll let you get back to whatever you were doing."
Silence fell back over the clinic. And unlike as you had felt before, where Noelle had tried to bury herself in her phone, you felt...something building in the pit of her gut. Or soul or- whatever it was. Curiosity or concern or understanding or some intermixture of the three.
"Is...everything ok?" She suddenly said aloud. "I mean, I know I'm just a stranger and everything, but-"
"We're moving. And because we're moving, we need to do this stupid...checkup needle shit, because the human-monster ratio of where we're going means we're probably not getting anything like this again for a while." Melody bluntly said in turn. "...And he's taking it a little better than me."
"Where are you going?" Noelle asked. "If that isn't too much to ask, anyways."
"Some town in the middle of shitfuck nowhere. Barely a thousand people. Three hours away from anything." Melody said with a shrug. "Not like we have much of a choice, though."
"...You don't sound very happy about it."
"Well, it's shitfuck nowhere or a shelter, but...Clover's finding a way to be happy." Melody bluntly said again. "...And if he can find a way to be excited about it, I'll find one too."
You felt as the sensation within her soul began to stir again, discontent and pity and fear, but before you could put a name to the feeling-
"Noelle Holiday?" The reception croaked out.
"That's you, then?" Melody asked behind her, as Noelle began to stand up.
"Mhm."
"Well...guess I'll see you never, then." Melody said, as she fell back into her chair. "...Appreciate it, though. Thanks for talking."
"You don't mean...Hometown, do you?"
"...How'd you know?"
"I uh...I come from Hometown."
"...Oh." Melody awkwardly said, as you watched her quickly hide her face behind her hair. "...Sorry about calling your town 'shitfuck nowhere'-"
"Oh, no! It's...It's fine! I-"
"Noelle Holiday?" The reception repeated.
"I'll...see you around, then!" Noelle quickly said, before speedwalking off behind the reception door, and pulling her phone back out into her hand.
[you ok?]
"I'm fine, it's just...you know." Noelle whispered back into her phone. "...What she said back there."
[shitfuck nowhere or the shelter]
"Hometown kinda...is in the middle of nowhere, I mean the shelter part."
[I mean it cant be that bad can it]
"...Light-"
[big city means a big storm shelter its probably safe]
[probably better maintained too]
[and not having a dark world inside would probably be a bonus]
"Light-"
[probably stocked and shit]
[how many people can they fit in one that big?]
[does your mom-]
"She meant a homeless shelter, Light." Noelle interrupted. "...And that probably means that whatever she's going through, it's...really bad."
...Oh.
[oh.]
[sorry.]
"It's alright." She sighed, as she came to a stop beside the ajar door to an office. "...I just hope they'll be ok."
[me too.]
[talk more on it later?]
[think they're waiting for you]
"..Y-Yeah, yeah." Noelle said, stowing her phone away once more as she took a deep breath, and pushed her way into the office.
Quickly adjusting, you took in the new surroundings as Noelle found her way to an open chair.
Wooden floors and textured walls with far more detail and individual care than the rest of the stinging white walls, decorated with pictures and certificates you didn't understand- it reminded you more of Mr. Boom's study back within the Sanctuary than a surgical office.
But, looking to the doctor aside from you at the desk, you imagine it was something closer. A formal room to discuss private, concerning information. And by the look on their face (or, what you could see of their face behind the mask), a familiar mix of concern and confusion, you could only imagine the news wasn't good. You weren't too good at reading Carol, but seeing her in the seat beside you, you were clearly able to see most of the same.
The air felt tense. Something was wrong.
"Will December not be joining us, then?" The doctor asked.
"...She has insisted upon waiting within the car." Carol said back in turn.
"...That will be for the best, perhaps." The doctor sighed, as you watched him click around through something upon a PC you couldn't quite see the screen of. "The breaking of her condition will require...a delicate hand."
"And what is her condition, Doctor Randy?"
"...Explained best if I started from the beginning." The Doctor said, as he set the computer's mouse aside and looked over to Carol. "...I have good news, and I have bad news. Which would you like to receive first?"
"The good news."
"...Well, then you will be pleased to know that we understand exactly what is wrong with December." The doctor said, before turning around the screen of his computer and displaying a diagram similar to the one outside in the reception. "And, thankfully enough, her solution is rather straightforward."
Noelle, and you in turn, peered closer into the screen.
The design was similar, just...
Darker, lacking any other way to phrase it. The extending veins and roots of her soul seemed...dulled? Indistinct? Less connected at large, with more strings unaccounted for, and-
"...Miss Holiday, are you familiar with SDS?"
...It hurt to try to understand yourself. You'd just let the doctor explain it for you.
"...No. Elaborate."
"Well, as you know, the soul is the core of your very being, not similar to the Human Brain to its body. A leader of mind, action and function."
[dont humans also have souls?] You quickly typed, pulling the phone out from Noelle's pocket. [dont you also have brains?]
[Yes? but it's an...evolution thing? I think? I don't know exactly-]
"And what does this have to do with my Daughter's condition, doctor?"
"Everything, Miss Holiday." The Doctor replied, as they swapped to another image upon his screen, a zoomed-in piece of the prior. "The soul and its vessel are hard to disconnect, but not impossible. Many such documented cases exist, in veterans or mourners or the like, and in the lagging spaces created by such a divide, the soul attempts a course correction. And the resulting mutations, we refer to as the general condition of 'Soul Dysfunction Syndrome.'"
You watched as the doctor flicked through several other images, all displayed pieces of December's soul. Darkened roots and atrophy, terribly small, compared to the one you'd seen displayed outside.
"Now, while this degree of SDS very much should be fatal, for reasons beyond our understanding without further information, December seems to have settled into a stable state."
"...And there is nothing you can do?"
"Unless she tell us the exact nature of her trauma, or submits to dust testing, or agrees to hospitalization, no. We can only diagnose and suggest. And what I would suggest, as her body and soul hang so wildly out of order that-"
"That my daughter believes she is a corpse?"
"I would prefer to simply say scarred, but...it would be foolish to deny yourself feelings on the subject." The Doctor sighed. "The good news I mentioned however, is that so long as she is stable, her treatment is simple. Painkillers, bedrest, and most importantly, time home with family. Familiar faces, familiar environments and smells- her soul will remember everything in turn, and with it, the vessel will recover."
You looked over, watching as Carol let out a deep breath.
"Her condition will need to be monitored, and of course, she will need to remain in a stress-free environment. But with any luck, you may expect a full recovery within the next two years.
"And...the bad news?" Carol said, after a moment of silence had passed.
"The bad news, regarding miss Noelle, is that...well, we have no idea what's wrong." You heard the doctor say as he looked away, turning his attention back to his computer and clicking through another adjacent file with what you assumed was Noelle's name beneath. "We...don't even know where to begin. It would be easiest to simply show you."
Noelle turned her head, staring over at her file-
And you saw...red.
Completely foreign from the last scans you'd seen, Noelle's soul was glowing a fuzzy, vibrant red, with too much going on in any area to make out any particular details like veins or size or diameter, as if her soul itself had simply been coated in the color.
"Our first thought was an absorption byproduct, and we were very much in discussion to contact the authorities-"
"You would accuse my daughter of murder?"
"...I would understand from my practice that signs would indicate absorption, Miss Holiday." The Doctor hissed back. "And it would be well within my duty to report it. There is a reason such crimes are placed above first degree murder. But, even so, there was no telltale instability, and the root formation matched previous visits, so we tossed the thought out before proceeding."
...What was it, then, you thought?
"Our next thought was some form of parasite, but again, we ruled that out with no noticeable root decay. We then thought post-decay symptoms, unlikely as it was, but everything seemed too…structured. If it was anything like that, we’d be getting something similar to Rudolph’s results last-"
You watched the doctor froze mid-sentence, staring as he received an icy glare from Carol.
"...Though regardless, we aren't quite sure what's going on. It's an exotic condition, beyond anything I, my staff, or anything within our records have reported. We've tried every non-invasive test we have, but even with a dust sample, results came back clean, as if...nothing were wrong in the first place."
A positive sign, you hoped, as the doctor continued flicking through blurry red screening images. A part of you wanted to just speak out and say that nothing was wrong. You weren't a doctor or anything, but given your relation to the-
...Wait, shit. Your relation-
You paused, taking another look at the screening.
You were wrong. It wasn't a coat of color. So close to the subject, it struck you as closer to a...wrapping. Like grape vines, outstretching and connecting to wooden posts as structure for the rest of their form to grow.
"Barring consultation with every other practice in the county, it's...well, it's an entirely unique case. The first I've seen of anything like it."
The red was you. Splayed out and twisting and bending as you secured yourself to her.
That same part of you froze in fear, and you felt in her gut as a piece of her did too.
"Even so, Noelle seems...fine. Surprisingly so. Her samples screen clear, she passes every general cognitive test, and half of my team wants to chalk this up to a software glitch." The doctor said, as he pulled the screen of his computer back around. "The only way we'd get more information is from another scan or a direct soul sample, but the second is completely out of the question, and the first-"
"Will be done immediately." Carol interrupted. "Do the scan again."
"Of which, we were already planning." The doctor said. "We've been having the machine prepare for another scan the entire time, but we'll still need Noelle to repeat the same-"
"I'mgonnaruntothebathroom!" Noelle quickly said, abruptly standing up from her chair and hurrying back out from the office.
Several twisting corners quickly passed her by as she moved, shifting and shoving past several monsters and open rooms, back out into the reception, down another hallway, and closing the bathroom door behind her.
Light shifted. Your vision changed. You felt, giving new attention to the sensation, as the strings of you within quickly reassembled, forming back into a heart as you were exposed to open air once more.
A quickly fading sensation of nausea. A phone pulled back out from her pocket. A single strand of connection returned as she brought you just close enough to connect.
"You're...IN MY SOUL?" Noelle whisper-shouted beneath her breath.
[what else were you expecting???] You not-so-quickly typed back, as your limited connection made the effort of moving her hand a struggle. [im shocked too but please stop freaking out youre freaking me out-]
"-I....I know, I'm sorry, I just..." Noelle interrupted back. "it's different seeing it, and- I know mom told me not to bring you, but I still did, and..."
A knock at the door quickly quieted her in turn.
"Noelle? They're...ready for you, in room 7, whenever you're finished."
"G-Got it!" She quickly shouted back, before muttering something beneath her breath. "...We need to hide you. I’ll get the scan again and I’ll come back and…"
[hide where?] You quickly asked back. [nothing out there works.]
"...The sink?" She said, quickly walking over, before discovering that the cabinet below was locked. "Ok, not the sink, uh..."
The trashcan too was already full, thankfully or unthankfully. And you certainly weren't going to hide in a toilet for very long.
The door knocked again. Noelle looked around in a panic.
...And her eyes settled upon the lid atop the toilet.
"I'msorry-" She quickly muttered, as she opened the lid and quickly deposited you into the mechanisms within. "I'm so sorry I'll be right back-"
"Noelle? Are you finished yet?"
"On my way!" She shouted, as the lid to the toilet slammed back down-
And you were left within darkness once more.
Well, not really darkness anyhow, as the light of your form easily illuminated the inside of the toilet, casting its insides in a shade of bright red. The situation would feel familiar, if not for the concerning stains that lined the inside of the bowl, and the pool of water beneath you.
...You tried to purge the thought from your mind, but with so few options left otherwise to think on, your mind could only imagine what stained the inside of a toilet's water tank.
You'd give them a piece of your mind, when everything was said and done. Not in person, obviously, as you lacked the capabilities to do so, but Noelle had recently introduced you to the concept of an online review, and behind the veil of an anonymous account, you were certainly going to tell them that-
You heard the door opening back up again, followed by a slam as it closed, and its lock clicking back into place. You instantly cut yourself away from the line of thought, nudging the toilet's cover up. Noelle had been faster than-
"-dammit, pick up the goddamn phone, you-"
You quickly retreated back down. That was not Noelle.
You listened closer to the voice as it assumingly struggled in frustration with its phone, with her phone, you recalled, as you began to recognize the voice. Melody, the human girl from the lobby.
"Hello! Martlet speaking!" Another voice called out from the phone. "It's a bit of a bad time, but I'd be happy to-"
"Martlet, it's me."
"Oh! Uh- hey Melody! What's up? Everything alright over there? Did you need me to come get you? You weren't waiting too long, right? the clinic was empty?"
"Just one other girl who was there before us, but-"
"Oh, that doesn't sound too bad! What was she like?"
"...Deer monster. Noelle or something, came from Hometown. But that's not what I'm calling about-"
"Oh, shoot- really? A deer monster from Hometown, uh...their last name wasn't 'Holiday' was it?"
"...It was, but-"
"You uh...made a good first impression, right?"
"Martlet."
"Because she's not really my boss yet until the interview thing goes through, and if she finds out that we were mean to her daughter, the entire thing might blow up in our faces a bit- "
"Martlet, they're trying to bill us again."
"...What?"
"They're trying. To bill us. Again."
"No, I mean- I heard you, it's just- What happened?"
"They fucked up the hole punching and they had to patch a hole again. Twice. And now they're trying to foot a bill for the service."
"It...It was a needle! How big of hole did they need to make for a needle?"
"How the hell am I supposed to know?!"
"I don't know! I just...It was Dr. Randy doing the procedure, right?"
"Old guy in the mask?"
"Yes, him! He usually-"
"No. One of the nurses or something did it. He was with the deer the entire time."
"Oh, for the Angel's sake...Did you guys need me to fly over? I'm...I'm busy at work right now, did- Can you call-"
"Starlo already knows. He's on his way. We're fine. It's..."
You heard Melody pause. Heard a sharp intake of breath, heard as she began to pace around through the bathroom-
"...No. No, you know what? It's not fine. It's not even the first time it's not been fine, and they just keep...fucking it up, just so they can squeeze a bit more out!"
"Melody-"
"Who the fuck do they think they are?! It's the fourth time they've tried to gouge him because he wanted to help someone. And the one who's getting all this help doesn't even deserve it!"
"Melody, it's not-"
"I know exactly what it is! And I know who it's going to, and I remember everything that stupid family's said about me! Everything they've said about him! And the only one between the three of us who seems to care enough to remember is me!"
"I remember, Melody! And I don't forgive them either, but...you know how hard it is to get him to stop doing something if he thinks it's right! And besides, she'll die if he doesn't!"
"Then maybe she should."
"Melody I. Cardinal!"
Another pause filled the conversation. Awkward and uncomfortable, as you heard Melody continue to mutter beneath her breath.
"...I'm sorry, Melody. I didn't mean to do the full name thing or anything, but-"
"Look. You might have him calling you mom now, but I want you to understand that that doesn't mean a goddamn thing to me. I don't care what you call me. I don't care about what the paper says, I don't care about you, and I'm certainly not going to be scared when you try to throw it at me like a threat! So stop trying to be whatever the hell it is you are, and just-"
You heard the door lightly knock from behind her.
"FUCK OFF! I'M BUSY IN HERE!"
"...Melody?"
"...We'll be back later."
"Melody, please stay safe. Both of you, please stay safe."
"...Whatever."
"I love you."
The conversation ended. Silence returned to the bathroom.
A rapid uptick in the pace of her breathing. Shoes stomping across the room, something metallic being picked up and abruptly slammed back down against the ground, muffled screams and swears of frustration dampened by what you could only assume was cloth.
You recognized several of the swears she said, but more interestingly, there were several that you didn't.
But before you could think more on their exact meanings, you felt as something solid connected with the loose toilet cover, shifting it just enough to the side to reveal your light from within.
You watched, for a fraction of a moment, as Melody halted her efforts of reassembling the garbage back into a beaten can, and stared back directly at the toilet. Directly at you.
She began to quickly move over, and you retreated backwards into the tank in a panic. She couldn't know you were here, she couldn't know you were alive-
Souls were organs- Human souls were organs- you had to play dead!
You went limp, floating idly in the water and watching as the lid was taken off from the top of the seat, and the expression of anger and fury on her face turned to pure horror.
You remained still as she gently picked you up and looked you over, the same expression of shock and fear upon her face as she muttered something beneath her breath.
"...W-What the fuck. What the fuck-" You heard her say, as her hands trembled and she took a few shaking steps backwards from the toilet.
Maybe...it wasn't your best idea, considering what a Soul meant to a human and monster alike. You imagined it was something alike finding a body within a toilet, but...you didn't really have many other options. Nobody would...want to touch a soul, would they?
And as if to answer your question, Melody slowly turned back, placing you back within the toilet's tank and sealing the lid back shut.
"...Y-You're not dealing with this shit today." You heard her say, her voice growing distant as she assumingly retreated back towards the bathroom door. "Just....holy shit, holy shit-"
The bathroom door clicked back open.
"H-Hey! Faha, I uh- I'm sorry for knocking so bad I just- I really gotta go!"
"...Don't go in there."
"I'm sorry, I just- I really gotta go-"
"Noelle! Don't-"
The door slammed back shut. The lock clicked. The pattering of hooves quickly made their way to the toilet basin, and Noelle fished you back out from the tank.
"I'msosorry-" She quickly said, as she stuffed you back into her chest, and pulled her phone back out. "The...The scan came out fine this time. Mom kinda just scared the bajeebeis out of me and the doctors but- We need to go. Dess is getting a little stir crazy and Mom was getting angry, and...and-"
[uok?]
"..Yeah." Noelle sighed. "Just...shaken up a little."
[sorry about the parasite scare thing]
[and the]
[actually being a parasite thing]
"Light, don't call yourself that. It's just...you. If you were a parasite, you'd be...eating my brain, or something. Or my soul, or...whatever it was they said it did." Noelle said with a nervous smile. "You're...not, are you?"
[pretty sure im not]
"Well...that's good enough for me, then." Noelle continued, as she proceeded back over and unlocked the bathroom door. "But we really do gotta go, she's-"
You watched as she stopped, her path abruptly blocked by Melody, still standing in the doorframe, and staring down at her.
...Staring past her, at the still opened toilet lid.
"...You sick fuck." Melody growled, as her eyes fell back down upon Noelle. "...That was you, wasn't it? You put that there. And you just went back to fucking kill somebody."
"I...uh...I was...just...uh-" Noelle stuttered, backing away further into the bathroom as Melody closed in upon her. "I can explain! It was just uh...It was a model! It was a...robot thing! For my school project, and...uh- I was just...getting it! Because-"
Your rose your hand still held in control, trying to bring up her phone, but-
PAIN
PAINSHOCKFEARHURT- An overwhelming sensation of surprise in your gut as a fist collided and sent your host down to the ground- coughing wheezing sputtering- recoverunderstandflee-
"...You're gonna shut up. And you're gonna listen." Avoicesaid- Melody said, as you felt a hand grab Noelle's antler, using it to yank her head upwards and meet Melody's eye.
"...I don't care about what you're doing. I don't care about why you're doing it, and I don't care about the creepy racist shit you keep whispering when you think nobody can hear you."
"I...I-"
"...There's only one thing I care about, and I'm only going to tell it to you once." Melody angrily hissed, as she brought her face closer to hers. "...When we move in, you're going to stay away from my brother. You're going to say away from my mom, you're going to stay away from me, and if I ever see you in public, and you don't turn your head and walk the other way, then you're going to be coming back to this clinic with something a lot worse than whatever the hell they sent you here for. Are we clear?"
"Y-Yes-" Noelle stuttered out, as you tried in vain to free her antler from Melody's grasp. "Yeswe'reclear-"
The grip upon her antler released, and she fell down to the floor.
"Then fuck off."
You heard as Melody turned and walked away, but little else, as Noelle wasted no time getting back up and bolting out the door, bumping into someone as she left, and only stopping when she was out in the parking lot.
You waited, holding the phone in her hand as she took a second to collect her breath and clear her mind.
"Light?" You heard her mutter out. "You...You're ok, right?"
[dude no, holy shit dont worry about me]
[are -you- ok???]
"I mean...I got...punched in the gut, but otherwise..." Noelle said, before stopping herself and sighing down at her phone. "...No. No, I'm...not ok."
[you mean like]
[hospital not ok or-]
"Just the...really scared for a second there kind of not ok. I'll be good."
[should we tell somebody?] You quickly typed, as you watched her struggle still to catch her breath. [like your mom or-]
"No-" She quickly, almost forcefully said back. "No, I'll...I'll be fine. I just need a second."
[why not?]
"I...overheard her a little bit earlier in the car. I...think you were zoned out, but...she was talking about the festival. Mayor Sunnyside was sending someone to help with construction since most of her usual people don't uh...work two weeks after their contract was cancelled, so...Mom kinda needs them."
[who gives a shit about the festival? she just punched you!]
"Because she thought I murdered you, Light." Noelle forcefully responded, as she began to walk back to the car. "I...think that's a pretty tame response."
[so what we just] You began to type again, still frusrated, still wanting something to be done. [pretend it didnt happen?]
"..I don't know." Noelle sighed, coming to a stop beside the car's door. "We'll figure it out later, but for now, can we just...go back? Without...you know, anything else?"
[...yeah. that sounds nice. ]
You watched, still stewing in silence as she took a deep breath, opened the door, and settled herself back down inside her seat.
"...that bad?" You heard Dess grunt out from beside her.
"...The scan was ok." Noelle said back, before turning her head to face Dess. "It was just...something else after. A girl I...got into a disagreement with in the clinic, and...you know."
Wearing a shirt and jacket each three sizes too big, pants with a belt so tight it looked ready to snap, a hat with a brim so wide you could hardly see her head from beneath it- Dess was almost completely unreadable beneath everything she'd put on for the trip.
You supposed you still couldn't blame her for being light adverse, what with how long she was down below, but even so, some part of you still didn't like it. Whether that be from a poor fashion sense or lingering discomfort or something else entirely though, you weren't sure.
"...You? Arguing with someone?" Dess said back, with what you assumed was a smug or prideful expression beneath the several layers of clothing she wore. "...Really did miss a lot. Elle I knew would've just passed out on the spot. You got tougher."
"Oh, not really." Noelle said back, waving a dismissive hand. "...It was Light, mostly."
"Only thing the light does for me is make me feel like shit, but if it works for you, Elle."
"Oh, no! I mean uh...Light. Like, Little Light, you know?"
"...No?" Dess responded back, sounding confused. "What are you going on about?"
"I uh...had to take them out and shove them into a toilet for the scan." Noelle said, briefly pulling you out and looking over your shell again. "That...didn't hurt, did it? You're not cracked or broken or...anything?"
[my psyche is permanently damaged] You typed back in jest. [And I think they should really clean their toilets more often but im ok]
"Well...as long as it all worked out in the end."
"It would have worked out much better if you had left them home as I had told you to." You heard Carol suddenly say from the front seat. "Kris and the other girl-"
"Susie."
"They had both already offered to temporarily hold their custody."
[I wouldve been fine with that they were fun last time]
"They skipped you across the lake, last time."
[yeah that was fun]
"...Like how the shot pull thing I had to save you from was fun? Or the potato cannon?"
[yeah] You quickly typed back, accompanied by another smiling face emoji.
"...You're impossible-" Noelle sighed. "Dess, can you help me talk some sense into them?"
...But Dess did not respond. And turning yourself to face her, you saw her frozen in place, staring down at your form within Noelle's hand.
"...Dess?"
"Wh- Uh...Yeah. That's...pretty stupid." Dess said back, still seemingly distracted by the sight of you, before turning her head away and finding a newfound interest in the window.
...You couldn't blame her, you supposed. The outside world was rather interesting.
"Well, regardless of the intelligence of your plans, Angel, I still have unattended business to see to back home." Carol said, as you heard the car begin to roar back to life. "Settle yourself in for the drive, and do not distract me."
[what about the mozzarella stick-]
"Oh, yeah! What about dinner? Weren't we-"
"We will find something on the way back." Carol sighed. "Settle yourselves."
You watched as the psychologist office fade away into the distance, settling in as ordered for the long trek back home.
...And true to your thought, in a far more silent car ride back, a second look really did do the city justice.