Crown of Roses [solo]

Evelynn’s expression teetered between confused and panicked for the long minute of silence that followed the voice’s comment. Finally -- as if someone had cut a chord -- she turned on the apparition, hands slicing through the imagery like it wasn’t there. It didn’t change the intention of the motion that had clearly been to grab the demon by the shoulders.

“What is wrong with you?!” She screamed, her hands falling onto the stone where the ghost’s butt was. “Ever since you came around everything went to hell and back. Why are you doing this to me!? Why can’t you just leave me alone!? I have enough things to worry about!”

She reached a hand up and flailed it quickly through the ghost’s ‘body’. Nothing more than a shocked frown came from the efforts, but the action blew off steam. Wild slaps turned into punches that fell through to the stone foundation, shaking it once, twice, and then a third that made it collapse under them.

With a yelp and another roar of frustration, Evelynn slapped off a bit of debris that had managed to land in her lap in the minor collapse. Standing a few feet to her left was the ghost of the demon, giving a deeply concerned frown as she watched the temper tantrum.

Be it because she ran out of things to hit of she had got it mostly out of her system, Evelynn came to a panting stop. Her throat was tight and her jaw aching from being clenched for so long, but that did nothing more than make her bow her head in even further defeat.

“What’s wrong with me?”

The ghost paused, kicking one foot up behind her and tapping the tops of her shoes against the dirt. As Evelynn side eyed it, she couldn’t help but think there was something endearing about the pose, though a wicked grin from the ghost quickly ruined any illusion of innocence.

“I just told you. You’re dying. But I want to help. That’s why we’re here, okay? Just follow me.” The demon spun on its heels and began walking in a seemingly random direction.

For only a split second, Evelynn just sat there. But she soon found herself on her feet, trailing just behind the spirit that phased through the tall grass harmlessly. Minutes felt like seconds as they descended down the hill and towards a large, church-like building. It stood at an awkward angle due to the ground eating away at the left side of it. The unstable foundation causing the building to crack and break at various points, leaving the side that hadn’t sunk into the ground in complete ruin. Half of the building appeared to have fallen on top of itself, making the other side look as if it had been hit with a wrecking ball.

Through all of the destruction, it was weird how quickly Evelynn had been to call it a church.

The ghost stopped somewhere inside of the building, gesturing to a wall that was only barely standing -- cracks littered the bottom of it and the wooden door had been completely pushed off the hinges. Behind the door was a dark drop that, given the way wood had fallen everywhere, seemed to have been a staircase at some point.

Slowly, Evelynn walked to the door and peered into the room. It smelled earthy and foreign, though other than that, it didn’t strike any nerve with her. If anything, it drained her. She sighed, shoulders falling forward as she faced the ghost.

“I’m really tired of playing these ga--”

“Go down there.” The sternness of the voice and scowl accompanying it proved there was no room for arguing.

With another sigh, Evelynn hopping into the basement, landing on a piece of wood that promptly cracked under her weight. Glancing around as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she began to wander around, searching for whatever it was that crazy ghost wanted her to find.

It wasn’t too hard to figure out that this was the place she had died -- the ghost wasn’t subtle, that was for sure. But so what? Why did this change anything? What did this have to do with her death other than the literal part of seeing where she had died? If this was a movie, Evelynn expected to turn around and see a close friend with a gun. They’d exchange tense words before Evelynn would be shot. Dying in the same place twice.

But Evelynn didn’t have any friends.

A sharp clattering shook her from her thoughts. Her eyes shot down and instantly -- reflexively -- she let out a yelp and stumbled backwards. Her back hit against a door that had been concealed by darkness. Carefully, as if her lips were about to fall off, she brought her fingers to her mouth, covering it lightly as her eyes widened in shock.

Her bones were scattered all through the room. The skull -- the bone she had kicked -- had clattered against a shin bone before resting once again, staring at her with empty -- hollow -- eyes.

She felt like she was going to throw up. They hadn’t moved her? They just left her to rot in some… Some basement?! No one had the decency to at least put her in a mass grave or something?!

“This isn’t…” She mumbled, unable to find words through the burning feeling of vomit reaching up through her throat.

“You died because you never fought back, you know.” The ghost appeared at her side, looking at the skeleton with an expressionless gaze. “You just let everything happen. Even at the end when I told you over and over that you had to eat… You had to fight back. You just warped the words into whatever you wanted to hear.” The spirit sighed softly -- the first sign of emotion since re-appearing. “Last time you waited until it was too late to start fighting back. I really don’t want you to fall back into the same pattern.”

“Why… How am I…”

The ghost turned slowly, emerald eye shining in the darkness and casting an eerie glow on her high cheekbones. “Sometimes, when I look at you, I remember just how little has changed,” there was a softness to her voice this time around, though the blank stare made it more uncomfortable than anything. “It makes me think about how all hollows do this. Why? Why can’t they break out and change? I have to think it’s because they don’t have anyone to help -- anyone who really knows how to change what’s wrong.”

She turned back to the darkness, eyes flicking around for a moment before resting on the skull. In only a few steps she had swooped down to pick it up unceremoniously and turn it to the shaken up Arrancar.

“This is the path you’re on,” her voice returned to the blank slate it typically had. “The path you had been on since you died. It’s coming to an end soon all because of what you’re doing. Whoring your soul out to other people just because some old maniac told you to. Fucking a Shinigami because that’s the closest thing you can get to intimacy. You do nothing but roll over and expose your belly.”

She chucked the skull across the room, though somehow it just appeared back where it had been as if it had never been touched at all.

“What is wrong with you? Even your mannerisms are all the same. You cry and scream at a dead body like you want to fix it, but all you’re doing is sitting and waiting for someone to come play hero for you.” Her face twisted into a glare as she materialized right in Evelynn’s face, earning a sharp gasp from the attentive Arrancar. “News flash: no one cares enough to fix you. No one ever come and save you. You have to man up and save yourself.”

The ghost was back in the middle of the bones, fists balled up at her sides.

“I don’t want to watch you die again all because you’re too stupid to see past your own God-damned nose.”

Silence fell across the room as Evelynn just stared, wide-eyed at the clearly flustered woman. Evelynn hadn’t moved an inch -- she probably hadn’t even breathed -- while the rant had slapped her in the face so hard that it had even made her tear up a bit.

She really was just promoting the cycle. Feeding her own death without a care in the world. She had known something was wrong with her for months. And what did she do? Absolutely nothing. She fell comfortably into Robert’s arms like he could magically make all of her worries go away. Like he was making her life good and happy. All the while she was out doing fuck all and degrading her soul at every command of a man she barely knew.

“You’re right,” she finally croaked, her voice tiny in comparison to the situation.

The ghost blinked, shifting her weight a bit as if she hadn’t been expecting that. But otherwise, she remained silent, eyes begging for more.

“I…” Evelynn licked her lips to buy herself more time. She couldn’t help but look down at the skull between the ghost’s feet. Something about the sight that had just seconds ago made her cringe ignited a sort of fire in her gut. Warm and determined. “I don’t want to die. I’ve fucked up over and over… I don’t… I never knew what I was doing or why. I just was. It isn’t me. It’s not what I want, but I don’t… know how to fix it.”

Her chest hurt from everything. The realizations, the fear, the determination, the excitement, the frustration. Everything clawed at her insides, each demanding more attention than any of the others. But through what she could only describe as confusion, she found a bit of comfort. Comfort, oddly, in not being alone through all of this. Having someone -- even if it was her own insanity -- to talk to her and point out the things she was too afraid of seeing. Someone to calm the neverending solitude that built her into the pacified monster she was.

“I still don’t know what you are,” she continued with a bit more strength. “I still don’t trust that you mean well, but… Everything here -- everything I know in here,” she tapped her chest. “It says you’re right at least this one time. I’ve done nothing but run away and… And… I don’t want to die.”

The next part was the hard one. The words teased her tongue but she couldn’t help but clench her jaw shut even tighter. Maybe… Maybe she wouldn’t say it. What good would it do anyways? Then again… It was that mindset that put her in this position in the first place, wasn’t it?

“Please… Help me. I don’t want to die.”

Slowly, she looked up to meet the ghost’s stare.

The woman visually relaxed and then took a few steps forward, closing the distance between them until she could reach out and touch Evelynn’s cheek. The touch was too hot -- it burned at her flesh, but Evelynn didn’t flinch. If anything, she raised her head to meet the cupped hand even more.

“Remember when you asked me for my name?” Her voice was hushed appropriately for how close they were. “I didn’t have an answer back then. I think I do now.”

The woman paused, eyes looking away shyly before looking up at the ceiling. For the first time, a genuine smile spread across her face.

“My name is Samyaza.”

[1,955. 26]
[98]

~Thread End~