I stood in place, rooted to the spot. He didn't just say what I think he did. He wanted me to stay? This wasn't just some fling? A part of me wanted to call bullshit on what he was saying. He couldn't possibly know what he was saying. He couldn't possibly mean it.
But, then he said it again. "I want you to stay, with me." Ethan was staring up at me expectantly. He was now only a couple feet from me. I could reach out and touch him, but I resisted the urge.
"You can't mean that," I replied. "We've only known each other for a day and a half. I could be a serial killer for all you know that you are now trapped to live with forever."
He chuckled despite his nervousness. "I have no doubt you have a form in your arsenal of such a person, but I don't believe that's who you really are." He seemed to relax a little, as though I was going to throw out all these excuses all morning.
But, he had a point. Max, the werewolf, was the serial killer I could shift into. It wasn't me. I was just conceited and selfish, always thinking of myself and my safety before others. It's how I have had to survive. I'd have died long ago otherwise. IT was a habit I didn't know if I'd be able to break. I wanted to.
For Ethan, I wanted to be a better person. I wanted to be the person he would be proud of. I wanted to be the person who made him smile, laugh, love. I wanted to be there. With him. I really did. It was those thoughts that made me decide to stay. TO stay here at the manor. To stay with Ethan.
"I don't want to hurt you," I whispered. A part of me hoping he wouldn't hear me say it. I used people. It was in my nature. I'd end up using him, too.
Ethan
Akane stood in the middle of the room. She had thrown on her clothes from yesterday and she had shifted into someone I didn't recognize. Her ears did extend out into a point so I assume she was some sort of an elf.
"When I woke up, you weren't there." I pointed out the obvious.
She was silent. I bit my bottom lip and gathered my thoughts.
"I just... didn't know if I did something to make you leave. I never meant to offend you if that's what happened..." I placed one of my hands over my other arm's elbow, "I thought maybe you were about to leave or had already left."
I cautiously took a step towards her, but not too close.
"If it means anything to you, I would rather you stay." I stated then looked down to stare at the floor for a moment. I raised my head once again to gaze at her.
"I want you to stay, with me."
BrokenTear
"How about French toast?" Yuki peered from the pantry at me with cinnamon in her grasp.
I nodded, "Go for it."
Glancing at the coffee in hand, I decided I should get to making that. I stared at the coffee maker intimidatingly. How in the world was one to work this thing?
I blinked, realizing maybe in my years of trying to modernize my lifestyle that I should've asked Erela to teach me these things. Even if I did grow up as these things were invented, my family wasnt involved.
Slowly but surely, I figured it out and watched it, dripping into the pot as Yuki began cooking the French toast. I turned to look at her. I could almost see Alyssa in her place with Lilith tugging at her dress. Erela would've only been employed for cleaning the castle. Alyssa did most of the cooking.
But somehow, even if she possibly had to do it to survive, I didn't see Yuki as the cooking type.
"Do you cook often?" I asked as I poured two cups of coffee.
Forever
"Forever, would you like to fly?" Setsu asked and I felt my heart skip. I looked up at him.
Flying... The idea had never appealed to me. I was terrified to even stand on the highest balcony of the castle, let alone fly. What if I fell?
Would Setsu let me fall?
Do I trust Setsuna?
I blinked away my fearful thoughts. It was time to take a chance.
"Yes, I'd like to fly with you, Setsu." I smiled under my mask and held to him like I was already afraid of falling.
The scenery around the castle was like something from a story book. Beautiful, serene, peaceful. All the things I wasn't really. Not deep down. I had an ugly soul, an ugly personality.
Ethan would be waking to an empty bed. Would he be hurt? He was a nice guy. Seemed very genuine. I didn't deserve to mess around with someone like that. He deserved better than that. Better than me. I sighed as I leaned forward and rested my forehead on the glass. What was the matter with me?
Suddenly, my door opened, startling me. Turning, I found Ethan standing at the threshold. Ethan. There he was. He came looking for me.
"Hello," he looked a little nervous, out of place almost. He took a step forward and shut the door, standing in the same place, not making any motion towards me. What was he thinking? Was he waiting for me to fix the situation?
"Ethan," I practically breathed his name. I was flooded with a bunch of different emotions I didn't know I could feel. Joy, warmth, nervousness, anxiety. What if he was here to tell me to leave him alone? What if he was going to tell me he wanted nothing more to do with me, that last night had been a mistake?
I suddenly realized I was still naked and in my truest form. Fuck. I turned around quickly, shifting into a powerful, elf princess I had met a couple years ago, and I moved towards the bed to grab my clothes. I hoped he hadn't seen the real me. It wasn't something I let anyone see, and I wasn't ready to show Ethan that side of me yet. There were too many reminders of the past I tried to forget.
Smoothly putting my clothes on, I turned to Ethan and asked, "What are you doing here?"
He shifted weight from one foot to the other. "When I woke up, you weren't there," he was stating the obvious.
Once dressed, I tried to stand dignified in the middle of the room, making no effort to move towards him. If he was going to tell me he didn't want me around anymore, I wasn't going to make this easy for him.
Yuki
"Any requests as to what you want to eat?" Brokentear asked, sounding groggy from sleep. I giggled at the sound and followed him into the kitchen without answering. Opening cupboard doors and what appeared to be the pantry door, I followed my nose to a container of vanilla coffee. Turning around and ducking under one of the open doors, I handed him the coffee.
"You can make me some coffee, and I shall make breakfast," I told him, tweaking his nose just because I could. He was still half-asleep, so I knew I could get away with it for now. Pivoting on my heels, I went back to the pantry to see what I could make, leaving him standing with the coffee.
"I don't mind making breakfast," Brokentear grumbled, yawning afterwards. I giggled and ignored him, humming softly as I scanned the food. I wasn't great with cooking, but simple things I could do. A small container labeled 'Cinnamon' caught my eye and I grinned at the food I could make from it.
"How about french toast?" I asked, pulling away from the pantry with the cinnamon in hand.
Setsuna
It was nice, Forever's fingers lightly running over my feathers, curious and kind. I silently purred under the ministrations done and smiled down at him. He looked like he was enjoying this too, still in awe at how soft they were. I manipulated the wing he wasn't currently touching to curl around us, feathers brushing against his back and hair, one resting lightly against his cheek.
I lifted a hand and ran my right hand's fingers through his hair, chuckling when his ears twitched. "Your hair is softer than my wings," I murmured, smirking at the blush I got.
"It is not," he objected, slightly squeaking. I chuckled and leaned forward, pulling my curled wings back so the wind wouldn't jerk me back. I tugged lightly on one of his ears and enjoyed how he automatically reached to remove my already gone fingers.
"But it is, your hair and skin and essence is all soft and unblemished. My wings don't even compare," I teased, chuckling at how flustered he looked. A breeze rushed past, my wings moving to keep my land-born, and I got an idea.
"Forever, would you like to fly?" I asked.
Ethan
My eyes flickered at the morning light. I yawned softly and refrained from stretching, closing my eyes to shield them from the unexpected light. I didn't want to wake Akane.
But the warmth on my chest that had been there the night before was absent. I slowly opened my eyes and realized that she wasn't in my arms any longer.
My mind began to wander. I didn't know much about Akane yet. Who knows where she could be? The logical guess would be her room. But Akane isn't a typical being.
Maybe she had left because she feared my getting too attached to her. Which, was definitely beginning to happen. I just felt right with her. I didn't think of the fallen angel or BrokenTear, or how I despised them. Just Akane.
I hoped it wasn't that. I hoped this feeling wasn't only on my end. And I hoped we would spend more time together.
But she had expressed not being happy with staying here at the castle forever. Could she have escaped?
My heart ached at the thought.
Would she leave without saying goodbye?
I had felt absolutely nothing when watching the previous residents of the castle die. I watched their bodies go up in smoke, bullets enter them. Though Erela loved them, I felt nothing for them.
But Akane... She was something special to me. I'm not sure what it was but I felt some sort of feeling for her. It like something clicked in my head when I kissed her. I felt complete. Like I found my missing puzzle piece. (unintentional Coldplay reference whoops)
But I was jumping to conclusions that may not even be true. I stood up and stretched, pulling on a long silky skirt and closing my bedroom door behind me. I didn't care if anyone saw me or what they thought. I only cared about how Akane thought of me.
I stood in front of Akane's door. I wanted to see her. But was I really ready to see? To see if she wasn't there? Or worse, if she was still there and didn't want to see me.
I felt fidgety and slightly hurt. Should I knock? We had seen eachother naked obviously so I doubt that would be an issue. What should I say to her if she is inside?
Fuck. I had never felt so nervous or insecure. I didn't like it. I hoped I wouldn't feel like this much more.
It was now or never. I sucked in a breath and opened the door.
There she was, standing in front of the window. And there was my heart beginning to pound.
She turned to look at me and I struggled with what to say.
"Hello." I tried my best to muster my usual confidence. I took a step forward but only one. I shut the door and stood in my place, unsure of what exactly to do.
BrokenTear
"Are you sure you could handle it? Being mine and mine alone?"
Yuki's voice was low and alluring. Her breath was hot on my face. I could only remain silent as her fingertips ran slowly down my cheek until her hand was over my throat. Unblinking and finding myself without words, I waited to see what would happen next. Her touch on my chest and throat was enough to leave me wanting.
But she sat back on her knees and spoke once again, "At least for the day."
Her essence had retreated back into her usual playful self. She got up from the bed and stretched before turning back to me.
"So, lead me to the kitchen? I really am hungry."
She asked casually as if not a strange thing had just happened. I blinked and sat up. I couldn't help but feel a bit teased. Though it was a tad bit frightening seeing Yuki in that state, I wanted to see more. I wondered if I would see that again.
I dropped the thought and my feelings along with it and stood up, "I can make us some breakfast." I answered with an added yawn.
I led her to the dining room and went into the kitchen before peeking out back at her.
"Any requests as to what you want to eat?" I smiled, still semi-groggy from sleep.
Forever
As I stared at Setsu, looking incredibly majestic, he spoke and I was surprised that I could still hear.
"You can come and touch, if you'd like, my dear Forever."
At the sound of that, I smiled. The thought of touching them made my ears twitch in delight. Setsu hung his tops around his neck and leaned against the wall.
I approached cautiously, then gently ran my fingers over the feathers. I had never felt anything in my life that was so soft. Setsu seemed to be enjoying himself. And I was enjoying myself too. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. The feathers beneath my fingers had the texture of heaven itself.
