illusionary-broadcast

[illusionary-broadcast]

As she puts the bottles away, Vixen can’t help but linger in the hallway, taking her time placing the medicine back in the first aid bag and then just

Staring at it

Before closing her eyes and rest her head against the door to the medicine cabinet with a soft ‘thump’

If only he was a little drunker….

A little less cognizant….

Or hell- even a little more focused on the fact he just survived a 5 story drop off of his tower

…

..

.

.

..

…

Oh well.

Face the music.

Face your execution.

Vixen pursed her lips as she put the first aide bag back in it’s place,

Everything will be fine.

Yep

Everything will go back to normal, just need to get through this one little hurdle.

It’s…it’s fine.

Vixen knows how to handle this. Vixen wouldn’t run from this.

Vixen would be….fine.

Vixen will be fine….

…one way or another….

[illusionary-broadcast]

As he takes a deep breath, she nods and lets go of his hand, assuming that was the end of the conversation or possibly just taking the chance to flee while there was still an opening

And just like that, she picked up and shook the bottle again while heading towards the door

“I’ll be right back, don’t want them to think they’ve lost this now. Heh- I swear it’s like the only bottle they have in the house.”

“D-“

…

“Oh. Um, okay…”

[illusionary-broadcast]

“…”

Spin this away from relationships Vivian. ‘Emotional relationship’ is vague enough. This is what you get for spilling your heart.

“well…we did talk about how we viewed one another.”

She placed the bottle down on the nightstand before turning back to Charles and resting one of her hands over his, softly smiling as she said

“You know…you don’t have to change anything about yourself for me, okay? I like you just how you are….”

Her look grew more serious as she squeezed his hand

“And nothing you do will ever make me hate you. No matter what”

(if so, then she won’t hate me if I just…ask.)

He takes a deep breath.

[illusionary-broadcast]

“Ah well….”

She opened the bottle, tapping out some pills for him and handing them over

“…you told me about the world you wanted to live in….soft, blurry colors, peaceful woods with welcoming trees and nature.”

Don’t blush, focus on putting the cap back on, you guys said nothing about loving one another. It was all just sweet friendly stuff.

…

No matter how much her brain would tell her to focus on other stuff as she continued to answer, her cheeks couldn’t help but betray her with a little bit of dusting

“You also gushed about how you wanted to ‘show me every sunset the world has to offer’. It was cute.”

(I am NOT- stay on topic.)

“…o-okay, because I have this really random memory about you-“

(Kissing me.)

“-ah, about us having a bunch of emotional relationship discussions??”

[illusionary-broadcast]

Well…better than nothing even if it is just over the counter. She can see if Eden has stronger stuff when she wakes up, she doesn’t want to disturb her more…

As she fidgets with the safety cap, she freezes, ever so briefly

Don’t panic yet…..

She continues to jostle the bottle, trying to keep all her attention on opening it and not what the question could be

“Yeah? What’s up?”

”I-I had a lot of weird dreams, so sorry if this sounds kind of strange- did we…ah, what did we discuss while I was…in this house? And intoxicated?”

[illusionary-broadcast]

“Heh- hey, dont be to hard on yourself. Drunk you is kind of endearing….yknow….just…when you’re supervised. And not mistaking a window for a door”

She giggles a little while heading out of the room

“I’ll be right back. Hopefully she has some painkillers that I don’t have to dig around for…”

(And that’s exactly why he’s an idiot!)

Grif probably has some kind of first aid kit, but past that, you’re outta luck.

When she returns, Charles perks up a bit.

“Um…can I ask you a stupid question?”

[illusionary-broadcast]

“So that’s where the alcohol came from….”

She nodded slowly as the rest of the pieces fell in place for her

“Well, one, we’re in Candleton. Nikolai insisted we come here to see Miss Eden for all your injuries. And two well….the pain came from Miss Eden’s treatments…heh- kind of hard not to be painful when it’s a broken leg youre trying to fix though….”

She got up, straightening out her dress once again before asking

“do you want me to see if I can find any pain relievers? Or more water?”

”I broke my leg- geez, drunk me is an idiot…That’d be great, Vix, thank you so much…”

[illusionary-broadcast]

“Whe— when did I— heh- Charles I’ve been here for a while. Who do you think brought you here??— actually no thats a lie, Niko brought us here— but still— what was the last thing you remember exactly?”

“Uhhhhhhhhhhhh I don’t remember too much of anything-“

He starts to count events on his fingers.

“I broke into Niko’s house and stole his liquor, went home, presumably got very intoxicated- did I fall out of a window?? Not sure- then I ended up…somewhere??- I just remember being in a lot of pain out of nowhere, I think you may have been there for that- then- no, that probably didn’t happen- then I presumably passed out on the floor and woke up here. Wherever here is.”

[illusionary-broadcast]

Immediately the foxy friend jumps to alertness too

Well that’s certainly…one way. To knock her out of her nightmare of a dream

“Wha— I— Charles?! Are you okay?? Are you in pain?? Should I go get Miss Eden??”

Her voice was rife with worry, like someone who had been expect the worse for a while

”WellsureI’minpainbutWHENDIDYOUGETHERE-“

[illusionary-broadcast]

“Mmm…”

As the rain patters outside Vixen grimaces, her ears twitching as she readjusts herself on the chair she’s sleeping on, her tails acting as both padding for the chair and protection from the perceived stressor outside.

She seemed to be stuck in the uncomfy state between asleep and awake - though - thats to be expected considering where exactly she did decide to fall asleep.

“Hm?- AAAAA-“

He yelps, nearly falling over and barely managing not to spill his water.

[illusionary-broadcast]

Waiter! Waiter! More vixen dream please!!

The princess huffed in frustration as she started at the dress in her hands. The hem was ruined and the darkness started creeping up the garment like tendrils.

They didn’t grow rapidly, nor did they smear away when she rubbed them with her rag. They just stayed put. Motionless. Complacent.

Was it mold? It couldnt be. These dresses barely saw the light of day. They were her nice dresses, her fancy dresses, the ones she would wear if she ever went to parties. The ones that made her actually pretty to look at…

….

She started to rub at the dress again, this time with more force

Ink? No. Ink would let up. Ink would move. Ink wouldn’t just sit there. Mocking her. Growing only overnight as it reached for the top of the dress as the waves reach for the rain.

Dirt. It had to be dirt of some kind. Or something in the air. But if it was in the air, why was it coming bottom up and not top down???

And why wasn’t the rain letting up yet? It had been weeks.

And where was the bird? And where was the blonde man? Were they trapped in the water? Did the floods rise without her knowing? Is the tower only thing left anymore? Is She The Only Person Alive Anymore? What Was She To Do With Herself?!?

And Why Hadn’t She Seen Her Brothers In Months?!.

.

..

…

She placed the rag down on her bedside table. Her fingers red from the friction of rubbing the fabric so hard. The rain from her window, the only sound in her room, mocking her.

She didn’t like being wet.

She never liked being wet.

The water…its vast expanse of knowledge….it scared her.

It knew things other men didn’t.

Harbored secrets that only herself and it knew.

It beckoned….

It beckoned her to swim.

To join it.

To bathe in it’s knowledge

To become one with its secrets

…

Its secrets scare me….

Its secrets tell the truth….

If I were to swim in the ocean, or if the flood waters were to rise

I wouldn’t make it out alive

The waters would drown me….

Everyone here would drown me

[illusionary-broadcast]

...

..

.

.

..

...

It's raining...It's been raining all day.

or- all night?

It's been raining for a while.

The pitter-patter of the drops against the outstretched hand of the princess is nice....It brings an air of refreshment to her tower.

Yet the clouds don't seem to lighten, no matter how much water weight it sheds.

The waters below are the same as ever, the crashing rhythmic as the waves reach up to try to catch their watery brethren from their fall.

She really should stop resting by the window...there's work to be done. And to be distract by the outside world only continues that procrasination further...

...

With a begrudging sigh, the princess gets up, muddy footprints following her stride as she goes and opens her wardrobe.

She grimaces at the sight.

All her dresses, once made of the nicest, well-pressed sheets her and the prince owned, now all in various states of soiled under a dark dye.

It wasn't her, she'd know if she did something like that to her dresses...and it wasnt the servant either, he's still out finding them food...

...

it's been a while since she's seen him now....

hopefully he'll be back soon despite the weather...

...

Despite knowing that the stains were not her doing, she can't help but feel guilty over them as she takes out one of the less damaged dresses. It had to be partially her fault in some way, hadn't it? They were her dresses after all...

"...:

She walked over to her bed, dress in one hand and dampened rag in the other.

It's just dirt.

Yeah.

It's reversible.

She should be able to get the stains out.

There's always a way to get a stain out...

Just...got to keep working...if it's not coming out, you're not doing enough.

It'll be okay.

It'll....all...be okay....

...

..

.

[illusionary-broadcast]

Vixen softly smiled, staring at her sleeping prince for a minute before leaving the room and coming back in with his glass of water and a chair. She’d place the chair off to the side of the room and the glass of water on the nightstand before looking back at him once more.

…this was nice to have while it lasted….god she really didn’t deserve him…..

She silently contemplated for a moment before looking down at her own hand and giving herself a couple kisses to get rid of any lipstick that might linger before softly planting an invisible kiss on his forehead

“….sleep well Charlie…”

And off to the chair she went to rest too. It wouldn’t be nearly as comfortable as the bed, but it would get her to keep an eye on him

He shifts a bit, but doesn’t wake up…out like a light.

——————————————————————————————————

I am alone in a boat, on a sea with no end.

It wants me dead, I know it does. I know it all must despise me.

I let my hand drift in the water. The tiny vessel presses on no matter what I do, it doesn’t matter. Hands graze against and grab at my own.

The dark waters say they will help me. That there will be darkness and nothing and there I will belong. That my boat is useless and my voyage has no meaning. They grab at my arms, my neck, my head.

it hurts. But I see nothing on the horizon.

[illusionary-broadcast]

“Aaaand up you go!”

Vixen admittedly struggles a bit, not used to lifting, much less carrying around so much dead weight, nevertheless after half crawling on the bed herself just to use her whole body weight to push him on, she manages to get him tucked in. Just to be on the safe side, once he was all pampered and cozy, Vixen would check him, making sure the fall did cause any noticeable bruising or more bleeding

He seems alright…actually, he seems quite at peace. It won’t last, but…it’s sweet.

[illusionary-broadcast]

The loud thump of his body immediately shoots Vixen’s away again, the absence of a body next to her as cold as ice

“Charles?! Shit—”

As she rushes over to where she heard the sound, she stops, sighing as she saw him on the ground. A bit of laughter couldn’t help but escape her lips while she shook her head at the ridiculousness of him

“Should’ve told me you wanted to sleep in a bed and not on the couch, dear….cmmmmon.”

And she, of course, would throw one of his arms over her shoulders and try to carry him to comfort

dear?

He’s dead weight, although not impossible to carry. Literally all of this is going to be awful to deal with once he’s awake.

[illusionary-broadcast]

As she let herself fall victim to the drowsiness of the moment, vixen nuzzled closer and softly purred in content

“…of course Charlie…anythin’ for you…”

Charles is not usually stupid, although due to the current circumstances his mind is not working at full capacity, and the first thing that he thinks is-

(If she’s going to sleep here, I should get her a blanket.)

And, like the idiot he currently is, he stands up and shakily walks towards the next room over to get said blanket….before promptly passing out and falling to the floor. Ow.

[illusionary-broadcast]

“Heh….and I’ll be ‘ere to help clean up your wreck….it’ll be okay….”

“T.thank you so much…”