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Her usual eyeroll caught him off guard this time around. H-hmph, he hadn’t said anything out of the ordinary, had he? Stepping in the living room, Neil wondered if he had thought this through thoroughly enough. Though—

Sunshine’s little snippet really packed a punch. With a snap of her fingers and a pinch of her candor, she had him coloring like one hell of an idiot. Taking the bundle of red flowers gently—what did red flowers mean again?— Neil held them gingerly in his hands. On his lips graced a ghost of a smile, though it could hardly be seen under his bad attempt to keep things under control.

"…Although I don’t need this, I can’t say I don’t want it…" He let out a quiet sigh and hoped his eyes could express what his words couldn’t say. "…Thanks, Sunshine."

Holding a bundle of red and yellow flowers in his hand, Neil wondered if this was a fantastic idea or just a downright stupid one. Gritting his teeth, he pulled opposite hand out of his pocket and lifted it towards her door. He was just thinking of leaving them there and retreating, but what kind of man would he be then? Clearing his throat, Neil knocked on the door stiffly. As it swung open, he waved it to her in the suavest motion. "T-tch. It's not like I was thinking of you."

Rio sat in her house, nose deep in a book. Her chores had been finished, including harvesting some flowers for a certain holiday, so it wouldn’t hurt to spend a little time relaxing. Besides, she had gotten this book ages ago, and it had just been sitting untouched on her bookshelf. Her eyes quickly scanned page after page until a knock at the door shook her from her own little world.

She opened the door and found a familiar face behind it. “Neil?” She spotted the flowers and reminders of what day it was popped up in her mind. “Oh! Thank you!” A smile accompanied her slight eye roll at his comment. “Well, I was thinking of you.” Laughter danced in her eyes before she turned slightly towards the inside to look at where the arrangement meant for Neil sat. “Uh… Here, come in.”

Leaving the door open behind her, she walked over to her counter and grabbed the flowers. A bundle of red flowers, only the finest from her own farm. She gently held them out to him. “And these are for you.”

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Sprite Casino

I went gambling today and lost 600G

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The light knock on his door brought on both curious premonitions and mild annoyance. It was always the mornings that had to be riddled with issues and problems that rained from who knows where, wasn't it? When the door swung open, his eyes immediately focused on her sky-blue orbs that seemed a world away from his own. What in the world could she have asked of him now that she hadn't already changed? Tch. Rio was more trouble than Neil would have ever wanted. But it didn't mean that... he didn't need it.

He owed her one, actually. She had rebuilt his home from bottom up, and Goddess, it was as though nothing had happened to it in the first place. Neil should have felt blessed, tch, but he couldn't help feel that the gravity of the situation had tipped in her favor. He held his breath and nodded, stiffly. It was just giving her back what was due, right? Tch. He scowled at his own actions. Right. 

"Look, Sunshine. I guess it's your lucky day..." He murmured, trying not to look directly into her sweet gaze. It was already too much that she had to grace him with her presence almost every morning now. Neil hmphed, as though his pride were eating at him right when he opened his mouth. "...I'll go. But only because I owe you, alright? N-no other reason!" Oh just shut up, Neil. Please. Just save yourself the trouble. 

"......Do you want me to start packing?" Neil sighed, scratching his red-stained cheeks with a finger. "...H-hah, I'm in for quite the journey, aren't I?"

Just a Small Adventure || @Neil

Rio brushed her hands down the side of the old picture frame that had been resting in her bedside table drawer. The photo depicted a young girl, who looked to be the age of twelve, standing with her mother and father. Sapphire hues traveled over the faded colors as a wave of nostalgia washed over her. She remembered this day, the one where she had won the science fair at her school. Goddess, mom and dad looked so proud…

Her thoughts drifted back to her old town. Her school, the stores she would go to, and most importantly her old house. Although… That wouldn’t be there anymore. After the fire had burnt it to the ground. She held the picture against her chest. Never once had she gone back to her town since her parents’ death. It was due time to go back there, wasn’t it? With a heavy sigh she pulled herself up from the bed.

Only a day trip, Rio. It’s only a day trip.

She quickly threw some more money and other essentials in her bag. Her boots and jacket would be needed too, seeing as it was the middle of winter. After slipping both of them on, she stepped outside. Something stopped her… A trip to a town was better suited to two people, or maybe that was just her fear of being alone speaking. Either way, it would be much more comforting to have someone their with her. Maybe if Neil wasn’t busy— Oh, but before she left… Her eyes drifted to the plot of blue roses growing near her house. The ones that she grew every winter as a reminder of her mom. She snipped the step of one and tucked it inside her bag, where it would remain safe until she needed it.

She knocked quickly on the familiar door before shoving her hands in her pocket to keep them from freezing. When the door swung open, she gave a tiny smile. “Hey, Neil— Uh, if you’re not busy or anything I was wondering if you’d like to take a small day trip with me? Not anywhere huge, just a town that I haven’t been to in a while.” Her eyes were cast to the ground as she awaited an answer from him. Hopefully she wouldn’t have to face this by herself.

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His heartbeat was uneasy, as though something had disrupted its perpetual motion. She wasn't supposed to be able to do something like this... Goddess damn it...! "H-hmph.." How complicated was this supposed to be..?! Neil ignored the thumping against his chest, as though it was something that could possibly go away over a span of time. But there was a question that continued nagging him. 

Did he want it to go away? 

"Worried? P-please. It's not like you don't have other friends."

She'd be alone...? Without him? But she'd have the rest of Echo Village backing her up, holding her in their arms. She had no fear of being alone by a long shot. No-- Neil swallowed harshly, as though he was trying to convince himself of this. Why did he find it so difficult to allow just this one ray of sunshine in? Neil was always an enigma; his mind worked in an array of maze walls, built high with layers on layers of denial and insecurities.

Perhaps this ray of sunlight through the maze's cracks was just a lucky break. Tch. Goddess.... when did he become such a sentimental little sap? Finally, his eyes naturally dragged themselves towards her own and Goddess-- the light in her eyes could have had him staggering back a few steps. She was just too-- He didn't know the words to describe it.

Maybe there weren't any words to describe it. "Complicated" was just a minute taste of the tides of confliction and strange vibes. He didn't know what to make of it. He didn't know if he liked this feeling or hated it. Hell, he didn't know much at all... All Neil knew for sure was that she was here and this was now. It'd take a bit of time but Neil couldn't deny that he wanted to know what kind of future was out there.

Her words dug deep, and the cheesy thoughts of the future whipped back to the present. He opened his mouth, trying to think of something genuinely worth saying but-- All that tumbled out was.

"T-tch...! You can't possibly mean that.." Goddess damn it, just shut up, shut up, shut up! All he was doing was taking a stab at her and himself. He colored violently, almost as dangerously as the erratic drumming of his pulse.  The real question posed a real point here and he let one more response slip. 

"...Why me?"

It's Complicated || Rio and Neil

Even as the few brief seconds of time ticked by, the weight that constricted Rio’s chest seemed to increase. She had never been the person who was great at expressing how she felt, but she was trying. Despite the crippling fear she felt over the possibility of being rejected. She listened to the few words that he spoke and found no relief in them until the last sentence.

She wasn’t aware that she was holding her breath, but all at once it silently escaped her lips. Sapphire blue eyes met with his flushed face once again as she slowly blinked. It was hard to internalize this all. As much as she had wanted this outcome, Rio couldn’t believe that it was actually happening. It felt like some sort of strange vision, but the kind that was much less realistic than whatever had happened at Mineral High. A grin tugged at the corners or her lips.

"Heh… Nope." It sure was something. She chuckled and slowly shook her head, causing her raven hair to brush against her shoulders. “I’m sorry… I’m just struggling to take this all in.” Her words caught in her throat and there was a short pause while she sorted it out. In that time she made a few small steps to close the distance between them.

"Oh, Goddess….I was really worried," she spoke in a hushed voice, hesitating slightly at the words that were coming out of her own mouth. "I thought you would have forgotten. Everything that happened…" Everything we went through… “It would all be gone, just like that.” She brought a hand up to her forehead and her eyes focused on the floor. “I’d be alone then.” The blush on her cheeks seemed to grow more intense. This really wasn’t the easiest thing in the world.

"…I’d prefer to be with you, Neil." Now she would just have to add this to the list of things that she would most likely regret admitting later. 

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Day 234: Suspected human still has not realized he is married to and mated with a bear.

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His breathe of air was slightly ragged, as though something caught on his throat. Neil kept that sign subtle, trying to keep his cool when he understood it should have been otherwise. She remembered; so it wasn't all for naught... tch. Though he held his glance on her familiar face with a forced deadpan expression, Neil feared that it was just that: forced. He couldn't hold up this act much longer, but how was he supposed to act? As though that ridiculous dream was real? He felt conflicted forces in his head clash head to head, as though he was wondering how badly he desired for things to go back to normal.

Wait. Normal?

What was normal? Obviously, in reality, there was no 'normal' for him. Not with Rio and his other frien-- Friends. He was going to have a hard time accepting all this, wasn't he? It struck him that reality really was stranger to him than he would have originally assumed. But having Rio on his doorstep was something he didn't particularly mind especially when-- He nearly stepped back at her confession, but saved himself from a bad impression by cementing himself to the ground. All Neil could do was hold his mouth closed to avoid gaping and swallow ungracefully at the shock of emotions that he wasn't supposed to be feeling rushed through his veins. His face showed nothing but a bright flush and stunned gaze, which quickly hardened when Neil could get a hold of himself. 

"Feelings..? T-tch." He coughed into his fist, trying to get that nonchalant air back in his tone of voice. But the longer the silence, the stronger her words rushed into his mind. As much as he wanted to deny all this, he couldn't help but sigh as his gaze softened once more. 

"Sunshine... No matter the situation.." He grasped for the right words, but all that was clear was something that had repeated in his head for nights on end at MHS. Though he couldn't look her in the eyes any longer, he felt a faint ghost of a smile on his lips.

"This isn't nothing, is it?" 

It's Complicated || Rio and Neil

Rio paused, trying to let everything in her mind process. What Neil gave wasn’t really the straight forward that she was looking for, but she thought that was a yes? It really didn’t sound like he knew any more about this whole fiasco than she did… She didn’t even mind. The only fact that she cared about was Neil remembering… Her teeth sunk down on her lip again momentarily.

"Y-Yeah." she managed to stutter. Everything that happened had come back to her. Hell, if she didn’t remember there would be no explanation as to why her chest was tight with worries of the words neither of them had dared to speak. Maybe things would work a lot easier is she just spit out what she wanted to say… The Neil she was starting at now may not be the same as he was in Mineral High, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t Neil. And that didn’t mean that she didn’t care about him any less. Although, now that she had stared into his icy gaze, she doubted that the feeling was mutual…

Rio took a deep breath and tried her best to swallow her nerves. “I, uh… I don’t know what exactly caused all of this to happen. I don’t even see how it’s possible, but it happened… And I don’t regret it happening." A blush settled into her cheeks and she adverted her eyes from his face, trying to defend herself from the rejection that she knew would follow. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that my feelings haven’t changed." This isn’t nothing, right? This can’t be nothing.

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His eyes flickered to her face and away, as he attempted not to bask in the memories that were probably lost forever. It wasn't difficult, however, to remember the smile on her face... rather than the anxious gloom that loomed over her now. He didn't know what the hell he did to upset her-- no... he did know. It was obvious enough, wasn't it?

His entire presence, his attitude, the way he spoke to her-- all frigidly cold. Neil cursed under his breath. What did he care? He didn't! Tch. There was... no way. Neil blinked once more, directing his gaze to the wrinkles on his jacket, to the floor boards, to the consistent shadows that made prominent figures by his feet. Anything at all would be better than this.

He folded his arms over his chest, turning his head away from her. Yes. That's right. He remembered it all. But it was far too late to look forward to a good answer. What was the point of getting his hope-- wait. Wait, wait, wait. Hope? Never mind that. Tch.... There wasn't any hope to begin with--

She... She didn't just say... 

"..........Mineral High." His voice was above a whisper. "......So I guess you do remember."

There wasn't any hope to begin with... right?

It's Complicated || Rio and Neil

Her eyes immediately snapped back and met his gaze. Sunshine… That one familiar little nickname seemed to shatter a small part of her anxiety. She knew that it didn’t mean anything. She knew that she shouldn’t take such relief in something as frivolous as a name that he had been calling her even before Mineral High. She simply couldn’t help herself. It invoked memories of the time they had spent together, memories of how safe and happy she had felt. A glint of sorrow shown in her eyes as she thought about how she may never be able to experience that again with Neil.

Even with the slight relief she felt with the nickname, there was still a weight resting on her chest. There was an urge to just run up and hug him like she had done before. She just couldn’t. Not if she wasn’t sure where he stood. She didn’t want to further embarrass herself if he didn’t know a thing about all of this… But at this point, did she care that much?

Yes? She blinked in anticipation, waiting to see if he’d say anything more. As of now she was just trying not to get her hopes up too high. The last thing she needed was to build herself up then get smacked back onto the ground when cold reality took over. Please, she couldn’t lose this. Not after she had finally opened up to him.

Remember…? Did she remember Mineral High? That’s what he meant, wasn’t it? Looks like there was no going back now that her feelings were fully out on the line. “M-Mineral High? Yeah… Do… Do you remember it?" Do you remember me? Do you remember us?

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Alice’s Fun house Day 2 || Hart, Barrett, Shea, Phillip, Neil, Lillian, Celia, Rio, Jin, Freya & Keira. [Part 6: Swimming With the Fishes, an inspirational drama]

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Alice's Fun House Day 4 || Barrett, Freya, Neil, Rio, Hart [part 4]

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Alice's Fun House Day 4 || Barrett, Freya, Neil, Rio, Hart, Celia, Aria [part 3]

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Alice's Fun House Day 4 || Barrett, Freya, Phillip, Neil, Rio, Hart [part 2]

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The silence was agonizing. He wasn't quite sure if he had done something wrong or... perhaps life was supposed to roll this way. Tch. He shouldn't have kept up much hope that her memories were intact. There was no point being so up when all you could do while you were up was fall farther down. He felt the mental rain cloud form above his head, as his eyes flashed dully at the staleness reverberating in the air. Mineral High...

"Don't be sorry, Sunshine.. I mean, I'm a bit out of sorts, tch." He wasn't one to admit his weaknesses to anyone but... Even if Rio wasn't the same Rio with the same memories from Mineral High.. She was still Rio. Her eyes glowed, rather upset; this wasn't what he wanted at all.... He felt regret in the pit of his stomach but ah.. Goddess he couldn't do anything right could he?  Lost in his own preoccupying thoughts he paused when she added her own.

"...Something weird?" His voice shot up for a moment. "Yes I..." Wait. What did she mean weird as in... High school weird or just... He didn't know if he should just jump for this opportunity to talk about things. But Neil wasn't the talker type. He just couldn't bring himself to spit it out that easily. Especially with his pride in mind. So he decided to turn the tables just a bit.

His scarlet eyes flashed in curiosity though. "The question is... do you remember?" 

It's Complicated || Rio and Neil

Rio nearly flinched as the words cut into her like a dull knife; they seemed so uncaring and indifferent. What did she want? Had she expected to walk into his house and have him tell her everything he knew about Mineral High? If so, she was stupid to think it would be easy, or to even get her hopes up in the first place.

He probably didn’t even care about her now. Or ever, if this whole thing was just some sort of dream. Just a terrible dream… That pool party kiss, going to the Cafe with him, working at the Maid Cafe, going to prom… Was she right all along? Was all of that really just nothing?

Knocked…? Damn it. Hesitantly, she turned to look at the door behind her. "…Oh, yeah. I guess I probably should have…Sorry." Silence filled the room for a few seconds before she tried opening her mouth to say something, to say anything that would help her explain all of this. A slight amount of panic rose inside her stomach as she realized how her voice was failing her. She looked around the room, sapphire eyes darting from object to object as if she expected the right words to just be there waiting for her to find them. No such luck.

She was going to have to say something! “Do… Do you remember anything weird happening?" Maybe this would give her something, anything to go off of.

[oldneil-down-peasants-blog]

Alice’s Fun house Day 2 || Hart, Barrett, Shea, Phillip, Neil, Lillian, Celia, Rio, Jin, Freya & Keira. [Part 6: Swimming With the Fishes, an inspirational drama]

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Congratulations, we have an offer for you~! You can take this 50,000G right here and right now, but you must know that taking this offer may or may NOT affect someone else in one way or another. Would you like to risk that for the large sum of money? You have full immunity to any consequences following the choice you make, of course. Also, we won't tell anyone if you do accept the money, but you're free to do so if you wish! (So nobody will know if you even received an offer at all.)

He narrowed his eyes at this. There was a catch, wasn’t there? He didn’t— He didn’t want to take such an obvious trap. Something about this message caught his eye. "But you must know that taking this offer may or may NOT affect someone else in one way or another." 

The guys in there really didn’t need to suffer or blame him because of it. Besides. He had no reason to spite them. He shook his head with a scoff and walked away. He’d earn his money another way. Something worth his efforts and someway he wouldn't regret in the long run.

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Alice's Fun house Day 2 || Hart, Barrett, Shea, Phillip, Neil, Lillian, Celia, Rio & Keira. [Part 5]

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How Fun

This was ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. Felicity was bouncing out of her seat in excitement like a madwoman. That's how deep he had dug his grave. Neil looked over the papers again and sighed. Okay, Dunhill was taking care of Felicity when he was gone. Check. The animals were with Dunhill too. Check. He had lost his marbles. Double check. 

Why had he even agreed to this? This painfully exasperating reality show that is. Alice's Fun House? Something told him this wasn't going to be a joy ride, that's for sure. His eyes narrowed at the details on the paperwork. Seems like he could get money to rebuild his house again. This wasn't a good idea but he didn't have much to lose. Considering that Felicity had burned most of it to the ground. At least... Rio was coming with him. Or was that a bad thing? 

Maybe he should have thought about this a little more, huh? He could be sending Rio into a world of trouble. Ah.. crap. It was much too late for second thoughts. Packing up one of his cheaper basses and a few of his spare clothes (that he had ordered in the days following the great Felicity house fire), he headed off. Rio seemed to have packed and left before him... Another fantastic idea. 

Checking up on Dunhill, his animals and Felicity once more, he headed off and away. He was just bound for trouble. How fun.

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Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap. 

It was days like this where he left his cares on the backburner. Or he should have.... But lately his thoughts have been filled to the brim, almost like a song writer who kept tangling a chain of notes together until they looked like a bunch of scribbles on a piece of paper. Ugh... Harmony Day... What was he supposed to think? What was he supposed to do? It wasn't like he could ignore it, or her... no, he couldn't keep her out even if he tried. Not that he would. Or--

AGH. All these conflicting thoughts were really taking a toll on him. Tch. Maybe he could get away with avoiding this damn holiday completely without avoiding her completely. Things were way too complicated for his tastes. It was almost bittersweet. The bright red circle on his calendar marked the day of his impending doom, hah. Neil didn't know that impending doom had to have his brain in a knot or two... It would have been nice if the Goddess had warned him ahead of time.... Okay, that was sarcasm, but--

The knock on the door had him turning right away. Who could it have been? What if it was-- Crap. Things moved too quickly for him to get his gears moving. His eyes flashed back to the table, jumbled in music notes and slightly withered flowers of all assorted colors. His home was kind of like his mind right now. Filled with thoughts of someone that seemed to leave everything else in a jumble. Goddess damn it, Sunshine. 

He scratched his cheek and accepted it with a mumble of gratitude. "T-thanks. Hmph." His eyes flashed with an embarrassed pleasure that he couldn't portray himself. "Just-- Just hold up a moment, alright?" Retreating back into his house, he jumbled together a bushel of flowers of all assorted colors. What did these mean again? Love, family, friendship? Ah, what the hell did he have to lose? Neil came back to the entrance and shoved the bundle into her hands. He seemed to mirror her exact movements from a minute before.

"Here!" Ugh, here they go again..

Harmony Day || Rio and Neil

Rio gave a quiet sigh and clutched the small handful of pink flowers close to her chest. She didn’t think that Neil liked flowers much, but it was Harmony Day… It’s the meaning of the flowers more than the flowers themselves, right? Another sigh escaped her lips, she sure hoped that was the case.

She had already tried to plan out what she was going to say, but words failed her… Maybe it was too optimistic of her to think this, but if words didn’t work out in her favor, maybe he would understand what she felt. Well, this was Neil they were talking…. But either way the girl walked up to Neil’s door before bringing her hand up to knock. Her hand hesitated slightly, trying to follow the accord of her nerves.

Rapping lightly on the doors she waited for Neil to come then put on a small smile. “Uh, Neil. I brought you these… For Harmony Day. I know that things are kinda complicated right now, but these pink ones seemed fitting. Seeing as you are special to me…" As she talked she forgot that the flowers were held against her chest, but she quickly extended them. “Here!"