Expedition to Autunno Keep [PLOT] Day 2 - Nightmare (MATURE CONTENT)

"Like what exactly? She is not exactly one to be random like this." Saying with a completely serious tone despite her words, she would then sit down and not allow him a look, slipping her underwear on while wearing the towel and top, "So, why exactly would she be like this now?"

Aphelion momentarily stopped with his usual carefree voice as his tone also went more serious, "Do you know what can change the nature of a person?" he asked, not giving her time to answer, "Torment." he thought back to his nightmare and closed his eyes, letting the tears slide down his forehead, "When you think or do something which you'd never expect from yourself, it will torment you. The injuries of the mind are more devastating than those of flesh."

Evidently not wanting to think about her own nightmare, she would shake her head to get rid of any memories of it. Rubbing her head afterwards, she would swap her prior thoughts with those of Melissa, saying somewhat uncomfortably, "I know what you mean about that. Though she didn't seem any different until just now. She just went weird, it may of just been the headache she said it was, but I don't think it is. You don't go running off saying that if you only have a headache.." Now dressed enough to drop the towel, she would do the skirt up and stockings, placing the extra pieces of armour over it, "If I knew where she went, I would try to comfort her though."

"Well, try to think where would she go. If she really is random enough to give you a massage then think where you wouldn't expect anyone to go." he said, pulling himself back up and wiping away his own tears, "Unless she wanted to escape from you... Maybe you are her torment." he said, a gleam in his eye, "Maybe she has feelings for you beyond what you feel for her and she's to scared to admit them."

Turning to glare at him, her weapons would be in her hands as she glares at him, "I never mentioned a massage, you were here for that!? Pervert, die!" Running off instead of fighting, she would try to find somewhere quiet for her to think, turning on her aura and focusing on it in an effort to lull her to a quiet state.

Aphelion opened his mouth but it was too late. She started running and he jumped down, ready to chase after her.

What the hell are you doing? he asked himself, stopping.

She came back alone, you made your presence known. She dressed herself with the towel on, you started blabbering like you were friends. You let yourself get caught out on your perversion, now you're gonna apologise? Why is she any different from any other girl which ran from you?

"I don't know..." Aphelion told himself, dropping onto his knees and holding his head, "I honestly have no fragging idea... Why did I even come back here..."

Finding a spare room enshrouded in darkness, she would walk into it and into the corner at the very far end. Her aura being the only light inside, she would bring her knees up to her face and plant her head on them, eyes pressing against them as she remembers her nightmare, starting to tear up. Voice wavering, she would try to sing herself out of her sadness though it would serve to do the opposite.

Aphelion got up and left the showers, rubbing his head. All this emotion talk gave him a headache, and he wanted to be alone. Picking up his bag, he returned to where he was drinking last night and sat back down, opening an new bottle of cider and drinking it.

Emptying the bottle, he started playing around with it, remembering his drinking last night.

"Who's the cutest female around?" he remembered the question, and didn't even start contemplating before a fresher memory appeared.

"You're kinda cute when you're angry."

Suddenly Aphelion realised what his problem was - Aoife was the only girl so far which acted somewhat normally to him, and that's why-

I like her... Oh Gods I like a girl... And she probably hates me now...

He got up quickly, putting the bottle back in his bag. I need to find her... and apologise.

Aphelion started running around as he tried some rooms, but only to find nothing there. Moving from room to room, he continued the search until he could hear faint singing and approached the room which was the source, gulping before entering it.

Aoife wouldn’t look up at the intruder to her solitude, her singing continuing and repeating despite any noise. Not moving her eyes from their place on her knees, they would be as devoid as the void, her brain fractured from her body and itself. Inside would be the representations of four different versions of her, each while looking exactly the same would be unique. One would be her body, ears covered and trying to sing herself out of the shadows she is in, another would be silent and waiting, wings of fire on it. The last two would be arguing at length, one a small child and the other an adult version of Aoife.

Argument inside Aoife's mind. Part 1 of 200:

Noticing the person he's been searching for, Aphelion opened his mouth... only to close it again after giving out a small sigh.

Gods damn it. I have lines prepared for almost anything... So why do I not know what to say...

Closing the door, Aphelion slid lifelessly onto the floor, leaning against it and started thinking what he should say to her.

"Live. Wake up. Wake up."  Evidently the older version of Aoife would be winning, continuing to punish herself for doing the same things other people would do, drilling into her that she is NOT normal and plain insane, every word as piercing as her body being stabbed. 'You really think even your family cares for you? The only person who cares for you is us. We are the only friends you will need ever. You really think other people know how we are except us?'

No longer paying attention, Aphelion would reach into his bag and pull out his remaining ciders. You're meant to be a tongue opener.

He opened one and started drinking it, swallowing as fast and as much as he could.

Completely blanked out of reality, her aura would flicker brighter for a second before going back down much lower than it was before, her outline barely visible inside the pitch black room and the lights making obscure shapes as it passes around her.

Part 2: Battle Aoife strikes.:

Finishing the bottle, he would put it down, accidentally knocking another one over and causing it to roll towards Aoife. Not noticing that, he reached for another bottle and started drinking that as well.

So... Apologise. Yes, that's what I have to do for sure. But how do I apologise? Just casually? Nonchalantly?

Not noticing it either, every sense in her body would have shut down except her pain, tears crushed by  stockings and fleshy bone, and voice now wavering even more, her singing would still not stop or even change note from the melody.

Finishing that bottle with a groan, he would almost instantly get the next one, picking up his drinking pace even more.

Apologise... However I do it... Just as long as she doesn't hate me... Apologise to her...

A small 'hic!' escaped his mouth.

Escaping the arguments, sadness and pain she is in, she would turn off her aura outright, leaving the room in darkness as she tries to get some sleep despite the nightmare. Song ending and eyes closing but not leaving her position as if it will keep her safe from everything else in the world, wanting to be left alone and if a Grimm appeared; Die alone and quietly.

Finishing that bottle in record time, he'd put it down and reach for the next one before being interrupted by another 'hic!', much louder this time.

"Wha-HIC!-at the hell is go-HIC!-ing on!?" he panicked, covering his mouth.

No... Not in front of her... God dammit Vox Aphelion... Now she won't take you seriously...

Falling asleep rather quickly, the last thing to go through her head would be the rather triumphant sounding Adult Aoife, walking up to the child version and grabbing it by the head to send her flying, 'Your family hates you, your friends hate you and even you hate you. Why do you persist in living when the void would be so much more appropriate for you.'

Still with hiccups, Aphelion finally mustered up enough courage to do what had to be done. He walked up to Aoife, right up to her head, and knelt down in a pose of shame

"H-HIC!-hey, umm, Ao-HIC!-oife, right? Co-HIC!-ould you, umm, p-HIC!-lease forgive m-HiC!-e?" he asked rather timidly, closing his eyes and expecting another beating.

Sleeping through his request, no noise would come from her or even a hint of her normally active aura, the previous lullaby sung as a mantra having done it's job good enough for her to be in a deep enough sleep to block out the nearby hiccups and speech.

"Aw co-HIC!-ome on. Are y-HIC!-ou really go-HIC!-onna ignore me-HIC!-e?" he bothered her, reaching out to poke her but deciding against it. Instead, he took his clipboard with paper and a pen and wrote a note for Aoife on it.


Leaving that note at her feet, he turned to pick up all the cider bottles but the one that he didn't notice earlier and left her to her own devices, still with many hiccups leaving his mouth.

Chiu almost laughed at Viola's last remark. There was no way Chiu was better than any of them let alone Viola. It's not like any of them would have been quite so...enthusiastic about being raped. She wanted to tell Viola that, but as much as needed Viola to be somewhere else, anywhere else, she needed Viola to be right where she was. Next to her.

"Maybe...I don't know." She replied. Chiu would play along, but she would know the truth, the kind of freak she was. She just had to hope Viola never found out.

"We find it we break it." Nigrum said shrugging, "I'm sure Leo the Iron Giant here could just step on it and break it." He thought for a moment considering the teens comment about feeling the things presence. "What if we triangulated it's approximate direction every so often? Like determine how strong the presences feels right there." He pointed at Yin's feet, "Then maybe a few feet from that spot in each direction?" He pointed to a few different spots around the room. "Then we move in the direction that you can feel it the most in."

Waking up with another nightmare, her aura would burst forwards and into flames. Crying still and the nightmare only resuming them, her hand would go to her head due to the headache what would be rapidly growing in strength. Not noticing the note or bottle, she would walk out of the room with dull eyes lacking any emotion despite the tears, heading for and into the store room with all the food from before.

Melissa, who had been rather casually binge eating candy in the corner for a while now, noticed Aoife enter the storeroom and squealed quietly, diving to hide behind some food crates.

Not noticing or ignoring Melissa, Aoife just goes for the nearest crate and open it with her sword. Wiping away the tears to see what is inside, she would take out some of the sweets and crush them in the palm of her hand before eating them, muttering to herself in an apathetic voice, matching the rest of her unemotional state, "They're right. If they think of me as just an object for entertainment to be thrown around at their leisure, then I will make them suffer the same fate."