synapse
the presence of another
the sound of rustling fabric
the sensation of the moon's light being blocked
wake up
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A bad feeling in the put of my stomach and the lingering pain in my head pulls me from what was supposed to be a more-or-less restful sleep. I was dreaming about going to some fancy wine-tasting event with Charlotte as her date and she was showing me off to all of her rich people friends... but then we got to the actual "wine-tasting" part and everything tasted exactly like how the beer I snuck from my father when I was maybe eight years old did.
Lamenting that I can still taste that bitter grossness, I fish for my glasses and sit up in my bed after putting them on.
"Wha?"
In front of my windowsill, I see someone wearing a long white cape. My first impulse is to yell at Theresa for sneaking in here without asking, but then the figure turns around to face me.
"Ah, pardonnez-moi," he says, tipping his hat to me. "It wasn't my intention to wake you."
That blank white mask.
>laaer and scream
>sword and scream
>shield and scream
>just scream
>>44415835
>>sword and scream
You know, like a tool to gut him.
>>44415835
>>sword and scream
>>44415835
>shield and scream
>>44415835
>sword and scream
>>44415835
>laaer and scream
>>44415835
>just scream
>>44415835
What a creep
>>44415835
>sword and scream
Although not a good idea, it's certainly a believable knee-jerk reaction. I mean, if we have bad luck it's possible to go flying out that open window.
>>44416306
If he didn't want to be sworded he shouldn't peep on vulnerable young maidens while they sleep!
>Gotta go as soon as it starts
suffering
Don't let the plagiarist villain win while I'm gone anons
>writing
>>44415835
>>laaer and scream
lazer is prolly less destructive to our room
>>44416718
Depends on the aim surely.
Succumbing to pure instinct, I scream at the top of my lungs. Because there is a man in my room. Because a man snuck into my room. In the middle of the night.
INTO MY ROOM.
After around the second time I'm forced to inhale again to keep on screaming, I actually manage to pull together enough of my sense to finally hear the little voice in my head that's telling me to remove this intruder. And since the only ambient light I have to work from is the moonlight that this THREAT is blocking, I pull into my inner reserves of light and shape it into a pattern that's become so familiar to me that I could do it in my sleep.
Starlight Rain.
>[1/2]
>>44417239
... wait, are our parents still there?
>>44417279
Daddy just got lasered
>>44417279
Yep, although I doubt that if they came in to us fighting off an attacker with a strange glowy thing our hand they likely would think it's an insignificant detail.
>>44417239
>[2/2]
"Whoa!"
Faceless leaps backwards just in time to narrowly avoid getting skewered by my sword of light.
"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that your first impulse would be la violence..." Faceless says, fixing his hat with his free hand while steadily backing towards the wall.
>I want him to not be alive
>I want him the hell out of my room
>>44417469
>I want him the hell out of my room
>>44417469
>I want him the hell out of my room
Removing him now would lead to inconvenient questions.
>>44417469
>>I want him the hell out of my room
>>44417469
>I want him the hell out of my room
>>44417469
>>I want him the hell out of my room
even though he deserves
'I want him to not be alive'
>>44417469
>I want him the hell out of my room
>>44417469
>La violence
Jesus Christ really?
>I want him to not be alive
>>44417469
>I want him the hell out of my room
CC's sanity can't take the guilt of another kill if she miraculously is successful!
>>44417648
>>La violence
>Jesus Christ really?what can I say, dude's a total jackass
>writing
>>44417772
I'd like to imagine him having a totally hokey French accent like the Profiteur from Bravely Default.
Like pronouncing that line as "La vee-oh-lahce!"
>>44417891
As far as I'm concerned, Faceless is basically Not Bleublanc.
Kinda like how Andreas was basically Not Loewe.
Faceless... he snuck into MY room. Probably perving on me and going through my things while I slept and just the thought of it makes me want to vomit. I want him OUT of here.
"May I suggest that you stay your hand," Faceless says while pointing at melted hole in my window, "lest you destroy everything in this cute little room of yours."
"You..." Materializing six swords in the air around myself, I shoot a look of pure hate at him. "...get out."
"Very well," he says with a bow. "Until we meet again!"
Just as Faceless melts into the wall, my bedroom door slams open and Charlotte comes flying in, followed by Irene.
>how do I react?
>>44418317
>Faceless was just in my room. I was about -this- close to cutting his dick off. He needs to get got now.
It can be edited to CC's character if needed.
>>44418317
>B-both at once? W-well okay!
>>44418317
>"He was here, creeping on me, he went through [Point to wall]"
>...Wait
>"Irene you're back!"
>>44418317
HE CAME INTO MY ROOM! Also how'd you get here so fat?
>>44418317
>He knows who I am. He knows where I live. Oh god.I'd ask Charlotte to track him since he just left, but that's be pretty out of character.
>>44418317
>>how do I react?
>Desperate hug(s)
>>44418317
He was in my room so I tried using la violence on him...
>writing
>>44418317
> Irene you're alive!
> No wait that was just a dream.
> Or was it, I'm confused...
"Cecile!" Charlotte shouts, pulling me into her arms before I even know what's going on. "What happened, it sounded like a man was-" She pushes me away and sniffs the air.
"He was here," I mumble, wiping my eyes as the tears start to well up. "creeping on me..."
"Who was?" Irene asks.
"Faceless," Charlotte growls. "He must have just left."
Charlotte lets go of me and begins tiptoeing around my bedroom while continuing to sniff the air.
"W- wait a minute," Irene stammers. "FACELESS came HERE!?"
"Yeah," I nod. "When I woke up, he was standing in front of my window and then he disappeared through that wall over there," I say, pointing at it.
"Then he must still be close!"
Hoping to catch Faceless before he can get too far, Irene doubles back through the door...
WHAM
...and immediately bounces backwards, landing flat on her back.
"Shit, I didn't see you there," my father says, reaching down to help her up.
I guess he's what she ran into?
>what do I say to him?
>>44419492
>>what do I say to him?
There was a pervert staring at me from the window.
>>44419492
Dad I'm magic, some magic dude was creepy on me, and they were chasing him out. This is all a dream go back to sleep.
Make the room light up all dreamscapey
>>44419492
>>what do I say to him?
Just a bad dream.
>>44419492
>I was having a nightmare, and when I woke up I thought I saw someone outside my window
>writing
>>44419492
>There was a pervert staring at me from the window.
"It's okay," Irene says while rubbing her forehead, "I should've been watching where I was going."
Once Irene's fully regained her balance, my father walks into the room and heads straight for me.
"Cecile, I heard you screaming," he says, running a hand through my hair. "Are you okay?"
Quick, make an excuse!
"I, uh..." I mumble, "I was having a nightmare and then when I woke up I thought I saw someone outside my window."
"And that's why you were screaming."
"Uh-huh," I nod.
"Gotcha."
He then gives me a reassuring pat on the head and joins Charlotte in scouring my room for anything out of the ordinary.
>[1/?]
>>44420181
>[2/2]
"If there -was- someone creeping on my little girl, they'll be lucky if I only break their legs," Daddy grumbles to himself as he approaches my window.
"If I get to him first he'll be lucky to still be breathing after I'm done with him," Charlotte growls as she traces her finger along the windowframe.
>join them
>sit here and mope
>I need to go for a walk downstairs
>>44420402
>I need to go for a walk downstairs
>>44420402
>>join them
"If it was any of sister's exes, he won't survive the night."
>>44420402
>>I need to go for a walk downstairs
I bet he's downstairs raiding the fridge
>>44420402
>I need to go for a walk downstairs
>>44420480
The fool! Doesn't he know Fridges are full of light?
>>44420402
>I need to go for a walk downstairs
>>44420556
Now he's dealing with a light empowered CC and a hungry Irene Charlotte and Dad.
Updated the Branch pastebin with some new entries.
http://pastebin.com/9SQy7UhL
>writing
"......"
I take off my glasses and wipe the sleep from my eyes, then slide off the edge of my bed and start towards my door.
"I'm gonna go downstairs and get something to drink," I say to everyone in the room. "Be back in a little bit."
"Okay," Daddy grunts. "I'll be out of here once I'm sure that pervert isn't still around."
"Thanks," I nod.
As I walk out into the hallway, I find that Irene's following pretty closely behind me.
>strike up a conversation
>right now I feel too crappy to chat
>>44420963
>>strike up a conversation
Any idea what he could want here?
>>44420963
>strike up a conversation
>>44420963
>>strike up a conversation
>writing
>>44420963
>>strike up a conversation
Careful Irene, might not wanna get on Charlotte's jealous side right now.
Irene keeps within arm's reach of me the whole time, even as we're making our way down the stairs. It would be unnerving enough as it is, but the fact that she's keeping completely silent only serves to make it even worse.
"...hey," I call out when we reach the first floor of the house.
"Hm?" Irene mumbles listlessly.
"I, uh..." my voice trails off. "...I wasn't expecting to see you running into my room when I screamed like that."
"I still consider you as my friend," Irene replies. "And I do still live here for the time being."
>is that why you're following me like this?
>berate the irene for acting weird
>[OTHER]
>>44421376
>>is that why you're following me like this?
>>44421376
>is that why you're following me like this?
>>44421376
>is that why you're following me like this?
>>44421376
>>[OTHER]
Ok
>>44421376
>is that why you're following me like this?
>writing
"Is that why you're following me like this?" I ask.
"Uh-"
Irene stops walking.
"Sorry," she sighs, "I know that I left on a bad note earlier."
"That's not what I was asking," I reply.
"Ugh..." Letting her arms fall limp at her sides, Irene looks up at the ceiling and takes a deep breath.
And it's not until know that I notice that all she's wearing at the moment is a loose tanktop and a pair of short shorts. It's too bad I'm in no mood to appreciate the sight, what with the whole "scared half to death on account of a creepy guy watching me while I slept" thing.
>[1/?]
>>44421697
>[2/2]
"I'm following you because I don't feel comfortable with leaving you to wander around the house by yourself after what happened," Irene says. "Unlike Charlotte and I, you're no stronger than the average teenage girl. I'm worried that he might try to corner you again while you're alone. Does that answer your question?"
"It does," I nod.
And with that, I resume my trek to the kitchen and Irene resumes following after me. Once I get there, I grab a glass from the cabinet to pour some water into... and catch a glimpse of the microwave clock along the way.
"Geh," I cringe. "Five in the morning."
"Yeah," Irene nods. "I just got back maybe a halfhour ago."
I have no idea if I'll even be able to get back to sleep after what happened, too. Great.
>ask the irene about case stuff
>drink my water and head back upstairs
>>44421807
>ask the irene about case stuff
>>44421807
>Get Gangbang chan's side of the story.
>>44421807
>>ask the irene about case stuff
Who needs sleep anyway?
>writing
>>44421807
>ask the irene about case stuff
"You were with the cops for that long?" I ask. "They didn't get you in trouble with the Tree of Life, did they?"
"No," Irene shakes her head, "they accepted my excuse of being on an 'independent investigation' surprisingly readily. No questions asked."
"That's pretty lucky," I reply.
"It really was," she shrugs, "but that didn't keep them from throwing every last bit of information about the case at me in hopes of making sure that there weren't any other Branch Holders involved with the arsons."
"So that's what kept you."
"Yup."
After chugging down two full glasses of water, I place my cup in the sink and glance at the microwave clock again.
>[1/?]
>>44422040
>microwave
Best girl.
>>44422040
After chugging down two full glasses of water, I place my cup in the sink and glance at the microwave clock again.
"The hell did he even want?" I wonder out loud. "Sneaking into my room and waking me up at this retarded hour..."
"Could be anything," Irene shrugs. "I have no idea what's going on in that bastard's head."
"He's lucky I didn't blast his face off," I reply. "I sure as hell wanted to."
"It looks like both Charlotte and your father feel the same way."
"Really," I mumble.
I guess my father being the way he is is what's desensitized me about Charlotte's overprotective tendencies.
>[2/?]
>>44422128
>Charlotte's overprotective tendencies.
Yandere best dere.
>>44422128
>[3/3]
As expected, Irene accompanies me back to my room. And when we walk inside, we find my father and Charlotte standing at the window.
"Cecile, there you are!" he calls out.
"Huh?" I blink a few times. "Did something else happen?"
"Yeah, THIS."
He points at the hole that my light sword gouged into my window.
"From the way the edges of the hole are all rounded off like this, it's like the hole was actually MELTED into the glass!" he says with a look of total bewilderment. "I don't even know HOW the hell..."
>make some kind of excuse
>leave it to someone else
>>44422191
>leave it to someone else
>>44422191
>leave it to someone else
An excellent time to have Joshua's head voice that knows his physics shit.
>>44422191
>leave it to someone else
>>44422191
>It's magic.
So when does Irene get her comeuppance for driving a teenage girl into suicidal depression, consuming her soul and wearing her corpse like a trophy infront of her victim's friends and family?
>>44422191
>>leave it to someone else
>writing
"Er..." Irene smiles nervously, displaying her mouth filled with sharp, jagged teeth. "...I've heard about that kind of thing happening in attempted break-ins!"
Nice save.
"Wha?" Daddy stares at her. "You mean that someone was -actually- trying to..."
Clutching his fist so hard that all the muscles in his arm are flexed, he starts breathing really hard all of a sudden.
"Cecile, get the phone and call the cops," he says, pointing at me. "I'mma go check outside and see if I can catch the fucker's trail myself."
>how do I respond?
>>44422366
>Grab Charlotte, see if she can make some calls to help.
>>44422366
>displaying her mouth filled with sharp, jagged teeth.
>>44422366
>Take Irene with you, since he could have a gun or something and buddy system.
>Ask Char if we should really contact the police.
>Go off of her judgement.
I see no reason to stop him from going out since this jackass has proven to be mostly harmless and too slippery to catch.
>>44422366
Tell him about our super powers.Alison knows this happened to a window already.
>>44422440
>writing
I glance at Irene.
"Umm, Daddy? If you're gonna go out there then you should have someone with you," I say as I push her in front of me.
"Eh!?" Irene stumbles forward.
"You know, buddy system."
"I'll be fine," he shakes his head. "And if things -do- get dangerous, I don't want one of your friends getting hurt."
Irene breathes a long sigh of defeat.
"It's fine," she mumbles, "I'm used to danger as part of my job anyways."
"Seriously," he holds his hands up, "you really don't-"
"And it'd make Cecile feel better too," she says. "Just let me throw my clothes back on and I'll meet you at the front door."
"........." he looks at me and then at Charlotte and then at Irene. "Fine, let's hurry up."
Before he leaves, my father takes another look at the hole in my window, and then his gaze moves downwards.
"Fucker knocked your plants over, too," he grumbles.
"What!?" I gasp as a chill washes over me.
>[1/?]
>>44422611
Where is the fucking catnip?
>>44422682
>Dozens of random thoughts (why did he take the cactus, why did he know I cared deeply about my plants, how far could he have gotten, why did it take Irene 10 minutes to change, why didn't someone go after my baby [cactus].
>Slowly converging onto one thought
>[REMOVE]
>>44422682
With anger, he took our plant!
>>44422723
After further consideration I would like to specify that I don't want full trance remove, but to get to that turning point, because this time it's personal.
>>44422682
>>how do I react?
>Is that guy seriously insane? Burning houses down, stalking a girl in the middle of the night and STEALING HER CACTUS? Who would even do something like that? Of all the things someone could steal, who would take the cactus!?
>>44422611
>[2/2]
As I hurry over to my windowsill, my father picks up the catnip and places it back in its usual place.
"......"
He gets on his knees and starts fishing around on the floor with his hands.
"Where are the other ones at?" I ask while frantically examining the catnip to make sure that the fall didn't break its stem.
"Here's one," he says, picking up the lavender that was an absolute bitch to get to sprout and handing it to me.
And just as I finish up examining it and placing it back onto the windowsill, my father hands me another of my plants.
"Where's my cactus at?" I ask.
"Uh..." he lays flat on the floor and looks underneath my dresser. "I don't see it anywhere."
"What!?"
I fall to the floor as well, hoping that my ability to see with nearly no light will help me find it... but it's not there. Both me and Daddy crawl all over the floor and Irene and Charlotte even join in, but after a full ten minutes of searching we still come up with nothing.
>how do I react?
>writing
Why.
WHY the hell did he steal my cactus!? Was it just to spite me? But how the hell would he even know that I care about my plants as much as I do to begin with!? And from there, how could he tell that the cactus was the one that I cared about the most?
"He took it."
The tiny little baby cactus that I managed to get to double in size since I got it through hard work and effort and replanting and love. The only person that it would have any worth to is me. Of all the things he could have stolen, why would he take the cactus!? Just to spite me? This so-called master thief snuck into my room in the middle of the night just to steal MY cactus?
"Cecile."
I feel a heavy hand resting on the top of my head. I look up through water eyes and see the distorted image of my father.
"Don't worry," he says. "I'll find him and get it back for you. So don't cry, okay?"
"......" I take off my glasses and dry off my eyes.
"Just hurry and call the cops," he says, "and Charlotte'll keep you company while me and Irene are out there looking."
He kisses me on the forehead and then hurries out of my room with Irene following right after him.
>[1/?]
>>44422899
>[2/2]
Even after I hear them leaving out the front door, I remain sitting on the floor with Charlotte keeping me company. But even though she's got her arm around me and my head's resting against her chest, I don't feel comforted at all. I'm just really pissed. Really, REALLY pissed.
That'll be all for tonight's thread, folks. I would've liked to have gotten a little farther but my writing went slower than expected this time around.
The next thread will either be Monday or Tuesday night.
and now questions
>>44422938
Thanks for running.
>>44422938
Just one questions:
WHY!? The poor cactus!
Also, thank you for the thread.
>>44423024
>WHY!? The poor cactus!Because it is the thing in the room that Cecile valued the most.
And now I sleep. Thanks for playing!
For further questioning:
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