Alice Kennedy (rosemary_thyme) wrote in paxletalelogs, @ 2017-05-23 08:12:00 |
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Entry tags: | freyr, uke mochi |
The sea was red and the sky was grey
Who: Rafael and Alice
What: Alice, unknowingly, experiences side effects to the serum (she also unknowingly) received during her spa day
Where: Alice’s apartment
When: After this on Tuesday, May 16
Alice wasn’t certain if she was dying or fully becoming Uke Mochi, maybe it was a little bit of both, but gone were the days where Alice was okay with having wheat in her hair. Now she was fully panicked as she held seeds in her hand, seeds that had come from her mouth.
She thought that her allergies, which is what the doctor she saw claimed she was suffering from, were worsening when she began to cough. It started as a tickle and transcended into a deep cough that made her back ache until, suddenly, she coughed something up. She assumed, disgustingly enough, that it was phlegm but, upon spitting into her sink, she discovered seeds.
At first, she kept it to herself. She stayed at home, called out from work, and worried alone. But then it happened again...and again. Isobel was dealing with enough having just moved and breaking off her engagement, so she didn’t want to go to her. Brittany would only consider it more proof that the apartment was out to get them and Alice didn’t want to hear about that just then. So it was Rafael who Alice contacted, shooting forward a nervous text message that clearly conveyed her panic.
She paced the floor of her kitchen, waiting for Rafael to arrive, and clutched a plastic cup in her hand that had a mixture of seeds. He’d believe her and he’d comfort her and that was exactly what she needed.
He arrived in short order, a bottle of Malbec in his hand. He knocked with the other; after a moment, he simply let himself inside. The tone of her texts had been worrying. The mention of Uke Mochi had certainly not helped. He smoothed the worried furrow from his brow as he entered, calling her name in his softly accented tone. He found her in the kitchen, pacing still, and immediately moved to put an arm around her.
"I brought my favorite," he said, tipping the bottle upward for her to see. "You sounded like you might need a glass. How can I help?"
Alice slipped her arm around his back and immediately pulled him in for an embrace. “Wine might be good. Or it’ll kill me. I don’t know.” She sniffed, now that someone was there and she had to actually admit all that was happening, the fright of it all came bubbling to the surface. “I’m sorry, I’m being dramatic, but I’m scared.” The admittance came out as a whisper and she didn’t pull away from Rafael but remained there, her arm around him, and her face pressed into his shoulder.
"Hey…" He squeezed her tightly, his free hand patting her back. The other lowered the wine bottle, the better to hug her more completely. "It's okay. Just take a deep breath, and we can sit down, and you can tell me exactly what's going on. You want a glass before we start?" He glanced down and around, trying to peek inside the cup she held. "And what's in there?"
Alice mirrored his movement and looked at the cup. She held it up, showing him its contents. “Seeds. I think rice, wheat, rye, all of the stuff that makes Uke Mochi. It’s the seeds and they came out of me.” She looked up at Rafael, meeting his eyes with her tear-filled green eyes. “I started coughing and seeds came up. They keep coming up.”
Worry drew deep creases in his brow once more. He brought her with him as he moved to the countertop, holding her still as he set the bottle of wine on the counter. Then he took the cup from her hands, shaking it a little, watching the seeds that stirred with the motion. "Alice, this…" He drew his lip between his teeth. He shook the cup again. Dark eyes flicked up to meet hers, concern shining in their depths. "Does it hurt? Is it… is there any bleeding or anything?"
She shook her head, blinking rapidly. She was trying very, very hard to maintain her composure, certain that if she began to cry it would make things worse, but it was a losing battle. “I mean, the coughs are heavy and hurt like a bad cough hurts but no more or less than that. And the seeds come up and there isn’t blood or anything. They’re just in my mouth, like eating sunflower seeds.”
Her breathing was quickening and a tear escaped each of her eyes. She stuck close to Rafael’s side, completely given to his decision making of where to go and what to do. “And I’ve been sick, or rather just so weak and tired and it’s all from here, the apartment. I’m fine when I go away, when I go to the bakery. I feel okay there. But ever since the plants died I haven’t felt well here. And now the coughing has started but that doesn’t go away when I leave the apartment. It’s here no matter where I am.”
Rafe frowned. He handed the cup back to her. He remained close, but moved where he could better see her, studying her drawn, frightened face. "Have you seen a doctor yet? I can understand if you don't want to, but it sounds like you might really need to." He reached out and took her hand, squeezing it tightly. "I'll go with you if you want."
Alice nodded and squeezed Rafael’s hand in return. “I went to the doctor’s when I began feeling so sluggish. They said I have allergies, although from what, I don’t know. All the plants are dead and apparently there isn’t any mold or anything growing here.” She sniffed and glanced about, her eyes lingering over her dining room table that was often the backdrop for her photos and her couch peeking out from around the corner. All of her possessions meant very little in this moment. “I haven’t gone to the doctor about the cough though… and how can I?”
She turned her tear-filled eyes back to Rafael and stared at him. “How can I explain this? It’s Uke Mochi, I know it. I can’t explain that to a doctor.”
He had known the answer before he had asked, and yet there seemed no way around it. He thought for a moment, fully understanding her reservations, but at a loss as to what to suggest in its stead. "Maybe… they could give you something for the cough, at least. It might be better than nothing." Even as he said it, Rafe wasn't sure it was true. If she were to cough up seeds in the middle of a doctor's office, surely more tests would follow. And after that, she would rapidly become something of a medical celebrity. The idea was disconcerting.
"I'm sorry, Alice. I wish I knew what to do." He moved to the cabinet and procured a wine glass for each of them. "Maybe this will at least help you relax. And if you haven't felt this way before, maybe it'll go away?"
Alice tried to give a smile, certainly, but it was weak. She remained where Rafael had left her, clutching her stupid cup of seeds and looking a little lost. “Wine sounds good.” And then she coughed, just like she had a cold, and covered her mouth. She looked sorrowful for a moment then turned her back to Rafael to lift the cup to her lips and spit new seeds into it. “Plenty of wine,” she said softly as she turned back to her friend, tears now streaming down her face. “Let’s have it on the couch. I’ll take my glass.”
He held out her glass to her, nodding as he took up his own, along with the bottle. He followed her to the couch; there, he set glass and bottle down, returning to the kitchen for a roll of paper towels. At last he sat down beside her, offering one little towel to her to dry her eyes.
"I kind of wish we could spur a dream with her," he said. "I've heard of people who can have lucid dreams. They can control them, at least a little. Maybe if we could figure that out, you could talk to her and ask her how to make this stop, or at least ease a bit. What about hypnosis or something?"
Alice curled up on the couch and snuggled close to Rafael. There was nothing romantic about the close proximity, but there was comfort. She accepted the paper towel after placing the cup of seeds on the coffee table and wiped at her face clean of tears before taking a sip of her wine. “It’s a possibility,” Alice replied. She looked at Rafael and realized they hadn’t really had a chance to chat since they went to the spa together. “I had a dream about her, you know. Right after the spa. I thought it was real life. She woke me up and was in my apartment talking to me. She was so kind and nice… I don’t think she would be doing this to me, at least not intentionally. I just keep thinking of when I had the wheat grow from my hair… like maybe I am slowly turning into her. Maybe my lungs are being filled with seeds…”
"But surely that would hurt her, right? If she's… I don't know, in your head, or something. Your lungs can't deal with seeds. You'd think she'd want to keep you healthy and safe." He slid an arm around her, pulling her to settle closer against him. It was easier, in this position, to hide from her the worry that still shone on his face. Easier to pretend he had any idea what he was talking about.
"When you dreamed her this time… what did she say to you? If you don't mind me asking." He brought his wine glass nearly to his lips. "Could you control what you said to her?"
Alice nodded and dropped her head against Rafael’s shoulder. “It was actually a really nice dream. She was exactly as we dreamt her to be and she seemed almost motherly to me. I don’t think she’d do this to hurt me. I don’t think it would be her intention…but I’m still not sure, what if I am turning into her? I mean, her lungs are filled with seeds and she’s ok. So maybe I would be alright too.”
She sipped her wine and sighed, but it caused a tickle in her throat, in her lungs, and she coughed again. “God this is disgusting…” she murmured as she pulled away from Rafael to retrieve her cup and spit three more seeds into it.
Frowning, he stretched out his arm and rubbed gently at her back, short nails scratching her skin through the cloth. He was quiet for a moment, waiting for the coughing and subsequent tears to pass. "I'm sure you will be," he said, picking up the thread of conversation when she seemed she might be able to respond. "I didn't feel anything malicious from her in the dream we had, either. I think… maybe she'll help you adjust to this. I don't think you'd turn completely into her." He smiled at her, trying to be encouraging. "You're too strong for that."
Alice laughed, surprising herself with the sound. “I know I have some pretty strong hands from all of the dough I knead but beyond that… I think that’s the first time anyone called me strong.” She sat back, returning to Rafael’s side and curling up against him. “She’s sweet, though. I mean, I guess it’s better than some other gods or goddesses, you know? At least I’m not like… turning into an old hag or a skeleton or something. Plants are… nice.”
She took another swallow of the wine and dropped her head once more to Rafael’s shoulder. His arm fitted closely around her, his hand softly patting her upper arm. “You know, in my dream Eris was there too. She said something about the floors changing…”
"Eris," he echoed. "Uke Mochi went to a wedding with her, right? Did she say anything else about her?" He hummed, a pensive little sound. "I wonder if she's connected to someone here. That would make sense, right?"
“I think she’s connected to Brittany,” Alice replied, her finger tracing the edge of the wine glass. “That’s the dream we shared at least and in my dream, Eris was turning into a bunch of different things. She was a melting clock and a woman and a lizard… it’s like when Brittany’s arm started changing shapes. But yeah, Uke Mochi ended up at that wedding… or I guess the after party. They seemed to know each other and they were almost glad to run into each other. Actually…”
Alice sat up and turned to meet Rafael’s eyes. They were still pink at the edges, still a little wet from tears not shed, but the girl was much more eager than before. Softly, she told Rafael the key news from her dream, “Eris said that they’ve done all of this before. This whole… being in people’s bodies, I guess? And she said that they changed the floors. The deities.”
The crease in his brow deepened. Given all he had seen and experienced he had every reason to believe her, but it remained a great deal to take in. He tried to process this new information, tried to wrap his mind around what it all might mean. He took a bracing sip of wine, then reached up for the bottle, and topped off both their glasses.
"Before?" he echoed. "Before what? Before us? And how… how could they do that, if they can't even make themselves completely present in our bodies?" He shook his head, utterly confused. "Those changes were intense. If they've got that kind of power, why can't they just show themselves to us? Answer our questions? And what…" He chewed his tongue, uncertain he wanted to put this question out into the air. After a moment, he decided.
"And what happened to the ones before us?"
Alice shook her head. “I don’t know, it’s… hard to talk to Eris. She’s sort of all over the place. But Uke Mochi and Eris both seemed to confirm that at the very least, Uke Mochi wasn’t here before. But a ton of others were, Eris included. She was here before...I think with the people who lived here before the apartment complex was closed the last time.
“And Uke Mochi seemed to indicate that she sort of… hitches a ride with me. Sees through my eyes or whatever. It’s not like she possesses me… which sort of makes this all the more concerning.” Alice glanced at the cup of seeds and frowned.
"But that…" Rafael rubbed his eyes with gentle fingers, as though clearing his vision might make this continued absurdity make somewhat more sense. "Wouldn't that be possession? I don't see how it's different." Suddenly he blanched. "So… does that mean Freyr sees what I do? I mean…"
Alice blinked, but then began to smile. “Oh my god, I never thought of that.” She couldn’t help but giggle and the reaction was a refreshing one, compared to all her fears and tears. “Uke Mochi did say that she watches and tries to give her opinion when she can, particularly when I’m cooking so maybe Freyr is guiding you through your work day and you don’t even realize it.” Alice smiled and a giggle snuck out again that she tried to drown with a sip of wine.
"Ah, porra…" Rafael laughed, but his face still regained color all at once, and deepened far too quickly to a new shade of red. "I suppose he's not that upset about it, since I haven't had any dreams or… interruptions, or anything else, related to that, exactly." He laughed, unsteady, and downed another substantial draught of wine.
"I dreamed about him the other day, actually. And my friend, Gabe…" He smiled. "Freyr seems reasonably calm about things. So does whoever Gabe dreamed about." He looked to her, a small smile tugging at his lips. "I told him about you and Uke Mochi. I hope you don't mind. You can trust him, I promise."
“Gabe seems sweet,” Alice replied, a hand reaching for Rafe’s free one and giving it a squeeze. “What little interaction I have with him, I really like him. And if he’s having weird dreams too, it’s just the more the merrier, right?” Her smile spread and she laughed again. “Gosh, I think you’re right though, Freyr obviously doesn’t have any issues with what you’re doing. But it does creep me out a little to think that Uke Mochi may have been witness to me puking after getting too drunk in college, or whatever other private things we’d rather, you know, not have an audience for--” Alice’s train of thought cut off as another coughing fit hit her, this worse than before, and she lunged for the cup to spit out a mouthful of different seeds. She lingered there, bent over and half off the couch with the cup to her lips, and didn’t speak until she was certain she wouldn’t cough.
“Rafe, I believe with every ounce of my heart that Uke Mochi wouldn’t allow this to happen,” she whispered, the humor from before vanishing all with the cough as she reached for a paper towel and wiped at her mouth.
He set down his glass, reaching for her with both hands. He rubbed lightly at her back, hoping to ease whatever pain the new coughing may have caused. "We'll see," he said, noncommittal, more worried for her than he wanted to let show. "We'll see. Why don't you lie down, and I'll tell you all about this wild dream Gabe and I had, and all the food there. Take your mind off things for a bit, hm? Maybe you can try to make some of the baked things I saw, if I can describe them well enough…"
Alice looked at Rafael with large, sorrowful eyes, and gave a nod. “That would be nice,” she said softly. Putting her wine glass onto the coffee table and retrieving the blanket from the back of the couch, she shook it out and draped it over her legs. With a pillow in hand, she propped it against Rafael’s thigh and scooched down onto the couch to rest her head there. She wanted to be close to him, finding his proximity a comfort, and let out a sigh as she got settled. “Okay, so tell me about this dream and give me as many details as possible.”
He brought his hand to rest on her shoulder, fingers gingerly stroking her arm. "So it started in this jungle…"