12-01-2014, 10:05 AM
Lucas listened, dumbfounded. He didn't know what to say. What she said seemed....unbelievable. And yet...and yet tonight, her....father had manipulated her emotions, played them like a person plays an instrument. He recognized it, remembered from the way Aria had demonstrated for him, showed him what she could do.
She had never done it with him, not after that first night. Her father had, though. No wonder he'd spiraled. He felt anger at the man, at his casual manipulation of his feeling, of his drinking again. Part of him wanted to focus on that. But the other part of him circled what Aria said warily, unsure of what to poke at, to focus on. She hunted monsters? A serial killer? Her darkness?
But the very last part- her looking into his eyes and speaking earnestly- gave him some hope. He had helped her. He'd done something at least. He smiled at that.
She got up when he was done and stripped down as she walked to the bathroom for a bath. Absently, he picked up her book and leafed through it, starting from the end and working his way back. He didn't really know what he was looking at. Drawings. Descriptions. Oni. Rakshasa. This was what she did. Hunted things like these.
He could hardly believe it. The universe had become crazy. It didn't make sense. He stopped seeing the words and drawings as he idly flipped the pages, trying to figure out what it all meant.
Before he knew it, he was at the front page. He was jolted to reality. There, scrawled across the top in what could only have been a child's hand were the words 'rougarou'. The letters were malformed and large. He read the entry. Cannibal was spelled 'canabal'. 'Rape' was spelled correctly though.
A profound sadness came over him. A child. She was a child when they'd started her in on this. She was a tool, nothing more. They had used her, deformed her, for their own reasons. He put the book down, awash with sadness.
The room was still, the only sounds being the occasional drips of water in the bathroom. He got up and walked to her partly ajar door. He knocked softly. Through the opening he said, "I am so sorry Aria."
He didn't know what else to say. The monstrosity of this crime against this innocent girl- and despite the fact that she was older than him be a few years, she really was a child in many ways- it just....he felt terrible.
She had never done it with him, not after that first night. Her father had, though. No wonder he'd spiraled. He felt anger at the man, at his casual manipulation of his feeling, of his drinking again. Part of him wanted to focus on that. But the other part of him circled what Aria said warily, unsure of what to poke at, to focus on. She hunted monsters? A serial killer? Her darkness?
But the very last part- her looking into his eyes and speaking earnestly- gave him some hope. He had helped her. He'd done something at least. He smiled at that.
She got up when he was done and stripped down as she walked to the bathroom for a bath. Absently, he picked up her book and leafed through it, starting from the end and working his way back. He didn't really know what he was looking at. Drawings. Descriptions. Oni. Rakshasa. This was what she did. Hunted things like these.
He could hardly believe it. The universe had become crazy. It didn't make sense. He stopped seeing the words and drawings as he idly flipped the pages, trying to figure out what it all meant.
Before he knew it, he was at the front page. He was jolted to reality. There, scrawled across the top in what could only have been a child's hand were the words 'rougarou'. The letters were malformed and large. He read the entry. Cannibal was spelled 'canabal'. 'Rape' was spelled correctly though.
A profound sadness came over him. A child. She was a child when they'd started her in on this. She was a tool, nothing more. They had used her, deformed her, for their own reasons. He put the book down, awash with sadness.
The room was still, the only sounds being the occasional drips of water in the bathroom. He got up and walked to her partly ajar door. He knocked softly. Through the opening he said, "I am so sorry Aria."
He didn't know what else to say. The monstrosity of this crime against this innocent girl- and despite the fact that she was older than him be a few years, she really was a child in many ways- it just....he felt terrible.