[ Today, Riley found herself back in her Ryslig apartment, blood on her front and feathers rapidly growing in. It didn't hurt, not that much, though maybe she was just in shock.
She's since seen Steve—Steve, not Steffan, her friend, not her brother— and since changed clothes, left her blood-stained shirt in the sink to deal with later. She hasn't slept since the night before, as Monday was spent murdering a man, a man who she dimly realizes won't be too happy with her, should he be back here like she is. Her apartment's as it was when she was snatched into that delusion, feathers scattered everywhere from when she painfully plucked them, bits of her claws left haphazardly on the floor out of a desperate desire to remove anything monstrous about her.
When she opens the door, she doesn't know what to expect. Maybe it'll be Aunamee, here to return the favor. That thought alone should make her more fearful, more hesitant, shouldn't it? She doesn't want to die. But she also can't muster up the energy to care. At the moment, she's completely hollowed out.
Which is why Eridanus—though she's never met him before in this appearance she knows it's him, she's somewhat sure—with a present and flowers has her at a complete loss for words. She couldn't have fallen asleep, because if this was a dream he'd be human. Unless she's genuinely and completely lost it, it means he's here. Here, when she's swimming in contradictory memories of a man with red hair and a deceptively friendly expression walking out the door without so much as a good morning, and a true but fabricated kind smile from the person before her, those very words echoing in her mind.
Riley's parents had never been invested in her, and at the same time, she knows a lifetime with a loving father. The dichotomy is enough to draw tears to her eyes as she looks up at Eridanus. ]
You— y-you..
[ She's overcome. She swoops forward and practically crashes into him, unable to keep herself from sobbing. ]
cw: self-harm mentions, mild suicidal ideation, parental neglect
She's since seen Steve—Steve, not Steffan, her friend, not her brother— and since changed clothes, left her blood-stained shirt in the sink to deal with later. She hasn't slept since the night before, as Monday was spent murdering a man, a man who she dimly realizes won't be too happy with her, should he be back here like she is. Her apartment's as it was when she was snatched into that delusion, feathers scattered everywhere from when she painfully plucked them, bits of her claws left haphazardly on the floor out of a desperate desire to remove anything monstrous about her.
When she opens the door, she doesn't know what to expect. Maybe it'll be Aunamee, here to return the favor. That thought alone should make her more fearful, more hesitant, shouldn't it? She doesn't want to die. But she also can't muster up the energy to care. At the moment, she's completely hollowed out.
Which is why Eridanus—though she's never met him before in this appearance she knows it's him, she's somewhat sure—with a present and flowers has her at a complete loss for words. She couldn't have fallen asleep, because if this was a dream he'd be human. Unless she's genuinely and completely lost it, it means he's here. Here, when she's swimming in contradictory memories of a man with red hair and a deceptively friendly expression walking out the door without so much as a good morning, and a true but fabricated kind smile from the person before her, those very words echoing in her mind.
Riley's parents had never been invested in her, and at the same time, she knows a lifetime with a loving father. The dichotomy is enough to draw tears to her eyes as she looks up at Eridanus. ]
You— y-you..
[ She's overcome. She swoops forward and practically crashes into him, unable to keep herself from sobbing. ]