Growing Better Each Day [Jukan]

[Angel]

Today was a new day.

There was something about the turning of time that was a comfort to Arietta. Each bad day was a day that was gone, a day behind her.. she always put all the bad things behind her. Each day was a day to start something new.

Despite what she had said, the bathroom was clear of any passed out young men.. the young boy that was "Mr. Shadows" was sleeping on Arietta's bed. This was why she didn't have to step around him as she entered the bathroom, and stared at the mirror.

There was no signs of the struggle that had taken place the evening before, Ayumi having tended to that overnight. Arietta wasn't the person who felt the need to deal with the petty annoyances of yesterday. Other peoples messes. She only dealt with her own.

This was why she was looking in the mirror. The face she saw.. was already burdened by the past. Shame, mistakes, but mostly.. weakness. She touched the glass, leaving her imprint on it as she stared at it. Although this face was hers, was that part of the problem? Was it already too burdened?

Was she ever going to be free?

The pouting princess turned away from the mirror, annoyed that the answer to that question had a definitive answer.. for now. She could start anew, but there was one burden from the day before still lingering.. and it had made it's home in her canopy bed.

She walked in the door of her bedroom, and Arietta understood there was something equally jarring about this world. The world of the bedroom of the demon princess. Despite the fact that Arietta kept running, this bedroom was a place where the heart of a girl was laid bare. She hated him in this room, because this was her world.

Various things from various time periods and various worlds hung all over the wall and sitting on tables. All sorts of antigues and interesting looking treaures, but also some stuff you might find in your local Hot Topic. Whatever it was, these trinkets were often the only reminders of the places she had gone and the person she had been. The bed itself was one of the most prominent things.. a luxurious and old fashioned canopy bed. Although Arietta kept running, the irony of the fact that she was still waking up in the same bed each night was not lost to her.

She couldn't run from herself though. She could run from the world, but she knew she could never run from herself. That was never the goal, she had told herself. She knew she couldn't run from everything she had done. The outfit she had worn the other day, the clothes of a modern teen.. fashionable and cute laid folded on a table. A cellphone with 'selfies' inside.. a reminder of this face she wore. In this room, the girl she was the day before could live on. Arietta didn't want to lose it.

Today was a new day though.

She put her hands on her hips and stared at the person in the bed, hoping that he woke up soon. She had one last bit of unfinished business before she started the new day.

[Jukan]

”You just HAD to look didn’t you! Pathetic, I was trying to PROTECT YOU, you STUPID MORON!” A loud, middle aged man could be heard screaming in an echoed voice. The area was black, and only the gleam of two eyes could be seen in the distance. The eyes would begin to approach, and the sounds of footsteps could be heard. ”You’re using the force of your own will to break my little spell. No matter, I’ll allow what just happened. The eyes stop just in front of Mr. Shadows, as the room started to grow slightly brighter. Looking through Mr. Shadows eyes, a hand could be seen coming closer. A skinny, middle aged man wearing glasses could be seen placing his hands on his face. ((Imagine all this from a first person perspective)) ”FOR A PRICE!” A bright light radiates from the hand, illuminating everything, and even showing what looks like a laboratory until it became pure white.

He screams at the top of his lungs as he sits up right. He finds himself drenched in a cold sweat with his hands covering his face. His hair was a light blue color, gradually getting brighter until it was a regular blue color at the ends. His hair was slightly spikey, but not long. His eyes were still covered, and tear drops fell from them, coming out the bottom of his hands. ”W-where am I? W-what’s going ON?!!!” He screams. His body is in pain. Still covered by the blankets, he appears to be in severe pain, until his breathing starts to calm down. As he takes his hands off his face, he slowly opens his eyes. They were a light-blue hue, almost like that of a baby, but a tad darker. His breathing slows down to a normal pace as he plops back down onto the ultra-soft pillow beneath his head. His arms spread out, and one even going off the bed. ”A dream….was…something taken from me?” His robe was still on him, but the hood was completely off. He only caught a glimpse of Arietta, but didn’t really acknowledge her presence as he felt the pain ease away.

[Angel]

Arietta sighed, but there was a smile.. a slight one at the her face. "I don't know. Your composure, perhaps." she said smirking a little with a smile on her face, sitting on the end of her bed, staring at the young man with sweat on his brow from this tossing and turning and screaming.

She gave him a look full of purpose, deciding at once to not keep him in this state."Start with a deep breath. One thing at a time." She says. "Tell me what you're thinking, Shadows. What's going on in your mind? What's happening right now?" she says, speaking with that sense of dreamy softness that she assumed might make him a bit more receptive to her, a calming sort of voice that hypnosis users might use.

She pulled out a book, seemingly from nowhere.. and flipped a few pages. It was old and had a slight blue tone to it, but there was a shimmering blue gemstone in the middle. "Maybe some scents to ease you? Cinnamon?" and at once, a soft fragrance of cinnamon would waft about the room, taking it quickly as if a candle had been burning in for some time. "Maybe something a bit more modern, like a morning coffee?" and the scents were replaced. She never once glanced at the book though, her eyes trained on him.. instead, her fingers danced about the pages with a sense of familiarity and purpose. She knew what she was looking for.