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Nothing could make Vedal relax more than a good cup of coffee.
But Vedal wasn't drinking a good cup of coffee. It was as bitter as his own life.
In other words, undrinkable.
No, he had brought instead the beverage with the highest amount of caffeine he could find before settling in the food court. The place was extremely busy due to Christmas – a day he grew to hate with each passing second in this place – but Neuro insisted on going shopping. Her sibling, clearly the smarter one, took the opportunity he didn't have and left before the younger one could even finish talking.
Now, here he was, with a table so full it bordered on the obscene and an outer-dimensional thing running around unchecked with his wallet and the ever present metaphorical leash over his life.
He shivered, remembering the "tree" Neuro chose.
Of course, because his existence has been nothing but childlike amusement to the powers that be, it also dictates that it won't take long for the food court to get stranger.
Ellie was a woman on a mission. A very important mission. One so important she even managed to block the whispers to sleep.
It was also to avoid getting arrested.
A noble mission then, her mind helpfully supplied.
Specifically, she was heading towards the mall's library to try give a strongly worded warning to the store about their scam. It was necessary to express her disappointment over the Summoning ritual failing twice. It was also, of course, to warn them that such practices are highly illegal and even a copy could get them in trouble.
If she wasn't running on a four hour sleep schedule, she could almost delude herself into thinking they would be grateful.
A part of Ellie should have expected the clerk to lie to her, she figured they were paid less than the book was actually worth – and wasn't that a depressing thought?–, but another part of her, one that was extremely loud, believed the minimal wage worker was also tricked by the book and it's very colorful front. If she got tricked, what stopped everyone else from also being tricked?
A small flicker of doubt inside her didn't believe either of the choices, a part that ignored logic and superstition but hyper focused on her emotions. It whispered sweet words about how she should have expected the scam, 'she was too annoying', it said. 'Who would believe something so fooli-'
A whale unhelpfully agreed with her mind...
What?
Her inner self screeched to a halt as her footsteps slowed down next to a small food stall, her gaze stuck on the beige colored child meters away from her, each small noise from them sounding more and more like wild animals.
It was weird, but it could hardly compare to the way she paced around. The little girl moved as if her body was being dragged around, random bursts of speed that should have made her trip on the multitude of bags around her, a sea of rainbow plastic that made a part of Ellie very angry.
Her vision trembled, and for a brief second, she didn't see the girl, she saw carapace. Red sections that click with each step it's multitude of legs took around the walls andmadeherbodysquirm-
You're bleeding. Her body helpfully provided.
Like a crack from a whip, her vision returned to normal. So focused on that singular moment, she had barely noticed how sound had vanished. The loud noise from the mall around her was gone in an instant as the world blackened in the corner of her eyes.
The world narrowed her sight on the abnormal creature not far from her. In a moment Ellie would remember for the rest of her life, her mind connected dots she wished she hadn't.
It worked, the logical and uncaring part of her said. The book worked.
A whimper escaped her throat, fingers turning white with her grip on the book. HowWhyPleaseN-
Then, she feels something fix their gaze on her, like suddenly being aware a bullet was stuck in your leg.
The stars unfolded before her eyes, singular moments in time that seared her vision.
How it begins, and how it ends.
Ellie screamed.
Neuro let the puppet continue moving in circles, a movement they learned would indicate confusion on their vessel's species, and let some part of them focus on the curious scene dimensions below themselves.
A little mortal that Sees more than the recommended daily amount. They wondered how long it would take for the mortal to realize it wasn't screaming in the same dimension as its nose was bleeding...
Oh, bleeding, what were they supposed to do in a situation like this again?
The puppet pinned their attention on the bleeding mortal, its vacant blue eyes widening with something similar to worry at the sight of blood. It looked around, a display that clearly indicated how much it didn't want to deal with that.
Unfortunately for it, Neuro was feeling funny today, so they continued to isolate that singular point in time from the rest of reality.
A small, nonphysical tentacle metaphorically poked the mortals mind like an irritating toddler.
Something poked back.
The tentacle poked harder.
Oh, it popped. The little mortal also stopped screaming, how boring.
For the first time since she could remember, Ellie's mind was quiet. Not empty, just silent. The sharp thoughts were gone in the wind, barely a memory to speak of.
And for a moment, Ellie let herself simply breathe. To do something without receiving an instant negative feedback.
Ellie let herself laugh, loud and uncaring of the stares she received. Laugh until her belly hurts and lungs beg for air. She loves how desperately her body wants to live, to continue.
She loves how no voice asks her to end it all.
Taking deep breaths, her gaze turns to the deity she summoned, for what else could it be? Warmth bubbles in her chest. Happiness. Gratitude. Hope. All things she could now hope to give, give, and give.
For a singular moment, Ellie is sure she needs to break first before putting herself back together.
No part of her stopped to think about how the book she used actually worked.