"Del!" Her doll-like face smiles happily. "Go to the hall, someone's waiting for you." Mariko continue skipping away.
Someone waiting for me? I run there quickly. And,
"Arrt!"
He's back! My big, strong Arrt! We hug and I breathe in the smell of him.
"Did you miss me while I was gone?" I love the sound of his deep voice, warm and enveloping. I respond by nuzzling closer against his chest. He rubs me there, just the way I like it and I inhale more of him as I moan a little. I have a fascination with smells and my Arrt's man-smell is gooood.
He freezes suddenly and I cringe slightly.
"You've been crying." He whispers softly into my ear.
"I.. I missed you." I lie. But he knows.
"Your veins surge even blacker when you lie." His hot breath on my face makes me shiver ever so slightly. "Who? Mariko?"
"No... Mariko's always nice to me. I play with her a lot." I reply nervously.
"Then who?" He holds me tight and stares into my eyes. Lightning dances in his eyes, so scary, so beautiful, my Arrt.
"Some.. some of the boys in the village." My voice is little more than a squeak. I know that I had just killed those boys with my words. "They only looked at me and Mariko and called us some names! Don't hurt them... Please..."
My words have no use, just as I knew they wouldn't. My Arrt's eyes blaze with unrestrained lightning and anger. I know that he would go through the village tonight and kill them.
My sweet Arrt pulls away from me and I take a few steps back. My dear Arrt is scary in this mood.
A clap of thunder sounds, rain falls, lightning flashes and my Arrt is gone. I walk away gloomily.
He comes back. Outside, a flash of lightning and my Arrt is back. He has three boys held tightly by the neck of their shirts. The same three who had called me bad, bad names. Lightning flickers and plays around my Arrt's brilliant white hair. The three boys are in their nightwear and one of them has a dull splotch spreading down his pants. One of them stammers, "Demon!", looking at my Arrt.
I can't help but giggle. My lovely Arrt is no demon, but that's the story we all use. We're all supposed to be demons, but they are just boys from the village who know nothing about us. I can just make out the slight hint of a smile on his face, but he forces it down.
"Are these the ones?" My Arrt asks softly. The boys stop their whimpering and crying and look at me.
"Tell it we didn't do anything!" One of them shouts out. They don't recognise me, I realise. Except one of them, the leader. The one who started jeering at me and Mariko when we went to the small village-town today. Mariko had responded in her usual way, smiling and blew a bright pink bubblegum till it burst. Everything about Mariko screams pink. Her hair is naturally pink, just like the bubblegum she so loves to chew. Her dresses are pink and white, her eye colour is even pink. I don't think I've ever seen her wear clothes of any other colour apart from pink and white. And she is pale. Mariko is very pale, until you feel that you can almost see through her skin. But then, that's what people say about me too. They say that my skin is even paler and that they can see my black veins running though me. And when I lie, you can see my veins surging even blacker. I don't lie well. Mariko lies much better than me. She always has that smile, then she'll blow her gum till it pops. Mariko likes pink, but I like black better. I always wear black.
"Are these the ones?" My Arrt asks again and I stop daydreaming. (Is it daydreaming if it's at night but I'm not asleep?) I nod.
"Yes."
He nods slowly in return and more lightning courses around and about him. Pretty bolts dance between his fingers and the boys shrink back. The one who wet his pants even starts shouting for his mummy. Silly boy. The House of Del has none of the dead, especially not those bandaged mannequins.
My Arrt draws a bright blue finger across the boy's face and it tears. The face rips and tears, a broad gash on his visage and he dies screaming. The other two boys get up and try to run, but lightning crawls across the floor and chains them to the ground, burning them. The smell of burnt flesh is in the room. My Arrt's white hair is flaring upwards now, the sheer amount of electricity in the room causing things to fly. My Arrt grabs the second boy and forces him to stare into his eyes. My Arrt's eyes are a pure blue-white now, no iris, no pupil, just blue and white. The boy's eyes spark a little and suddenly the spark grows, consumed by an inner lightning. There's nothing left in those burnt and scoured eye sockets. Those screams are really starting to get annoying. My Arrt feels the same way and crushes his throat, killing him. My Arrt then draws some of the lightning around the dead boy's face and skins it off, a cohesive flap of skin. My considerate Arrt smiles.
"Mariko will like this." Mariko, when she can, likes taking the faces of people and weating them. She's got a huge collection of those face masks, but she tells me she can't blow bubblegums as well when she wears her masks.
My Arrt suddenly looks past me and I turn. Mariko! She serenely chews her gum and walks to the last boy.
"Arrt? May I?" She asks so politely and nicely.
My compromising Arrt reluctantly backs away and calls back his lightning to him. Mariko lifts her hands up and crackling pink with a few threads of black surrounds them and she claps her hands on the sides of the boy's head. The energy discharges into him, wounds bleed open and his orifices start pouring with blood. Mariko quickly takes her hands away before they get dirty. The death of these three touch me. They aren't the first that have died thanks to me. Sweet, protective Arrt. I remember what Mariko tells me. Dolls are always prettier when they're broken...
As if thinking about her summons her, my mom appears. My mom is wearing that same boring old cloak and hood and is carrying that long, sharp scythe that she always brings wherever she goes. Her gaunt, skeletal face is stern and I think she's going to scold us. People tell me that my mother is Death and my dad is Black, the Colour Persona. But that was a long time back, before mom broke up with him and fell in love with Life. So Life's my dad, but Black's my real dad. Life is very nice to me, always getting me things I want and playing with me even though I'm not really his daughter. But I love mom and Life and my Family.
"Arrt, this isn't the first time." My mom's voice is as stern as her face shows her to be, but I can tell that she's exasperated.
"I'm sorry, auntie."
"That's what you said the previous times."
"They made Del cry!"
My mom's expression softens and she walks to me, picking me up.
"Are you alright now, Del?"
"Yes, mom. I'm okay."
She turns back to Arrt after tousling my hair a little.
"Let's try not to let this sort of thing happen again. As it is, mortals don't really like me."
Arrt smirks a little. Only a few mortals actually like Death. According to mom, nobody welcomes her with open arms.
"Mom?"
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"When's dad coming?" I have to call Life dad even though he's not really my dad. It's kinda funny, but I guess it doesn't really matter.
"I'm not sure either, dear. I'll tell you when I know. I have to go now, take care of yourself, sweetheart."
"Yes, mom. Bye."
"Bye." She turns back to Arrt. "And do try not to kill or torture anymore people. Especially torture. Pain is a sterner matron than I. Take care of them for me." Mom disappears. Arrt's parents are two of the Emotional Personas, Impulse and Wrath. He got his pretty lightning from his godfather, Light, one of the Elemental Personas. Each group of Personas have seven, so there are seven Colours, seven Elements, seven Emotions and seven of the Natural Personas. Sometimes I get mixed up, but Arrt's always here to explain. I hug Arrt and he hugs me. We head to our bedroom. Mom knows we sleep in the same bed, but she doesn't say anything about it. Mariko has a separate bed, though in the same room. All the others of my Family have all been long asleep.
"Yes."
He nods slowly in return and more lightning courses around and about him. Pretty bolts dance between his fingers and the boys shrink back. The one who wet his pants even starts shouting for his mummy. Silly boy. The House of Del has none of the dead, especially not those bandaged mannequins.
My Arrt draws a bright blue finger across the boy's face and it tears. The face rips and tears, a broad gash on his visage and he dies screaming. The other two boys get up and try to run, but lightning crawls across the floor and chains them to the ground, burning them. The smell of burnt flesh is in the room. My Arrt's white hair is flaring upwards now, the sheer amount of electricity in the room causing things to fly. My Arrt grabs the second boy and forces him to stare into his eyes. My Arrt's eyes are a pure blue-white now, no iris, no pupil, just blue and white. The boy's eyes spark a little and suddenly the spark grows, consumed by an inner lightning. There's nothing left in those burnt and scoured eye sockets. Those screams are really starting to get annoying. My Arrt feels the same way and crushes his throat, killing him. My Arrt then draws some of the lightning around the dead boy's face and skins it off, a cohesive flap of skin. My considerate Arrt smiles.
"Mariko will like this." Mariko, when she can, likes taking the faces of people and weating them. She's got a huge collection of those face masks, but she tells me she can't blow bubblegums as well when she wears her masks.
My Arrt suddenly looks past me and I turn. Mariko! She serenely chews her gum and walks to the last boy.
"Arrt? May I?" She asks so politely and nicely.
My compromising Arrt reluctantly backs away and calls back his lightning to him. Mariko lifts her hands up and crackling pink with a few threads of black surrounds them and she claps her hands on the sides of the boy's head. The energy discharges into him, wounds bleed open and his orifices start pouring with blood. Mariko quickly takes her hands away before they get dirty. The death of these three touch me. They aren't the first that have died thanks to me. Sweet, protective Arrt. I remember what Mariko tells me. Dolls are always prettier when they're broken...
As if thinking about her summons her, my mom appears. My mom is wearing that same boring old cloak and hood and is carrying that long, sharp scythe that she always brings wherever she goes. Her gaunt, skeletal face is stern and I think she's going to scold us. People tell me that my mother is Death and my dad is Black, the Colour Persona. But that was a long time back, before mom broke up with him and fell in love with Life. So Life's my dad, but Black's my real dad. Life is very nice to me, always getting me things I want and playing with me even though I'm not really his daughter. But I love mom and Life and my Family.
"Arrt, this isn't the first time." My mom's voice is as stern as her face shows her to be, but I can tell that she's exasperated.
"I'm sorry, auntie."
"That's what you said the previous times."
"They made Del cry!"
My mom's expression softens and she walks to me, picking me up.
"Are you alright now, Del?"
"Yes, mom. I'm okay."
She turns back to Arrt after tousling my hair a little.
"Let's try not to let this sort of thing happen again. As it is, mortals don't really like me."
Arrt smirks a little. Only a few mortals actually like Death. According to mom, nobody welcomes her with open arms.
"Mom?"
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"When's dad coming?" I have to call Life dad even though he's not really my dad. It's kinda funny, but I guess it doesn't really matter.
"I'm not sure either, dear. I'll tell you when I know. I have to go now, take care of yourself, sweetheart."
"Yes, mom. Bye."
"Bye." She turns back to Arrt. "And do try not to kill or torture anymore people. Especially torture. Pain is a sterner matron than I. Take care of them for me." Mom disappears. Arrt's parents are two of the Emotional Personas, Impulse and Wrath. He got his pretty lightning from his godfather, Light, one of the Elemental Personas. Each group of Personas have seven, so there are seven Colours, seven Elements, seven Emotions and seven of the Natural Personas. Sometimes I get mixed up, but Arrt's always here to explain. I hug Arrt and he hugs me. We head to our bedroom. Mom knows we sleep in the same bed, but she doesn't say anything about it. Mariko has a separate bed, though in the same room. All the others of my Family have all been long asleep.
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