(One of two posts. This one has some more Lanette shenanigans and a little look into Jacket doing... something relatively normal for once. Of course, then he ruins it by doing something absolutely abnormal again. Yes, it's the usual wall of text, but seeing as how I haven't thrown these guys into the fray just yet... it should be fine. The second post will be shorter.)
Date: 12 June, Saturday
Time: 7:00 AM
Weather: Clear
Location: Lanette's Secret Base
PC: Lanette
Other PC(s): Jacket
NPC: Lin
================
"Nnnnn....."
Lin emerged into the den area of the mobile home to find Lanette kneeling over next to the sofa. A shirt-less Jacket was collapsed upon its soft cushions with a bedsheet wrapped haphazardly around him, barely covering him up at all. One of his arms was hanging limply off the edge of the seats, with his hand trailing against the floor. His left foot was propped inelegantly against the back padding, while his right was tucked snugly between an armrest and the adjacent cushion. The Panzer device in his chest pulsated softly, as if mimicking something akin to a heartbeat.
The Stray snoozed like a log, completely unaware of the daylight streaming in between the seams of the curtains above, nor of the presence of the two others in the room. However, upon closer inspection, it became apparent that he bore a scant grimace while he slept, as if something had been torturing him painfully. Lanette, on the other hand, bore an expression of deep intrigue as she examined the unconscious Stray like a scientist studying some sort of a lab specimen. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together.
"Young Miss?"
"Wah! Lin?! How long have you been there??"
Lanette had been so focused on the sleeping Jacket that she hadn't even noticed her caretaker's presence. She threw a hand to her chest to as she caught her breath and recovered from the shock. Lin was
not someone who you wanted to be sneaking up on you. The caretaker drew her eyes from the girl back to the Stray on the couch, whose face had returned to that of its regular inanimate state; a neutral, blank expression with both eye sockets dimmed to black.
"I have only just entered the room... What is it that you are doing?"
"Huh? Oh! That. Hehehe, c'mere. I'll show you!"
Lanette lowered her voice to a whisper and gestured the older female over. Skeptical but admittedly somewhat curious, Lin did as she was told and approached the coach, placing her hands on her knees as she bent slightly downward to examine the napping Jacket alongside Lanette.
"Well, first I was just curious about that mask. Or, rather... I guess it's actually his face? Isn't it weird how it reverts to that poker-face look whenever he's unconscious? And his eye just goes completely out, like a light! See?"
Lanette points carefully at Jacket's left eye socket.
"No matter how hard you look, you can't make out anything in there. It's like a an endless hole! Weird, huh? Hehehe, I don't think Nietzsche was talking about this when he said 'the abyss gazes also into you.'"
Lin closed her eyes and gave a light, hapless huff.
"... Really, Young Miss. As much of a simpleton as this one is, it is hardly appropriate to make entertainment out, or at the expense of others."
"Hey, that's not fair! You had fun tossing him around, too!"
As Lanette shot an accusing finger in Lin's direction, the green-haired woman looked abruptly away.
"That is not true. I simply did as you desired."
Lanette took this chance to smirk quietly to herself.
Hehehe, you try too hard to be serious, Lin. But that's why you're so easy to poke! Too bad, I know all your weak points!
"Whatever you say. I'm not done, though! Here, look."
Ever-so-gently, Lanette hovered a finger out over Jacket's face. She furrowed her brows, and stuck her tongue out of the side of her taut lips in concentration as she attempted to make contact without waking the Stray.
Steady.... steady.... aaaand...
Touchdown!
The clueless guinea pig made not a sound as Lanette successfully planted an index finger on his cheek. With the next step cleared, Lanette continued her spiel of observations.
"This is another thing that's really weird. I noticed it when I touched his face during yesterday's training session. It's... warm. Like skin!"
Lin raised an eyebrow at the information.
"Is... that so?"
"Yea!" Lanette nodded excitedly in confirmation, as if she were on the precipice of a scientific breakthrough.
"And what's even weirder is that it's completely hard and solid, just like what you'd expect a mask should be. But then, if I do this..."
Placing a little more force into her finger, the Hindfell girl pushed down against Jacket's face. Not enough to hurt him, really; just enough to get a reaction. As soon as she did, the Stray's face immediately contorted in discomfort as he let out a hoarse groan.
"Nnnnngh...."
Lanette waited with bated breath as Jacket's frown slowly receded, her finger still placed on his cheek the entire time. After a few seconds, he drifted back into a comfortable slumber. She exhaled, silently, only when she was sure he wouldn't wake.
"Phew! That was close. But you saw, right? How his face changed expression?"
Lin remained puzzled at her Young Miss's demonstration.
"Yes, I suppose... but we have been seeing that for some time now. There is really no need to torture the Stray in his sleep for something such as this. If you wish, I can have him produce a myriad of pained expressions while he is perfectly awake."
"Um, that's... okay, Lin."
Lanette gave an uneasy smile as she dismissed her caretaker's suggestion. Even though she was sure Lin had meant that as a joke, she'll stand in for the poor guy just once.
"Er, anyway. Yea, I know we see him make different expressions all the time, but this is the first time I'm touching a part that moves while he does it! Did you know his face remains all hard even while it changes? It's like... like..."
Lanette struggled for a moment to find an example to articulate her thoughts, fidgeting her hands and fingers in front of her as if trying to grasp the very words out of the air.
"... Like... stop-motion movies! Where they swap out the heads of dolls and stuff and then play it back really fast so it looks like smooth animation! Except this guy does it in real time with his face! It's like the mask re-makes itself repeatedly in order to change expressions. Cool, right??"
"I see. That is... interesting. In a way. Er... is that all then, Young Miss?"
It was obvious that Lin was trying desperately hard to be as interested in Jacket's facial functions as Lanette was. The Hindfell girl gave a pout when she realized she was alone in her enthusiasm, followed up with a shrug and sigh.
Oh well, it's not as if you can expect Lin to have fun with stuff like this to begin with.
Then, her eyes glinted mischievously as she suddenly had another thought.
"Actually, there's just one more thing, but it's kind of lame."
Lanette purposely spoke in an off-handed manner. She moved her finger from Jacket's face downward to one of his long, mule-like ears. They drooped lazily against the armrest of the couch on which he laid his head. Slowly, she drew her hand closer and closer toward the ear until her fingertip barely brushed against the fine hairs on its underside.
*Fwit~ fwit~*
The ear twitched energetically, flipping off its resting place twice before settling down again. Even though she was trying as hard as she could to seem disinterested, Lanette could not help but emit a small giggle. Who knew that someone as outwardly tough as Jacket could have such a delicate reaction?
Lanette threw a glance behind her back, and triumph overtook her as she saw exactly what she had planned to see.
Lin was staring wide-eyed at the spectacle, her thin, slit pupils trained fiercely on the ear that Lanette had just provoked. While she made no further gestures and said not a word, Lanette knew exactly what that expression had meant.
Ha! Hook, line, and sinker! Time for the killing blow..!
"It's actually pretty fuzzy, you know? You can't tell from the usual distance, but it is! The rest of his body doesn't have any fur, but his ears do! Wanna give it a try, Lin? I don't know why, but he doesn't seem to wake up from this."
"I..."
Lin opened her mouth, as if to answer, and lurched forward ever so much. So subtly, in fact, that it was hard to tell she even moved at all. But Lanette caught it clear as day, and that itself was enough of a victory for her. At the last moment, Lin seemed to catch herself in the act and stopped in her tracks. She staunchly lifted herself back up to a stiff, standing posture and cleared her throat a bit louder than necessary.
"*Ahem...!* H-Hardly likely...! Such childish amusements are..." Lin's voice seemed to trail off for a moment as she once again brought her gaze upon Jacket's now-known-to-be-fuzzy ears. Just as before, she shook herself free from wayward thoughts and cleared her throat once more.
"*Ahem..!* Th-That aside, Young Miss, have you decided where you would like to go today? It is only the first day of the festival, but there is already much to do and see."
"Oh yea! There's a show I want to go to! Hold on, I'll fetch the brochure!"
Almost immediately, Lanette had forgotten all about trying to coerce her caretaker to perform misdeeds. She leapt to her feet, and made a beeline straight for her room.
Lin waited until she was absolutely...
positively left alone in the den with Jacket. Then, slowly and hesitantly, as if struggling against every fiber of her own body and proper judgement, Lin turned her head toward the sleeping Stray, her eyes drawing inevitably upon the two limp flaps protruding out from behind his mask.
"......"
================
Cats.
So many cats.
Hundreds. Thousands. All staring with their dreadful, glaring eyes.
"No.... stop...aaaugh..."
Swarming all over.
Can't move. Too many...! Poking... biting... scratching...!
"Nnnngh... not... the ears...! Aaaaaugh!! Aaaaaauuuuugh--!!"
*Thud.*
"Geeeeeh... nnngh....!"
Jacket coiled up into a fetal position on the floor, clutching his head in pain after unceremoniously tumbling off his sleeping station. After spending some time nursing the pain away, he bolted upright, scanning his surroundings.
Carpeted hall, couch, television...
"N-No cats...?" Jacket meekly stammered aloud as he double, then triple checked all around him. He was alone.
"No cats! Oh...! Oh thank God. It was a dream. Holy crap."
Jacket took a moment to celebrate a feline-free reality as he sat on the floor, puffing his chest in relief. After shaking away the lingering thoughts of his nightmare, Jacket got to his feet and made his way lazily to the bathroom of the mobile home.
Strays didn't need to take showers. It was a completely unnecessary thing for a Stray to do, period. For one, it's not like they sweat or smelled. They were completely incorporeal beings. Water would just pass through them anyway. But Jacket
was a little bit different. And after spending a day out being trashed again and again at a dust-filled construction site, out in the forest, and in the middle of summer... even a Stray could get a bit grimy.
"Go wash yourself off, geez! We have a shower you know, so use it already!"
Lanette had quite literally kicked him into the bathroom after he'd gotten back the first day, blockaded the door, and refused to let him back out until he'd cleaned himself up. It was a pretty strange ordeal trying to bathe himself. After all, he'd never needed to do it before, and indeed had never done it since awakening as a Stray. If he ever got mussed up in the past... it kind of just took care of itself over time. Even with Mirto it was never really a problem, since he was almost always miniaturized when he had to hang around at her home anyway.
Though, after a few unanswered how-the-hell-do-I-do-this's, the proper steps eventually came to him as naturally as if he'd known how to do it all along. Or rather... it came
back to him, as he should say. He must have showered
at least once while he was alive as a human, right?
... He hoped so.
Damn, that feels nice.
Jacket soaked happily as hot water rained down upon him from the shower head above. There really wasn't a need to do this if he wasn't messy, but ever since he got into the groove, it simply felt appropriate. And again, it was pretty darn nice. In a way it was like his naps; Strays didn't have a need for sleep either, but he did it anyway because naps are awesome. Although lately, he's been starting to have second opinions after the amount of seriously odd dreams he's been having.
Absentmindedly, his eyes followed the warm droplets as they snaked against his body, then drifted around the device driven firmly into his chest before falling to the floor, swirling down the drain. It's a good thing that it seemed to be waterproof. He took a moment to watch the pulsating green panel. The Stray wasn't at all sure how the device worked, but it did that whenever it had filled itself up with ether. A reassuring sign that it was in good, working condition.
"Hmmm."
Jacket gave a thoughtful hum as he brought his arms out in front of him, gave a good stare, then turned them over once and did the same again.
A dark, matte texture that gave off a blue-ish tint in the light.
He sighed in embarrassment as he realized what he was doing. There was nothing really shameful about taking a look at yourself while in the shower. Actually, it might have been even more excusable for him since he didn't look human. Examining himself was like taking a curious look at a critter at the zoo, or a museum exhibit. But that wasn't really why it agitated him; it was the notion that the more he looked, the more he found himself wandering back into a realm of self-doubt.
There was a lot he still didn't know about himself. Though, he did learn quite a bit during the past few days. It was what he'd wanted, but... maybe he jumped the gun a bit. Some of it was hard to swallow. Like, for example, the fact that his mask was actually an ethereal artifact a lot of people wanted to get their hands on.
"...An ethereal relic? Me?"
"Incorrect. Not you, individually, but rather the artifact you wear as a face. That is the thing they call the Fragment, and the reason why you are being pursued."
"Why, though? I don't get it. What's so special about my face??"
"Your ignorance is truly worrisome, Stray. To the point of being impressive. That body of yours which lingers betwixt ethereal and material. Even you should be able to acknowledge your own exceptional nature. "
Jacket's mind drifted back to the events of the day before. As Miss Lin had promised, she told him everything she knew about the Fragment. That it was an item holding the ability to convert the ethereal to the material. That it was because of its power that his body was the way it was. And that as long as he possessed it, people who also desired that power would be coming after him. Ironically, the reason that he had never been tracked down by those people before was most likely because Lanette had been constantly chasing him from place to place. Pebbleton was the longest he'd ever spent in one location. He probably owed it to her crazy ass that he was still free to run around and be the idiot that he was, and not in the hands of some shady group wanting to dissect him for their own ends.
He'd been owing a lot to her lately. Many others, too. He was surprisingly fine with admitting that, considering how hard he'd tried to do things on his own before. It was thanks to her and Miss Lin that he now possessed new strength.
"...Say what?"
"Look, don't make me repeat it okay? It's weird enough asking as it is. Just go with it."
Jacket had responded in slight confusion after being told to
"let her touch his face". He had no room to object, and so a couple of seconds later, he was stooped awkwardly to compensate for their large difference in height, as she held gingerly onto the large, pointed fins on either side of his mask.
"You sure you know what you're doing?"
"Probably! I mean, if it's really an ethereal artifact like Lin said, there's no reason why I wouldn't be able to at least do something with it."
That was the girl's enomena, apparently. The ability to control ethereal artifacts. Go figure. Just swinging around a giant mallet was enough, in his opinion. Both would end up doing the same as what ended up happening. That was, knocking his lights out
again.
The last thing he remembered before going dark was seeing Lanette's eyes glowing an intense violet, like it usually does whenever she super-sizes her hammer. Then, he was struck by what felt like a stick of dynamite exploding from
inside of his own head. When he finally came to, he was lying face-up on the gravel-covered ground of the construction site, with Lanette gazing apprehensively over him. Judging by her expression, it looked like she had been on the verge of tears.
"You're... you're awake! Quick, how many fingers am I holding up?!"
"Nnngh... I dunno...? Twelve?"
"Oh my gosh, you're okay. Thank goodness!"
Jacket remembered that, even in his dazed state, he had been mildly amused by how much Lanette worried about his well being, considering how many times she'd come close to wiping him off the face of the planet. It made him wonder if she really would have gone through with it, if given the chance. Then, his train of thought had come to a crashing halt when he laid his eyes on the overpass behind them. Or what remained of it.
"Wh-What the hell happened?!"
The entire structure had been smashed clean in two, with both halves tipped over in a rough V-shape. It was as if someone had administered a karate chop to it like one of those martial arts movies Lanette loved to watch so much.
"You."
"... Me? I did that?"
"Yep."
"Wha-? How?! I... I didn't hurt you guys, did I?"
"Not really. You mostly just hurt yourself."
"... Oh, that's good. W-Wait, I don't get it. Just what exactly happened, anyway? I don't remember a thing! "
"Uh... it's probably better if you didn't know."
Suddenly, what felt like a wave of ice hitting against his face snapped him back to reality. He'd been daydreaming for so long that he'd used up all the hot water.
"Gah!"
He quickly shut off the shower, stepped out, grabbed a towel, and got to work at drying off.
*Vrrrrrrrrr-----!!*
The loud sound of a hairdryer in action filled the room as Jacket waved it systematically around his head. He'd come to learn that it took ages for his hair to dry off if he didn't do it manually. He hadn't ever paid attention to how lengthy it was, either. Cutting it wouldn't do, as Lanette had been so eager to try after he complained. The bits they sheared off just dissipated into a familiar black smoke, and it'd all grow back as soon as he recovered enough ether.
Man, being a Stray was weird as heck... though, he wasn't exactly a normal one. Unlike other Strays, his body automatically converts into a solid form. It was material, yet ethereal at the same time. Some sort of a bizarre, in-between substance. Again, he had the Fragment to thank for that... this weird thing that made up his face.
He stared into the mirror as he continued to work the hairdryer. He wasn't fond of mirrors; they always jarred him a bit. Even though he knew very well what he looked like, it always took awhile for him to register that the unusual creature staring back at him with its singular eye was in fact his reflection.
Did that mean his mind was human enough? If that's the case, then how did he even come to look like that? A Stray's appearance is supposed to be based on their most prominent perception of themselves. Why did he look like that if put it him off so much? Was this the Fragment's doing, too?
He momentarily relieved his spare hand from the duty of brushing around his damp hair and raised it below his chin. Carefully, he attempted to wedge his thumb underneath the edge of the rigid, white cast. Try as he might, there was no way to drive apart any space with his finger.
Meh. He wasn't disappointed. It's not as if he hadn't tried it hundreds of times before. There was simply no way to pry the damned thing off; it was keen on sticking to him whether he liked it or not. He briefly wondered what would happen if he actually
did manage to remove the mask. Would he be faceless? Would he just disappear? Or would he magically gain a human form? He'd fantasized about the latter possibility a number of times, but in all honestly, it would be a little strange to suddenly look like a human.
Man, talk about an existential crisis.
Though there was one thing he couldn't deny; if the power of the Fragment really was as big of a deal as everyone made it out to be, then it also held the key to making him stronger. As long as he was stuck with it, he might as well make use of it.
He's already learned a few new tricks.
Let's see if I can still do this right...
Jacket shut off the dryer, and set it on the bathroom counter. Then, he brought his hand back and raised it to level before him. He closed his eyes, and slowly attempted to fill his mind with particular thoughts.
Now, don't see yourself as a concrete, static thing. Instead... you're like clay. A massive glob of clay molded into the shape you are now. All it takes is a little creative effort and...
Suddenly, Jacket's right arm burst apart into tiny filaments. It was like his black tendrils, but instead of shooting out of his body, it was his body that had split into countless fibers. The mass undulated slowly around like a viscous liquid ooze, with all of the tiny filaments writhing rhythmically around. Jacket's anticipation turned into mild disturbance as he winced a little at the sight. It wasn't exactly the prettiest thing in the world to look at.
"Ugh... at least I haven't forgotten how to do this."
It was strange. Even though his arm now looked like a mangled mess, it didn't hurt at all. He could also "feel" through every single one of the tiny fibers, just like the sense of touch from his normal fingers. If he wanted, he could even move them around like any part of his body.
So, let's try giving it a better shape.
Jacket furrowed his brows, focusing upon the new sensations in his right hand.
Square.
Immediately, the fibers swirled about, twisting and converging into thicker strands before snapping neatly into a four-sided shape.
"Hahaha, nice! I've still got it!"
The Stray proudly admired the results of his feat. It wasn't anything complex, in fact, it looked like something anyone could have bent out of a coathanger or something. Except, you know, it was made out of what used to be his hand. Simple, yes, but it was
something.
Now, let's try... triangle.
*Whoosh!*
The square dismantled itself back into ooze and immediately reassembled into a perfect three sides.
"Yea! Not bad!"
Circle. Crescent moon. Heart. Arrow. Star.
One after another, a series of different shapes formed, broke apart, and re-formed on the end of Jacket's wrist, each a bit more complicated than the last.
"Hmmm, alright then. How about this?"
Jacket reached out and took hold of the hairdryer again in his good hand. Keeping his eye on the device, he tried to articulate its form into his other arm. The star disbanded, but this time instead of transforming into another shape right away, the miniature tentacles shifted about this way and that, as if unsure how to proceed. Jacket focused a bit more intently, biting his rigid lower lip in concentration. Slowly, the fibers melded together into a crude approximation of a hairdryer. Once the last of the tendrils had melted into place, Jacket held both his recreation and the original up side-by-side... and grimaced at the result.
"Eh... Well, close enough." Jacket twisted his wrist, turning the black sculpture around. Indeed the basic shape was there, but that's about it. He wasn't able to reproduce the finer details like the buttons or screws. The end of the blowing unit, where an open funnel should be, was simple a flat surface. Sticking out the end of his arm, it looked more like a sledgehammer than anything. And indeed...
*Tack Tack Tack*
Jacket softly tapped the thing against the edge of the counter. Just as he thought: completely rock solid. He gave a disappointed sigh. He hasn't figured out how to control that aspect of his transformations just yet even though, according to Lanette, it should be possible. His black tendrils were soft and pliable, as were the fibers before they converge into definite shapes. By all reasoning, it should also be possible for him "make" things with varying degrees of hardness. Instead, everything he generated became as tough as when he reinforces his body.
"Tch. Whatever." Having realized he's spent long enough in the bathroom, Jacket decided to suspend his shapeshifting practice and returned to getting dressed.
"Alright, and now... release."
The Stray relinquished the focus on his arm and attempted to transform it back into his regular hand... but for some reason it wasn't working.
"... Uh oh... this ain't good. Nnnngh...!!" Jacket shook his blocky appendage around nervously, trying to get it to respond. Finally, it broke apart just like before and settled back down into a familiar five-fingered shape. The Stray huffed in relief.
"Damn! That scared me!"
He couldn't imagine what he'd do if his hand became permanently stuck as a rigid brick.
After a few more minutes, Jacket stepped out of the bathroom wearing a tight-fitting black T-Shirt and his usual blue pants. He didn't know where Lanette had picked up the top for him, but she insisted on him wearing that around the mobile home instead of having his precious fur-rimmed jacket on all the time. What
was it with people and dressing him up, anyway? Jackets were fine! He happened to be
named after those things.
Huh. Come to think of it, the brat isn't around.
Neither was Miss Lin, for that matter. Only then did it dawn on Jacket that he'd been alone all morning. Usually, the trailer would have been filled with rambunctious shouting and green-colored death glares already.
"Hello? Anyone home?"
It was pointless to call out. You could practically see the entirety of the place just by glancing down the hallway. But he did it anyway, and sure enough, nobody responded. Huh. That was weird. They just left him home alone like that? Did something happen?
"Aw, that's right!" Jacket exclaimed as a second revelation hit him like a ton of bricks.
"Today's that festival!"
He can't believe he forgot. It's all that Lanette had been able to talk about the whole time. At first, he didn't really care, but after hearing the girl gush on and on about how awesome it was going to be, he started to get a little interested himself. She and Miss Lin must have already gone off to enjoy the festivities.
Alright then, time to have a little fun myself!
Jacket marched excitedly down the hall toward the front door of the mobile home. However, when he arrived, he was stopped dead in his tracks by a note written in bold marker. It was taped right onto the entrance itself, so that there was no way he'd be able to miss it.
Lanette wrote:
We've gone out to play and have tons of fun!
Don't even think about sneaking off to cause trouble.
We'll definitely know about it!
Be a good boy and stay home.
XOXO - Lanette
X = Punches
O = Kicks
P.S. Sorry, there's just too many people out today for you to run around. Don't worry, I'll bring you back something neat!
Jacket stared at the note, which he had taken off the wall and into his hands. Slowly, his fingers began to tremble, digging into his palms and crumpling the paper in the process.
"Gaaaaaaaaah!!!!" Jacket unleashed a cry of frustration, shredded bits of paper flew around like confetti as he did.
"WHY?! THAT'S NOT FAAAAAAIR!!!"