Wisconsin, North America, August 24th, 8:00 am

Rain fell down and off the roof, covering the grass just beyond the porch in a thin sheet of morning dew. Josephine sat absentmindedly on the couch, knitting a sweater. Today she would not be expecting any visitors, or at she hoped that she wouldn’t get any. Better for her to be left alone at a time like this, especially when she started her knitting.

”Between Beth losing herself, and everyone else being mind controlled, I’d rather just stay at home right now.” Josephine told herself.

For now she would continue knitting, making sure not to prick herself in the process. Normally something like this would take an hour and a half at least. Possibly more time would be needed depending on what she was knitting. Yet today Josephine had decided to knit herself a little scarf, seeing as it would be getting colder soon.

It wasn’t until two and a half hours later that she had finally finished the scarf. Only stopping to have a small breakfast before continuing her work. The rain had not stopped but had instead increased in that time frame. Josephine could hear the droplets hitting the roof even as she made the finishing touches on the scarf. Though she enjoyed the constant white noise that the rain provided. It, like her knitting, was a soothing distraction from what had occurred two weeks earlier.

Though said events weren’t worth going to therapy over, despite their severity. Something that Josephine was very much thrilled by, not that therapy would be expensive for her anyways. Seeing as she could just pay Sierra a visit if need be. Though Sierra really didn’t practice any traditional types of therapy, or at least any kind done by a licensed therapist.

Not that any of that mattered at all, seeing as it was just something for Josephine to think about for now. She really didn’t have much to do on days like this. Especially considering Beth would often pay her a visit at this time. Something that she looked forward to and relished with great anticipation.

”It’s been a while since I last used Catharsis. Frankly, I think testing it now wouldn’t be great. Considering I’m going to have lunch in an hour. After that I’ll relax for a bit before going out and messing with it, probably.” Josephine chuckled to herself.

Josephine smiled and got up from the couch to water one of the nearby plants. Only recently had she actually renovated the house. Well, it was just her replacing the couch and adding a few plants, which really wouldn’t classify as a renovation. Yet it was better than actually redoing the whole house from the ground up. Adding smaller pieces to the interior as time goes on was a better option in her eyes.

“Maybe I won’t test Catharsis today, frankly it might just be a waste of my time at the moment. Yet I really want to use it again so very badly.” Josephine sighed.

She shrugged her shoulders and sat down at the kitchen table. Not to prepare lunch or anything, seeing as it was only eleven in the morning. Right now she just wanted to do something to keep herself occupied. Something to keep herself from obsessing over Catharsis, to prevent her more animalistic side from getting ahold of her.

”I have no idea how Beth manages to stop herself from obsessing over all of this.” Josephine shuddered.

Then she remembered, Beth didn’t really think, she just embraced her urges. She didn’t care about what she was doing, so long as she was enjoying herself.

”Now that I think about it, she’s extremely depraved. And so am I for letting her into my house every two weeks.” Josephine sighed as she turned her attention to the stove.

She wasn’t quite sure what to have for lunch today, other than a salad. Though it had been a while since she had made a sandwich or two. Josephine smiled, got up from her seat, and walked over to the fridge. She opened it and took out two slices of ham and a slice of cheese. Putting those things on a plate, Josephine grabbed two pieces of bread from the breadbox next to the sink. Once all of that was done, she returned to her seat and prepared the sandwich.

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After checking the clock, and noticing that half an hour had gone by, Josephine shrugged. She wasn’t sure how it had taken her that long to collect herself, let alone to make a sandwich. Then again, it took Beth half an hour to even make a salad. So something like this probably just ran in the family for all she knew.

”It couldn’t have taken me half an hour to make a sandwich though. Pretty sure I was thinking for most of that time, so I probably only took five minutes at best to make a sandwich. Though that still is a bit too long, even for my liking.” Josephine chuckled.

After having lunch, she went back to her place on the couch. By this point it was almost three in the afternoon, and Josephine still hadn’t truly made up her mind on Catharsis. She groaned and returned her thoughts to the topic again. This time, dead set on making sure that she indulged herself today.

”Given Beth’s off the table for today, what should I test my powers on now?” She smirked.

Josephine set her head against one of the arms of the couch and began to think. Though she wouldn’t be doing so for long as her thoughts were quickly interrupted by the sound of something rushing past her window outside. She groaned and rushed to the window, only to see a doe darting into the forest. A smile began to creep over her face as she scrambled out the door in a hurry.

But as she rushed off the porch, Josephine stopped, her gaze quickly turned to the sky which was now a bright lime green. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as the adrenaline began to kick in. Josephine could feel something staring back at her, trying to pierce her mind, trying to take control of her. Then she noticed the eye, with its massive pink iris, staring down at her.

”Oh hello there… Josephine.” It whispered.

”Who are you and how do you know who I am?” Josephine spat as she locked her gaze with the eye.

”Shenya, and well, let’s just say I’ve been watching you honey.” Shenya cooed.

”No kidding, now what exactly do you want from me?” Josephine hissed.

”Oh, I just want to talk, that’s all, seeing as the rest of your family aren’t willing to listen to me.” Shenya sighed.

“Fine, let’s talk then.” Josephine growled.

She looked at the forest one last time, only to notice that the trees were starting to wilt. Josephine didn’t have much time to really get a good grasp at the rest of the forest before she started to feel lightheaded. Immediately she was transported to a pale white room that was bathed the in pink light of Shenya’s eye. Josephine bowed and immediately sat down, not making eye contact with Shenya.

”What is it you want to discuss?” She asked.

”Just life, that’s all.” Shenya answered.

”I’d rather you be more specific seeing as I’m not all too philosophically inclined.” Josephine sighed.

”Fine then, I’ll just jump to what I brought you here for.” Shenya groaned.

”And that is?” Josephine inquired.

”I need a body.” Shenya stated.

”Why? Why do you of all things need a body? It just doesn’t make any sense.” Josephine chuckled.

”Without one, I can’t interact with you, physically that is. Without a body, I’ll have no hope of undoing whatever mess James has made.” Shenya growled.

”What’s he done now?” Josephine frowned.

“Removed himself from the game, permanently, that’s what he’s done.” Shenya chuckled.

”And you want a body so that you can clean up whatever damage he might have caused?” Josephine asked.

”Precisely, because even though he’s dead, we still have all of the protocols that he’s made. Last I recall he had some that only activated upon his permanent death.” Shenya mused.

”You know this how, exactly?” Josephine inquired.

”I’ve met him long ago, before I ascended to what I am now. He was just as cruel and selfish then as he was before his final death.” Shenya smirked.

”Great, now you’re going to tell me the story of how you met him.” Josephine groaned and rolled her eyes.

“No, no, that would take too much time.” Shenya said.

”Well then, what should we do now?” Josephine asked.

”I propose we make a deal you and I.” Shenya declared.

”What sort of deal? Because I don’t want to lose my body, I kind of like it.” Josephine hissed.

“Oh, you won’t lose it, I promise. Seeing as it’ll be more like you having a second voice in your head. Basically, I could take control of you whenever you let me. That sort of thing, if that helps you with a description of what it’ll be like.” Shenya smiled.

”Fine, I’ll agree to your deal, frankly I think you might be more loose with these than Beth is.” Josephine chuckled.

”Good, then it’s settled, I’ll move in to that head of yours in a couple of days. That way I get some time to prepare, ok?” Shenya said.

Josephine nodded and watched as she returned to outside of the forest. She smiled and noticed that neither the sky, nor the forest, had changed back to normal since she had left. Then she noticed the doe poke its head out from behind one of the trees. It quickly sprinted away as the sound of thunder echoed throughout the sky. Josephine chuckled and quickly began to chase the animal, not really caring about what would happen next. Seeing as at least she would get to enjoy herself for at least a little while longer. For now, she could just focus on the task at hand, hunting down her prey.