image [https://files.catbox.moe/frxc77.png]

“hey.”

“Yes?”

“i feel like vomiting.”

Wrapped in a warm blanket, sitting on the sizable couch – all whilst one of them leans on their partner, who was just before this interaction sipping on a hot cup of freshly brewed chamomile tea, one that is now being held idly on her left hand. There they were, Chloe and Kaira; their bodies much warmer than the cold air around them.

“Did I do something wrong?” Chloe asks, the hot steam from her mug feeling so pleasantly warm on her face. She has her glasses off, having left them on the antique coffee table – along with her prosthetic arm and Kaira’s recently taken-off sweater – and her hair is untied. It’s fairly short, being only long enough to reach the base of her neck.

“no, i think. i don't know. did you?” Tilting her face upwards, Kaira gets a good look at her partner again, who looks back at Kaira leaning on her shoulder.

“I’m asking you. You can be honest with me, you know?” Her voice is relatively calm and soft, as opposed to her usual rigid way of speaking. It makes Kaira feel a little better.

“i’m uh… not used to this. sorry, i’m really not good with words.” The contrast between Chloe’s quiet voice, and Kaira’s raspy, louder tone is even more apparent with both of them being this close together.

Before any more words can be exchanged, a familiar creature jumps into the vacant spot between both women, causing Kaira to sit up in shock and the cozy blanket to fall to the side of her hip.

“buddy, no, what the fuck–” but the words do little to stop the beast from comfortably laying on the little spot it claimed, yawning and preparing itself to go to sleep, as this stupid cat always seems to be doing, “sorry, i need a minute.”

Getting up from her seat, Kaira makes a beeline for the bathroom, leaving behind a very worried Chloe pleading for her to “not do anything silly”.

I feel like vomiting.

She gets a good look at the bathroom mirror, trying to make sense of what’s being depicted in it. It’s her, in theory, but it somehow feels like nothing but a distant mirage of someone who isn’t actually there. It’s not the first time she’s unable to recognize her own image standing right in front of her, but something’s wrong this time. Something’s wrong. Something’s wrong. Something… something…

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Some… thing…

Igris gets a good look at the bathroom mirror. Kaira stretches out her hand to touch it, hoping to maybe feel the skin on her own body. It doesn’t work. Igris tries to touch her own face, hoping to maybe feel the skin on her own body. It doesn’t work. It only taints her cheek with a smidge of leftover blood. She can’t tell if the crimson smear is on her cheek, or if it’s on the mirror. Her insides burn, then her throat, and before she can process any of what’s happening, she vomits in the bathroom sink. She hasn’t eaten anything, not in a while, so the only thing that comes out is bile and stomach acids. The taste that lingers on her tongue makes her vomit again, then again, and again, until eventually nothing comes out. Unbearable pain hits her stomach, from having violently contracted multiple times. She gets a good look at her bathroom mirror. She can see a dark figure standing behind her. Is it really there, or has she finally gone insane?

The dark figure speaks. “Kaira, are you okay? Kaira?”

Kaira instinctively clasps her neck, unable to tell if the gush of blood painting the bathroom red is real, or if it’s her mind still fucking with her. “shit… shit, shit, shit…” she takes a good look at the mirror one last time, then turns her gaze to the woman behind her. “i…” her voice is shaky. “it’s not bleeding, is it?”

Chloe uses her one arm to pull Kaira close to her, as close as physically possible, leaning the side of her face into her partner’s furry chest. She can feel and hear Kaira’s heart beating like it’s about to explode, but, with some patience, it slows down to a slightly healthier rhythm.

Kaira checks the wound on her neck, rubbing it with her thumb. It’s clean, and healing up nicely – if you’re looking at it from the outside. In reality, it’s still bleeding and rotting – just not visibly so – and begging to be ripped open to show what’s truly inside. The taste of bile still coats the surface of her tongue and her throat, just not enough to make her vomit a fifth time. Maybe if she did vomit again she could expel her organs from her mouth and finally die a gruesome death – why not try?

“I’m… here.” Shaky, breathy and raspy – Chloe’s voice mimicked Kaira’s mental state, to a degree. It’s really hard not to be scared, too, especially considering she has no way to know what is going on inside this girl’s brain. So tall, yet so pitiful. “I’m here.” She repeats herself, sounding only marginally more confident than before.

“hey… chloe?”

“...Yes?” She looks up at Kaira, her eyes looking like those of a sad puppy waiting to be comforted.

“...nevermind. don’t worry about it.”

Chloe did, in fact, worry about it. Far more than Kaira could ever imagine – not that the bar is even remotely high. Kaira really isn’t used to being this vulnerable to someone who was, just a few days before, a complete stranger; it’s never easy being this close to her, this fast, but she didn’t have a choice but to be vulnerable. She’s not here by choice.

She’s not here by choice.

Igris… is not here by choice. The taste of bile still coats the surface of her tongue and her throat, enough to make her vomit a fifth time. The dark figure behind places a hand on her head, running its wretched fingers all throughout her hair. She’s wearing that mask again – that fucking mask.

“Good… good. Let it all out.”

The queen’s shit-eating grin could be felt by anyone, be it covered by a mask or out in the open for everyone to see.