Kota smiles. They get back to the house and Kota stores the fish after setting the spear down on the corner. He takes off his backpack.
Iris sets toko in her bed and tucks her in.
Kota sits on the couch, his hand on his choker. What is happening? I feel different. Is it because I was my other self for that long? âHey, Iris, what are you writing anyways?â
âer, nothing.â
âCome on, it canât be that bad. Please.â
âitâs not ready.â
âOoooh, in that case, Iâll let you keep working on it, then.â Kota goes to take a shower.
She goes back to her desk and continue to write.
After showering, he instead goes to the couch and sits. He starts to go into a trance, staring off in the distance. One of his eyes was yellow while the other was turquoise.
He wakes in his mindscape, red grass and red-leaved trees surrounding him. He sees his other self, a bit younger. So, whatâs going on?
Itâs about us.
Us? What do you mean? What is this?
Kota, thereâs something about us thatâs conflicted. Weâre a bit seperate when we shouldnât be.
The two suddenly switch, Kota being his carmine-haired self while the other Kota, the one from his mindscape, was white-haired . . . and female. What is going on?
Well, someone had to save you from the Nevermore. They say that those with white hair may have had contact with a spirit.
And you are one such spirit?
Well . . . yes and no.
Iris works through the night.
OOC: gânight.
OOC: Gânight.
What does that mean?
See, your spirit is an interesting one. Before, you thought that you were nothing but a warrior. This feeling asserted itself when you resisted the bandit tribe and lived alone in the desert. However, something split after that. Remember when the chief of Honanki told you you were gonna grow to be more feminine?
What of it?
Well, he was half-right. Sure, you seemed a bit effeminate early on, but this was never really explored until around the time you attended Shade, after you made that choker for yourself. You acted more like and were even mistaken for a woman. At first, you were confused, almost angry. You werenât a woman, you were a male, a warrior. You were a killing machine. However, the more the idea floated around, the more you began to accept it, even embrace it. You became more level-headed, more timid, more calm. It wasnât so bad.
Where is this going?
Well, thereâs a part of you who still tries to deny this. A part of you who still wants to be what he thinks a strong warrior was.
And thatâs . . . me.
Bingo. You still wanna believe youâre a berserker, a warrior who is so good at fighting, itâs all he does. Obviously, this idea is fleeting
What does that make you, though?
Iâm still you. Iâm the you who wants us to stop acting like two entities. Two personalities, we can handle, but at this point, weâre practically two different people.
So, youâre saying that I am truly the way I am with the choker on?
No, not at all. Thereâs a quiet, focused, efficient side to us, our warrior side. The side meant for fighting. The problem is this side âdoesnât agreeâ with the other. The chokerâs neither here nor there. Face it, Kota, youâre unsure of yourself.
Well, maybe Iâd like to be back to the way I was before I convinced myself I was better as a feminine man. Maybe Iâd be a better person without that trait.
Kota, wait-
Iâve done that already. Iâm a huntsman, I shouldnât be moping around or staying at home. He goes through his mindscape, looking for something to hunt at least in his mind. In reality, he has fallen asleep on the couch.
This is why the chief said you were meant to grow this way . . . you were always a bit afraid of acting motherly, as if it was a bad thing.
Kota, in his mindscape, wandered around. Why isnât there anything here I can hunt? Iâm not even asking for Grimm, anything would be fine.
Donât you know youâre more of a opportunist?
Listen, just . . . leave me to hunt for something.
Kota, youâre not meant to be like this. You donât usually go out searching for trouble.
Look, I . . . I just want to prove that Iâm still strong.
Strong enough to do what, Kota?
To . . . to protect the ones I love.
Now, do you get it? You fight to protect, not for sport or revenge. Youâre job is to protect, to fight for the ones you love. Thatâs a mother bearâs job.
Are you saying Iâm a mother?
Iâm saying youâre motherly. Youâre protective, almost frightfully so. You truly care for the people around you, and you do your best to show kindness and be considerate.
I see. But what about all this talk about my effeminacy?
Thatâs just it. You didnât mind being feminine. Itâs not because some people at school thought you were so or even because your friends encouraged you to accept it, itâs been a part of you. You donât have to stop acting like someone who protects those he loves, but you have to accept that this effeminacy is a part of you. Iâm a part of you.
Kota thought for a moment. So . . . this part of me . . . comes from me?
Yes, no one told you to be this way. This is all you.
Okay . . . okay, I think I get it. Iâm sorry for trying to deny it. I just thought that wasnât who I was meant to be, like a phase, a curse I have to fix or something.
And it wasnât. This is who you are, and I want to make it so we donât have to act like two different people.
Kota nods and walks up to Dream Kota, who puts his hand on his chest. Both close their eyes and a bright light covered the mindscape before receding, revealing a single Kota, who could switch between the two personalities at will. Yeah . . . this is better. Still gonna use the choker, though.
Paul slowly wakes up inside his house. âHow did I get here?â He asks tired.
Coral wakes up and sees Flare still alseep, she gets up and goes to make pancakes for breakfast.We never played truther or dare. She thinks.
OOC: @ace what transformers did you get?
Heather was a sleep on the couch.
Flare mumble and twitched here and there in her sleep.
Paul smiles as he gets up and stretches. He walks over to Heather and gently shakes her.
Coral finishes and walks back into her room. âFlare, you ok?â She asks quietly
Heather wakes up slowly," Good morning." She yawned.
Flare mumbled," Five more minutes mom." Her hand moving a bit.
âGood morning, did you happen to bring me home last night?â Paul asks.
Coral smiles and sits on her bed.
Heather:" Yes I believe so."
Flare then mumbles," Alexis why⌠why do you push me away and then pull me back, why?"
âThank you.â Paul says. I bet the forge was the first place she looked. He thinks to himself.
Coral tenses up a little bit. I should just wake her, itâs not right to just listen to her sleeptalk. Coral thinks a little conflicted
Heather:" So how was your day yesterday?"
Flare:" Arkane, Heather please donât go. Donât leave me alone, Iâve been nothing but alone." She kept mumbling.
âIt was good, I built us a new bedframe, and a skittle Something for Toko, how was yours?â Paul asks as he sits down,
On the armrest of the couch.
Coral gets up and shakes Flare gently.
âFlare, wake up, Iâm worried.â
She says concerned