My Soul to Reap (Archived)

Braindead

The morning started with a coffeepot's death. Or, well, the sound it was making certainly gave that impression. I groaned audibly and sat up, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and hopefully my mind. I stretched upwards and looked around, finding that Brie was gone. Which would, of course, explain the coffeepot's dying screams. I shook my head at her, expecting a few curses to come my way, but the faint smile was wiped away after I saw the white fabric draped over a nearby chair. Of course. It was judgement day.

I showered slowly and walked into the kitchen in a towel, since I knew it would only be Brie. She raised a hand in acknowledgement before turning her attention back to the stove. I frowned, really not wanting to walk over and find out what she was doing. At the same time, this wasn't a good time to burn down the house.

"Sit," she said sternly. I eyed her for a second before cautiously sitting down at the table, pulling the towel tighter.

"Um." She didn't even turn around. Considering the weapons lining the walls, I got the feeling I really needed I figure out what she was doing before it killed me.

"You... Need any help?" I asked lamely. She didn't even answer, which made me more worried. And then, to my horror, I noticed the smoke.

"Brie!" I yelled reflexively, but it didn't matter much. She pulled whatever it was away and dropped something in front of me seconds later.

Pancakes and toast.

Oh. Okay. She sat opposite me, a smug smile on her face.

"And you were all worried I was going to kill you," she said, sticking out her tongue. I laughed and tried to stab her with the fork, but she dodged easily. We ate in relative silence, save for the occasional jab. It seemed like I wasn't the only one to have tonight weighing on them. I would have tried to lighten the mood but eventually decided against it, opting to wash the dishes we'd dirtied. It gave me time to think, which was a bad thing, but it also saved both Brie and I from having to find things to say.

She was on the phone most of the day, and while I had no idea who she was calling I caught general snippets of conversation. By the sounds of it she really did have something resembling an army, although most of them wouldn't be fighting where we were. I never heard the address and I wasn't even sure she said it. After all, there was the possibility we were being watched. She grew increasingly irritable as the day wore on, and by two when Rina showed up she was even starting to snap at me.

She arrived in usual Rina style, a bundle of pink and blue exploding into the room. Except instead of the usual elaborate hair she looked like she'd left it, and it hung loose and straight around her shoulders. Even the dress seemed simpler, which didn't quite make sense given where we were going.

"Don't worry about her," Rina tried to calm me down. "She has your best interests in mind." It was a nice way of saying that everything was going wrong and it had nothing to do with me. I never took her temper personally though, because by now I'd learned it really wasn't about me. Rina looked at me sadly, and I was happy at least she wasn't trying to hide everything from me. I'd migrated into the living room since I'd discovered it, and Rina and I were now sitting opposite to each other. Well, technically I was lying down.

"Well, we should get going," she said, clapping her hands. I looked up in alarm. My hair was in a messy bun, I'd stolen sweatpants from Brie, and I wasn't wearing any makeup.

"N-now?" I stuttered out, and she just laughed. I was half standing up by the time she stopped

"I mean go get ready," she clarified, and I sighed in relief.

"Oh, okay. Yeah we should do that," I laughed, still standing up but doing it much slower. I hesitating, standing somewhat near the door but still being totally unsure. "Um, where are we doing that exactly?" She laughed again, gently pulling me into Brie's room. She lead me towards the bed and had me sit down while she rummaged around for I while. I realized belatedly she was about to do either my hair or makeup for me, and that was enough to make me nervous.