Eternal Battles

Studying Her Secrets

(Sorry for disappearing for several months. I'm alive, but school is hell, but i got a new computer cause of it so i;ll deal)

tw; cursing, guilt mention, illness mention, blood, coughing, coughing mention, implied/mentioned slender sickness, cold mention, fever mention, implied/mentioned fever, blood mention, vomit mention, missing school, nightmare mention, chronic illness mention, controlling/mind control mention, spirit mention, totheark mention, eldritch horror mention, slenderman mention. probably more, let me know what i missed

No One's POV

Sky, Luna, and Cassy managed to convince Lilith to take a few days off of school to recover. She was extremely bored for the first few days, but almost didn't notice due to her delirium and fever. She felt horrible, but after a few days her fever broke and she could think clearly again.

That's when she noticed Cassy was acting strangely. She hardly talked to Lilith, except when asking what she needed, if she was feeling any better, what she wanted. She was acting... guilty. Lilith didn't understand why, it couldn't be Cassy's fault she was sick... right? Of course not; Cassy wasn't human-Lilith didn't really know what Cassy was-but that didn't mean she was responsible for her illness. But a small part of Lilith wondered...

Even so, she still acted strangely nervous and distant around her. Every time Lilith coughed violently, or spit up blood, or had a nosebleed, or complained about being shaky or having a headache or anything, Cassy winced and looked away. Cassy was always the one to visit all of Lilith's classes and get her homework for her. Lilith thought it was really sweet.

Then one Saturday, Cassy approached her. The tall, pale girl had in her hands a book bound in black leather, with fancy calligraphy in gold ink on the title. Unfortunately, the ink was slightly smudged and Lilith couldn't quite tell what it said. Lilith stood up and smiled warmly at Cassy. "Hi Cassy! Something up?" she asked.

"Hey, Lilith," Cassy said. "I know you like reading-for some reason I could never understand-so uh, I thought you'd like this book! It's kinda old, my mom gave it to me before she kicked the bucket, but I really don't have a use for it, so I thought you'd like it!" Cassy held the book out to the shorter girl.

"It's not even Christmas yet, though," Lilith replied. "It's barely Halloween."

"It's always spooky season!" Sky called out from her spot on her bed.

"Yeah, well... Take it as a get well present, we wouldn't want you being sick for too long, haha!" Cassy responded awkwardly, chuckling slightly.

"Well, alright, I could use a new book to read," Lilith shrugged, grabbing the book. It was heavy, and had many thick and yellowed pages. The mage wondered how old it truly was.

"Great! Great... Um, now, I'm going to go take a shower! I really need one after trudging around in the woods all night, looking for materials and that Tracker Hound..." Cassy walked away, almost tripping over herself to get to the bathroom.

"What was that about?" Luna asked from her position by Sky's bed. Sky shrugged. She was laying on her bed, wearing a dark grey hoodie and light blue shorts.

"Cassy likes giving people gifts to feel less like she's being a bother, and sometimes if she's really excited about something," was the answer Sky gave.

"But why was she so nervous?" Lilith asked, sitting back down on her bed and placing the book by her pillow. "She knows I think of her as anything but a nuisance, right?"

"Yeah, well... I think it's cause you're sick."

"Really?"

"Probably... Don't tell Cassy I told you this, her family's still a bit of a sore spot for her. But her brother had a chronic illness, similar to whatever you have now. She never told me much about it other than that, and I wouldn't push for more if I were you. That's really all you need to know, to be honest. Just... don't worry too much about her right now, alright? Focus on yourself and getting better."

"Right..." Lilith looked at the leather book on her pillow. "That does seem like something she doesn't want to remember. Now I feel bad for asking..."

"Eh, don't! She'll get over her anxiety soon enough. Like I said, just try to focus on yourself right now."

"Okay..."

The next day Lilith was really bored. Her fever was gone and she was pretty sure her illness had pretty much passed, but everyone said that she should take just another day off just in case. It was early in the morning when the others left, as always, because they wanted to get something for breakfast before everyone else did. So Lilith laid in her bed, grumpy and bored. She'd already finished her homework and makeup work (except whatever she was missing today) so what else was there for her to do?

Settling on getting some anatomy practice done, she looked under her bed for her sketchbook. As she was scanning the area, she noticed the big black book Cassy had gifted her. Shrugging, she pulled the book out and placed it on her bed. Opening her nightstand drawer and pulling out a red marker and some sticky notes, she settled into a comfy position in her bed to start reading. She always made meticulous notes when she first read something new. And once she finished, she'd go back and add to the notes with full context.

She opened the book and began reading.

By the time Luna and Sky stopped by to deliver lunch to her, Lilith was halfway through the strange, strange book with about half a dozen sticky notes written and more written on the actual parchment. The book was definitely old, or the author just enjoyed making things harder on themself, because it was all handwritten. There were some actual photographs, and some drawings.

The parchment had brown-red stains on it from something. It was one of the first things Lilith noticed. She hoped it was just a result of weathering. The first not she made though was about the stains, and still being sick. She eventually got to a page focusing on whatever the thing the author was studying was and its powers.

"Hey Lils. We got you some McDonalds," Sky held up the bag. "Don't tell Cassy, she'd get jealous."

Lilith laughed. "Thanks guys. I promise I won't."

"You actually started reading it?" Luna asked, eyeing the sticky notes. "That book looks super long."

"I mean, it's long, but it's really cool! Just... kind of confusing."

"Stuff surrounding Cassy tends to be," Sky nodded. Lilith took the bag of McDonalds and opened it, taking out a french fry.

"Yeah... Oh, you know more then I do, so, do you know what a 'Slenderman' is?" Lilith asked, genuinely. Sky froze. "...Sky?"

Sky shook herself out of it. "It's nothing to worry about for now. Just... Don't say His name around Cassy."

"What-"

"Just don't. Trust me."

"...Alright."

As they left, Lilith wrote a question down on a green sticky note. 'Cassy's connection?'

That night she had horrible nightmares. The masks in her usual dreams were gone, and instead she was being hunted by a tall, thin man who blended in well with the trees. She almost escaped, only to be caught and- static. Her dream ended with just static in front of her as she woke up. She woke up with a headache that day and with a violent coughing spell.

She crossed out the name on the note later that day.

By the time she finished the book, her strange illness was mostly gone. She had made adjustments to many of the notes she made, including wondering about how Cassy's family was connected. The last paragraph of the book stated that the author gave it to their child as a way of preserving the information before their untimely demise, and the last page was just a book of signatures, the last one being Cassy's, with two more paired right next to hers:
[Jake
Sienna & Cassy]

Oh how the secrets begin to unravel...

-
ok, im alive! i know, its a shitty story to update after several months, but whatever. sorry for the ending being shitty, i forgot the ending i had planned. anygay, see you soon! hopefully!