ᖴI᙭ᗩTIOᑎ

YOᑌ ᗯEᖇE ᔕO TIᖇEᗪ

     All in all, you were tired. Dealing with your own potential insanity could do that to a person, especially when you already lived in such a psychologically confusing place.

     You stood up from your previously seated position, Maison following suit despite not knowing the purpose behind your sudden rising. You just looked at the floor and shuffled over to him, suddenly wrapping your arms around his torso and resting your head below his chin.

     Maison's lure just stood stock still, not sure how to respond to this sudden display of affection. You helped him out, guiding his arms around you in a much-needed hug. Although you couldn't see it, his usual smile had drifted away- he was left with an expression of deep focus as he rested his chin on top of your head, making himself a little more comfortable in his current position.

     You weren't sure what had spurred you to do something so outlandish but it felt right and you were severely touch-starved. Maison was your best friend, the person you trusted your life with (even if he was creepy and space-invading at times) and you couldn't help but look for comfort in him because honestly, who else did you have? After the John Doe hallucination incident, you'd begun coming to terms with the fact that your obsession with the man might be worsening your condition and had therefore taken a break from your usual stalking.

     You separated from your embrace with Maison after a few more moments of being in the comfort of his cold arms, giving him a crooked smile before returning to your seat. He copied your actions, still seemingly deep in thought. Too much was flooding his brain to fully process it all so he turned his attention back to you, tilting his head to the side as he waited for you to do something.

     You ordered another much-needed coffee.

     Meanwhile, back with the rat pack, John Doe- in the flesh- was hanging out in your apartment. He'd wrapped himself in the blanket you usually slept with, nuzzling his face against it as he basked in the smell of you. Your rats were pretty okay with the weird man in their territory- he smelled like their new hairball friend so by proxy he was their friend too. Besides, the little rodents were too busy chewing your favorite book, The Watt Pad, into pieces to really care much about the skrunkly guy in the room.

     Reality suddenly distorted and the room visibly creased with a flash of static before finally returning to normal. The only differences were that the TV had been turned on and that John Doe now sat on the couch, still coddled in your blanket, with a small jar of his favorite snacks: teeth. He snacked on them for a while, watching straight static on the screen of the TV.

     Ratticus was perplexed- if the stinky wild man liked those little crunchy things then why couldn't he have some too? Said rat proceeded to crawl along the back of your couch until he was directly behind Doe, peering over the guy's shoulder and into the jar. A split second later, Ratticus was taking a swan dive into the jar of crunchy things, grabbing as many as possible and booking it before John could stop him.

     Anticipating this attack, Doe reached his hand through the blanket and grabbed Ratticus by the tail, hanging him upside down and shaking him in an attempt to make him drop his stolen goods. The rat hissed and tried to wiggle away, accidentally dropping his hard-earned treats.

     Ratticus couldn't believe the injustice. Quickly reaching into his back-rat-pocket, he pulled out a tiny pocket knife and began waving it towards John Doe in an attempt to threaten him. The eldritch being just deadpanned and tossed the rodent to the other side of the couch before snuggling further into his stolen blanket.